The Entrance Ceremony and Class Assignment
The entrance ceremony had ended, and students were mingling noisily in the crowded halls.
Many students began to push toward one particular direction.
I wonder what’s going on? Has a celebrity arrived? Or maybe royalty?
When famous students showed up, the surrounding students would rush over in a pack, but now almost everyone was gathering in one spot.
Even so, I had no particular interest. After the battlefield, the royal family and nobles from across the kingdom were the ones I always had to greet as a matter of courtesy.
I just wanted to rest, but the moment I saw them, it became stressful. So the thought of royalty made me uneasy.
But the students’ gathering didn’t seem to be for that reason.
“The class assignment notice has been posted?”
“A-class? Who’s in A-class?!”
Students began shouting these words as they crowded tightly around one spot, packed so densely they had no room to move.
Many students stood on tiptoes, hugging each other to see the notice better.
I hadn’t expected that either. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I was curious about how the new students had ranked.
I couldn’t skip out. Honestly, I thought my reaction at the time had been good.
Plus, even with my body like this, I didn’t think I could compete with the kids.
I pushed into the crowd and wove through it.
“Wait, wait. I’m passing through.”
I crouched slightly and squeezed past the many students, pushing my way far ahead until I finally reached the large bulletin board posted against the wall.
The board had a red seal engraved on it. That must belong to the magic department, so I turned my gaze the other way and looked at the board with the blue seal.
‘Let me see… A-class…’
The largest board on the far left looked like it was for A-class.
‘Only this one? A-class?’
Compared to the crowded B-class and C-class, A-class had so little space that it almost seemed like it was showing off its limited numbers. In fact, it only had five slots.
Given that there were probably over a hundred students, that was an incredibly small ratio.
But I didn’t care.
Since I was determined to be in A-class, I slipped forward to take my place, squatted down, and started staring at the board.
A-1. Dalek Lon Langrand.
A-2. Serpin Altamet.
…
Dalek… well, he definitely deserved it.
He looked like he was excellent at studies, and he hadn’t even used his full power in the practical exam.
He had treated the golem test as part of his sword training. He had shattered the tough golem with a single strike.
He hadn’t even opened his eyes, just using the vibrations felt through his toes and the sounds in his ears.
Serpin Altamet. I hadn’t heard of her before.
Altamet, Altamet… why does that name sound familiar?
I’d set that aside and moved on. When I scrolled lower, I found myself smiling naturally.
A-3. Lir Ostrin.
A-4. Altro Rodriguez.
Third place. Seeing my relatively satisfying rank, I closed my eyes and offered a satisfied smile, waving my hand.
Of course.
No matter how badly I messed up on the written exam, my performance at the time would never lose to Dalek.
Professors would know about it. They must remember how sharp my instincts and reaction speed were that day.
In that sense, placing third in A-class was something I could accept myself and that would also boost my pride.
“A-class is all as expected except for one. Who is Lir Ostrin?”
“Serpin Altamet? There’s only one person with the surname Altamet now, right?”
Once students finished checking their own ranks, their attention naturally turned to A-class, the top students in the knight department.
Since there weren’t many stories about Dalek, it looked like the result everyone had already anticipated.
Altamet… I swear I’ve heard that name somewhere.
“The Amanecer Tower Master’s daughter, right?”
That was it. The thought flashed through my mind like a bolt, and the image of an auntie popped up.
Lonne Altamet. The Amanecer Tower Master. That was her. I had spoken with her exactly once before.
If it was her daughter, why would she be in the magic department? The knight department? That was strange.
Well, in A-class, taking second place behind Dalek probably meant she had the talent and ability for it.
While students quietly assessed the students whose names they recognized, a slight murmur came from behind.
“Wait, coming through. Sorry, just a moment.”
A young man’s gentle voice rang out. But unlike me, the crowd naturally parted for him, creating a path.
A young man with black hair and amber eyes. At the end of the path, Dalek was squatting down, looking back at me as our eyes met.
“Oh.”
I figured he was a celebrity, but he glanced at me, then shifted his gaze to the board.
Only a few seconds later, he looked back at me and offered his hand first.
“Are you Lir Ostrin?”
“…You know me?”
