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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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At the start of a new semester, students naturally exchange greetings and chatter about their summer adventures.
The students of Kalon Academy, returning after their summer break, filled the lecture hall for the first General Studies class of the semester, “Continental History,” each carrying a trove of stories to share.
“Ugh, Continental History for the first class? Seriously?”
“How can they start the semester with such a boring lecture?”
“I know, right? I don’t want to go to class…”
Whispers and chatter filled the lecture hall.
After almost two months apart, they had a lot to catch up on. The students gathered in small groups, excitedly recounting their summer experiences.
“I went to Parnia Beach during the summer…”
“I spent the summer in the imperial capital with my father…”
“I spent the entire break training at our villa.”
As the conversations reached a fever pitch, a male student, his face alight with the thrill of a juicy secret, announced,
“I overheard the professors talking… There are transfer students.”
“What? Transfer students?”
“Yeah. I heard there are two of them.”
“Two? Are you sure you heard correctly?”
A new topic of conversation sparked by a single piece of overheard information. The rumor spread quickly among the students.
The arrival of new faces was always exciting.
“But the transfer exam is incredibly difficult. I heard it’s harder than the entrance exam…”
“They must have studied hard.”
“One, maybe, but two?”
“Do you know which department they’re in?”
“Are they male or female?”
The information, originating from a single student, spread like wildfire. By the time the class was about to start, it was the only thing anyone was talking about.
Every time the door opened, all heads would turn towards the newcomer, only to return to their hushed conversations, slightly disappointed.
“If they haven’t shown up yet, maybe you heard wrong?”
“No, I definitely heard it!”
“But shouldn’t they be here by now?”
Five minutes before class.
The general consensus shifted to “he must have heard wrong,” much to the chagrin of the student who had started the rumor.
He looked indignant, but there was no evidence to support his claim.
Suddenly branded a liar, he stared at the door with pleading eyes.
‘I definitely heard there were transfer students. Why aren’t they here?’
Meanwhile, some students weren’t interested in the transfer students.
Martina, a first-year student and the representative of the Magic department, was one of them.
She looked at the door with a worried expression and said,
“I don’t see Miss Elisa.”
“Elisa? Who’s that?”
“You don’t know her? She’s in the Magic department. The girl with purple hair?”
Martina looked at the student who had asked, incredulous.
The student mumbled,
“Ah, that gloomy girl… right?”
“Yes…”
The answer wasn’t satisfactory, but Martina simply nodded. Everyone had a similar impression of Elisa, albeit to varying degrees.
“I wonder why she isn’t here…”
“Maybe she overslept?”
“Miss Elisa has never been late to class.”
Gloomy and solitary, perhaps, but never tardy.
That was Martina’s impression of Elisa. And that’s why she was genuinely worried.
Three minutes before class.
Time was running out.
‘The professor won’t be happy if she’s late on the first day…’
As the kind-hearted noblewoman’s face clouded with worry, the door opened with one minute to spare.
Most students were too engrossed in their conversations to notice, but some still looked towards the door with a flicker of anticipation.
And those students were finally rewarded for their patience.
“P-Pink hair?”
“Is that who I think it is?”
“The Saintess… is a transfer student?”
“What’s that chair? It has wheels.”
“Wait, who’s the guy pushing the chair…?”
The sudden influx of new information caused a stir among the students.
The Saintess, entering through the back door in a wheeled chair. A hulking man in knight’s regalia pushing the chair. And three girls surrounding the man.
The strange sight sparked a wave of whispers.
“I thought there were only two transfer students?”
“Look behind them. There are three more.”
“Who’s that man?”
“He’s wearing knight’s regalia. He must be a knight.”
“Does the Saintess have a knight escort her to class…?”
The students exchanged excited whispers, eager to satisfy their curiosity.
A new student, and the Saintess no less!
It was a sensation.
Martina, amidst the commotion, stared at the Saintess and her entourage with a shocked expression.
