How to Survive at the Academy - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Face-to-Face With The Dean (1)
There was a question niggling at the back of my mind.
But because I had been barely surviving, it was something I didn’t have the luxury to think about. However, as the new semester was just about to begin, I naturally thought of it again.
Just where in the world was the protagonist Taylee and just what the hell had he been doing?
* * *
An atmosphere of excitement was bound to form at the start of a new semester.
Most of the students had already returned to their dorms as the break had ended.
Even friends who hadn’t seen each other in a long time had probably already caught up with each other.
But it’s still human nature to feel excited at the newness of attending the yearly opening ceremony.
The Student Center was located at the center of the academic district. It comprised three buildings and was more commonly referred to as the Student Center.
Among them was Kate Hall which was located on the west side. It was often used for such large academy-wide events
There were dozens of large tables spread out in the huge auditorium, all of which were big enough to seat ten people comfortably. Each table was laden with a banquet feast. For someone who had been living on fish and plants these past few days, it looked like heaven on earth.
I woke up at six in the morning and walked from the northern forest all the way south to the academic district. To endure such a feast in front of me was an ordeal at a level beyond what mere human patience could endure.
If I could take the leftovers, I wouldn’t have to worry about food for a while. Was there a bag or a bowl somewhere where I could put some? That was what I thought, but I didn’t dare do anything more.
I hated the academy’s culture of nobility. Silvenia Academy liked to overly emphasize the need to ‘maintain dignity’.
It would’ve been great if they ignored me were I to pick up the leftovers and take them with me. But I would lose points from my behavioral conduct grade if I were to get caught.
“It’s great to see students who are growing even more with each semester. Also, what we discussed at Silvenia’s academic affairs meeting was…”
It was a given that regardless of the generation and time, the school principal’s speech was bound to be boring.
Although because of this strange thing they call ‘dignity’, the Silvenia students were all sitting straight and listening in silence. All thousands of them.
It was a ridiculous sight.
It was moments like these when I realized the worth of Silvenia’s name.
– “Look over there… Isn’t that Ed Rothstaylor?”
– “What? The 2nd year student who behaved indecently at the freshman entrance exam?”
– “Oh my, looking closely, his appearance is a bit strange… But it’s definitely him…”
– “How could he shamelessly come to the entrance ceremony? No way, is he planning on continuing to attend school? Even though he had been disowned by his family?”
Of course, the all too friendly chatter about me didn’t disappear at all. I sat amidst the students, hearing their honorable whispers of warm hospitality very clearly.
– “Look at him. Look at how much he’s fallen. He’s completely ruined. Ruined.”
– “Shhh, he’ll hear you!”
– “So what if he hears? That person is no longer a noble.”
They didn’t have to say all those things.
As slowly and as gracefully as I could, I lifted some grilled turkey and potato salad into my mouth. I shouldn’t miss out on the opportunity to recharge the energy my morning run drained from me.
“Hello!”
Just as I was focusing on recharging my energy, I was greeted by a lively greeting to my face.
“We meet again!”
There weren’t many people who would brightly say hello to a fallen noble like Ed Rothstaylor.
When I looked up, just as I expected, it was Yennekar Palerover, smiling and greeting me.
“I finished moving in with my friend at Ophelis Hall, but I couldn’t say hi to you, Ed. You weren’t in your room.”
For a moment, I resisted the urge to frown. An alarm was ringing in my head.
Be careful of her approach!
Keep your distance!
“Nothing good would come out of you talking to me.”
“Hmm? Why?”
I spoke with my eyes instead of my mouth. I swept my eyes around the hall to tell her to look around.
There were already people gossiping about us.
Yennekar Palerover was treated somewhat like a mascot amongst the 2nd years. There was no one who didn’t know who she was, being the top student of our class. And because she was always lively and gave off a warm feeling towards others, she was well cherished by her friends.
In addition to that, she also recently signed a contract with Takan, a high-ranking fire spirit. She was like a beacon of hope to the second years of the Magic Department.
On the outside, it looked as if the innocent top student was talking to a piece of shit punk dropout. Naturally, the people around us began to look on with worry-filled eyes.
In the end, there were some who urgently came and tried to rescue her.
A short-haired girl with freckles and a redhead girl with long hair jumped from the crowd.
“Wow! Yennekar! It’s been a while!”
“Yennekar! Did you have a good time in your hometown?!”
Anyone could tell the girls were forcing the most awkward smiles as they greeted Yennekar and grabbed her arms.
… Nice!
Good work! My classmates whose names I didn’t know…!
“Wait a minute…”
However, Yennekar miraculously escaped their hands and came back.
“I want to brag about this first before I go!”
“What?”
I looked at her in disbelief as she reached out her hands toward my face.
“What do you think?”
“……?”
I sat still, staring at her. Yennekar had her hands clasped together, turning them here and there as she looked at them. It was as if she was stretching her hands at all sorts of angles to brag about how pale and white they were which left me confused.
“After you left yesterday, it seems to have climbed out from the lake. Isn’t he so cute and adorable? I signed the contract right away. He’s my new friend. Here, why don’t you try touching him?”
I was wondering what the hell she was talking about, but hearing the word contract made me realize what she was saying.
In short, it was a spirit. I couldn’t tell what kind of shape it had, so I didn’t know why she was bragging about it being cute. She was constantly changing the angle of her arms, as if there was something swirling around it. Anyways, I couldn’t see it.
Well, even though I couldn’t see it, I could roughly infer how it was. After hearing all this fuss, he must be cute.
