Jake eyed the other students first before he introduced himself. Out of all the students, he recognized two people, and he was close to a particular person in the class B. She waved her hand at him, and he only replied with a smile, making the other girls blush.
Jake stood up and introduced himself. "My name is Jake Butler. I am from the Peridot Continent. I love to sleep, so I'd appreciate it if you don't bother me when I am sleeping. Other than that, please take care of me in the future." He bowed politely and sat on his seat again.
Fang Whitehound clapped and said, "Does anyone have any questions for Mr. Butler?"
With that, many students raised their hands, especially girls. They asked trivial things such as 'are you a noble?' or 'do you have a girlfriend?'
Jake's answer to those questions were yes and no. Jake's father's family was one of the biggest nobles in the Peridot Continent. As for his mother's Butler family, they were considered a noble family too. As for girlfriend, he was never interested in romantic relationships so far. Of course, he was close to a few girls, and some looked at him as a man. However, he never looked at them the same way. What could he do when he wasn't interested in the first place? Maybe a girl that would make his heart flutter would appear in his life, but before she showed her face to him, he would enjoy his life as it was.
Though Jake didn't enjoy this 'ask a question session'. He wished they would ask an important question if they wanted to ask question to him. Many people raised their hands, but he guessed they would ask another trivial question, so he raised his hand and spoke, "Teacher. I suggest you to add a limit to people's questions."
"Nice idea. Okay, I will let another two questions for Mr. Butler. Those who have unimportant questions can put down their hands," Fang Whitehound said, but only a few people put their hands down. He sighed and randomly pointed at someone. "You can ask a question."
A black-haired boy stood up. His cute face blushed when people looked at him. He shyly glanced at Jake and asked, "Forgive me if I am being rude, but your eyes are unique. I know you have eye-related ability, but I happened to see your face before you stepped up onto the stage. