I Became the Pretty Face of the Academy – Chapter 5

—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
—————————————————————–

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

“Wow, that much?”

“Huhu, that’s because the Yuchsilla mines are the best on the continent. My mother sends me money with a letter every week… Look at this.”

Her voice showed a hint of pride, even as she made a troubled expression. Hira slyly took out a thick envelope.

It wasn’t unpleasant enough to be called pretentious, so I found it cute.

A check stamped with the seal of Yuchsilla. Naturally, it was no different from gold coins of the same amount.

“You must be well-loved, for her to write you a letter every week.”

“It’s overprotective. At my age, even with a lot of money, there’s nowhere to spend it. It’s just enough to buy clothes for my friends.”

“I’m envious of just that.”

“Don’t they send you letters from Aindarok?”

Come to think of it, that was true.

I had searched every corner of my room, but there were no such things as letter envelopes.

The only trace of the Aindarok family was the money pouch inside the drawer.

“I’ve never received anything like that.”

“Ah… right, the Margrave is quite famous.”

“In that regard.”

Even after the semester officially began, my life hardly changed. Since I moved my workout time to lunch, I no longer ran into Eruia.

Class, workout, study, sleep.

A life of shuttling between only three places on the vast campus: the lecture hall, the training ground, and the Tower of Truth.

In the end, since I spent most of the day cooped up in my room, another strange rumor began to spread.

[If you run into Lockstryn, you’ll have good luck that day!]

Wearing a hood reduced the excessive stares, but since everyone knew it was Lockstryn anyway, for some reason, I had become something of a symbol of good luck.

I heard that sometimes, even second and third-year seniors would show their faces in the first-year lecture hall, just to see me.

“I’m comfortable now.”

“I think so too.”

“Still, perhaps my father is being considerate of me in a different way. Since I get so much attention. It all just became a bother.”

“Is it a bother now, too?”

Hira pretends not to, but she stealthily glances over her teacup to read my expression.

Just like the daughter of a central politician, this foxy girl.

“No. What a silly thing to say. We’re friends.”

“Th-that’s right, isn’t it? Hehe.”

Her face immediately breaks into a smile.

Right. I don’t interact with anyone else at all, but there is one exception.

Just like this, Hira Yuchsilla is the only one I talk to, and we spend a considerable amount of time together almost every day.

We don’t make specific plans; I just come down to the 10th-floor garden of the Tower of Truth after the sun sets.

It has somehow become an unspoken rule between us.

“Sometimes I think about it. You and I, we’re both in a position where we can’t carelessly talk to just anyone.”

“Compared to you, Lockstryn, I’m nothing special.”

“It’s similar, really. Having to think twice before saying a single word? At least I don’t want to live so exhaustingly 24 hours a day.”

I thought about it countless times in my head.

At an age where one’s heart should be like a flower field on a clear spring day, we are surrounded by crowds, always living fiercely. We have to stand out.

We must not bring trouble to our families.

“…Me too. I feel the same way.”

“If there’s a guy who’s annoying, I want to punch him, and if someone is badmouthing me behind my back, I want to go and confront them. It’s only natural.”

Right. That’s it exactly.

How could her heart be so similar to my own?

She is refreshingly laying out the things I wanted to say but couldn’t bring myself to voice.

Because I know.

From this almost cheat-like position, creating a sense of empathy is just this simple.

“Ah, you know you can’t go around saying I said these things, right?”

“Of course not. Do you think I want to get in trouble with you?”

“Right? Still, listen to me complain like this sometimes.”

“Yes, anytime.”

I smiled back, meeting Hira’s brightly smiling eyes, then turned my head away first.

It’s about time to head back.

I brought up the topic I had been putting off until the very end.

“By the way, did something happen with the others in front of the lecture hall?”

In the past few days, the number of social followers who stayed by Hira’s side had decreased slightly.

I had been keeping an eye on it every day, but I asked casually, as if it’s nothing. As if I only just noticed it today.

“Ah, that. Actually…”

Hira hesitated.

I didn’t press her and stayed still. I just tilted my head slightly with an innocent expression.

Before long, Hira shook her head.

“It’s nothing. We made up right away! Please don’t worry about it.”

“Really? That’s a relief.”

They’re just sixteen-year-old kids at best.

There aren’t many kids as mature as Hira. How could they possibly have proper judgment? In the first place, they must have been trying to leech off Yuchsilla because they were the ones in need.

It probably wasn’t their own will, but their parents’. Things like that will crumble more easily than a sandcastle.

“Today was fun, too.”

“Yes, me too.”

Lockstryn Aindarok.

They must find it displeasing that she is reaching for something they themselves cannot touch.

This small event concerning Lockstryn doesn’t have a high probability of occurring, and being far removed from the main episode, it doesn’t seem important.

But if I ignore it and leave it be, it will divide the students and bring about disaster.

I intended to deliberately create this event and use it.

“I’m glad you’re here, really.”

It starts with simple jealousy.

When jealousy towards one person becomes jealousy from many, they often fall into the delusion that they hold power in their hands.

An inferiority complex born of their own accord returns as an oppression manifold.

