Lightning Strikes Twice
The Imperial Academy was a proper educational institution, through and through.
One look at how thoroughly the Ministry of Education managed it made that clear. Countless talented people graduated from these halls to uphold the Empire.
Of course, the reviews were hardly all glowing.
Some dismissed the Academy as little more than a private playground for the nobility. They claimed no one came here to study—that it was merely an extension of high society. That the opportunities extended to commoners were nothing but empty window dressing.
…Or so they say, but it actually seems pretty normal?
On the very first day of the semester, that was Kyle’s takeaway.
There was no mistaking it: that student over there was a noble, and the one beside him a commoner. Yet they treated each other with far less formality than he had expected. If anything, it was the newly enrolled first-years like him who looked lost, wearing expressions that screamed they couldn’t fathom how a noble and a commoner could stand so close and chat so easily.
Watching them, Kyle reached a single conclusion.
Anyone who criticized the Academy had either never set foot here… or had only surveyed the first-years.
“The atmosphere’s nicer than I thought…?”
Tisha, glued to Kyle’s side as usual, whispered as much. She, too, had clearly been laboring under the same misconceptions—that this was an institution solely for nobles, where commoners merely carried bags and eventually left having only felt the limits of their station, no matter how hard they tried to prove themselves.
“When you think about it, they can’t afford to be that blatant,” Kyle said.
“What do you mean?”
“The Academy exists to raise people who will be loyal to the Empire and make it stronger. Stirring up friction between classes wouldn’t benefit anyone. Do that and you’d only earn the Imperial Family’s cold stare.”
It wasn’t as if class distinctions vanished entirely. But compared to the outside world, the Academy was far milder. It made sense when you thought about it: nobles wanted capable commoners just as much as anyone. People whose outstanding talent would let them swear loyalty to a house. And for finding such people and making contact, there was no better place than the Academy.
In other words, they’re advertising themselves as good masters just to snag some excellent slaves.
Hearing Kyle’s explanation, Tisha thought it over a moment, then slowly nodded.
“I understand what you’re saying, Kyle.”
“Do you? Anyway, no one’s going to whisper behind your back just because you’re a commoner.”
“I’m not worried about the commoner part. It’s just…”
Her field of study was shamanism—something that made even fellow commoners uneasy, never mind the nobles. Tisha swallowed the rest of that thought and pivoted instead.
“More than that, Kyle, you’re pretty sharp. To realize all that so quickly.”
“It’s nothing. I just looked at the situation and made a guess.”
“If it were only a guess, you couldn’t speak with that much confidence. You’re sure of it.”
“If you want to see it that way, I’m grateful.”
Tisha smiled at his reaction and continued, as if to say I knew it.
“I guess all those rumors about House John Nassen were lies.”
“Rumors? What kind?”
“That they almost never use their heads. Ah—not that I ever thought that myself…”
“Of course you wouldn’t. I’m fine, so go on.”
“Right. Anyway… things like, when a child is born they check if the body is healthy and kill it immediately if there’s a problem. Or that they shove kids off cliffs to raise them strong. Completely ridiculous stories.”
Kyle was speechless. This wasn’t some animal kingdom documentary. Even the John Nassen family didn’t do that. If anything, when someone had a physical problem, John Nassen was the place that forced them to overcome it—not because anyone ordered it, but because they drove themselves to it. People who didn’t crush the weak to pretend they were strong, but who pushed themselves until they truly became strong. That was both the pride and the curse of John Nassen.
“Ridiculous. I can’t believe those rumors are even circulating.”
“Right? There’s more, too. That they keep such strict diets they don’t use sugar and only eat bland food. Or that the more it hurts, the harder they push themselves.”
“….”
Uh, Tisha… that part isn’t an exaggerated rumor. It’s real. Especially the first one. They’re all probably still on their meal plans right now. No joke—lately every time I eat I feel this weird guilt, like, this might not be good for my body…
“But when people see you, Kyle, they’ll realize those stories were all nonsense. If someone this kind is part of the barony, then the rest of the family must be good people too, and so must everyone under them.”
Kyle’s family were good people. The problem was that they were so terrifyingly strong it completely overshadowed everything else.
The year-level lectures were better than expected. Both the classmates and the professors were people who belonged at the Academy. Tisha, however, looked thoroughly uncomfortable every time she ran into Ian again. Ian, whether he noticed her feelings or not, parked himself in the seat next to hers and twisted her insides all over again.
“….”
Still, Tisha had it relatively easy. At least Ian hadn’t spent the entire lecture staring at her.
This is driving me insane. Why does she keep looking this way?
