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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Matriculation Ceremony (2)
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Rose, looking around the entrance exam hall, thought she had seen wrong.
Neatly arranged black hair.
Fiery red eyes.
Fair skin and beautiful features, not typically masculine.
It was because, as far as she knew, there was only one man in the world with such looks.
But that man, Camel, was supposed to be suffering somewhere in Viscount Darmian's territory, being tormented by some old hag, his master or whatever.
That's why. That was the reason Rose kept glancing at the man but tried to pass it off as just someone who resembled him.
But then. It was definitely like that.
"Camel Hyacinth."
The man walking on the training ground was indeed the Camel she knew.
How surprised she had been then. She screamed right where she stood, so much so that the children sitting next to her gave her dirty looks.
Honestly, she didn't care about others' gazes. More importantly, Camel had come to take the entrance exam at the same Arden Academy as her.
A friend she had grown up with in her hometown,
A benefactor who had saved her from those consumed by desire.
She could attend the academy with Camel. The fact filled her with such joy and excitement that Rose had lost sleep for days.
Well, she did kick her blanket a few times in her sleep when the memory of having her hair pulled during the exam resurfaced, but it didn't matter much. Why? Because she had also grabbed the old hag's hair. She hadn't lost, so it was fine.
Rose sniffed at Camel's back and said,
"It really is you, Camel."
"Would I be a fake, then?"
Camel replied as he carefully lowered her from his back.
He was as stoic as ever. So, the person standing before her was definitely Camel.
Even though Camel had become more unexpressive, perhaps due to puberty, Rose trusted him without a doubt.
She believed that one day, Camel would become her true personal knight.
This was why Rose had gritted her teeth and diligently trained in swordsmanship and magic all this time.
If an ordinary viscountess's daughter were to be accompanied by a knight like Camel, she would surely be pointed at by other nobles.
In truth, it wasn't a great fault for an ordinary viscount's daughter to have a personal knight.
But what if that knight was Camel, who lacked nothing?
It was as clear as day. Other nobles would try to woo Camel away from her with all sorts of advances.
Being pointed at would merely be one of the means to achieve that.
Rose didn't want to be inferior to her personal knight, nor did she want to be looked down upon by other nobles.
Especially, she hated losing Camel to anyone else more than anything, so Rose, who had worked tirelessly, came all the way here to Arden Academy, leaving her regret behind.
To become someone worthy of having Camel by her side, not just an ordinary viscount's daughter.
Perhaps because her goal was clear, Rose achieved even better results than she had aimed for at Arden Academy. The result was third place among the new students.
And this was at Arden Academy, the foremost educational institution where only the continent's most talented individuals gathered.
Naturally, Rose was overjoyed after receiving her results. Honestly, she wanted to run to Camel right away and brag.
But now that she faced him, an odd feeling of disappointment swelled more strongly, making her lips pout.
"You, why didn't you tell me?"
"Tell you what?"
"That you were coming to the academy. Isn't that just too much? I told you a year ago. If you had told me beforehand…"
"If I had told you what?"
"Well…"
At Camel's curt retort, Rose trailed off and bit her lip.
She felt like she was just complaining. And she was disappointed by Camel's indifferent attitude, so unlike her own excitement.
This wasn't why she had come.
She had clearly run over out of gladness.
Rose didn't like how the situation was unfolding differently from what she expected.
"We could have ridden in the carriage together…"
Conscious of her surroundings, Rose lowered her head and mumbled.
Rose truly regretted it. If she had known beforehand, they could have ridden in the carriage together all this way, just the two of them, without needing to worry about the old hag's watchful eye. But Camel hadn't given her any heads-up.
"Hmm… I did have a reason. I actually snuck out without my master knowing."
Amidst that, very welcome news reached her ears.
"Snuck out? Camel, did you run away from home?"
"Yeah. To be precise, I escaped."
"Then you're not going back?"
"No."
"That's great!"
Upon hearing Camel's answer, Rose felt a simultaneous sense of relief, as if a weight had been lifted, and her disappointment melting away like snow.
Perhaps that's why Rose was able to ask Camel a question in a much softer voice.
"But couldn't you have told me?"
Then, as if he had just realized his mistake, Camel made a face like a dog that needed to poop and replied,
"I'm sorry, Rose."
"Sorry for what? If you're really sorry…"
Rose answered curtly, yet she felt her voice completely soften and her lips twitching.
Because it had been a very long time since Camel had looked so flustered around her.
This should be enough to forgive him. There's still time until the matriculation ceremony, so maybe we could go to a dessert cafe together.
Just as Rose thought that and was about to open her lips,
"Professor Deian called me separately, so I think I should go first. See you a bit later. Oh, and congratulations on third place."
