Heroines Take the Stage
The academy entrance ceremony was underway, and the principal, having ascended the stage, began his customary address as expected. But not a single word made it to my ears.
“That must be the principal...”
“......”
It was all because of the one guy sitting next to me, clapping like a seal with pure, innocent glee. While some of us could barely keep our wits about us just catching a glimpse of him, this lucky bastard. Sigh. The moment I let out a breath and glanced back up at the stage.
“Ooh...!”
“The princess...!”
Bathed in the spotlight—or maybe it was just the dim stage making it seem that way—her golden hair gleamed as if lit from within, tied back neatly to one side. With a figure that traced perfect curves and eyes like emeralds set in her sockets, she was a beauty more than capable of stealing every gaze in the crowd at once.
So that's the princess the lady mentioned.
Siel Balshutain, second princess of the Ruendel Kingdom. The ribbon around her neck bore a red hue symbolizing her second-year status, so that had to be her.
“Next, we will call the top entrants from each department to the stage. Those named, please come forward. The proceedings will be led by our second-year representative and student council president, Siel Balshutain.”
Oh, they get special treatment, huh. My eyes lit up at that.
And for good reason...
“Magic department top entrant, Neriel Marit. Spirit department top entrant, Tiabel Roze Tail. Knight department top entrant, Silvena Bronheim.”
“Nice.”
It was because our pride and joy, the lady herself, was among those called. I was so thrilled it felt like my own victory that a cheer slipped out before I could stop it.
Sure, our lady had a knack for getting lost, couldn't cook to save her life, was clumsy as hell, dumped about ten sugar cubes in her tea, and had a weird fondness for pineapple pizza. But when it came to spirit arts, she was overwhelmingly dominant.
That said, while I was used to the lady and the grand duchess, the purple-haired girl on the left was a new face. I'd heard the name plenty, of course.
Neriel Marit.
Disciple of the magic tower lord. If my guess was right, she was the one destined to become this seal-clapping idiot's heroine.
“Hmph...”
True to her status as the tower lord's prized disciple, she seemed utterly unfazed by being the top entrant. With a disinterested sniff, she took the plaque or whatever it was from the princess, giving me a rough read on her personality right there. Yeah, in romance fantasies, magic tower lords were usually arrogant loners or had some personality quirk.
“Ehehe.”
In stark contrast, the lady standing to her right wore a perpetual grin of delight. So overjoyed she seemed to forget she was even on stage, she waved at me brightly. I waved back, nodding approvingly like a proud parent.
Yeah, that's our lady, alright.
“Thank you.”
Finally, the grand duchess took her plaque with the most ordinary poise, bowing her head politely in thanks. By now, a small feather-like pin had appeared above each of their heads—probably some kind of badge for top entrants. Knowing the lady, she'd be wearing that thing everywhere now.
“And finally, representing the freshmen, we have the saintess who has come all the way from the holy kingdom of Libertan. She will now lead the oath.”
With the introduction, the top entrants and princess stepped down, making way for a new woman who took the stage.
Silver hair cascading to her waist, blue eyes. A face I'd never seen, but the name was more than familiar.
Yubelia Euyril. The saintess, symbol of the holy kingdom.
“...and so, I swear.”
“Woooaaah!”
Clap clap clap—!
In the brief moment my attention had wandered, the oath ended, and thunderous applause and cheers erupted right after her words.
And with that, all the heroines had gathered. There might be more, but those five were the prime candidates. Damn, that's a lot.
“They're all so pretty.”
“Yeah.”
And right at the center was this guy. From here on out, with him leading the charge, all sorts of incidents and accidents would unfold.
Whatever, the heroines falling head over heels for the protagonist and getting into catfights and love triangles wasn't my business.
But even in a romance fantasy, this was an academy world. Events fitting the setting would pop up, along with the dangers that came with them.
Come to think of it, that encounter with the Spirit King earlier must've been an event because the lady's a heroine.
That made sense. No doubt the other heroines had similar events lined up, falling for the protagonist in the process.
I had no intention of meddling, but if the lady got tangled up in one and ended up in danger, that'd be a problem.
In other words, my top priority from now on: protect the lady.
“Academy life, I'm pumped! Right, Aren?”
Luckily, I had a perfect bait right next to me. Protagonists were trouble magnets, after all.
