The next morning, Jin’s first appointment in Nineveh was none other than a meeting with the homeroom teacher of Class A in the faculty office.
“Ethan Raven, you’re the transfer student who will be joining Class A from today.”
The homeroom teacher of Class A, Ethan Raven, appeared to be very stiff, cold, and had an impression of being extremely rational; it’s said that he indeed has such a personality.
To put it positively, one could say he has a strict separation between public and private matters, but in truth, he seemed like just a rude person.
“I’ve heard from the Chairperson. You’ve gained admission to Nineveh using the privilege of special admission.”
“Yes.”
“Seeing that there is no surname written, it seems you’re a commoner. Is that correct?”
“That is correct.”
Since it was not something he needed to hide, Jin calmly nodded. Above all, being misunderstood as a commoner was a hundred times better than being suspected of being a spy.
But why was he suddenly asking if he was a commoner? Was he going to say something like how could a lowly commoner dare to crawl into Nineveh?
“Nineveh is an educational institution established by the Seven Heroes to fight against the impending doom that will someday come. Since it was founded with such a noble purpose and ideology, Nineveh imposes no conditions or restrictions on students who wish to enroll.”
So what about it? Jin stared at him with a look that said just that, but Ethan simply regarded him with an expressionless face.
He didn’t even twitch his eyebrows from start to finish, which made Jin admire him inwardly.
This man probably would have made a name for himself as a gambler in a casino rather than as a teacher.
“However, realistically speaking, it is almost impossible for everyone to enroll in Nineveh without being bound by social status or other limitations. This is because Nineveh requires astronomical tuition and enrollment fees to prevent riffraff from enrolling.”
“Yes, I see.”
“Of course, for students who have talent but lack financial means, Nineveh has established various systems such as scholarships. But, as you know well, such systems benefit only a very select few students, which makes the majority of Nineveh’s members either from wealthy or noble families.”
While he was going around the point a bit, Jin had a rough idea of what he was trying to say.
In other words, Ethan was essentially saying—
“That is to say, in Nineveh, it is rare to find commoner students like you. Especially in Class A, which is made up entirely of noble students. I think it’s highly likely that you will have difficulty blending into the class.”
He was not dismissing Jin simply because he was a commoner; rather, he seemed to be genuinely concerned and trying to offer help.
“Especially once they find out that you were admitted through special admission as a descendant of the Seven Heroes, any animosity towards you is likely to grow even more. No matter how talented you are or how strict your upbringing has been, you are still just an immature student.”
“Moreover, Nineveh fundamentally adopts a stance of not interfering in the students’ matters. Even if all the students in the class unite to ostracize you, the staff won’t be able to take any significant action. While this is an educational institution, it also doesn’t have the bandwidth to act as guardians for the students.”
With that, Ethan placed a piece of paper in front of Jin. It was a request to transfer classes with Jin’s consent.
“If you’re okay with it, I think transferring to a class that has more commoners rather than staying in Class A, which is filled with noble-born students, is a good option. Jin, this may be an overstep for me, but there’s no need to walk a thorny path if you don’t have to. Certainly, you won’t gain nothing by staying in Class A, but the potential harm you might face is far too great.”
His words were clearly out of concern for Jin and were more of a suggestion than a coercive demand.
The fact that he didn’t dismiss Jin simply based on his social status clearly showed his willingness to leave everything up to Jin’s choice.
Well, his words weren’t baseless. Jin himself loathed the idea of being harassed by immature students who couldn’t even manage their basic needs.
Considering that avoiding a mess is not just about fear but also about the unpleasantness, transferring to another class to avoid the gaze of the noble students would indeed contribute to a more comfortable and manageable school life.
However.
“I’m sorry, but I’ll disregard that suggestion.”
That is precisely why Jin rejected Ethan’s proposal.
“Is that so? Is that your answer?”
To his surprise, Ethan did not seem offended or displeased by Jin’s outright rejection of his suggestion. He merely asked for the reason with a blank expression.
“Why is that? Can you tell me the reason?”
“It’s nothing much. I just thought transferring classes at this point would be a bit bothersome. And—”
“And?”
“…No, it’s nothing.”
Besides, Jin had not enrolled in Nineveh to study or build connections in the first place; whether he had no friends or ate alone didn’t matter to him at all.
Moreover, wasn’t Class A the one where Erekaya, whom Jin aimed to associate with, was enrolled? Under such circumstances, it would be absurd to flee to another class simply because he was afraid of a few immature students.
“If you say so, then there’s no helping it. I understand. In that case, I will consider the transfer request withdrawn.”
*Rip!*
As he said this, Ethan tore up the transfer request right in front of Jin.
