Adrie began recounting what had happened the previous night when the two individuals had entered the mansion.

She described how a frightened knight and a seemingly calm young girl entered the mansion.

How the two of them had headed straight for the underground area as if they knew the way by heart.

How they unlocked a door and descended below.

And finally, how they discovered the dungeon and entered it.

— "Both of them were absolutely amazing!"

Adrie’s description of what happened inside the dungeon was filled with sound effects like "Wow!" and "Swoosh!" and "Bam!" which made it hard to understand, but the gist of it was this:

Zombies crawled out of their graves, but the two didn’t bother fighting them and instead broke through further inside.

They even defeated a wraith, a spirit lingering in this world.

"A wraith? How did they defeat it?"

Vissy knew well about wraiths, even if she didn’t know much about other monsters.

Wraiths, usually boss-level monsters in dungeons, are typically impervious to physical attacks.

But both of these individuals were knights who primarily relied on physical attacks.

Could it be that Mr. Carl, the academy professor, had some method up his sleeve?

— "Yep! The girl hit it with her mace, and wham! It was dead!"

That brat defeated the wraith with a mace?

Come to think of it, I remember seeing her use holy magic during the entrance ceremony.

Did she use that to defeat the wraith?

If she’s strong enough to take down a boss-level wraith, then Lucy must possess considerable holy power.

But just a while ago, wasn’t she someone who insulted the gods? How could she have such divine power?

Is she actually favored by the gods or something?

— "And then, when they came out of the dungeon, they gave me this ribbon as a present!"

Adrie exclaimed excitedly, pointing to the ribbon on her head.

Now that I think about it, she does have a new ribbon.

— "Isn’t it pretty?!"

"It’s pretty, but… how exactly did you receive it?"

Adrie is a ghost.

So naturally, she shouldn’t be able to interact with the real world or undergo any changes since she’s already dead.

Normally, she wouldn’t be able to take a ribbon and wear it on her head.

— "I don’t know! They gave it to me, so I took it!"

"...Right. I shouldn’t have expected anything from you."

— "What’s that supposed to mean?!"

Vissy half-listened to Adrie’s grumbling while deep in thought.

That brat must have done something again.

Lucy Allen. Just what is she?

Until about a year ago, she was just the usual troublemaker when she appeared in social circles.

But how has she changed so much in just one year?

The girl who wouldn’t even pick up a pen managed to top the entrance exam at Soul Academy.

During the commotion at the entrance ceremony, she stood at the forefront.

Is it even possible to change this much in just one year?

Is this what they call talent?

Was that brat just a lazy genius with a terrible personality all along?

Or is there something more?

— "Hmm. But that girl was really something! It’s like she already knew who I was, knew everything about that dungeon, and even about this mansion. What kind of kid is she?"

"I don’t know."

But she’s definitely not an ordinary person.

Vissy answered Adrie’s question absentmindedly as she massaged the back of her neck.

Now that she’s caught on to me being a necromancer, I can’t go against her.

If it gets out that I’ve dabbled in forbidden magic, I’ll be marked by the church.

As a minor noble, I would just disappear without a trace.

I should be grateful that she’s keeping quiet about it, not to mention she cleared the dungeon in this mansion.

Even though I still dislike that bratty lady, I have to admit I’m grateful for what she did.

Maybe I should hold off on gossiping about her for a while.

•  

The next morning, Vissy woke up early and headed to the training grounds.

The person who taught her necromancy had emphasized the importance of training early, so Vissy tried to move her body at dawn whenever possible.

Yesterday, she had overslept and barely made it to class on time.

With her hair loosely tied back, Vissy arrived at the training grounds only to find that others had gotten there before her.

Among them, the most noticeable were Lucy and Freyr, who were sprinting around the perimeter of the training grounds at full speed.

Despite running at a speed that could rival a horse, their expressions were completely calm.

“Lousy knight, aren’t you getting tired? You’re out of breath.”

“Not at all. Are you the one who’s tired?”

“Pfft. The lousy knight who got beaten by me is trying to provoke me? Ridiculous.”

“Ugh.”

How are they able to run at that speed and still carry on a conversation?

Vissy wasn’t the only one staring at them in disbelief.

Most of the people in the training grounds were the same.

The sight of two small kids running at a pace that seemed impossible to keep up with was astonishing.

However, since one of them was Lucy Allen, infamous for her reputation, they quickly looked away whenever she noticed their gazes.

Vissy watched them for a while before moving to a spot far away from the duo to start her own training.

The bad blood between Vissy and Lucy would continue even after that.

It was during a magic theory class.

Still unfamiliar with Soul Academy, Vissy had wandered around before finally finding the classroom, where she sighed in relief upon seeing a friend wave her over.

“Close call. You were almost late.”

“Shut up.”

Snapping at her friend who was teasing her, Vissy took her seat and glanced around the classroom.

There was an oddly empty space in the room.

Right around Lucy Allen.

Nobles who had been tormented by Lucy Allen in social circles naturally avoided her.

