“What kind of Evomon is that? I've never seen that species before.”

“Isn't it just a pet, not an Evomon?”

“It does look that way. It doesn't look strong at all.”

The students whispered about Flokiro.

“It doesn't look like a combat type.”

“Just what you'd expect from a slum dweller. Even his contracted Evomon is pathetic.”

Flokiro's ears twitched at their derisive snickering, a sign that he heard every word. But he did not growl.

Whatever others thought of him, Flokiro was confident in himself. Their opinions meant nothing to him. Instead, he straightened proudly and swept his gaze over his surroundings, his composure at odds with his small, adorable appearance.

Only his exterior was small and adorable. Like Yuto, Flokiro had the mind of a seasoned warrior who had triumphed on countless battlefields. Yuto watched him with a gentle smile.

He did have one small concern. These comments did not unsettle Flokiro in the slightest, but there was no telling what would happen when he came face-to-face with Shiro Ristal.

They had practiced controlling their emotions ever since the party: listening to Shiro's name, thinking of him, and talking to each other about the things he had done. The training was meant to ensure they would not reveal their murderous intent when they saw Shiro at the academy.

Flokiro had not trained alone. Yuto had joined him. It had been painful, but necessary for them both. It was not yet time to reveal their desire to kill Shiro.

“That slum dweller came on Marigold's recommendation, didn't he?”

The students turned their attention to Yuto.

“What could Marigold be thinking? However much he helped them, it's only natural for a slum dweller to serve nobles. Does that really warrant a reward?”

“The reward is certainly excessive. This is an insult to Maria Academy and to us. Are we supposed to share a space and breathe the same air as some slum dweller?”

“However influential they may be, they're still a merchant family. They lack a proper noble mindset. Just look. They rode in the same carriage as a slum dweller!”

The whispers reached Levian as well. Just as she frowned and began to turn, Yuto strode forward. He approached the students who had mentioned Marigold and Levian.

“Wh-what is it?”

A plump-cheeked noble boy flinched and blurted out the words. For a moment, he could only feel bewildered by his own reaction.

He had heard the rumors about Yuto. The benefactor who had saved the head of House Marigold. The adventurer who had vanquished the Black Mages in Belkain. Rumors were always exaggerated to some extent, but he must have at least some skill.

Even so, he was a slum dweller. Someone who should kneel and bow his head before nobility. If such a wretch approached with his eyes raised, a noble ought to be furious. He ought to roar, “How dare you look me in the eye,” slap him, force him to prostrate himself, and trample him underfoot.

But the boy could do none of that. The slum dweller stood right before his nose, glaring at him. He ought to be angry, yet no anger came. Looking into those eyes made his shoulders hunch and his body tremble. His gaze kept threatening to drop.

“Apologize.”

Yuto whispered. Despite being a slum dweller, he showed no deference when addressing a noble. His tone was an order, the kind one gave an inferior.

“Apologize to me, to House Marigold, and to Lady Levian.”

“Ugh... uh...”

“Apologize, and I'll forgive you.”

A slum dweller was speaking of “forgiving” a noble. That, too, was unthinkable.

“I... I'm sorry.”

Something even more unthinkable happened. The trembling noble bowed his head and apologized to a slum dweller.

“I forgive you.”

With that reply, Yuto turned away. All the students around them stared in astonishment, looking back and forth between him and the bowed noble. They had not felt Yuto's oppressive presence. Only the noble boy, whose head was still lowered, had felt it.

Levian stared blankly at Yuto before letting out a little laugh.

“How gentlemanly of you. I thought you would at least slap him.”

“We'll be seeing each other at the academy from now on.”

Yuto answered with an indifferent expression.

“Classmates should get along.”

Levian blinked at his answer, then laughed again.

“You've gotten much better at making jokes.”