Camel rattled off his real purpose like a machine gun.
"You, who came in first…"
Unfortunately, Rose's words didn't continue. Camel had already vanished from the spot in an instant.
Rose, who had lost sight of Camel right before her eyes, let out a deep sigh.
"Ha."
"Hey, hey."
A deep voice spoke to Rose, who was doing just that.
Rose turned her head and saw a blonde man standing beside her, his tongue sticking out.
"It's just that I unintentionally overheard your conversation."
With his tanned skin and swaggering attitude, truly the epitome of a thug, Rose had to wrinkle her face with all her might.
"How about walking with me instead of a useless friend like that? As for me…"
Rose, displeased with the blonde man who kept swaggering and talking about himself as if he hadn't seen her expression, asked in a low voice,
"You, what's your name?"
"Gmyte Niang."
"Gmyte Niang, a moment for your ear."
When she made her request, Gmyte immediately lowered his posture.
"…Got it?"
Rose whispered something lowly to Gmyte, then left the spot.
"…"
Gmyte, whose body had stiffened like a statue the moment he heard Rose's whisper, watched the beautiful girl disappear from his sight.
The girl was making scissor motions in the air with her hand.
Gmyte swallowed dry saliva and shivered as he thought,
He absolutely must not mess with that girl, no matter who else he might mess with.
****
Thud.
As I opened the professor's office door and entered, the light-haired middle-aged man, who had been staring intently at a pile of documents, looked at me with a welcoming expression.
"You're here."
"Oh, you're…"
I had known from the start that the person who gave me the entrance exam guide was Deian, but I deliberately pretended to be surprised and stammered.
It was an unnecessary act, but still.
The reason I bothered to pretend to be surprised was simple.
'Because I want to make a good impression.'
Deian was a former member of the Hero's Party, one of the academy's top talents, and a key character in the game. In the game, he was also an NPC who gave good hidden quests and rewards, enough to be called a "honey pot."
That's why I acted. Deian liked seeing the protagonist play along with his unfunny jokes.
'The problem is…'
I had no talent for acting. It was just like a moment ago. My stiff body and voice, a monotonous tone. Anyone could tell it was awkward acting.
"Yes. I am Professor Deian. Please have a seat. From your expression, it seems you're flustered, as if we've met before. Were you very surprised?"
Did he not notice, despite all that? Deian seemed completely fooled by my acting, twitching his lips and pretending to be nonchalant.
"Yes. Honestly, I was very surprised."
"Please bear with me a little. I'm quite humorous for a professor, so I often play such jokes."
"Ah, yes…"
It was a lie. Deian's sense of humor was uniquely the worst in [Harem Academy], and most gamers skipped conversations with Deian, saying he was too cringeworthy.
I wanted to do the same, but there was no skip button in reality.
"May I ask why you called me here separately?"
So, I had no choice but to ask first. I wanted to get out of this situation as quickly as possible.
"From your question, it seems you've come prepared. Very well, then I'll be direct."
"…"
What kind of resolve did I have? Was he going to say something serious that I don't know about?
"Congratulations on coming in first."
"…Thank you."
"Just kidding. I have something else to say."
"…Haha."
How was that a joke? It was truly unfathomable, but since Deian was twitching his lips, I laughed anyway.
"Hahaha."
Then Deian burst into laughter with a very satisfied expression.
Watching him, a strong urge arose to immediately spring up from my seat and leave.
I was very afraid that I would become like that if I stayed here any longer.
"Now for the real reason. I'll be direct, so brace yourself."
Deian put on a serious face again, regaining his composure, and I tensed up, swallowing dry saliva.
I was afraid this old man would tell another unfunny joke.
Deian, who had been staring intently at me, then asked with sparkling eyes,
"Student Camel. Have you ever seen an evil god?"
"…No."
Contrary to my expectations, it was a serious question, and I shook my head as I answered.
"I'll ask again. Have you personally seen the entity that appeared before you during the entrance exam?"
"No, I haven't."
I shook my head again as I answered, feeling Deian's gaze piercing through me.
"…I see. I understand for now."
Deian trailed off and fell into thought for a moment.
'It must be a headache.'
I didn't entirely fail to understand Deian's expression. No, honestly, if I were in Deian's shoes, I would have been thinking just as much.
An applicant summoned an evil god during the entrance exam; how could it not be a headache?
As I was thinking that, Deian's eyes sparkled again, and he began to speak.
"Then let me ask you something else."
"Yes."
"You…"
Deian hesitated, trailing off. I tilted my head at his expression, and then Deian, as if he had made up his mind, asked me in a stiff voice,
"What is your true identity?"