EPISODE 40

At any school, it was a common practice for a student entering the school to rise to the podium and take the oath of freshman. So today, it was only natural that Lucy was also the student who had to stand on the podium as the representative of the admissions students.

However, his name was actually called Eric Loman, a second-class male student. I heard that he was the eldest son of a self-writer.

After their name was called, Eric Loman got up from his seat and the couple sitting in the parent's seat gave a particularly loud applause. I thought it was probably the Viscount Romans, the parents of the boy.

Lucy glanced back, knowing that there was no face she wanted to see there. Baron Connor, who soon met their eyes, smiled and raised his hand.

Lucy smiled as if in response.

I'm just glad my family didn't come.

Lucy's family could not attend because it was too far from Brom to get to the capital city of the Academy. At first I felt sad, but now that I think about it, I feel fortunate.

If they saw the scene where they couldn't take the freshman oath because they were a commoner, the family must have been sad.

It was only less than twenty years ago that Xenomium Academy began to accept common students.

This change of Xenomium, which had been closed as a prestigious school for the children of the nobility, became a hot topic in the Empire at that time.

But it was only a name change. Upon closer inspection, nothing had changed. It was still a place of education for nobles only. Discrimination still exists.

For example, the academy had never had a commoner student stand on the podium as a student representative before.

It was no exception in the year when Lucy, a commoner, entered high school.

"It's a prestigious school, so it's pure nonsense."

Colin murmured, still with a dissatisfied expression on his face.

Lucy, too, was not happy with the discrimination she had been subjected to, but she had a friend who was angry with her instead, so her heart was rather calm.

okay. Let's take comfort in receiving a reduction in tuition.

So Lucy comforted herself and looked bitterly at Eric Roman, who took the oath as the representative on the podium.

After Eric Loman's oath was completed, the principal's welcome speech followed. His monotonous and slow tone of speech quickly led the hall to a dull and boring atmosphere.

His long speech was finally over, followed by mandatory applause from the audience. Everyone had an expression on their face that seemed to wish the principal, who had no sense of humor, to come down as soon as possible.

But in the next moment, the atmosphere in the Great Hall was completely changed by a boy who followed the principal's turn and climbed onto the podium.

At the same time as everyone's eyes turned to the male student, there was silence in the hall for a moment.

A tall stature that stands out among many male students. calm gait. Blond curled back without a single ruffle.

Lucy's eyes widened.

I remember seeing such beautiful golden hair before.

A certain memory that had been forgotten for a while slowly rose in her mind like smoke.

The hall, which had been quiet for a moment, began to roar again. The freshmen sitting around Lucy also whispered together.

"… … You're the second-year student council president."

"That Confucius Berg… … ."

Lucy held her breath at the familiar name.

Confucius Berg.

Her eyes followed the back of the male student as he climbed up the podium without missing a moment's notice.

When he finally stood in the center of the stage and turned towards the left crowd, Lucy almost jumped out of his seat.

Blue eyes looking around at people under the exposed forehead.

that kid

Lucy muttered to herself.

it's definitely the kid

It had been seven years, but Lucy knew at once. That the boy standing in front of him now is the boy he saw in the lake of Everne.

Because it seemed like he was probably the only person in the world with such shiny blonde hair and blue eyes.

See you here again!

Of course, she was the only one who recognized it, but this unexpected reunion left Lucy stunned.

Confucius Berg quietly cleared his throat as if he was about to start a welcome speech for the current students.

Not only Lucy, but everyone in the hall looked at him. However, he opened his mouth without any tension.

"Today, we welcome you to the proud new family of Xenomium. My name is Adrian Berg and I am here on behalf of the students… … ."

A soft, low-pitched voice echoed through the hall. Everyone listened to Confucius Berg's welcome speech with bewitched faces.

"Wow, he's really handsome."

Colin, who seldom said such a thing, whispered into Lucy's ear.

"Yes… … ."

The more he heard Confucius Berg's welcoming remarks, the more Lucy felt strange.