Yuto shrugged and started toward the end of the bridge, with Elun and Flokiro following. Levian quickened her pace to walk half a step ahead of him. It was the position she chose as his senior at the academy and as a daughter of House Marigold, his sponsor.

The students' whispers subsided at the sight of Levian leading the way. Only a minority scorned her house for being merchants. Marigold was the wealthiest family in Merchant City, its influence rivaling that of high-ranking nobles.

The boy who still stood trembling with his head bowed was simply a fool who did not even understand that reality.

“Levian! My senior!”

Two pure-white towers rose at the end of the bridge. A female student standing nearby approached Levian with a radiant smile.

“I heard you were coming back!”

“It's been a while. But I'm not your senior anymore. I'm returning as a second-year.”

“Oh...! I'm sorry. I'm still not used to it.”

Levian had greeted her with a bright smile as she corrected her. The girl replied awkwardly, then turned her gaze to Yuto.

“And this is...?”

“Yuto. A new student this year. You've heard the rumors, haven't you?”

“Yes, I have. He saved the head of House Marigold and vanquished the Black Mages in Belkain...”

The girl looked Yuto over, briefly glanced at Flokiro beside him, then let her gaze settle on Elun. She tilted her head at the sight of Elun before composing herself and greeting Yuto as well.

“It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Rophia, of Count Sevan's family.”

“I'm Yuto.”

Rophia turned back to Levian.

“Senior Lev— ahem, Lady Levian. I'll head inside first.”

“Weren't you waiting for someone?”

“I was waiting for you, Lady Levian. But you have company, so I would feel awkward joining you.”

“All right, then. See you later.”

Watching Rophia leave, Levian spoke.

“She's been following me everywhere since last year.”

“She seemed kind. I didn't see any hatred toward slum dwellers, either.”

“Are you serious? Rophia only smiled and greeted you because I was beside you. She's a social climber. The reason she followed me around was to establish friendly relations with Marigold and persuade us to invest in Count Sevan's house.”

Levian shook her head as she grumbled. Many people around her coveted Marigold's wealth, just as Rophia did.

“Still, by academy standards, Rophia's reaction was fairly decent. Most people wouldn't smile and greet you even with me beside you.”

“I suppose not.”

Yuto nodded and looked back. Carriages packed the enormous bridge, and the students who had disembarked were making their way toward them. Levian tilted her head at the sight.

“But... there's something strange about this year's entrance ceremony. There are far too many new students.”

Yuto narrowed his eyes without answering. He shared her sentiment. No year at Maria Academy had more than two hundred students at most. When he had enrolled in his previous life, there had been a hundred and fifty new students, including him.

Yet the number crossing the bridge now was already well over two hundred.

'It's different from my previous life.'

Maria Academy was Callisto's foremost educational institution. Only nobles and royalty could enroll.

Status, however, was merely the first requirement. To gain admission to the academy hailed as the finest educational institution, one needed exceptional ability on top of the requisite standing.

The academy selected new students in three ways. The first was to send admission certificates to members of royal and illustrious noble families who were considered, at the very least, prodigies.

The second was through applications. In the first case, admission certificates went to children whom the academy had already assessed, but the application route was more demanding. The academy reviewed prospective students' applications internally, then dispatched a representative to test their abilities in person and confirm their eligibility.

The third and final route was the special scholarship admissions track. This involved purchasing eligibility for admission with an enormous sum of money.

It served children of noble families with little talent but more money than they knew what to do with, who wanted the prestige of having attended Maria Academy. Or commoners with talent but no standing, sponsored by nobles or foundations.

Yuto belonged to the latter category. He was a slum dweller, and he had received a letter of recommendation from House Marigold.

'There must be a reason the intake has increased this year.'

Maria Academy was steeped in pride over being Callisto's finest educational institution. The idea that it had abruptly changed its ethos and lowered its admissions standards this year was absurd. There had to be a definite reason for so many new students.

'Even the academy is ultimately in the palm of the constellations' hands.'

