Chapter 29: Dormitory

After the incident with Professor Lian.

We finally arrived at the dormitory building.

More accurately, everyone except Leon.

Since the Academy had separate dormitories for males and females, he had no choice but to go in a different direction.

“I want to go in and rest quickly.”

“I agree.”

They spoke wearily.

Perhaps worried about my silence, Elena turned to me.

“Are you alright, Aria? You fought the most out of all of us.”

“I’m fine, just a little tired.”

I wasn’t physically tired at all.

This body had endured hours of fighting against high-ranking Heroes on the front lines. It wouldn’t get tired from dealing with a few students.

Of course, mental fatigue was a different matter, so I needed rest regardless.

As we entered the building, we saw a woman.

“Are you the new students?”

“Yes. I’m Aria.”

After hearing everyone’s names, she handed us keys with our room numbers.

“It seems I’m on the fourth floor.”

“Me too.”

“I’m on the fifth floor…”

Four keys for the fifth floor and two for the fourth.

The higher the floor, the fewer rooms there were, but the rooms became larger. There were a total of five rooms on the fifth floor.

Each room was for two people, and only the top ten female students could use them.

In other words, four out of the top ten incoming students were here.

Lucia, Elena, Diona, and I received keys for the fifth floor, while Alicia and Lena got keys for the fourth.

We climbed the stairs.

When we reached the fourth floor, Lena waved goodbye, but Alicia came up to the fifth floor with us.

“…Shouldn’t you go to your room, Alicia?”

“I want to check on the Saint’s roommate.”

“Honestly, Alicia…”

That was her response to my puzzled question.

As we climbed the last flight of stairs, we saw five doors.

Thankfully, there weren’t many, so it seemed easy to find ours.

“I’m here. See you tomorrow.”

“Oh, I’m this way…”

Elena and Diona quickly found their rooms and went inside.

Now only three of us remained in the hallway.

‘501… is it this one?’

“It seems this is my room.”

I scanned the numbers on the doors and finally found mine.

Lucia also seemed to find her room and was about to open the door.

““Huh?””

…At the same time.

In that awkward moment, my eyes fell on the sign.

501.

(Lucia Iris/Aria)

The gold lettering engraved on the wooden sign stood out starkly.

The atmosphere in the hallway became awkward as we exchanged glances.

“…”

After a long silence, Lucia finally spoke.

“Um… I look forward to being your roommate, Aria?”

“Please take good care of the Saint.”

‘Sigh…’

Why were the rooms arranged like this?

“Aren’t you the Saint’s escort, Alicia? Why aren’t you in the same room?”

“Well… I didn’t place within the top ten, so they said it would be unfair to give me a room on the fifth floor…”

Alicia didn’t place within the top ten?

“What was your rank, Alicia?”

“I was twenty-first overall, eleventh among the female students.”

“…”

“It’s all because I’m lacking.”

Alicia answered, avoiding my gaze.

However, I also felt a pang of guilt.

‘I thought it was strange… but I didn’t think it would come back to bite me like this…’

If I remembered correctly, Aria was originally assigned to the fourth floor.

However, my current rank was third overall.

In other words, everyone below me had their ranks shifted down by one because of me.

That’s why Alicia’s rank was pushed down, preventing her from being assigned to the same room as Lucia, and leading to Lucia and me sharing a room.

“Are you okay?”

“…Probably. I’m just a little tired.”

My head throbbed as I pieced together what happened.

I was annoyed that I hadn’t considered this simple fact, but I just wanted to rest.

“I’ll be going in now.”

“Good night, Alicia.”

“I’ll come to escort you in the morning, Saint-nim.”

The door closed with those words.

I turned and listened to Alicia’s footsteps fading away, then looked around the room.

It was as luxurious as a five-star hotel suite I’d only seen in pictures in my previous life.

A large window filled one side of the living room wall, offering a view of the Academy, and the furniture inside was all high-end.

In other words…

‘This is familiar.’

It was similar to my room in the Zeroth Legion.

Of course, it was different from the Academy due to the nature of the Demon Realm, but I couldn’t help but feel that the level of luxury was similar.

Well, it didn’t matter to me. I just wanted to rest.

