An Unusual Start
The door clicked open as I turned the knob and stepped inside. Several students immediately looked my way. Their expressions flickered with vague recognition—haven't I seen him somewhere before?—before they connected the dots with Isis and realized exactly who I was. In perfect unison, they snapped their gazes back to whatever they'd been doing. It was a desperate attempt to avoid any kind of interaction.
I deliberately narrowed my eyes and turned my head toward the crowded area.
“So what’s the verdict? Well?”
“...If we’re only talking conditions, you’re destined to marry a middle-aged noble with two kids after you turn thirty. Hang in there.”
“What? That’s ridiculous! There’s no way! You’re lying! You must have read it wrong!”
Card divination existed in this world too. It was a little different from what I remembered on Earth, but the purpose and meaning were largely the same. Deborah had been calmly reciting the fortune when the female student protested. She blinked her amethyst-purple eyes, then delivered the finishing blow.
“Looks like you received a proposal not too long ago. That man was probably your last chance.”
“W-what do you… Wait, are you talking about Derek? But I already turned him down? What do I do? Uuuugh…!”
“You’d better catch him before it’s too late.”
The girl must have sensed the sincerity in Deborah’s words. She anxiously bit her nails, then returned to her seat with a look of grim determination. Her classmates watched with complicated expressions.
Deborah’s the same as ever.
Ash-gray hair that reminded me of storm clouds, purple eyes that could pull anyone into their depths, and a decadent beauty amplified by her smoky makeup. All of it made her seem mysterious and untouchable. But would anyone believe the truth was the complete opposite?
Beneath that heavy makeup hid pure, delicate features and the soul of a dreamy young girl. Her decadent appearance, languid demeanor, and detached attitude were all just an imitation of her respected master, Roxana. When users first discovered this fact, the reactions were intense. Some demanded their decadent fortune-teller back, others said it made her even more attractive, and a vocal group immediately started begging to see Roxana Sprouse get fucked too.
I had been part of that third group. Not because I particularly liked Roxana, but because I just wanted to see the sex scene. Of course, Abel Chronicles was an all-ages game, so it was impossible. Still, humans have always challenged the impossible.
While I was lost in old memories, I suddenly felt a gaze on me. It was Deborah. She tilted her head, seemingly puzzled that I was staring at her so intently, but the voices urging her to continue the readings pulled her attention away. I let out a short breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding and found an empty seat.
After sitting down, I slowly scanned my surroundings.
Is there a transmigrator among them?
I’d be spending an entire year with these students. How I behaved would change drastically depending on whether any of them were possessors like me. I observed every single one carefully, making sure nothing seemed suspicious.
Time passed relentlessly until the bell rang and the front door opened.
Step. Step.
The person who appeared walked straight to the lectern.
“Nice to meet you all. I’m Sara Caiman. I’ll be teaching close combat techniques. Starting today, I’m the homeroom professor for Class 3. Looking forward to working with you.”
As energetic as always, Sara gave her introduction and flashed a grin in my direction. She clearly felt a significant connection with me.
I feel pretty much the same.
It wasn’t entirely unintentional, but most of our encounters so far had been coincidences. I gave her a small, polite nod in return before turning my gaze toward the window. The other students mustn’t learn about my connection with Sara. If strange rumors started spreading, it would cause real trouble. I didn’t want to burden my benefactor like that.
Sara seemed to understand and didn’t pay it any mind. She opened the attendance sheet.
“Felix.”
“Here.”
“Ariana.”
“Yes!”
The students raised their hands and answered. There were no absentees on the first day. If even the infamous delinquent Luan Priulri showed up, who would dare skip? Anyone who did could inherit the title of ultimate troublemaker.
The roll call ended quickly. Sara closed the attendance sheet, looked around, and spoke.
“I’m sure you’re all excited right now. But don’t forget why you came to the academy in the first place. With that said, let’s get to the main point. I’ll distribute official student IDs and textbooks during the closing ceremony. The student ID also serves as your dorm key, so take care of it. And… well, it’s the first day, so I don’t have much else to say. Morning assembly is over. Congratulations on your admission, and I’ll see you in the afternoon.”
True to her straightforward personality, she hated unnecessary chatter. After delivering only what was needed, she left the classroom. The students seemed to like her no-nonsense style; they broke into wide smiles and immediately dove back into conversations with their friends.
The clearest voices that reached my ears came from a group of carefree-looking male students.
“Hey, isn’t Professor Sara insanely hot? That body is killer. Must be all that sword training!”
“Nah, Professor Caelin is the absolute best. She’s a brilliant mage from a marquis family. If she stepped on me, I’d die with zero regrets.”
“Ugh, you masochistic bastard. Always going on about Caelin this, Caelin that.”
Caelin was definitely the professor who taught magic-related classes. In the game, she and Sara had a rivalry that led to occasional appearances. I remembered her being exceptionally beautiful. Not that it had anything to do with me.
Anyway, the first class is history.
I never properly studied Korean history back when I was in school, and now I had to learn the history of another world, another country. I was already yawning.
Ding— Ding—
The bell signaling the start of class rang right on time. As if they’d been waiting, the history professor entered. The moment he arrived, he ran his finger across the lectern.
“Who is the homeroom professor for this class?”
“...It’s Professor Sara Caiman,” Deborah answered. As the temporary class representative, she had stepped forward.
