Chapter 177

Riana took me to the largest room in the mansion. The room was dimly lit, with one weak light emitting a soft yellow glow. She hadn’t just invited me—everyone else was already seated around the table and sofas in that room. I was the last one to arrive.

On the table, there was an ice bucket surrounded by various unknown bottles.

“... Wow.”

“The servants would freak out if they saw us drinking, so we had to wait until we got to the lodging.”

I mean, I

had

rushed over as soon as I heard there was alcohol, and drinking with friends on a trip was a common scenario, but it felt like a strange and mixed up thing in this different world.

How much of the real world was mixed into this fantasy setting?

There was wine as well as high-proof spirits that were slightly different from soju. I was unsure if minors were allowed to drink. Harriet looked a bit nervous, and so did Heinrich and Adelia.

“Have you tried drinking before?”

I nodded in response to Riana’s question. “Um, yeah... Not much though.”

Ellen was just sitting quietly, and Riana seemed to have had her fair share of sneaking drinks before.

And here she was, trying to get her classmates to drink as well.

‘Was she the troublemaker type at home?’

The more I got to know her, the more interesting she became.

“If you don’t want to drink, you don’t have to. No one’s forcing you.”

Riana skillfully opened a bottle and poured a small amount into each of our glasses, adding ice to each of them.

“But, but... won’t we get in trouble for this?” Harriet said in a worried voice.

“I’ve never had a drink before...” Adelia added.

Harriet and Adelia looked a bit nervous, a hint of fear in their eyes.

“Who’s going to scold me about this?” said Riana. “You just have to go for it.”

She was basically saying that she could be forgiven for anything.

Ellen stared quietly at the golden liquid in her glass. I remembered Ellen mentioning in the Dark Land that we should try drinking together some time, because she was curious about the experience.

It seemed like it was going to happen, but in a very different place.

Heinrich looked a little tense as he stared at the drink in his glass.

I didn’t hesitate at all and downed the whiskey in my glass.

“Ah... this is it,” I said.

Since I’d decided to have fun, I had no reason to refuse the alcohol. Everyone watched in a daze as I drank without hesitation.

The sensation of heat down my throat...

This was it.

I had forgotten what it felt like for far too long.

“U-Um... then I’ll try too!” said Heinrich, who made up his mind after witnessing me and drank his shot.

Immediately he sputtered and choked, falling into a coughing fit, then sneezed several times.

“

Huff... huff... it feels like my throat is peeling off...”

Riana, who had been patting his back for a while, sighed.

‘You have to brace yourself for the burn before drinking; no wonder your body reacted that way.’

“This drink isn’t made to be gulped down the way he just did,” Riana cautioned Heinrich. “He’s just weird.”

She clearly thought it was odd to do what I’d done.

Adelia and Harriet sipped the whiskey cautiously, then stuck out their tongues.

“Bitter!”

“Yuck...”

Ellen took a sip of the whiskey and furrowed her brow slightly.

“Bitter.”

Well, what would they know about the taste of alcohol anyway?

Riana seemed to anticipate this reaction and opened another bottle.

“Then you guys can drink something sweet.”

It appeared to be some kind of sweet wine. Riana poured the wine into glasses for the three of them. She seemed pretty experienced at choosing drinks.

Did she leave the Temple every weekend to return to the Grand Duke’s house in the capital not because it was more comfortable, but because she couldn’t drink at the Temple? I was almost certain of it.

All three of them tried the sweet wine and nodded.

“Wow, this is delicious,” Harriet said.

“Yeah... it’s sweet.” Adelia commented.

“This is better,” Ellen added.

“Really? Then you guys can drink this.”

Riana looked at me, tilting the bottle and her head.

“You didn’t try the sweet one, right?”

“Yeah. Don’t give it to me.”

She surprisingly remembered the conversation we had at the dessert cafe the other day. Though I could clearly see Heinrich furrowing his brow slightly at that.

“And you, Heinrich? Should I give you this too? In case the other one’s too strong for you.”

“... No, I’ll stick with the same one.”

It seemed Riana had no idea that Heinrich was interested in her, so she wouldn’t have realized that her words were irritating him either.

‘Why do I feel like that guy keeps wanting to compete with me? I understand not wanting to show weakness in front of a girl you like, but still. I’m not your competitor, you idiot.’

I couldn’t tell him that, though, so I just watched silently.

