“Over here, Katia!”

“You need to stop getting lost in your thoughts while walking in the middle of a corridor, y’know? It’s really not a safe habit.”

As I was wandering through the magnificent hallways of the Analeit Royal Academy, two familiar voices caught my attention.

The first was calling out loud to me with a hint of excitement while the other sounded directly inside my mind, conveying a sense of helplessness.

It was obvious who those voices belong to– Shun, my best friend of two lives, and Fei, my classmate in our previous life and my partner in crime in this one.

Beside them was Sue, who was standing there expressionlessly, but turned to give me a friendly nod the moment I faced their direction.

It’s been a year since I first registered at the Adventurers guild, marking the passage of a full decade since that day we were reincarnated in this world.

For some unknown reason, Shun and I had a violent, unscientific growth spurt where our barely 1.2 meter bodies suddenly became a bit over 1.4 meters.

Normal? Definitely not, but there’s not much I could do with how little this world’s books record about biology, or any kind of scientific subject at that.

Our families weren’t surprised at all though, which led me to believe that is just a normal occurrence in this world.

As for Fei, her growth was barely noticeable at best, and was actually caused by her leveling up a few times, not due to time.

I find that incredibly strange actually. It’s as if humanoid creatures and monsters in this world are two completely different life forms down to their very essence…

Most of my time last year was spent reading through the huge collection of books the adventurer’s guild had to offer with a bit of time spared for whatever else I needed to do.

Thankfully, they did provide the convenient option of borrowing books like modern libraries, so I didn’t have to risk getting exposed just to read.

…Or this might be an exclusive right just for me, who’s in possession of a top-tier token.

Who cares? You won’t catch me complaining anyways!

The rest of my time was divided between experiencing the dreamy adventurer life, fighting monsters with Fei, and training skill proficiencies on my own.

Finally, whatever miniscule amount of time remained was spent on my regular routine prior to my deal with Fei: Hanging out with Shun and Sue, accompanying my family, etc…

It might seem like I’m making efficient use of my time like a machine, and maybe even overexerting myself a tad too much.

But if I’m being honest here, this year was possibly the most fun I’ve ever had, my previous life included.

I mean, I can openly indulge in all of my hobbies without any scruples! Who wouldn’t love such a life?!

Gaming? This entire world is literally a huge game in itself!

Lore hunting? Any book I could get my hands on can be considered part of this game world’s lore!

Co-op play? I can do skill leveling with Shun and character level grinding with Fei!

If it wasn’t for Tomoko's unknown whereabouts, along with the unknown system creators, or GMs as I like to call them, this world would be nothing short of a paradise for me!

Unfortunately, no one can rest assured if they suddenly discover that they’re actually an NPC in a game, can they? Bad review! I rate this shitty game 0 stars!

As the days passed, I could feel myself gradually getting used to this kind of life, which is great considering I’m getting stronger at a much faster pace while still enjoying myself.

“Yo, Shun, Fei! How’s it goin’?” I asked cheerfully while walking towards them.

“All’s fine on my side. What about you? You haven’t really been to the castle much in the last year.” Shun answered with his own question.

“The usual. You know how it is.” Fei’s voice didn’t carry any fluctuations, but she gave me a hidden wink where Shun couldn’t see.

It seems like Fei enjoys our little affair just as much as I do, huh? I’m glad!

Rather than two masked heroes shouldering the heavy burden of mankind’s fate on their backs, it’s much easier if we’re just two kids sneaking out of their homes to hangout at night.

“It’s just that I’ve been way too invested in reading lately, so I haven’t had the time to go out much.” I responded while sheepishly scratching the back of my head.

“Hooh? I never took you for the studious type, Katia. Did you find some interesting novels?” Shun eyebrows were raised in surprise.

“Yup! A few of the adventure novels that popped up the last few years caught my eye. More often than not, it’s actually a true story with a just bit of embellishment here and there.” I lied without a second thought.

“I’d imagine having first hand experience would make an adventure novel much more intriguing, yeah.” Shun affirmed. “Should I also get into reading…?” He mumbled.

