Chapter 13

The second day of the new semester began.

It was Tuesday. The day of Professor Winslet’s lecture.

Professor Winter Winslet’s first class was held in the main auditorium.

Ironically, it was the same place where the professor had delivered his absurd welcome message to the freshmen.

Back then, the hall had been filled with only first-year students, but now it was occupied by students of various years.

Still, the majority were freshmen, and the reason was clear: anyone who had been at the Academy for more than a year knew exactly what kind of person was teaching this class.

As proof of that, all the seniors had gathered at the back of the auditorium near the exits—

As if to secure an escape route.

Bang!

The exit which was the auditorium doors swung open, and two students entered.

The one in front was a girl with orange hair damp with sweat.

It was Jacqueline, who had barely avoided being late by sprinting from the morning.

“Whew! That was close………I almost didn’t make it.”

Following behind her was her friend, Rita Ridge.

Her face was pale as she caught her breath.

“From this morning… huff… what was that… aah… Jacqueline, didn’t you say you knew a shortcut? So why did we go the wrong way?”

“I’m really sorry. I’m kind of bad with directions… But hey, we didn’t end up being late, right? Haha.”

Since the back rows were already full, Jacqueline and Rita made their way toward the front in search of empty seats.

Fortunately, from the second row forward there were still some scattered vacancies, so they managed to sit down.

Looking around, Jacqueline whispered in amazement,

“Wow, there’s a ton of people here. This Professor Winslet must be really popular.”

“Probably everyone except you already knew about him before even enrolling in the Academy.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

“Yeah, pretty much. But now I’m curious how he’s going to run the class with this many students. And what kind of midterm he’s going to give.”

“Didn’t your brother tell you anything?”

“He said he dropped the class right after the first lecture.”

“Oh…”

Class was about to start, but Professor Winslet was running a little late.

While idly swinging her feet out of boredom, Jacqueline suddenly spotted something.

She urgently tapped Rita’s hand.

“Rita, it’s her!”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“Remember yesterday, I said I saw someone really pretty? That’s her, right there!”

Jacqueline whispered as she pointed to a girl sitting in the row right in front of them.

There was one person in the entire auditorium. She was bold enough to sit in the very front row, dead center, directly facing the professor.

From behind, all you could see was her long, bright golden hair.

She looked a bit shorter than Jacqueline, with a petite frame and slim limbs.

When the blonde girl briefly turned her head to the side, Jacqueline couldn’t help but gasp.

“Wow…”

Her looks were striking enough to leave anyone momentarily speechless.

Pale, translucent skin and delicately shaped features that resembled a perfectly crafted doll.

Or maybe a snow spirit from a fairy tale.

Someone who might live in a cold country, with a hint of solitude lingering in her expression.

Good grief, I don’t even know her name and I’m already daydreaming like this.

Jacqueline was curious about the blonde girl’s name and lightly tapped her on the shoulder from behind.

It was on impulse. She hadn’t really thought it through.

When the blonde student turned around to look at her, Jacqueline was momentarily moved.

“Yes?”

“Hi! I’m Jacqueline. Jacqueline Dogwood.”

Up close, the girl looked even younger and more delicate.

Her narrow eyes had an elegant air.

Jacqueline reached out her hand for a handshake.

“You’re a freshman too, right? Let’s be friends.”

But the moment those words left her mouth, Jacqueline’s face flushed with embarrassment.

The blonde girl abruptly turned her head back to the front.

“Huh…?”

Was that… a snub?

She had looked a bit aloof and she certainly was.

Hmph… so that’s how it is?

Instead of backing down, Jacqueline smiled.

“Giving up” wasn’t in her vocabulary.

I’ve only just started my Academy life…

New friends, lasting friendships, and exciting adventures!

She wasn’t about to let go of any of those.

Jacqueline stood up from her seat.

She walked over to the blonde girl and blocked her desk from the front, leaving her no choice but to acknowledge her.

At first, the girl made eye contact reluctantly—

Then glanced over Jacqueline’s shoulder, deliberately avoiding her gaze.

A clear sign: “Could you take a hint and leave me alone now?”

Instead, Jacqueline leaned in closer.

And said,

“Your name.”

“……?”

“I’m not leaving until you tell me. Hehe.”

A thin crescent smile curled across her lips.

Brazen boldness was Jacqueline’s weapon of choice.

This time, the staring contest dragged on.

And in the end, Jacqueline emerged victorious.

The blonde girl let out a breath that was almost a sigh.

“…Shannon.”

“Hmm?”

“Shannon Quinlivan.”

“Wow! Even your name is lovely. Like a princess. So, how old are you? Where are you from? Did you grow up in the city? I’m from the country. And your hair is so silky. What shampoo do you use?”

The girl who had just said her name was Shannon frowned.

She must have thought a single answer would send Jacqueline packing.

Jacqueline was firing off questions and positively buzzing, when—

Bang.

The auditorium’s front doors swung open, and the owner of the class strode in.

It was Professor Winter Winslet.

He glared at Jacqueline, the lone student still standing, then raised his voice so everyone could hear.

“I thought someone had brought their mutt into my classroom. This academy isn’t a daycare. Do I need to teach you how to sit still first?”

“Ugh.”

“Demerit, Jacqueline Dogwood.”

Jacqueline’s face went stiff.

He actually remembered her name?

First class in, and she’d already been marked by that annoying professor.

***

Before beginning the lecture, I let my eyes sweep the hall.

I spotted the one I was looking for.

