As the academy's internal appointments and conflicts escalated, it was clear that the most influential faction had emerged—Queen 1st’s power.
To put it simply, their strength was unmatched, and their appointments were impeccable. No matter how much resistance came from Queen 2nd’s faction or the academy’s scholarly forces, they stood no chance against the might of Queen 1st’s side.
Thus, the largest faction within the academy’s professor ranks grew even more powerful, and without hesitation, they began to plan their moves to fulfill their master’s desires.
Of course, they didn’t act openly.
Despite their large power, they were still outsiders who had recently gained influence. A sudden misstep could easily turn public opinion against them, so they discussed their plans cautiously, only within their own circle.
Their preparations were thorough, and if not for the variable of Adrie, no one would have had any idea of their true intentions.
In other words, their incompetence in anticipating Adrie’s actions led to this situation.
“I don’t know why, but they wanted to test your skills and abilities.”
The faction of Queen 1st intentionally created a crisis for me to test my abilities.
It wasn’t hard to guess why they’d do such a thing. The reason Queen 1st’s faction was focusing on me was simple.
Why was the medieval Trump targeting me?
What was their intention? Sure, my momentum has been high lately, but they wouldn’t go so far as to cause a ruckus at the academy just to show interest in me.
Do they have another motive? Is there something I don’t know?
The medieval Trump probably hasn’t figured out the academy’s hidden secrets yet, right?
I was lost in these thoughts, but the answer didn’t come easily. I still didn’t have enough information.
“That’s all I’ve heard so far. If I probe further, I think I’d be in danger.”
“Typical old hag. Like a cockroach, always looking out for yourself.”
“...Damn! Why does someone like that get the love of the lord?”
Yeah. Honestly, I’m curious about that, too.
I’d assumed it was just because the perverted deity had such tastes, but on the other hand, I thought even if the deity was a waste, it couldn’t be that bad.
I didn’t think I should be talking like this to a current commander, so I chuckled at Adrie’s grumbling and sent her off with a request to keep trying.
The Soul Academy’s opening ceremony that year went by without incident, in a very dull manner.
The new students, some of whom had heard about the academy’s traditions or were re-enrolling, remained tense throughout the ceremony, but no matter how tense they were, nothing happened.
What else could happen? The golems had all been destroyed just days before the ceremony.
Moreover, even the graduate students who were supposed to make the golems had suffered losses in the process, making the academy’s opening ceremony inevitably quiet.
After the most chaotic day passed in silence, I gathered my friends in my private room.
We were going to decide on the courses they would take.
“You seem troubled today, Lucy Allen.”
“...If you know, why don’t you just keep quiet and understand the situation?”
“You’re really on edge. Well, maybe we can consider your opinion too.”
“Hm. Alright. Since you’re so enthusiastic, I’ll increase your credits compared to before.”
“...What?”
“I was going to be considerate, but if the poor prince insists, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
“Wait. Hold on. Lucy Allen, I never said anything like that...”
Ignoring Arthur, who was sweating nervously, I turned my gaze back to the course list.
Arthur’s remark about me looking troubled was spot on.
When it was time for them to choose their courses in their first year, I had no trouble at all.
All I had to do was write down the most efficient route based on my research in the game, so I didn’t need to think much.
But this time was different. The courses listed here had undergone so many changes compared to what I knew—everything from the professors to the course content and schedules.
As a result, I found myself erasing what I knew and starting from scratch to make new plans.
It wasn’t too difficult to establish a rough framework, though. I could combine the names of the people still at the academy with the ones I knew to get some decent results.
The problem was, I wasn’t sure if this would be the most efficient way.
Ugh. If this were a game, I’d just spam the right answers to calculate maximum efficiency, but in reality, I couldn’t do that.
What should I do? At this point, it might be best to give up on efficiency.
But my pride as someone with connections and experience won’t allow me to let go of it.
“Allen Young Lady, is it really necessary to decide now?”
Noticing that I couldn’t come to a conclusion, Joy cautiously spoke up.
“Well, we only need to submit it within the week, so wouldn’t it be better to attend some of the new professors' classes and make adjustments afterward?”
Hmm. That’s a good point.
Rather than deciding now, it might be better to experience the classes firsthand and then think about which ones seem good.
