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Chapter 49.1
The Queen’s aide getting attacked by assassins in his sleep.
That was definitely a possibility.
Being killed by a ninja who appeared out of nowhere.
That was also possible.
Hence, I was always alert regarding assassins.
This was why I could hear the voices whispering in the night better than anyone else.
━Should we wake him up?
━Is that a good idea?
Two men were talking on either side of my bed. I didn’t know what this was about, but it was certainly not a very good thing.
Thus, I slowly moved my hand and reached for the dagger hidden under the pillow. I had resolved myself to stab anyone who would come at me!
“Theo Gospel, if you’re still awake, we’re going to have an opening party.”
… Opening party?
I pondered those words before slowly opening my eyes. The sight of two men with candles on a brass cup greeted me.
It was pretty scary with the shadows on their faces, but at least I could tell they didn’t mean harm.
“What is happening?”
The man with a fat belly sticking out his sweatshirt replied.
“Literally a party! It’s the first day, so how about we introduce ourselves?”
“We decided to come and talk first. It’s nice meeting you! Theo, right? Theo Gospel.”
‘Ah, I see.’
To think it would be an invitation to some kind of social gathering…
For a moment, I actually thought they were assassins.
Actually, this was rather strange. Could the world be so soft that someone invited me to a social circle?
As I got up, the fat blonde man said.
“I am Hans Walter. I’m the second son of a small southern landowner. You can just call me Hans! The boy with the glasses here is-.”
“I am Benjamin, an Apprentice Priest!”
The boy with glasses looked quite young, about 14 or 15. From the outside, I felt like he was younger than me.
There seemed to be no hostility from them…
Having decided so, I bowed my head and said hello.
“I am Theo Gospel. As you may know, I’m from Angmar. So, what do we do with the opening party? Aren’t we supposed to be asleep after the lights go out?”
To my question, Hans pointed to a corner.
“That’s right, but as long as they don’t see the light, we don’t have to worry about getting caught. We do this every semester.”
Now that he mentioned it, I could see the windows and doors of the dormitory being covered with a cloth to prevent the light from escaping to the outside.
“For now, let’s eat some cheese I brought. Cheese is the specialty in our estate! Hey Benjamin, take out the bread you brought too.”
“Ok.”
And thus, in Room 7, we sat on my bed and shared food.
It was just that, bread crumbs started spilling all over my bed, bas†ards…
After a while, Fatty Hans said while sharing food.
“So is it true? That you are ‘the’ Theo Gospel. Me and Benjamin were curious about that since it’s such a famous name. I thought you’re the real deal, plus Benjamin also said that you got the same name.”
At his question, I could feel Benjamin looking at me while still eating. It seemed that this was the gist of things.
“It is true. Perhaps, I am the same Theo Gospel you’re thinking of.”
“Is that so… People said that you’re a monster that is over eight feet tall with eight arms. I guess rumors can’t be trusted… Anyway, Benjamin, hand me 10k!”
Flap-.
As Hans reached out his fat palm, Benjamin clicked his tongue and pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over.
My eyes widened because it was the first time I was seeing such a type of currency.
“… Is that a banknote?”
Hans answered my question while flapping the bill.
“Yes. This is Ark’s currency called ‘bill’. This one in particular a 10,000 coin bill. Isn’t it amazing that a piece of paper has such a value?”
Aha-. It did say that inside Ark, they had their own monetary system that didn’t use the existing copper or gold coins.
When I entered the Academy, I also received about 1 million coins through scholarships and development incentives.
By the way, did he just say that the value was close to one million won in cash?
As I was intrigued by the currency system, Benjamin said.
“But it’s really ‘the’ Theo. You only look like a dude around the same age as me… Speaking of, excuse me, but how old are you?”
“Ugh…”
Benjamin’s question made me feel the need to set my age. Which age was the least annoying?
“… I am 20 years old.”
“Well, then, you’re the same age as me! Take it easy, my friend. Let’s do well in the future and talk comfortably around each other.”
“You’re older than me. I am currently 15.”
This was the time when I regretted my decision, I should’ve said 21…
Knock, knock-.
━Go back to sleep. Since it is the first day, there will be no demerit points.
Someone knocked on the door, making us scatter to each other’s beds, hiding under the blanket. We were like rats seeing a cat.
… What just happened?
With this thought, I eventually succumbed to my progressively heavier eyelids.
First of all, my roommates seemed nice. There might be something that they wanted from me, but at least I didn’t sense any ill will right now.
Were they really just nice guys?
… Could such creatures exist in this world?
But then again, this was a place where the Church raised Champions.
Maybe this was a given.
Rather, wouldn’t it be stranger if there were people who had a problematic personality like Aira or Elga?
* * *
The next morning at dawn.
I was awakened by the sound of bustling movement.
What was going on?
Did a ninja pop out!?
“What happened?”
“Good, you woke up in time! My friend, we have to move! Bronze Class like us have to move early to sign up for classes! If we’re late, we’ll be left with nothing!”
I just got woken up by a fat blonde man talking to me in a friendly way. I guessed I really was living in a dormitory.
Anyway, I quickly put on my clothes and went out to the front of the building in charge of registering classes, treading the morning air with the yet to rise sun.
However, despite our haste, there were already a lot of people gathered. Seeing this, Fatty Hans clicked his tongue.
“There are more people this year. If we had arrived a little later, we would have lost all Class A lectures.”
“Class A? What is that?”
I casually asked. Speaking informally was one of the ways to get friendly with other people.
These guys seemed to have spent a few semesters at Ark, so if I got on their good side, they would definitely give me some useful information.
Surprisingly, Benjamin was the one who answered my question.
“Ark’s lectures are graded accordingly. Basically, it represents how easy listening to the lectures is. Classes that you can easily receive high scores are classified as A. Likewise, the further down the alphabet, the harder it is-.”
“You mean the professors are strict, there are a lot of assignments, and it’s difficult to get good grades?”
Benjamin nodded, his short chestnut-brown hair waving along.
“Yes, that’s right. This time, I plan to take two Class As, one Class B and two Class Cs.”
At this revelation, Hans asked in surprise.
“You will take two Class A lectures!? Will you be alright!?”
“I have to somehow get high grades this semester and receive a scholarship. Otherwise, I have to go back to my hometown….”
I didn’t know the details, but there seemed to be an overarching circumstance.
Just then, a question popped up in my mind.
“Then, isn’t it better to fill your schedule with all Class A lectures? You could just come early and apply for it!”
This time, it was Hans who answered my question with a shake of his head.
“Things aren’t that simple… Bronze Class cadets like us are the lower ranks of the Ark Hierarchy…”
Hierarchy, a class structure.
I wanted to ask him for clarification but didn’t get the chance, as Benjamin and Hans soon moved to an empty line.
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