09. 3,827th Class Enrollment
09. 3,827th Class Enrollment
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The enrollment ceremony ended without any major incidents.
Of course, it wasn't entirely without them.
Most notably, Ryu Si-hwan, who was merely a Human, had declared his intent to conquer the Tower and bring it under his command. In the process, he referred to the gods as fucking retards and described the 『Dragonians』 and 『Noblesse』 as things even those fucking retards couldn't push out.
Whether to call it fortunate or not,
It was an enormous bombshell statement, but because it was so absurd and the speaker was just a mere <Human>, it ended up only drawing mockery and laughter.
Right after the enrollment ceremony ended, the trainees were guided to their assigned classrooms.
The floor used for A-Class's special training was different, so the atmosphere and scenery here felt completely different too.
If the classroom from special training had been like a massively expanded schoolroom, the one right in front of them now looked just like a social party banquet hall.
A large circular table sat in the center with 6 chairs around it, and there were a whopping 20 such table sets in the huge hall.
The floor was laid with marble, and luxurious red carpets covered the areas around each table.
With antique decorations and paintings hung all around the walls, anyone passing by would instantly mistake it for a party venue.
Using a place like this as a single classroom. As expected of the Academy representing the Tower—it's on another level.
Most people entered with their eyes wide open in awe, looked around, and sat down in a suitable spot.
.
.
'Even among weak races, transcendents always exist.'
Not everyone mocked Si-hwan's bombshell statement.
Those with real skills were instead quite impressed by him.
One of them was 'Gungdi,' in the same class as Si-hwan.
As an <ogre>, she was a female smaller than the males of her kind, but her race's sheer size meant she still stood a massive 3 meters tall.
Fortunately, her proportions were close to the golden ratio, and her face was strikingly beautiful.
Even her skin was much fairer and smoother than typical <ogres>, to the point where you had to wonder if she was really an ogre.
'Whether Human or whatever, he's a guy who pushed aside countless 『Advanced Races』 to become the trainee representative. He can't be ordinary.'
She felt something beyond mere impression toward Si-hwan—almost like admiration and envy.
No matter how arrogant the words, if there's ability behind them, it gets reinterpreted as 'audacity.'
This wasn't just anywhere—it was the Ha Family's Academy, getting recognized for A-Class, and even selected as trainee representative among them. That meant he had the skills.
Of course, as a trainee, he was still just a greenhorn, but she didn't think he deserved outright mockery.
Someone who had transcended their race's limits wouldn't act out of ignorance without any self-awareness; it wouldn't just be empty bravado.
'Plus, he's even got a 『Noblesse』 as his bodyguard. It's confirmed.'
Si-hwan, who was casually chatting with some girls in one corner of the classroom, always had four women with him, and one of them was a full-fledged Noblesse.
At first glance, she had thought Eun-hye was his master and Si-hwan her Human servant.
But no matter how she looked at it, their relationship was the other way around: Si-hwan (Human) was the superior, and Eun-hye (Noblesse) the subordinate.
'There were rumors that the Human trainee representative married one of the instructors... So he's a powerhouse already recognized in Noblesse society.'
Something she had dismissed as mere gossip.
But now, it felt entirely plausible.
How else would you explain a 『Noblesse』 bodyguarding some Human?
'Just how strong is he? For a Human body to even earn a Noblesse's recognition... How...!'
Never once imagining that Si-hwan himself might go down with a single punch, she unknowingly nurtured strange feelings.
"Ah. Without Ellie next to me, it feels kinda empty."
Meanwhile, as Gungdi and everyone else stole complex glances at Si-hwan, he was chatting away with Bari at the same table.
With 6 chairs per table, even his bodyguards including Eun-hye could all sit. Eun-hye had refused, saying, 'There's a high chance you've made a lot of enemies with those words,'—she didn't look too pleased either, being Noblesse—but she eventually gave in to Si-hwan's point that sitting was better than drawing extra eyes unnecessarily. Of course, Si-hwan himself was already drawing tons of attention....
"No Rihana-ssi either, huh."
"She was never right by my side anyway. Same classroom, though."
"Still, seeing someone and not seeing them is a big difference."
"Yeah, true."
He was as nonchalant as ever.
