Book 1 Chapter 232
“Which dorm are you going to?”
“Still, wouldn’t Dorm 1 be better?”
“I’m going to Dorm 2. As a knight major, being in the same dorm as Celia is definitely not a bad choice.”
On the first day when dorm assignments were announced, an overwhelming number of students wanted to go to Dorm 1.
However, as the other dorm leaders set the direction for their dorms, interest in the other dorms also grew.
It was true that Leo had been active as the class representative and risen to the position of student council president.
But it was the dorm leaders who had led the students in their department life up until now.
“I don’t understand!”
About five days after the dorm selection process began.
The outline of the dorms was slowly taking shape.
Students with strong departmental pride chose Dorm 2, where Celia, Chelsea, and Warreden were.
Students with strong pride in their skills chose Dorm 3.
And students who had a strong will to improve among themselves, including those from the dual class, chose Dorm 1.
As they gathered in small groups, talking about the dorms, Emio Ruchan's irritable voice was heard from the garden.
He was arguing with Abad.
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
Abad said to Emio with his characteristic gentle smile.
“Exactly. It means I don’t understand your actions at all.”
Emio, with his arms crossed, gestured with his chin towards Illiana.
“You offer a dorm spot to a nobody like this, but why don’t you say a single word to me? Didn’t you say you’d defeat Leo Flobe and become the best dorm? But Dorm 3 is just gathering a bunch of riffraff.”
“Hey, who are you calling riffraff?”
Illiana’s voice, who had been caught between the two and didn’t know what to do, turned harsh.
“Oh? You’re confident in your skills, are you?”
“Are you blind because you’re a top student in the magic department? Am I confident? I could stomp you right now and throw you into that garden trash can.”
Illiana let out a cold laugh and spat out harsh words.
Normally, Illiana was clumsy and made many mistakes due to her overly impetuous personality, but she was clearly one of the most powerful and top-ranked students among all second-year students.
She wouldn’t just let an insulting remark slide.
“That’s a brazen thing to say.”
“Want to fight right now?”
At Emio’s words, Illiana gave a cold laugh and lowered her stance.
Just as Emio saw Illiana and was about to generate magic with a serious expression.
“Don’t fight recklessly outside.”
“Huh?”
Leo put his hands under Illiana’s armpits and lifted her up.
Startled by Leo’s approach without a sound and his action of lifting her, Illiana quickly retracted her aura and magic.
“Hmph?”
Emio stared at Abad with wide eyes, looking at the staff pushed against his neck.
“Isn’t it a bit much to cause trouble when the semester hasn’t even officially started?” His smile was as gentle as usual, but his eyes were cold.
Emio clicked his tongue in annoyance and left.
“Class rep. Put me down.”
As Leo put her down, Illiana fanned her slightly flushed face and said.
“You could have just stopped us, why did you have to surprise me by lifting me up?”
“Because if I hadn’t, you really would have fought.”
Whether Leo and Abad tried to stop her or not, Illiana was ready to unleash her aura and magic and charge forward at any moment.
“By the way, what happened?”
“Hmph! Everyone’s asking me to join their dorm, but no one’s asked him, so he must be jealous.”
Illiana, with her arms crossed, scoffed.
She was right.
Illiana had been invited to join all the dorms.
“But why haven’t you chosen a dorm yet?”
“I want to go to Dorm 1 where the class rep is… and Dorm 2 where Chelsea and Nella are… and Dorm 3 where Kal and Teide are.”
Illiana, with slumped shoulders, made a gloomy face.
The six people who were closest during their first year, Class 5, had all scattered into different dorms.
“Come to our dorm. We need you. Most of the Dual Class students came to our side, so it would be a good environment for you, a magic swordsman.”
“Oh! The class rep is proposing to me?!”
“We need you too, Illiana. You have talent in both magic and aura, so I, or Duran, can help you.”
