Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Placement Exam (5)
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Justina.
She was one of the most popular saintesses in history.
Not only was she exceptionally talented, but she also had the angelic beauty of someone descended from heaven and a gentle, kind personality.
The epitome of a perfect saintess character straight out of a textbook.
...Or so everyone thought, at first.
'I fell for it too.'
It was all just her outward image.
Unless you went through specific events in [Stella Academia], you could never glimpse her true self.
'Well, she's not a villain or anything.'
Her alignment leaned toward neutral-good.
So I didn't personally dislike her.
If anything, I felt a fondness for her.
On top of that, I was starting to feel a sense of kinship now.
We were both living lives of wearing masks and putting on acts, after all.
Of course, the directions we pursued were vastly different.
'Sigh. You have it rough too, Justina.'
I gazed at her for a moment with eyes full of sympathy.
That was when it happened.
'Hm?'
In the midst of the massive crowd, I felt like our eyes met for an instant.
Of course, it was probably just a feeling.
There were so many people around.
'Alright, time to go check out some other characters.'
With that, I turned and walked away without any lingering attachment.
***
“Waaaaah!”
“Saintess! You're so beautiful!”
“Justina! Please look over here just once!”
Justina responded to the cheers pouring toward her with a perfectly saintly smile, waving her hand.
'Haa... They're really draining my energy.'
In truth, it was so burdensome and exhausting that she desperately wanted to leave.
'I want to go back to my room...'
All she wanted was to roll around on her dorm bed and finish the novel she hadn't completed from last night.
But she perfectly concealed any sign of that.
Such rotten inner thoughts were absolutely unacceptable for a saintess.
At that moment, amid the ecstatic crowd, one person stood out.
A girl with gray hair.
'Ah, that's...'
The Magic Tower's genius, Ciel Ifrit.
She was a cadet listed on the major figures sent by the Holy Kingdom.
But instead of looking at Justina, she was staring solely at the boy next to her, mumbling like a squirrel.
Justina's gaze naturally followed.
A male cadet with silver hair and blue eyes.
'Is that one next to her... Jeron Airgia?'
He wasn't on the Holy Kingdom's list, but he was a hot topic in the academy lately.
She'd never seen so much as a photo of him, but his distinctive appearance made him instantly recognizable.
Yet Jeron's expression was peculiar.
Unlike Ciel, he was looking at her.
But not with the wild enthusiasm or praise of the others—something more sorrowful.
No, not exactly sorrow...
'Pity?'
Eyes mixed with sympathy and understanding.
As if he comprehended her hardships.
'What...?'
For a moment, Justina flinched without realizing it.
Even though he couldn't possibly know her secret, she felt oddly guilty.
Jeron met her eyes, then subtly turned and vanished into the crowd.
Justina stared at his retreating back for a brief moment.
It nagged at her strangely.
***
Leaving Justina behind, I wandered the other arenas with Ciel.
I didn't get to see all the major characters.
Just two of them.
Cain, the starring NPC from the Assassination Department.
He was sitting cross-legged in one corner of the arena, calmly polishing his hidden weapons.
And Askal, the starring NPC from the Martial Arts Department, was laughing heartily with his friends after his match ended.
Each was preparing for their upcoming turn in their own way or taking a break after their duel.
'They're all just like in the game.'
But the one face I was most curious about was nowhere to be seen.
The academy's two greatest celebrities, alongside Saintess Justina.
The Imperial Crown Prince, Leonhardt.
I really wanted to catch a glimpse of that guy.
'His bracket must be scheduled late.'
I'd inevitably run into him pushing the main story anyway, so there was no need to wait around just to see him...
As I thought that, my hand naturally reached for the popcorn bag.
But instead of popcorn, I felt only the paper bottom.
“Jeron—.”
With the steady popcorn supply cut off, Ciel looked up at me with a disappointed face.
“No more—?”
Fortunately, her interest had fully shifted from black magic to popcorn.
Her game trait of going crazy for sweet snacks held true here as well.
“It's all gone. Want me to go buy more now?”
“Yes—!”
Ciel nodded eagerly, beaming.
Surprisingly, she didn't stop until she'd gone through five whole bags before finally being satisfied.