If only the reality outside the academy hadn’t changed one bit. Yuchsilla will soon suffer a massive blow.

And so, Hira Yuchsilla will be senselessly driven to a cliff’s edge.

“The feeling is mutual.”

It won’t be long now.

When that time comes.

We’re going to be good friends.

Definitely.

“Ah, so… Lockstryn?”

In the lecture hall, Lockstryn’s presence shines.

It would be so for anyone, but to the professor standing at the podium, he is bound to stand out even more.

Because in a lecture hall where around 500 people gathered and everyone looks the same, he had an unparalleled air about him. So you can’t help but single him out.

“Yes.”

“Come up and solve this problem…”

“I don’t know.”

“Ah, I see. Understood.”

Awkwardly pushing up his glasses, Professor Keyton resumed his lecture.

He was a rare professor at Somerbadge who lacked sufficient authority and backing, one who could be called a ‘pushover.’

“This isn’t a joke.”

“There’s no way Lord Lockstryn can’t solve that. Even my dog could solve it.”

“He insists on calling on him even though he’s sitting in the very back. If it were me, I’d also say I don’t know.”

“Well, he gets called on every time.”

Sorry, for being worse than a dog.

I can’t solve that yet!

For me, who had only just finished reading the basic magic theory yesterday, this was a far more advanced theory.

There was some symbol in the formula written on the blackboard, and I had no idea what that symbol even meant.

The professors follow the established textbook, but they deepen the lectures on the premise that students have naturally done preparatory studies.

‘It’s only been two weeks since I started learning magic.’

The professors, unaware of my situation, would say, ‘You all know this, right?’ and flip through several pages of the textbook in an instant.

Unable to understand a single thing, I just diligently wrote down every single word the professor said in my notebook without missing anything.

It’s familiar anyway. I used to do this in classes where you’d get an F if you were caught bringing in a recorder.

“Always so diligent…”

“I wonder what he’s writing?”

“I hear he’s writing a whole new theory.”

“Hic! Not the class material?”

“You idiot, can’t you tell by looking? He doesn’t even glance at the blackboard.”

What was initially a rumor had become an established fact.

The reason I don’t look at the blackboard is that I’m too busy writing everything down to have the luxury of processing visual information.

Fortunately, as a freshman, there weren’t many classes that moved at a fast pace.

“I thought I was going to die of boredom.”

“Why are there four classes? Ughhh!”

“Hey, want to go to the pool?”

Somerbadge has many cultural facilities for students to enjoy. It was common for them to scatter here and there looking for fun after classes.

I was busy trying to keep up, so I was planning to hurry back to the Tower of Truth.

“Ah, right. Student Lockstryn, please stay behind for a moment!”

I was belatedly called by the professor. Was there any reason to be called?

It felt like a waste of time to just wait, so I reviewed the lecture content by looking at the notes I had taken. Even if I didn’t understand it, doing this helps it stick in my memory longer.

After taking a few questions from the remaining students, Professor Keyton finally…

“Hey, where are you going?”

…packed his things and left the lecture hall.

What the. Didn’t he tell me to stay? Did he forget already?

He’s a professor with a poor reputation among students, so maybe… but still, the professors are all supposed to be elites.

“Hello―”

Startled by the voice from above my head, I looked up.

Bonk.

“Ouch.”

“What are you doing?”

“Watching Lockstryn. It’s known as the best entertainment in Somerbadge.”

Bright blonde hair cascaded down both my cheeks as if it were my own.

Ainim, unfazed by the collision, was resting her chin on top of my head.

I closed the notebook I was looking at first and then spoke.

“You’re too close.”

“Everyone’s gone, though?”

“What if someone sees us―”

“What was that written in your notebook just now?”

I didn’t particularly mind if she saw it, but I didn’t feel the need to show her either.

“‘That’s right. The etymology of Tas (projection), which is most often used in solutions, also came from the same stone monument…’ That’s the idle chatter Keyton was going on about earlier.”

It seemed she had memorized the entire paragraph just by glancing at it for that short moment.

Although it differs from professor to professor, lectures are usually not 100% filled with substance.

It’s clear the students will get bored, so they sometimes go off on a tangent. And I had written down even that.

“Are you a scribe? Why are you doing this?”

“Your Highness Ainim.”

“Alright, alright.”

As I spoke in a deliberately low voice, Ainim feigned defeat and cautiously backed away.

No, she didn’t really back away. She pulled out the chair from the next seat and sat down.

“That Maria… isn’t your attendant watching?”

“She’s not here. I gave her something else to do. It’s really just me, so no one will know if something happens!”

She spread her arms wide.

Her beaming smile looks just like a steamed bun.

I wanted to pinch her cheeks.

Not because she’s cute, but because she’s infuriating.

As I stared at her with a pathetic look, she must have felt embarrassed too, as her bravado quickly deflated.

Why weren’t you confident?

“If I were to die here, there would be no witnesses.”

“Aww, you have no guts.”

“I know the value of my life.”

“So unmanly.”

“Phew, I really thought you were going to touch me!”