“Hmm… I see. Well, it’s the first day, so I’ll let it slide. From now on, make sure the lectern and blackboard are spotless before my class. I absolutely despise filth.”
Godric Perlows. The history professor was the living embodiment of the word “clean freak.” Cleanliness came before everything else, and he never compromised. I’d have to arrive ten minutes early from now on to wipe everything down.
What a strange man.
It wasn’t just the obsessive cleanliness. I was genuinely curious how someone who loved neatness so much had become a history professor. History was mostly stories of human greed and filth. Did his strict personality somehow not register human ugliness as dirty? He was completely incomprehensible.
After inspecting the lectern and blackboard multiple times, Godric Perlows finally opened the history book.
“Then let’s begin. I’ve prepared copies of the textbook, so take one each. Today we’ll discuss the founding myth of the empire.”
The class stirred. They clearly hadn’t expected a full, no-nonsense lesson on the very first day.
You shouldn’t be surprised by this. Much worse things are coming.
I shook my head and rested my chin on my hand, already thinking about my plans moving forward. After all, a delinquent wasn’t supposed to study.
*
“Alright, that’s it for today! See you tomorrow.”
After finishing the closing remarks, Sara left the classroom. I ignored all the chatter around me, shoved my textbook into my locker, and headed toward the dormitory.
I’m already exhausted.
No one had actively approached me, but pretending to be a delinquent all day had been more mentally draining than I expected. The problem was that I’d have to keep acting in front of my roommate too. What a pain in the ass.
“Huu…”
With a long sigh, I crossed the campus and soon arrived at the dormitory. The five-story building was wider than it was tall, capable of housing hundreds of students. I checked the information on the back of my student ID and found my assigned room.
“Is this it?”
It was mid-tier, so aside from having to share with someone, the conditions weren’t bad at all. I held the student ID up to the doorknob.
Beep. Click!
As expected of the continent’s largest academy, the lock used cutting-edge magic. I pushed the door open and stepped inside.
What greeted me was healthy, sun-kissed bronze skin.
“Kyaaaa! Don’t look!”
“Fuck.”
A curse slipped out before I could stop it. As everyone knew, this was a dormitory. There was no insane system that assigned men and women to the same room. Which meant the sight before me was a well-built, tanned man stripping and shyly screaming.
My brain felt like it was rotting. I slammed the door shut in a panic.
BANG!
I’d used too much force. The loud crash echoed down the hallway. I squeezed my eyes shut.
“I got stuck with a crazy bastard.”
The brief glimpse I’d caught suggested Middle Eastern features. He was probably from a desert tribe. I vaguely remembered a supporting character who came to study from the desert. Was his name Yas? In Korea, that name had become a meme for obvious reasons.
I was rubbing my temples, trying to ease the headache, when the door suddenly swung open. A tanned man with brown hair stood there, grinning.
“Hey, friend. Why aren’t you coming in?”
“...Are you seriously asking that?”
“Haha! That was a joke just now. See? I’m dressed. You’re my roommate, right? I’m Yas. I came from the desert tribe in the west. Nice to meet you.”
Yas extended his hand.
How should I respond…
If I were the original delinquent Luan Priulri, what would he have done? I could throw a massive tantrum, but once I set that image, I’d have to overreact to every little thing from now on. After thinking it over, I chose a simple approach.
“...Move.”
“Whoa!”
I roughly shoved Yas aside and stepped into the room. It was about fifteen pyeong. The interior was symmetrical—two beds and two desks on either side with a large window in the center. It was better than I’d feared. Living here wouldn’t be too inconvenient.
If only this guy wasn’t here.
While I was taking in the room, Yas followed me again.
“Friend, are you upset that I ignored you? We’re going to have to live together for a whole year, right? Come on, at least tell me your name?”
“Why should I?”
“Aww, c’mon! You’re really going to stay like this? I can’t stand that kind of suffocating atmosphere!”
“Haa…”
It was obvious he’d keep bothering me if I stayed silent. When I let out a long sigh, Yas seemed to recognize it as surrender and introduced himself again.
“One more time! I’m Yas. In my tribe, they called me Yas of the Fierce Storm. You can shorten it to Storm Yas if you want.”
I was seriously starting to suspect this guy’s parents were Korean. How could anyone name their child something like that? Even the nickname given by his tribe—Storm Yas—sounded like something a horny dog would earn by humping everything in sight the moment he saw a woman.
I half-heartedly shook his hand.
“Luan Priulri.”
“Priulri? Wait, are you from the same family as the vice student council president? Whoa! That’s huge! You’re actually a big shot?”
“Think whatever you want. Just stop bothering me.”
Leaving Yas behind, I headed to the empty bed and started taking things out of my subspace pouch. Even as the family’s delinquent, I was still a noble. Maintenance funds and various supports meant the pouch was quite full.
That was when it happened.
—Waaaaah!
A loud commotion drifted in through the open window. Curious, Yas looked outside and shouted in surprise.
“Hey, Luan. Isn’t that your older sister down there?”
“...What?”
“The vice president! Her name’s Isis, right? She’s with the imperial princess. Maybe they came to see you?”
I quickly walked to the window and looked down. Sure enough, there stood Isis surrounded by male students—and beside her was the imperial princess, Regina Solias.