Chapter 38

“Are you all set?”

“Yes, Professor. But what about that camera…?”

“Ha ha, this? It’s a special day since our Na-me is officially entering the Academy, and I thought we should commemorate it!”

“Anyway, it’s the first-years who are the main characters at the entrance ceremony.”

“However, for today at least, I hope Na-me can be the most wonderful story’s main character. Now, could you stand over there by the main gate?”

“Yes.”

It had been a really long time since I took a picture.

At first, I was quite resistant to the idea of being recorded, but this time, I didn’t feel much aversion.

Back when I met unfamiliar people, I couldn’t even open my mouth, but those days were long gone.

Maybe it was because I was born with an extroverted nature, as I had only remembered feeling exhausted after meeting people. Yet, when I thought about being left alone, the feeling of loneliness was the first to strike me.

Personality is truly a mysterious thing.

The cherry blossoms of March were blooming profusely.

Several female students were giggling as they removed the fallen cherry petals from their heads, while the boys were also deeply immersed in the beautiful scene today.

“I can’t tell who the flower is. Want to take a look?”

“If you keep saying things like that, people will think you’re getting old.”

Professor Cheon handed me the camera.

It was just a photo of me in a neat uniform, the main gate of Seviron Academy, and the cherry blossom tree. Nothing special about it.

After all, it was just a photo.

But Professor Cheon continued to press the camera shutter and laughed heartily.

‘Well, I guess I’ll indulge him for a while.’

Above all, the faint scent of cherry blossoms wasn’t unpleasant.

Personally, I thought receiving my acceptance notice to transfer to Seviron Academy was quite surprising.

Professor Cheon didn’t seem particularly surprised when he heard the news, but I was confident that at least the majority of the admissions officers were not favorable towards me.

This year, I was the only transfer student to Seviron Academy, and perhaps thinking it unnecessary to create an announcement for just one person, Professor Cheon personally called the Administrative Office to take notes on what was needed before admission.

I went to get fitted for my uniform and bought a new bag.

Since I was told that wearing sneakers would look too shabby, I finally agreed to wear plain black shoes.

If someone were to ask whether I had broadcasted for two weeks, I’d say I did, but I had just said goodbye to LoL for a while.

In the first place, I hadn’t derived any specific goals or motivations from LoL, and having played it for a frustrating seven years, I felt a bit of a desire to distance myself from it.

If I didn’t play games, it naturally turned into a chatting broadcast.

However, I still felt difficulties and awkwardness in communication methods with the viewers, so I tended to talk about various subjects without paying much attention to the chatbox.

Most of the conversations revolved around magic circles.

I usually brought up topics I wanted to teach Lara ahead of time during the broadcast to experiment on what parts people generally found difficult to understand.

There were plenty of hooks pouring out during the process, but I’m sure some viewers managed to understand.

Lara was very interested in magic.

However, there were times when I felt at a loss about where to start since her knowledge was too lacking.

Even so, she showed remarkable concentration when unraveling magic one piece at a time like a story.

I intended to teach her about magic seriously while playing WoL, but since she hadn’t adequately mastered the basic operations and runes yet, I put that plan off for later.

After two busy weeks passed, before I knew it, the entrance ceremony on March 6 was right in front of me.

Taking the photo made me feel like I had returned to my childhood, but listening to the principal’s speech made reality hit me hard.

‘Am I really supposed to be around these little kids?’

I looked around the assembly hall.

Yeah, they were young.

Younger than I thought.

Isn’t there a saying?

When you’re in elementary school, middle and high school students seem really mature, but the higher you climb to middle school and high school, younger kids look like babies…

I hadn’t experienced anything like this in my previous life.

In the first place, the average admission age for academies in the Kaizen Empire was around 18, and I was only in my early twenties when I died before…

It seemed I had a lesser psychological resistance to it.

Yet, when I actually faced the eight or so-year-old kids, I felt utterly miserable about myself.

I even had to look up at them!

“Hello! Are you a new student too?”

“No, I’m in the second year.”

“A second-year?”

Occasionally, such happenings would occur… or rather, it was happening right now.

I had been feeling proud lately that I exceeded 110 cm in height, but the fast-growing kids were already over 120 and were now aiming for 130 cm.

Are they in the third year? Or maybe the second year?

I used to never get told I was small back when I was young; an unfair feeling arose within me.

I might be the one who was overlooking society.

Since I had formed so many human relationships through capsules, I had become accustomed to everyone treating me like an adult.

Yet here in reality, I was being overlooked by these little ones.

