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It was... the opposite of something to brag about, but I was not very good at remembering people’s names. Once a name exceeded five letters, I started to get confused.

I was never really sure why. Maybe it was just the way I was born?

In my defense, Glenn’s name wasn’t the easiest to remember. It was too plain a name for a prince.

Hmm...

But it wasn’t just Hector. I was sure I remembered the name from somewhere else.

I thought hard for a moment—and thankfully, I quickly figured it out.

[5th Place: Glenn Scarlet - 81 Points.]

I’d seen his name etched into the rankings of the Tower of Trials, probably in the Room of Reflex.

If he ranked fifth among all the climbers, he must have been pretty good.

Then what was the behavior he’d shown on the train? Was he actually timid despite his ability, or was he just playing coy?

If it was the former, that’d be a relief, but if it was the latter...

“...I’m not going to have my head chopped off for treason or something, am I?”

“Did you do something wrong?”

“Not really, but I might’ve spoken to him a bit informally.”

“Students of Kartell Academy are essentially considered equals.”

“Phew...”

“Though that doesn’t mean anyone would be crazy enough to just casually speak informally to royalty.”

I frowned and pinched the bridge of my nose. Damnit.

Sellen looked at me and smiled. It seemed she found this situation amusing.

“You don’t need to worry too much. You saw Prince Glenn yourself, right? He’s not the type to throw around his authority.”

“Mhm...”

“Actually, this is perfect. Why don’t you keep an eye on the prince for me?”

“Keep an eye on him?”

“It’s nothing serious, just... observe his movements.”

I couldn’t believe what she was saying. “You’re asking me to spy on a member of the royal family?”

“You said you’d help.” Sellen shot me a sideways glance. “And I’m not asking you to go as far as spying. Just... stay close and observe him, that’s all.”

“Most people call that spying, Sellen.”

“...”

“All right, fine. What exactly is it that I should be doing?”

“...There’s nothing specific. Just act like you normally would. If you can get closer to him, all the better. And if anything strange happens, tell me.”

Strange thing...

I had a feeling that might not be as easy as it sounded.

“From what I saw of Glenn...”

“Prince.”

“...Prince Glenn, he’s already pretty strange,” I said, looking at Sellen. “Let me get this straight. A strange guy doing something strange isn’t technically strange since he was strange to start, so should I report when he does something normal? Or should I just report every single strange thing he does?”

“...You figure it out,” Sellen said coldly like the frosty person she was. After a moment, a hint of desperation crept into her expression. “Help me out, please, yeah? I have to take the same classes as Princess Ferith. I only have one body; I can’t spy on both of them at the same time.”

Even she called it spying!

But at least I finally understood why she needed my help.

“Then do you happen to know which class Prince Glenn is taking?”

“Of course, I looked into it in advance. He’s taking historical geography.”

Oh, what a perfect coincidence.

Thinking about it, Glenn had seemed to know quite a bit about the historical geography class.

Hm.

I pretended to think hard about it because I found Sellen’s reaction amusing... but in actuality, befriending Glenn wouldn’t be bad for me either.

After all, if I wanted to enter the Nameless King’s tomb, I needed a connection with the imperial family.

Aside from that, though, I was also a bit bothered about whatever secrets Glenn was keeping.

Surely the royal family aren’t members of the cult...

If by chance they were, the empire was truly doomed.

That would be a much bigger deal than Juan’s status as a high priest or even the possibility that Headmaster Alderson had been a cultist.

In this country, the imperial family didn’t just represent the pinnacle of power. They also had the symbolism and the legitimacy that came from inheriting the “Red Soul” of the Five Kings.

Even if the third prince had low political standing, that didn’t undo his symbolic significance.

“All right. I’ll do it, at least for now.”

Sellen breathed a sigh of relief and stepped back.

As if they’d been waiting, the other young heroes crowded around me.

“What was that? What were you guys talking about?”

“We were just talking about classes. She said she’d kill anyone who takes the same subject as her.”

Sellen glared at me for suddenly turning her into someone who’d threaten murder so easily, but I pretended not to notice.

“That aside, how was the welcoming party last night?”

“Oh, it was amazing. The meat practically melted in my mouth. And the band’s singer was absolutely beautiful—”

I tuned out Karis’s rant and looked around.

I’d thought everyone was here, but when I looked again, a few were missing.

“I don’t see Hector or Evan.”

“Huh? I thought Sir Hector was with you.”

“Me?”

“You two are sharing a room.”

Evidently, my mysterious roommate was Hector.

