I Became a Veteran Heroine in a Harem Story

“Damn it, is the world turning upside down…”

“Their year representative is the exceptional one, but why are they acting so full of themselves?”

In front of the academy’s internal shop, where students crowded whenever they had time, several second-year students were grumbling among themselves while looking at something.

What they were watching was none other than first-year students who looked quite comfortable.

This was because all the injustices had disappeared—where lower years had to give up seats to higher years, or couldn’t sit in certain seats, or couldn’t buy certain items, or couldn’t come in gym clothes—once they had made the proper regulation-compliant greetings.

While some didn’t care, there were clearly quite a few who were dissatisfied.

But now no one dared to step forward carelessly. If they acted personally and that news reached the student council, they could be punished directly by the first-year council members with their armbands. They sincerely believed that the academy’s discipline had collapsed because of these events.

“They say the other students are calling the first-years the worst generation?”

“It’s quite understandable. Has there ever been such an arrogant class in the academy’s history? As soon as they enter, they challenge seniors to duels, and without knowing their place, they demand all sorts of things from the academy.”

“From what I hear, Franz, your resentment seems to be directed not at the entire first-year, but at just one person…”

Raines let out a wry laugh upon hearing this news. Franz had been called by Kiina, tested, and was now in a state of complete hatred.

The memory of that day, being publicly humiliated in front of others, was so shameful that he would bolt upright even in his sleep.

‘That girl, she deliberately excluded my name from the list. Why?’

Unlike Franz, Raines wasn’t summoned. Of course, Raines wasn’t the only one who wasn’t called.

Seeing that people from certain families were all excluded, Raines realized this was her warning toward the forces that had tried to attack her.

But strictly speaking, Raines doesn’t fall into that category. Being just the third prince with a weaker political position compared to his brothers and sisters, he didn’t support any faction.

‘Is she planning to exclude me completely?’

He guessed the reason was because of his status. Though they say there is no status among them inside the academy, the academy won’t last forever. After graduating from the academy, Raines will again become a member of the royal family. He was convinced that Kiina, thinking of the future, wasn’t engaging in ‘petty revenge’ that could be used against her.

The evidence was that she unhesitatingly called and trampled Franz, who was from a viscount family like Adenberg.

‘What she wants is bigger than I thought.’

Born with political sense, he concluded what Kiina, who had the entire first-year in her hands, could achieve in the future.

If she had simply wanted her own advancement, she wouldn’t have given so much to her classmates, uniting them as one.

“Think about it. To win the duel, you must definitely perform better than the first-year students in the upcoming tournament. Don’t even think about that Kiina, focus on targeting the others.”

He mentioned the martial arts tournament to Franz. The duel that transcended years began from there.

* * *

“The two strongest people in the squad…!”

“Do you want to participate?”

“O-of course.”

When I told her the fact decided in the meeting, Isabel hurriedly nodded. To participate in the tournament, one must be within the top 2 positions in their squad, including the squad leader.

This was the rule we set ourselves. To satisfy that and enter the tournament, Isabel would have to defeat all her other classmates in the squad.

Though they’re all roughly equal, it’s certainly not an easy challenge for Isabel.

“Are the other classmates satisfied? I think there might be complaints that we control too much.”

“It’s not control without reason… Besides, all the others now obey your words. Whatever you say to do, they’ll follow, right?”

Isabel, who was touching my hair, opened her eyes wide. Through those words, I could indirectly gauge the extent of my influence now.

It wasn’t particularly intentional. It was an atmosphere created by the combination of the rank culture that had existed from the beginning, opposition to seniors, recent events, and compensation extracted from the academy.

Of course, this atmosphere wasn’t a loss. Though unexpected, if used well, it might have even greater destructive power.

“Following your words won’t lead to any loss. I know.”

“If I tell you to train harder than now, will you do so?”

“Of course.”

In the mirror in front, I could see Isabel nodding with a resolute expression. In fact, after that day, Isabel had completely become my loyal servant, no, a zealot.

She would follow whatever I said.

“Why, why are you like that? Did I touch something wrong?”

When I abruptly stood up, a flustered Isabel watched nervously, trembling with the comb in her hand. I smiled faintly and stepped forward without saying anything.

She backed away and then sat down with a thud as she stumbled on the bed.

“Ironically, it might be possible because your skills are terrible compared to others. Knowing less means learning new things that much faster.”

I bent down to examine her condition closely. I extended my finger and gently placed it on her lips.

The faint flow of mana I felt was weak and immature. Isabel, who was clearly just a nameless extra, lacks skill compared to others like Lunara.

In other words, she is still like a pure canvas. It’s better for drawing or dyeing something than having a pre-drawn outline.

“Ah…”

“Even if the soul technique is too much, you might be able to learn other things if you can realize it yourself. How about focusing on your breathing and blood flow when moving mana from now on? If you feel something, it’s a success.”

She trembled as I moved my hand from her chin, past her neck, to her chest.

“If you can’t even do that on your own, it means you have no talent. Let’s go, it’s almost time for roll call.”

In truth, there’s not much I can offer to others.

Including the soul technique I’m being forced to pass on now, I’ve acquired and trained almost everything solely for myself. There was neither the leisure nor reason to consider methods to teach others.

It was inevitable, as I continued my lonely fight, being the only one left in the final years.

At most, I can throw hints, but in the end, it’s up to the individual to make use of them. Like my past self.

“They said the chancellor is coming personally. What will he talk about? I hope it ends early.”

“He’ll probably talk about the tournament.”

As we left the room and headed toward the auditorium, the chancellor visited us at this hour after a long time.

I could roughly guess why he was coming. It was certainly because of the martial arts tournament that the first-years would be participating in for the first time.

“If this were an ordinary academy teaching academics, we could praise the process of research and study itself, but you all are a bit different, aren’t you? Training is just training. To properly prove yourself, you must seize opportunities.”

The chancellor mainly spoke to encourage participation in the tournament during that day’s roll call. Because the participation rate of first-years, who still have fear and hesitation, tends to be low for the first tournament.

In this academy, where there are no others with less experience than us, it was certainly not easy to say fight with seniors when we haven’t even been enrolled for half a year.

But the chancellor wasn’t wrong. In this place that nurtures Magic Knights who must go to the field and fight immediately, one had to prove oneself in actual combat.

“Kiina, I’ve organized the list of participants.”

“You watched to ensure proper selection, right?”

“Of course. Everyone who wished to participate decided the outcome through legitimate duels. There were some injuries, but no one was seriously hurt.”

Fortunately for the chancellor, the first-years will properly participate in this tournament. The number might not be huge, but I could guarantee that we would be able to beat most opponents.

“I want to train the participants rigorously during the remaining time. It’s not for others but for themselves, so I think everyone is prepared.”

When I brought this up, the year council students, who were all participants, looked at me with wavering eyes. They seemed to be bracing themselves, not knowing what I was going to say.

“From today, it’s better not to think about resting. If you have complaints, challenge me. As I always say, I’ll accept anytime.”

Iron-blooded dictatorship, rule with an iron fist. I officially set it in motion. There can’t be no dissatisfied people.

But I’m different from real dictators. I was willing to accept challenges anytime.