Volume 2 - CH 7

For first-year students at the Academy, general courses were in the morning while elective courses were in the afternoon.

There were a total of seven subjects in the general courses: Modern Literature, Mathematics, Geography, Foreign Languages, Basic Etiquette, and Basic Spellcraft.

On the other hand, there were a variety of elective courses available; Chivalry was most popular among the male students, while female students picked Advanced Etiquette. There were other specialized classes as electives as well, such as Applied Magicks, Pharmeceutical Studies, and Architecture. Ultimately, students would have to take at least one such advanced elective course.

The Academy would hold classes for six days of the week and close for a rest day on the seventh; Students had the option to return home after classes on the sixth day to spend the day off at home before returning to the dormitory and classes the following week.

The typical day began with three hours of lessons in the general courses, then, after the lunch break, there would be another one to two hours for elective courses. Depending on the student, it would be possible to have days without elective courses and therefore an entirely free afternoon.

However, for children of nobility, academic success was simply a starting point; the other side to attending the Royal Academy was to establish and foster connections with other noble children of the same generation. It was rather common for students to make use of a free afternoon to host gatherings or tea parties so as to socialize and network with their peers.

On the other end of the class divide, the Academy was an opportunity for students of commoner backgrounds to secure future employment, and it was not uncommon for such students to take many elective courses to build personal experience and skills. Attending the Academy was, after all, an important chance for them to uplift themselves, and not an experience they could afford to waste.

Of course this generalization did not apply to every student; there were commoners more involved with the nobility that focused more time on socializing and networking, for example.

“Applied Magicks, huh… I’m interested in the class, but I can’t use magic at all.”

“The Basic Spellcraft class in our general courses is mostly theory and lectures, but Applied Magicks is more about usage and application, right? I can’t use magic either, so I can’t take it…”

Their morning orientation had just finished; it was mostly about the class system of the Academy but had included a walking tour of the entire campus, and though the Academy had cut down on the areas for academic use to expand the dormitories, there was still enough to cover that the tour had taken the entire morning class time.

And so the students found themselves on their lunch break, and Luciana and Luna had moved to the dining hall to take their meal and discuss their potential elective courses.

Incidentally, the layout of the dining hall for students was identical to the one for servants… or rather, it was more appropriate to say the servant’s dining hall imitated the student’s.

That is to say there was the open food court layout on the first floor and the more formal restaurant style, complete with waitstaff, on the second floor. Like with the dormitories, the two styles were for catering to students of different origins and lifestyles.

Of course, there was no discriminatory policy restricting where each student could take their meals. However, there was an etiquette requirement to dine at the second-floor restaurant, but the basic etiquette class for first-years taught enough to fulfill that.

In any case, Luciana and Luna were currently having lunch at the food court today. Although the first floor was Luciana’s only option due to financial reasons, this time was out of necessity due to their dining companions.

“Ah, um, th-th-thank you so much f-for… l-letting me join in…”

Sitting across from Luciana was a girl with messy brown hair that draped down to her chest and bangs long enough to cover her eyes. This girl that kept her gaze pointed down and stuttered with nervous hesitation was Perriand Poldor.

And beneath that skittish exterior… a pair of bombs were hiding. Indeed, those were two bombs that could destroy reason and logic.

Luciana’s eyes could see through the deception! Well, Perriand was not actually trying to hide anything, but rather she was the type of person to appear more slender in clothing.

“Yeah, and we’re glad to have you here. It’s nice to meet you, Perriand.”

“O-of course…”

Perhaps Perriand was simply a shy girl by nature; she appeared to be blushing from beneath her long bangs.

“I tried inviting the ones sitting in front and behind me, but they both turned me down, so I’m really glad Perriand decided to come with us. I hope we can get along in the future, too!”

“Y-yesh..!”

It was Luna’s turn to direct a smile at Perriand, who seemed to shrink even smaller and blush a deeper red.

“You know, if either of them had accepted Luna’s invitation, then I wouldn’t have to be the only man in this group. Good grief.”

