Chapter 15
Isabel couldn't clap for a long while.
Applause was pouring out from all around her for the freshman representative, but her gaze remained fixed on the podium.
The black hair and black eyes atop the podium belonged to a face she knew better than anyone.
"……Rowoon?"
A tiny voice slipped between her lips.
It was definitely Rowoon.
There was no way she could have mistaken him.
'Why... is he up there...?'
Isabel blinked several times.
Could she have seen wrong?
But no matter how many times she looked, nothing changed.
The child standing on the podium was unmistakably her little brother.
"…This can't be."
Rowoon was supposed to be at home.
The academy? Admission?
She had never heard a single word about anything like that.
No, she hadn't even thought it was possible for him to come.
That child was only ten years old!
The academy's admission age was fifteen.
In other words, he wasn't even old enough to take the exam in the first place.
And yet, he was the Combat Department's top student...?
Those words wouldn't leave her mind.
He was the top student.
And not just anywhere, but at Astell Imperial Academy, where royals, nobles, and countless geniuses gathered!
“…When.”
When on earth had he taken the exam?
When had he prepared for it,
and when had he been admitted?
No, more importantly…
“Then is Dad all alone in our hometown right now…?”
Her father's face back home flashed through her mind.
Surely Rowoon hadn't secretly come to the capital on his own?
'Seriously...?'
Isabel had hoped it wasn't the case, but with Rowoon, she could easily imagine him doing exactly that.
Hadn't he been the same Rowoon who had secretly gone into the forest four months ago and gotten caught and scolded, and who had once gone outside the village alone, crawled home late, and gotten smacked on the back!?
'Surely not this time too…'
Ominous imaginings began to follow one another in her mind.
'Did he leave home without telling Dad, take the exam by himself, pass it by himself... and then come all the way to the capital by himself...?'
"..."
The more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed, which was the problem.
Just then, Rowoon, who had been giving his speech, slowly turned his gaze.
And his eyes met hers exactly.
"……!!"
The corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly.
Just a little.
To anyone else, it would have looked like the tiniest sign that his nervousness had eased.
But Isabel knew.
That was the expression he made when he was teasing her!
“…Lee Rowoon.”
At first, she was surprised.
Really, really surprised.
And then, a little.
Very, very little.
She felt hurt.
Why hadn't he said anything?
Why hadn't he told his family anything?
But that feeling didn't last long.
The moment Rowoon grinned.
“…”
A vein throbbed on her forehead.
Her hurt vanished in an instant.
Instead, Isabel began to get angry.
No, to borrow Rowoon's expression,
she started getting pissed.
Very, very pissed.
***
“Let's all survive until graduation.”
““………….””
The auditorium fell silent.
…
Ah.
I'm screwed.
The old tower habit had come out.
I kept a stiff smile on my face while clutching my head inwardly.
No, it was something I used to say casually all the time.
But now that I thought about it, this wasn't the tower.
From the students' perspective, they had just been told to suddenly survive until graduation at their entrance ceremony.
Get a grip! This is a romance fantasy!
"Ahem…."
I gave a small cough.
“Ah… um… That expression was a little strange.”
I scratched my head with an embarrassed laugh.
“I meant that we should all graduate safely.”
A brief silence followed.
And then.
“Pfft.”
Someone burst out laughing.
That started it.
“Puhahaha!”
“That little kid must be nervous!”
“He's cute.”
Laughter spread throughout the auditorium.
A few of the professors were even covering their mouths, trying to hold back their laughter.
“Puhahaha. That guy's a complete nutcase.”
…What was that just now?
Did I just hear a regional dialect from Earth?
Maybe it was just my imagination.
Anyway.
“…Phew.”
Thank goodness.
It passed.
I let out a sigh of relief inwardly.
The tense atmosphere from moments ago had loosened as if it had never existed.
Thanks to that, I felt much more at ease too.
“Then, once again.”
I lightly bowed at the waist.
“Congratulations on your admission. This concludes my speech.”
The moment I lowered my head.
-Clap clap clap clap clap!!
Applause much louder than before filled the grand auditorium.
The reaction was better than I'd expected.
…
No.
Actually, there had been something more entertaining than the speech.
As I received the applause, I glanced toward the front row.
Isabel.
My sister still had a dazed look on her face.
Her mouth was slightly open, and her eyes were still round.
That expression hadn't changed even once.
“K-khm… Khm….”
The laugh I'd been holding inside nearly escaped.
This was why teasing people was so much fun!
To be honest, I'd hidden the fact that I'd been admitted all this time just to see that one expression.
It had been worth the effort.
Now the problem was.
'How am I going to deal with the aftermath…?'
I scratched the back of my neck for no reason.
Well, let's get off the podium first.
I could think about getting scolded after I went down.
I started down the stairs as though nothing had happened.
That was when it happened.
"Hey!!!!!"
A familiar voice rang through the grand auditorium.
"Lee Rowooooooon!!!!"
What was that just now?
That sounded a lot like Isabel—
Oh.
I stopped walking and slowly turned around.
Isabel was standing bolt upright in the front row.
The veins on her forehead stood out clearly, and her white face had turned bright red all the way to the tips of her ears.
Her usual calm demeanor was nowhere to be seen.
And then.
"Why didn't you tell me!!!"
It rang out loud and clear.
That one sentence echoed throughout the entire auditorium.
…
In an instant, tens of thousands of people fell silent at the same time.
The professors.
The returning students.
The freshmen.
Even the nobles in the VIP section.
Every gaze turned toward Isabel.
And then back toward me.
"..."
I slowly looked around.
Tens of thousands of eyes.
Every last one of them was looking only at me.
…
Sis.
This isn't—
You know, this isn't our front yard.
There are…
so many people.
***
The entrance ceremony continued for quite some time after that.
