I Will Carry as an Academy Veteran

11

Evnis Rothschild de Raphelheid.

The title heroine of this game holds more titles than one would think.

Starting with the most representative, ‘Raphelheid Sophuch’.

There’s the ‘Knight of Radiance’ obtained by sweeping the region with the Sword of Light in the 3rd year.

And there are titles fit for the noble society like ‘Western Jewel’.

Outside the game, there are even more titles.

Jungshil, Tsundere Rothschild de Raphelheid, undefeated blonde…

Ah, and there’s one more.

A gorilla with Strength 20. Divine strength, strength beyond compare.

The source is me.

“I thought you were dead, but with that shameless face and a tough life like a cockroach, you’re still alive.”

“Are you well? Thanks to my foolish sister, I’m doing quite well.”

Hmm.

I didn’t intend to greet with ill feelings, but thanks to the ‘Dignity of Blood’, a sharp greeting slipped out.

Evnis brushed off my unexpected aggression.

“If you call me that one more time, I’ll draw my sword and throw my gauntlet before slitting your throat before the envoy arrives.”

Heh.

I’m trying to treat them like a person, but they treat me like a bug.

“Do you have something to say?”

“I’ve been looking for you. It’s you.”

I have a bad feeling about this.

Evnis holds the most significant role even in the original game.

The fact that the ‘Title Heroine’ of the game is here is a problem in itself.

Not behaving like a ‘heroine’.

If you’re a heroine, you should be near the protagonist Erhan, why wander around alone like this?

“It seems like you have some spare time.”

“….”

Golden hair and blue eyes.

A reasonable height difference.

They look like an ideal sibling pair, but as with all siblings, their relationship is naturally not good.

No, considering Adrian’s attitude, it’s natural that it’s not good.

After hesitating for a while with clenched fists, Evnis looked at me with a determined expression.

“Um….”

“Did you come to express gratitude for the opening ceremony?”

Well, that’s a thing.

When you’ve seen the same person hundreds of times, you can tell what they’re going to say just by looking at them.

“Then put it away. That was just a piece of advice for your stupidity.”

“….”

I quietly turned my head and gestured towards the corner of the building.

A smart kid like Annie will understand right away.

If there are reporters in the Empire, there is a newspaper department in the Academy.

These kids can’t stand it.

You can even hear the newspaper department head’s eyes rolling from here.

And you can hear the sound of my plans going awry from here as well.

Efnis stood there looking slightly dejected, unlike before.

Hmm…

I felt sorry for no reason.

And this kid, despite being a bit naive, isn’t inherently bad.

“I heard you won in the freshman competition. If you keep growing like that, you could indeed become the next successor.”

Efnis’s shoulders trembled.

“Stop with the compliments that don’t suit you. It’s annoying.”

This gorilla with the strength of 20 really…

“And on top of that… speaking as if you know everything.”

Efnis squinted at me.

“Running away alone from your family! And now you think you can become the next successor?”

Something about his words seemed strange.

After a moment of contemplation, I spoke up.

“I didn’t run away.”

Efnis’s eyes widened at my words.

“I’m saying I haven’t given up on becoming the next successor yet.”

“Hah, even if you say you haven’t given up, it’s impossible. The sub-successor has been decided, and they treat you as a non-entity in the Repelheight family.”

“It’s not impossible.”

“It is. Logically…”

“Do you really think something like that can block my path?”

Come on.

If you’re going to give up there, you shouldn’t have started in the first place.

Who underestimates an old hand?

Moreover, if I don’t become the next successor, I die.

“A washed-up loser crawling up from the bottom to become the head of the family again. Where else can you find such a good story?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. Are you preparing for that…?”

“You’ve made more progress than you think. And, hide your expression a bit.”

“Ah… Hmm.”

Ebonyss grabbed the corner of his mouth, which was slowly rising with his fingers.

“Is this a joke?”

“If you say one more word, I’ll really draw my sword.”

Although he spoke like that, he had never killed anyone due to his inherently weak nature.

“Even when you were in the family, you never defeated me in an argument. That’s right… I’ll look forward to it.”

Ebonyss turned his body with a light expression.

After walking a few steps like that, he turned around, stretched his arms out while turning in circles, and pointed at me.

“This time, after thoroughly breaking you so you can’t get up again, I will completely become the victor.”

Then he left with light steps.

I watched Ebonyss walking away, leaning against the building wall, and chuckled.

“Will it really turn out as he says?”

Broken?

That’s a ridiculous thought.

The moment you break me, I’ll die.

Sorry, but I don’t have any desire to die.

Just struggle somehow and let me survive.

***

One day later.

“….”

The public dining hall in the central district.

As students glanced over at the combination of a fallen noble and his fiancée, Rayna and I each ordered our lunch menu and sat at the table.

“If you were going to meet Ebonyss, you should have at least informed me, shouldn’t you?”

“How did you know that, Rayna?”

“That’s none of Adrian’s business.”

Rayna, sitting across from me, puffed up her cheeks and pouted.