The boy sitting beside Perriand added his piece to the conversation in a gentle voice, a soft smile floating on his lips.

“You say that, but I’m sure you’re actually quite happy with being able to surround yourself with such pretty flowers.”

“Fufufu, my thoughts exactly, just as Luciana says.”

“Y-you’re being… quite rude to Lady Luciana and Lady Luna…”

Luciana had a suitable comeback for his complaint, but while Luna played along, the more serious Perriand had scolded the boy for his indiscretion. It was a shame the joke went over her head.

The boy smiled as he lowered his eyebrows and raised his hands in mock surrender.

“Uh-huh, I understand completely, so please accept the humblest apologies of this Lukeev Gehrman, my dear ladies.”

“Well, with such sincerity, perhaps I could find it in my magnanimous self to forgive such a transgression. Fufu~”

Luciana played along, giggling at the boy’s exaggerated expressions.

This was Lukeev Gehrman. He was a rather slender for a boy, with softer features. His glossy green hair sat just short of his ears; if his hair were just a little longer, he would look quite beautiful.

He and Perriand were the classmates that sat in front of and behind Luciana, and though they were commoners, the two had accepted her invitation to lunch. On the other hand, their seat neighbors, that is, the classmates in front of and behind Luna, had declined to join this gathering.

“In any case, since we’re classmates, feel free to talk more casually to us, Lukeev.”

But Lukeev answered Luciana’s words with a bitter smile.

“I thank you for your consideration, but I am afraid I must refrain nonetheless. Maintaining politeness is in the very nature of my family’s business, after all. It would be much appreciated if you would forgive such indiscretion.”

“It’s no trouble for us either way. Did you come from a family of merchants? It sounds like you really have your work cut out for you.”

“Fufu, I have grown accustomed to it. Now, going back to our previous topic, I believe it should be possible to take Applied Magicks as a trial for this first semester.”

“Is that how it works?”

“Was that not how it was explained during orientation? First-year students such as ourselves are not required to enroll in elective courses until our second semester. After the summer break, in other words The intent seems to be to allow us to freely attend elective courses to discover for ourselves what we would be most interested in.”

With so many options available, the students would be hard-pressed to discover which elective suited them best, so it made sense that the Academy gave the first-years a free first semester so as to try attending all the courses they had been interested in.

“So what are you going to do, Luciana? Will you be checking out the Applied Magicks course?”

“Hm. For now, I’ll stick to Basic Spellcraft from the general courses and decide my elective later.”

“Since there is plenty of time to decide, I feel that is probably the best option for now. Then, for Perriand, I believe you said you would be choosing Pharmaceuticals for your elective?”

Perriand, suddenly finding herself on the spot, stuttered as she answered.

“Y-yes… My father owns an apothecary. I plan to… take over after him.”

“Oh, does that mean your father also attended the Academy? It seems the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.”

“N-no, it’s nothing that great…”

Luna’s compliment caught Perriand by surprise, who blushed and turned away again with shy embarassment. Quite a sensitive girl, that one.

“So what about you, Lukeev? Have you decided on your elective?”

“Unfortunately not yet, Lady Luciana. As you said, I come from a family of merchants that do business with many different nobles. My priority for now will be socializing and building my network, and my efforts will be on gathering information on which students are taking which electives before I make my own decision.”

Luciana could only nod with admiration after hearing Lukeev’s logical explanation.

“Hm, that is an interesting way to decide on what course to take… That being said, do you mean to imply that going out to lunch with us was part of your networking plan?”

“While it would be untrue to deny that was my main reason, I also had a personal reason for wanting to meet you, Lady Luciana, and you, Lady Luna. And of course Perriand as well.”

“You had a personal reason? With both of us?”

Luciana and Luna both tilted their heads in confusion.

“Indeed. Last night, my attendant told me he had become acquainted with your servant, Lady Luciana.”

“Is that so? My maid, Melody, only told me that she had become friends with Luna’s maid.”

“And I have known about Lady Luna’s servants for quite a while now.”

“Do you mean Sasha and Blish? Then… Oh, so you must be from the family their childhood friend is serving under. What a small world this is.”

