“Th-There was actually someone in this world who could pat Yuri’s head…?”
“It’s the first time I’ve seen Yuri act so docile…”
“…!”
The whispers of those around them were audible, and Yuri’s face began to slowly redden.
What on earth had just happened?
By the time Yuri realized the situation, it was already too late.
Her body, acting purely on instinct, had unconsciously brought her head to Aslan Vermont’s hand.
“Huh?!”
“…”
As Yuri belatedly flinched and batted Aslan’s hand away, she raised her head only to find Aslan sporting a deeply satisfied expression.
This man! He had clearly done this on purpose, knowing full well that I’d react this way!
Shame and anger surged within her, causing her face to flush even more.
“C-Count! What is the meaning of this?!”
“I thought something was on your head, so I reached out, and your head just happened to come right to my hand. Your head must have missed my hand too much. It’s no one else’s fault, is it?”
“Argh…!”
With a smug grin, Aslan barely held back laughter, looking extremely pleased with himself.
All he had done was stretch out his hand, and it was true that her head had voluntarily leaned into it.
Yuri, unable to find any words to counter him, could only tremble in frustration, unable to speak.
‘How much effort have I put into building my image as cold, cynical, and intelligent…!’
Yuri felt like crying on the spot.
Cool, aloof, and radiating a neutral charm—the top student among the commoners.
Admired by noble ladies.
Envy-inducing to noble men, sparking inexplicable feelings of both inferiority and intrigue.
She was practically a sculpture-like figure.
She had worked tirelessly to maintain that image over the semester, never once breaking character.
Even when she wanted to run around playfully, she held back.
Even when she wanted to chat excitedly about her favorite topics, she refrained.
She had carefully cultivated the persona of someone who could captivate everyone’s hearts while remaining untouchable.
And now, with a single touch from Aslan, it was all ruined.
“Ah… my school life… it feels ruined now…”
“Why is that?”
“No one’s going to think of me as a ‘cool beauty’ anymore…”
“…?”
It was over.
She had planned to push her image as the mysterious, chic commoner shrouded in enigma for the entire four years, basking in the admiration and respect of everyone.
Yet now, after barely half a year, it was shattered.
Holding back tears, Yuri puffed out her cheeks and glared at Aslan.
Meanwhile, Aslan could only let out an awkward chuckle, finding the situation absurd.
‘Is this what they call a middle-school syndrome…?’
Cool beauty?
Aslan didn’t even know such a term existed, let alone that someone might aspire to it.
The fact that it was Yuri made it all the more surprising.
Now that he thought about it, Yuri was already 15—two years older than Charlotte and one year older than Julia. Definitely an age ripe for puberty.
In Yuri’s case, however, her puberty seemed to have hit so hard that it had manifested as a full-blown case of “middle-school syndrome”.
“It’s understandable. I get it.”
“Huh?”
“Being far more talented than your peers, the world must seem small to you. Feeling like you transcend logic and common sense is perfectly natural at your age. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about—”
“Ahhh! Count, you’re making it worse!”
Yuri, her face now burning bright red, reached out to cover Aslan’s mouth.
However, the height difference meant her hands could barely reach his face.
“Because of you, Count, my college life is ruined! I’m going to be a laughingstock now!”
“Ha-ha-ha…”
Yuri lightly pounded her fists against Aslan’s chest, sniffling all the while.
Aslan, unable to hold back anymore, let out a soft laugh.
Sure, being admired and feared by peers might seem appealing to her now. But eventually, she’d look back and see this as a cringeworthy phase of her life.
Still, Aslan decided against saying something like, “You’ll thank me later” or “You’ll understand someday.”
Such words would only provoke her further.
For now, he’d simply play the role of the clueless, annoying adult who had shattered her carefully crafted persona.
Sometimes, kids needed a little disruption to help them grow.
“Ahem. So, what brings you here? Were you checking on how I was doing?”
“Why would I care about that? I’m not your sponsor.”
“Huh? Oh, right. Why did I momentarily confuse you with my sponsor…?”
“I came to bring Charlotte and Julia here for a tour. If you’re free, would you mind giving them a tour of the Academy?”
“Oh! Of course, I’m free!”
“…”
At that, Yuri’s face brightened.
So he wasn’t here for her after all. He just wanted her to show Charlotte and Julia around the academy.
That was fine by her.
“Where should we start?”
“Somewhere nearby. My legs are starting to—”
“The most fun place! The most exciting one!”
“Then let’s start at the experience center. We can borrow some uniforms and let you be honorary students for the day.”
“Yay! That sounds amazing!”
