A city located about five days’ journey by carriage from the royal capital.
Its name is Eldolum.
Among the cities in the kingdom, it is one of the largest and the second most important city after the royal capital.
The reason it is important is that Eldolum is home to the kingdom’s largest academy, the Eldoria Royal Academy.
Basically, only nobles and royalty can enroll in the academy.
Therefore, the city has well-developed defenses and security systems.
It is truly a city built for the academy.
“Seriously? I actually got accepted!”
“Of course! What are you talking about?”
In the academy’s auditorium, my murmuring drew a reaction from Arcelia sitting next to me.
Even though we’re both fourteen this year, her personality and attitude haven’t changed since that time.
The only things that have changed are… her height and figure.
“But, I can’t use magic, you know?”
“Be grateful to me.”
“No, I was forced by you—”
“What’s your answer?”
“…Yes.”
Seeing me nod, Arcelia smiled sweetly.
Of course, it wasn’t a pure smile.
It was a smile that held some kind of implication… a hint of something dark behind it.
Because of this, I found myself unable to oppose her.
I sometimes wondered if she had cast some kind of magic on me.
With that absurd thought lingering, I let out a big yawn.
“…Isn’t the entrance ceremony long?”
“It certainly is. Plus, it’s just a bunch of pointless speeches. Are the teachers here incompetent?”
“Wow, that’s quite a statement.”
That said, I understood Arcelia’s point.
The entrance ceremony was currently ongoing, but it was way too long.
And the content of the speeches was just stiff clichés.
If someone had a strong loyalty to the kingdom, they might find it meaningful, but unfortunately, neither Arcelia nor I felt that way.
We simply recognized it as useless chatter.
“Now, we will hear a greeting from His Highness, the Third Prince of Eldoria, Prince Sheeland, representing the new students.”
At the host’s voice, I turned my eyes to the stage.
Then I saw a boy stepping up onto the stage.
“Is that the rumored prince?”
With his soft, slightly long golden hair and slim figure.
His facial features were perfectly proportioned, likely enough to make any girl fall for him at first sight.
“Huh…”
“Did you fall for him?”
“…Have you finally turned your brain into muscle?”
Arcelia shot me a look that suggested I was an idiot.
What a harsh comment.
However, I was used to it by now, so I didn’t react much.
“Not at all? I’m sane. That prince has a nice face. I don’t think it’s weird to be taken in by him.”
As I casually deflected her sarcasm, Arcelia let out a deep sigh.
And she started to exude an air of displeasure.
…Did I do something wrong?
“I represent this occasion—”
The Third Prince was saying something, but I was completely uninterested, so I focused on why Arcelia was upset.
Any ordinary girl might not fall head over heels, but they’d likely have a good impression.
There are plenty of people who get infatuated just by looks between the ages of thirteen and fourteen.
Wait… now that I think about it, Arcelia wasn’t just any ordinary girl.
She was a genius, mischievous, cunning, and sharp-tongued.
If she were to get into a fight with some adult, she would overwhelmingly win and make them cry.
Of course, with both her physical strength and her verbal skills.
Thinking about it this way, trying to understand her might just be a waste.
Feeling a gaze on me, I looked down to my right, where Arcelia was giving me a sidelong glance.
“Hmm? What is it?”
“…It’s nothing.”
Without saying anything in particular, Arcelia turned back to face forward.
Since my relationship with her was still shallow, I didn’t know what this attitude meant.
“This is annoying—ow!”
“Hmph!”
Arcelia had just stepped on my toes hard.
It wasn’t particularly painful, but… I reflexively blurted out that it hurt, which was a mistake.
Well, at least Arcelia’s mood seemed to improve a bit.
“Finally done…”
As I walked down the academy’s hallway, I stretched my arms up.
I had been standing in the same position for so long that my body had stiffened.
“An entrance ceremony is pointless. It’s just a meaningless farce. Is this academy filled with incompetent people? If the entrance ceremony is like that, I can only imagine what the classes will be like,” Arcelia complained as she walked beside me.
Despite her appearance as the ultimate beauty, her comments were rather extreme.
By the way, Arcelia and I were attracting attention from the surrounding students.
“That’s the genius lady…”
“Hey… there’s also the battle maniac…”
“No, the battle maniac is old news. Now it’s the sword maniac…”
“Those two… are scary…”
“Why is a sword maniac even at this academy?”
“She can’t use magic, after all…”
“I heard rumors that the genius lady forced the sword maniac to enroll…”
“I know that too… she threatened the teachers…”
“She’s super cute, but… terrifying.”
“I don’t want to get involved…”
So, that’s the gist of it.
There’s nothing favorable; mostly, we’re just feared.
It’s not my fault.
It’s all Arcelia’s doing.
“Hey, Arcelia.”
“…What?”
“We’re being avoided. They think you’re scary.”
I said with a smirk.
Arcelia glanced around and laughed dismissively before speaking.
“People only look at the surface and don’t see a person’s true nature… how foolish. Even the students of the top-tier academy are just this. I’m speechless. Well, we don’t need the common folk in our lives anyway.”
“That’s a bit much—huh? ‘We’?”
I caught on to her words and asked back.
If I wasn’t imagining things, she just referred to “our lives.”
“Is something wrong?”
“No… you just said ‘our lives’… doesn’t that mean I’m included too?”
It felt like she suddenly threw an arm around my shoulders.
I didn’t think of the people around us as foolish.
After all, it’s true that Arcelia is scary.
“Is that a problem?”
“……………………N-no, it’s not a problem!”
“I thought so.”
Arcelia smiled faintly and turned her gaze forward.
Beside her, I let out a sigh of relief internally.
That was close.
If I had nodded there, I might have been in danger.
I must be obedient and compliant.
I have to treat her like a princess.
Maybe one day I’ll try carrying her like one… As I pondered this trivial thought, we arrived at our classroom.
Even though Arcelia and I planned to earn credits only through practical exams, without attending classes, there was a designated classroom.
I opened the door and stepped inside.
“Whoa… so this is it.”
In front, there was a large blackboard and a teacher’s desk.
The chairs and desks were long enough for about three people to sit together.
Since seating was free, I sat down in an empty chair.
“…”
“…”
The classroom had been quiet for a while.
The reason, of course, was that Arcelia and I had entered.
The students in the classroom were glancing our way and whispering.
The content of their whispers was the same as in the hallway.
They talked about how Arcelia threatened the teachers to get me enrolled, the magic combat from three years ago, the sword maniac, and how cute Arcelia was…
I secretly glanced at Arcelia’s face, but it hadn’t changed.
She wore her usual scowl.
So, I figured it was okay to space out for a bit, but then the students in the classroom began to stir.
I wondered what was happening and looked toward the door where everyone was staring.
“Oh, I see.”
With soft blonde hair and a well-formed face.
It was the guy who had spoken during the entrance ceremony.
I forgot his name, but the Third Prince had entered the classroom.
“Arcelia, the prince is here.”
“…Oh, really?”
While the female students in the classroom were all excited, Arcelia maintained her indifferent attitude.
That was typical of the genius lady Arcelia.
Well, I wasn’t particularly interested either, so I didn’t bother observing him.
Even if i was a marquis’s son, I was still the second son.
Plus, I wasn’t attending the theory classes.
I probably wouldn’t have any interactions with him.
Thinking that, I waited mindlessly for the teacher to arrive.