“You definitely should, Oni-sama! I’ll lend you a few books from my personal collection tomorrow!” Sue suddenly exclaimed with unexpected vigor, startling all three of us.

“O-oh, of course! I trust Sue’s preferences, so I’m sure I’ll love whatever you pick!” Shun quickly accepted, though his tone was very stiff.

However, Sue completely ignored that and just went back to being silent.

Glad to see she’s still as creepy as ever…

At least her hostility towards me completely vanished when I stopped hanging out with Shun frequently. Something about how her alone time with Oni-sama is finally back.

Yeah, it’d be best if I kept a solid distance between me and her in the future. The older she gets the more danger I feel from her.

This isn’t even related to stats or skills. She just inspires some sort of deeper primal fear inside me, like a rabbit fears a lion.

“Leaving that aside, where’s Filimos? I thought she’d be joining us for the academy.” I inquired, subtly fishing for any info concerning our potential enemies.

“They met up with her a few moments ago, but she suddenly said she had something to do and disappeared.” Fei answered while Shun shrugged helplessly in the background.

“Typical Fillimos, I guess. Always up to something.” I exasperatedly complained.

“Nooow, I can’t just pretend I didn’t heaaar that. Talking baaad about your teacher beeehind her back is ruuude, young lady.” Filimos’s iconic voice suddenly came from right behind me, scaring the crap out of me.

Not having heard her voice in a few months coupled with my inner wariness towards her made this sudden close interaction much scarier than it should’ve been.

“Ahhh, it’s Filimos-san. How have you been lately?” I subconsciously used a respectful tone when replying.

“Everything is going greaaat. Now, I wonder whyyy Katia-chan lateee for the school on the first daaay? Dooo tell.” Filimos questioned me with narrowed eyes and a cheshire smile.

Honestly, having a little elf girl whose head can barely reach my chest question me in a teacher’s tone should weird me out, but I’ve kinda gotten used to it over the course of our last few conversations.

On another note, Fei had somehow vanished just a moment before Filimos arrived– like she usually does.

It looked like her body had moved on her own as well… Does she have some sort of built-in Filimos sensor? If so, I’d also like one of those, thank you very much.

“I might’ve overslept.” I divulged while avoiding eye contact with her. “You know how it is, the excitement of the first day at school, especially a magical magic.” I explained.

“Oh-hooo! I see, I seeee. My, how youthfuuul” She raised a hand to cover her mouth playfully.

I didn’t know how I should reply, so I just smiled awkwardly and kept my silence, hoping someone would take this girl’s attention off of me.

Shun must’ve sensed my silent plea because it seemed like he was going to say something, but was interrupted by the start of the entrance ceremony.

Well, it doesn’t matter whether it’s Shun or the ceremony, I’m just glad I was saved from any more awkward conversations with Filimos.

Talking to her is a real chore.

 

The ceremony ended without any issue, and it only took a fairly short amount of time.

We have free time for the rest of the day afterwards. We can do whatever we want with that time, but we’re limited to campus grounds in terms of location.

Usually, students take this time to get acquainted with the campus they’ll be spending most of their time in for the next few years, then rest early for tomorrow’s lectures.

My plan was to rest in the dormitory throughout the day and then go for the exploration quest at night.

Figuring out how I’m supposed to sneak out for my secret adventuring job is obviously more important than whatever fun could be had when exploring a new map with friends.

Though it is very regrettable, it is a necessary sacrifice.

I had roughly informed Shun and Sue about my plans and was just about to move on with them when Filimos, who had once again vanished somewhere during the ceremony, returned.

“Come alooong everyone. There’s a few peopleee I’d like you to meeeet.”

Considering Filimos’s efforts over the years, whoever she’d go out of her way to ask us to meet is most likely a reincarnation or at least someone that holds similar significance to us.

Sparing a few minutes of my time for this was worth it in my book, so I simply nodded in acquiescence.

Shun however, decided to voice his doubts right then and there.

“Someone you’d like us to meet?”

“Yesss. It’s the future saint and sword-king. Diplomatic relationships like thooose are important for little princes and princesses, youuu know!”