What a refreshing action; he’s quite a character.
“There are about 30 minutes left until the common classes in Class A begin. It’s better if you head back to your class now.”
“Understood.”
“Oh, and one more thing. By special instruction from the Chairperson, you are to be regarded externally as a regular student who enrolled late due to an issue with the admission process, rather than a special admission student. So, be cautious when you speak about it anywhere.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
Jin nodded without any particular discontent at that statement. Well, the situation had somewhat deviated from his original plan to draw attention from Erekaya by flaunting his status as a descendant of the Seven Heroes, but that didn’t pose any real problem.
In fact, Jin found it somewhat enjoyable. It was like a game of hiding his real identity until a critical moment when he could reveal it.
Jin then made his way toward Class A. Honestly, he wasn’t very familiar with the layout of this place, but he had a talking navigation system in his head, so he wouldn’t lose his way.
As Jin opened the door and entered Class A, the classroom, which had been filled with noise just moments ago, instantly fell silent as if it had been muted. Students at the back began to stare at him with wide eyes, reminiscent of a scene from a horror movie.
“….”
“….”
What on earth was going on? Did I do something wrong? I didn’t expect them to clap or fervently welcome me, but this was a bit much, wasn’t it?
As Jin stood there, dumbfounded while surveying the classroom for an empty seat, a muscular pig with a ferocious face stood up from the back and started walking toward him.
It was unlikely that this intimidating-looking figure was stepping forward to help him find his spot.
“Hey, I heard you’re a part of Class A but enrolled late due to some circumstances. What’s your name?”
This muscular pig bluntly approached Jin without any formal greeting. He already had a menacing appearance, but now, with that frown, he looked like a thug.
However, one should never judge a friend solely by their appearance.
Jin resolved to treat this intimidating-looking figure with sincerity.
“Jin.”
“Jin? No surname? So, you’re saying you’re a commoner?”
“Yeah.”
“By the way, your speech is rather short for a commoner.”
“I heard it’s customary for classmates to speak informally here at Nineveh.”
“Oh, that? It is a custom. However, that’s just a guideline, not an official school rule. So, you can use informal or formal speech as you wish.”
“Really? Then I’ll stick to informal. I don’t want to use formal language with someone of the same age.”
In reality, this guy was easily at least a hundred years older, but he just didn’t care to delve into his background in an attempt to feel younger, even if just by a year.
“No, what I mean is, since everyone knows you’re a commoner, you should just—”
“Friend.”
Jin sighed deeply as he glanced at the pig-like figure in front of him.
Each time he looked at this pig-like guy loitering in front of him, it irked him.
Here he was, a moron who picked on him about being a commoner right after entering the academy. It was a cliché so overused that it could be considered fresh just for being so worn out.
Had he been in his old mindset, he would’ve turned that fool into roasted pig without a second thought, but starting trouble less than a minute after refusing the homeroom teacher’s suggestion and entering Class A didn’t seem right.
So, he aimed to resolve it as calmly as possible. A way where everyone could be happy, a very peaceful solution.
“Could you step back a bit? Your massive size is blocking the way, and I can’t reach my seat. So—”
“Get lost.”
Jin’s voice was very low and quiet. Unless someone concentrated, they wouldn’t even catch what he was saying.
However.
“…Huh?”
In the next moment, the figure standing in front of Jin suddenly felt suffocated.
His vision distorted. Everything in his sight turned monochrome. The air felt so heavy it was as if it were crushing everything down.
He couldn’t breathe. Unconsciously, he took a deep breath. This wasn’t right. Something was wrong. Just as he opened his mouth to say something,
“See? Isn’t it nice to be friends? Right?”
Suddenly, he had stepped back a pace. Just as he had mentioned earlier, he made way for Jin to smoothly reach his seat.
“Hey, buddy, we’re going to get along well from now on, right? Isn’t that so?”
Saying that, Jin playfully tapped the guy’s chin. To avoid offending him by only tapping his chin, he also patted his cheek.
“Hey? Not answering? When you act like that, it makes it seem like I’m threatening you. Isn’t that right?”
“Uh, um, yeah…”
Indeed, whether it was an appliance or a human, hitting them often made them obey better.
Feeling satisfied with having ‘fixed’ someone today, Jin quietly took a seat at the empty desk with a content smile.
Of course, he didn’t care a bit about the reactions around him.
‘Lucky me! To make a friend already, just like this.’
– What a punk, indeed.
Moreover, he didn’t pay much attention to the buzzing thoughts of Erekaya in his head.
For some reason, he had a feeling that he would be able to enjoy his school life ahead.
Of course, the others, excluding Jin, could hardly agree with that thought.