The freshmen seemed to be the first batch to report to the academy.
In the vast campus, aside from a few overachieving upperclassmen who chose to stay at school even during the holidays, it actually felt rather deserted for a moment.
After politely declining two upperclassmen who enthusiastically asked, “Junior, do you want to sign up for an academy points card?” and three upperclasswomen who made direct passes at him with, “Hey handsome, want to get to know each other?” Lynn finally received his luggage.
He looked down at the keycard he had just received.
【Vermilion Garden, Building C, Room 201】
“Oh, Vermilion Garden... That's a first-class apartment,” the upperclasswoman with glasses who was distributing keycards at the counter remarked with a sigh of admiration.
“...A first-class apartment?”
“Ah, I forgot you guys are still freshmen and aren't familiar with these rules yet.” Squinting her eyes to admire the boy's slightly confused yet handsome face, the upperclasswoman spoke cheerfully.
“There is a strict hierarchy for student dormitories. From bottom to top, there are four tiers.”
“The most basic is the Yellow Garden, which consists of third-class apartments. They are usually four-person rooms covering fifty square meters, and they're located in somewhat remote areas.”
“Next is the Azure Garden, which are second-class apartments—luxuriously decorated double-occupancy dorms.”
“Going up from there is the Vermilion Garden, which are first-class single-occupancy apartments. And above that is the White Garden, consisting of standalone little villas that only core students can enjoy~”
The upperclasswoman clicked her tongue in wonder. “Freshmen who can get a first-class apartment right upon enrollment are very rare. It seems the examiners gave you a very high evaluation before you entered the academy~”
No, no, no, you're quite wrong about that. Lynn felt a bit embarrassed.
What high evaluation? He had received his invitation letter before even participating in the hunting competition. This was clearly the result of 'my Grand Duke father' pulling some strings.
“But junior, you'd better prepare yourself~”
“?”
“Dormitory treatment isn't set in stone. High-tier dorms are rewards given to 'outstanding' students.”
“As for the definition of outstanding, it's determined by a comprehensive evaluation of ranking battles, academy points savings, classroom performance, and so on.”
The upperclasswoman pushed up her glasses, paused, and patiently explained further.
“For your batch of freshmen, evaluations will probably be held once every half-semester. In other words, after the midterm exams, the dormitory rankings will undergo a major reshuffle.”
“Every year, there are always a few inspirational stories of students rising from the Yellow Garden, as well as jokes about those in the Vermilion Garden getting lazy and making fools of themselves. So...”
“If you want to maintain your first-class Vermilion Garden dormitory treatment, you'll have to work hard, junior~”
The upperclasswoman with glasses blew him a wink and waved goodbye as Lynn politely took his leave.
A freshman boy queuing behind him immediately approached the upperclasswoman enthusiastically. “Senior, I'd like to get my keycard too.”
Glancing at the plain, freckled face of the bystander freshman, she listlessly tossed the keycard into his hands.
Bystander Freshman: ...
Hey, senior, your attitude wasn't like this just now!
...
Following the road signs to his dormitory, Lynn pushed open the door.
“...This is indeed a very luxurious living environment.”
Rather than a student dormitory, it was more like a meticulously decorated small apartment.
Upon entering, there was a spacious and bright living room. The walls were painted a warm cream-white, and the dark wooden floor was polished to a spotless shine. A plush sofa sat right in the center of the living room, while a row of brand-new bookcases stood against the wall. Tables, chairs, magic crystal lamps, and a constant-temperature magic circle were all fully provided.
Aside from a separate bedroom and bathroom, it actually came equipped with a small study and a training room.
It even had a kitchen.
Lynn walked over to the window and casually pushed it open.
A fresh breeze carrying the scent of flowers rushed into the room. Outside the window was a courtyard filled with scarlet maple trees. Through the gaps in the leaves, one could see a towering mage tower in the distance, as well as flying magical artifacts shuttling back and forth across the sky.
