Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: The Superior Heroine, Dreania
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The moment I introduced myself, all sorts of abuse came flying at me from the students.
But since I had confidence in my patience, I let their words roll right off me without a second thought.
A short while later, the professor scouted out a seat for me, and the result was...
'Found it.'
It was the exact same seat assigned to the protagonist in the original story.
The corner spot closest to the door.
A red-haired female student with horns sprouting from her head lay slumped over, fast asleep next to the empty chair. The instant I was assigned the seat, the other students shot me looks filled with pity.
"Man, she's in for it now."
"Dreania's the absolute worst."
"She sleeps all the time, but still gets the top grades. No luck, no manners."
"How long do you think that'll one'll last?"
"She's from the Holy Kingdom, so she's probably got some patience. I'd say three months, tops?"
"Exchange student, though. She'll probably bolt after a month anyway."
Listening to the students' well-wishes, I climbed the steps little by little until I reached the seat beside the red-haired girl.
And then, I gently pulled out the chair.
"Ugh."
"I can't watch."
The moment I did, the students squeezed their eyes shut and plugged their ears.
And at the same instant, an explosion erupted right in front of me.
-Boom!
'Tough as expected.'
I barely managed to block it by subtly channeling holy power around the chair and bracing myself.
If I'd used enough holy power to make it obvious, the dragonkin right in front of me might have noticed.
"Whoa..."
"She's at it again..."
"Didn't die, right?"
"Half-crippled, maybe?"
Still shrouded in the smoke from the blast, the students whispered among themselves.
Soon, a tail covered in scales whipped through the air, clearing away the haze.
"Mm..."
She stirred awake and lifted her head.
The students fell silent in tense anticipation all at once, and in that moment, I finally got a proper look at the last remaining heroine.
Lava-red locks of hair and vertically slit golden pupils that seemed to pierce through everything.
The horns rising proudly from her head, the small wings on her back, and the scaled tail all proved she was no human—she was a dragonkin.
"What are you?"
Even before the smoke fully cleared, she fixed me with a sharp, cat-like glare and demanded.
"Just an ordinary student from the Holy Kingdom."
The most superior heroine, Dragon Girl Dreania Redphilian.
I'd finally met her.
"Holy Kingdom? Tch..."
Her face twisted the moment I mentioned my homeland.
"The land of weaklings who worship gods."
Probably because of her tendency to value strength above all else.
Dreania, as the Dragon Girl heroine, didn't care much for frail humans.
She only admired the strong. Of course, that didn't mean she bullied the weak.
She just had a rude way of talking. That was it.
"Haha, not everyone in the Holy Kingdom is a weakling, you know? We all strive every day to hone ourselves in devotion to the Goddess's teachings—"
"I get it, so buzz off, would you? I especially hate chatty creatures."
"Mm... In that case."
I clamped my mouth shut and stood beside Dreania.
"...What are you doing right now?"
"Hm? Did I do something wrong?"
"Didn't I tell you to leave?"
"I'm keeping my mouth shut and staying out of your way, aren't I?"
"...I meant for you to go whine to that lazy, unmotivated professor over there and get your seat changed."
"Is that really necessary?"
"What?"
"There are no other empty seats left. If I switch now, someone else will just end up here anyway."
"What..."
Dreania looked around the room as if I'd spouted nonsense, and when she saw there really were no seats left, her expression soured.
In the original story, this was exactly why she ended up letting the protagonist sit next to her.
"...Tch, fine. But don't yap in my ear. Stay quiet. I don't forgive anyone who disturbs my sleep."
"Don't worry."
Perfect. Just like in the original.
Now then...
"Professor? My desk and chair got blown away. Where can I get replacements?"
"...I'll make a call. Just wait a moment."
The chair had been shattered in the blast, and the desk smashed against the front wall, so I stood there waiting patiently.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Before I explain how to win over Dreania, let me first clarify why a dragon hybrid like her is even attending a human academy like this one.