“New students, congratulations once again on your assignment to this school. Seviron Academy will support your entire school life with sincerity and love. Thank you for your attention, and I would like to conclude this opening speech.”

The new students were now truly leaving their parents and heading to their respective classes. It was a brief farewell, but some kids were really on the verge of bursting into tears.

Students’ parents had no particular reason to participate in the entrance ceremony, so most academy students were busy chattering away with their friends.

“Na-me, can you find your way home?”

“Don’t be shy, just go already.”

“Ha ha. Then make lots of good friends! I’m rooting for you!”

Even though it felt like the second-year students’ gazes turned towards me, it wasn’t just my imagination.

Some of them were whispering as they looked at my face.

Feeling embarrassed, I hurriedly sent Professor Cheon off home and now awaited the results of the second-year class assignments.

[Your student IDs will be updated. Please check your class assignments and head to your respective classrooms without confusion.]

All the academy students took out their student IDs from their pockets, wallets, and bags.

The kids who were in the same class as last year cheered, while those who seemed isolated looked despondent.

There seemed to be only four classes, and even though all kids in the same grade should be together, it seemed the class assignments were quite significant for them.

The students started to leave the assembly hall one by one and headed out to the main building with the classrooms.

However, even as everyone left, I could only remain firmly in my spot.

‘I don’t have a student ID…?’

The administrative processing in 2051 was still lacking in many ways.

* * *

“Are you in Class A?”

A voice called out to a boy.

Had he not left yet? Si-hoo reluctantly turned around.

Si-hoo’s parents had been waiting in front of the assembly hall until he came out.

“Yes.”

“Of course, you should be. From now on, you’ll have to work even harder than the past year. Other kids won’t be playing forever.”

“Yes, I understand… Mother.”

“You’re smart, just like me, and you’ll do well in the second year, right?”

“Yes… Father.”

After saying that, Si-hoo looked at their retreating figures and thought that he still found it difficult to deal with his parents.

He understood that everything they said was for his sake, but he still couldn’t shake off the bitter feeling.

Unlike the first year, where class assignments were random, from the second year onward, the top 10 outstanding students and the top 10 best students would be in the same Class A.

Of course, there would be no way that Si-hoo, the top student, wouldn’t be placed in Class A, yet he couldn’t help but crave his parents’ praise.

The time was 9:45.

Since entry to the class was allowed until 10:00, he planned to take a stroll around to freshen up for about ten minutes.

‘Who is that?’

A rare sight of a child with hair that reached beyond their waist, down to the knees, was hopping down the stairs.

It seemed she had just come out of the assembly hall.

Had she not been wearing a uniform, one wouldn’t have thought she was a fellow elementary student; she had a delicate frame that suggested she was deep in serious thought.

“Aren’t you going to your class yet? It’s almost time since it’s not long until 10:00.”

Of course, no teacher would deduct points on the first day of school, but I felt concerned and cautioned her.

“I’m Shin Si-hoo, a second-year at Seviron Academy.”

“Oh, okay. I’m No Name.”

Thinking back, didn’t the first-year teachers guide the students before class assignments were announced?

Why was that girl still hanging around the assembly hall?

“Then can you help me find my class?”

Oh, she was simply lost.

Si-hoo figured that, although the time was a bit tight, he had enough time to guide her to the classroom.

“Seviron Academy’s layout is complicated, so you have to remember the paths well. Especially, it’s really hard to find the lower-grade classrooms at first.”

“This is the Training Hall. They say classes start here from the fourth grade, but we’ve only used it during sports days.”

“There are three stores, but in the first grade, the northern building is the closest one.”

“The restaurant is on the second floor, right in the center of the academy. You can get there by going straight from here.”

“That’s the middle school dormitory. It’s right next to the elementary school, so be careful not to make noise during exam periods or you might get in trouble.”

To keep the journey interesting, Si-hoo introduced various facilities of the academy, but he felt a bit awkward since the girl didn’t show much reaction.

So, he shifted the topic to the entrance ceremony.

“How was the entrance ceremony? The principal must have been quite boring, right?”

Though not compared to middle school or high school, the entrance ceremony for elementary school was still a relatively large event.

Even some well-known figures invited by the Seviron Foundation had attended.

Although the principal’s closing speech was the toughest time.

“It was nice. He seemed strong.”

“Hmm?”

What did she mean by strong?

Si-hoo could only vaguely speculate that the girl was indirectly expressing the impression Seviron Academy left on her.

Yeah, she must not be referring to the principal.