I shook my head and said, “No one came to the room last night.”

“Really? He said he was tired and left a bit early.”

“Mm.”

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t completely worried, but really, he wasn’t the type to go out getting beaten up.

“What about Evan?”

“He had swordsmanship class early this morning, so he left a while ago. Oh yeah! Listen to this—yesterday, thinking it was juice, he accidentally downed a couple glasses of alcohol. And he suddenly turned into a completely different person, acting all corny!”

“Oho...”

That sounded like quite a funny sight. I was a little disappointed I’d missed such a rare moment.

But was Evan that much of a lightweight?

Just as I started to wonder, Pam approached me. “Luan,” she said, “if you’ve decided on your subjects, you should sign up quickly. There’s not much time left.”

“Right.” I nodded and headed into the office.

* * * * *

* * * * *

“I have class right away?”

“Yes.” The stern-looking staff member nodded. She added, “Today’s also the last class of the month. If you miss it, you won’t have another one for three weeks.”

“Then can I register for it right now?”

“Of course. Class starts at... 9:00 AM. There’s only half an hour left, so you’d better hurry.”

“...Sorry?”

“Head to room 108 in the Theory building. Have a good day.”

“Wait, where exactly is that—”

“...”

The staff member ignored my question, her bloodshot eyes already returned to sorting through papers.

I judged that there was no point in inquiring further and left the office.

Karis was waiting outside. When he saw me exit, he asked, “Did you finish applying?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“What course did you choose?”

“Historical geography.”

“...That doesn’t suit you at all.”

I nodded slightly in agreement.

Pam peeked over and asked, “Is that the only class you enrolled in?”

“For now, yeah.”

“Seriously...?! I had so many more I wanted to take,” Pam said. “I literally cried because I had to drop some!”

“How many classes are you taking, then?”

“Fifteen!”

Karis sidled closer to me and whispered, “She’s not in her right mind either.”

“I can hear you, ya know? And it’s not me who’s crazy, you are! Do you have any idea how much it costs to get into Kartell Academy? Someone like me, from a poor family, couldn’t even dream of...”

“Okay, okay, I get it,” Karis said. “Luan, why don’t you come grab a bite with us? After that, we can check out the academy. While I was on the train, I heard a staff member say they offer a full tour of the grounds.”

“That sounds great, but I’d better get going; my class starts soon. If I miss this, I won’t have any classes for the rest of the month.”

“Oh, that’s a shame.”

“By the way, do any of you know where the Theory Building is?”

“Uhh.”

“Not sure...”

The others nearby looked like they didn’t know either.

“Guess I’ll have to ask someone else. Anyway, I’d better be off.”

“All right. See you later.”

I left the young heroes behind, and then left the main building. Outside, I was scanning my surroundings and searching for someone approachable to ask for directions when I unexpectedly spotted a familiar face.

“H-hey there...!” It was Glenn. He was standing there awkwardly like he’d been waiting for me, and when our eyes met, he flashed me a nervous smile. “Ah, hahaha... I... I thought since you were applying for historical geography... i-if it’s okay, I could, um, show you the way to the classroom...”

So this... wimpy kid in front of me was actually a prince, huh? And that oversized hat was hiding the imperial family’s signature crimson hair?

As I continued to stare at him, Glenn awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

“Th-the truth is, I’m also taking historical geography...”

“Oh, you are? In that case, I would be so very honored to accept your kind offer.”

Glenn took a step back at my formal tone.

“...What’s with the sudden change?”

“You are a prince, correct? I apologize for not recognizing earlier such an esteemed figure.”

Glenn looked down and pursed his lips. “Don’t call me that,” he said, his voice unusually rough.

“...”

“Just... treat me like you did before.”

That wasn’t hard to do, so I happily obliged.

“Should I? Sure, no prob. We’ve only got 30 minutes until class starts, so let’s go.”

“...H-huh?” Glenn stuttered, visibly taken aback. “Oh, yeah, mhm.”

Thankfully, the lecture hall wasn’t too far from the main building. A leisurely 15-minute walk? That meant we didn’t need to take the streetcar.

We weren’t in a hurry, so Glenn and I walked at a nice pace.

Glenn, once again sneaking glances at me, finally drummed up the courage to ask, “Um, Luan, so, do you have a strong interest in, uh, history or geography?”

“If I didn’t, why would I have chosen historical geography?”

“Oh, yeah.” Glenn’s face brightened, albeit only a little. “That’s good... But, uh, th-the thing is... the atmosphere in that lecture room is kind of weird right now...”

“Weird? Weird how?”

