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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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“Ethan… I’ve sworn my loyalty to the Logness family.”
“What does that have to do with going on a blind date?”
Ethan continued to focus on his steak.
‘I need to set up Vivian and Arthur…’
In the original story, they ended up getting married.
They were instantly attracted to each other.
It should be smooth sailing if he could just get them together. There was just one thing that bothered him.
“A romantic relationship… might interfere with my work.”
Ethan stopped eating.
This sounded serious.
“Did Sepia forbid you from dating?”
“No, you misunderstand. This is my choice.”
“Heroes save the world. Knights protect the country. Servants are loyal to their families.”
Ethan said it matter-of-factly.
It was a common belief in the empire.
“…Yes. And I intend to be loyal to Sepia.”
“This is just my opinion, but I think having a partner can make you a better protector.”
Ethan stood up.
“If you change your mind, let me know.”
He left without another word. Vivian watched him go, stunned. She couldn’t even bring herself to stop him.
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Knock, knock.
It was late at night when Vivian finally visited Sepia.
Sepia was sitting at her tea table, hugging a teddy bear.
“S-so… how did it go?”
Sepia’s eyes were filled with anxiety.
Vivian smiled.
“He rejected me.”
“What…? He… he rejected you?”
“Yes, he even asked me if I wanted to go on a blind date.”
Vivian recounted the details of their date.
Hope flickered in Sepia’s anxious eyes.
Initially, Vivian had wondered if Ethan had rejected her because she wasn’t attractive.
But she knew that wasn’t the case.
As they walked together, people had turned their heads to look at her.
She was undeniably attractive.
“He asked you to go on a blind date…?”
“He was drawing a line. He doesn’t want me to interfere with you and him.”
“Because… he likes me?”
“Yes, that’s what I believe. He doesn’t want any misunderstandings. He doesn’t want me to get hurt.”
Sepia felt a surge of euphoria.
Her cheeks flushed.
“Oh my god! I can’t believe it! I’m going crazy!”
She felt like she was going to faint.
It was an overwhelming sensation, like she had overdosed on a drug.
Sepia paced around the room.
‘Vivian is quite beautiful. Not as beautiful as me, but…’
Even some of the male servants in the Logness family had shown interest in Vivian.
She was popular.
And Ethan had rejected her advances.
“I can’t believe I doubted him! I even tried to manipulate him! And he knew all along!”
Sepia had listened to the recording on Vivian’s communication crystal. Ethan had asked Vivian if Sepia had written the script.
He had seen through their charade.
“What if… what if he hates me for it? What if he thinks I’m a terrible person?”
“I don’t think that’s the case. If it were, Ethan wouldn’t have offered to set me up on a blind date.”
And if his feelings could be extinguished so easily, he wouldn’t have hidden his amnesia from you.
“That’s… true. Oh my god, I doubted Ethan’s feelings… I need to have more faith in him.”
On top of that, it was like she had revealed just how much she cared about Ethan.
“If you feel bad, you should apologize to Ethan.”
“Apologize? What… what should I say?”
“Tell him that you’re sorry for doubting him…”
“No! Never! I can’t do that!”
Sepia, dressed in her pink pajamas, looked like the little girl Vivian had known for so long.
“Vivian…”
“Yes, my lady?”
“You… you can date whoever you want. As long as it’s not Ethan… I’ll allow it.”
Vivian smiled.
“Why… why are you smiling?”
“Nothing, my lady.”
Sepia’s childish behavior was endearing.
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Midterms were finally over.
It didn’t matter if he had passed or failed. It was over.
And surprisingly, the grades were released within a week.
“The Strongest of the Dragon Academy” followed the typical academy web novel tropes.
Which meant that the grades were publicly displayed for everyone to see.
Practical exam scores, written exam scores, and overall scores.
They even included the rank changes.
The first semester midterm grades were based on entrance exam scores, and they were all posted on a bulletin board.
It was mental torture.
“Ugh…”
Ethan suddenly felt resentment towards the empire’s education system.
Of course, nothing would change even if he complained.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Reus: 1st in Practical, 3rd in Written, 1st Overall
Tesha: 2nd in Practical, 1st in Written, 2nd Overall
·
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Tia Erze: 7th in Practical, 5th in Written, 7th Overall (▲2)
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Ethan slowly scanned the bulletin board.
As expected, Reus and Tesha were ranked 1st and 2nd.
But there was one difference.
‘Sepia von Logness: 12th in Practical, 21st in Written, 16th Overall.’
Why were her grades so terrible?
Ethan couldn’t understand.
In the original story, Sepia was one of the top students.
She was a prodigy, blessed with the blood of the Logness family, and no one could match her magical abilities.
He glanced at Sepia. She looked shocked.
‘Well… the plot has already changed.’