Yuri led the way, with Charlotte and Julia following close behind.
Aslan trailed a bit further back, glancing around as he walked.
‘Judging by the reactions, this must be the first time Yuri has shown a human side.’
Everyone seemed startled, their faces showing varying degrees of surprise.
But the surprise wasn’t negative.
If anything, seeing Yuri laugh and chat with her peers broke down the aloof atmosphere she had projected.
One of the reasons she’d been an outlier at the academy was now gone.
Satisfied with the outcome, Aslan smiled contentedly and followed after Yuri.
.
.
.
After arriving at the Experience Hall, some time had passed.
Charlotte and Julia’s voices, which had faded as they went deeper inside, began to grow louder as they returned.
“W-wearing a uniform… how do I look?”
“The clothes automatically adjust to fit your size! Isn’t that amazing?”
“…!”
[The Evil God ‘Kali’ is so overwhelmed by the devastating cuteness that they lose their composure!]
Gently swaying her small skirt from side to side, Charlotte appeared.
Meanwhile, Julia, looking slightly nervous, walked over with her fists tightly clenched.
“Urgh…”
“My Lord, you’re bleeding from your lips.”
Kali’s commentary wasn’t far off the mark.
There was no better combination of words to describe the scene unfolding before me.
When I had seen Yuri wearing the uniform earlier, it had looked like a simple outfit, nothing special.
But now, standing side by side, Charlotte and Julia transformed the same uniform into a sight of catastrophic adorableness.
It was enough to strain one’s heart and possibly be fatal to the faint-hearted.
“You both look fantastic…”
“H-Hmph. Then maybe I should follow Yuri and enroll in the Imperial Magic Academy too…”
“Me too! I want to go too!”
Just by wearing the uniforms, Charlotte and Julia were already fired up with enthusiasm.
One goal of this tour—to spark their interest in the academy—had already been achieved.
“Both of you, come over here for a moment. This is called the Orb of Trial, and it was made by a great mage from long ago.”
“It’s so sparkly and pretty… What does it do?”
“Every new student at the Imperial Magic Academy has to attack this orb. It evaluates your personality and potential career path. Since you’re here as guest students for the day, why not give it a try?”
“Wow!”
The Orb of Trial.
Right, I’d almost forgotten about that artifact.
It’s a magical orb designed to assess the latent potential of students.
Over the years, countless talented individuals had unleashed their most powerful attacks on the orb.
Some had even used magic strong enough to level cities, but the orb had always emerged unscathed.
For some reason, I felt an odd sense of déjà vu as I stared at it.
“Then I’ll go first!”
“Uh, sure… Go ahead…”
Charlotte stepped forward, drawing her Super Super Strong Sword.
The sight of her grotesque, ominous blade caused startled gasps and screams from those around her, but Charlotte paid them no mind.
She raised the sword high above her head.
“Here I go! Super! Ultra! Mega!”
“Cha-Charlotte! Wait—!”
“It’s fine, Count. Even if it’s a wide-area attack, the orb will absorb everything, so there’s no danger.”
“That’s not the problem… Ugh, it’s too late.”
“Huh?”
The ground began to tremble faintly as Charlotte chanted her spell. Sensing something unusual, I tried to stop her, but I was already too late.
Even though I couldn’t sense mana directly, I could gauge the power of her attack through the vibrations of the ground.
This was on an entirely different scale compared to the last time she used her “Rumbling Thunder”.
In fact, it felt at least twice as powerful.
Charlotte had grown tremendously in such a short period. Even Sylvia seemed to notice, her eyes darting nervously.
“Rumbling Thunder!!!”
“…!”
Flash!
As Charlotte swung her sword, a burst of violet aura erupted from it, rapidly expanding to engulf the entire hall.
The massive energy then compressed in an instant, drawn into the small orb.
“…”
“…”
The overwhelming wave of aura vanished, leaving the room in utter silence.
Charlotte approached the orb with eager eyes, curious to see the result.
“I wonder what it says… Huh?”
“I-it’s broken!”
Snap!
The orb, which had withstood centuries of assaults from countless mages and warriors, cracked cleanly in two as though it were an ordinary rock.
Even I was left stunned, frozen in place as I stared at the shattered remains.
Charlotte, however, noticed something inside the broken orb and reached in to pull it out.
“There’s a note inside!”
“What does it say?”
“It says… ‘The one who breaks this… is the next Hero…?’”
“…”
The moment Charlotte read the note aloud, I closed my eyes tightly, realizing the gravity of the situation.
Ah.
The story’s completely derailed now.