Chapter 20

Special admission students, due to their unique composition, receive completely different treatment and care compared to regular students.

For regular students, talented citizens of the Empire are selected and trained into excellent warriors. After graduation, they are lured into the Imperial Army through senior-junior relationships or hefty student loans.

Even commoners, upon graduation, can obtain qualifications equivalent to a knight of the Imperial Army, which keeps the students highly motivated to study.

On the other hand, special admission students usually come as a form of hostage, symbolizing their submission to the Empire’s order.

Naturally, they have no reason to aim for the Imperial Army, and thus lack motivation to attend lectures.

However, since they are often key figures equivalent to royalty in their own countries, it would be a national disgrace if they appeared destitute. Therefore, they receive living expenses and tuition from their home countries, ensuring they face no financial difficulties.

As a result, these special students only occasionally show up for lectures that interest them, often spending their time idly somewhere in the academy.

…In the game, they only appear every few turns, and if you don’t build rapport with them during those times, they never join your party.

Some characters are only mentioned in dialogue or settings.

Despite this, since they are children of royalty and high nobility from various countries, the Empire cannot afford to neglect them.

While the Empire’s nobles and royals obey the Emperor’s commands, these foreign nobles could use any mistreatment as a pretext for diplomatic pressure from their home countries.

Thus, the Empire grants many benefits to these special admission students. They are allowed to wear their national attire to respect “cultural diversity,” are accompanied by attendants and guards, and are provided with private rooms.

Since there are only a few of them, the Empire decided to grant their requests and keep them in one place.

All academy students are equal.

But special admission students are more equal than others.

…From the perspective of regular students, this is understandably irritating.

They live in cramped dormitories, sharing rooms with at least one other person, and must always wear the academy uniform outside.

They are also under constant pressure to perform well academically due to tuition and career concerns, forcing them to attend rigorous academy lectures.

To them, the special admission students, who leisurely play around in large private rooms and wear whatever they want, are clear evidence of preferential treatment.

Naturally, a significant gap has formed between these two groups.

In fact, this is one of the reasons the Empire deliberately provides preferential treatment to special admission students.

Having a common enemy in the special admission students helps the regular students, despite their different backgrounds, to blend well together.

—-

As I walked to the second-floor viewing seats, I glanced at their figures.

The three of them seemed uninterested in each other, sitting apart.

The bald dragonkin, with scales covering his arms, yawned repeatedly, looking down at the arena with a bored expression.

The scales on his face and arms showed that he was a high-ranking dragonkin, close to pureblood.

Four red scales stood out in two lines in the middle of his forehead.

His simple gray robe bulged with muscles ready to burst.

Calix Terban, was it?

He was a dragonkin from the Dragon Kingdom in the northwest of the Empire, a setting from Jin.

Since he was a second-year character, I hadn’t seen him fight as he couldn’t be recruited into the party.

He seemed to be here to check if there were any useful freshmen, but his bored eyes suggested he wasn’t impressed.

Opposite the dragonkin, a dwarf woman sat on the viewing seat, swinging her feet that didn’t reach the ground.

As expected of a dwarf, her height only reached a person’s chest, but her healthy brown skin exuded vitality.

Her gray hair, braided and pulled back, swayed gently, and her face, a mix of sturdiness and maturity, radiated confidence and mischief, showcasing a unique charm.

Her eyes sparkled as she looked down at the arena with interest.

On her back was a complex mechanical device.

A metal bag with a complicated structure covering her shoulders, part of her arms, and her entire back.

Gears and cylinders moved incessantly, making clanking noises.

Her short legs were clad in similar mechanical boots.

Asha.

A freshman from the Dwarven Republic, Himmell.

In the game, she was particularly favored for her high critical hit rate against humanoid enemies like thieves.

At the very back of the spectator seats, a silver-haired woman leaned her chin on her hand, indifferently looking down at the testing ground.

Despite being a special admission student, she wore the same academy uniform as regular students, with only a luxurious black fur coat over it.

Her emotionless reddish-brown eyes were coldly frozen.

She was the most popular character among players.

The princess of the Grand Duchy of Pale Moon in the north, Freide von Pale Moon.

—-

As I approached the second-floor viewing seats, the three of them turned to look at me, sensing my presence.

Three pairs of eyes of different colors stared at me and Nigel.

Hmm. What should I do? Should I at least greet them? What should I say?

“Hi?” No, that’s too informal and doesn’t suit my image.

Maybe I should just ask, “What are you looking at?” in a rough manner?

But I’d like to get along with fellow special admission students.

Seeing me hesitate, Calix gestured to an empty seat.

Between Calix and Asha, in front of Freide, was an empty seat.

I guess he’s telling me to sit here. I’m completely surrounded.

Having no reason to refuse, I sat down. Nigel stood behind me.

“Nigel, don’t just stand there. Sit down.”

“Hmm… There don’t seem to be any threatening elements. Alright. I will do so.”

