It was the day Adele had been eagerly waiting for, the day when textbooks and other supplies would be distributed.
It wasn't that she particularly wanted the textbooks early. What she really wanted was the clothing that would also be distributed.
Two sets of summer and winter uniforms, two sets of summer and winter sports uniforms, along with the corresponding shoes, socks, and other accessories.
With these, she could finally escape from being a "worn-out sparrow."
Wearing a uniform, even if it's a hand-me-down, isn't particularly strange.
Moreover, if the uniform or sports uniform doesn't fit due to growth or is extremely damaged, it can be replaced free of charge. If the number of replacements is too high, it seems that used items that have been exchanged and returned due to not fitting can be circulated, but Adele didn't mind such things at all.
The only private clothes she had, which were quite worn out, she decided to store carefully in her item box.
Since she couldn't carry everything at once, Adele brought the distributed items to her room in several trips and immediately changed into her uniform. The uniform was quite large, considering her growth period, but it gave off a good, fresh feeling, typical of a new student.
"Can I make 100 friends?"
Adele, who had never had friends in her previous life, had a face full of hope.
In the afternoon, when she went to the bulletin board, the class assignments were announced.
In the afternoon, they lined up according to the class assignments and practiced for the opening ceremony. The next day would be the opening ceremony, followed by introductions in the class and other activities. Classes would start the following week, after a day of rest.
Adele's class, as expected, was Class A.
It's not actually the letter A, but the first letter in the alphabet of this country, so let's call it "A."
The practice for the opening ceremony in the afternoon and the actual opening ceremony the next day went smoothly without any particular issues.
Some students had family members attend the opening ceremony, but since many were from families without much money or were treated as "unimportant children," those from distant places often didn't have family members attend. Of course, Adele was one of them.
Additionally, even if family members lived nearby, many lower nobles would attend the opening ceremony of their children entering the upper Ardrey Academy but not the lower Ecland Academy, as they considered it embarrassing.
After the ceremony, the students were led by teachers to their respective classrooms.
Until then, there had been no chance to converse during the ceremony practice or the actual ceremony, so finally, the opportunity to interact with classmates began.
Adele's heart was filled with both hope and anxiety. Could she make friends? She didn't want to end up like in her previous life.
"I am the homeroom teacher of this A class and will be taking care of you for the next year, Eib von Burgess. Next year, I am scheduled to take care of the second-year A class, so some of you might still be under my care after promotion, but since the class assignments will be based on your grades, those whose grades drop will have to part ways."
The homeroom teacher of Class A was a man in his early thirties with a sturdy build.
He looked more like a mid-level hunter from the Hunter Guild than a teacher, a slightly older brother type.
From his name, which includes "von," it's clear he is a noble, but in the academy, where everyone is treated equally regardless of status, this is to control the foolish noble children who can't understand this principle.
"Then, let's start with introductions. Let's go in order from you."
"Yes! I'm Marcus, the third son of the Buick Chamber of Commerce. I'm from the capital, and my specialty is..."
The introductions began with the boy in the front row on the left. Then, the typical introductions of names, origins, specialties, hobbies, and future goals continued for the 12 boys and 18 girls, a total of 30 students in Class A.
The reason there are more girls in Class A is that in lower noble families and merchant families, boys are often sent to upper academies while girls are sent to lower academies, and because boys tend to focus more on martial arts training, girls generally perform better academically.
Actually, Adele had a hard time remembering people's faces, but this time, she tried hard to make friends and focused on the faces of those introducing themselves. For some reason, those who noticed this blushed and seemed flustered.
Adele didn't realize it was because of her.
"Kelvin von Beriam, aspiring knight. My specialty is the sword. My hobby is also the sword. My goal here is to become stronger!"
The content of his introduction, which was a bit different from the others, caught Adele's attention, but only slightly. Of course, she didn't realize that he was the boy she had used as a reference during the physical ability test, nor did she notice that he was glaring at her.
As the introductions progressed, it was finally Adele's turn.
"I'm Adele. I don't have any particular specialties. I'm just a very ordinary, average girl."
((Lies!))
The hearts of everyone in the classroom, except Adele, became one.
It was a class that got along well and was cohesive.
