The Vice Principal shook his head in disbelief, while Veronica, though a bit clumsy, calmly smoothed out her clothes and elegantly fixed her hair. Clearing her throat, she spoke gracefully, "We should discuss that matter another time, Vice Principal." The middle-aged man relented and bowed, issuing one last warning. "I ask that you take this matter seriously, Principal Veronica. Excuse me."
Eric gave a slight nod to the Vice Principal, and after the man left the room, Eric and Veronica exchanged glances. A moment of silence fell over the room, but Veronica broke it. "How much did you see and hear, Eric Ostheno?" Hearing that, Eric gave her a casual shrug and tone. "Not much, Principal. Something about nobles and commoners fighting?"
Veronica pressed him, "Really? What about before that?" but Eric, playing dumb, rolled his eyes defensively. "Before what? I don't know what you're talking about."
"..."
"..."
The two of them stared at each other. Veronica eyed him carefully, but Eric just maintained his poker face, though she could see some veins bulging on his forehead. She smiled smugly and continued, "Very well. Then I trust you won't say a word about anything that happened in this room."
Eric exhaled, and his tense face finally relaxed. It took some effort for him not to grumble in front of the elf woman. Eric knew about Veronica's other side but wouldn't pursue it further. Thanks to a certain woman from his past life, who had drilled into his head the importance of consideration and delicacy when dealing with a girl.
"Ahem. Thank you for taking the time to stop by." Veronica got down to business, allowing Eric deeper into her office until they were close to her desk. She picked up a piece of paper that appeared to have something written on it.
"Let's get right to the point, shall we? You like it that way, don't you?" Veronica asked softly but firmly. Eric blinked, then smirked. "You know me, Principal." Veronica began reading from the paper. "Eric Ostheno, eldest son of Marquis James Ostheno. Bronze-rank Fire Mage. Enrolled at Zeris Academy last year, specializing in Combat Magic." She paused mid-reading with an amused expression before continuing, "Engaged to Silvia Eringrad. No notable feats or achievements—until you caused ruckuses and scandals. Here it is: harassment, bullying, extortion, gambling, overdrinking, and the list goes on... So far, you're the typical noble as usual—pompous, arrogant, racist, with a superiority complex—and you always get away with it thanks to your family status and connections."
Eric remained silent, but Veronica noticed a hint of bitterness on his face. "That is, until certain students stood up against your wrongdoings, particularly Leon and Alex. You even challenged the latter to a duel, which ended very badly."
"What's your point?" Eric asked, clasping his hands behind his back. Veronica chuckled lightly, trying to ease his tension. "Relax, it's not over. Based on my assumption, you—being so prideful—will retaliate viciously against Alex, whose family is merely a Viscount. Of course, your father would never agree if you directly asked him to harm another family just because you lost a duel, so you'll definitely use roundabout methods, such as…"
The elf woman paused, "...assassination...ambush him unexpectedly...or you could contact a certain organization to do the dirty work." Veronica stopped and continued in a slightly serious tone. "But the next day, you didn't do any of the things I mentioned. In fact, from my sources, you seem to have changed."
She looked at Eric as if he were a cute and intriguing pet. "Care to explain that?"
Eric answered immediately, smoothly but with a hint of his former self. "Change of heart, I guess? I didn't want to get involved in a petty squabble between snotty brats. Because I realized that no matter what happens, I'm still the son of a Marquis. Meaning? I'm better than them."
Veronica smiled warmly, but Eric knew that smile was nothing more than a pleasantry. "Huhuhu~ Unbelievable. A boy so infamous for treating people like garbage suddenly has a change of heart? Truly... interesting..."
The elf woman continued reading. "Moving on. Not only that, but aside from the fact that you've changed so drastically you're practically a different person, you've also been involved in several events I'd call… extraordinary. The first was the attack on The Great Amber Bridge. Then the second was the kidnapping of Connor Videno. Although it was quite difficult to uncover the truth, I can finally say that you played a very significant role in those events."
"Damn... this woman's connections are no joke. Even James, who's been covering up my involvement, can still be dug into further," Eric thought to himself. He took a breath and replied. "I only played a minor role when all those events happened. I fought those demonic cultists with great difficulty, while I couldn't do much against those lunatic worshippers."
The Principal stood and walked slowly toward Eric. "Really? Hmmm~ suit yourself, then." She stopped when she stood right in front of Eric, "but how do you explain your duel against those first-years? You overwhelmed them easily." Eric furrowed his brow at that, "Overwhelmed them? Not quite, Principal. You do know that I also got injured, right?"
"A minor injury, right? But that doesn't change the fact that you defeated them all by yourself in a fairly short time. Unlike your 'former self,' I'd say you're on par with a Silver-rank."
Eric began to get annoyed and asked, "Where is this going, Principal?" Veronica's smile faded, she slowly reached out and poked his chest with her index finger. "Personality changes… drastically increased strength… you aren't doing something foolish like contracting a demon or making a sacrifice in the name of an evil god, are you?"
"Even though you are a student at Zeris Academy... I won't hesitate to detain or show mercy to anyone associated with evil entities, in case you didn't know." A heavy pressure shimmered in the air, causing Eric's eyes to widen. He finally understood the reason the Principal had called him directly.
He gripped Veronica's finger, which was poking his chest, and looked into the elf woman's eyes seriously. "Thank you for the warning, Principal Veronica. But your worry is absolutely unfounded. I'm strong because of my own efforts and also the help from those closest to me—like my family, colleagues, and friends. Besides, I don't want to be lumped in with those fuckasses. If you don't believe me, you can send an official investigation letter through the Radiant Church or whoever to the Ostheno family."
