I was a bit late for lunch as even though our uniforms had a self-cleaning ability, which could easily be used by injecting a bit of mana, we still had to shower after. And it was awful. Dragging my aching body that I had abused in the gravity room into the locker room and having to raise my arms to take off my clothes... Ugh!
And now, I had to go through yet another challenge, making me feel as if I was Odysseus in the Greek epic. I was going to have lunch in the cafeteria.
Although my main body was eating at home already it would take too long to recall the clone and then re-summon it just for me to feel full. It was also good practice for me to get used to other people, something I desperately needed. It would just have been nice if it had been in moderation...
It didn't take long for me to see that Sophie, Arthur, Anna, and Sarah were already sitting together, enjoying their meals. 'Huh... I wonder why Arthur is looking so down... Not like it's my business!' This was my chance! I quickly sneaked my way to an empty table, making sure that the idiots didn't see me and pester me to sit with them. After all, it would only be unpolite if they saw my actions!
Feeling amazing, getting to practice being out in the open without people talking to me, I started to enjoy the delicious chicken and noodles that I had gotten served. *Bam!* "Hey, dork!"
Of course, things wouldn't go so smoothly. Turning my head to the side I saw who the intruders of my privacy were. Mike and John were standing at the edge of the table, with Mike having been the one to slam his hand down at it to get my attention.
'It happened too fast... I wasn't ready for this...'
There were some slight suspicions to be had that being in the spotlight yesterday would lead to these elitist snobs trying to snuff me out, but I had thought they would at least wait until next week. These were two characters that I actually clearly remembered from the game, as they were a big part of the early development of the hero and at that time I hadn't started to skip all the conversations.
Mike, the heir to the mighty Denver house of flame-wielding magicians, and John who was pretty much just his lackey. They were mobs in the game but in real life, I assumed that they would be pretty strong as it was the beginning of the semester.
"Hey! Didn't you hear me?!"
Mike appeared to be thinking that I was ignoring him while, in reality, I was just lost in thought, something that pissed him off immensely. As stated before, it wasn't a good time for me to get a target painted on my back. 'Glib tongue, activate!'
"Oh sorry! I was just surprised that the heir of the Denver family would take his time to talk to me. I've heard a lot about you! How you awakened your elemental affinity at a very young age and that you are pretty much a prodigy when it comes to fast-casting fire spells!"
Both of the guys were shocked at how I was wagging my non-existent tail like a puppy, even going as far as to stand up and interrupt my meal to pay respect. "Oh... Yea, that's me... Good that you know your place, commoner!"
Having no more words to say, they left me alone to finally finish my meal. However, it didn't take long for yet another visitor to come by, even going as far as sitting down in front of me. "Why did you act like that?"
A beautiful girl with silver hair with a delicate but still incredibly attractive body; Adriana had seen what had just gone by and came to talk to me as well, her voice reeking with arrogance.
'But for fuck's sake! I just got rid of those guys!'
'Good luck, sub-me!'
'Shut up!'
Once again I had to bring out my secret technique, although this time I couldn't help but show a tinge of sarcasm, "What brings a lovely princess like you to a lowly commoner like me?"
She didn't appreciate my politeness, her well-put face turning into a frown as she crossed her arms, "Don't do that. I don't know from which house you truly came from but you can't deceive me by trying to act like a commoner. There is no way someone with your talents wouldn't be from a powerful human family."
My brows raised as I heard her spouting some A-class stupidity. 'So here it is, the classic misunderstanding...' Even though it was pretty funny, it wasn't something that I couldn't use to my advantage. 'Be smart about this!'
"What do you mean, your highness? I think it should be pretty obvious that I am just an ordinary orphan?"
She gritted her teeth, annoyed that I was, in her mind, playing with her by spouting bullshit, "We both know that there is no way that an orphan would get their hands on a Manual that had a teleportation skill. Then there is also the fact that you either have an insane talent at mana manipulation or you have already gotten trained enough that you already know how to use it, meaning you are pretending you are a novice. Now cut the bullshit, I was promised that there would be no heirs from any of the hidden families before I accepted to become a symbolic student here for diplomacy!"
'Is everyone here just inclined to speak the first thing that ever comes to mind? Or maybe this isn't something that needs to be kept a secret?'
Putting my hands up in the air, I carried on with my act, though I was mainly speaking the truth, "I'm sorry Princess. I don't know what you are talking about. And about the Manual, it is just an ordinary ungraded Manual that I happened to come across by accident."
From my research, it appeared that ungraded Manuals weren't regarded all too highly in this world, mostly because not a lot of people seemed to be able to bring out their true potential.
Not able to take it anymore, she rapidly stood up and left me at the table with some last menacing words, "You are a snake, James! But don't worry, I will find out the truth and when I do, you will regret lying to me!"
Watching the elven princess walk away, appreciating the form that her lovely bottom took on in the student uniform, a grin emerged on my face. I did feel some slight angst because of the fact that I just pissed off a princess but I was pretty sure that she wouldn't stoop so low as to hire someone to attack me.
The princess herself wasn't weak by any means, and in the elven society, she was regarded as a prodigy that would only appear in a million elves. Sadly, humans developed their powers a lot faster than elves, as compensation for their much shorter lifespans. Where an elf could live for hundreds of years, the lifespan of an ordinary human in this world was just about 100 years, increasing depending on the rank that one managed to obtain.
This was also the argument I came up with to try and justify why she got placed in the B-class; In this academy, where most of the students were human elites, she was just a bit above average. I did think I remembered that she got pretty strong in the game though, so it would be fun to see her progress.
****
[Sophie's Pov]
'What are those idiots doing now?'
Mike had managed to gather the attention of all the students in the cafeteria when he slammed his hand down in front of James, actively trying to show off.
In return, I was now watching the goblin verbally prostrating, trying his best not to offend the red-haired youth.
"Sophie, should we go over there?", A worried Arthur asked me.
Knowing now that he had actively avoided sitting with us, I felt like I very much wanted to see nature take its course, "He is going to be fine. Relax."
"Oh, okay..."
And fine he was. It didn't take long for the Christmas heads to leave him alone as he continued his meal. However, just a minute later another person approached his table.
Adriana had walked right up to him and took a seat in front of him. Unfortunately, I couldn't hear what they were talking about, but judging by their facial expressions there was one thing I was sure of.
'He is being a moron again...'
It wasn't hard to see that Adriana did not like what James had to say as her face warped more and more throughout their conversation.
In the end, she just stood and left, with her last line being a lot more audible, "... you will regret lying to me!"
'Did he just piss off the princess of the elves during our third day of class? And what did he lie about? Maybe...'
As my mind spun, making a lot of incorrect assumptions that were mostly based on romance novels, Sarah spoke.
"Do you guys think Adriana and James have something going on...?"
She wore a face of indisputable worry, worried that maybe the one she was interested in might be dating another princess.
I liked Sarah a lot already. She was nice, polite, and gentle while still carrying herself with dignity and pride. Right now, however, she just looked like an ordinary teenage girl, having normal teenage problems.
Unfortunately for her, Arthur swooped in and made the situation even worse.
"Don't worry Sarah! We already know that he doesn't have time for love, he is too invested in his training!"
Sarah's small flicker of hope was snuffed out as Arthur indirectly told her that there was no way he would be interested in her.