However impressive Maria Academy might be, its buildings still stood on the continent of Callisto. And Callisto lay in the constellations' palms, with everything beneath their gaze.

If something had changed completely from his previous life without his involvement, there were only two possibilities.

Either Shiro had done something.

Or the constellations had.

'Even Shiro can't manipulate the academy at will. This is... the constellations' intervention.'

Why had they intervened? Yuto clenched and unclenched his fist as he considered it.

'It must be because of me.'

Yuto had vanquished the Black Mages in Belkain and destroyed the factory producing corrupted aether. No one had caused a greater storm in the continent's rumor mill of late.

The constellations looked down on Callisto and treated human lives as entertainment. What they particularly enjoyed watching were “heroes.” They deliberately created heroes, watched their lives unfold, then brought them to tragic ends.

That had been Yuto's fate in his previous life.

'Unlike in my previous life, I'm not a hero created by the constellations. That will only make them more interested in me.'

And now Yuto had entered Maria Academy through the special scholarship admissions track.

Ordinarily, that would have been the end of the matter. But Yuto was certain that the impending entrance ceremony would differ from the one in his previous life.

* * *

Maria Academy occupied an entire island, and it contained more than school buildings. It was, in effect, a small city centered on the academy.

Before entering the city proper, the returning and incoming students gathered in an enormous auditorium near the bridge.

The senior students, including Levian, went upstairs to look down on the newcomers, who stood in rows on the ground floor facing the stage.

The headmaster and professors stood onstage. Yuto had been watching them when a commotion nearby made him turn.

The tightly packed new students were parting to make way. Yuto composed his expression at the sight of the young man and woman approaching.

“Yuto.”

Shiro smiled and waved to him. Unlike at the party, he had set aside some of his princely authority, his smile and manner more approachable.

“It's been a while. Have you been well?”

Beside Shiro, Shirin greeted him with a beaming smile. The twins of Ristal's royal family wore the same academy uniforms as the other students, yet an intangible elegance gave them an entirely different air.

“It has been a while.”

Yuto bowed his head in greeting and glanced at Flokiro. His partner's expression was no different from usual, thanks to their emotional training. Without betraying any murderous intent, Flokiro bowed to Shiro and Shirin.

“Is this your Evomon, Yuto?”

Shiro looked down at Flokiro with interest shining in his eyes. Flokiro raised his bowed head beneath that gaze and answered in a dignified voice.

“A pleasure to... meet you, Your Highness. My name is Flokiro, Yuto's partner.”

His voice trembled a little, but no more than could be put down to nerves before a prince. Shiro smiled and nodded.

“It's a pleasure to meet you, but please don't call me Your Highness. We are at Maria Academy, after all.”

It was not that distinctions of rank ceased to exist at the academy, but Shiro did not want to be called “Your Highness.” He particularly wanted to avoid it from Yuto and those associated with him. That form of address created far too much distance.

“...”

An Evomon emerged from behind Shiro. It was roughly Flokiro's size, but wore pure-white armor and a helmet.

“This is my partner, Lumineos.”

“My star, the title of partner is far too great an honor for me. Please consider me merely your servant.”

Lumineos lowered himself before Shiro as he spoke. Shiro chuckled softly and shook his head.

“As you can see, he is a very loyal Evomon. Excessively so, at times.”

Flokiro and Lumineos faced each other. Flokiro's eyes trembled faintly. Just as Yuto had considered Shiro a friend and comrade-in-arms, Lumineos had been the same to Flokiro.

“Hmm...”

Shiro looked around at the new students. Many were watching them in astonishment, surprised to see the renowned prince and princess of Ristal on such close terms with a mere slum dweller.

“There are a great many new students at this entrance ceremony. I would estimate at least a thousand.”

Shiro spoke in a whisper.

“They surely won't accept this many into the first year, so...”

“There will be a selection exam.”

Yuto finished Shiro's thought.