The speech by the General Department's top student.
The dean's closing remarks.
Introductions of the professors from each department.
The reading of a congratulatory message sent by the imperial family.
The singing of the school anthem.
…
For the record, I don't remember any of it.
Why?
Because Isabel kept glaring at me from the front row.
More precisely,
it was the look that said, 'We'll talk after this.'
…
…
What is this? I'm scared…….
Still, the fortunate thing was that, perhaps because it was an entrance ceremony, she didn't come running after me until the very end.
I endured the time without meeting her eyes as much as possible.
How much time passed like that?
“This concludes the entrance ceremony.”
When the dean finished speaking, applause rang out in the auditorium, followed by the sound of chairs scraping back in all directions.
The students began rising from their seats one by one.
“Freshmen, please proceed to the orientation areas for your respective departments.”
As the professors continued giving instructions, people began lining up by department and filing out of the auditorium.
I glanced back.
“……”
Isabel was still looking for me.
If she caught me now, I was done for.
I quickly hid myself among the Combat Department students.
Fortunately, there were so many people that I soon slipped out of her sight.
If she catches me now, that's at least two hours—two hours…!
Gotta make a run for it!
After walking for about ten minutes.
The Combat Department lecture building at the center of the academy.
Thousands of freshmen entered a spacious auditorium, and I took a seat in a suitable spot as well.
Just then.
"Lee Rowoon!"
A cheerful voice came from beside me.
When I turned my head, Lucia was waving with a bright smile.
Ah, right.
She was here too.
"We meet again!"
"Yeah, we do."
"I hope we're in the same class!"
"That would be fun."
"Right?!"
Lucia was grinning, excited all by herself.
She still didn't know that I was the top student.
She had been fast asleep during the entrance ceremony, so it was only natural, but still….
Just then, the professor standing at the front of the auditorium raised his hand.
"Then, from this moment on, I will announce the freshman class assignments!"
Vmmm—
Blue light flashed as the magic screen powered on.
【Freshman Class Assignments】
Every student's gaze turned upward.
"…Finally."
"Please, just A Class. Or even B Class…!"
"I wonder what kind of monsters will get into S Class this time."
The murmuring gradually grew louder.
A moment later, the writing at the very top appeared.
【S Class】
The auditorium grew slightly quieter.
"Of course they start with S Class."
"I heard they're only choosing fifteen students."
Names began appearing one by one.
【Cedric von Estellia】
"His Highness the Crown Prince."
"As expected."
"Naturally."
"You can't help but nod."
The students accepted it without much surprise.
It would have been stranger if the runner-up and crown prince hadn't been placed in S Class in the first place.
Besides, he was the male protagonist of the original story.
Soon after.
【Isabel】
"……!"
A brief silence passed.
"The special-admission student?"
"Oh—that girl with the incredibly high spirit affinity?"
"I heard she's a commoner. She doesn't even have a surname."
"Still, it makes sense for a special-admission student. Spirit mages aren't exactly common, are they?"
“……Wait, isn't she the girl who yelled earlier?”
Isabel's name caused quite a stir as well.
The fact that she was a commoner was unexpected, but it was already widely known that she had been admitted through special admission.
But the moment the next name appeared.
【Lee Rowoon】
"…"
The auditorium stirred once more.
"Hmm... the top student?"
"Ah… that commoner...? I was wondering why he hadn't appeared."
"A mere commoner ranking above me……"
"Is it just swordsmanship? Or magic? Doesn't he use one? It's not like he has some rare ability like the special-admission student."
“But he's the top student……?”
"Well, he's probably just a shooting star. They'll demote him before long, right?"
“But he seemed to have something going on with the special-admission student…? Is she his fiancée?”
The expressions of the noble heirs became subtly distorted.
A commoner in the academy's highest-ranked class.
For those who had lived their entire lives with a sense of superiority, it was difficult to accept.
That didn't mean they could openly voice their dissatisfaction.
This was the Imperial Academy.
The professors were watching right in front of them.
Besides, once they had entered the academy, everyone was the same student regardless of status.
In short, they couldn't flaunt their social standing recklessly.
The students merely exchanged glances and whispered in low voices.
Then the remaining names rose one after another.
The last one.
【Lucia Lumenhart】
“…”
All the names had been filled in.
"Wow…"
"The S Class is insane this year."
"The Crown Prince, a young lady from a prestigious magic family, and a spirit mage?!"
"This is unprecedented."
Meanwhile, beside me.
"Woooooow!!"
Lucia threw both hands into the air.
"Lee Rowoon!! We're both in S Class!!"
"…So we are."
"So we'll keep hanging out together?"
"Probably?"
"Yaaay!!"
Lucia started hopping up and down by herself, delighted.
…
She was cute, though.
But she really still didn't get it.
Hello?
There was only one Lee Rowoon on the list, and wasn't that top student me…?
If I weren't the top student, that would mean the other Lee Rowoon who shared my name hadn't gotten into S Class, right?
Was she oblivious…?
Or was she pretending not to know?
If this were a novel, she'd be exactly the kind of character readers would love to hate.
I let out an awkward laugh.
Just then.
"Each class, please follow your assigned teaching assistant!"
A teaching assistant holding a sign marked S Class stepped forward.
"This is S Class."
Lucia and I naturally walked over with them.
A moment later, we arrived at a building far larger and more luxurious than the other lecture rooms.
Maybe it was because this was the highest-ranked class.
It certainly looked like they'd spent a lot of money on it.
The teaching assistant stopped in front of the door.
"This is the S Class room you will be using from now on."
Clack.
The door slowly opened.
And the first person I saw was—
"…"
Isabel, standing at the very front of the classroom with her arms crossed.
“…”
“…”
Our eyes met.
My brother... No, why is my sister there...?"