“The 291st examinee behind me, right?”
“You recognized me? At the time I didn’t even call out names, did I? Were you looking into me?”
The top student in A-class and the entire knight department. When Dalek spoke to me first, countless gazes fixed on the two of us.
In the next instant, I pushed up on my knee and stood, shaking his hand in front of him.
“Correct. You’re Dalek Lon Langrand, right in front of me?”
“You can call me Dalek. While I was watching, I saw your exam process and was impressed.”
“With you closing your eyes and smashing the golem in one strike.”
We both wore gentle smiles, trying to give a good first impression.
Dalek was trying to get friendly with his current goal. I was trying to approach the growing sapling.
“I’d love to talk more, but there are too many people watching. Maybe later.”
“Yeah, sure…”
Not just the knight department students, but magic department students nearby were watching the scene too. It would be uncomfortable.
After exchanging light greetings, Dalek first left the crowd. Naturally, students’ attention turned to me.
Huh. Um. When they stare like that, it feels a little stressful.
Students were looking at a girl with a somewhat delicate build who seemed weak for the knight department.
Not from a noble family, and definitely not a famous someone. An unknown girl who rolled in from somewhere had taken A-class, and she had even gotten praise for being impressive to Dalek.
Of course, promising students from across the land had to take interest in her.
Plus, just earlier, I had gotten into a dispute with a magic department student.
‘What should I do? Why are they staring so hard?’
I had drawn quite a bit of attention. I should have just left like Dalek.
I turned my gaze away from the flood of stares directed at me, raised my hand, and forced a slightly awkward smile.
“Ah, hello…”
The noisy entrance ceremony and brief commotion had passed, and the academy moved smoothly into its first class.
Red cloaks and blue cloaks had been divided into their designated sections, and soon only one color would be visible in the field of view.
As usual, the new students’ class schedules had become unified.
So when the entire class poured into one building, the following students didn’t need to search for classrooms.
This class was the first for these new students. It was the academy’s first class that everyone had been eagerly anticipating.
I heard the professor was extremely tall.
There was a training ground that only knight department students could enter, right?
A-class was really enviable. Students chatted about trivial things and built camaraderie.
‘…Thinking about it, why divide into classes? It looks like A-class, B-class, and C-class are all here.’
Lir sat quietly in her seat and pondered this.
Maybe they had just set temporary divisions? Since I hadn’t looked up the academy’s detailed rules, I had no idea.
Glancing ahead, I saw Dalek sitting there.
When I entered the classroom, Dalek was in front, so I had considered sitting next to him.
But if I sat right next to him now, it would draw too much attention, so I didn’t.
Too much attention was bad.
Here, if I stood out more than necessary, what if I got assigned as a representative or something like that?
Leader. Class representative. I had experienced enough of the sadness of being called a slave in the knight order to avoid it.
“It’s okay if I sit here?”
A delicate voice came from beside me.
I turned my head to look, and a blonde woman was smiling at me.
“Go ahead. Sit down.”
“Thank you. Lir Ostrin, right? I’m Serpin Altamet.”
She used refined and elegant words and sat politely next to me.
Serpin Altamet. That auntie’s daughter.
Her long, bright golden hair held rich volume, and the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned like she was always smiling. Her long eyelashes made her look even more like a young lady.
Even if I thought about it, she didn’t seem suited to be a knight. Was my view too narrow?
“I look forward to working with you. This first class is the ‘History of Knights’ course, right?”
Why was the first class history? No matter what, history was boring.
But I couldn’t skip the first class either.
There was no choice. I just had to grit my teeth and endure however I could.
Or maybe, with a new body like this, I might actually be interested in the history class?
Even I had empty expectations that made me laugh to myself.
Of course, that wouldn’t happen, so my first goal was simply not to fall asleep.
Even in the knight order, I knew history was my sleep spell itself.
Clang.
The door opened.
Everyone was already sitting, so of course everyone knew the person who opened the door today was the professor.
‘I hope the professor is fun.’
With that thought, I turned around.
But my expression was full of surprise.
The person who had walked toward the podium from behind me was an unexpected human.
Helahem. He was the professor of the ‘History of Knights’ course.