“Which room will you be using, Saint-nim?”

“Huh? Oh, then I’ll take this one…”

“Then I’ll take the other room.”

Lucia seemed flustered by my question, then pointed to the room on the right.

I walked to the opposite room without hesitation.

My luggage would probably arrive by tomorrow morning, so I didn’t need to worry about it.

I could wash the uniform I was wearing using the provided magical laundry tool.

I took off my outer clothes and brooch and came out, only to find Lucia still standing in the living room.

Not wanting to get involved, I ignored her and headed to the bathroom.

Thankfully, I was quite pleased with the bathroom.

The next morning.

Knock, knock, knock

Someone knocked on the door, despite the early hour.

I opened the door to find Alicia standing there.

“Saint-n… Oh, it’s Aria.”

“Yawn, what’s the matter so early in the morning?”

“I apologize if I woke you up.”

Alicia seemed flustered that I, not Lucia, answered the door.

She quickly regained her composure and apologized.

“It’s alright, I was getting ready anyway.”

“That’s good. Is the Saint-nim…?”

Did she come to wake up Lucia?

“She’s probably still asleep. Come in.”

“Then, excuse me.”

Alicia entered.

I showed her Lucia’s room, and she went inside.

‘Saint-nim, it’s time to wake up.’

‘Um… five more minutes…’

‘You’ll be late even if you start preparing now.’

I heard their voices, and soon Lucia came out and headed to the bathroom.

Alicia followed her out and sat on the sofa.

“You look tired.”

“No, I’m used to it now.”

“Would you like some tea?”

“…Please.”

I put the kettle on the stove, and the water quickly started to boil.

I poured the boiling water into a cup with tea leaves, and a pleasant aroma filled the air.

“Alicia, I’m ready~”

As I sipped tea with Alicia, Lucia emerged from her room.

She was late compared to us, who had finished preparing a while ago.

After finishing the breakfast delivered to our room, we left.

Unlike yesterday, we went to the auditorium for the actual entrance ceremony and finally arrived at our classroom.

Since all the members of the Hero’s party, including myself, had red brooches, we were in the same class, unlike in the dormitory.

“Leon is popular, isn’t he?”

“Well, he’s the Hero, and he’s famous.”

Lucia said, looking at Leon, who was already chatting with some of the heroines.

Well, I was the exception for not being interested in that face.

“Don’t you feel anything, Aria?”

“Why would I?”

“I thought you were interested in Leon.”

Me? What was she talking about?

As I wondered, Lucia continued, as if answering my question.

“You were clearly the one holding him ba… Mmmph…!”

I covered Lucia’s mouth before she could finish.

‘It’s not you who’s in control here, it’s me. ’

Did she really interpret it that way?

I covered Lucia’s mouth, dragged her to a seat, and sat her down. Alicia naturally sat next to her.

I tried to sit somewhere else.

But Lucia offered me the seat next to her, so I had no choice but to accept.

How much time had passed?

A man entered the classroom, looked around for a moment, and then walked towards us.

I didn’t want to get involved in anything troublesome, so I hoped I was mistaken, but…

Bang

The man slammed his hand down on my desk, and I couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

They say if you have ten people, you’ll have at least one.

It seemed the same applied to a group of twenty.

“Move.”

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

Alicia angrily reacted to his rudeness.

But he ignored her and stared only at me.

“What’s the meaning of this?”

“Where do you think you’re sitting, commoner?”

“What do you think you’re doing to Aria?!”

“This doesn’t concern the Saint.”

The man spoke irritably in response to my question. Lucia tried to intervene, but he seemed to completely ignore her.

“This isn’t a place for the likes of you. Move.”

“What if I refuse?”

“I’ll make you move by force.”

“You?”

Just you? Seriously?

It was beyond ridiculous. I was almost impressed by his confidence.

Well, he could try.

“Go ahead.”

“You b…”

The atmosphere grew tense, as if one of us would draw a sword any second.

Lucia and Alicia beside me, and Leon further away, looked ready to intervene.

“What are you two doing?”

A voice cut through the tension.

An icy voice and an equally chilling aura.

Glesia White.

She had entered the classroom and was standing at the podium.