The morning after some incredibly complicated relationship dynamics had been established.
No matter what happened the day before, a new sun rises, and a new day begins.
I thought today would be just like any other day, walking to school as usual…
“From today on, let’s go together.”
But that wasn’t the case.
Because sitting in the seat next to me, which should have been empty, was someone all too familiar.
“I’ve held back for a long time. Don’t you think Rudion knows by now?”
“Yeah… I know…”
Normally, Seria would wait in front of the upperclassmen’s building, but today she was waiting at the dormitory exit.
I wondered what was going on, but apparently, this is how it’s going to be from now on…
“Well, do as you please.”
She did say she’s held back a lot.
With her affection steadily rising, it’s not like she never thought about doing this, right?
She probably thought about it long ago but just never acted on it.
So honestly… it might be a relief that she’s come out like this.
They say if you hold back, it accumulates and comes back even bigger later.
I doubt something like that would happen just from affection, but if, by some chance, a “Seria Dark Route” were to open, the fate of the world would depend on Seria, not the Demon King.
Thinking about that, even if it puts me in a tough spot, I’d rather she didn’t hold back.
In the first place, even if she walks to school with me, nothing would really change…
“…Isn’t that the princess? Why is she with that commoner?”
“Hey, your voice is too loud.”
Nope. A lot has changed.
Hearing conversations I wouldn’t normally hear on the way to school really woke me up.
‘…I guess more people than I thought don’t know we’re always together.’
I thought everyone knew because of the rumors, but surprisingly, quite a few people don’t.
It’s not strange. Even though we’ve been together every day, it’s only been a couple of months.
That might feel like a long time, but in reality, we haven’t been going to places where people are around for more than a few days, so there couldn’t have been many witnesses.
This is almost the first time we’ve openly walked together during such a crowded time.
So, the only people who are immediately confirming our relationship are… probably just the first-year upperclassmen.
Thinking about it this way, Seria, despite seeming to stick close, has been really restraining and hiding herself?
If she had kept holding back… well… it seems like she’s decided to stop holding back and just stick close, but thinking about it now is pointless.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
We decided to just finish walking to school.
Walking to school with Seria for the first time. Aside from the occasional stares from people around, it wasn’t much different.
But then, a place more noisy than usual caught my eye.
Various news…
I was in front of the bulletin board where information gets posted, so it seemed like the midterm results were out.
“Seeing the crowd like that reminds me of the entrance ceremony day. Are you going to check it out?”
“I should take a look.”
“I’ll wait here. Come back when you’re done.”
It still seemed like a hassle to squeeze through the crowd.
So, I pushed through the crowd alone and stood in front of the bulletin board.
As expected, the midterm results were plastered there.
This area is usually just for 1st and 2nd years, but it seemed like all the grades up to the 4th year were posted for formality.
Originally, it should’ve been posted yesterday, but apparently, there was an objection regarding the selection of the top student in the 2nd year, so the results were delayed by a day.
“Who else in the 2nd year could possibly be the top student besides them?”
At this point, the top student in the 2nd year is pretty much set in stone. Sure, you could force a change if you intervened, but I don’t recall doing anything like that.
Out of curiosity, I glanced at the 2nd-year results first, but nothing had changed, so I couldn’t figure out what the fuss was about.
I didn’t do anything, but the fact that something changed is oddly bothering me.
At most, the 2nd years I’ve interacted with are the trio I met in the Student Council, including Grain.
“I guess I’ll have to check it out separately.”
Since pondering over it won’t give me an answer right away, I decided to move on.
The top spot for the 1st year was undeniably Seria’s.
She was overwhelming back then, and she’s grown even more rapidly recently… At this point, no 1st year stands a chance against her. You’d need at least the current 3rd or 4th-year top students to even try.
Speaking of which, the 3rd-year top student is, of course, Alkiné.
As the Student Council President, she’s considered the strongest in the academy, though she still hasn’t surpassed a certain wall and seems only slightly stronger than Seria.
Even though Diggerus, who became a demon, had lost his will, she managed to cut him down effortlessly… She’s already on a completely different level compared to the other academy students.
As for the 4th-year top student… they’re definitely strong, but I don’t know much about them.
They’re a character who only gets mentioned in the game but never actually appears… I’m curious to see what they’re like, but I’m avoiding looking into it too much in case something happens.
They’re graduating soon and moving to another continent, so they’re practically irrelevant to the future story. It’s better not to think too much about it. Let’s just move on.
Now… next is the runner-up…
The name Lowell Soulriver was written in the 1st-year runner-up spot.
Lowell Soulriver. The future Sword Master.