‘W-Why is Miss Elisa with them? And that person is…’
Martina recalled the incident a few months ago.
Elisa, standing alone in front of the dungeon, and the knight who had helped her. She hadn’t expected to see them again like this.
“One of them is Viola? She’s not a transfer student.”
“So there are three transfer students?”
“Miss Elisa isn’t a transfer student.”
“Then the red-haired girl…”
Karina, the Saintess, the center of everyone’s attention, calmly ignored the stares and settled into a seat in the back row.
Having lived her entire life under constant scrutiny, she seemed unfazed by the attention and naturally started a conversation with Johann.
“Please don’t scowl. You’ll scare the students.”
“I’m not used to being stared at.”
The man replied gruffly, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.
As a knight escort, he couldn’t sit down.
“Johann stands out wherever he goes.”
“In many ways, yes.”
“I-I think it’s a good thing…”
Ignoring the chatter of his companions, the hulking knight slowly scanned the lecture hall.
Gazes filled with curiosity and awe.
He sighed inwardly, knowing he would have to get used to this, and looked at Karina, who was pulling out her textbook.
‘To think I would be able to enter a lecture hall like this. How nostalgic.’
He had assumed, as a knight escort, that he wouldn’t have the opportunity to attend lectures, so he was strangely moved by the experience.
He was seeing, in person, the scenes he had witnessed countless times in the game.
He savored the feeling and continued to observe the students.
Most of their attention was focused on Karina.
Some students glanced at him with interest, but they were a minority. Even his imposing presence couldn’t compete with the Saintess.
‘I see some familiar faces.’
Shuri and Lewis, the couple he had met before, and Bratton, who was staring at him with a shocked expression from the corner of the room, quickly averting his gaze when their eyes met.
Many students seemed to have something to say, but Professor Galleon, the Continental History instructor, was already standing at the podium.
“Ahem, let’s begin class!”
Ignoring the disappointed groans, the elderly professor, hiding his own curiosity, began his lecture.
The lecture, the first I had attended in over a decade, shattered all my expectations of a fantasy world lecture.
“Emperor Helios, in the year 731 of the Imperial Calendar…”
The professor’s monotonous voice was a potent sleep aid, no different from the professors I had endured back in Korea.
I cracked my neck, trying to stay awake, and glanced around the lecture hall.
Even these elite students couldn’t withstand the boredom, about a third of them were asleep.
Surprisingly, Milia wasn’t one of them.
I had expected her to be the first to fall asleep.
She was staring intently at the blackboard, even taking notes.
It was surprising.
She seemed to be actually paying attention to the lecture. Her attentiveness seemed to be influencing Elisa and Karina, who were sitting next to her, as well.
It made sense, since they were all top students.
I was dying of boredom.
Why did history professors always have such sleep-inducing voices?
Couldn’t they make the lectures more engaging?
…Of course, lectures weren’t meant to be entertaining, but they could at least try to be less boring.
Anyway, the lecture was nearing its end. The students were slowly coming back to life, like newly risen zombies.
Which meant I would soon be free from this torture.
No more standing around with aching legs.
As I was watching the students surreptitiously checking their watches,
“Haha, it seems the Saintess has graced my lecture with her presence. Along with a new student.”
Perhaps feeling the need to acknowledge the new arrivals, the professor suddenly mentioned Milia and Karina.
This was unavoidable.
“You said your name was Milia Quartz? Miss Milia.”
“Yes!”
“Can you tell me what happened in the year 536 of the Imperial Calendar?”
That wasn’t covered in the lecture.
Judging by the students’ expressions, it seemed like common knowledge.
Milia jumped to her feet and answered without hesitation,
“In the year 536 of the Imperial Calendar, the Telomere Rebellion occurred!”
Was that… correct?
She answered with confidence, so it must be right.
I looked at the professor, who was smiling.
It seemed like the correct answer…
“Incorrect, Miss Milia.”
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