“What do you mean, Luna?”

“The two apprentice servants that serve me have a childhood friend. I was told this friend served a commoner’s family, and that should be Lukeev’s family.”

Luna looked over at Lukeev as though to confirm her hypothesis, and he nodded with a smile.

“It is exactly as you have surmised, Lady Luna. My servant is quite capable, but I find his behavior is a bit lacking. Last night, he mentioned he had become acquainted with quite an interesting girl, which caught my atten–?!”

Lukeev abrupted stopped; a creeping chill seemed to crawl to him, and he looked over to find the source: Luciana… with a cold smile on her face. From where they sat, it seemed even Perriand and Luna could feel the the icy aura wafting from Luciana.

“I see, I see. So this servant of yours, ‘he’ has an interest in my maid? Surely he did not mean it in a romantic sense, is that right?”

“N-nothing of the sort! He was only interested in her as a friend! Only as a friend, he said!”

Lukeev, his survival instincts urging him on, quickly answered with his best reassurances. If he were to hesitate even the slightest bit here… he would be swallowed whole, metaphorically speaking.

“Is that so… Then all is well and good.”

Warmth and kindness returned to Luciana’s smile; the changes had been so abrupt both ways that the three could only wonder about what had happened. Indeed, Luciana had, for a moment, become quite terrifying…

“It s-seems your maid is quite precious to you…”

Lukeev managed some careful words through his forced smile, but it seemed he inadvertently kicked the hornet’s nest once again.

“Yes, absolutely. If there is any man who would dare make a move on my precious Melody, I swear I will make him regret ever being born. Even if he is a knight… I will show him no mercy.”

(A kn-knight? Was there someone she specifically meant?)

This terrifying side to Luciana’s persona, completely at odds with the “Fairy Princess” he had gathered information on, left Lukeev in conflicted horror.

After finishing lunch, Luciana and the others returned to their classroom, and it was during this afternoon session that they would receive their graded midterms and review the answers.

While normally there was a teacher to cover each subject, in this case, Regis would be handling the exam review, and because there was hardly time to cover every question in detail, they would only be checking over the questions where many in the class had made a mistake.

“…Now, with all of this in mind, it would appear that our Class A had the highest average among the three first-year classes.”

The mood in the room visibly brightened at his words, each student becoming excited over being ‘the best’, but Regis’s stern gaze and following words quickly dampened the mounting fervor.

“And yet this was only possible through the efforts of the top four scores in our class. Without them, there would be little difference between our class average and that of the others’. With that in mind, strive to work even harder, and do not become complacent in your studies.. Is that understood?”

To which the students cried “Yes, sir!” in unison… Was this actually a facility for training soldiers?

It was nearly sunset by the time the exam review had finished and classes had ended. Students quickly exited the classrooms and streamed through the halls, Lukeev and Perriand among them.

“Well then, shall we head back, Luciana?”

“Yes, let us be off. I suppose I will be reviewing the exam again once I have returned… Ahh, I am already so tired…”

“Fufufu, if you have much to study despite ranking third, think of how much more I have since I am ranked tenth.”

Luna gave a light-hearted laugh to Luciana’s complaints, but Luciana could only give back a bitter smile as she quietly resigned herself to what was to come.

“Lucky for you there is no demonic tutor waiting for you in your room… Hm?”

As Luciana quickly gathered her belongings and stood to leave, she noticed Annemarie, Christopher, and Olivia still loitering in the classrom in the midst of a discussion.

“We should give His Highness our greetings before we leave, Luciana.”

“R-right…”

Although the three students in question were of higher standing compared to them, the Academy emphasized a tradition of equality regardless of social hierarchy, so greeting the Crown Prince and the others should be a perfectly normal thing to do…

..if not for the presence of a certain Lady Olivia, who seemed to be holding a grudge against Luciana.

“Your Highness, Lady Olivia, Lady Annemarie; we shall be taking our leave.”

Luna politely addressed the group, taking care to refer to them in order of status. Luciana did the same.

