My Career is Useless in this World!! - Chapter 266

Episode 259- Eating at the canteen

Eugene knew the rules of the academy because she had read the student handbook beforehand and understood that the teacher was giving her special treatment. She refused immediately, “No, thank you.” she said only loud enough for the teacher to hear.

However, that also didn’t mean that she wanted to be roommates with someone random. She saw two 2 aristocrats approaching her in the corner of her eyes so she quickly said, “I will room with this girl.”

Because It was the first time anyone’s heard her speaking, the people who approached her froze. That was because her voice was very low and cold. Her voice did not sound her age, and the two girls who were going to come up to Eugene to ask if she wanted to room with them froze still on their track and didn’t dare come closer. The atmosphere was quiet for 2 whole minutes before the teacher nodded and handed Eugene her keys.

Eugene poked Camille to follow her and together they headed to their dorm. Camille followed her around like a robot who appeared as if she didn’t realize what was happening. Though Eugene said dorm, the dorm Eugene opted for was like an apartment. Because there was only Eugene and Camille they both got their own separate, private room in the dorm which was nice. Camille did not have the money to get this type of accommodation so as soon as she walked she was immediately blinded by how huge and beautiful their room was.

“Wow…” She exclaimed as she walked around. It was her first time tasting such luxury and it was all because of..

“Miss… It is so beautiful…” She said with tears in her eyes making Eugene freeze. She didn’t expect Camille to cry because of … the beautiful room?

Eugene blinked and awkwardly turned away, “… Rest. After resting we will head downstairs to the canteen.” Eugene said to Camille who quickly nodded and headed to her room. Eugene stared at Camille’s back for a good minute before she turned away.

Their respective luggage came soon after, so they unpacked and rested for an hour before they headed down to the canteen. The canteen was buzzing with a lot of people. And thankfully, this canteen was exclusive to only the first years.

The moment Eugene stepped into the canteen, the canteen became silent for a good few seconds before people continued with what they were doing. Many people were surprised by Eugene’s height when she passed by them however didn’t dare take a second look. Well, they didn’t have to take another look to know that  Eugene was the tallest girl in the first year’s class and as well as the 2nd second tallest of both girls and boys combined.

In the corner of Eugene’s eyes, she saw a red curly head communicating with some people. There was no need to think deeply upon who that was, as she knew immediately whose curly hair those belonged to.

‘Aernest.’ Eugene whispered softly. Not audible for anyone or even Camillie at all. Aernest snapped his head towards Eugene’s direction immediately and he waved at her before running over, leaving his new friends completely.

“Why are you here and… you’ve already made friends?” Eugene asked the moment Aernest stood in front of her.

Aernest paused for a few seconds and tilted his head, “I came to eat! And, they were the people on the line in front of me so I struck up a conversation with them!.” He smiled. He did not mention what he was in line for and Eugene didn’t ask.

“Ah…” Eugene mumbled in acknowledgment.

“Who’s this?” Aernest turned to Camille who was as quiet as she could be.

“Camille, my roommate” Eugene introduced Camille.

“Nice to meet you. I am Aernest Veria. Her brother.” He smiled at Camille who bowed and replied, “Yes. Nice to meet you esteemed sir.” Though Camille might be clueless as to what the Veria family is and who they were, she knew by the air that Eugene wasn’t a normal person. This means Aernest wasn’t a normal person as well.

Aernest turned to Eugene with a questioning look and Eugene turned to Camille, “You don’t have to be formal. We are just students.” Though Eugene said that she didn’t get a response from Camillie who looked at Eugene with stubborn eyes.

“Let’s eat together sister.” Said Aernest but Eugene refused. “You should eat with your friends.”

“…” Aernest turned to Eugene and blinked, “I’ll just bring my friends over.”

“….” Fine.

Only Eugene and Aernest were eating with commoners in the canteen of the first years. Aernest’s friends were commoners and Eugene’s friend was also a commoner which made everyone in the canteen uncomfortable. It was the first time anyone had ever seen nobles and commoners eating at the same table, and no one had ever seen or experienced anything like it before.

But no one dared say anything out loud and just ate their meals in silence.

Eugene’s table was silent for a minute, but it didn’t take long before everyone warmed up to each other. Aernest livened up the atmosphere at the dining table and allowed everyone to introduce themselves and get to know each other.

It was the first time Eugene truly communicated with Camille and she found out many things about her. Such as her dislike for tomatoes, and that she had run away from home to enroll in school. No one asked her why she ran away but asked if she regretted it yet. It was weird to Eugene because she didn’t think there would be anyone who would willingly run away from home to enroll in the academy. In Camille’s defense, she said that so far, everything was great and that she had no regrets because it was her first time meeting and seeing so many people!

Her response gave Eugene answers. It was no wonder that Camille did not understand the atmosphere and social cues. Because she had not met many people in her life and wasn’t taught about social customs.

Social customs were as follows. Whoever leads the pack, everyone unconditionally follows. In the case earlier on in the day, no commoners spoke and they remained quiet. There may have been a commoner who had wanted to talk to a commoner however didn’t dare to because if they did not follow the majority then, they may have been shunned or become an outcast in the future. Because the majority of the commoners had chosen to stay quiet, all the other commoners followed.

The only exception was Camille. And this was the reason why Eugene had noticed Camille because she was the odd one out. The only reason why she picked Camille as a roommate was because she felt comfortable with Camille who didn’t follow social cues. She felt that Camille was the only one ‘normal’ in the bunch. Of course, she would be curious to meet people her age! So because Camille had yet to be influenced by the social cues, Eugene found her relatable even though it had only been 3 hours since they’d met and spoken to each other.

When they finished eating, Eugene and Camille, together with Aernest and his friends, walked around the academy to give themselves a little tour. School begins in a week, and the nobility will hold an orientation week for themselves. Well, according to the poster Eugene received anyway. It was an odd poster that went against the school’s policy of treating all students equally, regardless of their socioeconomic status.

“I can’t go to the orientation?” Asked Camille.

The moment Camille said that Eugene froze and stopped walking. She turned towards Camille slowly as realization hit her. Though she did not plan on going to the orientation anyway and did not care about it, Camille’s words shocked her to the core. She realized how wrong the poster was and realized what this poster sets on the students. She also realized how wrong it was for her to simply ignore it and was shocked at herself who did it without a second of hesitation.

Eugene didn’t say this to Camille and instead turned to the office in front of her. The administration office. She turned back to Camille again and answered her. “No, you won’t be able to go.”

Eugene walked forward, kneeled down, and slid the paper through the door. When she got up, she finished the rest of her sentence,

“Because there will be no such orientation.” The corner of Eugene’s lips pursed and she continued to walk forward.

“… You sure you want to do this sister?” Asked Aernest who looked at her worriedly. Eugene turned to Aernest and stared at him with a serious look in her eyes.

“We are soldiers.” Her voice was deep but it wasn’t her words that brought chills down Aernest’s spine, but her three words. There were many meanings behind these three words and it was only now that he realized the severity of the poster.

He was ignorant and he realized that just now.

His comrades were commoners and he was a noble, this is a fact.. What if instead of Camille, his comrades were the ones who got shunned and excluded because of their social status? There was no way he wasn’t going to ignore it.