There aren’t that many classes I need to attend. Most of the really important ones are already set, and now it’s just a matter of deciding the smaller ones.
“Did the idiot eat something bad today? Why are you saying something so smart?”
“Hmph. It’s because you always disregard me. But I always have good ideas, you know?”
Joy complained with her words, but there was a faint smile on her face.
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“Hey, Lucy Allen. Doesn’t your attitude seem a bit different? I was trying to say that, but why am I the only one getting scolded?”
“Well, the poor prince isn’t cute at all.”
“What?”
“Do you want to hear compliments like the idiot? Then do something cute. If you do something cute, I’ll say ‘good job’.”
“...Something cute?”
Looking at Arthur’s confused face, I burst out laughing.
“Pffhahaha! Were you really thinking about that? You wanted compliments that badly? The poor prince has some strangely cute and pathetic sides!”
“That...that’s not true! I was just momentarily confused because of the rude things you said!”
“Ah, that’s so convincing~ Yeah, I believe you~”
“Come on! My words!”
Arthur, his face red with anger, suddenly fell silent as Freya unexpectedly stepped in.
“...Freya, what are you doing?”
“Isn’t this what you wanted?”
Freya tilted her head as she gently patted Arthur’s head, and he sighed and sat down.
“That’s not it. I was just revealing my frustration.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah, it is.”
“But, didn’t the prince calm down after the head pats?”
“...It’s because what you did was so ridiculous that I couldn’t help it!”
As usual, I watched Arthur and Freya argue, then passed the course list to Joy and Faby, asking them to check out a few of the classes and let me know how they went.
Of course, I wanted to attend all of them, but I couldn’t possibly manage subjects like Holy Magic or various magical studies. It’d be better to leave the evaluations of those courses to the two of them.
Similarly, I told Carl about the classes he needed to attend.
“Lucy. What about me?”
Lastly, Freya, who had been eagerly waiting, looked up at me with expectation, but I didn’t give her anything.
“You’re just fine being next to me.”
I didn’t want to ask her for any evaluations—she’d only make things worse.
It’s better to just keep her around.
After all, we’ll probably end up taking the same classes anyway.
“Okay! I’ll do that!”
Although it was more like declaring her useless, Freya looked oddly happy.
What’s going on? Why is she so happy? Could it be that Freya’s awakening some weird taste...?
No, that’s not it. Her tastes have always been strange. Not long ago, she was sulking because I didn’t give her a scolding.
Is there anyone normal around me?
Looking at Freya’s chirpy appearance, I reluctantly gave my friends the dismissal order and moved on to check out the professors’ classes.
The first one was Dungeon Studies. I wanted to see how the new professor was doing.
“As you can see, in the dungeon...”
The class, led by a person affiliated with Queen 1st’s faction, wasn’t bad. The professor had a somewhat rigid way of thinking, but in this place where dungeon exploration was so real, thinking like a professor was typical.
However, I didn’t think it was worth attending. The professor’s views were dull to someone like me, and attending would just be a waste of time.
“Allen Young Lady. You seem to already know this, so could you answer the question?”
Noticing my obvious disinterest, the professor pointed it out openly, but that wasn’t the best choice.
“I can answer, sure. But the level of the question is disgustingly low.”
“...You’re quite confident.”
“More importantly, are you confident, professor? I don’t want to see a grown-up like you get embarrassed after being pointed out.”
“Feel free to try. Asking questions is part of a professor’s role.”
Since he gave me the chance to speak, it was like he was opening up a gap in his own explanation.
“Well, first, I’ll point out how much of a fool you are for being so far removed from reality.”
The professor’s pride didn’t last long.
When it comes to dungeons, even academy professors have to bow to me. No parachute professors can beat me.
“It wasn’t all bad. If you keep improving, you’ll be okay. But you’ll never be better than me.”
I made the new professor’s face turn red and moved on to the next class, Combat Studies.
I wanted to see what kind of character the new assistant professor was after Carl had finally gotten a proper position.
The assistant professor didn’t speak much during the theory lessons, but once it was time to apply that theory practically, he subtly stepped forward.
“Lucy Allen and Kent Allen’s talents are said to be among the best on the continent. How about showing the other students a demonstration?”
His attention was clearly focused on me.