But no matter what she says here, it will only become more annoying.

“Well, well. Still, I have confidence that I will follow Adrian no matter what path he takes.”

See, she heard.

“Rayna, it may be a misunderstanding, but aren’t you by my side for too long these days?”

“….”

“From classes to even our routes overlap entirely. Two days ago, you even found out the location of the field where I often go.”

I roughly understand why she’s acting this way.

“I understand that Count Wolfgang wants to know about my daily life. But I think he wouldn’t want such detailed reports from your side.”

Rayna is not only my fiancée but also a surveillance agent.

No doubt. She received instructions from Count Wolfgang to ensure I don’t do anything foolish.

Count Wolfgang is a noble from the West, so I can roughly guess.

I don’t know what Rayna will gain from this, but she should keep it reasonable.

“This conversation will also reach the Count. Was today’s meeting also to interrogate me?”

“Oh, no. It’s not like that…”

Rayna said in a hesitant voice.

“Today, I was trying to find Adrian for a completely different reason…”

“What’s the matter then?”

“I have some information. It’s about the internship locations for the 4th-year students that Adrian requested yesterday. Except for the top and second places, everything was decided perfectly for today.”

No way, already?

Separate from Reyna’s information skills, I felt once again that time was passing quickly.

There’s not much time left until Act 1 ends.

Only two days left until next week.

The internship locations for the 4th-year 2nd semester are confirmed.

In other words, Act 1 Scene 1 will begin in two days.

“Have you heard anything?”

“Yes, this time in our family, we selected 10 Knight Department students and 5 Magic Department students.”

“If it’s the Von Wolfgang family, the best students must have been chosen.”

“hahahaha… that’s right. They are the talents I selected. However, I found something unusual during this investigation.”

Reyna lightly picked two papers from the pile of books and documents she brought.

“…This is.”

“It’s the information about the top and second place of the 4th-year Magic Department that Adrian requested from me. The top, Melwood Elian, is a knight apprentice from an unnamed village in the eastern empire. The second, Alberto von Lefensiv, is the heir of the central noble Lefensiv Marquis.”

A situation where the top is a commoner and the second is a noble.

Adding to Reyna’s words, Alberto the Marquis seems quite displeased with this situation.

“The Marquis Lefensiv put considerable effort into grooming his successor. He even brought in a talented mage who graduated excellently from Salenium as a private tutor, but now a talented commoner stands firmly over his head. Naturally, he must be displeased.”

“But Melwood Elian is not just talented.”

“Yes, he’s a hardworking genius. I know. That’s why the relationship between the two is not good. Moreover…”

Reyna laid the two papers side by side in front of me.

“Both of them have decided on the Imperial Mage Guild as their internship location this time.”

At that statement,

I felt a lightning bolt-like sensation in my head.

The Imperial Mage Guild is a place where only one person from the Magic Department can enter.

Unless there are any surprises, almost the top student from the department will get in.

“So, the top student Melwood Million is… Ah.”

The boss of Act 1.

As if to prove this, Reyna looked down at the documents in a quiet tone and went through them one by one.

“…A commoner, but overflowing with talent. He never missed the top spot during his four years at Salenium Academy. Quite a splendid career.”

Reyna’s pupils were shining as she looked through the documents.

“However, being this brilliant, it has become a poison. The Imperial Mage Guild, made up of strong nobles, might scout an exceptional talent who could even surpass themselves… They won’t do that.”

This is her true value.

Reyna von Wolfgang, the heroine of the Magic Department, may lack in strength compared to Evnis, the heroine of the Knight Department, but she possesses a tremendous political sense.

“According to Gandelf’s will, anyone can receive an equal education in the academy, but society is different. Even if they enter the Imperial Mage Guild, they will belittle, ridicule, and reject Melwood Elian, who has talent but no lineage. They are serious about protecting their own interests.”

This is why she is a Tier 1 character.

She can play the role of both a dealer as a mage and also elevate the combat AI of party members as a librarian.

“All of this… Adrian already knew everything, right?”

“…”

I did not respond.

“Adrian asked me last time.”

The reason Melwood Elion became the boss.

“So far, there has been no commoner in the Magic Department or the Assembly.”

Melwood Elion said.

He cannot enter the Royal Mage Corps.

“The results will be announced tomorrow. I wonder what will happen… I really look forward to it. Will the commoners bring about a change, or will the stubborn old customs prevail…”

Reyna, with a faint smile, rested her chin on her hand and looked at me.

But I couldn’t smile.

Melwood Elion.

With a sincere heart, talent, and a sense of duty, he exited in Act 1 due to an unjust incident and thereafter became a person whose whereabouts were unknown.

─ Now, even here in my final year, I want to finish things smoothly and leave without any trouble.

With the joy of discovering new applications of magic shining in his eyes.

Recalling the past year, the brilliance that excelled.

But since I already knew the outcome.

Since I knew the fate of the one selected by the system.

I sighed and came to a conclusion.

“Tsk.”

Annoying, but.

I have to think of a way to stop it.