“Like... a few delinquents are treating the room not as a learning space but as their personal lounge...”

Seriously? What kind of situation was that?

I stared at him until he continued his explanation. “Well, hardly any classes are held in that room, so now it’s a great place for students to hang out...”

“And the professor just leaves them be?”

Glenn’s face saddened a little. “Professor Alec isn’t very enthusiastic about his class. I’ve heard he used to be quite passionate, though...”

I hummed in response.

“...Anyway, be careful because there are some intimidating upperclassmen in the lecture room. B-but if you stay next to me, they probably won’t bother you too much... Yeah.”

He was right. No matter how timid he was, a prince was still a prince.

No one would dare to mess with him. It’d take an idiot whose ego was bigger than their brainless head.

Before long, we arrived at the Theory building and entered room 108.

“...”

As soon as the door opened, my expression scrunched up involuntarily.

For a moment, I thought I had walked into a Southern tavern.

The foul stench of alcohol clouded the room, and the air was thick with the pungent smoke of countless cigarettes.

Were they not even bothering to ventilate?

Even with my sight restricted by the foggy condition, I could see that the room was structured with tiered seating, and at the very top, about a dozen students were seated.

Judging by their faces, decaying from all the alcohol and cigarettes, I assumed they were the so-called “intimidating upperclassmen” Glenn had mentioned.

As I was staring at them, they looked over and smirked.

“Cough, cough...”

Even though Glenn was coughing from the smoke, they didn’t bother to open a window.

Crazy bastards.

No matter how timid Glenn was, he was still royalty. I seriously could not understand their behavior. How had they even gotten accepted to Kartell?

What was even more surprising was that Glenn didn’t say or do anything. He just sat at the front of the class and hunched over.

Everyone here was officially out of their minds.

To me, the upperclassmen were crazy, Glenn was crazy, and even Professor Alec, who was letting this happen, was crazy.

But I wasn’t crazy, so I did what any normal person would do.

I went to the window and flung it wide open.

“Oh...!”

Glenn looked at me, wide eyed and mouth agape.

The stench and the thick smoke were finally able to escape.

Much better.

“...”

I turned around. The moment I saw a large guy sitting at the top shooting me a glare, I felt a desire to whip out my best buddies “Etiquette” and “Decorum” and give them a nice greeting.

However...

Class would start soon, so I shouldn’t turn this place into a bloodbath.

Today was my first day too, so after summoning the superhuman force of will needed to crush that desire, I plopped down next to Glenn.

“Luan...”

“What.”

“Um... never mind. Do you... want to borrow my notebook?”

“Thanks.”

Evidently Glenn just had an extra notebook and pencil. I took them just in case there was anything worth noting down.

But...

“...Hm.”

I glanced at the clock. It was currently 9:10 AM.

Class should have started ten minutes ago, yet the professor was still nowhere to be found.

We waited a little longer in case he’d been stalled by something, but...

Nobody entered the room even after 30 minutes.

“Is he always this late?”

“H-he’s unusually late today.”

Meaning he comes late often.

I’d known things wouldn’t be easy... but it felt like I was already off to a rough start.

I sighed and placed my elbow on the table, resting my face on my palm.

“Erm...”

Glenn’s complexion did not look good. I had noticed him squirming in his seat for a while now, so... “Need to go use the restroom?” I asked.

“N-no...”

“Go.”

“Um, but...” Glenn’s gaze darted back for a quick second.

Was he worried about leaving me alone in the same space as those guys?

I’m not a kid who needs to be taken care of.

Or maybe I looked surprisingly weak or something?

“I’ll be fine, really. Besides, the professor should be here soon, right?”

“...I guess so.”

After hesitating for a moment, Glenn rose from his seat.

“Th-then, I’ll be right back.”

By how he dashed away, he must have been holding it in for a while.

I waved goodbye to his retreating figure, and then...

Screech.

As soon as Glenn was gone, I heard the sound of chairs scraping and noticed a number of bodies approaching me.

“Aren’t you a new face?” the biggest guy said as he leaned in closely. He resembled a bear.

That’s one ugly-ass face.

“You look like a freshman... am I right?”

I nodded my head. “Probably.” Even though I was a transfer student, we were probably all considered freshmen, right?

“‘Probably?’”

The ugly-ass bear burst into laughter.

But it didn’t last long. In a flash, his smile vanished and he glared at me. “You, white-haired twerp, which family are you from?”

“...”

※The coming chapter contains disturbing scenes that might surprise readers, so please keep that in mind. Enjoy reading!