“Oh, thanks for letting us know. It’s getting dark, so be careful on your way home. Also, since we’re classmates from hereon, there’s no need to be so formal all the time. Feel free to call me by name.”

Crown Prince Christopher gave the girls a beautiful smile as he turned to address them. His gestures were so elegant and refined that it was rather hard to believe he was only fifteen years old.

“I must apologize, but I am unable to do so, Your Highness. It would be far too disrespectul coming from one such as myself.”

“That is a little troubling. Everyone has been all distant with me, just calling me ‘Your Highness’, so I have been feeling quite lonely.”

“For someone as splendid as yourself, Your Highness, only the truly uncouth would dare treat you with less than the greatest respect.”

Olivia flashed a warm smile at the troubled Christopher; there was a genuine kindess completely at odds from earlier. Luciana could hardly believe Olivia could make such a geniunely caring expression.

“Since you mentioned it, should you not leaving soon as well? The dormitories are close-by, but traveling in the dark is a bit…”

Luna asked in curiosity, and it was Annemarie that answered.

“An acquaintance planned to meet us, and so His Highness and I are waiting here for them. Lady Olivia, on the other hand, stayed to keep us company while we waited.”

“I am terribly sorry for having troubled you, Miss Olivia.”

“Please, you need not concern yourself over me, Your Highness. After all, it has been a pleasurable time for me to chat with you like this.”

Olivia’s cheeks glowed a soft pink, and it was then that Luciana realized Olivia held special feelings for Crown Prince Christopher.

(And yet, the most favored candidate for the Crown Prince at the moment was…)

Luciana looked over at Annemarie, who was quietly standing to the side and smiling as she watched the two converse. Was she not jealous of how close they were? Of course, Annemarie actually believed Olivia was a more appropriate fiance candidate, if not for her jealous side; nobody, let alone Luciana, could have guessed that was how Annemarie truly felt.

The sound of the door opening brought Luciana out of her thoughts, and a familiar person entered the classroom.

“Lord Maxwell?”

“Oh, it has been some time, Lady Luciana. Since the Spring Ball, I believe? Have you been well?”

In walked a boy with honey-colored hair: Maxwell Lycrents, the son of the prime minister, Marquis Georac Lycrents. He was Luciana’s escort to the Spring Ball two months ago; being sixteen-years-old, he currently attended the Royal Academy as a second-year-student.

“So you just ignore me, your prince, and go straight for Miss Luciana? Smooth moves, Max.”

“It was nothing of the sort. She just happened to be the first one I saw when I walked in.”

“Oh? So are you saying the rest of us were not important enough to be noticed, Sir Lycrents?”

A dissatisfied Olivia cut into the casual back-and-forth between the boys. Maxwell narrowed his eyes in annoyance for a brief moment but quickly gave a bow as he returned to his usual smile.

“Please excuse my rudeness, Lady Olivia, Lady Annemarie, and… Might I know your name?”

Maxwell paused to address Luna, of whom he was meeting for the first time.

“Lord Maxwell, if I may interrupt, please allow me to introduce my friend, Luna of House Invidia.”

“Uh, um, my name is Luna, of House Invidia. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Luna curtsied to Maxwell, but she was acting quite suspiciously; her face had turned a bright red, and she seemed rather embarassed ebout something. She was perfectly capable of interacting with the Crown Prince, so why would she be nervous around Maxwell…

(So is it because of his face? Ugh, this is why I hate the pretty boy archetype! They should all just get lost!)

Seeing Maxwell give Luna a casual greeting, Christopher had only baleful thoughts for his long-time friend; despite having reincarnated as someone just as handsome, it seemed Christopher was still unable let go of his petty grudge against those kinds of men.

(He’s such a small-minded person…)

Meanwhile, Annemarie, fully capable of reading Christopher and knowing his exact thoughts, scolded him in her mind. Well, those two have always been like this.

“So what brings you to our class today, Lord Maxwell?”

“It is quite… unseemly for you to involve yourself when the matter clearly has nothing to do with you, Lady Luthorburg.”

