“We need to move faster. If we're any slower, we won't make it to the opening ceremony!”
Greg urged his two roommates behind him as he hurried down the corridor.
He had dark circles under his eyes, and his entire body radiated exhaustion.
Ever since they returned to the dormitory yesterday, he had been forced to spend the entire night with Rom and Corwin fabricating a detailed history of his love life.
They had rambled from when they first realized their feelings for each other all the way to ridiculous topics like how many children they planned to have in the future.
By the time someone finally realized they should probably get some sleep, the sky outside was already bright.
The three of them collapsed into bed, falling asleep after dawn. With less than two hours of sleep in total, Greg practically wore a mask of pure agony, already starting to miss his life in the dungeon.
If Hajimi hadn't played with that mechanical bird in his shadow all night and woken him up just as she was about to rest, the three of them would probably still be asleep under their blankets, completely missing the opening ceremony.
“Thank goodness, we made it!”
The three of them rushed into the hall, panting for breath. The moment they stepped over the threshold, the heavy doors behind them began to slowly close with a deep, muffled thud.
Greg looked around.
The hall was already packed to capacity.
Teachers and students from over a hundred magic academies across the continent sat in orderly sections, their gazes focused on the high platform at the front of the hall.
The entire hall was solemn and majestic, with an air of anticipation filling the space.
As the scheduled time arrived, five figures emerged from the passage behind the high platform and took their seats in the top five positions.
Greg recognized all five of them, as they were the Headmistresses of the Five Great Academies.
In the original game, though they didn't have much screen time, each of them was an incredibly important figure.
From left to right, the first was the Headmistress of Ironpledge Crucible, Isadora.
She had long, messy black hair that draped loosely over her face, almost completely obscuring it except for a faint glimpse of her pale jawline.
She radiated a gloomy, oppressive aura, as if she hadn't seen the sun in years.
It was impossible to tell that such a gloomy-looking person actually specialized in combat-oriented physical magic. It was said that on the battlefield, she was like an Asura.
The second was Olivia.
Although she was still wearing her sultry cowgirl outfit today, her wavy, wine-red hair hung loosely over her shoulders, lending her an extra touch of mature feminine charm.
She sat with her legs crossed in a relaxed, confident posture, her gaze carrying a hint of lazy arrogance.
Seated right next to her was the Headmistress of Branch-String Sanctuary, Luna.
Today, she had changed into a white robe adorned with gold patterns. Her long, snow-white hair cascaded down like a waterfall, revealing a pair of pointed elven ears that glowed with a faint pink hue under the lights.
Her eyes seemed a bit vacant, as if her mind were wandering elsewhere, but no one doubted her strength. She was, without a doubt, the strongest among the elves.
The fourth was a woman with fiery red hair, a voluptuous figure, and stunning curves. Atop her head grew a pair of curved dragon horns that gleamed with a dark red luster under the light.
She was the Headmistress of Ember-Eye Tower and the Grand Duchess of the Dragon Duchy—Aurora.
Holding supreme power, she exuded a grand and confident presence.
The last one on the far right was a highly elegant woman.
She wore a simple, elegant white robe, cradling a massive, fluffy white fox tail against her chest. Atop her head, a pair of pure white fox ears twitched slightly.
She looked gentle and submissive, as if she could easily be pushed around—but anyone who actually thought that would be dead wrong.
Her true identity was the Headmistress of Trench Altar, Yuemei.
Beneath her seemingly delicate exterior lay a level of strength that would make anyone who underestimated her pay a heavy price.
Greg's gaze swept from left to right across these five wildly different women. He couldn't help but complain in his heart: Why are all these Headmistresses female?
But on second thought, this world was originally based on a yuri-centric setting, so it immediately made sense.
In such a setting, powerful women gathering in droves was completely normal. After all, among all the male characters, he was the only one who even had a character sprite.
Subsequently, the Headmistresses of the Five Great Academies took turns standing up to speak, officially declaring the start of the Hundred Academy Exchange.
Each of their speech styles was completely different.
Isadora's speech was so brief it practically consisted of only three sentences, while Olivia's address carried a casual and teasing tone.
When it was Luna's turn, she stood up, unfolded her speech, and read the contents in a completely flat, monotonous voice.
Just when everyone thought she was about to sit back down, she suddenly closed her paper and added expressionlessly:
“Furthermore, I recently took on a human disciple. I look forward to his performance in the upcoming exchange.”
Having said that, her gaze swept across the crowd and locked precisely onto Greg.
Greg instantly froze.
Wait, when did I ever agree to this?
How come I didn't even know about it?!
Didn't I just say I would give it some serious thought?
Did she completely misunderstand what I meant?!
His mind was in complete chaos, but Luna had already sat back down as if nothing had happened, acting as though she had just casually mentioned a trivial matter.
Meanwhile, the students in the hall erupted into a frenzy.
Luna Starfall, a Great Archmage, the Headmistress of Branch-String Sanctuary, and the strongest of the elves, had actually taken on a human disciple!
WTF?!
Who on earth was the lucky bastard? Step forward and prepare to die!
Next to Greg, Rom and Corwin couldn't help but sigh in awe:
“That guy is seriously lucky to have such a powerful and beautiful master.”
Greg's lips twitched, but he said nothing.
The moment Luna sat down, Olivia grabbed her by the collar and barked at her quite bluntly:
“Stop joking around, you closet-pervert elf! He's my student! I will never agree to let him become your disciple!”
Luna looked up, her silver eyes staring calmly at Olivia, and replied with an airhead tone, “He already agreed.”
“When did he ever agree?!”
“He didn't refuse me yesterday.”
“Doesn't that just mean he didn't agree?!”
“No refusal means agreement.”
The two bickered back and forth on the high platform, completely ignoring everyone else. Fortunately, since almost all the students in attendance were caught up in their own chaos, no one noticed this scene.
Sitting next to Luna, the fiery-red-haired Aurora watched the two of them with great interest.
“While talented people are indeed the most precious treasures, it's truly intriguing that someone could actually make the two of them argue like this.”
Aurora followed the direction of Luna's gaze from earlier. Because his appearance was simply too eye-catching, she immediately spotted Greg standing in a daze amidst the crowd.
Her gaze lingered on him for a moment, sizing him up from head to toe. Then, resting her chin on one hand, she lightly licked her bright red lips and murmured to herself:
“He certainly suits my taste... though I wonder how strong he actually is. If there's an opportunity later, I might just have my niece test him out.”
Greg had no idea that before his plans could even officially begin, yet another massive headache had already set her sights on him.
Rate on N.U.
