Chapter 374
Chapter 374
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 374
Chapter Title: Senior Class Orientation (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The game of Courage of Truth began, and the first question was over. Just that alone sent a subtle tension through the students.
While it was an unwritten rule of the senior class never to speak of today’s events again, those involved couldn’t help but feel slighted.
Everyone was desperately engaged in a war of nerves.
‘So this is what it’s like. If I had walked into this blind, I would have been in serious trouble.’
Shirone looked back at Amy, his heart feeling much lighter.
No matter the question, all he had to do was point to her, eliminating the risk of getting entangled in the mind games from the outset.
Meeting Shirone’s gaze, Amy shrugged.
She, too, had gone through this process in the senior class last year. For Shirone, a senior class rookie, her help was more valuable than gold.
‘Thanks, Amy. I’m really grateful.’
Psychological pressure, packaged under the name of tradition.
The ability to avoid a competitor's psychological games from the very beginning would surely serve as an advantage in the senior class.
“Haha, great! Shall we move on to the next one? This time, Pony, how about you go? You have to do it at least once, anyway.”
Pony, maintaining an icy expression, asked Nade, who was standing opposite her.
“Let’s see. Who was the first person you saw when you arrived?”
It was too bland a question to allow for any mind games. She seemed completely uninterested in the Courage of Truth.
Screamer looked back at her, seemingly disappointed.
“Hey, is that all? Try to make it a little more interesting.”
“Forget it. This is childish.”
Nade looked over the faces of Class Two. While one could find meaning in any question if they tried, since Pony had asked so casually, he too honestly pointed to someone.
“The first person I saw was that man over there.”
All eyes focused on the person Nade pointed to.
He was a tall man with perfect curls, sun-tanned skin from long exposure, and was so thin his cheekbones protruded.
Shirone realized Nade wasn't playing mind games. In fact, he was the person who had first caught his own eye when he arrived.
‘It’s Pisho.’
Pisho was the oldest in the senior class at twenty-five, and based on looks alone, he appeared to be thirty-five.
His major was the Insect school. A magic that dealt with insects, it held a rather unique position among the various types of magic.
He knew the Insect school was a field that had developed more toward academics than magic.
As it was difficult to harmonize with other schools, most majors eventually became scholars, but since obtaining a magician's license would grant much better treatment, he was holding out at the academy until the age of twenty-five.
Screamer licked his lips at the result, which was as boring as the question. Then, he decided to step up himself to change the mood.
He couldn't just let this opportunity to crush the freshmen who had just entered the senior class slip away.
“Then I'll ask the question this time.”
Screamer's opponent was Dante. As they were the top students of Class Two and Class Three, it felt like a battle of champions.
“Who’s the person you think you can beat no matter what? I mean, a student you think is so pathetically weak you could crush them with a single finger.”
Even though the question wasn't directed at him, Shirone couldn't help but feel tense.
No matter who was pointed out, their pride would be crushed. It was a question that would inevitably leave a bitter aftertaste, no matter the choice.
Dante furrowed his brow, lost in thought.
The students of Class Two watched him with sharp eyes. Their faces seemed to say, ‘Just you dare pick me.’
“Hmm, this is a really tough one.”
Screamer revealed his characteristic red tongue and laughed.
“Just be honest. It's an unwritten rule never to retaliate, no matter what choice you make.”
“Can't I just say all of Class Two? They all seem about the same anyway.”
The atmosphere, which seemed about to explode with excitement, instantly cooled. The expressions of Class Two turned icy, and Shirone's eyes became hollow.
It was a statement only Dante, once the kingdom's top prospect, could make.
‘Honestly… your personality is something else.’
Screamer didn't get worked up.
He wasn't unaware of Dante's intention. It was a strategy to diffuse the sentiment among everyone and thereby lessen the animosity.
“Sorry, but that's not allowed. You have to pick exactly one person. That's the rule of Courage of Truth.”
Dante casually pointed at Screamer.
“Really? Then I'll pick you. Since you're number one in Class Two, if I pick you, it means everyone else is below me too.”
‘Is this bastard really crazy?’
This time, even Screamer couldn't help but get pissed off.
Airhine Dante. The number one prospect, who had been hailed as the best even at the Royal Magic Academy.
Even now, he was a talent among talents, always mentioned as a top candidate for graduation.
But such public evaluations were based on advanced class standards.
Once you passed the steel gate, you were no longer in the advanced class.
No matter how outstanding your skills were, one misstep could send you plummeting to the bottom; such was the competitive system of the senior class.
‘This is why I hate rookies. They get coddled in the advanced classes and act like they own the sky.’
Dante's declaration of war was remarkably effective. The smirking faces of Class Two finally began to turn serious.
“Can I ask a question this time?”
Maya raised her hand high and spoke.
There was no need to get anyone's permission, but Screamer nodded as if he had the right to grant it.
“Go ahead.”
Maya looked at Shirone, her smile deepening.
Waiting for the question, Shirone gulped. What on earth would she ask?
At first, he thought it was no big deal, but now that he was in the situation, he couldn't help his heart from racing.
‘I just have to pick Amy. It's already been arranged. No matter what the question is, there's no pressure.’
Maya's eyes twinkled as she asked.
“Who is the girl so lovely that you want to hug and kiss her right this second?”
“Um… huh?”
Shirone's eyes wavered.
Even Amy seemed unable to hide her surprise, as if she hadn't expected this one either.
Shirone stared at Maya's mischievous smile.
