[Zero's Pov]
'Haa... It's gonna be fine. Just smile, Zero!'
Standing in front of our homeroom, I had waited a bit extra to make sure that I would be amongst those who entered last. Why? The answer was simple. I needed to make sure that the first time they saw me again, I could control what kind of impression I would give them.
I was pretty sure that Stella and Thomas were still not opposed to calling themselves my friends, but there was no way the rest of the class would just accept what I did like that. So, what I had to expect was a mixture of fear and confusion.
Fear because of how impulsive I must have seemed, combined with the power I wielded, and confusion because of how much my actions had gone against the norms of this world, as well as how much the way I acted must've contrasted their first impression.
*Tack!*
And just like I thought, my entrance was met with silence and a bit of surprise, everyone looking like they had seen a ghost or something. But I couldn't let that deter me. Instead, Saint Zero entered with a warm smile that would envelop them all, to show that they were all still my family. "Good morning, everyone."
With that, I fulfilled the first part of the project 'redemption Zero'. a way too cool name for saying that I wanted them to be comfortable around me again. Now, it wasn't all bad as fear could to some extent be interpreted as respect, but that wasn't the way I would get them to follow me.
There were already enough individuals that people followed out of fear, and I had no intention to make Zero one of them. Not only because we didn't feel it was right, but because people who followed someone out of fear would always carry larger incentives to stab you in the back.
At the same time, a similar thing could be said about the opposite. If people didn't look at you with respect, there was no doubt they would try and use you. So it was a thin rope to walk, but if one managed to do so, they would no doubt be met with success.
However, as I took my usual place in the center of the classroom, I was a bit surprised to see Stella not sitting in the front anymore. Of course, Caroline didn't either, but that wasn't surprising at all. In fact, it was quite obvious that she would at least start by taking some distance, followed by reevaluating the situation.
After all, that was what snakes did when they saw prey they suspected was too big for them to swallow. Lie in wait and see if the situation changes, if it does, they go in for the kill. If not, then it just wasn't meant to be.
'But man, this is more awkward than I expected...'
No one in the classroom had spoken a single word since I greeted them, everyone just waiting for the teachers to arrive. And sure enough, they did.
*Click!*
A proper as always Ms. Turner and a very tired Mr. Abbas walked into the room, quickly getting to their positions. Or at least Ms. Turner did, standing in front of her podium, while Mr. Abbas just grabbed a chair and sat on it with his arms crossed and eyes closed.
"Good morning everyone."
Though she was politely smiling, I could see her eyes desperately trying their best to keep away from me but failing, showing just how nervous she was for me to be back. In spite of this, she kept going strong, making sure to keep her façade up.
It had to be quite hard for her, as she was the only one in the room who knew the truth about my condition, with everyone else being told it was a very dramatic effect of overusing my mana and getting hurt by Arthur's attack.
'Sophie, Ms. Turner, Dr. Smith, the principal, the king, and the pope... that is quite the number that knows my secret. No, now that I think of it, there's one more...'
There was another girl who knew about Zero's condition, a girl that I can't remember having spectated the duel between me and Arthur. 'I wonder what she was up to?'
Unfortunately for me, I wouldn't be able to get the answer that I sought, even more so as class carried on. As Zero, I was still determined to act as a model student, which meant I wasn't keen on missing out on what our teacher told us.
"This is now your second week at the academy. I hope you have all gotten into your courses smoothly, but from what I got to hear from Mr. Abbas, I don't think I have to worry about that."
Somehow, I felt like the air changed when she mentioned her male colleague, almost as if there had been some kind of incident that we didn't know about. But I had a feeling it wasn't exactly a good time to ask about it.
"For this week, there is nothing too special planned, however, because of some slight changes I need to inform you all that there will be a ranking tournament next weekend for you. Sadly, I also have to tell you that Zero will be exempt from the tournament because of some slight complications."
'She didn't tell me about this... Also, are we not going to have a survival competition this time around? Did they think it wasn't something that would be useful in the case of a war?'
Suddenly, as I realized what she was truly saying, a slight shiver went down my back, 'Wait... If I'm exempt from the rankings... Are they planning to...?'
And just like I dreaded, I became part of a huge cliche. "Instead, he will be ordinated rank 0, as we believed it would be quite fitting."
It was now a struggle to keep a smile on my face as I held myself from screaming. It truly, honest to god, didn't matter at all, but I didn't want to accept it. 'So fucking original! Rank 0 because my name is Zero?! How crazy is that?!'
Thankfully, there was one person who still had some reason to her in this room, raising her hand to question the extremely questionable decision, "Yes, Celina?"
"I am not exactly opposed to the decision itself, but would it be okay to ask for an explanation? It's hard to not view this as extreme favoritism if you don't tell us a reason for it."
'True! That's so true! Also, what about what I want? Are you just going to rob me of an opportunity to show off?'
All of a sudden, the emotion behind our teacher's smile changed from a polite one to a very uncanny one. "I'm very sorry, Celina. However, if you want, you are free to challenge him for his position if you want. We will not stop you."
The green-haired spear user got visibly pale as she pictured herself facing off against Zero, facing off against the blue violence that had shown no mercy against their sophomore.
"Ah... It's okay... That's fine..."
'No! Don't just give up, Celina! I don't even know who you are, but I know you have it in you! Stand up against oppression!'
The worst part about all of this was that I couldn't say anything about it. That would be like saying I wanted to fight just for the sake of fighting, or that I didn't care about what my doctor had advised me to do.
Sure, I could make a speech about equality and stuff, but it would just feel cheap if compared to the fact that this was something they chose to protect my life. And also a bit to protect the other students...
Not from physical ailments, as we would probably be fighting in the arena where they had that weird sort of magic that resurrected you, but from mental blows. Not everyone was as mentally strong as Arthur who could take having his heart destroyed by Sophie and then still getting in bed with her.
'Hmm, maybe is a masochist? That does feel like it makes sense when thinking about Sophie's violent tendencies... No! I don't want to picture that! Fuck!'
"... so that's why the sophomore's ranking tournament will be held the day after. We believe it is important for the nation to see the promising youths of the future before they get to know what might happen."
Because I had been too busy thinking of something I didn't want to think about, I had missed a bit of what my teacher had said, but I felt like I could guess what it was about.
"Also, the winner of the freshmen and the winner of the sophomores will be having a show match both in order to promote further cooperation, but also because it will be a good source of income for the academy."
'Ho? Now isn't that fun?'