“Xiao Luo Tong, can you help me check if the back is fastened properly?” Su Ling reached behind her, groping for the straps.
“Mm-hmm.” Luo Tong nodded obediently, fluttering her purple dragon wings to hover in midair as she carefully adjusted the other girl’s hair and collar.
“Hmph. You still need someone else to tidy you up when putting on clothes? Are you a little kid?” Ba Ge stood off to the side, sneering.
“Your badge is crooked.”
After finishing with Su Ling, the little purple dragon wagged her tail, flew over to Ba Ge, and reached out a small hand to straighten the leaf-shaped badge on the elf’s chest.
“I-I can do it myself… Thanks.” The elven girl turned her face away awkwardly.
Sevitis, who had already changed into her uniform, stood quietly at the entrance, watching the scene unfold.
The Kantaier Academy uniform was designed to be crisp and sharp: a form-fitting dark jacket paired with a pleated skirt.
On her petite frame, it didn’t look out of place at all; rather, it gave her a hint of obedient student charm.
The knife-shaped badge representing the academy on her chest gleamed sharply in the morning light.
However, the academy had provided standard knee-high socks, yet she was still wearing her own white over-the-knee stockings—the original equipment.
It wasn’t that she was reluctant to change; she just felt uneasy without wearing these stockings.
Although she couldn’t openly use them at the academy, having a powerful weapon close at hand always gave her a bit more security.
“Pfft, hahaha! Wasn’t Little Ba Ge acting like a little kid just now too?”
“Shut up, you stupid cow!”
“Hurry up, you two. We don’t want to be late on the first day of school.”
Sevitis sighed helplessly and gave the edge of her stockings one last tug.
‘What a bunch of worry-free brats.’
None of them were bad people—that was actually quite rare in a motley school like this.
If Sevitis had been assigned to share a dorm with that scheming Golden-haired Saintess, she didn’t dare imagine what her campus life would turn into.
Thinking about it, she was actually quite relieved.
A simple-minded but kind-hearted Ox Demon, a sharp-tongued but straightforward elf, and a quiet but caring Little Dragon Girl.
Plus herself… never mind.
“Coming, coming!”
After helping each other get fully dressed, the three girls quickly trotted after the black-haired girl who had already opened the door.
……
“I’ll head this way. You three take care of yourselves.”
After taking the teleportation array to the main campus, Sevitis turned around at the fork where they were about to part ways and gave her roommates some advice.
“Got it. You only need to say that to this dumb cow.”
“Little Ba Ge, if anyone bullies you, remember to tell me. I’ll come back you up!”
“Who needs your help!”
“Mm… don’t fight…”
Watching the three figures from different academies standing face to face, Sevitis shook her head helplessly, turned, and walked toward her intended teleportation array, silently praying in her heart.
The territory of Kantaier Academy was vast. The eight academies guarded the eight directions, surrounding the towering White Tower in the center.
As the silver light of the teleportation array dissipated, the first thing Sevitis saw upon landing was a massive statue.
The statue held an imposing long knife in its hand—exactly the same pattern as the badge on her chest.
Looking further back, the main building of the Army-Breaking Blade Academy was a rectangular fortress-like structure, with walls built from reinforced alloy and wear-resistant stone, giving it a grand and majestic feel.
‘No wonder it’s the continent’s top academy. Even just one branch academy is this magnificent. They really have deep pockets.’
After a brief moment of awe, Sevitis stepped forward and walked toward the building in front of her.
……
Under the faint morning light.
A black-haired girl sat quietly in the first row on the far left of the spacious classroom.
She propped her cheek on one hand, tilting her head slightly to gaze out the window.
Sparse sunlight filtered through the glass, faintly illuminating the fine down on her fair cheeks.
Her calm, clear blue-violet eyes and her absent expression were like a timeless portrait, deeply etched into the minds of those around her.
“Wow! Who’s that girl in the front? She’s so pretty. Getting into the academy at such a young age—she must be really talented.”
“Yeah, yeah. Her long lashes and fair, flawless skin make her look just like an exquisite doll.”
“Do you think if I go make friends with her, she’d let me hold her?”
“She might not even talk to you. She looks like she’s from a different world than us. Didn’t you see that melancholic, deep look in her eyes? She might be pondering something about the future of the continent right now.”
Two girls in the back row were whispering and chattering.
The melancholic “doll girl” they were talking about didn’t notice the commotion behind her.
She still rested her cheek on her hand, staring out the window, lost in thought.
‘Those three troublemakers… they’re not going to cause trouble on the first day of school, are they?’
If they did, she—inexplicably elected as the Dormitory Head—would have to go to the Student Council to bail them out.
With a soft sigh, Sevitis withdrew her gaze from the window.
Actually, when she’d found her classroom and walked in, thanks to her slow roommates, there weren’t many empty seats left.
But she had immediately locked onto the window seat in the last row.
For some reason, that empty seat seemed to have a strange magnetism, glowing in the classroom as if calling out to her, making her eager to sit there.
She vaguely remembered someone once casually mentioning that such a seat was called the “King’s Homeland.”
So Sevitis immediately lifted her foot—and walked straight toward the window seat in the first row on the far left.
Why would she ever sit in such a conspicuous spot?
She bet that if she really sat there, all kinds of messy troubles would come knocking.
As someone striving to keep a low profile, it was safest to stay quiet in the front corner.
She glanced around the classroom, ignoring the two female classmates behind her who seemed excited about something.
After confirming that she hadn’t attracted unnecessary attention, Sevitis was about to withdraw her gaze when she suddenly felt a prickling sensation on her back.
‘Strange? I didn’t notice anyone staring at me.’
‘But I keep feeling like there’s a pair of eyes watching me from the shadows. Even now.’
Sevitis swept her gaze again, this time landing on the “throne” in the last row that she had deliberately avoided.
A blue-haired girl with fins on her ears was propping her cheek on one hand, her face turned directly toward Sevitis.
Sevitis narrowed her eyes slightly, scrutinizing her.
When the Sea Folk girl realized she had been spotted, she even flashed a friendly smile at Sevitis.
‘…’
‘So it’s her. But…’
‘Were her eyes even open?’
Whether at first glance or when she smiled, Sevitis couldn’t see her eyeballs at all—just two thin slits.
‘Do all Sea Folk look like this?’
The atmosphere was a little awkward. Sevitis wasn’t sure how to respond.
Fortunately, the bell for class finally rang.
The other girl just smiled at her and turned away. Relieved, Sevitis took the opportunity to ignore it and withdrew her gaze.
Of course, the bell was only a secondary reason for breaking the awkwardness.
After all, if the classroom door suddenly flew off, no one could avoid looking.
BOOM—!
Yeah. That door really did fly off.
It had to be said that Kantaier Academy had spared no expense in its decoration—they even used such high-grade aromatic wood for an ordinary classroom door.
How did Sevitis know it was high-grade aromatic wood?
Having been steeped in noble culture at the Duke’s Mansion for a few years, she could tell just by smelling it.
Even though that door had only brushed past the tip of her nose for a second before crashing through the nearby window and flying outside.