Ainim muttered, belatedly adjusting her clothes.

The future of the empire is exceedingly bleak.

This kid shouldn’t grow up like this. Should I have given her a slightly more serious personality…?

“Anyway, it’s true that Maria isn’t here.”

It wasn’t important at all.

Ainim possesses by far the greatest skill among the freshmen and is, in fact, one of the strongest students in all of Somerbadge.

Because 5-star magic has enough power to blow away this entire lecture hall.

Furthermore, she specializes in the fire attribute, said to be the best among all attributes in terms of destructive power.

In comparison, I can only create enough water to drink. I can’t even make it fly.

“Why did you ask me to stay?”

At this point, I could tell it was Ainim, not Professor Keyton, who had asked me to stay in the lecture hall.

“I was helping you.”

“With what?”

“The kids were fighting outside.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

It would have been fine to just ignore everything and pass by.

At the beginning of the semester, fights often break out among the freshmen. It’s a natural occurrence when you put nobles and commoners in the same place.

There are two ways to deal with class conflict.

Either actively intervene and mediate, or completely ignore it and pretend not to know.

Intervening half-heartedly would be like pouring oil on a fire, so since there was no protagonist, I had planned to leave it alone.

But this case was different.

“It was Hira.”

“…So?”

“I don’t know why you’re trying to bully Hira, but it looks like fun!”

Didn’t you say you were friends?

Didn’t you say she was cute because she seemed a bit more mature, that you went shopping for clothes together, and that you sometimes even did her hair for her instead of Maria?

“When you understand everything, sometimes everything becomes incredibly boring.”

In [Academy Somerbadge], there are many who are called geniuses.

This Lockstryn here is known as a genius as if it’s a given, despite having shown nothing, and so is Eruia, whom I met a few days ago. And many other main characters like them.

But not just a ‘genius’ as a light modifier, but as a personality trait.

From the moment of creation, the target was only one person.

Ainim von Rongreut.

A once-in-a-generation genius.

“Do you know why I was able to master magic up to the 5th star?”

“Why?”

“Because I only studied up to the 5th star. If I had studied the 6th star, I would have reached the 6th star, and if I had studied up to the 7th, I would have become an Archmage and been given the middle name of a Mage.”

That is a matter of course.

Unlike Lockstryn’s dull brain, Ainim is probably the smartest person in this world.

Because that’s what a ‘personality’ is.

“Should I help? I won’t ask you to tell me how. That’s no fun.”

Mm-hmm, Ainim said, nodding her head.

The amber eyes hidden behind her bright face shine clearly.

Arousing the curiosity of such a person should certainly have been very enjoyable, but.

“Instigating it a little would be easy―”

“Don’t.”

“Uh…?”

This time, I wasn’t pretending to be angry.

The words came out reflexively. It was a voice so cold it made me wonder if I was even capable of making such a sound.

Even if it was the disrespectful act of cutting off the Imperial Princess, Ainim must not intervene here.

“I’m telling you to leave it alone.”

“Are, are you angry?”

“Yes.”

I gave a short reply and turned away.

In [Academy Somerbadge], Ainim plays a huge role.

Becoming friends is important, but it was also necessary to intimidate her a little so she wouldn’t create variables on a whim.

…Well.

I don’t know if that was all there was to it.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

“So, how was your private meeting?”

“It was scaryyy!”

“I told you not to be so stubborn.”

Ainim, who had thrown herself into Maria’s arms, trembled.

Maria, who could now more or less understand Ainim’s behavior, could tell that her words were not just for show.

It seemed there really was something about Lockstryn Aindarok.

“And, as I thought, he was a really scary kid.”

“Is that so?”

“He knew I was a 5-star.”

“Yeees… Yes? Your Highness?”

Maria’s hand, which had been stroking her hair as usual, paused. What did she just say?

“He wasn’t surprised when I told him. Even though someone like Kanin might have noticed, I did my best to hide it.”

“No, did you just say 5-star? A 5-star at sixteen? It’s only March! That’s beyond Mage Kanin…”

“Yeah, I reached 5-star three months ago.”

“Anyway, are you saying that Lockstryn noticed? The future of the Empire is bright.”

“It’s a good thing.”

Phew.

Exhaling, Ainim threw herself onto the bed.

She hadn’t told anyone.

Not just among the freshmen, but among the entire student body, there was only one student who had reached 5-star, and he was a third-year.

Even though she revealed it, Lockstryn wasn’t surprised at all. As if he had known from the beginning.

Why should public reaction matter? To her, being able to do it was only natural, so dealing with everyone’s fuss was just annoying.

Then she finally encountered something she ‘didn’t know.’

“I think I made a mistake.”

I got carried away.

Has he already come to hate me?

Since growing up a little, this was the first time something hadn’t gone according to her intentions.

“What are you going to do?”

“Someone like Lockstryn, the farther away they are, the more dangerous they become.”

Still, it wasn’t that she had never failed. It was just that she had always compensated for every failure with an even greater result.

This time was no different.

To Maria’s question, Ainim replied with her usual innocent smile.

“I’ve decided I’m going to become his friend after all!”

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