Chapter 17
There was a bit of a commotion at the entrance, but we managed to get inside safely.
I could feel the stares following us as we entered, but as soon as we stepped into Deus, they shifted from me to someone else.
Once inside Deus, I saw people dressed as maids and butlers directing several new students.
"Wow, I guess those are Deus's famous combat maids and butlers."
People watched them in admiration and whispered among themselves.
Hearing that the combat maids and butlers handled security, served the students, and took care of odd jobs, I felt sorry for them, imagining how exhausting all that work must be.
"Sis, you don't have to feel sorry for them. Every one of them is an Expert-level fighter, they get paid well, and they had to overcome fierce competition to get in."
Oh, is that so?
As I watched them, a maid gathered everyone, including us, who had been standing in the order we'd entered, and led us to one side.
There was a table and a chair where we stopped.
"I'll check your information here, then show you to the place where the entrance ceremony will be held. When your name is called, please come forward."
After finishing, the maid sat down, took out a file, and opened it.
"Jude Grace."
"Yes."
The maid called people up one by one, checked the information on their papers, and sent those she'd finished checking behind her.
I wondered why they hadn't checked everything at the entrance instead of going through the trouble of checking twice, but I soon found out.
"Frenston."
When there was no answer, the maid looked up and called the name again.
"Is Frenston not here?"
"Even at Deus, calling a noble without using their family name is rude."
A man who called himself a noble walked forward.
"You must have seen the warning on the information sheet, haven't you?"
"I did, but shouldn't you still show basic courtesy?"
"If you saw the warning, then you must have seen what it said underneath. Why are you acting like this?"
It was something I'd noticed while looking over the information sheet to see if we needed anything else after coming back from buying our uniforms.
It had clearly warned that anyone who brought up their social status would be expelled. You found people like that everywhere.
"Of course."
Frenston's attitude didn't change, as if he thought they wouldn't expel him even though he knew about the warning.
"Let's see. Your father is Count Diar, and you're seventeen, right?"
He nodded.
Frenston nodded smugly, as if proving his expectations had been right.
"You really do have to beat some sense into immature brats. You should know how to behave at Deus, you pathetic little shit, disgracing your father's name."
"W-what did you say?!"
Stunned by the insult for a moment, Frenston grew angry, drew the sword at his waist, and charged at the maid.
Since the attack didn't even carry any mana, and there was no way an Expert would be caught by it, I just watched.
"You're expelled."
The maid caught Frenston's oncoming sword with her bare hand, snapped it, and announced his expulsion.
Then she started beating him without holding back, beating him like a dog on the hottest day of summer.
Once his face was so battered that it was impossible to tell what it had looked like before, the maid returned to her seat with a satisfied expression.
"Whew... Next is Greg."
"Y-yes!"
As the other butlers brought over a stretcher and carried away the human-shaped lump, the people watching quickly moved in front of the maid as she resumed calling names.
"Chris."
"Yes."
"Any special notes...? Wow, this is my first time seeing an elf."
The maid looked a little surprised, then cleared her throat, apologized, and asked what she needed to check.
"Ah, I'll guide those three myself. Sion, take care of the rest."
I heard Aria's voice beside me. When had she arrived?
"Ah, Lady Aria! Understood. And my name is Cindy."
Where had I seen this scene before?
"Come this way."
Aria led us to an open area.
"I'll pass along the headmaster's message. She won't give you any special treatment. Handle your own problems yourselves, and take responsibility for any trouble you cause."
I agreed without hesitation, since I hadn't particularly wanted to rely on anyone anyway.
Still, I wondered if she'd really passed along the message exactly as it was given.
"I relayed it exactly as instructed. I said there'd be no special treatment, but I've arranged for Eah and Katrina to share a room, while Chris will have one to himself."
Eah had said the dorm rooms were meant for three people, so I'd been worried about that. This was a real relief.
I found myself grateful to the headmaster, who seemed to be giving off a tsundere vibe.
"Then I'll show you to the place where the entrance ceremony will be held."
Despite saying she'd guide us, she stood still and looked around. A sense of unease crept over me.
"Everyone, where are we?"
"... ..."
We finally found a passing butler, who took us into the auditorium just as the entrance ceremony was beginning.
"The three of you, please stand over there."
At the butler's direction, we sat down in an empty spot. Soon, the headmaster began walking onto the stage.
"Wow, it's Lady Stella."
"I can't believe I get to see a hero of the Empire in person."
Once she reached the stage and started climbing up, the headmaster soon disappeared behind it.
When I'd seen her before, she looked petite, about 160 centimeters tall, but the stage seemed enormous by comparison.
Aria soon came onto the stage, hooked her arms under the headmaster's armpits, and lifted her all the way to the microphone.
"No, a step stool... Ah, never mind."
The headmaster seemed to want something, but soon gave up and took hold of the microphone.
"Welcome to all of you who have come this far to enroll at Deus. I am Stella, the headmaster of Deus. First, I want you to remember that this is a place for people who want to learn.
"So whether you are a noble or a member of the imperial family, do not use your status to throw your weight around. If you are caught doing so, you will be punished severely. Keep that in mind."
Despite being held up by someone under the armpits, the headmaster delivered her stern, concise warning and let go of the microphone.
But since Aria still had her suspended in the air, the headmaster couldn't leave. She looked at Aria and sighed.
"It's over, Aria. Let's go."
"Yes, Master."