Confucius Berg, as she remembers, was a small boy who was curled up on his back and looked lonely and lonely. But now the boy had become a dignified young man and stood in front of Lucy.

In him, who appeared to be a man of integrity and integrity, there was no trace of the boy who was mischievous to Lucy seven years ago.

Everyone was listening to his voice holding their breath. But no one seemed to be paying attention to the content. They only looked at the face of Confucius Berg with admiration.

Soon the welcome speech was over.

As he bowed his head politely, applause poured in. Lucy, who had been sitting like a stone, clapped along as if she had just come to her senses.

Like most people, Lucy couldn't quite remember what he said. However, the voice in which he spoke his name lingered clearly in his mind.

"Adrian… … ."

Lucy muttered as she watched him come down from the platform.

His name was Adrian.

* * *

"Okay, I've decided! I'm going to join the theater club."

Colin said in a confident voice.

"okay. it suits you."

Lucy, who was sitting next to him, roughly joking around and reciprocating. Despite Lucy's harsh reaction, Colin continued to hold the papers in his hand in front of her, ignoring them.

"Or how about the swordsmanship club? That's cool!"

"You've never held a sword properly."

"How are you? You can learn from now on. Oh wait... … , is there an entrance test? Then here is the pass!"

Colin crumpled and threw the paper with a light motion. Then he started reading down the other papers with concentration.

"Is there a fortune teller too? It looks like something fun!"

"Fortune telling is a complex and difficult discipline to learn. It just looks like fun, so if you go inside, you'll get a big nose injury."

Lucy said, looking pathetic at Colin, who couldn't make up her mind.

The third day of admission to Xenomium Academy.

Lucy and Colin were distracted as they looked around the department activity brochures that were rushing like waves without ever adjusting to the academy.

The academy valued department activities as important as academics, so they laid out a flyer on the table in the break room and continued to ponder for a long time.

"Hey, Lucy. Let's just go to the theater club with me."

"No, I mean, I can't act."

Colin pouted his mouth at Lucy, who refused with a single blow.

"Do you have anything in mind?"

At his question, Lucy fiddled with a piece of paper.

"what!"

Colin quickly grabbed the paper.

"The library?"

He looked at the paper and furrowed his eyebrows.

"Didn't you even write down the application for admission?"

Colin realized that the paper he had stolen from Lucy was not a flyer, but a job application filled with Lucy's handwriting.

"Do you want to live immersed in books until you come here?"

"What's wrong with that!"

Lucy took the application form again and shot it.

"Oh, no fun! Just thinking about it makes me tired."

Colin said, pretending to be yawning on purpose. However, Lucy did not respond and put the application form in the bag.

"You should read a book right now. If you come to the Academy, which has one of the best libraries in the Empire, you should make full use of it."

"Am I okay?"

Colin responded with a sullen face and turned to another department's publicity paper.

Without knowing such a friend, Lucy wiped her chest.

In fact, I was nervous that Colin would find out. The real reason you want to enter the library.

Adrian Berg, who left a strong impression at the entrance ceremony, became a topic of discussion among freshmen.

Not only his handsome appearance, but also his friendly personality that made many female students flutter, his popularity was skyrocketing.

Stories about him continued uninterrupted.

Thanks to that, Lucy was able to hear many rumors about Adrian.

That he is not only the student body president of Xenomium Academy, but also the book director. Besides, he has never missed the senior year since he entered the school.

Is that possible?

The more he heard about Adrian, the more Lucy couldn't help but be surprised.

I had a really hard time just preparing for the academy entrance exam. How can you do so many things at the same time?

When I heard about Adrian's activities at the academy, I felt like I was hearing about a monster with superhuman strength, not a human.

Besides, it didn't end there.

What surprised Lucy even more were the comments about his reputation.

People were also praising Adrian Berg for his wonderful personality and polite attitude.

Lucy, who had secretly overheard those stories, had no choice but to tilt her head.

what?

Kind, kind and humble?

is she?

How can a kid who used to talk to people about the smell of horse dung to become such a perfect schoolboy?