Cain successfully attended the entrance ceremony. Of course, he needed to try on his uniform and go shopping for necessary items, so he had not been engaging in adventurer activities.
This royal capital's school has two days off in a six-day week. A month consists of thirty days, which is five weeks. It's a cycle of four days of study and two days off.
While slipping his arms into the sleeves of his uniform in his room, Cain's heart leaped at the thought of his upcoming school life. In his previous life, he had made it to high school... Suddenly, Sae's face came to mind. He wondered if she and Aimi were doing well, but quickly shook his head to clear the thought, resigning himself to the fact that it was his past life.
"Lord Cain, the uniform really suits you!"
"Please be careful on your way."
Koran and Sylvia saw him off with smiles. Recently, Koran and Sylvia have been spending a lot of time together. Thinking that it would be nice if things worked out for them, Cain walked towards the school. The school was only a ten-minute walk from home, thanks to the king's thoughtful choice of a nearby location.
Today, he made sure not to make a mistake and entered the school through the north gate. The new students were led to a large gymnasium-like place and each took their seats. There were second-floor seats where parents sat. Naturally, the noble and commoner parents were seated separately.
While looking at the noble parents' section, Cain saw his father, Galm, and Sara sitting together.
"Father came."
Cain whispered happily.
"Good morning!"
"Good morning~"
Suddenly, a voice came from behind, and he turned to see two familiar faces.
"Theres, Silk, good morning! Nice to meet you from today on."
Cain replied with a full smile. Seeing his smile, both of them blushed.
"Theres and Silk sat down next to Cain. As they talked, they could hear whispers from around them.
"Isn't that Princess Theresia? The girl sitting next to her is the daughter of the Santana Duke. Who is that guy? He's talking so casually with them..."
"I envy the guy in the middle..."
"But the guy in the middle is handsome too..."
Cain pretended not to hear.
"Now that we're enrolled, I want to announce it as soon as Father gives his permission."
"Yeah~. That makes sense. It's a hassle to keep it a secret all the time."
Both of them had kept their engagement a secret for five years. Since it was still a secret, they had mainly had tea parties at the castle instead of going on dates outside.
"I'll talk to the king and Duke Eric to decide the timing."
As they chatted, the entrance ceremony began. The principal stepped up to the podium and started speaking.
"Congratulations on your enrollment, everyone. This school is—"
After a somewhat long explanation, everyone clapped. Next, the student council members lined up on the podium.
"Huh?"
Cain was surprised. His sister, Reine, was among the student council members. He learned for the first time that she was the vice president.
"Next, the representative of the new students, the top student of the first year, Cain von Silford."
Called by the emcee, Cain stood up and walked to the podium. He took a deep breath, looked around, and began speaking.
"Hello, I am Cain von Silford, the top student of the first year. The students here have survived the exams and been admitted from many applicants. I am a noble, but in education, there is no distinction between nobles and commoners. The first king established that all citizens have the right to equal education. In the coming school life, I want to make friends without being bound by family background. However, I think new students will have many things they don't understand. I hope to receive guidance from teachers and seniors, so please take care of me. Representative of the new students, Cain von Silford."
He bowed, and there was a loud applause. Having completed his task, he returned to his seat, where Theres and Silk were waiting.
"Lord Cain, you looked very dignified."
"Cain, you looked great!"
"Thank you both."
The emcee continued the ceremony.
"Lastly, His Majesty the King will give a few words."
At this, Theres and Cain were startled.
"Theres, did you hear that the king would speak?"
"I don't think he has spoken before."
The king, who was ascending the podium, glanced at them. Cain felt a sense of danger.
"Congratulations on your enrollment, everyone. As the representative of the new students, Cain, said, the right to education is equal for nobles, commoners, and royalty. I think it will be challenging for the teachers this year with some exceptional students, but I hope they will do their best. I hope you all will continue to do your best."
The king's words ended there. He looked at them when he said "exceptional," and Cain was sure it was intentional. Amidst the loud applause, the king descended from the podium, and the entrance ceremony ended successfully. After the ceremony, Cain went to greet his parents who had come.
"Father, thank you for coming all the way from the fief."
"I received a message from Sara, so I thought something was up. When I read the letter, it said Cain was the top student. I left the work to Jin and Alex and came here."
Galm was smiling. The top student of this school meant the top student among all the students of the same age in the country. As a parent, he was very proud.
After saying goodbye to his parents, Cain was heading to his classroom when he saw a familiar figure.
"Hey! Parm!"
It was Parm from the Salakhan Chamber of Commerce. She had said she would apply to this school and seemed to have been admitted successfully. When Parm turned around and saw Cain, she waved with a full smile. Her tail, visible under her skirt, was wagging. As a beast person, she grew faster than humans, and her figure was already developing.
"Lord Cain, congratulations on being the top student. Your speech was wonderful."
"Parm, congratulations on your admission. Which class are you in?"
"Thanks to my hard work, I made it to Class A. It's a bit disappointing not to be in the same class as Lord Cain, but I'll do my best. I want to reach Class S by graduation."