Even the few commoners kept their distance, sensing the tension around her, leaving Lucy Allen alone.

In most cases, someone in her situation would feel dejected or depressed, but Lucy Allen calmly stared out the window, as if she was used to it.

“Vissy, should we start calling her ‘the lonely lady’ instead of ‘the bratty lady’ now?”

“Well…”

Vissy started to respond to her friend who was giggling, but then closed her mouth.

Lucy Allen’s warning from the previous day flashed in her mind.

Professor Carl must have told that brat everything.

I thought he was nice because he’s handsome, but he’s just a petty snitch.

What is Lucy Allen to him anyway?

“What?”

“Nothing, just… I thought she must be lonely.”

Vissy’s friend chuckled lightly at her offhand comment.

“Lonely? She brought it on herself. A girl who dared to call the third prince pathetic wouldn’t care about something like that.”

Her friend’s remark was accurate.

Lucy herself had shattered any rumors that she might have changed after the entrance exam and ceremony incidents.

To call the third prince ‘Pathetic Prince’… Vissy had thought she must be out of her mind when she heard that story.

Of course, she couldn’t say that out loud now.

Vissy’s ambiguous smile made her friend narrow her eyes.

“What’s with you, Vissy? Are you trying to act all nice today?”

“Act nice? I’m always nice.”

“Hypocrite.”

Their conversation was interrupted when the magic theory professor entered the classroom.

“The flow of magic is…”

As the class proceeded, the professor suddenly frowned and raised his voice slightly.

“Lady Allen.”

Everyone’s eyes turned toward where Lucy was sitting.

Lucy Allen was sprawled out on her desk, fast asleep.

Wait, what is she doing?!

Lucy quickly lifted her head, looking flustered, as the professor spoke in a slightly sharper tone.

“Could you tell us what I just explained?”

Lucy remained silent. Of course she wouldn’t be able to answer.

She had been asleep just a moment ago.

“She’s going to embarrass herself.”

Vissy’s friend chuckled with glee, but the scene she anticipated didn’t happen.

“Lousy professor. You just explained…”

Lucy Allen answered the professor’s question without a moment’s hesitation.

Her response was so flawless that even the magic theory professor, who had been about to scold her, was left speechless.

“Well… well done. You may sit down.”

How did she answer that while she was asleep?

Did she just look at what was written on the board and guess?

Ugh, this is why they call people like her geniuses.

Vissy, feeling a pang of jealousy, clicked her tongue without realizing it.

After class ended, Vissy heard Lucy’s name again around lunchtime.

Lady Baines, whom she had seen in social circles, stormed into the cafeteria, fuming with anger.

Even amidst the murmurs of others, Lady Baines couldn’t hide her frustration.

What on earth happened to her?

“She probably lost to the bratty lady.”

Vissy’s question was answered by her friend, who had just come from a sparring class.

“To Lady Allen?”

“Yeah. That brat may be a menace, but she’s really good at fighting. Lady Baines didn’t stand a chance.”

“That’s impressive.”

“This is nothing. Last time, she beat Lady Kent.”

Lady Kent, who had won multiple tournaments across the kingdom.

A monster among monsters, widely expected to become the next Swordmaster.

And Lucy beat her in a duel?

“Seriously?”

“Yeah.”

So, she’s not only smart enough to top the entrance exam, but also skilled enough to beat someone like Lady Kent in combat?

And on top of that, she possesses enough holy power to harm a wraith?

“That’s unfair.”

Is it okay for one person to have so much talent?

“Maybe she really is favored by the gods.”

“Hey, don’t say blasphemous things.”

The moment Vissy murmured that, her friend scolded her.

“The ones favored by the gods are angels like the saintess. There’s no way a brat with that kind of personality would be loved by the gods.”

That’s true.

Thinking about the saintess’s pure nature, there’s no way the gods would like someone like Lucy.

“Unless she’s loved by a demon instead.”

Vissy couldn’t help but laugh at her friend’s comment.

But when she saw Lucy enter the cafeteria, her smile froze.

Oh. Uh.

She didn’t hear that, did she?

•  

The days are long.

That’s the thought that has crossed my mind most often lately.

In this world, when it was just a game, you could speed through a day in as little as ten seconds.

Attending classes was just a matter of skipping through text and then choosing what to do in the evening and night.

But now that this is reality, time feels different.

Having to live through every minute of a full 24 hours feels incredibly long!

If only I could spend all day training like I did at home, I wouldn’t be so bored.

But here, I have to sit through boring and sleepy classes, which is really tough.

In the first place, the experience period at Soul Academy was supposed to be one of those segments where you just do a few things and then skip past it!

Why can’t I skip this part?

If I could at least go on quests, it wouldn’t be so bad.

But lately, everyone just runs away whenever I try to talk to them, so I can’t even do that.

Ah, I wish this period would end soon.

Once this week is over and the official semester starts, I’ll finally be able to enter the dungeons at Soul Academy.