Aria began to leave, still holding the headmaster in that same pose.
The headmaster's expression crumpled, and everyone in the auditorium quietly watched until they disappeared from sight.
Though they were gone, a brief silence hung over the auditorium.
Soon, a man hurried out, welcomed everyone, and announced the end of the entrance ceremony.
After the ceremony ended, the maids came out again, called people's names, and led them out of the auditorium.
The maid led us out of the auditorium and to another building.
"Welcome, everyone. I'm Professor Ruad, and I teach in the Knight Department. Since today is your first day, we'll test your skill, assign you to a class, and then let you rest in the dorms."
The professor explained that the test was meant to divide us into Classes A through F according to our skill, so we could be taught at the appropriate level. Then the students were sent into the building one by one.
Soon my name was called. When I entered the building, I saw the testing area.
One person, who looked like an examiner, was waiting for me inside.
"This test is only to assign you to a class, so don't be nervous. Please show me everything you're capable of."
After saying that, the examiner told me to choose a weapon from the rack beside us.
I picked out one of the wooden swords on the rack.
"Then we'll begin."
The examiner announced the start, said I could have the first move, set down the file they were holding, and raised a wooden sword.
This person's an upper-level Expert.
They were the second powerful person I'd seen in the human world, but there was nothing particularly difficult about this.
Let's test the waters first.
I made a light leap and slashed at their side.
Clack!
The instructor blocked my attack, then knocked my sword aside and slashed diagonally at my chest, looking surprised.
I blocked the attack and thrust straight at the examiner's collarbone. Our wooden swords scraped against each other.
Krrrkkk.
"!!"
Seeing my wooden sword thrusting toward them, the examiner took a step back and tried to force my sword down with sheer strength, our blades still touching.
When they couldn't press it down and I kept advancing, I felt the examiner hurriedly gather mana into their body.
I don't need to win, so I can let myself get pushed back that much, right?
As expected, they'd reinforced their body. The pressure on my sword increased, and the blade I'd been thrusting forward could no longer advance. It was forced down.
Without resisting the force pressing down on it, I spun my wooden sword once and aimed for the examiner's neck.
The examiner panicked at the attack, ducked to dodge it, and used their lowered center of gravity to dive into my guard.
I casually hopped backward once, avoiding the instructor as they closed in.
"That's enough."
Just as I was about to launch my next attack, the examiner stopped me.
"Haha, you're a student who made me use body reinforcement. What's your name?"
"I'm Katrina."
"Miss Katrina, you seem to be hiding your skills, but you must have your reasons. You're in Class A."
"Thank you for your hard work."
I bowed, put the sword back where it belonged, and left through the exit on the other side.
Outside the building, I saw several signs with words written on them. I spotted one marked Class A and headed over.
The students who seemed to be in Class A gave me the usual reaction, staring at me curiously.
The stares did bother me, but I kept facing forward with a blank expression, trying to look as calm as possible.
I was hoping Chris or Eah would finish soon and come out, when Eah finished her test, spotted me, and came over.
"As expected, you're in Class A, Sis. I'm in Class B, though..."
Oh, I hadn't thought about the possibility that Eah and I might be in different classes.
"So what? I'll work hard and get into Class A too!"
"Sure. If you need help, just let me know."
"Yeah! See you in the dorm later."
With that, Eah went over to the Class B group.
I felt a little disappointed and stood frozen again when someone spoke to me.
"Hey, looks like your friend is in Class B?"
Maybe she'd seen me talking to Eah. A blonde girl had come over to speak with me.
"Hello."
"We're in the same class, so why are you being so formal? I'm Chloe."
The girl who introduced herself as Chloe looked like she'd been raised with every luxury, but her behavior had a mischievous air about it.
"Wow, that's Lady Chloe Stefano of the House of Duke Stefano, famous for its knights."
The person must have thought they were whispering, but their voice was louder than they realized and drew Chloe's attention.
Chloe narrowed her golden eyes at the person admiring her and snapped at them.
"This is Deus. Don't call people by their full names."
"Ah, I'm sorry..."
Chloe clicked her tongue, apparently not pleased even with their apology.
The man who'd earned Chloe's ire by trying to act familiar sulked and disappeared into the crowd.
"I don't like people who are always watching what others think. I hope you won't worry about what I think of you."
Since she was making the effort to befriend me, there was no need to turn her away.
"I'm Katrina. As you can see, I'm an elf. I look forward to getting along with you."
"We're in the same year and the same class, so we're friends. Just call me Chloe."
She was a young lady with an unexpectedly down-to-earth charm.
"Karin, there you are."
Chris must have finished too. He spotted me and came over, eyeing Chloe nearby warily.
"You're here? By the way, Eah was assigned to Class B. She'll be by herself, so go check on her."
"Really? That's a little disappointing. I'll go say hi."
"Yeah."
Chloe stared blankly at Chris as he walked away, her mouth slightly open.
"Katrina... is that man your boyfriend?"
"Oh, he's my younger brother."
We hadn't decided between ourselves which of us was the younger one, but the person who wasn't here must be the younger sibling, right? It felt awkward to drop the honorifics just yet, so I spoke politely, but Chloe didn't seem to mind.
Chloe had been staring intently at the back of Chris's head as he headed toward Class B. Then she suddenly clasped both my hands and said,
"Please take good care of me, big brother!"
What was that supposed to mean...?
I should make Chris cover his face or something. Everyone falls for him the moment he walks by.