It was a mystery how that tiny frame held it all.
'Mysterious.'
Almost as enigmatic as her magical talent.
***
The weekend arrived before long.
Yesterday's placement exam had been a resounding success in every way.
I'd successfully debuted [Shadow Barrier], easily crushed Victor—a provisional A-Rank contender—and racked up a hefty haul of Sloth Points.
And as expected, I'd heard that Artel and Yuria had both secured smooth victories.
'Everything's going smoothly, just as planned~.'
In the original story, Yuria was slated for mid-B-Rank, Artel for mid-A-Rank.
For some reason, though, both seemed stronger than I'd anticipated, so they might climb even higher.
That was a good thing.
Lower ranks would be a problem, but higher was always welcome.
Since I was on good terms with them, their growth would be a huge help to me down the line.
Sure, I was a cheat character.
I wasn't about to deny it.
But I was a 'limited' cheat character.
That's why I desperately needed things to cover my weaknesses.
In short, I had three things to do moving forward.
First: Rack up affinity with the main and supporting characters to pull off 'Become my companion!'
Second: Gear grinding. Scrape together every hidden piece and cheat item out there.
Third—and this was huge—a quest to obtain a Mythic-grade skill.
Couldn't forget that one.
And those three reasons were exactly why I was heading to the Occult Research Club room on this weekend morning.
One stone, three birds.
This was the place to catch all three rabbits at once.
Build Lily's affinity → Farm the Shadow Cloak → Clear the quest's first condition.
That was the rough plan.
Knock knock.
I rapped on the door.
“Wh-who is it...?”
A familiar, frightened voice came from inside.
“It's me. Jeron.”
“Ah, J-Jeron junior?! Sorry, I'll open it right away!”
A moment later, the door swung open, and Lily greeted me with slightly flushed cheeks.
Not peeking through the crack like before, but actually opening the door fully.
A huge improvement from last time.
“Hello, senior. I came to visit. Working on research even on the weekend?”
“Y-yes! Thanks to you, junior, it's going really well...! Hehe... Thank you so much!”
She still couldn't quite meet my eyes, but her voice brimmed with unmistakable joy.
Entering the club room, I headed straight for my designated seat—the worn-out sofa.
I didn't really have anything to do anyway.
Lily Lowendel—she was a bomb, sure, but one that wasn't hard to defuse.
Meaning, preventing her corruption and raising her affinity was simpler than it seemed.
There were ways like clearing quests to help with her research problems, like last time.
But honestly, the most important thing was just 'being there consistently.'
For someone with severe social anxiety, getting too close or being overly nosy would actually drop her affinity.
Simply doing nothing, sharing the same space to give her a sense of security that she wasn't alone.
While maintaining a proper distance that didn't invade her personal space.
That was the key.
In the game, it was boring just sitting there doing nothing...
But in reality, affinity rising just from lounging around? Too good to be true.
'Heh heh, time to read some novels.'
I'd rattled off those grand three goals, but truth be told, there was some selfishness involved too.
The novels Lily lent me? They were genuinely fun.
Ever since falling into this game world, no smartphone, no YouTube—dopamine sources were scarce.
To the point where even battles felt exciting and anticipated.
And yet, here I was, idly reading novels and slacking off, while those three goals progressed steadily in the background.
How long had I been immersed in the book?
“Um... Th-that is, Jeron junior...”
Lily approached me first, hesitating as if summoning tremendous courage.
'Oh. Gotta respond right away in moments like this.'
Affinity-building opportunity.
She occasionally initiated conversations like this, and responding kindly worked wonders.
I set the book aside and turned to her.
“Yes, senior? What is it?”
“Um... Do you... use black magic too, Jeron junior?”
“...How did you know?”
“The first-years' practical duel placement exams are underway, so... they're recorded, and upperclassmen can watch them too...”
“Ah, so you looked up my match.”
The original story did have that setup.
But I hadn't expected upperclassmen to bother checking first-year matches.
At my words, though, Lily's face drained of color.
“N-no, I didn't... search through them one by one or anything! It was just coincidence...! Pure coincidence, and it happened to land on your match...!”