"The entrance ceremony is beginning soon, all new summoners please assemble at the auditorium. Please remember to sit on the arranged chairs."
A large bird that looked like a cross between a pelican and a parrot gilded above the academy while doing an announcement. All the tests were now over and from the two hundreds of participants only about thirty made it into the prestige class.
This entrance ceremony was mostly there for these students. They would have their names and noble ranks announced to all the other students that didn't make it in. The ones wearing the black uniforms would have to take note of this as they would more or less be their subordinates in the future.
'I think we should hurry up, you are the girl of the hour Beatrice.'
At this moment a frantic Beatrice in a brand new white uniform was running towards this entrance ceremony. Due to the way the whole test debacle transpired the girl couldn't get much sleep.
The uniform that Beatrice was wearing looked strangely familiar to a regular school uniform. It was mostly white with a blouse, blazer, tie, a skirt, and white socks. The whole getup looked more modern and that it would fit into another setting entirely. This only made Zhang Dong attribute this to being another game or fantasy-like world that took inspiration from other works of fiction.
'They can't start without the 'star' student, now can they?'
Zhang Dong laughed while Beatrice groaned even more. A large shiny badge adorned her new uniform which signaled a certain rank. Each black-uniformed student that came across her stopped to take a double-take before dropping their head. It was clear that Beatrice had gained a special position by being first on the test.
He could almost feel the cold sweat that Beatrice was giving out the moment he mentioned her new rank. It was obvious that the girl was quite nervous about her new status. This was mostly his doing as he petitioned the Principal for more resources.
The only official way of doing such a thing was to give his summoner a special position in the school. This academy had some unique rankings for students that proved themselves to be exceptional. Thus Beatrice was given this position which made her soar above the rest, even above the high nobles and one of the members of royalty.
This was quite the big thing and also something that very rarely happened. Normally a person that was only a baron household would need generations to rise up in the ranks. Even then it was hard to get past the Count's noble rank.
But when a person with enough natural talent and strength appeared then it was slightly different. If the other high nobles weren't able to exert their status or power over such a person, the only way would be to have them join their ranks instead. Thus Beatrice was given a high position because Leigong the Lightning Emperor deemed it to be.
"If it isn't the new star of our academy!"
'Ugh… it's that guy again… can't you just ditch him? I don't like that look in his eyes…'
Zhang Dong complained as after arriving at their destination they were greeted by a certain green-haired youth. It was this country's prince that went by the name of Ludwig. For some reason, he had been poking his head into their business after Beatrice had come out on top.
The youth was behaving strangely from Zhang Dong's perspective. He was supposed to be the top dog in this academy and even had the highest status around by being part of the royal family. After getting crushed by Beatrice's results he expected Ludwig to show some animosity but instead, he was showing interest in her.
"Ahh… G-good day your Highness!"
Beatrice panicked slightly and quickly performed the usual greeting that a noble lady would give to a prince. The grass haired prince just chuckled while waving his hands.
"You don't need to do that, you outrank me in this academy now, you are the star student and not me."
This was something that came as a perk. Inside the academy, there was a different pecking order that could be enhanced by a student's grades. Depending on how well they did they could even start ordering high nobles around even when being of lesser descent.
Even if this was allowed by the academy no one would really go through with it. The lower-ranked students were still trapped in the thing called the status quo which was mostly decided at birth. Breaking off from old habits wouldn't come easy.
"I wouldn't dare, your highness is still a prince."
Beatrice started wiggling around rather frantically which made Ludwig smile even more.
"Prince, we shouldn't bother Lady Hohenberg, she has to prepare for her speech."
Another attractive looking male stepped forward. This youth was a bit taller than the prince and had a more robust build, his hair was quite reddish-orange which somewhat reminded him of his old friend Huo Qiang. His name was Lucas and he was this prince's personal bodyguard and a knight. Even though he was a knight he was also part of an influential family that outranked Beatrice in every way.
'What's with those hair colors…'
Zhang Dong was a bit suspicious about what this world was. At first, he thought that every person was similar to this carrot and moss head but after further investigation, this wasn't true. Most people had regular black hair and quite the average looks. Some others like these two had the more unique appearances, it was as if they were important characters in a story that were made to stand out. It looked like the rest of the people in the world were nothing more than filler that were just there to make these people shine.
'This might really be one of those otome games that I've heard about in my old life, never really played them much but could Beatrice here be the main heroine? Wouldn't that make that other girl the villainess?'
Almost on cue he and Beatrice could feel some killing intent coming their way. With a quick glance, they could see lady Isabella Hohenberg glaring at them from afar. She was mostly hiding behind a wide pillar with part of her head sticking out. She didn't do much to hide her presence so it was hard not to notice her glare.
