I Became The Academy’s Narrow-Eyes - Chapter 69: The Entrance Ceremony (2)

Her chestnut hair, tied up as high as possible, cascaded down to her lower back, spreading out softly as if to showcase her pride.

Those deep brown eyes held a near arrogance of self-love and confidence.

Phibian Leolalian, heiress of the Leolalian family, representing one of the Eight Great Houses of the continent and the owners of the Green Magic Tower.

Up until just moments ago, she had felt wonderful.

She topped the entrance exams for the magic department.

Meanwhile, Drin Lebringer, who had received more attention than herself, failed to achieve top honors, leaving the position to some nitwit of a man.

What did this imply?

That’s right.

What was supposed to be a supporting role overshadowed by the protagonist Drin became the sole protagonist nabbing all the spotlight for herself.

She made the swordsmanship department freshmen, represented by the ditzy guy, feel inferior and envious.

Ideal protagonists that would instill pride and admiration in the magic department freshmen.

An idolized form of the entrance ceremony that Phibian, carrying a lofty self-consciousness, had almost given up on due to the monstrous existence of Drin Lebringer.

And that idealized scenario was unfolding before her very eyes.

Until just before that, at least.

The ditzy man, Ceylon, the top student from the swordsmanship department, had thrown it all to the wind.

-Applauding fervently!

That nitwit had started clapping earnestly for her as she was about to ascend the stage.

‘What does that make me!?’

Different from Ceylon, Phibian had remained passive when he stood up to speak, showing no sign of respect.

That contrast turned the swordsmanship department freshmen led by Ceylon into figures of generous character, while the magic department freshmen led by Phibian appeared petty in comparison.

‘I didn’t ignore him out of admiration for myself!’

The Academy pits the magic department against the swordsmanship department as sworn enemies.

It’s not about acknowledging each other; it’s about earning the other’s recognition.

So her snubbing of him was nothing more than a respect for the Academy’s ritualistic and customary culture.

Phibian retroactively justified her actions and glared at Ceylon feeling wronged.

“?”

While eyeing him with that typical, near-snarling look, Phibian thought,

‘What a sly guy!’

His applause for her was not a gesture of sincere goodwill but a calculated act to insult her.

And, astonishingly, she was correct.

‘It sure is amusing, isn’t it?’

He concealed genuine laughter beneath a visage that seemingly wore a constant smirk.

Ceylon stepped back and looked down at the magic department freshmen with glee.

Their faces, once brimming with pride and triumph, were now twisted into complexity.

Perhaps now they’re contemplating whether they’ve inadvertently made themselves appear as the petty ones.

When you have no pride to begin with, it’s a strategy one could employ.

‘This is why I revel in being narrow-eyed.’

Ceylon was once again feeling satisfied with his identity when,

‘Huh?’

He felt an intense gaze and turned his attention toward it.

“…”

Phibian was giving him a ferocious side-eye.

Ceylon responded with a beaming smile and gave her a thumbs up, as if genuinely congratulating her without ulterior motives.

“Lii-…!”

Phibian, showing her fangs and growling, gave him exactly the strong reaction Ceylon desired.

At that moment,

Phibian thought to herself,

‘I’ll remember this.’

Deciding firmly that he had now marked himself in her book.

And that he would surely come to regret it later.

But what she did not know was,

‘What a feeling…!’

She too, in a different sense, had just been decidedly marked by someone.

And that she would surely come to regret it.

“Student Phibian.”

“Eh?”

Caught up with Ceylon, Phibian was late to respond to Dugan’s call, filled with force.

“Speak as the ‘representative’ of the magic department.”

Dugan’s gaze towards Phibian had gone colder.

It was because she had been so wrapped up with Ceylon that she twice ignored Dugan’s subtle summons.

“…!”

Faced with the cool gaze of her respected professor,

Phibian felt a chill run through her head.

Phew.

Taking a deep breath to regain composure, Phibian returned to her regular self, starting to read from the speech she had meticulously prepared for this moment.

When the speech concluded,

-Applauding!

The magic department freshmen were once more filled with pride, furiously clapping for her.

The auditorium brimmed with the sound of acclaim.

Without exception.

This contrasted sharply with the response when the swordsmanship department’s top student was introduced, only receiving half-hearted applause.

Typically, louder applause symbolized greater honor.

But this time, it was the opposite.

Melhen.

He looked at the two magic department students with whom he’d just argued and clapped ostentatiously as if to prove a point.

“…”

Observing, their proud representatives compared and dismissed by the magic department, the swordsmanship department freshmen became self-conscious.

The force behind their claps weakened.

Melhen, loud enough for the two students to hear, spoke to a fellow swordsman.

