010 Cornelia and Her Interpreter
The temperature in the Capital City had already started to drop in October, and a chill swept through Hewenlit Academy at dawn, prompting Dekan to yawn despite himself.
Dekan woke up earlier than usual and put on his uniform.
The design of the uniform was simple and streamlined, similar to the one Dekan had first seen on Trecia.
The only difference was that the Knight Academy’s uniform had a red theme color, making it slightly more striking.
Dekan stood in front of the mirror, inspecting his appearance.
“Good.”
Hohoho, so handsome.
Dekan, the road to wealth and fame begins today.
…
This year, 107 candidates were accepted into the Knight Academy, divided into four classes from A to D.
The class assignment mechanism was simple: based on rank by scores. Without question, Dekan was placed in Class A.
The first-year classrooms were on the second floor of the Knight Academy building, and Dekan quickly found his classroom using the map markings.
When Dekan entered the classroom, several students were already inside.
Because the lecture hall was quite spacious, the classroom seemed rather empty.
At the sight of Dekan, the students couldn’t help but wear the same expression: “Have we discovered some rare creature?”
Uncertain about Dekan’s personality, none of them approached him right away.
If he were a nasty character and noticed them, the next three years were sure to be hell.
“The Heretic Priest,” this was the current title the students had given Dekan.
Dekan took a seat toward the back, opened the school-issued materials, and quietly read.
Classmates trickled in one by one, and several minutes passed…
“Good… morning.”
Dekan suddenly heard a soft but somewhat stiff female voice beside him. He turned his head to see the striking red hair.
“Good morning.”
Dekan nodded and continued reading the document.
It turned out Cornelia was sitting next to him.
Having such a beautiful girl choose to sit next to him on the first day of school was undoubtedly the happiest thing that could happen.
However, Dekan was worried he might accidentally touch her.
Maybe just a small, unintentional swing of her elbow.
Dekan might end up with a broken bone.
He decided to communicate with Cornelia.
“My body is very fragile. If you accidentally hit me, I might die.”
“Understood. I get it.”
“Thank you.”
“Y-you’re welcome.”
…
When the students in the classroom noticed that “The Heretic Priest” and “The Goddess of War” were sitting together, their gazes couldn’t help but occasionally flick toward the back row.
“Did they know each other before?”
“What are they talking about?”
“Are they conspiring to eliminate the teachers?”
The students whispered quietly.
Now all the students in the class had arrived, and it was somewhat noisy.
Except for Dekan and Cornelia, the rest of the students were gathered in the front and middle rows.
It seemed as if the class was distinctly divided into two regions.
When the bell rang, a figure presumed to be the homeroom teacher promptly entered the classroom.
Upon recognizing the towering silhouette, the students realized it was Professor Arno.
Professor Arno’s eyes noticed Dekan and Cornelia in the back row, making his eyelid twitch unconsciously.
How do these two get along so harmoniously?
Are they plotting rebellion?
He was initially concerned they might kill each other on the first day of school.
But now it looked completely opposite from what he had imagined.
After coughing lightly twice and shifting his gaze back to the majority of the students, Professor Arno began speaking.
“Everyone, I am Arno Surlet, your homeroom teacher for the next year. Please take care of me.”
“First, there’s the entrance ceremony, an event celebrating your admission. Settle down and enjoy it for now. After it ends, we’ll return to the classroom to further explain the school’s teaching system…”
After a brief explanation, the freshmen, led by Professor Arno, left the classroom and headed toward the grand hall near the entrance to the academy.
They soon arrived at the assembly area.
“Welcome to the academy!”
The laughter erupted from behind the opened building doors.
Senior students enthusiastically welcomed the new students.
Not only the recruits of the Knight Academy, but also the new students from the other three academies gradually filed in.
The decorations on the ceiling and walls of the grand hall sparkled, illuminating the flowers and balloons.
Not just Dekan, even Cornelia who had been following him all along found it dazzling, rubbing her eyes.
It was more splendid than expected.
Dekan looked around and felt a sense of ease and joy rising in his heart.
Huh?
Why was she following me?
Dekan suddenly realized that Cornelia had naturally walked beside him.
“Why are you only following me?”
“It’s… easy to communicate with you.”
“Am I your interpreter?”
“…”
Cornelia paused for a moment, as if struggling to gather her thoughts, then said, “Friend… friend… friend.”
“Ugh…”
Dekan felt the simple sincerity of her kindness.
If that’s the case, let’s get along well from now on.
He confidently stretched out his hand to Cornelia.
Upon seeing this, Cornelia’s expression remained unchanged, but her body language clearly became more animated.
She hurried to shake Dekan’s hand.
However, Dekan suddenly became alert, broke out into a cold sweat, and quickly retracted his hand!
Dekan: “Power.”
Cornelia: “Sorry.”
Just now, Cornelia seemed very excited and wanted to grip his hand tightly.
If he hadn’t reacted quickly, he might have suffered a comminuted fracture at the very least!
If his hand were crushed by Cornelia, his professional career could very well be over!
Cornelia seemed reluctant to risk applying too much force again, so she just extended her hand toward Dekan’s, letting him take it.
Taking a deep breath and still shaken, Dekan stretched out his hand once more, grasping the small hand Cornelia had suspended in the air.
Though their friendship had encountered a minor setback, they finally successfully formed a bond.
It should be said, Cornelia’s hand was quite soft.
Dekan couldn’t comprehend where the sheer power that made him shiver with dread seemed to come from, even from the air.
…
“Welcome to Hevenlit Magic Academy!”
The splendid hall was filled with cheerful music as the downy, soft crimson curtains slowly parted.
The one who stepped onto the stage was a rather elderly man.
“I am Principal Rudsun Arsul, and I sincerely celebrate each of your arrivals from the bottom of my heart.”
“I hope all of you, on your hopeful and enlightening journey of life, will not be sluggish or lazy, and instead utilize these three years to study hard. The future of the Kingdom depends on you.”
“Well, I won’t ramble anymore. Enjoy today!”
Principal Rudsun finished his speech with concise words.
“Ohh!”
The first-year students cheered loudly.
A young man, presumed to be the host, sprinted from the left side of the curtain, passing the principal, and loudly declared: “The entrance ceremony begins!”
With the students’ cheers, the entrance ceremony reached its peak in atmosphere.