***

Riana, Heinrich, and I were drinking whiskey and Ellen, Harriet, and Adelia were having sweet wine. There was chocolate and cheese laid out in front of us as snacks.

Initially, everyone was a bit nervous, but after one or two drinks, they started drinking comfortably.

However, this kind of situation usually led to trouble.

“Oh? This tastes quite good and I don’t feel tipsy at all!”

Then suddenly, you find yourself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling.

“Hey, this isn’t juice. Drink slowly, or it’ll hit you hard.”

“...?”

“Yeah, the buzz comes a bit late. Drink slowly, Ellen.”

“Okay, got it.”

Ellen needed to be cautioned as she was downing the wine like grape juice. Harriet and Adelia, who were also gulping it down, began to pace themselves after hearing my advice.

“But I’m curious about what Ellen would be like when she’s drunk,” Riana said with a faint smile, staring intently at Ellen.

I had to admit, I was curious too. Would she become more talkative?

Or maybe she would just fall asleep. You never know how drinking would affect someone until they actually drank a few glasses.

“By the way, what are your plans for the next semester? Classes and all that,” Riana asked, wanting to know about our plans for the next term.

We hadn’t had many serious conversations up until then and had just been fooling around, so this impromptu drinking session was finally the setting in which we would really begin to talk.

“Hmm... I think mine will be similar to the first semester. Mostly magic classes... I’ll probably take them with Adelia. Additionally, I’m thinking of taking more alchemy classes this time,” Harriet said.

“Yeah... that sounds like me too,” Adelia agreed.

The two of them were the only ones majoring in magic in Class A, so it seemed they would be sticking together in the second semester as well.

The focus then shifted to me.

“I’m not going to do anything different. Supernatural powers class, Meditation, and Mana Attunement training are fixed for me. Swordsmanship as well. I haven’t thought of anything beyond that.”

I assumed I’d end up in the same Swordsmanship class as Ellen. It was obvious I’d be taking supernatural power classes with Heinrich and Riana. Not much would change. Ellen seemed to be taking a moment to think.

“Mine won’t be very different either. If there’s anything new, it might be... Demonic Ecology,” she finally said.

“... Demonic Ecology?”

“Yeah.”

Everyone tilted their heads when hearing this unexpected topic. We didn’t know what the Demonic Ecology course entailed, but judging by the name, it was probably a class that taught students about demons.

Ellen must have felt unprepared when dealing with the zombies and realized she had no prior knowledge about them, which would explain why she was aiming to take her studies in that direction.

‘Hmm. Actually, that sounds like something I should be learning about as well. You know what, I should take that class with Ellen.’

“Hmm... Demonic Ecology. Sounds interesting. Should I take it too?” Riana seemed interested as well.

“By the way, you realize that you’ll be learning about demons we’d never meet... Oh—” Harriet started to question the need to study Demonic Ecology, but then quickly shut her mouth.

She knew something had happened in the Dark Land and thus did not probe further. Ellen’s face darkened a little, realizing she might have misspoken by bringing up such a topic.

Sensing the atmosphere becoming awkward, Riana raised her glass.

“It’s vacation; we shouldn’t be talking about studying. Let’s drink!”

When things grew uncertain during a drinking session, just taking a shot often solved the issue.

Was she really a high school student? Sometimes I wondered if she had the soul of someone in their thirties or forties.

In that cozy room filled with warm yellow light, we continued our conversations about various things.

“Speaking of which, there’s a festival in the second semester,” Riana mentioned.

School life in school-themed stories often followed certain formulas.

In summer, it would be the beach. And in winter, it’s the hot springs. And then, there’s the school festival.

It’s become such a cliché, yet these stories would feel incomplete without it, so I made sure to include it. The festival at the Temple, with its student body exceeding a hundred thousand, was grand and elaborate.

“Hmm... But from what I’ve heard, the Royal Class doesn’t really partake in the fun surrounding the festival... is that right?” Harriet asked hesitantly, and Riana nodded.

“That’s correct. It’s because of the rivalry event.”

The rivalry event.

“I wonder what the Orbis Class’s skill level is like?”

The Temple has two special classes: The Royal Class, selected for their talent, and the Orbis Class, selected for their skill.

In the same vein as a college rivalry, the Orbis Class and the Royal Class would face off during the festival as one of its main highlights.

In the original story, there was a rivalry within the Royal Class between Class A and Class B, and beyond their own class was the rivalry with the Orbis Class.

These were the two major rivalries.

