CH 10

When it became known to the public that Saint Alphana transferred to the Royal Academy, the entirety of the school was in chaos.

She was surrounded by all kinds of students, not only those from S class but also from other classes, who had come only to catch a glimpse of the Saint’s face.

“Lady Saint, I’ve been wanting to meet you for once in a lifetime!”

“I appreciate that.”

“Saint-sama! Why did you choose this academy?”

“I’d like to say it’s a social experience… but with a purpose.”

Apparently, the bombardment of new students with questions is no different in any world.

In the midst of all this, Kanata never bothered to approach the Lady Saint. Instead, he stayed in his seat, thinking.

(… So she’s a saint, huh? One of the most important positions in the kingdom. So she is a person with authority on par with the royal family?)

For Kanata, his knowledge of the so-called saints is no more than that of a bystander.

From what he knows, a saint is an existence selected once every few decades, depending on their unusual magical powers and suitability as a saint.

Despite her young age, she has the authority to run the church with ease, and furthermore, she is also involved in diplomacy, as she has close ties to the royal family.

“… I never thought I’d see that girl again.”

Kanata now knew why she said back then that she could easily fend off the man with force if she wanted to.

Also, he was secretly scared that he might get accused of disrespect for patting her on the head, though she did not take any action against Kanata.

“Well, she must’ve forgotten my face by now. As you can see, I’m just a regular guy around here.”

Kanata looked away from Alphana, thinking it was no longer his concern.

However, it became bothersome to see so many students, especially from the nobility, approaching her like that.

Maria, who was said to be her friend, was absent today because of official work, and there was no one here who was truly her equal.

“Lady Alphana, I am Zektor, second son of Randall Family—”

The moment the long-haired noble student mentioned Alphana’s name, something changed.

“Could you please not call me by my name without my permission?”

“F-forgive me for my rudeness.”

Zektor immediately lowered his head at Alphana’s clear refusal.

Not only Kanata but also the oppressed commoner students laughed at the pitiful appearance of the aristocrat, who was always overbearing toward Kanata and the other commoners.

Of course, it would be troublesome if she noticed them, so they only laughed in their mind.

“But still, why the S class?”

That was the question.

Not to be compared to Kanata, who possesses limitless magic powers, Alphana’s magic power is said to be so enormous, on par with or greater than Maria’s.

That being the case, one would expect her to get assigned to the SSS class instead of the S class, but in the end, Kanata, a mere student, had no way of knowing the truth.

“Well, I’m not going to get involved in this. So what shall I talk about today?”

Muttering so, Kanata started thinking about the content of today’s streaming.

Even though the Saint joined their class, there was no change in the lecture content and practical training.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Water Slash.”

It was a demonstration of magic, where Alphana showed off her abilities.

Although the magic she used was simple enough for Kanata and the others to learn at this stage, it was so different in power and intensity that the object that served as the target got torn to shreds.

“As expected of the Lady Saint.”

“She’s so amazing…”

“… There’s no way I can get close to her if she’s this strong.”

Kanata thought, ‘You should concentrate on yourself instead of worrying about such things,’ which was normal for him, but not so from the aristocrats’ point of view, it seemed.

After all, becoming close to someone like Alphana would become a great contribution to their house and an incredible personal achievement. That’s why they were so devastated.

“Next, Kanata-san, please.”

“Yeah.”

Kanata also stood in front of the target as the teacher called him.

At that moment, when he passed Alphana by switching places, she blurted out, 

“I’ll be cheering for you, kind-hearted one.”

“Ehh?”

“Ufufu ♪.”

… Apparently, she remembered Kanata.

Perhaps she was thinking about the possibility of receiving criticism from other students if she had a conversation with Kanata in a place where they were being publicly watched.

Kanata’s cheeks relaxed as he did not expect to hear that from her again, the kind-hearted one.

“Water Slash.”

He fired a water blade at the target. It hit cleanly, though not at Alphana’s level.

The teacher nodded in satisfaction at the perfection of his magic as usual, which he had limited and tried to make look as bland as possible.

However, only the teachers were happy, while the students were not.

“Damn… cocky as ever.”

