At the mention of Olesia, Nomili stopped hiding.
She jumped to the front and said to Yuriko in a boastful tone: “Big sister is the most perfect being in the world. She learned to speak when she was six months old, created her own sword technique at ten, and she’s first at everything she does. She’s a famous star everyone in our Peran Kingdom admires!”
“Oh, that sounds amazing.”
Creating her own sword technique at ten was indeed amazing.
Yuriko couldn’t use a sword—she only knew how to swing a spiked club.
“And ever since Big Sister enrolled, she’s gotten perfect scores in every subject and is commonly accepted as the school’s number one beauty. That’s never happened in the academy’s history!”
Nomili’s gaze fell on Yuriko, and her expression turned disdainful again.
“So you, a lowly worm, should stop dreaming. There’s no one in this world worthy of being Big Sister’s rival. Just go back where you came from.”
As she spoke, Nomili made a shooing motion, causing a vein to pop on Yuriko’s forehead.
Being called a worm or something—of course that makes me mad.
“Nomili, that’s going too far. Did you forget what I told you?” Olesia reminded her.
“Ugh.”
Nomili instantly deflated, lowered her head, and retreated behind Olesia, apologizing meekly: “I’m sorry.”
After Nomili backed down, Olesia gave Yuriko an apologetic look.
“I’m sorry. Nomili just cares about me too much. I’ll talk to her later.”
“Uh, I understand.”
I don’t understand.
“What! Big Sister, how can you apologize to someone like her!”
Nomili tried to jump out again, but Olesia gently held her back, preventing a scene.
“You said those things for my sake, and besides, as your big sister, it’s my responsibility to take responsibility for your mistakes, isn’t it?”
“Ugh…”
With that one sentence, Olesia silenced Nomili.
After calming Nomili, Olesia looked at Yuriko one last time and said, “Anyway, I look forward to seeing what you can do. I hope you’re as outstanding as your sister.”
Leaving those words, Olesia left Yuriko’s seat and returned to her own.
Yuriko watched her go, feeling that the student council president was actually quite nice.
She might be a bit arrogant, but she truly was excellent.
It was just that little hanger-on beside her was annoying, always picking on her.
Yuriko looked around and saw that Phantom still hadn’t returned.
Is she still mad at me?
“Phantom hasn’t come back. I’m going to find her,” Yuriko said to Kalmira.
“Do you want me to come with you? You’re probably not familiar with the way yet, Ruri.”
“No need, I’ll be back soon.”
Yuriko rose and left the classroom, walking through the academy with the dignified gait her sister had taught her.
Relying on the connection with Phantom, she eventually arrived at the central square of the academy.
There stood a huge crystal statue.
Yuriko recognized it—it was the saint’s statue on campus.
At the base of the statue sat a small black cat, her head tilted back as she gazed at the crystal effigy.
“Found you.”
Yuriko came up behind Phantom, scooped her up, and held her in her arms.
‘Why are you staring at the statue like that? Did something come to mind?’
Yuriko wanted to reach out and stroke Phantom’s fur, but remembering that it might make her bristle, she ultimately gave up the idea.
‘Nothing, nyaa. It’s just been a while since I last came back to see it. This statue looks exactly the same as before.’
Phantom looked away, nestled in Yuriko’s arms, resting against the soft “pillow” and letting out a comfortable yawn.
‘How did your chat go?’
‘Pretty well. That Wyndham girl didn’t seem bad, but she’s so outstanding it makes me a little uneasy.’
Uneasy was true.
After all, the other girl surpassed her in every aspect: perfect scores in all subjects, strong talent, high popularity, and a beauty who was in no way inferior to herself.
To be honest, Yuriko thought she was already quite pretty without makeup, but she hadn’t expected to encounter someone at the academy whose looks were completely on par with hers.
‘Are you scared?’
‘Maybe. I might be good at fighting, but I’m not confident I can get perfect scores.’
‘Don’t worry. You’ve got me, nyaa. Perfect scores? As many as you want!’
‘Oh? Are you really that amazing, Phantom? Those are perfect scores, you know?’
‘Hmph, why would I lie to you? Instead of worrying about your academic grades, you should worry about your magic and martial arts. I can help you, but those two subjects require your own effort.’
‘Yeah.’
The cherry-haired girl looked up at the huge crystal statue and fell into thought.
A breeze tousled her hair, adding a touch of liveliness.
Her beautiful eyes rippled like a clear autumn pond.
Absently, she stroked the black cat in her arms, and for once Phantom didn’t hiss but lay there letting herself be petted.
Passing students who saw this scene couldn’t help but slow their pace, wanting to linger a little longer to enjoy the sight.
‘Right, I really need to work hard. First, I’ll find a way to raise my popularity. Let’s see… that Wyndham girl seems to be a noble, so I’ll take the approach of being a friendly commoner and play the role of a kind, approachable commoner girl.’
Having decided on the role she would play, Yuriko snapped back to reality.
Her pretty pink eyes regained their sparkle.
‘What the heck, why are there so many people here!’
As soon as Yuriko came to, she noticed over a dozen students gathered nearby.
Some were walking slowly, others had stopped altogether, their eyes subtly lingering on Yuriko.
At a time like this, what would a kind and friendly girl do?
‘Right, this is when I should…’
Yuriko looked toward the surrounding students and gave them the sweet smile she had practiced in front of the mirror countless times.
That smile seemed to transform into arrows of affection, piercing the hearts of every student present, making their hearts beat faster.
Some were so moved they became entranced, their thoughts lingering on the cherry-pink figure.
Unaware of just how devastating her smile was, Yuriko held Phantom and started walking back toward the classroom.
Phantom poked her head out from Yuriko’s arms and looked at the people who were either staring dreamily or longingly because of Yuriko’s smile.
She shook her head quietly.
Yuriko really has no idea how truly charming she is.
Before class started, Yuriko finally returned to the classroom with Phantom.
The first class was cultural studies, related to military affairs.
The instructor explained some knowledge about military operations.
Since it was the first class, the material wasn’t too deep, and Yuriko could more or less understand.
She took out her notebook from her bag and, under Phantom’s guidance, jotted down some important points.