...No, more than that, stop looking at me with those innocent eyes. I don't swing that way.
As the ceremony wrapped up, the students who'd been seated in neat rows began to disperse bit by bit. Those with parents shared joyful sentiments, while some freshmen stepped out to explore the academy.
Not that there was much time, with break ending at one in the afternoon.
“Aren! Look at this! This is proof I'm a top entrant!”
“Impressive as always, my lady!”
The lady bounced around, pointing at the feather pin in her hair. It reminded me of a meme from my past life—a dog shaking its butt wildly while clapping—so I gave her an enthusiastic thumbs-up. She spun in circles to some imaginary beat, which was hilarious. At the same time, it made me proud thinking of all her hard work.
“Would Mom have been even happier if she'd come?”
“Of course. Her daughter topped the entrance exams for Teleos Academy, after all.”
“Hehe, right?”
Camilla the knight was a bit stoic and strict from her knightly background, but she didn't dislike her daughter at all. If anything, her love ran deeper than most. If she'd been here, she'd probably have teared up a little seeing the lady so thrilled with that pin—proof that her daughter had chased the dream she'd opposed, and finally achieved it.
“Junior, there you are.”
We were admiring the plaque when an unfamiliar voice cut in.
“Whoa, Her Highness the princess...?!”
“Hi!”
I turned, and there was a familiar face: Siel Balshutain, the second princess of Ruendel who'd been on stage earlier. The chatter around us hushed instantly as everyone gawked in shock.
“Sorry for the late greeting.”
“Nah, no worries. Loosen up.”
The lady and I both bowed deeply, but she waved it off with easy nonchalance. For a princess, she had a surprisingly light vibe.
“No nobility stuff here at the academy. Call me Balshutain-senior. Or just by name, whatever.”
“Then, Balshutain-senior it is...”
“Haha, nice. And you, junior?”
Huh? Me too? I'd figured I'd just be scenery, so her addressing me caught me off guard.
“Senior, then.”
“Aw, I was hoping at least one of you'd go bold with 'Siel-senior.' Kinda disappointing.”
I'd just gone with a straightforward "senior" like in my college days, and she teased back with a playful pout. If that's what she wanted...
“Got it. Siel-senior it is.”
“A-Aren...?!”
“Huh...?”
The lady grabbed my arm at me casually dropping a princess's name, but the person in question just widened her eyes in mild surprise, saying nothing.
Did I overstep? I was starting to regret it when...
“Ahaha! What a fun junior. Braver than most girls, even. Full marks!”
“Glad to hear it. Thanks.”
She burst out laughing, clearly delighted. Good thing it landed well. The lady seemed even more relieved, letting out an audible whoosh as she patted her chest.
“Anyway, I didn't catch this male junior's name.”
“Aren. I'm here as Lady Tiabel's bodyguard.”
“Aren? Oh, you're the sole guy in this year's knight department. Hmm.”
Siel-senior eyed me up and down openly, like she found me intriguing, then fixed her crescent-moon smile right on my face, staring intently. That interesting, huh?
“Is it that rare for a guy to join the knight department?”
I'd heard I was the only one this year, but was it that shocking?
“Yup. First in at least twenty years.”
“......”
Okay, that was shocking. But twenty years? No guys tried to get in at all? Or did they try and all wash out? Either way, wild.
“So, what brings you here?”
“Nothing that grand. Our academy has this tradition where upperclassmen reps look after top entrants.”
“Ah.”
The lady's eyes sparkled in understanding. Networking, basically. Top entrants were promising talents the academy wanted to nurture, so they handed them off to star students.
“Hit me up if anything bothers you. Student council room, anytime.”
“Th-thank you, Balshutain-senior!”
“Sure. Oh, same goes for you, junior.”
“Will do.”
“Cool. Catch you later.”
With warm words even for me, she waved and sauntered off. Felt like a whirlwind had passed. An innie vibe, but different from Theo's flavor. Seemed like a decent person, anyway.
“Break's over! Freshmen, assemble!”
Right on cue, a booming voice rang out from afar. The knight department professor from earlier stood with hands on hips, roaring like a lion.
Already one o'clock? Head back to the dorms, shake off the fatigue, and...
“We're jumping straight into class assignments via exam! Follow the professors!”
...Crap. Here it comes.
