Chapter 287 (1/2)

”The entrance ceremony is beginning soon, all new summoners please assemble at the auditorium. Please remember to sit on the arranged chairs.”

A large bird that looked like a cross between a pelican and a parrot gilded above the academy while doing an announcement. All the tests were now over and from the two hundreds of participants only about thirty made it into the prestige class.

This entrance ceremony was mostly there for these students. They would have their names and noble ranks announced to all the other students that didn't make it in. The ones wearing the black uniforms would have to take note of this as they would more or less be their subordinates in the future.

'I think we should hurry up, you are the girl of the hour Beatrice.'

At this moment a frantic Beatrice in a brand new white uniform was running towards this entrance ceremony. Due to the way the whole test debacle transpired the girl couldn't get much sleep.

The uniform that Beatrice was wearing looked strangely familiar to a regular school uniform. It was mostly white with a blouse, blazer, tie, a skirt, and white socks. The whole getup looked more modern and that it would fit into another setting entirely. This only made Zhang Dong attribute this to being another game or fantasy-like world that took inspiration from other works of fiction.

'They can't start without the 'star' student, now can they?'

Zhang Dong laughed while Beatrice groaned even more. A large shiny badge adorned her new uniform which signaled a certain rank. Each black-uniformed student that came across her stopped to take a double-take before dropping their head. It was clear that Beatrice had gained a special position by being first on the test.

He could almost feel the cold sweat that Beatrice was giving out the moment he mentioned her new rank. It was obvious that the girl was quite nervous about her new status. This was mostly his doing as he petitioned the Principal for more resources.

The only official way of doing such a thing was to give his summoner a special position in the school. This academy had some unique rankings for students that proved themselves to be exceptional. Thus Beatrice was given this position which made her soar above the rest, even above the high nobles and one of the members of royalty.

This was quite the big thing and also something that very rarely happened. Normally a person that was only a baron household would need generations to rise up in the ranks. Even then it was hard to get past the Count's noble rank.

But when a person with enough natural talent and strength appeared then it was slightly different. If the other high nobles weren't able to exert their status or power over such a person, the only way would be to have them join their ranks instead. Thus Beatrice was given a high position because Leigong the Lightning Emperor deemed it to be.

”If it isn't the new star of our academy!”

'Ugh… it's that guy again… can't you just ditch him? I don't like that look in his eyes…'

Zhang Dong complained as after arriving at their destination they were greeted by a certain green-haired youth. It was this country's prince that went by the name of Ludwig. For some reason, he had been poking his head into their business after Beatrice had come out on top.

The youth was behaving strangely from Zhang Dong's perspective. He was supposed to be the top dog in this academy and even had the highest status around by being part of the royal family. After getting crushed by Beatrice's results he expected Ludwig to show some animosity but instead, he was showing interest in her.

”Ahh… G-good day your Highness!”

Beatrice panicked slightly and quickly performed the usual greeting that a noble lady would give to a prince. The grass haired prince just chuckled while waving his hands.

”You don't need to do that, you outrank me in this academy now, you are the star student and not me.”

This was something that came as a perk. Inside the academy, there was a different pecking order that could be enhanced by a student's grades. Depending on how well they did they could even start ordering high nobles around even when being of lesser descent.

Even if this was allowed by the academy no one would really go through with it. The lower-ranked students were still trapped in the thing called the status quo which was mostly decided at birth. Breaking off from old habits wouldn't come easy.

”I wouldn't dare, your highness is still a prince.”

Beatrice started wiggling around rather frantically which made Ludwig smile even more.

”Prince, we shouldn't bother Lady Hohenberg, she has to prepare for her speech.”

Another attractive looking male stepped forward. This youth was a bit taller than the prince and had a more robust build, his hair was quite reddish-orange which somewhat reminded him of his old friend Huo Qiang. His name was Lucas and he was this prince's personal bodyguard and a knight. Even though he was a knight he was also part of an influential family that outranked Beatrice in every way.

'What's with those hair colors…'

Zhang Dong was a bit suspicious about what this world was. At first, he thought that every person was similar to this carrot and moss head but after further investigation, this wasn't true. Most people had regular black hair and quite the average looks. Some others like these two had the more unique appearances, it was as if they were important characters in a story that were made to stand out. It looked like the rest of the people in the world were nothing more than filler that were just there to make these people shine.

'This might really be one of those otome games that I've heard about in my old life, never really played them much but could Beatrice here be the main heroine? Wouldn't that make that other girl the villainess?'

Almost on cue he and Beatrice could feel some killing intent coming their way. With a quick glance, they could see lady Isabella Hohenberg glaring at them from afar. She was mostly hiding behind a wide pillar with part of her head sticking out. She didn't do much to hide her presence so it was hard not to notice her glare.

”Is that so? Lucas might be right Lady Beatrice, I'll be looking forward to your speech.”

The prince just smiled while leaving Beatrice alone for the time being. With the two stooges gone the girl that was hiding behind a pillar decided to show herself. She wasn't alone though as there were two other girls right behind her that were also part of the special students.

”What is that pungent smell?”