Chapter 115: - New Semester (1)

༺ New Semester (1) ༻

A new semester began.

1st graders were turning into 2nd graders with new freshmen being added to the mix. There were many things happening and most 1st graders had to move dormitories as they entered their second year at the Academy depending on their major and career paths but that didn’t apply to me.

“Wow~ Korin. You are done already?”

“Thanks to Doggo helping me, it wasn’t that hard.”

When I returned to the special dormitory after a long time of absence, there were a few things to do such as cleaning and removing the messy weeds, but cleaning didn’t take that long because all I had to clean was my room and the storeroom.

“More importantly, Korin! You will be in your 2nd year from tomorrow! Congratulations!”

“Same to you. You are in your 3rd year now.”

Tomorrow was the freshmen welcoming ceremony already. Just like what we went through last year, the new students would take their Grading tests and receive their temporary Grades.

Thinking back to the past reminded me of how everything started. Just 1 year ago, I had entered the Academy as a Grade 5 Knight and yet here I was, sitting at Grade 1.

“We are here from Dumons Furniture. Where would you like this to go?”

“Ah, please come this way!”

I wasn’t the only one taking care of the mansion in preparation for the new semester. Marie was also bringing in a bunch of new furniture into the dormitory, and those seemed to be being sent here in the form of a donation.

“Huh? Senior, are we getting a new bed as well?”

“Hnn? Y, yeah... Umm, how should I say this... It’s a bit uncomfortable compared to the one at home...!”

Huh? Wasn’t she using it just fine for 2 years now? And the bed she had at her home...

“Oopsies! Hey Brother Kim! Be careful! You’ll get squashed to death if one of these lands on top of ya!”

“G, got it...! Ehew. Is this a palace for newlyweds? What kind of...”

The workers were bringing in beds that were clearly bigger than normal single-sized beds. They were... much bigger than expected.

“Amazing, right? They are really good beds. Apparently you fall asleep just by lying on it.”

“They do look impressive. Thank you for changing all of our beds but what about yours, Senior Marie?”

“I have one too! It’s that big one there!”

“Looks similar to the one I saw in your house.”

It had the same size as the bed that was in that Evergreen Room or something which was given to fiancés. It was so wide that two people wouldn’t be able to fill it.

“Hehe... It’s just in case there is a guest coming over.”

“A guest?”

Was she talking about her friends? It made sense considering how she had a bunch of friends like Isabelle. Plus, I did hear that girls tended to play like that sometimes; going on the so-called pajama parties and such.

In any case, it seemed that all the furniture in the mansion was being replaced to suit the standards of the Potato Empire in the south. Walking away from that, I carried a garbage bag full of weeds and headed to the incinerator at the back of the dormitory.

That was where I found Hua Ran.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“As you can see, I’m cleaning the yard. What about you?”

“Fish.”

“Fish?”

Wondering what she was talking about, I looked inside the incinerator and found a massive tuna being burned inside it.

“...Can you explain to me what that is?”

“Fried tuna.”

“Like, it’s not like I don’t know what it is, but...”

“I heard eyeballs are good for IQ? Or something.”

“I don’t know if that’s true or not, but more importantly, why are you cooking that in an incinerator?”

Hearing my question, Hua Ran tilted her head as if I was asking about the most obvious thing in the world.

“I can’t cook something that big in the kitchen.”

“Oh~ So you want to eat the whole thing as it is?”

“Yes.”

Aiya. Look at this girl. Even though she had the memories of Ran, she was still a baby who had only spent 3 years in the society. She was just turning 4 now.

“Next time, just tell me. I can chop it up into smaller pieces and cook them for you.”

“...Okay.”

“Like, how did you even get a tuna this big? And didn’t you buy massive flatfish last time as well?”

“I bought them at the market.”

“...They sell these?”

Did they sell fish this big? There had to be something wrong with that marketplace and the storeowner for deciding to sell things like these as a whole to a little girl.

“Ehew. Well, you cooked it anyway so let’s grab Doggo and eat it together.”

“...No.”

“Huh?”

“This is mine.”

“Like, there’s no way you’re going to finish the...”

“It’s mine.”

“...Alright, sure. Have the whole thing.”Điscover new chapters at novelhall.com

She was stubborn and possessive like a little girl. After pondering by herself for some time, Hua Ran pulled my sleeves and added.

“You can have some.”

“What an honor to hear that.”

No matter what, it would be hard for her to eat this enormous tuna by herself, and maybe she knew that. That must be why she was offering it to me.

“But still, let’s chop this into pieces. If we leave it like this, the outside will get scorched but the inside is going to stay raw.”

“Okay.”

I was carrying out a sudden tuna chopping show and thinking about having this for lunch when Alicia appeared from the other side.

“Mr. Korin~. Let’s have lunch together! Uhekk?! What is all this?”

“Tuna.”

“I get that but...”

“Quiet down and just help me cook these.”

– Jiiiiing...!