But it was still unfortunate that Sepia had become a victim of the distorted plot.
If Ethan hadn’t transmigrated, Sepia would have been enjoying her school life.
Their eyes met.
“I… I haven’t been studying much lately… because of… personal reasons…”
Sepia mumbled an excuse and left.
Ethan continued reading.
‘Arthur Pendragon: 40th in Practical, 42nd in Written, 41st Overall.’
Arthur, as a growth-type protagonist, was in the middle of the pack.
And his grades would improve dramatically as the story progressed, so Ethan wasn’t worried.
He had bigger things to worry about.
“Wow… Ethan, you might even get a scholarship with this improvement!”
Arthur pointed to Ethan’s name on the bulletin board.
And there it was…
Ethan: 42nd in Practical, 47th in Written, 45th Overall (▲54)
His entrance exam score had placed him 99th out of 100 students.
And now he was 45th.
He had improved by 54 places.
Well, technically, he hadn’t just improved by 54 places.
There were two types of Hero Candidates: Those chosen by the goddess, and those who received the mark after enrolling in the academy.
Each category had 100 candidates.
And Ethan belonged to the latter category.
He had no recollection of taking the entrance exam, but he had somehow managed to enroll in the academy, ranking 99th.
So, when he entered the academy, there were 100 additional Hero Candidates.
It was like his friends and rivals had been duplicated!
Taking that into consideration, his ranking hadn’t improved by 53 places, but by 106 places.
‘How much did Arthur’s ranking improve when he received the scholarship?’
Ethan couldn’t remember the exact numbers.
He vaguely recalled Arthur’s ranking improving by about 30 places after the final exams of the first semester…
A smile spread across his face.
‘This… this is definitely scholarship material.’
And as expected,
Ethan received a scholarship a week later.
The administrator smiled at him.
“We’re seeing a lot of each other these days, student.”
“Haha! It seems that way.”
“You’re receiving a scholarship, the demon reward, and what was it… right, the anonymous sponsorship.”
The administrator was surprisingly observant, despite his usual indifferent demeanor.
“Even the professors are interested in your progress!”
“H-haha! That’s… great news.”
Why was he receiving all this attention?
Arthur was the protagonist. He was the one who should be in the spotlight.
Ethan suppressed a sigh and accepted the scholarship certificate and the check.
Back in his dormitory, Ethan placed the scholarship certificate and the demon reward check on his desk.
‘A scholarship of 2 million Elleh. A reward of 20 million Elleh for defeating the 60th ranked demon Zagan. A total of 22 million Elleh.’
And…
The stocks he had invested in were multiplying at an alarming rate.
Ethan stared at his bank balance and mumbled,
‘Should I just quit the academy and become a farmer…?’
He was serious, at least for a moment.
But it was impossible.
The original plot was a mess.
‘I’m stuck doing Sonny’s work…’
He sighed and walked over to the window, stretching his arms.
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In the club room.
Tia smiled as she looked at her grade report.
7th overall. It wasn’t a bad score.
It was actually better than she had expected, considering the effort she had put in.
“I finally understand the level of this academy. It’s disappointing… so disappointing that I want to die.”
Tia chuckled bitterly.
She was a descendant of a high elf.
She excelled in archery, spirit summoning, and mana control.
She had been a gifted child, effortlessly mastering everything she learned.
Neydia Hero Academy.
The empire’s top hero training institution.
She had been nervous at first.
But honestly, it was a let down.
She had only achieved this score by studying hard during exam season.
“Tia, that sounds like something the top student would say.”
Anya said, confused.
Anya’s practical and written exam scores were polar opposites.
She had ranked 5th in the practical exam, but her written exam score had placed her in the 60s.
So, her overall rank was 33rd.
“Fufu, Anya, grades aren’t that important. You think I can’t be 1st? I’m just not aiming for it because the effort and time required don’t justify the results.”
Tia said smoothly.
Anya nodded.
‘Well, if you say so…’
Tia and Anya were the only ones in the club room.
‘My instincts were right.’
Ethan’s grades had improved dramatically.
It was like his stock price was skyrocketing.
‘Then, do you like Ethan?’
‘I’m right, aren’t I? That’s why you’re trying to stop me from getting close to him, isn’t it?’
The princess’s words echoed in her mind.
Tia wanted to tell the princess that she was being presumptuous.
“Anya, what do you think of Ethan?”
“Ethan? Why do you ask?”
“I’m suddenly curious about your opinion.”
Anya didn’t hesitate.
“Well… I think he’s a good friend.”
“Yes, a good friend.”
“Why do you ask? Do you like him, Tia?”
She asked it as though it were obvious.
Tia turned to face Anya.
“Why does everyone keep asking me that? You all like him, but you pretend you don’t…”
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