If I wanted to become closer with Yennekar, maybe I could say, ‘He’s so cute’ or ‘He’s so adorable’. Or maybe something like, ‘I also want to sign a contract with a spirit like him. I’m so jealous!’ or other such things.
In terms of friendliness, she was the best in the class. In terms of social life, she was someone who was always comfortable to be with.
There was no need to force conversations or struggle to find a topic that suited you.
She was someone who would continue conversations cheerfully even if she was just listening to a story. She was someone that everyone in the second-year class loved.
But because of that, I had to be more careful if I wanted to keep my distance. She was someone I could easily become close to. Therefore, I needed to make conscious efforts not to.
The way to do so was not difficult to answer.
“I don’t get what you’re saying.”
All I had to do was block the flow of conversation.
“I can’t see anything. I can’t see spirits because I don’t have spirit resonance.”
I got rid of all our common interests in one stroke. There would be nothing more for the other person to say if I quickly cut things like this. It would be awkward to try and search for another topic to talk about.
And because Yennekar was no fool, she would notice that I didn’t want to become close with her.
Having lived surrounded by kind people, it must be difficult for her to handle such hostility,
“… Is that so?”
Yennekar answered, tilting her head as she faced me.
“You can’t see spirits?”
This was nothing unusual. Not all students in the Magic Department could see spirits.
Nevertheless, Yennekar tilted her head a few times.
“Yennekar! Quickly! Let’s go!”
“They’re going to run out of desserts!”
Her rescue team came back. They quickly hugged onto Yennekar and took her back into the crowd.
“Alright! I’ll see you again later!”
It was a spectacle seeing her smiling widely and waving at me.
Well, her rescuers would warn her while eating dessert.
Do not approach Ed Rothstaylor carelessly.
She would slowly start to lose interest in me then.
It wasn’t so bad, if you ask me.
* * *

* * *
“Finally, the top students of each grade will award the ‘Sage’s Seal’ to the freshman representative. Students whose names are called, please come up to the podium.
The second-year representative Yennekar Palerover, the third-year representative Daike Elpelan, the fourth-year representative Amy Innis… and the representative of the freshman, the respectable Princess Penia Elias Kroel.”
The princess was still treated as part of the royal family. Calling her name in public always required addressing her as ‘respectable’.
It wasn’t strange that Princess Penia was selected as the freshmen representative. ‘Lazy Lucy’ may have unbeatable grades and talents, but she didn’t have the personality for it. Besides, there was no other person who fit the role of representative better than Princess Penia in the first place.
The first-year students this year were full of jewels. The gap between them and our class was ridiculous.
It couldn’t be helped. After all, the protagonist of this world was a freshman himself.
There were some things players noticed when playing ‘Silvenia’s Failed Swordmaster’.
Why were the first-year students the only ones who were doing well?
‘The Benevolent Princess Penia’ took control of the student council in her second year as the de facto student body president, becoming an influential figure who controlled academic affairs and rooted out injustice within the academy.
On the contrary, ‘The Golden Daughter, Lortel’ encroached on the darkness of Silvenia and took control of the flow and distribution of money, coordinating interests between the students to make large amounts of money.
Meanwhile, ‘Lazy Lucy’, who was born with talent and blessed by the stars of Glockt, became an archmage who came out in history books.
There were more but it would be difficult to mention every single important character. The important thing was they were all gathered among the first-year students.
The semester hadn’t even started yet, but thanks to the first years who shone like gems, the atmosphere among the faculty must have already been exciting.
The ‘Sage’s Seal’ was a record left behind by the founder of Silvenia Academy, Silvenia Robester. There was always a ceremony to award the seal to the freshmen for them to inherit the will of Silvenia who emphasized the virtue of learning.
People tried to give it various meanings, but it was just all ceremonial.
I kept looking around as I watched the ceremony come to its final stages.
Right now, everyone was sitting here in Kate Hall regardless of their batch. There weren’t many opportunities for students from different classes and majors to sit together.
The auditorium was filled with freshmen who had varied talents and backgrounds. But these people are nothing more than just ‘characters.’
What’s really important was to find this world’s protagonist, Taylee.
Thank you for running around on your own and solving all the hardships that would happen to Silvenia Academy without me having to lift a finger, you pushover–
No, I meant, you troubleshooter of a nobleman.
There was no one I would be more thankful for because he understood all my hardships and would take care of them for me.
Also, the surest way to check that the world was going in the way that I knew was to check on Taylee. His actions would soon determine the history of this world.
I should walk around and check where Taylee might be.
Either way, Ed Rothstaylor had already been completely ruined so I could even walk out if I wanted to. After all, no one would care whether I was alone or not at such a grand entrance ceremony.
No, it would actually attract more attention if I just stay put here.
Since I was already quite full, now would be the perfect time to get up and look around.
“This is an announcement. Can the student ‘Ed Rothstaylor’ visit Dean McDowell’s office? Thank you.”
I suddenly heard my name from the platform.
McDowell. That was a name that I knew.
He was the chief dean of Silvenia’s Magic Department. In fact, he was a figure influential enough to have the authority to appoint professors.
And he was looking for me?
“Don’t tell me… Am I getting expelled…?”
These days, did the highest academic authority directly notify students of their expulsion from the academy? To bid me goodbye so earnestly on my way out?
“… have my chances already been ruined?”
I wiped my face.
No, let’s stay calm.
……
But what’s this?
Just what was going on?