Chapter 157 Thatâs what Iâm trying to do.
I stepped out of the dormitory after finishing my preparations.
`The reason was obvious: I had to select the companions who would join me in collecting the dawn butterflies.
The event that competed for the dawn butterflies finally had a name. âHunting Butterfly Festivalâ.
It was a simple and faithful name.
âAh, junior!â
As soon as I stepped out, someone shouted in an excited voice. I turned my gaze to that direction.
A brown bob cut with uneven lengths on both sides.
A badge with âPresidentâ written in large letters on her shoulder.
A female student whom I had met somewhere before was staring at me intently.
âThis is the second time we meet like this, junior.â
She approached me.
I quietly looked at the name tag on her chest.
I couldnât remember her name.
Emily.
Thatâs right, that was her name.
When the bloodsuckers attacked, I had encountered this girl in the ballroom.
âJunior, youâre also leaving for Leheln Hill, right? The second princess is organizing⊠what was the name? I wrote it down.â
Emily rummaged through her notebook. She had a notebook in one hand and a pen in the other. She seemed to always be like this.
âOh, right. Sujeopje!â
Emily smiled brightly after finding the information she had written down.
âIt must be quite nerve-wracking, right? There are rumors that it will be a competition between knights and magicians, or that knights and magicians will form teams. Thereâs a lot of interest in it.â
âIâm busy. What do you want?â
ââŠYouâre so grumpy, senior. I know youâre busy. But.â
She tore a page from her notebook and handed it to me.
I quietly accepted it, hoping that the content was worth my time.
The content was as follows:
[To Flan, who has recently caused a stir in the magic world, Merhen Academy is doing its best to allow many magic students to exchange their insights. First of all, there will be no limit to the number of studentsâŠ. (continued)]
Emily quickly added more words as soon as my eyes reached the bottom line.
âCongratulations. Youâre popular. Thanks to you, the academy has removed the limit on the number of students. They want you to try the orientation first and then decide.â
âOrientation, huh.â
âActually, most of the lectures include orientation, so this is not a surprising thing.â
âSo you have another reason for looking for me.â
âYeah. Thatâs right. ActuallyâŠâ
Emily scratched her temple with the tip of her pen.
âThis orientation is happening this afternoon. Right before the Sujeopje, howâs your schedule? Can you do it?â
I was silent, and she added a few more words.
âYou know, right? Orientation is something you can do lightly. If you do it, you can do it for just a minute. It doesnât matter. SoâŠâ
âEmily.â
But I was bothered by something other than my schedule.
âFreshmen. This bothers me.â
âFreshmen? Huh?â
Emily tilted her head.
âThey usually notify you of your acceptance early. That way, people who live far away can move and prepare for other things.â
I shook my head.
That was not what I wanted to ask.
âAre you saying that youâre participating in my orientation?â
âThatâs right. Your lectures will start in earnest next year, so freshmen are actually the most important. Thanks to that, the schedule was a bit distorted, butâŠâ
Emily shook her pen in front of my eyes.
âAnyway, what are you going to do? Iâm not here to force you. Just tell me if youâre going to do the orientation or not.â
I nodded quietly.
It was true that I was busy, but they were freshmen who would attend my lectures next year. It was an offer I couldnât refuse.
âIâll do it.â
âReally? Great.â
Emily slanted her small bag and took out some miscellaneous things. Classroom keys, attendance books⊠things that were needed for the orientation.
âBut.â
I didnât take them.
âI donât need a classroom.â
ââŠ?â
Emilyâs hand, which was handing over the miscellaneous things, stopped.
My gaze went to the agora board, and the presidentâs eyes naturally followed.
Thanks to the achievements of the magic department these days, the agora board was also very popular. It was filled with problems, as if there was no empty space.
I silently looked at it for a while.
âLet me borrow your notebook and pen for a moment.â
âHuh?â
Emily handed me the pen and notebook with a bewildered expression.
I started to write down the formulas on the agora board, and soon Emilyâs notebook was filled with formulas.
The amount of problems was overwhelming, so it took quite a while, but I never found a wrong answer. After deriving only the correct answers, I closed the notebook.
Snapâ!
As I entered the correct answers for each problem and flicked my finger, the agora board became clean as new.
ââŠ!â
Emilyâs eyes widened.
The expression of pity she had while watching her pen wear out completely disappeared.
âDid you solve all of that at once?â
âYes.â
âWhatâŠâ
While Emily asked that, I started writing new content on the Agora board.
Usually, I would pursue something very sophisticated and very difficult⊠but this time, I gave a very ordinary level of problem.
A problem that was so plain and neat that it could be called the standard.
After finishing the writing, I looked at Emily.
âIâll replace the orientation with this problem. Only those who can solve it are qualified to take my lecture. Tell them that.â
ââŠâ
Emily nodded three beats late.
âOkay, do thatâŠâ
âThen thatâs it.â
I left Emily behind with a blank expression.