Even after dropping such a massive bomb, he brushed off the countless stares pouring his way without a care and had the leisure to scan the women in the classroom.
The first one to catch his eye was, of course, Gungdi.
As an ogre, her massive build made it impossible not to notice.
Her chair and table were practically custom-sized and enormous, making it even more so.
'She's even prettier in person.'
A ridiculously huge beauty.
Nearly twice Si-hwan's height, so normally he'd give up on anything like that, but luckily(?) he had Bari.
If she could shrink a perfectly fine Noblesse down to palm-size, shrinking a 3-meter ogre to human size was a given.
"Very satisfactory."
There were plenty of other beauties besides Gungdi.
They had all been selected that way from the start, so every single one was top-tier.
Plus, to get into the Academy, they couldn't be mediocre—they had talent too.
"An academy just for height queens, huh."
"...It might come off as overstepping, but wouldn't it be better to act a bit more seriously?"
"Hm?"
Unable to stand it anymore, Eun-hye piped up.
She almost never initiated conversation first. That's how much Si-hwan's attitude irked her.
"I acknowledge that Si-hwan-nim and Bari-ssi have impressive abilities, but that doesn't make it strategically or morally right to excessively belittle others."
"Belittle? I don't belittle people. I always treat them seriously."
"...And someone like you says things like earlier?"
"Aha."
Si-hwan, who had been listening, laughed as if he got it.
"That pissed you off, huh. Calling them things that couldn't even push out the fucking retards."
"..."
She didn't affirm it, but didn't deny it either.
Even if she was from a branch family, currently assigned as a bodyguard, she was still a member of the Yu Family, symbols of the Tower's military might.
Of course she wouldn't feel good hearing that crap right in front of her!
But Si-hwan actually liked it more.
Up until now, Eun-hye had acted like a doll, reflexively following her family's orders. Now, she was finally showing her real emotions and voicing her opinion.
"So, our Eun-hye-ssi? What do you think when you see a Human?"
"...What's that all of a sudden?"
"For example, say some Noblesse claims they'll conquer a Human kingdom single-handedly. Would you tell them, 'I acknowledge your strength, but excessively belittling others isn't strategically or morally right'?"
"That's different. Because your average Noblesse is stronger than all present humanity combined."
"Yeah, exactly."
"?"
Still a face full of confusion.
"That Noblesse isn't overestimating themselves or belittling Humans by saying that, right? They're just stating facts. Because they can do it."
"..."
"Same with me. Never belittled you. You guys are just at that level."
Eun-hye's expression twisted subtly.
She had even been to Si-hwan's underground base, so she knew his abilities were on a whole other dimension from some ordinary Human's.
But even so, she couldn't easily accept his words.
"...I always feel this, but you just don't make any sense."
"Yeah, frustrating for me too."
She'd figure it out eventually anyway.
Feeling no need to explain at length, Si-hwan cut the conversation there.
This kind of exchange with Eun-hye felt refreshingly new, so it put him in a pretty good mood, but dragging it out would just sour her more.
Dal-kak.
Perfect timing—the classroom front door opened with a click, and someone entered.
"Oh."
Probably the homeroom instructor for this class.
It was none other than Yu Ina, the A-Class homeroom instructor and Si-hwan's wife.
Originally, another instructor had been assigned, but after hearing Si-hwan's bombshell just moments ago, the instructors had thrown a fit, so Yu Ina had volunteered to take on two classes just in case something happened.
"Wifey!"
Oblivious to her intentions, Si-hwan waved happily.
She wanted to smack him upside the head.
"...I'll be your homeroom instructor from now on."
She ignored Si-hwan as best she could and introduced herself.
But the classroom was already hyper-focused on what Si-hwan had spilled.
There had been subtle rumors, and seeing him as trainee representative made them guess as much, but hearing it confirmed for real was another thing entirely.
"Seriously... married? To a Noblesse?"
"Wow... how does a Human marry a Noblesse?"
"No, how does a Noblesse marry a Human?"
The classroom erupted in noise in an instant.
But fortunately, there were no bold souls brazen enough to openly challenge her, a Noblesse—excluding Si-hwan—so it quickly quieted down.
Her icy glare had shut everyone up.
"Welcome. You greenhorns."