That old geezer Reinhardt finally did something decent, not making me stay in a miserable four-person dorm.
“Evil feudalism indeed...”
Lynn sighed in mock grief, then collapsed backward, sinking comfortably into the sofa.
“So soft.”
And honestly, it felt pretty amazing.
After enjoying it for a brief moment, he finally climbed back up from the sofa and began organizing the luggage he had brought along.
Lynn didn't have much luggage.
Most of his daily necessities were provided by the academy. The things he actually needed to bring himself were just a few sets of clothes, magic books, the silver sword Sena had gifted him, and various valuables that had been stuffed into his trunk before his departure.
Among them were even three bottles of precious potions that claimed to "rapidly restore energy."
Lynn picked up a bottle and shook it against the sunlight.
The crimson liquid cast a viscous luster inside the glass bottle.
Sena's exact words at the time were—
“Academy life is tough, and it's inevitable that you will feel physically exhausted, Young Master. These medicines can replenish your energy in a timely manner.”
Though when she said this, her playful gaze didn't look like she was concerned about his training at all.
What kind of physical activity do you think I'm going to be doing after entering the academy?!
With a darkened face, Lynn stuffed the potions into the deepest corner of the cabinet.
After putting away his clothes, he hung the silver sword on the weapon rack in the training room. The pale silver scabbard shimmered slightly under the magic crystal lamp, looking rather lonely compared to the otherwise empty rack.
“Knock, knock—”
The knocks were neither fast nor slow, the intervals between each one almost perfectly identical, carrying a sense of deliberately maintained elegance.
Someone is looking for me on the very first day of school?
“Coming...”
The door opened, and a head of brilliant golden hair was the first thing that came into view.
The young girl wore a pristine white cathedral dress, her slender waist cinched by a golden belt to form an incredible curve.
She crossed her arms over her chest, her deep blue eyes narrowing slightly. On her flawless, exquisitely beautiful face hung her usual, irritating faint smile.
“My, my.”
Veronica tilted her head slightly and spoke with feigned surprise, “I didn't expect you to actually find your dormitory so smoothly. I thought someone would get lost in the academy until nightfall because they couldn't read the road signs.”
Her teasing tone suddenly paused. “What is with that look of disappointment on your face?”
“...It's nothing.” Lynn looked down from his height at the brilliant golden pint-sized potato in front of him, letting a perfect hint of pity show in his eyes.
Veronica's temple twitched.
【Emotion Points +40】
She took a soft breath and forced herself to swallow the mockery that had rushed to the tip of her tongue.
Today is the first day of school. I can't get angry.
At least, I can't start a fight with this bastard the moment we meet.
She put on a flawless, Saintess-like smile. “Aren't you going to invite your guest in to sit?”
“But I didn't invite you over.”
“...”
【Emotion Points +50】
The smile on Veronica's face grew even more radiant.
Lynn could almost see a dark aura slowly rising behind the girl. In the end, he stepped aside and cleared the doorway.
“Come on in.”
“Hmph, that's more like it.”
Veronica raised her chin slightly and walked into the living room with elegant steps.
She looked around with apparent nonchalance, but her gaze secretly swept across every corner of the room.
A single bedroom. A separate study. A spacious living room. And an attached room on the side.
It was completely consistent with the information she had received beforehand.
In addition to the master bedroom, the first-class apartments in the Vermilion Garden also came with a smaller attached bedroom. Nominally, it was for servants or accompanying personnel, but as long as one had an attached keycard authorized by the master keycard, they could also freely enter and exit the apartment.
Of course, she definitely hadn't come for that attached keycard.
She was just passing by, and it just so happened to occur to her that Lynn, being at the academy for the first time, might not be used to it.
As childhood acquaintances who could barely be called friends, it was only natural for her to come over and show a little concern.
That was right.
And nothing more!
Rate on N.U.
