“LOOK, it’s Master Arius!”
“And he’s with Prince Vern!”
We drew attention from the students nearby when we got to the cafeteria, eliciting squeals from the girls. Part of this was because of the rumors Eric spread about me handling things during the dungeon practical, but the other part was because, like me, Vern was a hot love interest from Love Academy and a prince of the Granbride Empire. The two of us were always going to stand out.
“Ah, we met at the party the other day, didn’t we?” Vern asked a girl who called out to him. “I’ve got a prior arrangement today, but why don’t we grab something to eat together sometime?”
He was used to dealing with girls and responded to them as if it were nothing.
“Master Arius, are you going to lunch?” a girl questioned me.
“Master Arius, would you like to sit with me while you eat?” came another.
Ever since I started making high society appearances, I kept bumping into more people in the Academy I had met. Eighty percent of the students were nobles, meaning there were many opportunities to see each other in the social sphere. The older girls, particularly, didn’t hesitate to approach me. It was a pain responding to each and every one, but I couldn’t just ignore someone I had gotten acquainted with.
“Sorry, there’s something I need to talk to Vern about. Next time, maybe,” I offered, turning down invitations as I picked up a tray and joined the line for food.
“Seems you’re starting to get used to this sort of thing,” noticed Vern with a grin.
“Of course I am. Looks like it was the right decision to learn from you when it comes to dealing with girls.”
Vern and I each picked up enough food to feed five people and went to an open table. Both of us could eat a lot, and the food quickly started to disappear. That was probably another reason we stood out. Not that I cared that people were looking.
“Hey, you planning on entering the Combat Tournament?” Vern asked.
“Yeah. I did get selected.”
For some reason, I’d been selected for the tournament even though I’d been skipping classes a lot lately. I decided I’d forfeit if I ended up fighting against Keith, though, since I wanted to let Eric handle him. Besides, it felt somehow against the rules for an SSS-rank adventurer to take part.
“What’s this, friend? You don’t seem that enthused, but I’m certain you could be champion.”
A reaction rippled through the other students nearby when they heard Vern say that. Some of the older students shot me blatant dirty looks. Not a surprising response.
There were rumors about me, but it wasn’t like the other students had actually seen me fight. The dungeon practical class was separated by years anyway, so people figured I was just good for a first year.
“I don’t plan on taking it seriously,” I answered. “Don’t expect much from me.”
As we were chatting, Sophia and Milia approached our table.
“Prince Vern, Arius, do you mind if we join you?” asked Sophia.
“No, but should you be leaving those girls to come here?” I questioned back. The two of them had been chatting with some other girls while they ate. When we started at the Academy, Sophia had been surrounded by the noble girls, and the faction was all she thought about. When those girls bullied Milia, Sophia stepped in, which led to Milia and Sophia becoming friends. From then on, Sophia took the initiative to engage with other students regardless of status or faction.
Even the table her entourage had claimed as their own had started to be used by other students as Sophia invited them to join.
“It’s fine. We eat with them all the time,” she deflected.
“You might be concerned, but they’re actually all jealous of us,” spoke Milia.
She was right. It wasn’t just the girls at the table the two of them had been eating at either. The girls who had invited Vern and me were also shooting them envious looks. The reason they didn’t come over to try and join in was probably because they were hesitant to interfere with Sophia, the daughter of Duke Victorino and Eric’s fiancée.
“You two have been eating together a lot in the cafeteria lately,” commented Milia. She was the heroine of Love Academy and was reincarnated into this world like me.
When she started at the Academy, she had been acting like Milia from the game because this was the world depicted in it. Now, Milia was being honest with her emotions and letting that guide her actions.
“It’s ’cause Arius doesn’t go to class. Lunch is the only time I get to see him,” complained Vern, which made Milia give me an exasperated look.
“You feel the same way about that?” She challenged me, “You seriously skip class so much and basically don’t go to afternoon classes, do you?”
Part of it was because afternoon classes were combined with the other groups and focused on practical skills, meaning I couldn’t read during them. If I skipped my afternoon classes, I could focus on the dungeon for half a day.
“I know you’re busy with adventuring, but not everyone gets the chance to come to the Academy. You should attend lessons more,” she chided.
I hadn’t told her or the others that I was Arius the SSS-rank adventurer, but I hadn’t hidden from them the fact that I was still adventuring. There were your normal dungeons in Ronaudia after all, and it wasn’t all that hard for students to also be adventurers while attending the Academy.
“I can get my credit from passing the exams even if I don’t go to class,” I said. “If you’re worried about my grades on the tests, well, you don’t need to.”