“For him to be a filthy commoner.”

“What does he think he is?”

The atmosphere around Kanata deteriorates whenever he performs well.

A normal person would not be able to tolerate such an abusive atmosphere, but too bad for them, Kanata does not have the temperament to be swayed by such words.

‘Say whatever you want.’ Thinking so, he was about to return to where he was when he heard Alphana’s cool voice resounding.

“’Filthy commoner,’ who said that?”

Her voice sounded like it dripped in quiet anger.

Kanata turned to look at Alphana, as she was looking at the others with a gaze so piercing that he couldn’t imagine it coming from her cutesy face.

“The magic that he just demonstrated was so wonderful. Unlike me, who used force to make things happen, his magic was precise to the extreme… a work of art. Ahm, it seems even I had a lot to learn from him.”

Alphana’s praise didn’t stop there.

It was a little exhilarating to see the expressions on the faces of those who spoke ill of Kanata getting progressively worse every time she praised him.

“In this academy… No. No one is qualified to say such things to anyone because they’re of higher status. Nobles by no means are special such that they can abuse commoners… I never expected to see such a scene when I came to this academy— have some shame on you!”

“…”

“…”

The nobles didn’t say anything to Kanata anymore.

But from how they bit their lips, it looked like they were suppressing a fit of anger that had nowhere else to go. Apparently, regardless of what Alphana was saying to them, it all converted into anger toward Kanata.

“How much do they hate me?”

Kanata muttered like it was someone else’s problem.

The magic exercise continued without problems, and Kanata never spoke to Alphana again after it.

But the opportunity to talk to her comes at an unexpected moment.

“Hey you guys, sorry to keep you waiting!” [Kanata]

“Hey, guys, let’s get started.” [Kanata]

“We’re doing it again today, you guys!” [Kanata]

It was when Kanata was practicing for what he would say at the beginning of his stream.

He sensed a presence approaching and turned his attention to see who it was. Kanata was surprised to see Alphana and wondered why she was there.

“Ah, I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were here before me. I found this place on my way to explore the academy… Fufu ♪. Good to see you again, kind-hearted one.”

She said this with a beautiful smile.

She approached him with a friendly smile and showed no wariness toward Kanata.

Well, Kanata had no intention of doing anything to her, and since he was the one who helped her, he agreed that there was nothing strange about it.

“Let’s see… You’re the young lady from back then, right?”

The other party is a saint, someone equal to Maria, so he must be respectful.

Nodding at Kanata’s words, she returned the words with a slightly disgruntled look on her face.

“That’s right. But there is no need for honorifics, so please be just like you were back then. I can’t help being formal around the public because this is like a custom of mine, but I would like you to be normal to me.”

“… Really? Then I’ll just talk as usual.”

“… Thanks!”

Kanata stopped using honorifics then.

However, it would be a disaster if he was seen alone with one of the most important people in the kingdom, the Saint, or so he thought.

Fortunately, there were no people around, but Kanata was still a little worried.

Whether she knew of Kanata’s anxiety or not, Alphana even went further and said the following,

“I have the information about the class members in mind, but if you don’t mind, may I call you Kanata-sama? And please call me Alphana by all means.”

“Eh? Is it good? You looked like you didn’t like it when someone called your name earlier.”

Kanata asked as he had seen the scene earlier, and she nodded with a laugh.

“I would like you to call me by name. I know that you are a very kind person because of our encounter. Now that we have met again, will you please do me such a favour?”

Although he was certainly unwilling to do so, he couldn’t help but nod his head when such a beautiful girl insisted so much.

Despite remaining a bit puzzled, Kanata called Alphana’s name.

“… Alphana?”

“Fuwa… yes. Kanata-sama.”

He wondered why Alphana looked strangely entranced, but this was how he got involved with the Saint.

(She sure is so cute… She’s got a great personality and a naughty body, too perfect, right?)

(Now that he has called me by my name, it means that he has already given his consent to conclude our marriage, right?)

For one reason or another, hardcore simps tend to exaggerate. It was no wonder Kanata was oblivious to this.

There is no way he would notice that the Saint had such a desire hidden inside.