Chapter 43
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: No, Seriously, I'm in the Same Class as That Guy?
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Time flew by, and the entrance ceremony arrived in the blink of an eye.
A huge crowd of students gathered in the Paraoon Academy auditorium.
But instead of the excitement and anticipation it should have been filled with, a strange tension hung in the air.
The commoners sat in their own groups, glancing around warily, while the nobles clustered together, letting out awkward chuckles.
At that moment, a man stepped up to the front of the auditorium.
“Ahem.”
He picked up the magic stone that amplified his voice like a microphone, and his words instantly echoed throughout the hall.
Every eye turned forward in an instant.
The man continued.
“We will now begin the entrance ceremony of Paraoon Academy.”
He spoke slowly.
“First, we’ll proceed with the oath. Top entrant, Tail, please come to the podium.”
Tail, who had been sitting in his seat, let out a silent sigh.
The stares from the crowd were already sharp as knives.
All searching for that damn commoner top entrant.
“Tail...”
He could feel Yujin’s anxious gaze on him.
Yujin knew it too.
If he stood up now, how twisted his academy life would become from here on out.
‘But I can’t not go.’
In the end, Tail patted Yujin’s shoulder as if to say it was fine and stood up.
As he slowly rose, he felt the stares piercing him like arrows.
Not a single one was positive.
Resentment, jealousy, condemnation.
Every last one as sharp as a blade.
He endured the flood of hostility and glares as he made his way to the podium.
Tail raised one hand as he’d practiced and began the oath.
His lips parted slowly.
“Pledge.”
Cold stares stabbed into his back.
Relentless.
Icy.
‘Damn. My back’s gonna get pierced.’
He recited the oath in his head, thinking all sorts of things.
“Today, as we enter this academy, we pledge to abide by the following, upholding the academy’s founding principles and becoming the excellent talents demanded by the empire.”
The oath was simple.
“One. We faithfully observe the school rules as students of this academy.”
“Two. We inherit the academy’s founding ideology.”
“Three. We dedicate ourselves fully to scholarship and skill under the academy’s educational ideals.”
Having finished, Tail turned as planned to face the students.
The hostility pouring toward him was like a frozen tundra.
It felt like flames were shooting from the students’ eyes.
But he continued calmly.
“Imperial Year 365, March 2. Freshman representative, Tail.”
With that, Tail lowered his hand.
It was quiet.
Not a single person clapped.
In that situation, the man let out a sigh and said,
“You should clap, everyone.”
Only then did a couple of students start clapping with reluctant expressions.
By the time the applause fully echoed through the hall, Tail had a clear gut feeling.
His academy life ahead was going to be extremely uncomfortable.
A short while later.
Class assignments were posted.
Unfortunately, he was in a different classroom from Yujin.
‘Yujin’s in Class 7, right?’
He was in Class 1.
Tail headed straight to his class.
‘This is Class 1, huh.’
He opened the door and stepped in.
Tail froze at the sight inside the classroom.
It was dead silent, like a morgue.
‘Whoa. This is brutal.’
The class was divided into a nobles’ clique and a commoners’ clique, their hostility toward each other blatant.
The nobles were mortified at sharing a class with commoners.
The commoners were pushing back against those stares in their own way.
The atmosphere was literally razor-thin ice.
Tail’s face crumpled.
‘But why are commoners and nobles in the same room?’
In his memory of the novel, commoners and nobles weren’t in the same classes at this academy.
That meant the future had changed.
Why? What changed it?
‘Maybe it’s because I became the top entrant.’
As he was thinking that, someone tapped his back.
He turned to see a stunning girl with pure white silver hair and black eyes that gave nothing away.
‘Huh?’
It was the girl from the dessert shop.
She caught his surprised look and said, arms crossed,
“Don’t block the entrance.”
“Oh, sorry.”
Tail quickly stepped aside.
The girl went in first and took a seat at the very back.
‘Her speech pattern feels oddly familiar.’
For some reason, her neutral tone stuck with him.
As he entered, unfriendly stares stabbed into him.
“Crazy. Same class as that asshole?”