“Kuh! Even Abad is passionately wooing me…! Hehe! This is the feeling! Duran too, the school’s most popular guys clinging to me, this feeling!”
Illiana trembled with joy.
Leo, who had been staring intently at Illiana revealing her dark thoughts, said to Abad.
“You can have her.”
“We don’t need her either.”
With that, Leo and Abad finished their conversation and left.
At their departure, Illiana flinched.
“Alright! I’ll decide! I’ll go to whoever talks to me first right now!”
But the two didn’t look back.
In the end, Illiana hurriedly ran to Leo.
“Wait! Class rep! I’ll join your dorm! Stop!”
For Illiana, a magic swordsman, going to Dorm 1 where Leo was, was the most ideal.
But Leo never looked back, and eventually, Illiana grabbed Leo’s ankle and pleaded desperately.
“I’m sorry for playing hard to get! Class rep! I’ll join your dorm, so please forgive me! No! Please let me in! Class Rep! Sir Leo! Student Council President! Please!”
***
Dorm 1, which had been completely empty on the first day, was now filled with energy.
Student belongings one by one began to occupy the formerly bleak dorm lounge.
It was then.
Knock-knock-
A small knock was heard at the dorm’s front gate.
“Who is it?” A knight major student opened the door with a puzzled expression.
And upon seeing who was standing at the entrance, he looked surprised.
“Associate Professor Sena?”
Sena, who had been in charge of first-year Class 5 under Halind, was standing there.
“It’s good to see you, everyone in Dorm 1.”
Sena, who had entered the room, greeted the students.
“Associate Professor Sena!”
“It’s good to see you!”
“What brings you here?”
As the Class 5 students, led by Illiana, greeted her with bright faces, Sena covered her mouth and chuckled.
“I’m Sena Tilia, and starting today, I’ll be the resident professor for Dorm 1. I look forward to working with all of you.”
“Ohh!”
“We look forward to it!”
Sena was popular with students from other classes too.
She was not only beautiful but also had a good personality.
Crucially, because she always accompanied Halind, students who were scolded by Halind received a lot of help from her.
That’s why they reacted warmly upon hearing that she was the resident professor.
“I look forward to working with all of you for the year.”
“We look forward to working with you even more!”
Sena cleared her throat with an “Ahem!” as she looked at the students smiling brightly.
“Now, I will make an announcement. First, since the dorm residents have been decided, I’d like you to choose a dorm name.”
“A dorm name?”
“Yes. Calling them by numbers feels a bit stiff, doesn’t it? So, let’s come up with a cool name that can represent the dorm.”
“Ohh…”
“And you all know that tomorrow is the entrance ceremony, right? It’s finally the day you become seniors.”
At Sena’s words, the students looked intrigued.
Seniors!
What a heart-pounding word!
For the past year, they had received help from seniors and ran errands for them.
To first-year students, seniors were objects of admiration.
They had already become hero candidates and overcome difficult academic life.
Therefore, they couldn’t help but feel respect for their seniors.
“Hmph. Finally, seniors.”
“I’ll have to dote on the juniors a lot!”
“So this is how the third-year seniors felt.”
Sena smiled gently, watching the students’ excited reactions.
“In that regard, there will be a welcome banquet tomorrow after the entrance ceremony.”
At those words, the students paused.
Had there been a welcome banquet at their own entrance ceremony?
There hadn’t been.
In fact, many students hadn’t even exchanged a word with a senior until the end of their first semester after entering.
The senior-junior relationship at Rumerne had a strong authoritative tendency.
Especially in subjects like Summoning Studies, where discipline between seniors and juniors was strictly enforced.
But a welcome banquet for juniors?
“The first-year students are already quite scared of you because of the second-year entrance exam, aren’t they? Plus, there might be some familiar faces from last year’s joint classes. Is there really a need to insist on a rigid senior-junior relationship? It is the new principal’s wish that you welcome them warmly and guide the first-year students so they can adapt better to school life.”
“Hmm.”