“M-my apologies.”

Olivia had immediately pounced on Luciana’s casual question, giving the girl a sharp glare. Luciana understood Olivia was in the right and quickly withdrew, but Maxwell continued with a bitter smile on his lips.

“It was no problem at all, Lady Olivia. As for your question, Lady Luciana, I came here because I wanted to talk to these two about joining the student council.”

He meant the Student Council of the Royal Academy, the student body representative for the Academy. Whether it was because such an organization was a staple among dating sims like this, or because it was in the nature of an educational institute to have such an organization, the fact of the matter was there was an official student council at the Royal Academy.

And it seemed today, Maxwell had come to invite Crown Prince Christopher and Lady Annemarie to join.

Unlike in modern Japanese schools, there was no election to determine student council members. Instead, incumbent members invited prospective members to join. The teachers could also recommend students to invite..

In the Kingdom of Theolas, where the class system was still prevalent, it was only natural for those in power to take responsibility in leading. Thus, it should have come as no surprise that the student council would immediately scout the crown prince.

“Then does this mean His Highness will become the student council president?”

“Being president is quite tough for any first-year student, even His Highness. Instead, we shall have instate him as one of the two vice-presidents on the council. Incidentally, I shall serve as the other vice-president. The president will be chosen later, among the third-year students currently in the council.

Luciana and Luna understood his explanation; no matter how brilliant the Crown Prince was, as a new student, it was impossibile for him to already understand the workings of the Academy. It would be far more productive for him to serve a role to support the student council president, so that he could quickly acclimatize to the role for when he himself would serve as president.

But as Luciana nodded in admiration, a flash of inspiration struck Maxwell, and he turned to face her.

“Oh, that’s right, we still have an open spot on the student council. Would you be interested in joining, Lady Luciana?”

“…Wha?”

” ” ” “What?!” ” ” “

The sudden proposition caught Luciana off-guard, but the more shocked response had come from the other four, especially Annemarie. After all, there was no event in the game where the heroine received an invitation to join the student council.

(What’s going on?! I thought Luciana was to be the substitute heroine! But this didn’t happen in the game! It’s a completely new event!)

“So what do you think? I heard you scored third highest on yesterday’s midterm, quite an impressive feat. The student council is always looking for talented people, so I would be quite happy if you were to join.”

Maxwell happily chattered away, but Luciana was lost in thought. After a moment, she shook her head and gave Maxwell a clear response.

“Umm, I must apologize, Lord Maxwell. Although I am truly honored you would extend such an invitation to me, I am afraid I must decline.”

“Could you tell me the reason for declining?”

“If you would excuse my boldness, I believe I am unsuitable for the role. Oh, but if it is that, then perhaps Luna here is suitable. She was capable enough to place tenth, too. What do you think about that, Luna?”

“Huh?! M-m-me?!”

The focus suddenly shifted to Luna, who grew flustered and looked back and forth between Luciana and Maxwell. After her moment of panic, Luna, too, energetically shook her head.

“Th-that would be impossible for me! I am also u-unsuited for the role!”

“I think you’re capable enough and well-suited for the role though…”

As he turned back to face Luciana, Maxwell could only put on a wry smile.

“Well, while it is quite regrettable that you have no interest in joining, I will not force the issue.”

“…Did the idea of inviting me not cross your mind, Lord Maxwell?”

Olivia, who had quietly watched the entire exchange, finally found an opportunity to interject, her foul mood apparent from her narrowed eyes.

The girls gave a start as they suddenly realized Olivia’s point; indeed, why had Maxwell not also invited Olivia to the student council, especially considering her superior background and midterm score?

“You know exactly why, don’t you? Your brother is already a member of the student council, and the rules state only one member of a family can be in the council at any given time. That is to ensure fairness.”

“I understand why, and yet that does not make being completely ignored, for such a reason, any less unpleasant…”

(…Especially when you snub me by inviting a girl like that so casually!)

There was a withering resentment lurking beneath the gaze Olivia directed towards Luciana, so deeply buried that she noticed not a thing.