For reference, Alkiné has the Sword Master trait, but that’s a bit different.
Having the Sword Master trait and being called a Sword Master by people are two separate things.
There’s a difference in what’s attached.
Even if you compare him to any strong swordsman with Swordmaster traits, Lowell is the best when it comes to swords.
If you meet him later and explore, you’ll find he has dozens of sword-related traits. He’s that crazy about swords.
“Hmm, but as expected, this is how it turns out.”
I did have a little hope that my name might be written there, but it seems like giving up on the practical exam had a big impact.
Perfect in theory, perfect in sparring, but couldn’t punch the Lich Knight machine…
Well, even if I were to do it again now, the result would probably be the same, so no regrets.
In the end, it’s only natural that Lowell got second place… Wait, come to think of it, didn’t Lilith do better in the practical exam? I think she even won when they sparred.
‘Guess she messed up the theory exam.’
Considering the low reflection rate of theory, she must have really bombed it.
She studied so hard, yet she did so poorly that it made her practical score meaningless? At that point, isn’t it better to just give up on studying?
The rest of the second places weren’t worth looking at.
The second place in the second year was as I expected, and the third-year second place, which changed because Diggerus dropped out, was understandable since it was a Student Council member.
Moreover, the fourth-year second place was also one of the Student Council members… There really was nothing to see.
I had checked everything and slipped out of the crowd, and before I knew it, Lilith had followed and stuck close to Seria.
She seemed full of energy since morning and was passionately venting about something…
“Argh!! So annoying! Why didn’t anything I studied come up?!”
“That’s because you studied sporadically, Lilith. You have to memorize everything for the exam.”
“You don’t understand my feelings. You don’t know how I feel, forgetting everything after sleeping, smart as you are.”
“Do I need to? As you said, I’m smart, so I remember everything even after sleeping.”
“…You’re annoying. If you’re just going to tease me, just go away!”
“You’re the one who approached me first, why are you telling me to go?”
Listening to them, it seemed like Lilith really did mess up the theory exam.
“Hey, just give up on studying.”
“What are you talking about! I really didn’t get anything I studied!!”
After teasing them a bit, I started walking again.
Since we were going in the same direction, it was awkward to part ways, so Lilith was still with us.
“Rudion. How does it feel to have the top spots on both sides of you?”
As the three of us were walking… Seria, who had suddenly gotten close to me, said that.
“What are you talking about? I’m neither first nor second place.”
“Don’t worry about it, I’m not talking about Lilith.”
Suddenly, why bring this up? She’s subtly trying to exclude Lilith.
It was the first time the two of us were walking to school together.
It seems like the three of them ended up going because Lilith suddenly butted in, and it was more of a hassle than expected.
If it were me, I would’ve just brushed it off, like, “Eh, Seria wouldn’t do that.” But now that I know her feelings, I can’t just pretend not to notice.
I didn’t have the courage to touch on that part, so I decided to answer Seria’s question first.
“I wasn’t really thinking anything.”
I wasn’t just saying that—I really wasn’t thinking anything.
They’re the type who usually take the top spot. If they hadn’t, it might’ve bothered me, but since things flowed naturally, I didn’t have any particular feelings about it.
It was a casual response, but Seria suddenly started expressing her gratitude.
“…Thank you.”
I was momentarily confused by her sudden thanks, but I quickly understood from her next words.
“It’s thanks to Rudion giving it up.”
“…Oh, yeah.”
It seemed like she thought I gave up the top spot for her during the practical exam when I had no means to attack and had to forfeit.
“I’m not really interested in being top or anything, but my mom is really serious about this kind of stuff.”
“Parents always want their kids to be the best.”
“Yeah. Well… my mom is a pretty amazing person, so I think she wants me to follow in her footsteps. Honestly, getting the top spot like this feels a bit awkward…”
Seria kept subtly implying that I should’ve taken the top spot.
But Seria… that wasn’t me giving it up—it was my best effort.
I couldn’t say that here, so I just let it go.
“I’ll work hard and become someone worthy of Rudion. When that time comes, I’ll be able to wear the title of ‘top’ with more pride, right?”
It’s not a bad misunderstanding, and explaining it wouldn’t make the already skyrocketing好感度 drop anyway.
If Seria’s happy, then I’m satisfied.
“If you two are just going to chat, should I go ahead?”
“Take care, Lilith. See you in class later.”
“…You’re really telling me to go?”
Seria tried to push Lilith away until the end, but Lilith stayed with us until we arrived.
Seria, don’t look at Lilith like that. Lilith’s on our side, you know…