Dreania is the same age as me and Ariana.
Meaning, even as a dragon hybrid, she's still young.
Of course, as a dragon hybrid, her magic has long surpassed human levels, and she's strong enough that she doesn't even need swordsmanship skills.
But she had no choice but to enroll in this academy.
Her dragon father had fallen into a deep slumber, and her human mother passed away not long after she was born.
Dragons aren't the type to have family bonds in the first place.
In the end, the academy's chancellor took her in, and Dreania had no choice but to attend under his orders.
What the chancellor told her when sending her here was, "You need to learn to see the world through human eyes."
Until a human strong enough to beat her shows up, she won't change her mind.
And that's where our protagonist steps in.
The protagonist infiltrates the academy to hunt down hidden demons, and if he's stronger than the dragonkin Dreania, winning her over is easy.
'No matter the personality, as long as you're strong.'
That's why, when I first met Ruin, I figured if nothing else worked, I could at least build up my strength.
Even if his personality sucked, as long as he was strong, he'd win over Dreania at least—unlike the other heroines.
But now, Ruin had missed his chance and run off to get stronger too late.
So all I could do was hunt demons.
"Move the desk farther away. It's in the way of my sleep."
"Ahaha... Sure."
I'm not Ruin, so forget winning her over. I just needed to play nice.
I was good at catering to people anyway.
"Wake me at lunchtime."
"Ah, got it."
While she slept soundly, I passionately took notes on my first lessons in this world.
I already knew who the culprit was, after all.
"Hm? You there, new student. Haven't seen you before, but you're taking notes like crazy."
"Ah, I'm Ace, here as an exchange student. The classes are so different from what I got in the Holy Kingdom, so I'm jotting everything down."
"Ho ho, it's been ages since I felt this spark of enthusiasm."
Various professors came and went, and every single class was incredibly useful to me.
I sat in on weapons theory and magic lectures, both far superior in quality to anything from the Holy Kingdom. After lunch, it was alchemy, economics, math, politics, and more.
So I scribbled away with shining eyes, earning the trust of many professors on my very first day.
And before long, it was lunchtime.
"Dreania, it's lunchtime."
"Mm... Food."
It wasn't wise to touch her carelessly, so I leaned close to her ear and whispered softly. She sat up with a fierce scowl.
Her signature just-woke-up face.
"Good job. Whispering in my ear was annoying, but I commend you for not touching me. You know your place."
"Thank you for the praise."
I followed behind her as she rose and headed out for the cafeteria.
"What? Why are you following me?"
"Hm? I'm going to eat cafeteria food too..."
"Oh."
Dreania scowled unpleasantly as she asked, then whipped her head away, embarrassed by my answer.
That kind of reaction was one of her charms.
As I trailed after Dreania, suddenly someone slapped a hand on my shoulder.
-Thud.
"Hey, exchange student."
"Mm...?"
I turned to see a foul-tempered-looking male student glaring at me.
Now that I looked, his hair was red too—the same guy who'd beaten up that brown-haired kid yesterday.
"What makes you think you can get Lady Renesia's attention?"
"Pardon?"
"My friend Larry got kicked out of Lady Renesia's faction because of you. What're you gonna do about it?"
"I don't remember doing anyth—"
"Shut up and follow me."
"Uh... Okay."
I nodded meekly, and the redhead—who I couldn't even remember the name of—grinned smugly.
I carefully followed after him.
"Ugh... Humans bickering like rats. Pathetic."
At that moment, Dreania grabbed my wrist.
The redhead's eyes widened in obvious panic when he saw it was Dreania holding me.
"Wh-what, Lady Dreania?!"
"You strut around like you're above others right in front of me? In my eyes, you're both less than rats. Pathetic, so scram."
"...Y-yes, ma'am!"
I smiled faintly as the redhead bolted without looking back.
See?
Dreania didn't like the weak, but she didn't bully them.
If anything, she despised it when the weak picked on other weaklings even more.