“Ah, this is proper. This is the atmosphere we strive for. Not the kind of place to spite each other by engaging in a pointless struggle of pride on such a festive occasion—”

“What can we do? They think they’re far too clever to care for something as trivial as honor.”

“Let’s concede to our inferior selves here~”

With that, the magic department students, who had earlier grabbed the chance to mock the swordsmanship department using Ceylon as an excuse, hung their heads in shame.

Their applause lost its strength as they became aware of their actions.

A spectacular scene unfolded.

The magic department top student had finished her speech, yet the magic department freshmen were outdone by the swordsmanship department freshmen in their enthusiastic applause.

“Eek…!”

Phibian spun her head around.

She glared at the man responsible for ruining what was meant to be an ideal entrance ceremony.

Alas.

Ceylon, the swordsmanship department’s top student, was now emitting a triumphant cheer.

Leaning forward, he whispered to her softly.

“Such a magnificent speech…!”

His voice was choked with emotion.

But his face.

That naturally narrow-eyed smile.

If she felt he was mocking her right now.

Was that just her paranoia?

“Eek…!”

No, it wasn’t mere paranoia. She was certain.

Just by how angry it made her in this moment.

“You…”

Phibian struggled to keep her voice steady.

“I shall remember this…!”

And Ceylon, feigning surprise, pulled away.

As though he had been frightened.

It was at that moment, when Phibian was about to feel a slight sense of triumph over such a pitiful sight.

“To think you would remember someone like me…! It’s an honor!”

He took Phibian’s ‘I’ll remember this’—filled with intention of threat—and interpreted it to his liking, feigning being moved by it.

“I will definitely make it a point to remember you as well.”

And then he replied with gratitude, all on his terms.

“Phibian-Cat!”

He whimsically altered her name.

“Ah.”

A burning sensation overwhelming her head.

Phibian felt dizzy for a moment and staggered.

***

The announcement of the top students for both the swordsmanship and magic departments was over.

The representative of the magic department, Professor Dugan, along with Phibian, stepped back behind the stage, just as Instructor Herion and Ceylon had done.

At that moment, a new man stepped forward.

He was a young man with an inanimate, lifeless appearance.

“Fellow freshmen, I am pleased to meet you. I am Endiagon, and I serve as the Dean of Ain Academy.”

The bald man, who, despite his youthful looks, introduced himself with a matured voice unfit for his young appearance, was the Dean of Ain Academy: Endiagon.

Dean Endiagon of Ain Academy, someone who had transcended even hero status and entered the realm of the superhuman, was one of the continent’s superhumans represented by the heads of the great families.

According to public knowledge, Endiagon was of triple-digit age.

Yet, the man standing on stage calling himself Endiagon seemed not to be over thirty.

This was not a surprise.

Those who had entered the realm of superhuman were relatively free from the constraints of time.

They could choose to keep their appearance as young as they desired.

“Is that…”

Nevertheless, the new students who beheld Endiagon were visibly appalled.

“Is that… a golem?”

The Forgotten.

Another name by which Endiagon was referred.

Endiagon wasn’t just maintaining his appearance young.

He was a golem.

More precisely, a sorcerer who had transferred his soul into a golem.

The freshmen were overwhelmed upon encountering such a miraculous creation for the first time.

Except for one.

Ceylon.

“Hmm…?”

He spotted Endiagon and cocked his head curiously.

According to his scant knowledge of the game, Endiagon was undoubtedly a mage—a grand sorcerer who was on the threshold of reaching nine stars.

But at the moment he laid eyes on Endiagon, Ceylon felt a sense of disconnect.

Simultaneously, a post he had once seen on an online community came to mind.

[Title: Endiagon’s True Identity LEGEND LEGEND LEGEND ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

Content: Srsly just a legend ㅋㅋㅋ A real legend

[Truly truly truly truly truly truly]

[It’s legend itself, for real]

[That is the legend ㅋㅋ Legend of legends ㅋㅋㅋ]

[So what’s the legend you lunatics]

[Even the guy who doesn’t get what the legend is, is a legend ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Just legend ㅋㅋㅋ]

It was a post where everyone—title, content, even comments—kept repeating the word ‘legend’ without ever explaining what made it legendary.

If Ceylon had learned anything from that legendary post, it was that Endiagon was hiding a legendary secret.

Aware of that fact, Ceylon let out a chuckle, “Huh.”

‘No, it can’t be this kind of legend.’

At this moment, Ceylon sensed an alien yet strangely familiar aura coming from Endiagon.

‘Why are you here…’

It was the aura of black magic.

‘This is maddening…’

As someone adept in black magic, Ceylon could detect very subtle traces and auras of black magic.

According to him, the golem containing that man’s soul—

The being who introduced himself as the Dean of the Academy—was a product of black magic.