After explaining all the necessary arrangements, Avier left the classroom.
Having missed four years of curriculum, Yuriko only half-understood the plans Avier had discussed during class.
Many parts went straight over her head.
Sitting beside her, Kalmira noticed Yuriko’s confusion and said to her, “Ruri, since you just arrived, you can ask me anytime if there’s something you don’t understand.”
“I actually do have a few questions.”
Yuriko had originally planned to ask Hwanling, but since Hwanling wasn’t a student, the cat’s answers wouldn’t be able to fully resolve her doubts.
Just as she was about to ask Kalmira a question, Yuriko noticed the light around her grow dim.
Turning her head, she found her seat blocked by seven or eight people, surrounding her so tightly that not even a drop of water could leak through.
She froze for a moment, not immediately reacting to what they wanted.
Recalling how she had said during her introduction that anyone wanting to cause trouble should wait until after class, Yuriko assumed these classmates were all there to pick a fight.
‘Oh no, Hwanling, are there a few too many people coming to pick a fight with me?’
‘Deal with the aggro you drew yourself, meow.’
Yuriko wasn’t actually afraid of them.
After struggling through the underworld for so many years, let alone being surrounded by seven or eight people, she wouldn’t even have flinched if she were surrounded by dozens.
However, she couldn’t use violent means right now, nor could she act too crude or vulgar.
That would inevitably lower her reputation among her peers, which would be detrimental to her competition for the “Academy Star.”
Solving this through non-violent means was quite a challenge for Yuriko.
After a brief moment of thought, Yuriko prepared herself mentally to face the crowd.
Come on. It’s just not using my fists. I can do this if I put my mind to it!
However, the first student’s comment made Yuriko freeze again.
“Miss Ruri, you were so amazing just now! You were so calm under those circumstances. You’re really cool!”
The female student speaking had eyes sparkling with admiration.
Her expression wasn’t the scowl Yuriko had expected, but a face full of enthusiastic smiles.
‘Huh? Why are they praising me?’
Yuriko had been ready to be insulted.
Even if these students had low “attack power,” they should have at least been able to manage a few taunts.
Yet the first thing she heard was a compliment?
Though surprised, she knew she had to respond quickly.
If she replied too slowly or too half-heartedly, it might dampen her classmates’ enthusiasm.
In a flash, Yuriko came up with an answer.
“You flatter me. I just wanted to leave a better impression on everyone. I wouldn’t want to be seen as a hot-headed, violent person, after all.”
So said the most violent figure in all of Pilgrimage City.
If she weren’t in the academy and someone dared to challenge her publicly, Yuriko’s gentlest response would have been to slap them into unconsciousness.
“Wow, even the way she talks is so elegant. She’s just like a lady. Are you a noble from somewhere, Ruri?”
‘I’m no lady! If I wasn’t acting, who would want to talk like this!’
“I’m a local from Pilgrimage City. I’m just an ordinary person. If you think I speak elegantly, it’s probably because I have a good role model. My sister taught me my etiquette; she’s a very excellent person.”
Her sister had indeed taught her etiquette, but it was certainly not because she viewed her sister as a role model.
During those few days of special training, Yuriko’s palms had been struck by a ruler more than a few times.
Yuriko had quite a few complaints about that kind of method used on children.
After several protests, her sister decided to take Yuriko’s suggestion and changed hitting her palms to spanking her instead, which finally settled Yuriko’s objections.
If it has to be the ruler, just hit my palms. Anything but a spanking.
“Ruri, you have a sister? I have one at home too, but unfortunately, she isn’t as nice as yours.”
“Sigh, my house just has an older brother who’s much older than me. There’s no comparison at all.”
“Ruri, you’re so beautiful. Do you have any secrets for your skincare routine?”
“Ruri, your pet is so cute! Can I pet it?”
“Wait, I think this black cat looks more like a familiar…”
More and more people began to speak.
Eventually, two or three people were talking to Yuriko at the same time, making it impossible for her brain to process everything.
Wait, you guys are way too enthusiastic! Don’t all talk at once—one at a time!
Trapped in the middle, Yuriko was already feeling dizzy.
Swirls began to spin in her beautiful pink eyes, and she didn’t know who to respond to first.
While Yuriko was stuck in this dilemma, a soft voice drifted over.
It wasn’t loud, but it reached everyone’s ears perfectly.
“Everyone, calm down. You’re going to make the new student feel uncomfortable!”
The students looked toward the source of the voice.
The one speaking was Kalmira, who had been pushed to the outside of the circle from the start.
Because of her timid nature, she hadn’t found a chance to jump in until she saw that Yuriko couldn’t handle the situation.
Only then did the crowd realize they were pressing in a bit too close and had forgotten to consider Yuriko’s feelings.
“I’m sorry, I think I got too excited…” one female student apologized first.
With her lead, the others who had been talking to Yuriko also expressed their apologies.
Yuriko cast a grateful look toward Kalmira, then organized her thoughts and addressed the students.
“It’s alright. I’m a bit flattered that everyone is so interested in me. But I’m only one person, and it’s hard to keep up with your enthusiasm. We have a long time to spend together, so there’s plenty of time for us to get to know each other slowly.”
With Yuriko’s reminder, the students surrounding her noticed there were indeed too many of them.
Seven or eight people were crowded around Yuriko’s desk so tightly that not even light could get through.
No one could be expected to handle that.
“Then we’ll come find you later, Ruri. Bye-bye!”
“I need to head to the restroom as well. See ya.”
To avoid leaving any more bad impressions on the new student, the classmates found their own excuses to leave, finally giving Yuriko some peace and quiet.
“Whew, everyone is so enthusiastic. I almost embarrassed myself in front of everyone. Thank you, Kalmira.”
Having escaped the crowd, Yuriko immediately expressed her gratitude to Kalmira.
Fortunately, Kalmira had intervened in time.
After being made dizzy by the students’ questions, Yuriko had experienced a momentary urge to drive them all away.
If not for Kalmira’s help, she would have left a bad impression on her classmates, which would have been bad.
“I didn’t really do much. Actually, I should have helped you sooner so you wouldn’t have been so troubled,” Kalmira said, regretting her late action.
Eulie, who was leaning against the desk behind them, watched the interaction between Yuriko and Kalmira and suddenly spoke up.
“Kalmira is truly kind, wouldn’t you say, Yuriko?”