After the tournament classes resumed and on the surface everything seemed to be the same.

 

But was not at least for  Adrian. After the tournament and the match with the swordsaint, he became even more famous like a celebrity, wherever he went people would surround, not just his fan club.

 

This made it difficult for him to move around the campus. He lost his free time.

 

But there was one salvation, the three girls were constantly around him, fending off other girls from approaching him, whenever they didn’t have any lessons.

 

They were like his bodyguards, well they just didn’t want any other girls to get close to him, they even argued among themselves but surprisingly when it came to block other girls they seemed to get along well.

 

Normally Adrian would have thanked them for acting as free bodyguards however they were very clingy to him all day long and he was forced to eat with them and during those times they would argue with each other.

 

Worse yet they would sometimes during their argument look at him and asked him whom does he choose and from their looks if he chooses anyone or no one the others will be pissed and might even attack him.

 

So he made excuses and ran in those situations.

 

Basically he still has no free time. He now felt that girls are scarier than monsters and demons.

 

He never thought he would be such a coward but there he was being one. It was an inexplicable situation.

 

Anyway the academy days passed with such agony. Adrian still managed to read the books he wanted when he back in his dormitory.

 

Then the day finally came for the first examinations of the academy.

 

There was one examination at the end of every year which determined whether one passes or repeats the same grade.

 

The failure rate was pretty low since all were noble students who were educated from a early so they could at the very least.

 

The difficult part was getting into the top 10 which were considered to be the elite students, it was considered prestigious.

 

So the exam started.

 

Adrian didn’t have any difficulty in the exam as his knowledge level was higher.

 

The exam didn’t take into account magic or swordsmanship skills, it was only academics, hence the same ranking list was published across all departments of the same year.

 

There was one subject per day and there was a gap of one day between subjects. It gave everyone enough time to prepare and the people could also give the exam refreshed without being tired.

 

All 3 girls wished Adrian luck before every exam and he did the same.

 

Then the exams ended.

 

There was one week left before the exam results were declared, then they would go home for winter vacation and come back at spring next year for a new year.

 

Yes it’s winter now. But Adrian as usual has to go on dates with the girls. Now wearing winter clothes, it was pretty cold and it was snowing but the girls requested dates as they won’t see each year for a few months.

 

The dates were arranged by the girls by discussing among themselves. It seems they have grown closer and had a feeling of camaraderie towards each other even though they were love rivals. They would even defend each other. This was something Adrian didn’t  understand.

 

But Adrian was also smart enough to not ask how this happened and get himself in trouble.

 

But he wasn’t sure whether this was a good or bad thing.

 

One week passed and the results came out.

 

All 4 of them went together to check the results and the results were:

 

• Adrian Hofstader
• Emily Elderburg
• …………………………..
• Rosalia Clementine
• ……………………………..
• Allena Pendragon
• …………………………
• …………………………..
• ……………………………
• Victor Goldberg

 

As expected, thought Adrian Victor was 10^th, it was he same in the game, his swordsmanship was the thing that made him stand out in the game after all, but being in the top 10 is a great feat.

 

Also Adrian being first wasn’t all that surprising to him as he expected it, Emily being second was natural too as she was the first in the game.

 

All 3 girls turned to him with smiles and said, “Congratulations Adrian”, in unison.

 

Adrian smiled back and said, “Thank you guys and congratulations to you all too”.

 

After hat the girls insisted on having a part before leaving for winter vacation to celebrate him being first.

 

He rejected but all 3 of them turned a deaf to his opinion.

 

The party  was held next day and all students of their year were invited.

 

The 3 girls did all the arrangement. Frankly the part was enjoyable, it was only eat and drink and chatting with each while soft music played.

 

Of course girls weren’t allowed to approach Adrian but some did anyway and got in a few words before being rudely shoved away.

 

All in all it was a success, everyone congratulated Adrian, he was a bit flustered but he appreciated it all the same.

 

Then it came time for the departure next day. All 3 girls were almost in tears for him leaving so he had to console them that they would meet in order to prevent chaos.

 

Then he was on his carriage on the way home.

 

While in the carriage he reminisced about his family and how he was finally meeting them again after a year. Even though they communicated with letters it wasn’t the same as meeting in person.

 

Alice would be very happy on seeing him and will probably crying joy and of course his father will be happy to see him and proud of his achievements.

 

Anna his personal maid who was in the carriage with him suddenly said, “It’s nice to finally go back home right young master? Miss Alice and the master will be very happy to see you”.

 

“Yes, it’s good that I will be able to meet them again after a year”, said Adrian as he was looking out of the window with a smile.

Anna again said, “ Although I am not sure how miss Alice will react to you hanging out with the princesses”.

 

Adrian coughed and said, “ H-Hopefully she understands, it’s probably going to be ok, yes it will be ok”.

 

Anna just smile and was laughing internally at the scenes she would see as Adrian’s interaction with the 3 girls were already in the newspapers especially after his fight with the swordsaint as everyone was curious about him.

 

They finally arrived at the mansion after days of travelling.

 

Adrian came out of the carriage to be immediately hugged by a crying Alice saying, “B=Big brother I missed you waahhhhh..”.

 

“There there don’t cry, we will be together from now, you will also be attending the academy from next year right?”, Adrian said as he patted her.

 

Alice stopped crying a she slowly nodded.

 

Adrian then turned to his father who also hugged him and then said, “ It’s good that you came back without any problems son, I am proud of your achievements”.

 

“Yes, it’s good to be back”, said Adrian with a smile as he took in the air of his territory.