Feeling awkward with him standing alone, I ordered him to sit.

Nigel looked around briefly and then sat down.

…If we’re talking about threatening elements, there’s one right next to me.

A half-dragon, half-human muscular bald guy.

I turned my head to the right and locked eyes with Calix.

The vertical, golden pupils unique to reptiles exuded a strange sense of intimidation.

“Hmm…!”

Calix, who had been scanning my face and armor, nodded with a strangely satisfied smile. His scaly trapezius muscles bulged as his head moved.

What? What’s with the “hmm”?

“You must be the new student. May I ask your name?”

Calix spoke to me. His voice was deep and guttural, but surprisingly polite.

“…Halshal. Halshal Aishangior.”

“Aishangior… Ah! You’re from the eastern folks. I’ve heard you’re quite famous among humans. So, you’re the princess of Ka`har, aren’t you? The rumors about you are quite widespread.”

Calix laughed and extended his hand. At the end of his scaly, muscular arm, sharp horns protruded near the elbow.

I guess he wants to shake hands…?

I hesitated for a moment before reaching out and grasping his hand.

“I’m Calix Terban from Jin. It’s my second year at the academy. Anyway, nice to meet you. Shall I call you Princess Aishangior?”

Calix’s large hand, twice the size of mine, gripped and shook it up and down. The force was so strong that my shoulder nearly followed the motion.

“Just call me Halshal. By the way, you’re more casual than I expected. Haven’t you heard about me?”

“Aren’t we all special admissions students? The regular students aren’t too fond of us, so it’s better for us to get along.”

Calix shrugged and laughed heartily. His overly friendly attitude was rather embarrassing.

After releasing my hand, Calix pointed at my scaled armor and continued.

“Above all, those scales. A fine posture to resemble a dragon, just like us. Also, coming here means you seek to control your innate rage and pursue peace. That’s also like us. With two similarities, you’re practically one of us. As descendants of dragons, how could I not show goodwill?”

So, he likes my armor. I felt a bit deflated.

Sure, I’ve seen the setting where dragonkin worship dragons and strive to resemble them, but was this what it meant?

“…Just so you know, most of the rumors about me are true. Does that not bother you?”

“It’s just human affairs, isn’t it?”

Calix tilted his head, looking puzzled.

“Humans often kill each other and hold grudges. But as a dragonkin, it’s not my concern.”

Their way of thinking is just different.

“However, it’s better not to eat people. Meat fuels aggression, so a vegetarian diet is preferable.”

“…That’s just a rumor.”

Who on earth spread the rumor that I eat people? If they’re going to criticize me, at least stick to the facts.

“Is that so! Well, cannibalism isn’t that common among our kind. Then it’s settled. Princess Halshal. I look forward to working with you.”

Calix smiled and nodded again. His sharp teeth made the smile look threatening, but it was probably meant to be friendly.

“Yeah. Well, nice to meet you.”

It felt like a better start than I expected.

“…Hmph.”

A sharp snort came from behind me.

“Calix, that’s your problem. You see everything too positively. Treating non-humans like they’re humans.”

The voice was filled with irritation and disdain, sharp and cold.

I turned my head to look at the northern princess, Freide van Feilun, sitting behind me. Her cold expression twisted with disgust like cracked ice.

“What are you looking at, barbarian?”

Her tone was downright insulting.

Well, the north is always at war with beastmen, so it’s no surprise they don’t look kindly on Ka`har, who are practically beastmen themselves. But that’s a part I’ve decided not to care about anymore.

Should I just headbutt her first?

“What about you? You don’t look much different from me.”

I smirked, mocking her attire and baring my fangs. Sure, her clothes are fancier, but a fur shoulder cape or a fur coat isn’t that different in essence.

“Watch your mouth, barbarian. If this were the north, I’d have already gutted you.”

“Oh, really? If this were the east, I’d have already tied you to the back of a horse and dragged you away.”

The atmosphere turned dangerously hostile.

Nigel looked at me and Freide with trembling eyes.

Although nominally my escort, he’s essentially a knight of the marquisate. If I were to cause a bloodbath with the northern princess, Nigel’s position would become quite difficult.

After hesitating, Nigel finally placed his hand on his sword hilt, looking at Freide.

If a fight breaks out here, he’ll side with me, huh? At least my friendly gestures paid off.

Asha, the dwarf sitting to my left, was already watching with keen interest, quietly grinning.

“Haha. Calm down, Princess Halshal. Princess Freide, stop it. Today’s a festival, isn’t it? Unnecessary trouble will only disturb others.”

Calix awkwardly laughed and tried to mediate. His casual demeanor didn’t match his bulging pectoral muscles.

Freide and I glanced at his head-sized muscles, then snorted and turned our heads away.

“What, not gonna fight?”

Asha asked quietly, but when we didn’t respond, she lost interest and turned her head back to the arena.

The entrance exam continued.