The girl who, without incantation, cast a spell of almost the same power as the top-ranked new student's incantation spell, and the girl who, with ease, matched the record of the fifth son of a noble family, the top in physical ability among the new students, and then stopped, probably to save the boys' face, but instead completely ruined it. Whether this was due to her naturalness or naivety...
This fact had already been spread by the noble children who had completed the aptitude test, in the dormitory's common room and the cafeteria.
Due to her lack of experience, Adele's acting was poor, and she didn't realize that the students in front of her were top in their respective fields, believing that she had successfully blended into the class as an average girl.
After the introductions, there was an orientation. The teacher, Burgess, explained the school system, rules, and methods of study and practical training, and gave instructions about the classes starting the day after tomorrow, after a day of rest.
After that, they were dismissed. They were instructed to spend the afternoon and the next day of rest preparing their environment by buying necessary items.
However, it didn't matter to Adele. She had a part-time job the next day and didn't have enough money to buy anything extra. After buying the essential items—soap, notebooks, and ink—her earnings from the last part-time job would be gone. These items were expensive. It would take only a minute to buy them.
She should save the money from her next part-time job for something else. She wanted to buy two more pairs of underwear, but that would have to wait.
While thinking about this, she tried to stand up, but was surrounded by several male students.
"Adele, do you want to go shopping for the necessary items with us?"
"No, come with me. I'm from the capital, so I know the stores well!"
"No, me!"
Adele instinctively braced herself. However...
(Huh? I instinctively got defensive, but it seems they don't have any ill intentions... or maybe, am I popular? Why?)
Adele was puzzled and thought about it.
To be honest, the prettier one was Harumi.
Despite being born to parents who were pure-blooded commoners, Harumi had a sharp, well-defined face, the kind of beauty that could be scouted for the entertainment industry. However, she wasn't popular in school. (Actually, she was too out of reach for anyone to approach her.)
On the other hand, Adele had a well-proportioned but unremarkable average face. She wasn't particularly beautiful, but rather had a calming, reassuring presence...
(Oh! I remember!)
Adele recalled a TV program she had seen before.
"By averaging the faces of many people, you get a beautiful face."
Not necessarily a standout beauty, but a face that everyone finds appealing and reassuring.
Averaged. Averaged. Averaged...
(No! When I say 'average face,' I mean an ordinary, unremarkable face that blends into a crowd, not a 'beautiful average face'!)
"Sorry, I've already finished shopping!"
Unusually for the post-awakening Adele, she blushed and flustered, which seemed to further stimulate the boys, intensifying the competition.
"Boys, cut it out!"
Adele took advantage of the moment when the boys were intimidated by a girl with a committee-like personality and fled, offering a quick thanks.
Adele, who had never been spoken to by male classmates in her previous life except for "Let me see your homework," was flustered.
She rushed to the washroom in the dormitory and looked at her reflection in the poorly reflective mirror, which was just polished metal.
Her height seemed slightly below average. She had straight silver hair inherited from her mother. Her face, while not as strikingly beautiful as Harumi's, was well-proportioned and had a reassuring, familiar quality.
(Am I... popular? Am I popular?)
Adele gave a creepy smile.
A female student who had just returned to the dormitory saw her face and quickly looked away.
(No! I'm not popular! I'm just an ordinary girl! I only need one boyfriend, and that can wait until I'm an adult!
I don't want to be followed by strange boys now!)
Adele shook her head to clear her mind of these strange thoughts.
(But, something's odd. My chest feels... small...)
In this world, girls start developing breasts around 7-8 years old. Harumi started growing at around 8 and was a C by 18. However, Adele showed no signs of development. Some of the girls in her class had noticeably large chests, and it was hard to believe that Adele was "average." Why?
(Maybe it's because I often skipped meals for two years after my mother and grandfather died, and my growth was delayed.
This makes me look like an elf or a dwarf... No, no way!)
Adele was shocked.
Humans, elves, and dwarves are collectively called the Human Race.
If the gods considered them the same species...
Adele, who was supposed to be average, had a clearly below-average height.
Her undeveloped chest.
No, no, no, no, no. Still, elves and dwarves are fewer in number compared to humans, so their influence on the average should be minimal.
...Under normal circumstances.
What if it's not normal?
For example, if there were "average human," "average elf," and "average dwarf" values, and someone wanted to find the average without checking all of them, just to simplify things?
What if someone thought, "I'll just take the average of these three values"?