The storyline first showcased the rivalry that Class B had with Class A in the first semester, and the festival in the second semester introduced a new rival—the Orbis Class.

Frankly speaking, since those in the Royal Class, especially Class A, were selected based solely on talent, there were some who barely had any real skills. There was the notorious trio of Kaier Vioden, Erhi de Raffaeli, and Connor Lint, who represented the deadweights of Class A, just to name some. Of course, in Connor Lint’s case, it wasn’t for lack of effort, but due to the drawbacks of his abilities.

On the other hand, students in the Orbis Class were selected based solely on skills, regardless of their natural talent. Therefore, there were hardly any useless members in Orbis Class. They were all students with a tireless work ethic.

In the first year, according to the original storyline, while a few skilled individuals managed to win their individual matches, the Royal Class would be defeated.

In any case, the head-to-head confrontation with the Orbis Class was approaching.

“Close combat majors often get severely injured, so both of you be careful,” Riana said, alternating her gaze between Ellen and me.

Even though I was a superhuman, I was still classified under the close combat category.

“But... Do the Orbis Class students really hate us that much?” Adelia asked cautiously, looking a bit scared.

“My second brother was in the Orbis Class. So when I was selected for the Royal Class, he really disliked it. He couldn’t tell me not to go, though,” Harriet answered.

I didn’t know how many brothers Harriet had, but I knew there was at least a third one, which suggested there were three of them. All of them were likely Temple alumni, and the second one had graduated from the Orbis Class. It was the first time we were hearing this, so we all tilted our heads in curiosity.

“They think we rely solely on our talent and nothing else. Even the teachers intentionally support this belief, and their class atmosphere strongly emphasizes that they can’t lose to us.”

I knew this well.

An elite group who received special treatment due to sheer talent, and another elite group that was forged through hard work and perseverance.

The Orbis Class despised the Royal Class, but the Royal Class didn’t really care about the Orbis Class. It was a one-sided animosity, mainly due to the limitations of the Orbis Class students.

In the lower grades, the effort could bridge the gap in talent. However, as students advanced through the grades, the gap between the Orbis Class and the Royal Class widened.

Experiencing defeat at the hands of Orbis Class members reminded those in the Royal Class that, if no effort was put in, even the most talented would lose to the average individual. Those who didn’t realize this and still didn’t put in the effort simply became irrelevant.

Because of this dynamic, the Orbis Class inadvertently turned the lazy geniuses of the Royal Class into hardworking geniuses. Talent couldn’t be surpassed by effort alone, and this inherent unfairness caused the Orbis Class to feel an inevitable inferiority complex towards the Royal Class.

Riana crossed her arms. “Our dorms being so far apart is precisely because of this animosity. They used to be closer, but fights broke out so frequently that they had to be moved.”

Whenever they had the chance to flare up, confrontations and violent incidents occurred. The students of both classes weren’t just ordinary students, but the elite of the Temple. Any misstep could escalate from a mere fight into actual murder.

Thus, the dormitories of the Orbis Class and the Royal Class were situated far apart, minimizing encounters.

Harriet took a sip of wine and sighed. “Even so, I’ve heard things have improved a lot now. It used to be that just wearing the uniform and being recognized would be enough to start a fight.”

I didn’t know what the Orbis Class uniform looked like, but I had never faced any trouble just for wearing the Royal Class uniform.

Things were better now, and just seeing each other’s uniforms wasn’t enough to trigger hostilities. However, the two classes were still far from friendly, and their officially-sanctioned confrontation was scheduled for the second semester.

The Orbis Class would be sharpening their knives to defeat us, and the Royal Class, due to teamwork issues, was slated to lose in team events, and win only a few individual bouts.

Ludwig would face and lose to the top freshman in the Orbis Class during the individual matches. However, given the additional members to the Royal Class, I wasn’t sure how the matchups would play out this time.

Riana then turned to Ellen. “By the way, Ellen, are you going to participate in the tournament?”

“Tournament?”

Aside from the rivalry event, the festival also hosted large-scale events for the entire Temple cohort, the largest among which was the tournament that was held for each grade. It primarily featured those majoring in close combat.

In the original storyline, Ellen would compete in the tournament with the intent of winning the freshman championship. Her final opponent in the tournament was the top freshman in the Orbis Class—the same one who would easily defeat Ludwig in their individual match. Ellen would defeat this individual effortlessly, mirroring the scenario on the deserted island and setting Ellen up as the main hurdle that Ludwig had to overcome.