?
The palace, the place where the most noble bloodline in the continent lives.
This place is a world of its own.
The garden changes seasons every six hours by dividing the 24 hours of the day into four, and the east, west, south, and north of the palace copied the impressive architectural styles of each continent.
Therefore, Auroraâs words, âYou can experience the world without going outside.â were not a lie.
In one of the brilliant spaces, the second princessâs inner chamber, the second princess Aurora was talking with her guard knight Ban.
âYour Highness, there is something strange in the list of the reception ceremony.â
âSomething strange, you say?â
Aurora, who was sitting on the throne, answered with her chin propped up.
âIt shouldnât be. Itâs something that I personally organized.â
âIt would be better if you check it yourself. I have already sorted out the reports that came in.â
Aurora nodded lightly, and Ban carefully handed over the information that had been compiled several times.
After looking over the information, Aurora burst into laughter.
âItâs definitely strange. But itâs also interesting.â
The princessâs eyes stayed on the list of a specific group.
It was the group of Elpis, the daughter of the Cloud family. Ban nodded as if he guessed.
âDidnât the reception ceremony recruit participants publicly instead of targeting only academy students?â
âThatâs right.â
âElpisâs group members are somewhat unusual. On paper, they are all students with no problems, but when I asked the actual students, they all said they didnât know who they were.â
âThatâs right. Thatâs the point.â
Aurora laughed as if she was amused.
âBan, is this them looking down on me? Or is there another reason? What do you think?â
âI also investigated that part.â
Ban bowed his head lightly and continued.
âThe son of the Cloud familyâs lord died in the conquest. Perhaps, itâs a grudge against Flan.â
âDeath, what a weakling. Anyway, what should I do? Tell me your opinion.â
Ban calmly began to answer.
âPlease order a thorough investigation. If the documents are forged, they should be punished accordinglyâŠâ
âWrong.â
Aurora cut off Banâs words and looked over the data again from beginning to end.
ââŠâ
And then, she closed her eyes and concentrated for about three minutes.
And after a while, she opened her eyes as if she had made a decision.
âJust leave it alone. Thatâs right.â
âYes?â
Ban answered with a bewildered face.
âIf the documents are forged, there will surely be trouble. Itâs an event that you personally organized, Your HighnessâŠâ
âBan.â
But Aurora just called the name of the guard knight.
âYes. Your Highness.â
âThose who claim to be the first will embrace resentment for their whole lives. This is just the beginning, and if Flan is a guy who would die with just this, it would be better for him to die, wouldnât it?â
ââŠâ
âIsnât that a hard word?â
Aurora straightened her posture. The second princess finally sat on the throne properly.
âLet me ask you this. If this guy wins and I personally escort him to the tower, and he gets hurt then, how ridiculous would I be?â
She looked at Ban with a terrifying gaze.
ââŠHow much would my authority be trampled on?â
âI understand. Your Highness.â
Ban had no choice but to bow his head.
Aurora snorted. At the same time, her posture, which had been straightened, relaxed again.
âBy the way, hasnât Flan chosen his teammates yet?â
âYes. I guess he wonât decide until right before the selection ceremony.â
âWhat, thatâs typical of him. Thatâs just like him.â
Ban handed me a few more sheets of paper.
âHereâs a list of those who claimed to be Flanâs allies. Would you like to take a look at this too?â
âWould you like to. Would you like to⊠Canât you summarize it yourself? Huh?â
ââŠYour Highness, Iâm a guard knight.â
Ban answered with a pout, and Aurora burst into a snicker. Teasing her guard knight was still a fun hobby for her.
Auroraâs eyes suddenly stopped at one place. She couldnât help but stare at the name that caught her attention.
âThatâs interesting. Heâs on the list.â
Auroraâs eyes sparkled like crescent moons.
âI had an interesting idea.â
Whenever Aurora said she had an interesting idea, Ban felt a chill down his spine. He was afraid to hear what she would say next, so he just looked at her.
âAssign him to be Flanâs ally.â
âExcuse me?â
âThatâs an order. Wouldnât that be more fun?â
âYour Highness, thatâs against the rules.â
Ban tried to stop Aurora.
âHeâs a renowned knight. The selection ceremony only targets students, itâs clearly statedâŠâ
âThen we have to change the rules altogether.â
Aurora smiled wickedly.
âWeâll extend the recruitment period by three days. Weâll get rid of the criterion that only students can apply. That way, all the problems will be solved at once.â
She had a point.
It would solve both the problem of having a famous knight join Flanâs team and the problem of those with unknown motives trying to sneak in.
But Ban still looked worried.
âBut Your Highness, the stakes will be much higher.â
âThatâs what Iâm trying to do. Donât you get it? The bigger the stakes, the more fun it is.â
Aurora rubbed Flanâs name with the tip of her index finger, then moved on to another name.
Scarlet Udit.
Flanâs sister.