Chapter 8
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Top Student (3)
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After the entrance ceremony, Aren's speech—which had essentially been a declaration of war—became the hot topic among every student at the Academy.
Mainly along the lines of a talented but equally unhinged commoner having infiltrated the Academy.
To top it off, the story of Aren proposing(?) to Veronica during their one-on-one duel resurfaced, catapulting him to stardom overnight.
And the Academy students' reactions to it split neatly into two camps.
Those who were convinced he was the same breed of madman he sometimes appeared to be and decided to steer clear, and those who saw him as arrogant and vowed to put him in his place someday.
Of course, they all knew he was no pushover—he'd nullified magic through some unknown method and shattered a mithril measurement device, after all. But some dismissed it as sheer luck.
They figured that since he'd made it into the Academy, he was ultimately just another student at their level.
Of course, they could only think that way because they had no idea of the real reason Aren had entered the Academy.
Anyway.
What was this overnight star, Aren—who had simultaneously earned him both fans and haters, driving everyone insane up to now—doing at the moment?
"Ah! Here you are, Aren!"
"Lydia."
She waved at him with a bright smile.
He walked right over and took the seat beside her, drawing stares from all around.
Mostly jealousy and envy...
"...Already sitting with a girl at the start of the semester."
"Hey, isn't that the top student?"
"Yeah, for real."
"Whoa... strength, looks, and girls too? What a lucky bastard..."
"Doesn't matter. He's a commoner."
"But I bet he'll snag a title later."
"Dunno, but I'm jealous anyway..."
It was easy to tell whether they envied his power or the pretty girl named Lydia sitting next to him.
Men, honestly.
Oblivious or not to the reactions around them, Lydia smiled carefree and scooted her hips even closer to him.
The distance closed in an instant.
Thanks to that, he could clearly see her lips and eyelashes.
...Makes me stare without meaning to.
"Hehe... Isn't it super exciting? It's the first day at the Academy...! Think we'll dive right into classes?"
"Who knows. I doubt it'll be actual lessons—they'll probably cover course registration first..."
"Course registration... It's making my heart race!"
"Is it?"
"Yeah! Doesn't it for you, Aren?"
"Not really for me."
He couldn't tell her this, but he'd already experienced college life, so it wasn't that thrilling.
'The system here is pretty much identical to university.'
Pick one major—your specialty—and build your schedule around it. The main difference? No mandatory credits to fulfill.
Learn as much as you want, at your own discretion. Tuition's the same for everyone, so skipping out only hurts you.
For Aren, who planned to take the bare minimum classes—just enough to meet cute girls—this Academy system was perfect.
'Now this is how a school should be run.'
Ahh.
"I see... Oh, Aren. Um... Could we register for courses together?"
"Hm? Sure, if you want. You okay with that?"
She should make other friends too.
Following him around might make that harder.
"Yeah, it's fine. You're my first friend here. And I think you only need a few really close ones... Hehe."
"Oh."
Well now...
"What's up, Aren?"
"Nothing."
She was the picture of a devoted wife material—perfect homemaker who only had eyes for him.
Just me is enough; no need for other friends (she didn't say that outright).
His opinion of Lydia skyrocketed. Was this the danger of puppy love...? One wrong move, and he'd be swept away into a comfy married life.
'Not that it'd be so bad...'
Still, if he was going to do this, he wanted to try building a harem first.
A man's dream, right?
"By the way, Lydia, what do you think about having multiple wives?"
"Huh? Out of nowhere...?"
"It's a serious question. Mind answering?"
"Uh... Sure..."
She crossed her arms and pretended to ponder for a moment. But it didn't last long.
Practically instant.
"I'm okay with it! If a man's capable enough to take responsibility, having multiple wives makes sense."
"Oh, got it."
Makes sense—in a nation where class systems thrived and this was a dark fantasy world.
Polygamy was probably commonplace, so her view wasn't all that unusual.
'Nice.'
For the record, he'd discussed this with his master before too...