Is what she said, though who knows what her real purpose is.

Shun is probably satisfied with this answer, and Sue is okay with whatever Shun decides. I, however, am still skeptical about her true goal.

A prince, a princess, and a high ranking noble from the Kingdom of Analeit, the daughter of the elf race’s patriarch, the future saint of the Holy Kingdom of Alleius, and the future sword-king of the Rexandt empire.

Filimos has basically gathered all the future high-level power holders of this world except for those who belong to the demons, dragons, and mermaids.

All of which live in their territories, which are inhabitable by humans if I may add.

Yeaaahh… No matter how I look at it, this doesn’t seem like a gathering with a pure purpose.

It could just be me overthinking it, but I found out during my adventures that just that extra bit of caution could be the difference between life and death.

Despite that, I followed along anyways.

The line between caution and straight up paranoia is incredibly thin. You gotta know when you should and shouldn’t act on your doubts, or you’ll end up messing everything up more often than not.

This first experience came from adventuring, while the second one came from dealing with nobles and etiquette lessons.

I’ve become the perfect noble lady, if I do say so myself!

“So the crown prince of the Rexandt Empire and the upcoming Hero companion, huh? I heard the former would be enrolling in this academy beforehand, but the latter’s presence is a total surprise.” I interjected in an attempt to supply Shun with a piece of news that he should have already known.

I mean, the enrollment of the genius sword master who’s on par with the original sword king in the academy has been the talk of all nobles in the past few months.

Even if you don’t attend many socialite events, you should at least stay updated through your maid, y’know?

Get rid of your average teenager mentality already! It’s been a decade since we came to this world, man!

…Is what I’d like to yell at him at the moment, but I didn’t act on the urge, knowing it’d all be for naught anyways.

Trust me, both Fei and I have tried it a couple of times already, but it was to no avail.

Shun is simply unable to get it in his head that this is a completely different world with a completely different set of rules.

So we just gave up on convincing him and decided to let him experience it first hand– only when we’re there though.

Shun may be stubborn, dense, dull, and many other things, but he’s still my best friend of two lives and Fei’s nominal master in this life.

There’s just no way we’d just let him die or get traumatized by some grave injury out of pettiness, y’know?

We followed Filimos through the crowds of fresh students until we reached an area that everyone was consciously avoiding.

It was to the point where a circle was actually cleared out, except for the two people standing at its center.

Their fiery, conflicting auras and the aura of a high-ranking noble made the other students too scared to get close.

The first, whom I’m assuming is the future sword king, was a young man with medium length brown hair that had a few streaks of yellowish-white running through it, and a pair of sharp brown eyes.

His standing posture and smug facial expression oozed arrogance like nothing else, telling of just how much he loved the attention he’s getting.

An arrogant prick with an over inflated ego.

Immediately, this impression came to mind, and with it came the memory of a person I used to know.

Natsume Kengo.

It didn’t help that the same nausea I had upon meeting Potimas washed over me upon seeing him.

Even Tomoko didn’t like that guy, and she went out of her way a few times to make sure that message came across.

And it seems like getting reincarnated in this world did nothing but amplify his negative traits.

However, I stopped myself from rushing to any conclusions until I got an actual confirmation from the man himself.

Listlessly standing next to him was an ashen haired girl with a pair of pure emerald green eyes, who I suppose is the future saint.

She had a bizarre, creepy aura surrounding her, and it felt like we were separated by a whole world despite her standing right there in front of me.

I couldn’t match her with any of our previous classmates, so I decided to wait for Filimos’s introductions instead.

Somehow, I’m getting a feeling that I would hate dealing with those two, but I will have to get used to it whether I like it or not.

If they turn out to be reincarnations, then I’m certain Shun will go out of his way to interact with them or even let them join our little group.

There’s no other way around it, unfortunately.

Sigh… How I wish Tomoko was around this very moment.

Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, listens to Tomoko and follows her orders, including Shun.

Life would’ve been much easier had she been standing next to me right now.

Well, it is what it is.

Let’s see what surprises Filimos-san has in store for us today!

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