Arcadium Academy
Arcadium Academy. The place where only those with the most outstanding talents in the empire could enroll.
Even just passing its entrance exam, which boasted near-impossible difficulty, was enough to have people offering billions just to recruit you anywhere in the empire.
It didn't discriminate by status. And the promise that graduation would grant you status of your own drew countless commoners to try their luck, regardless of background.
Their numbers grew every year.
Yet among the actual successful applicants, the number of commoners was rarely more than one—and often zero.
More often than not, there were none at all.
Though the academy had been established over 120 years ago, the total number of commoner graduates had never even reached three digits. Among them, the number who actually graduated was barely over two digits.
Even that was generous. In truth, it was fair to say no commoner had ever succeeded in both entering and graduating.
Professor Seres was one of those rare few commoners.
Even while introducing the final special student, her head was spinning.
If only he'd failed…
The commoner student named Isaac. It wasn't that she wanted to humiliate him or held any ill will toward him. How should she put it? It was more like… the pity of a senior?
Having graduated from the academy as a commoner herself, she knew better than anyone what kind of place it truly was.
Commoner, noble. An academy that claimed equality regardless of class or status.
But even that had its limits.
The crown prince and a commoner. Two people standing at opposite ends of the social spectrum.
No matter how much the academy preached equality, when push came to shove, it would always side with the crown prince. That much was simply reality. From the empire's perspective, it was better for one commoner to disappear than for anyone to obstruct the crown prince's path.
And that wasn't limited to the crown prince. It applied to any noble.
Even a baron on the verge of ruin—there was no one who would take a commoner's side.
"Haa…"
Seres let out a deep sigh, careful not to let it reach the sound-amplifying artifact. She watched Isaac hesitantly approach and quickly began calculating her options.
As expected, he's ordinary.
There was mana in his body. The quantity was on the small side, but at least the pathways it flowed through were clear.
Was that fortunate or unfortunate? With such mediocre talent, surviving in this academy would be difficult.
Without someone's help, that is.
Lady Beatrice…
Isaac's steps led him toward the duke's daughter who had been sitting beside him the whole time.
The two most distant figures, aside from the crown prince.
At a glance, one might think she could help him—but that wasn't necessarily true.
Seres turned her gaze back to the students below the stage. Various expressions filled her view.
"Lady Rayna…! As expected, you took first place!"
"Aah… I thought Lady Elysia would be the top student this time…"
"Those two are clearly the strongest among this year's new students."
"Lady Beatrice made it into the rankings as well, of course."
Half the students were praising those on stage.
The other half—
"A commoner?"
"What is a commoner doing in this sacred academy?"
"A commoner dares to stand on equal footing with them?"
"I can't understand how this academy is being run at all."
They glared at Isaac as if they wanted to shoot lasers at him.
This was what happened when someone of lower status received the same treatment as those above them. Self-doubt. Inferiority. Envy. Jealousy.
The negative emotions of countless students converged on one person. And that beam of hostility—
"Congratulations, Isaac~"
"Ah, thanks. Bera."
—doubled the moment Isaac stood beside Beatrice.
Watching this, Seres pressed her lips together and gently closed her eyes.
As expected…
Favoring one student was wrong, but right now, it was necessary.
To save one person's life.
She rose, limping on her aching right leg, rationalizing what she was about to do.
*
"Whoa."
That was the first thing out of my mouth as I stepped onto the stage.
Countless eyes were on me.
It was true that I liked attention, but that was limited to my previous life—specifically my internet life. Having this many people staring at me felt oddly—
"Kinda embarrassing."
"Why~?"
"Just… having so many people looking makes me feel like I should do something… or whatever."
It wasn't that I felt burdened. Even as I said that, I knew full well they weren't looking at me with expectation. Still, there was no reason for me to cower.
What are you gonna do about it?
I hadn't come here because I wanted to, but if they were going to force me into the spotlight, what could I do? What could they even do to me?
Anyway, the main characters I needed to focus on didn't care much about status, if I remembered correctly. The protagonist, who came from a fallen baron family, had been accepted just fine, so that was probably the case.
Well, even then, he was still a noble.
Whatever. I'd figure it out when I got there.
[Next, the top student among the eleven new students, Rayna Frigel, will lead the oath ceremony—]
"Hey, Isaac~"
"Huh?"
Just as I resolved to enjoy this attention to the fullest, a soft voice from beside me made me turn my head slightly.
Beatrice's face came into view, her white sclera visible as her pupils drifted toward me. She covered her mouth with one hand and whispered.
"What are you doing after this~?"
"Dunno… probably heading to the dorms."
"Okay~ Got it~"
What kind of pattern was this? I'd never seen it in the game.
As Beatrice pulled away, I leaned in closer this time.
"What are you doing after this, Bera?"