"Is that so? Lucas might be right Lady Beatrice, I'll be looking forward to your speech."
The prince just smiled while leaving Beatrice alone for the time being. With the two stooges gone the girl that was hiding behind a pillar decided to show herself. She wasn't alone though as there were two other girls right behind her that were also part of the special students.
"What is that pungent smell?"
"You're right Lady Anne, it's the smell of unsophistication."
The two girls that were behind Isabella spoke out while laughing. It was clear that they were here to cause trouble and were here to cause trouble. Beatrice frowned at the group of three girls as she knew what they were doing.
"What's with that glare, a Baron's daughter dares look at us like this!"
This was also part of this world, someone of lower status was supposed to not look directly at someone of higher status. Their head should be down and only moved up when the person of higher status allowed it, very similar to the cultivation world that he was from.
Beatrice on the other hand didn't seem to be having any of it. She had clearly glared at one of the girls that were from a count's house which normally would cause some problems. The only thing saving her was the fact that she was a star student who had a special rank here. While in school she wouldn't need to bow her head before anyone besides maybe the instructors and the Principals.
"Why wouldn't I dare! I am the star student, you should show your respect to me instead!"
Zhang Dong could feel Beatrice's rage hitting a new high inside. It seemed that this mostly good-natured girl was finally reaching her boiling point. Even more when standing up against her biggest enemy, Isabella from the main house.
He could see the two noble ladies that were laughing at her being taken aback by the reaction. It was true that her special rank overwrote the previous placements but most of the people in this academy would still stick to the old roles.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, you might be the star student now but how long will you hold on to it?"
This was another thing about gaining the special rank. The student holding on to it would have to be on top of his or her class constantly. If someone else came out on top then the rank would go to them. This was also why not many people took it that seriously as most of the time this rank was passed around between the top 5 students. It was difficult for someone to hold onto it for more than a few months before the next big test or trial.
While Beatrice was angrily staring at the two noble ladies the main villain was just holding a fan in front of her face. Zhang Dong was only reminded of his own wife who liked to carry around similar fans to cover her face. He could kind of tell by Isabella's eyes that she was having a fun time and probably laughing while her two cronies fought with Beatrice.
'That little vixen probably doesn't want to get her hands dirty. It would seem out of place if someone from a duke household was seen fighting with a baron's daughter.'
The insults continued to fall from both sides and it didn't seem like it was stopping. Zhang Dong kind of knew what this was all about, the time for Beatrice's speech was coming out, and if this continued she would be late.
His lovely summoner seemed to have forgotten all about it while getting in a shouting match with these young girls. Normally he wouldn't care for something like this, he would even think it was fun to watch a little catfight. The problem was that time was of the essence, he was promised more books and more information about potential cube locations. Beatrice also needed to further increase her mana capabilities, without those he wouldn't be able to fully protect her.
'Beatrice, you'll be late just ignore them and walk away.'
The girl was brought back to reality the moment he mentioned that. She gave the two girls one last glare before walking towards the auditorium. The two ladies of course blocked her way which caused Zhang Dong to groan inwardly.
'Were these young master types always this annoying?'
Before the two could speak another word a burst of golden energy shot forward. It emanated from Beatrice's whole body and caused the two girls to fall on their butts. The only person that managed to take this slight energy shove was Isabella.
"Who dares block this Lightning Emperor's path!"
Soon the girls were treated to a rather cute looking version of Zhang Dong that he previously showed off in front of the Principal. The girls were rather stunned at his appearance, he was already able to get to this world on his own even without his summoner's mana flow. The only downside was that with this forceful summoning he couldn't exert much of his power. For that, he needed an official summoning from his contract. It had something to do with the laws of this world that even he couldn't break.
"T-this spirit… is it that naked man we saw the previous day?"
"W-why is it so small now?"
Zhang Dong frowned a bit as due to the nature of this form he wasn't very scary looking. Most of the people wouldn't really take him seriously but he had to show up to move things along.
"The next time you block my way, your lives will be forfeit! Now let us depart Beatrice, you have a speech to present!"
The girls looked at the small cute spirit while Beatrice walked away, none of them were sure how to react. Everyone saw how overbearing this spirit could be.
"Lady Isabella… should we follow after her?"
The lady named Anna asked while glancing at the duke's daughter but the only thing that Isabella muttered in response was.
"C-cute…"
"Lady Isabella?"
"Huh? Oh no, leave her alone… we should get to the auditorium with haste."
The girls scrambled to their feet while Isabella went ahead, the two not sure why she ordered them to stand down as this was her idea in the first place. Soon every student was present and the long boring ceremony started.