"Class A is already amazing! If you have any questions, feel free to ask me!"
"Yes! Thank you very much."
Since Parm was in the adjacent class, they parted at the classroom door, and Cain headed to the S-class room. When he opened the door, Theres and Silk were already there.
"Lord Cain, you're late."
"Cain, you're so slow. Come here, come here."
The two were pouting and waving him over with smiles.
"Sorry, I was talking to my parents. I also greeted a familiar face."
"Familiar face? Is it a girl?"
Theres asked eagerly.
"She's the daughter of the chamber of commerce I do business with. I always receive their help."
Hearing this, Theres and Silk started whispering to each other.
"Doesn't it seem like Lord Cain has another candidate?"
"Hmm, I don't mind if there are more."
"If there are too many, we won't be able to handle it."
"Then that's a problem."
The two started chatting. Cain could hear them but could only smile wryly.
The bell rang, and a teacher entered. The teacher was a woman.
"Everyone, please take your seats. I will be your homeroom teacher from today, Elka von Portray. Let's start with introductions. First, the top student, Cain."
Cain stood up and walked to the side of the podium.
"Hello, I'm Cain von Silford. I'm a noble, but please call me Cain casually. I look forward to working with you all."
He bowed and returned to his seat. Next was Theres.
"I'm Theresia Terra Esfort. I'm the third princess, but please call me casually like Lord Cain. I look forward to working with you all."
She performed a graceful bow and returned to her seat. Next was Silk, who was third in the class.
"I'm Silk von Santana. I'm from a duke's family, but please call me casually with Theresia and Cain. I look forward to working with you all."
The other classmates introduced themselves in turn.
"That's it for the introductions. Today's session is over. From tomorrow, we will have orientation. You also need to decide on your elective subjects, so please look at them carefully."
The class was dismissed. Students from other classrooms were also leaving. On this floor, there were three classes from S to B. Classes C to E were on the floor below. Cain, Theres, and Silk were about to leave when they heard shouting from the hallway.
"Why is a beast person commoner in Class A? I, from a marquis family, am more suitable for Class A!"
"Right! Right!"
Looking into the hallway, they saw that Parm was being harassed. At that moment, Cain's veins bulged as he glared at the harasser. Hearing that the harasser was from a high-ranking noble family, Parm was trembling, unsure of what to do.
"If you hadn't enrolled in this school, I would have been in Class A. Drop out immediately."
The harasser was Habitt, the eldest son of the Cordino Marquis. Cain immediately intervened.
"What are you doing on the first day of school? This school is supposed to be equal for nobles and commoners."
Cain called out from behind.
"That doesn't apply here. That's for lower nobles, not for me, a high-ranking noble!"
Habitt turned around and froze. His two followers also stopped when they recognized Cain.
"No one said that. Besides, this girl is my acquaintance."
Cain stepped between Habitt and Parm, shielding Parm behind him.
"Lord Cain, you're a noble, yet you're siding with a commoner?"
One of the followers asked Cain.
"I don't care about nobles or commoners. I'm siding with my friend."
"Hmph. If you choose a commoner over a marquis family, I'll tell Father and crush that commoner's family."
At that moment, Cain emitted a killing aura, directed only at the three of them.
"Who's going to crush whom..."
Cain's voice was cold, and the three were trembling.
At that moment, a voice came from behind.
"Without the people, there are no nobles. Your statement is problematic. Should I report this to Father?"
The three, who were already trembling, froze even more. It was Princess Theresia and the daughter of a duke.
"P-P-Princess Theresia! N-No... My words were mistaken... I apologize, Princess Theresia."
Habitt, receiving Cain's killing aura from the front and the princess's reprimand from behind, turned pale.
"You're apologizing to the wrong person. You should apologize to the person you harassed."
Theres coldly prompted Habitt to apologize to Parm.
Habitt didn't want to apologize to a commoner, but he knew it would be a problem if it reached the royal family.
"I-I-I'm sorry..."
Habitt and his followers apologized to Parm, who was hiding behind Cain.
"Parm, is this okay?"
Cain asked Parm, who nodded slightly.
"..."
"Habitt, make sure this doesn't happen again."
"I understand, Lord Cain."
With that, the three left hurriedly.
"Parm, I'm sorry for noticing late."
"Lord Cain, thank you for helping me."
Parm looked up at Cain with gratitude.
At that moment, two voices called out.
"We need to talk."
After that, Cain and Parm were led back to the classroom by Theresia and Silk.
"Lord Cain, please sit in seiza and wait."
"Seiza...?"
"Just do it."
"..."
Cain reluctantly sat in seiza. The three girls huddled together and started talking. After about thirty minutes, they seemed to have finished.
"From now on, we're Parm's friends! I look forward to working with you!"
Silk said to Parm.
"Yes! I look forward to working with you too."
"A, I forgot about Cain."
Silk realized they had been so engrossed in their conversation that they had forgotten about Cain. The three girls turned to look at him.
There, Cain was slumped over, unable to move due to his legs being numb from sitting in seiza.