"Hmm~ Training~?"
"…Training?"
"Or I might go to the library~"
What did she eat today? This wasn't like her at all. Where was the Beatrice who always rushed back to her dorm the moment class ended and didn't come out until the next day?
I was pretty bewildered, but—
Oh. Wait a second.
This whim of hers was exactly what I needed.
I can just ask Bera to teach me.
The thing I needed most to survive in this world: power.
And among all forms of power, magic was the most prominent. She was someone no one her age could match, and in the future, she'd become everyone's idol. A rare opportunity to buy low had presented itself.
"Teach you~? Sure~"
Thanks to her skyrocketing favorability, Beatrice agreed without hesitation.
Ahh, Bera really was a goddess.
Once I'd achieved my goal, the oath and entrance ceremonies came to an end.
[This concludes the 120th entrance ceremony. Class assignments will be announced tomorrow morning before 8 a.m.]
With Seres's words, the students began pouring out in a crowd.
Since I had no confidence in squeezing through that mess, I asked Beatrice for permission to wait.
"Want to leave a bit later?"
"Sure~"
She agreed readily.
Was it because we'd gotten close on the first day? Or was it because the combination of a duke's daughter and a commoner was just too novel?
Either way, we made for quite the spectacle even on stage.
Rayna, Elysia.
I glanced at the people above as well.
Like Beatrice, they were targets I needed to pursue—characters who would definitely appear in the story. Compared to those two, the other students were closer to supporting roles than protagonists.
Well, except for one.
I casually glanced at a male student whose face had turned red with rage and gave a small nod.
Maybe that guy will become a protagonist.
The story had already diverged from the game because of my intervention. It might be nothing more than the flap of a butterfly's wings, but it could end up having a huge impact on future events.
As for the others—
That one will become an imperial mage if he just climbs the right tree… but right now, he's definitely in an awkward spot.
The crown prince… dealing with him sounds exhausting.
By the way, I didn't expect the Saintess to come to the academy. She wasn't supposed to enroll until the second semester.
They weren't essential, but having them around would be nice. If Rayna and Elysia were Tier 0, Beatrice was national-level power, and the remaining three were somewhere between Tier 1 and Tier 2.
Honestly, having all of them would be ideal. Each specialized in different fields, after all.
But unfortunately, I only had one body. I'd have to focus on them one at a time.
And the first one I needed to pursue was—
"Bera, let's go now."
"Okay~"
National-level power. Beatrice Magia.
My chest swelled with excitement. I never thought I'd be able to pursue Beatrice first. Something that had been impossible even in the game was already happening just hours after arriving in this world.
"Want to grab food on the way? I don't have any money…"
"I'll buy~"
Was she an angel?
"Damn it, Bera… your halo's so bright I can barely see!"
"Pfft~ Tell me everything you want to eat~!"
I almost said it was fine out of habit. But Beatrice's family was a ducal house. Buying a meal was nothing to her, right?
Before that, though, there was something I needed to do.
"How long does it take to get to the cafeteria?"
"About twenty minutes~"
"Uh… then I'll go to the bathroom real quick."
"Okay~"
I'd planned to just go straight there, but I should hurry back.
The academy's student cafeteria was famous for its delicious food, so my expectations were high.
What should I eat~
That happy mood—
"Hey, commoner."
—was instantly dragged down.
I was the only commoner in the academy right now. What could possibly bring over a dozen nobles to surround one commoner?
It's already starting, huh?
Contempt. Derision. Anger. Envy. Jealousy.
Faced with all those negative stares, I actually found myself smirking.
"Aren't you guys embarrassed, ganging up on one person like this?"
"…Is that how commoners talk? How vulgar."
"Want me to show you what real vulgarity looks like? Stop causing trouble on your first day and just go about your business. Yeah?"
"Hah. You still don't understand the situation."
Thud.
"Urgh."
A sharp pain shot through my rear, making me wince.
Okay, so they got the first hit in.
"How dare a commoner like you bother Lady Beatrice."
"This is why ignorant commoners…"
"They're ruining the atmosphere. Why do they keep accepting commoners?"
One of them—the guy who had shoved me—stepped right up to my face.
"Lady Beatrice is on a completely different level from you. If you know what's good for you, stay quiet."
Well, this was interesting.
How could I flatten these arrogant nobles' noses?
I was pondering whether to claim self-defense when—
"…Isaac. Are you okay?"
Beatrice appeared beside me as if Moses had parted the sea of nobles.
"Huh? It hurts a bit, but…"
"Really…?"
Her usual relaxed tone had vanished, replaced by a voice as cold as ice.
Seeing her radiate such intense killing intent made me freeze in surprise.
Oh no.
I didn't know why, but Beatrice had gone into a full rage.
No one could stop her now. Not even the Tower Master or the Grand Duke.