This wasn't a matter of choosing an answer. She had chosen the question based on the assumption that she already knew the answer.
‘What should I do? Should I just point to someone else?’
He racked his brain, but in the end, there seemed to be no better solution than sticking to his original strategy.
“I, I…”
Shirone lowered his blushing face and pointed at Amy.
Unable to bear the embarrassment, Amy gently turned her head and gazed at a distant mountain.
“Whoa! It's true? You guys are really dating?”
Eider pressed Shirone, making an exaggerated fuss.
In fact, rumors had been circulating in the senior class that Shirone and Amy's relationship was a fake one.
In the senior class, school romances were avoided. This was because the probability of a couple both making it into the final ten was extremely low.
Screamer clapped his hands, livening up the atmosphere.
“Wow, to point her out so honestly, that's some serious courage. Since we're on the topic, why don't you show us?”
Shirone ignored him and looked back at Maya. She was just smiling as if she found it amusing.
Why had Maya asked him such a question?
Once this moment passed, he would never have the chance to hear the answer, but such a question couldn't pressure a freshman, nor was it something she would typically be interested in.
The Courage of Truth continued, and finally, it was Luman's turn to ask Iruki a question.
Luman, who had finished a bag of potato chips while waiting, shoved the last of the crumbs into his mouth and spoke.
“Alright, I'll ask. In Class Two, who's the girl you think is definitely not a virgin?”
Pony's golden eyebrows slanted fiercely.
“Vulgar…”
This was why she hated the senior class's traditions. Why did she, a royal, have to be a candidate for such a question?
Regardless of Pony's thoughts, Luman, as if unsatisfied, added an explanation.
“I mean, the kind of girl who'd sleep with just any guy.”
The unpleasant anger of the girls seemed to smolder.
This was one of the reasons why Luman, despite possessing excellent crowd control skills, couldn't get out of Class Two.
“Hmm, is that so.”
Iruki rested his chin on his hand and tried to find some basis for his decision.
Of course, there was no way to know just from appearances. But choosing something based on intuition wasn't his style either.
Excluding Amy, whom he already knew about, the women in Class Two were Pony, Maya, Suabi, and Dorothy—four in total.
Iruki first examined Pony's face. As if insulted by that alone, Pony slightly turned her head away.
‘Royalty…’
Pony's first impression was that of a cold and noble ice flower.
If she was royalty, she at least wouldn't associate with common nobles. In terms of standard deviation, the pool of men had to be smaller.
‘Alright, that's her. Next is Maya, I guess?’
Maya was watching with a fascinated expression, curious about what answer would come out. Though she was also a candidate, she seemed to be simply enjoying the current situation.
‘She's enjoying this way too openly. This is also a bit…’
Iruki turned his gaze to Suabi.
With her brown hair braided into short pigtails, she hadn't said a single word since the senior class event began, nor had she been able to make eye contact with anyone.
Her personality seemed as gentle as her rabbit-like appearance, and right now, she was trembling in sheer terror.
‘She's too shy. Isn't her major Utility?’
Utility magic was a support school focused on assisting other mages rather than doing something alone.
If sonic magic had strengths in wide-area buffs, Utility focused on individual enhancement and was exceptionally effective.
In the professional world, it was the first school sought after for a party, but because it was more dependent than crowd control, not many mages chose it as their major.
Considering she would have to deal with numerous mages, Suabi's timid personality was certainly unexpected.
But looking at it another way, one could say she chose Utility as her major because of her weak self-esteem and passive nature.
‘She's incredibly anxious. On the other hand…’
Iruki finally shifted his gaze to Dorothy.
She was a girl with large glasses and dazed, unfocused eyes.
Her underlying features could be called pretty, but she didn't seem to care one bit about her appearance.
Her major was Zoner, a Manipulation school, and she was an eccentric girl who always carried around her manipulation target, a scrap tin doll.
Shirone also showed a particular interest in Dorothy.
Having heard about Zoners from Flu, this year's Dorothy looked quite different from last year's.
‘So that doll moves by an algorithm. I thought it was something like Harvest.’
Iruki finished his thoughts.
His finger stretched out to his right, pointing at Dorothy.
“I choose you.”
Despite all eyes being on her, Dorothy didn't react. It was as if she alone lived in a different world.
Iruki awkwardly lowered his hand.
Only after a long moment did she return to reality and open her mouth.
“Why me?”
Iruki nodded as if it were a good question.
“What I observed was resignation and resistance. If one were seriously promiscuous, they wouldn't want to reveal it to others. Based on that standard, you were the best at blocking your emotions.”
Dorothy drifted off to another world again, as if to say 'so what?'. Only after ten seconds did she return and speak.
“You're right.”
The male students turned to look at Dorothy with surprised eyes.
In Courage of Truth, there was no need to actually give an answer. But now that she had confessed with her own mouth, they were curious about what would come next.
“I love all men.”
For the first time, Dorothy met Iruki's gaze.
“Iruki. I love you too.”
Iruki's eyelids fluttered open and closed.
“And I love women too.”
“Huh?”
A questioning sound erupted from someone.
Ignoring it, Dorothy hugged her tin doll and slowly lowered her gaze.
“But I hate humans.”
“…”
The gazes that had been focused on Dorothy scattered in different directions. It was an instinctive reaction.
‘What is she talking about? She's not in her right mind.’
Shirone was just as bewildered. To think he had to compete with people like this from now on.
Especially since Class One hadn't even made a move yet.
He had a feeling it wouldn't be easy, right from the first day.