Today was shaping up to be a fine one indeed.
After sleeping like a log, I felt fantastic—not to mention, meeting an old friend yesterday really improved my mood.
“Aaaaah…”
The only damper on this otherwise stellar day? I had no choice but to hoof it all the way to the lecture hall.
“Guess I should look into finding some warp points when I get time.”
Since gaining my sweet spatial teleportation ability, I’ve come to despise walking whenever possible, unless it’s absolutely necessary. Which, unfortunately for me, it was today. With gritted teeth, I put one foot in front of the other.
But then again, considering I made 50 million gold yesterday, this little walk is practically a laughable inconvenience.
“Hmm… fifty million, huh? That sounds like enough to buy myself quite a bit of time off work.”
Eddi should hurry up and bring the money already.
As I reminisced about yesterday’s haul—yes, those fifty million glorious golden coins—it seemed to make the walk to the lecture hall go by much faster.
By the time I arrived at the freshmen lecture building, it was already buzzing with students. Unlike yesterday, today felt like everyone had made an effort to bond, already clumped together in little groups making their way to class.
For the first time, the place actually felt like a proper school with the number of people milling about.
“… But will I be able to find a warp point here?”
Of course, as someone who doesn’t relish in large crowds, this bustling scene wasn’t exactly welcoming. Moreover, finding a warp point in such a busy area seemed rather daunting.
“Hey… Ryu…”
“Hmm?”
I turned slowly to face the voice behind me. A girl stood awkwardly looking slightly embarrassed, as if catching herself in the act of calling someone’s name. It was Cynthia Suplerus, the girl who testified on my behalf yesterday.
Notable with her striking purple hair, she’s a noble despite her ‘Suplerus’ surname but she’d still stood up for me during the Cain Hover debacle. Thanks to her, ‘Cynthia’ was pretty well etched into my memory right after Elaine.
“Hey, Cynthia. Calling you Cynthia is no problem, right?”
“Uh… yeah, sure, I guess. Even though you did yesterday already.”
“Did I?”
I briefly thought about whether I had called her by her name yesterday, but then figured it didn’t really matter.
Regardless, having someone to walk to the second floor lecture hall with definitely made this crowd more manageable.
“So, were you really in the middle of a student council meeting?”
“Hmm. Meeting, yeah. That’s right. I’m certain Elaine handled everything just fine, though. To be honest, I still think Elaine would make a better representative than me.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
Cynthia nodded in agreement as if affirming my statement, even though I’m still the one technically in charge for the year.
“Anyway…”
“Hmm?”
Just as we ascended the first step toward the second floor, Cynthia broached the topic.
“I wanted to ask you about something yesterday.”
“Something yesterday?”
A bit vague since so much happened yesterday, I thought.
“At the training grounds… how did you do it?”
“D-do what exactly?”
I asked innocently, feigning curiosity, genuinely unsure of what she meant.
“The firebird thing of Hover’s.”
“Firebird?”
“The firebird, yeah.”
“Is that what we’re even calling that thing?”
On reflection, it was true that the fireball Cain Hover conjured did seem to have something poking out on the sides. I’d dismissed it at the time as being too inefficient for a fireball but it seemed like it was meant to look like a bird.
“…Wait, really?”
“I think I might have underestimated the freshmen a bit.”
Of course, Cynthia was observing from a distance—not front and center—when I teleported that massive fireball out of existence. And, I’d figured only someone highly skilled could’ve possibly picked up on whatever they saw. But I hadn’t imagined some random freshman noticing the split-second event.
“Hey, maybe. Probably just the heat of the moment messing up his spellcasting circuit or something. He did take a hit from me after all, right? So maybe he lost focus?”
“Could be… still though, it didn’t feel like it was just dissipating. More like… like the firebird was getting swallowed from the front…”
“Whoa.”
Looks like I might’ve misjudged the skill level around here. Sure, she was observing from a bit farther and not directly in front, but it seems she was able to catch on.
“Uh, I think? I mean, the fireball looked like it would grill me where I stood, one moment, the next it was gone, so yeah, I took my opportunity.”
“Ugh… maybe I did imagine that…”
I threw everything I had into the act, trying with all my might to deflect the suspicion.
Not exactly known for my acting prowess—something Eddi frequently comments on, stating, “The Leader must never be put into an acting operation”—but out of pure desperation, I managed to pull it off.
“Well, maybe you did imagine that then!”
“Hmph. I thought maybe you had some trick up your sleeve… oh well.”
“Exactly! What could I have possibly done in that fleeting moment? And wow, good eyesight! Not many could have noticed that!”
