Chapter 32: A Gathering of Talents!

“Ah, it’s been so long since I’ve enjoyed such professional service.”

After finishing breakfast, Lomio walked out the door with a spring in his step.

He could vaguely hear a suppressed sigh behind him, as well as Ann’s cat-like, gentle footsteps.

“It seems that if I use this Charm Aura with moderation, I can quickly resolve a lot of unnecessary trouble.”

“Using it to handle team dynamics is really quite a clever little trick.”

As he descended to the first floor, Lomio finally noticed that even though it was nearly time for class, quite a few girls were gathered in front of the dormitory building.

They were completely surrounding a tall, cold-faced, white-haired figure.

“Lord Kafnir, congratulations on conquering the King!”

“He just looked at me! I’m so happy!”

“In your dreams, he was obviously looking at me!”

····

“This looks exhausting!!”

Watching his brother surrounded by a pack of wolves, relying only on his aura to intimidate those around him, Lomio couldn’t help but feel… absolutely delighted!

This is the shield chosen by fate, the king among women!

With Kafnir as his iron wall, he couldn’t even imagine how smooth and low-key his three years at the Academy would be!

Just as Lomio was about to quietly slip away, Ann moved behind him.

Like a ghost, the girl’s figure slid out from Lomio’s side and walked straight toward the crowd.

“Please step aside.”

A cold, clear voice rang out.

Lomio sensed that the maid’s elegance in her tone instantly transformed into the oppressive and lethal air unique to an assassin.

“Who are you to order us around? Don’t you know your place!”

Seeing Ann in her maid outfit, several girls at the front immediately frowned, their faces full of reluctance.

“I am merely my lord’s maid, nothing more.”

Facing the sudden situation, Ann didn’t hesitate at all. From somewhere beneath her skirt, she pulled out her card.

“Bind.”

She whispered, channeling her mana.

The shadow beneath Ann’s feet seemed to suddenly come alive, surging into the crowd’s shadows and tightly binding several people’s shadows.

At the same time, marks began to appear on those girls’ bodies.

“As expected, she’s got a trump card.” Lomio immediately recognized the card in Ann’s hand as a Tier-2 control skill, [Shadow Bind].

Judging from the activation timing and mana resonance, it was at least “High Quality,” or possibly even the higher grade, “Precision.”

As expected of a royal maid.

“Oh my, oh my, everyone worked so hard to pass the exam and become classmates.”

Lomio glanced at the girls, confirming none were critical game characters he couldn’t afford to offend, then smiled as he spoke:

“In the end, here you are talking about status and class. It seems some people already treat the Academy as their own backyard.”

“Not necessarily, Lord Lomio.”

Ann replied coolly, adding another blow:

“People who lack proper upbringing often also lack foresight and respect for others. This has nothing to do with the Academy’s educational philosophy.”

“Oh, you couldn’t be more right.”

Lomio kept up the volley:

“But why do they all act so vulgar in front of Kafnir? Are they just trying to get his attention?”

With those words, the crowd instantly quieted down!

Lomio scanned the overexcited girls and saw that as they realized their lack of decorum, their expressions turned more and more interesting.

“I’m not interested.”

Karenina said, walking over to Lomio and naturally standing beside him:

“Did you sleep well last night?”

“I had a nightmare—dreamed there was a stray cat standing by my bed at dawn, claiming she was here to repay a debt.”

Before Lomio finished speaking, Ann’s gaze shot over like a knife.

“That really is a peculiar dream.”

Karenina moved ahead of Lomio, letting the chilly air of a Cerulean Magus swirl around her. Frost blossomed on the uniforms of the girls in front:

“We’re in a hurry. Please make way.”

Whether it was the prestige of being the “Top Student” or just the sheer force of her aura, the fangirl-like crowd immediately fell silent. Some lowered their heads, some kept their burning gazes, but they all made way for the three.

A route that should’ve taken only three minutes ended up taking ten, all thanks to Kafnir’s newfound fame and the persistent crowd.

When Lomio finally entered the classroom, he saw a cute, red-haired teacher—barely one and a half meters tall by his guess—frowning at the clock in the back row, her face tense with anxiety.

“Morning, Professor Ankater.”

Greeting politely, Lomio noticed the usual boozy professor was different today.

Her once messy red hair was now carefully combed and glossy. The uniform usually stained with alcohol and alchemical potions had been replaced with a fitted little formal dress.

Clearly, she’d put in effort for today’s class.

“Phew, finally!”

Ankater seemed to sigh in relief, pointing out their seats:

“Take your seats, all members of Kafnir’s squad.”

Surprisingly,

The classroom was not lively at all.

“What an empty classroom.”

Glancing around at the two squads’ seats, Lomio couldn’t help but sigh:

“Did something go wrong? The knight class next door has at least fifty people.”

Few seats would be one thing…

Lomio’s eyes met the gaze of the only other student present—Ibuiki Mio, sitting idly with a bored, helpless look.

To this point, she was the only one here!

What kind of class is this?

“Ahem! This is a special case!”

Ankater’s gaze wavered, her tone tinged with a bit of nervousness:

“Anyway, just sit down. We’ll begin class soon!”

Aside from alchemy, she barely participated in school affairs, so the class lost all its points and couldn’t recruit students. If anyone found out…

Her teaching career would be over!

Ding-dong!

Before she finished speaking, the bell rang to announce the start of the first lesson.

But before the chime faded, a flurry of hurried footsteps rushed up, and the classroom door was flung open.

“We’re so sorry! We overslept!”

A blonde girl stood at attention at the door, a brand-new hunting hand crossbow slung on her back, gleaming with fresh oil.

“Ah, isn’t this Cassia?”

Smiling, Lomio greeted the girl at the door:

“What a coincidence.”

“Ah, Deb—”

Cassia instinctively started to blurt out a certain title, but was immediately silenced by a teammate clamping a hand over her mouth.

Are you crazy?!

The two other girls, who also owed academic loan points, stared at her wide-eyed.

“Ah, ha ha ha, hello…”

Realizing she’d almost blurted out that they were in debt, Cassia broke into a cold sweat.

“You all know each other… Well, that’s not so surprising.”

Ankater didn’t seem to think much of it, just stamped her foot, maintaining her teacherly dignity:

“Late on the first day—today’s classroom will be cleaned by you three!”

“Teacher, that’s not fair!”

Cassia clearly didn’t like the idea of cleaning:

“It’s not our fault! Someone drew so much attention that the way to the dorm was almost trampled—so we had to take a detour!”

“We ran and still barely made it!”

“····”

The two girls behind her looked at Kafnir, already seated in the classroom, then at Cassia, their faces full of helplessness.

Can you please think before you speak?

We’re begging you!