In fact, it took no effort at all.

While everyone else clustered in the back rows, one lone figure sat up front while sending a fierce stare that screamed, “See me.”

Shannon Quinlivan.

Shoulders squared with poise. Nose straight and high.

Sapphire eyes sparkling with intellect, though her lips were still youthful.

A sharp chin tilted ever so slightly as if she didn’t know defeat, and cheeks as clean as untouched snow.

Among fans of Candela of Judgment, Shannon was a well-known companion. She was what people call a named NPC.

And what was she famous for?

The tragic prodigy.

Zero-rank mage companion.

And…

Key card for the Winter Winslet boss fight.

[Notification]

[A death flag has been raised by this character.]

In the original work, Shannon Quinlivan was the kind of character who would stop at nothing to kill Winter Winslet.

At least, she would. Two years from now.

And the reason it was two years later was because the event where the character Shannon appeared took place in year three of the Candela of Judgment main story.

What’s more, you could only meet her not in this city of Lambart where the main story takes place, but in the magical city of Karaf.

So why was someone like her here?

According to the enrollment records I checked during course registration, Shannon was here as an international student.

The fact that Karaf’s young genius came to study abroad in Laurencia at this point in time was something even I, a long-time player of Candela of Judgment, didn’t know.

The protagonist of Candela of Judgment spent the first six months of the game rolling around in a training camp out in the borderlands, with no clue about what was happening in the capital.

He didn’t start properly working as part of the knight order until later that summer, so honestly, there was a lot I didn’t know about what happened in Lambart during this period.

I took a careful look at Shannon’s face.

Her impression was quite different from how she appeared in the original game.

Back then, she looked far more pale and faded. Like a fading specter. But now, I’d say there was a spark of life in her; she actually looked like a living person.

Was it because she was still two years younger?

Even so, since she was fundamentally the same person, there were still some things that hadn’t changed.

Like the intense, venomous expression she wore now while glaring sharply at me.

“Why are you looking at me?”

“Your eyes are arrogant.”

“……”

Shannon bristled.

The way our eyes met….it felt like sparks were flying.

But while she furrowed her brow, she didn’t talk back in the end. That too was a surprising difference.

Wow, she held it in?

The Shannon Quinlivan I knew was a witch who couldn’t tolerate even the smallest provocation and would turn people into toads. But maybe at this point in time, she still had some social grace left?

I spoke my honest thoughts.

“What are you doing here?”

“Do you know who I am?”

“Of course I do.”

At my answer, Shannon’s eyes widened.

It was obvious what she was thinking, and I couldn’t help but scoff.

She must’ve thought she was some kind of celebrity just because she drank a bit of Karaf water.

To someone subtly fishing for recognition, I always offered some life advice about humility.

Of course, in the Winter Winslet way.

“You’re trash.”

“……”

Shannon was stunned.

She looked like she wanted to ask how I could spout such nonsense to someone I’d just met.

But that only showed how little she knew.

Having met Shannon countless times in the original game, I already had maxed-out inner intimacy with her.

Despite her awful personality, her skills were impeccable, so I had to tiptoe around her all this time. But now, I had the upper hand.

Time to push her buttons.

“I’m pretty sure I said this at the entrance ceremony. There’s no place in my classroom for talentless trash. So why is someone like you sitting there so confidently?”

“I’m not talentless trash!”

I had chosen my words precisely to provoke her and sure enough, it worked like a charm.

“Everyone thinks that. Look behind you. There are a thousand other kids who’ve fallen for the same delusion.”

“I’m different. I’ve been taught properly and systematically from a young age. At the Venizelos School of Magic in Karaf, no less.”

Having said that, Shannon looked at me expectantly.

I scoffed again.

“How ridiculous.”

“What did you say?”

“If you’re such a great mage, why did you come to study in this pathetic little kingdom? Hoping to feel superior by comparing yourself to people beneath you? What a twisted way to deal with your inferiority complex. From where I stand, you and that girl sitting behind you are just acorns fighting over who’s taller.”

Shannon’s expression quickly shifted. From hope to disappointment, and from disappointment to fury.

That should be enough.

At that point, I turned my gaze away from Shannon and looked around the auditorium once more.

Just as I expected. The students were visibly tense.

Picking a fight with Shannon had partly been to mess with her, but I had another goal as well.

A thousand students gathered in the main hall—

And the easiest way to establish authority over the majority was to crush the one who dared to challenge it.

But in this academy, no one would ever dream of confronting Winter Winslet.

Except for one person.

That’s why Shannon had become the sacrificial lamb.

And truthfully, there was a third reason too, but… never mind that.

I continued playing the role of Winter Winslet.

“You all heard me loud and clear, didn’t you? From where I’m standing, everyone in this room is trash. Not worth half a coin as mages.”

The trash talk flowed out naturally.

By now, I wasn’t even sure if I was just acting or if I’d actually become Winter Winslet.

“Answer me. Why should I waste my time teaching you?”

No one spoke up.

Even if they had, it wouldn’t have mattered.

“Words won’t convince me. So prove it yourselves. Prove you’re worthy of being called mages.”

With that, I unleashed Winter Winslet’s full magical power for all to see.

Boooom!

A violent surge of mana swept through the auditorium like a tidal wave.

The students were tossed around like stalks of rice in a typhoon.

Crash!

Someone finally fell over with their chair and all.

Which was exactly why I’d arranged for medical staff in advance.

This was the first class I had chosen to deliver.

A simple test of skill.