Veronica stiffened and skipped a beat, then let out a small laugh. "Hahaha! You're actually serious, aren't you~!" She composed herself shortly and continued. "You might be right, but I can't trust you blindly." Eric raised his eyebrows at that. "So you're going to put me under surveillance?" His reply drew another mild chuckle. "That's a secret." She gave him a quick wink, causing Eric to sigh hopelessly.
"Also,"
"Hm?"
"Could you let go of my hand?"
Eric realized he was still holding Veronica's hand and calmly let go. The Principal smiled teasingly at him, "In my long life, it's been a while since someone held my hand like that and stared at me seriously. Even though you're no longer engaged to Silvia and are no longer the heir to the Ostheno family, you're still a noble, so you'd better avoid bold actions like that, okay~?"
This time Eric was truly shocked to hear that Veronica knew about the internal affairs of his family—something that even James hadn't yet announced to the outside populace.
"Women in high places are sure scary." He added Veronica to his list of people to watch out for. Veronica then remembered something. "Oh right, I almost forgot! How did you know there was an illusion around this building?"
"It's another innate talent of mine. I figured something was wrong when I saw the abnormal Mana flow leading toward something." Eric answered her firmly. Veronica nodded in understanding and sat back down in her chair. "If you say so. Let's put it that way, shall we?" Hearing that, Eric just groaned inwardly.
"Nevertheless," Veronica leaned on her desk, smiling thinly at him. "That's all I needed to call you here." Eric scoffed with a slightly annoyed tone. "What an anticlimax. Here I thought you were going to punish me or something." Veronica gave him a stifled laugh upon hearing that. "I'm not that harsh and cruel. I don't know what's behind your situation, but your change is greatly appreciated. Just study harder and don't cause trouble, okay?"
Eric stared at the elf woman for a moment. Others might feel touched and shy when facing a beautiful woman like her, but not Eric. He had a clear understanding of why the woman insisted on interviewing him personally, it was her job and responsibility to ensure no harm came to the Academy and its people, just as it was Eric's responsibility after fully accepting his role as 'Eric Ostheno'.
"Excuse me, Principal Veronica." Eric gave her a light bow and left the room. His walk home was fairly short since he already knew the direct route, it didn't take long for him to return to the main path leading to his dorm.
Although he was relieved that Veronica wasn't probing further, he remained vigilant and marked Veronica as someone to be cautious of when she was around him. He believed her capabilities as a Mithril-rank weren't just a title—meaning the elf woman was undoubtedly very strong and clever—and on top of that, her connections were no joke.
***
The next day, Class D had physical training. Eric walked at the back, following his classmates as they headed toward the training hall. He could hear and see the bubbling excitement of his classmates, he could faintly make out that they wanted to show off their magical progress or abilities after the winter break.
"Okay! Warm-ups!" A short bark from the muscular professor made all the students snap to attention and get to work. Once he deemed it sufficient, the muscle-bound professor gave another order. "You guys must be eager to show your growth, right? Very well! Those who want to demonstrate their abilities, step forward! We'll start with a friendly spar!"
Some of the students scrambled to step forward, but those from the noble class puffed out their chests arrogantly. "Shall we show those uncouth peasants the might of nobility?" taunted one of the noble boys. The commoner students were shocked and began to look angry. "C'mon guys! Let me show 'em what we're made of!" retorted a commoner student angrily.
Eric glanced at the professor, the muscle-bound man just stood there silently, letting the situation play out. Eric finally understood why the Vice Principal had urged Veronica to address the situation quickly—even the professor was showing favoritism. Of course, not all nobles and commoners agreed with that view, a small number of noble and commoner students remained neutral, shaking their heads in resignation.
As each sparring match began, the nobles always had the upper hand at the start thanks to their privilege of having learned about magic and Mana earlier. However, the commoners always adapted and were able to hold their ground against the onslaught from the nobles.
After each round, each side would be replaced by new participants. And with every sparring match, Eric could feel the hatred from both sides growing more intense. After many fights, the nobles were currently in the lead, and that disgusted Eric.
"This was supposed to be friendly sparring, not some goddamn competition," Eric grumbled, looking at the crowd of students divided into two sides. The nobles, even though some of them had lost, were proud of having secured the most wins so far, while the commoners wore pained expressions. The muscle-bound professor finally spoke up, "Is that everyone? I think there's still someone left, right?"
"Me, me! Professor!" a young man raised his hand, coming from the commoners' side. The students around him lit up and cheered.
"How could we forget!?"
"Yeah! We have Leon!"
"Leon!!"
"Leon!"
The commoners cheered his name, while Leon just rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. As the noble students grew sour, Eric knew the reason. Because last year, Leon scored the highest on the combat exam even though his written exam results lagged behind. But that didn't change the fact that he was one of the strongest students at the Academy, according to Eric's memories, Leon could even fend off bullying from the nobles with ease, causing the noble students to leave him alone for most of the time.
"Leon, huh?" said the muscle-bound professor in a flat tone, but Eric could sense the venom in his voice. "Anyone want to take him on?" The noble students fell silent, averting their gaze and looking down.
"Of course they don't want to. These noble brats would only embarrass themselves fighting Leon," Eric thought to himself with a sigh. Then he could hear whispers from the nobles in front of him, though he admitted he hated it, Eric went with the flow and found himself unintentionally gathering on the nobles' side.
As if on cue, the noble students one by one turned around, and their eyes landed on Eric. He tilted his head, looking confused, but soon understood the implication of the stares. Eric scowled heavily and muttered angrily.
"Are you fucking kidding me?"
The noble students flinched and were surprised by Eric's foul language, but they kept staring at him, looking as if willing to sacrifice him.