006

"Hey, Martha, he's the one...."

As soon as the student in question headed to the podium in the center of the hall, Gloria's face went pale.

"You just realized you bumped into this empire's prince? Even me, not from around here, knows who he is, you know."

Well, I know from the comic, though.

"W-w-w-what do I do?!"

She shook my body hard. I could get dizzy if this goes on too long. So I just answered:

"Well, just prepare yourself mentally because you'll be meeting often."

"Don't scare me like that!"

Her shaking got more intense. But I'm being honest, you know. That's exactly what happens in the comic.

Prince Alex climbed onto the podium. Before opening his mouth in front of the microphone, he greeted the teacher council lined up on the left and right of the stage. His posture was upright, full of smiles, accompanied by a firm gaze looking at thousands of students in front of him.

However, at one moment, when he swept his gaze across all the students, his pupils stopped briefly on us. Gloria was still panicking while her hands kept shaking my body and still didn't dare look forward, so she didn't know the prince was starting to take interest in her.

In the original story, Gloria was indeed panicking, but she could still look forward because she had no friend to chat with. So when Prince Alex glanced this way, their eyes met.

Seems like my presence is slightly disrupting their interaction. However, this is just a minor interaction. Nothing should change significantly in the plot.

"... It is a great honor for me to stand here, representing all new students. We extend our deepest gratitude to the esteemed professors and teaching council. Marilyn Magic Academy is known as one of the most prestigious magical institutions in the world, and for us, being accepted here is an extraordinary and meaningful opportunity...."

Honestly, I'm not interested in his speech. A prince's rhetoric doesn't need to be doubted for its skill. I'm just thinking, in this current situation, all the core characters from the Whispers of the Enchantress comic should be here. I glanced here and there, and found several familiar people.

I'm truly touched, proud, and still can't believe I'm trapped in this world. Finix Djerin, Noel Trovich, Mika Elroza, Dr. Markus. They're alive! They're not ink strokes! They're not flat!

Unfortunately, this hall is very spacious, so I can't make out the faces of people at the far end. Just as I squinted looking for other characters, applause rose throughout the hall. Seems the prince's speech is over.

"Was his speech really that good that it made you cry?" Gloria asked.

Being so touched seeing them, my tears spilled without me realizing. However, Gloria seems to have misinterpreted my tears. Better not answer. Just let her think that.

Opening ceremony events passed without a hitch. Around 11:00 the event closed, and we were allowed to enter the classes that had been distributed according to the notice on the bulletin board. If Gloria and I hadn't read the bulletin board this morning, we might've gotten trapped in a sea of students just looking for their classes after the ceremony ended.

The Social Sciences and Magic Law major complex is North of the main hall. Meanwhile, the Spiritual Magic major is in the left wing of the main building, close to the worship hall.

"My class is here. I'd like to greet my classmates right away, but if you need me to walk you to your class, I can," I offered.

"I can go by myself! Are you looking down on me?" Gloria answered while pouting.

"Is that so? Well, I'll pray you don't run into Prince Alex."

"D-don't bring it up!"

With that, Gloria immediately left after giving me a, "Hmph!" Cute!

I let out a breath, looked up glancing at the class sign reading SL 1-A, then stepped into the classroom. There were already several people inside. All unfamiliar faces.

I'm truly isolated from the main story.

A bit of flashback to my old life, I always occupied a seat in the back row. Maybe that's one reason why I was always far from the top ten rankings. Therefore, if in this world I want to improve myself, I have to occupy an empty seat in the front row.

I got the one at the far left of the front row.

"Err... excuse me."

Just as I sat down, someone greeted me. I turned around because the person called from behind.

"Yes, can I help you?" I asked.

"That seat already has an owner, she left it with me, said she wanted to get her bag from the dorm first."

Bringing a bag on the first day? So diligent. Anyway, I'm sure even if a teacher comes, they won't start teaching right away.

"What's your name?"

"Ah! I'm Nadisa. Nadisa Kaminer. Nice to meet you."

Her eyeballs darted around not focusing on me. Is she scared of me or what?

"Nadisa," I said, tilting my head up slightly. "Do you know who you're talking to?"

Nadisa's behavior became more erratic.

"P-please forgive me, Miss! I didn't mean to forbid you from sitting in that seat. I was just delivering her message."

"Alright. I understand," I answered. "What if I refuse to move from here?"

"T-that's...."

I stayed silent while staring at Nadisa. Nadisa snuck a glance. As soon as our eyes met, she panicked even more. I stayed silent, then tapped her desk with my index finger after a few seconds of silence. Water started seeping from her eyes.

I giggled. "Just kidding!"

Nadisa started looking at me again. She'd really cry if I cornered her just a bit more.

"I'll give in, don't worry. I can find another desk." I extended my hand. "Nice to meet you, my name's Martha. Martha Yurisa."

Nadisa took my handshake.

"By the way, who's this diligent kid who wants to bring a bag on the first day of school?"

"Her name... I don't know."

"Eh? You were ordered by someone you don't know? And you just accepted being bossed around like that?"

"I-it wasn't a difficult request. So I thought there was no reason to refuse."

Her inferiority is really chronic.

"But you seem to be having trouble dealing with me?"

"Uh!"

"Hey, Nadisa, you two will be neighbors from now on. Don't let yourself be enslaved just because you're easy to ask for favors."

"Sorry." Nadisa lowered her head again. "I thought by entering this major, I could learn how to talk to other people. Since I was little, I've been shy."

"Of course. The problem is, you're not shy. You have too low of a self-esteem."

"Low... self-esteem?"

I nodded. "Maybe both seem similar, but they're completely different. For example, I'm a shy person, but I don't have low self-esteem."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, I'm shy. You don't believe me? Here, let me tell you. When I was little, I experienced an incident."

Nadisa looked like she was going to listen closely. Seeing that, I just stayed silent for a long time.

Until Nadisa's curiosity reached its peak and she asked, "What incident?"

"Eh, you want to know? I'm shy, you know!"

"... Pff... Puhahaha! That's so 'shy'!"

There, that's it. You bow your head too much, Nadisa. You're the one creating that anxiety, carrying worries you don't need.

Until you don't realize, how beautiful your free laughter is.