Elga, the young lady of the Litorio Grand Duchy, kept glancing at him. Her gaze was so heavy it was giving him a stomachache he didn’t even have. He had flat-out told her, “You take the grand ducal seat!” That was basically the same as announcing he was a complete lunatic—or at least that he was a clueless brat who knew nothing about politics. Given his position, keeping his distance should have been the obvious move. So why was she still paying this much attention to him? He couldn’t understand it at all.
Don’t tell me I picked the wrong option back then…
The moment that thought crossed his mind, Kyle’s body gave a tiny shudder. Everything he actually knew amounted to a mouse’s droppings. Considering the novel had run past four hundred chapters, the free sample he’d read was basically just the prologue. If he somehow got tangled in the Litorio succession struggle under those conditions…
Yeah. Better not think about it. There were nightmares, and then there were nightmares.
Leto. Please, look after that woman properly. Keep her from getting any weird ideas about me. Please, just handle it, okay?
He prayed—but then the novel’s blurb floated up in his memory and he wanted to clutch his head.
— The grand duchess’s childhood friend, the loyal man who never closes the final distance. —
One guy was a lunatic who cast area-of-effect taunts every time he opened his mouth. The other was the type who would rather starve even if you set a full table in front of him and told him to eat.
Fuck. Why are Male Lead #1 and Male Lead #2 both so defective?
At this point someone might say: Well then, why don’t you just take everything? Both Heroine #1 and Heroine #2 are already focused on you—what are you hesitating for?
To that, Kyle would answer: Because every kind of disaster is going to break out. One wrong step and you’re expelled from the Academy on the spot.
Besides, the woman Kyle was actually looking forward to most was someone else entirely.
Saintess. Please show up already.
He had never seen her in the main text, but he had seen her a lot in the comments. The noble person whose very name was sacred—the Saintess. She wasn’t one of the novel’s protagonists; she was a “supporting character” who gave them love advice. The catch? She had never actually met a man in her life. Being a saintess, that was only natural—yet the heroines who took her advice were somehow still weird. And yet her advice worked surprisingly well, and she herself was pretty cute, so even as a mere supporting role she was ridiculously popular in the comments.
Kind, pretty, and not a protagonist who drags disaster around with her. Now that is a true Saintess! I would love to behold that form just once!
Of course, the fact that she was a saintess meant even speaking to her once would be difficult. And the odds of her ever looking his way were, frankly, slim. Kyle couldn’t deny that he had an excess of confidence. But human beings were creatures who spun the wheel of happiness first and thought later, weren’t they? You never know—just yolo it once! That was exactly how people went broke on stocks.
For reference, Kyle himself had once dabbled in stocks and vaporized ten million won.
“Ian is seriously driving me crazy. Why does he keep doing that? Is he trying to harass me?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think that’s it…”
After the year-level lecture ended, Kyle was walking and chatting with Tisha about this and that when a strange feeling suddenly hit him. He casually scanned the surroundings.
“….”
“….”
“….”
Academy students—specifically everyone except the freshmen—were staring at him. Not with hostility, exactly, but not with goodwill either. How to put it… yes, it was the look you gave an uninvited guest.
He knew why those eyes were on him. They were probably victims of that earlier incident, or people connected to them.
The Minister of Education’s almost pleading voice floated up in his memory: “Please, I’m begging you—just stay quiet.”
Just how enormous had that incident been, that everyone from the minister down to the students was reacting like this? If Kyle so much as let out a single shout of fighting spirit right now, they all looked ready to scatter.
Somehow this feels like it’s going to be a rough ride. Bad omen… bad omen…
He couldn’t leave it like this. If he just kept his mouth shut and tried to stay under the radar, he really would get treated like an ogre. He had to make it clear himself: I am not dangerous! I will not hurt you!
And as luck would have it, the next class was a general elective that gathered every year level. They said first impressions had a massive impact on how people judged you.
“We have quite a few freshmen this time as well. Why don’t we all give a brief self-introduction?”
It was the most cliché introduction session imaginable, but Kyle was actually glad for it. If he showed the same polite, cultured side he had shown Tisha, he might just be able to peel off the “Academy Destroyer John Nassen” label.
“…of House… In this place filled with His Majesty the Emperor’s grace, following in the footsteps of our wise professors and reliable seniors so as not to betray their expectations…”
Nobles and commoners alike delivered splendid speeches and stated their ambitions. After several people had gone, Kyle’s turn finally arrived. He had already practiced the words a dozen times in his head. He would show them that John Nassen was not a place that only cared about raw power. They were people just like everyone else… well, a little different, if he was being honest. But either way, he could no longer stand watching baseless rumors run wild!
“Kyle John Nassen.”
Heavy responsibility and the pure excitement of beginning Academy life—he carried both of those thrills as he planted a hand on the desk and rose at the professor’s call…
CRACK!!
In that exact instant, the desk Kyle had rested his hand on split cleanly in two.