'Yeah, Master's a bit conservative on that front.'
Our master dresses provocatively but turns old-fashioned about stuff like this. Was that a good or bad thing...?
Well, at least his eyes had been treated to ten years of delight.
"But why ask?"
She tilted her head.
"Hm... Just curious about your thoughts, Lydia."
"My thoughts...?"
Her face flushed red for some reason.
'Cute.'
Wonder what she's thinking.
Just then, as the faintly blushing Lydia turned to ask Aren something—
Creaaak—
Silence fell over the noisy classroom in an instant.
"...?"
Wondering what was up, he tilted his head—then quickly realized the cause.
Whispers—
"Hey, Aren. Veronica's heading this way...?"
It was true.
Veronica, drawing every eye in the room, was approaching—intentionally or not—straight toward Aren.
Aren himself had zero thoughts about it as he watched her approach... but everyone else? That was the problem.
"...Hey, look over there."
"Whoa... Lady Veronica looks murderous."
"Murderous? Isn't she just expressionless?"
"Anyone can see she's pissed."
"Nah, not pissed—more like in a foul mood?"
"Anyway, where's Lady Veronica headed...?"
"...No way."
"To the top student...?"
"...Oh."
Veronica, the other star of the current scandal.
The protagonist who'd been utterly crushed both by his confession attack(?) and in raw skill.
And now she was heading toward the guy who'd humiliated her? Of her own accord?
...From Veronica's perspective, their paths just overlapped, and she wasn't aiming for Aren at all. But to onlookers, that didn't matter.
Even the man himself was thinking something entirely different.
'She really does remind me of Master.'
The figure went without saying—just looking at her gave off similar vibes.
The sharp impression... the aloof aura...
'Must be because of that.'
...
Soon, as Veronica passed by him, Aren greeted her.
"Sleep well, Veronica?"
"...?"
"...Gasp!"
Gulps echoed from spots all over the lecture hall.
"Wh-what..."
Veronica frowned, staring at Aren—who was smiling casually and waving right in front of her.
She tried to fire back at this weird greeting to quash any misunderstandings, but the whispers around them started up first.
"...Whoa. Did they seriously meet up last night or something?"
"Come to think of it, rumor was the top student confessed to Lady Adel Adler... Did she accept?"
"...Could be."
"He's handsome, so maybe she'd toy with him a bit..."
"...So even that lofty lady's just a woman after all."
Veronica was a Golden Generation member, the epitome of haughty high nobility.
For such a woman to hear a handsome guy casually toss out "Sleep well?"—anyone would suspect something had happened between them.
...Even though they'd never met once since the duel. But facts like that didn't matter.
"...You."
"If you're okay with it, care to sit next to me?"
He patted the seat beside him nonchalantly.
Pale-faced Lydia tugged at his arm from an angle Veronica couldn't see, but he didn't budge.
If anything, he pointed even more confidently at the spot.
Veronica scowled at him.
"...Why are you doing this to me?"
"Hm? Doing what?"
"...You call that nothing...?"
She couldn't even figure out what to say.
This was only their second meeting—no, third, counting the entrance speech—but instinct told her exactly what kind of guy Aren was.
He knew full well what he was doing.
Definitely.
"...Forget it."
"No clue what that means, but... so, Veronica, wanna sit next to me?"
"...I'd prefer you not call me by my name so casually."
"Hm? Then what should I call you?"
Adel Adler?
Lady Veronica?
Or Student Veronica?
"...Forget it."
"You're saying forget it again. I wanna talk to Veronica."
"..."
Veronica was speechless. Beside him, Lydia—who'd been yanking his arm—had long since turned teary-eyed.
She couldn't rein him in no matter what.
"So, care to sit next to me?"
Lydia fully expected Veronica to snap back coldly in anger.
High nobles lived off their pride; there was no way they'd take kindly to Aren's antics.
But.
"...Haa... Fine."
"???????????"
"Wha..."
"...?"
"Whoa."
Veronica neither scowled coldly nor exploded in rage.