“It’s true that when I was a first-year, the second-year seniors were really intimidating.”
“Being revered like the seniors would be good, but getting close with juniors seems like it could be fun in its own way too.”
“Right. There were quite a few impressive ones during the entrance exam, weren’t there?”
The students looked convinced.
Meanwhile, Sena recalled the principal’s words.
‘If first-years come in as usual, most probably won’t last and will drop out.’
At a faculty meeting, Liina said calmly.
‘The current second-years’ reputations are huge, too huge. On top of that, their skills are amazing. Which generation would be directly compared? The one above and the one below.’
Liina rested her chin on her hand.
‘The generation above them is better off, because they’re seniors. But the juniors aren’t. If they’re constantly compared, many will become frustrated. So, unlike usual, my idea is that it would be good for them to generally build friendships.’
Listening to Sena’s words, Leo let out a chuckle.
‘Whoever the principal is, they’re wise.’
“So, when you see the first-year students tomorrow, please welcome them warmly. That’s all.”
After delivering the announcement, Sena called Leo and Chloe.
“And students Leo and Chloe, please come with me somewhere for a moment.”
At her words, Leo and Chloe followed Sena out of the dorm with puzzled expressions.
In the dorm garden, Sena spoke.
“The reason I called you separately like this is because of Chen Xia.”
“I was wondering too. When is Xia coming back? It’s been a week since school started, why isn’t she here?”
At Chloe’s question, Sena gave a troubled smile.
“It seems Chen Xia’s family situation is more complicated than we thought. The school has been trying to contact them, but there’s been no reply.”
At Sena’s words, Chloe looked flustered.
“Chen Xia might even drop out herself, so the knight major dorm leaders should keep that in mind.”
“Excuse me?”
Chloe’s eyes widened.
Leo frowned.
‘Drop out?’
***
Whoosh-!
A regular ferry traveling between Rumerne and Rumeria City was cutting through the lake.
Freshmen were on board the ship.
A variety of dishes from different cultures were laid out like a buffet on the deck.
The noble students were enjoying the food.
“As expected of Rumerne.”
“Hehe. It seems an extraordinary school life awaits us.”
The noble students generally wore satisfied expressions.
Students who had lived a lifetime enjoying privileges took all these things for granted.
“By the way, that person who is a Rumerne teacher.”
“She’s an unknown with no reputation at all, how did she become a Rumerne professor?”
“Is she a nepotism hire?”
Several students overtly stared at a woman sitting on one side of the deck, smiling gently.
She was a woman with brilliant silver hair and beautiful looks.
The only flaw, perhaps, was that she wore an eye patch over her left eye.
It was when the freshmen were whispering that she was a suspicious woman with no reputation whatsoever, other than being a Rumerne professor.
The woman stood up from her seat.
“Is everyone enjoying the boat trip?”
“It’s not bad.”
“I think it’s an appropriate event for us.”
Several students said boastfully.
Watching them, she gave a gentle smile.
“That’s good to hear. Before that… I have an announcement.”
All the students looked at the Rumerne professor with puzzled expressions.
“Originally, Rumerne had top-ranked students representing each region: Central, West, East, South, and North. However, as you know, this time it was conducted as an integrated exam. So, there are no top-ranked students.”
The freshmen nodded.
“Naturally, a freshman representative also couldn’t be chosen.”
At those words, some students paused and looked at a few particular students.
These were students with reputations and skills worthy of being class representatives.
“What are you trying to say, Professor?”
Juen, from the Northern Magic Tower and a strong candidate for freshman representative, asked with a combative smile.
“So, from now on, I intend to elect a freshman representative.”
Murmuring-!
A commotion arose among the freshmen.
“How exactly do you plan to elect a freshman representative here?”
“A freshman representative should, of course, be decided by skill. Understood?”
“Wh-What…?”
Raising her index finger, the Rumerne professor smiled brightly.
“From now on, fight each other.”