Of course, this tournament was roundly criticized by the readers. Readers complained about being tired of martial arts tournaments, bored by the repetitive pattern of fight and win, fight and win.

“So, how many chapters until this part is over?” was a frequent comment that I received.

After writing it, I even had to take tranquilizers because of all the hate comments...

That “boring part” was now becoming a reality.

“I’m not sure,” Ellen replied hesitantly.

Ellen’s response was somewhat negative. It would have been natural for her to take part and win it, but it seemed things had changed a bit.

After a moment, Ellen shook her head.

“I don’t think I will.”

“Why not? Honestly, I think you’d clinch first place,” Riana said.

“I just don’t see a reason to compete.”

I knew why she was so hesitant.

Ellen had unlocked Mana Reinforcement. At this point, she had such an overwhelming advantage over her peers that she didn’t see the point in participating.

I put a hand on Ellen’s shoulder.

“Yeah, you’ve made a good decision. Don’t compete in it.”

Ellen looked puzzled, and I grinned at Ellen.

“If you compete, I can’t win first place.”

My sudden declaration took everyone by surprise. Their expressions were priceless.

“... I don’t think you’d get first place even if I’m not there,” Ellen remarked.

“... That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it?”

Everyone burst into laughter at Ellen’s sudden jab.

My unexpected declaration of joining the tournament, followed by Ellen’s disparagement, lightened the mood.

‘Does someone have to sacrifice themselves and be miserable just for you all to laugh? You guys are awful.’

“Why wouldn’t I win first place, huh?!”

I tried to play along and whined a little, but Ellen quietly sipped her wine while staring at me.

“... Do I really need to spell it out for you? You can’t even handle Cliffman. What if he competes?”

“... Oh, right.”

‘Oof.’

She hit me with the hard truth, and I had nothing to say. Even with my supernatural powers, I couldn’t beat Cliffman. I might have improved a little over the break, but Cliffman probably hadn’t been slacking either.

If I couldn’t beat Cliffman, that meant I also couldn’t beat anyone who could defeat him.

“Hmm, okay. Then I’ll just have to break the legs of all those Royal and Orbis Class guys who are stronger than me before entering the tournament.”

Riana glared at me with a sense of caution at my ominous remark. “Don’t say things like that. I’m scared you might actually do it.”

“And how do you plan on breaking the legs of those who are stronger than you?” Harriet chimed in.

“Ambush. No one can withstand a surprise attack, right?”

Harriet’s face went pale, clearly considering the possibility that I might follow through on my outrageous statement.

“... Are you seriously going to do that?”

“No, no. I’m just kidding. It’s not worth the trouble.”

I was just joking, and I didn’t seriously think I could win first place just because Ellen wasn’t competing. It was all in jest.

Honestly, I didn’t have much interest in participating in the tournament. Spending time sparring and bickering with Ellen was the best way to improve my skills.

Moreover, I planned to focus more on other things starting next semester, which would leave me no time to idle away in such events.

The festival? Forget it.

The grand martial arts tournament? Not interested.

Rivalry event? Count me out.

My life wasn’t so rosy that I could just live like a carefree student.

“Still, you should participate,” suggested Ellen out of the blue.

“What? Didn’t you say I wouldn’t win?”

After basically telling me that I sucked at fighting, now she’s encouraging me to compete? What was this about?

“I’m just curious,” Ellen said, looking at me intently.

Was she curious about my abilities? But she had already seen a bit of what I could do in the Dark Land.

In the original storyline, Ellen easily won the tournament. However, Ellen had grown much stronger compared to her original self. She had decided not to participate in the Temple tournament as the result would be too predictable.

“You should at least make it to the quarterfinals.”

She wouldn’t be the one competing, but she seemed curious to see how far I could go, considering I had learned swordsmanship from her.

It seemed she wanted to send her student in to compete, and watch from the sidelines.

“... Are you drunk?”

Everyone’s expressions turned odd as Ellen, who was usually modest, suddenly exhibited an unusual confidence. She wasn’t typically like this, saying things like how I shouldn’t fail to reach the quarterfinals since she was my teacher.

The yellow lighting had masked it at first, but I could see that her face had turned slightly rosy.

“If you don’t make it, I’ll be mad.”

The subtle smile on her face was almost too intense to look at.

It would have been better if she were just drunk and throwing a tantrum.

Her current demeanor made my whole body feel stiff.