It was then. The dimensions tore open as the head of our dormitory with a mature beauty appeared from within. What she found first thing after returning to the dormitory was us cooking large chunks of tuna on campfires placed around the yard.

“Student Korin? What are you doing?”

“We’re cooking tuna. You should join us for lunch.”

“Haa... Where did you even get this?”

“You should ask the sister next to me.”

“...”

Professor Lulara got on the carriage that went straight to her building, while we decided to wait for a few more students to arrive.

“...You.”

Hua Ran, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly opened her mouth.

“That doesn’t suit you.”

“Huh? It doesn’t?”

“It’s bad.”

“Really? Everyone was saying it was okay though...”

“...”

“Is it really that bad...?”

Well, preference in clothes was a subjective matter anyway so I let that go. I threw a glance at Hua Ran, who was looking straight forward with the poster hanging on her neck, and realized that her lips were in a slight pout.

Why was she in a bad mood all of a sudden?

.........

......

...

“LOUDERRRRRR...!”

“YEAHHHHH...!”

Inside the carriage with a bunch of freshmen students, I screamed through the microphone as the students responded with a shout.

“Nino, Maximus, Keyser Soze!! Sonador, and Spartaaaaaa!! They don’t die! I don’t die~~!”

“You’re doing great!”

“I have no idea what he’s saying though...!”

The 2nd year student senior singing a song in the carriage was like an annual event that helped the freshmen students forget their nervousness.

“Oppa! You’re cool!”

“Cool? Anything else?”

“You’re handsome!!”

“Okay, you over there. I’ll remember ya. You are a part of my crew now!”

“Thank you!”

“Now, thanks for listening to my song, and let’s start getting off!”

““Okay!””

Hua Ran and I got off first with the freshmen students following behind us. Seeing them reminded me of last year.

“So, there are going to be professors inside. Go in, and good luck!”

“???”

Most of the students seemed to have no idea why I was wishing them good luck. Towards the back of the group were the siblings, Ren and Ron.

“Bro... I mean, Big Brother. We will see you later.”

“Alrighty. Good luck to you, and you too Ren.”

“We don’t need luck.”

Patting them on their extra-soft honey-blonde-colored hair, I sent the two of them into the Liberty Hall. Inside, the 1st year students will be undertaking their first grading test just like I did last year.

Even though Ren and Ron appeared like primary school kids, there were probably going to be less than a handful of students this year that could have a meaningful fight against them.

“I have to go,” said Hua Ran.

“Okay sure. You said there’s something to do at the church, right?”

“There’s that too.”

That too?

“Someone annoying wants to see me.”

“Who?”

“Just someone.”

A visitor for Hua Ran? Who could it be? There were only a few people even back in the game that interacted with Hua Ran, so that was a bit of a surprise.

She disappeared after kicking off the ground. Even though I told her multiple times to not fly across the Academy, she was still the same.

There was a time when she crashed into a bird and had us eat a whole bird for dinner. It was very tedious to pluck the feathers and wash the guts out, so I really hoped she would stop doing that.

– Kugung!

Another carriage arrived as soon as Hua Ran left.

“Hu~. This way please! And everyone, be careful on your way down!”

It was Alicia’s voice, which meant they were coming from the western gate. Naturally, I turned my eyes to the freshmen students that were getting off the carriage, and...

“Aht, be careful.”

A girl stepped down on the ground with a walking stick with the help of Alicia. She had such a memorable appearance; one that no one could forget upon seeing once.

And I happened to know who that was.

“Shit...”

The girl had blazing and fiery red hair. She had matching ruby-colored eyes but those were clearly different from the red indifferent eyes of Hua Ran.

Her cold and cruel eyes had a vertical slit in them. Hua Ran was a lofty beast, whereas she was more like a venomous snake.

Her body was smaller than the other girls and boys of her age, but there was an undisguisable sense of pressure in her atmosphere that did not allow anyone to look down on her.

Even though the students were allowed to wear anything, one could say it was as expected of her to come to the entrance ceremony wearing a luxurious dress.

– Clomp! Clomp!

The girl walked straight towards me and stopped right before me.

“Knight Korin, yes? Nice to meet you. My name is Miruam Elizabeth El Rath.”

“Huhp...!”

I could hear Alicia gasping for breath at the back. Right – it might be possible to not know her first or her second name, there was no way anyone in this kingdom wouldn’t be aware of her last name.

Without even caring about Alicia gasping behind her, the girl who called herself ‘El Rath’ raised her hand that was covered with an opera glove.

『When in front of an attractive lady, it is the courtesy of a gentleman to give her a kiss and ask for a dance, Knight Korin.』

『Knight Korin. Look. This is our child. Beautiful, right?』

Her face overlapped with the one I saw in the past. She was one whom I had a stronger impression of in the last iteration than the game. The one who...

“An honor to see the princess.”

Kissing her on the back of her hand, I demonstrated the required etiquette of a knight.

She was Miruam Elizabeth El Rath, the 2nd Princess of this kingdom.

......

......

Umm, Lady Miru? Why are you here?