“Guess it’s just a habit, you know…”
Swoosh!
Before I knew it, our act had led us right to the lecture hall. Either my panicked efforts to change the subject somehow paid off, or Cynthia genuinely wasn’t all that sure about her observations. Regardless, I felt it was best to pivot the conversation.
And conveniently enough, upon entering the lecture hall, I found that perfect pivot—Elaine, sitting there all proper and prim, staring ahead.
Though I thought Cynthia and I had gotten here quickly, Elaine had clearly beaten us here. Perfect timing.
“Elaine! You got here early!”
“Ah, Ryu-sama.”
“Hey, Elaine. I mentioned this yesterday, but I think honorifics work fine for us, don’t they?”
She nodded resolutely in agreement.
“Indeed. Suplerus-sama is here as well.”
“Uh, I mean… we already talked about this yesterday… you can just call me Cynthia. And please, speak informally.”
“Hmm. I suppose honorifics could be a source of distance between classmates, so I’ll try to adjust.”
“Calling each other ‘sama’ definitely doesn’t help with that… but still, good diversion.”
Regardless, Elaine had managed to shift the conversation well, and it was important to keep it that way. Cynthia seemed to still have a bit of suspicion lingering, and I wanted to avoid saying anything that could lead to more questions.
“There were a few things discussed during yesterday’s student council meeting that I thought we should review. Some minor points we can likely overlook, but then there are things relevant to a class representative.”
“Hmm…”
As Elaine began detailing yesterday’s meeting contents, I couldn’t help but think of Eddi. The rigid tone, and organized nature of her report. It was like having a secretary in the academy now.
“Would you like to take the seat beside me?”
Elaine offered up her neighboring seat in perfect courtesy, which was impossible to decline.
“So, what’s up?”
“First of all, there seems to be some mention about you leaving rather early from yesterday’s meeting… Nonetheless, the first agenda item…”
It’s like getting work reports from Eddi.
“Phew.”
Definitely better than doing some terrible improv with Cynthia.
*
“Something is definitely off.”
Sitting in her front row seat, Cynthia Suplerus couldn’t help but ponder the scene ahead: Elaine St. Claire of the prestigious St. Claire lineage receiving a report from Ryu, a raven-haired boy who might just be hiding something big.
Sure, her suspicion was just that earlier, but the conversation she’d just had with Ryu convinced her otherwise. He was acting far too strangely, trying way too hard to play it off. No one that obvious was innocent.
Ryu had something to do with the disappearing firebird, she was 99% sure of it.
Being the eldest daughter of the Suplerus family, she was known among her noble peers for being fiercely egalitarian but there was more to it. As one of the top performers in the highly competitive academy entrance exams—finishing in the top seven despite competing against the elite St. Claire and other distinguished lineages of the sixth generation—she was undeniably skilled.
Her expertise was archery, honed from a young age by her father’s personal tutelage, bringing her family to prominence. In a society where knights and wizards often overshadowed archers, she excelled purely through her marksmanship.
Her exceptional eyesight particularly stood out. Though lacking in real combat experience, she was quite confident she hadn’t imagined the scene yesterday.
“And there will be meetings every other week.”
“Eeeeeek? Meetings every other week?!”
“Yes. They’ll be held every Monday…”
“Seriously? You’ll help me out with those meetings, won’t you?!”
“Umm…”
Cynthia’s musings on Ryu’s potential powers were interrupted by the conversation between Ryu and Elaine. Specifically, something about Ryu, a supposed commoner, casually making demands of Elaine St. Claire.
“How can he just ask her so casually for such a big favor?!”
“Huh? Is this really too much to ask? What do you think, Elaine?”
“No. If requested by the class representative…”
Elaine’s response immediately pushed aside Cynthia’s train of thought about Ryu’s tricks, leading to something deeper.
“Ryu really is a commoner, isn’t he… and he knows Elaine, right? But still…”
The fact that a commoner could so easily call a St. Claire by their first name and make demands struck her as remarkable.
“Ooooh! Of course! My… oh wait, Elaine!”
“Indeed, this isn’t too much to ask. I’ll be attending the meetings anyway, and there’s always something to be learned.”
The way Elaine effortlessly accepted Ryu’s request was equally surprising.
Ryu, a commoner, freely conversing with and making requests of Elaine St. Claire, heir of a Great House, was a scene Cynthia never expected to witness.
“He really does treat her with respect… despite her noble status.”
Ryu and Elaine St. Claire’s interaction, as a commoner and a Great House scion respectively, made her reconsider everything she thought she knew about social hierarchies.