“That’s the top entrant guy, right?”
“Ugh, so annoying.”
Tail let the murmurs go in one ear and out the other as he trudged to a corner by the window and claimed a seat.
Without Yujin, he worried if he could even get by okay.
As he pulled out his chair to sit,
Creak.
The door opened, and a woman entered.
Sky-blue hair and sharp dark blue eyes.
Porcelain skin and a curvaceous figure.
And pointed ears.
“Elf...?”
Someone muttered softly.
Even with admission open to other races, they were still far fewer than regular students.
If humans made up 8 or 9 out of 10, other races were 2 or 1.
Maybe that was why.
Until now, other-race classes had been separate.
For “adjustment” reasons.
Of course, that was just an excuse.
‘The real reason was the nobles hated it.’
Views on other races—who’d been playthings or slaves until recently—hadn’t fully changed even after five years.
Alice strode in gracefully amid the piercing stares.
Then,
Scrape.
She sat in the seat next to Tail’s.
“???”
Tail gave her a puzzled look.
This could make her a target too.
But sensing his gaze, Alice replied curtly.
“No one I know.”
Tail couldn’t help but chuckle at that.
Well, whatever. Befriending someone friendly was a good thing.
Especially in a situation like this.
Then the door opened once more.
And there stood a familiar face.
Jet-black hair.
Ecstatic honey-gold eyes.
Pale skin unbelievable for a swordsman.
An insanely handsome pretty boy.
The male lead, Ethan Philoff.
Some girls were already blushing at the sight of the stunning boy.
Tail, meanwhile, fell into panic.
‘No, seriously, I’m in the same class as that guy?’
Why was the number one person to avoid right here?
Their eyes met in midair.
And he flashed a delighted smile.
He even waved.
Tail awkwardly smiled back and waved in return.
‘Damn it.’
His luck was rotten.
‘I need friendly people right now, but...’
Not him. Definitely not.
He didn’t want to go insane rolling like crazy here too.
And definitely not risking his life.
‘Please just leave.’
Tail smiled while cursing inwardly.
Alice, watching them, asked,
“Someone you know?”
“Ah, a friend from the same group as Yu— not, Yujin.”
He’d almost said “male lead.”
As he chatted with Alice,
“No seats here, right?”
Ethan had snuck up behind him and asked with a silky smile.
He’d clearly checked and was already dragging a chair.
Scrape.
In the end,
Next to him: the original heroine’s best friend.
Behind him: the original male lead.
‘Wow...’
He’d tried not to get tangled up.
But it already felt like he was completely embroiled.
Tail felt a headache coming on.
The razor-thin atmosphere dragged on, but Ethan ignored it completely, chatting away at Tail about this and that.
“Things were too hectic back then for introductions.”
He extended his hand.
“Ethan Philoff.”
Tail barely suppressed a sour expression and shook his hand.
“Tail.”
Ethan gave his hand a quick shake and continued.
“Heard so much about you from Yujin. Said you have such a great personality.”
Huh? Me?
Tail blinked, at a loss for words.
Ethan, meanwhile, kept going excitedly.
“Kind and gentle. Righteous and deeply considerate.”
What?
“I heard about the Golden Rose incident too. You stepped up in place of your wronged friend to speak out.”
...Golden Rose?
He meant the one in my room?
Tail felt confusion settling in.
Ethan’s eyes sparkled.
“And! I heard you’re a huge hard worker too.”
Tail realized why Ethan was so eager to befriend him.
That was the look of pure admiration.
He screamed inwardly.
‘Ack! Yujin, what the hell did you tell him about me?’
Sparkle, sparkle.
Ethan’s shining eyes seemed to say:
‘Let’s be friends. I’ll be a good friend.’
Tail smiled awkwardly.
“I don’t know what Yujin said... but I’m not like that.”
But Ethan just admired him more.
“As expected! Humble too!”
It was like he hadn’t heard a word.
‘Haa.’
Tail felt a sigh rising from deep inside.
That was when it happened.
“Ah, seriously fucking loud.”
A sharp voice cut through from somewhere.
“You own this space or something?”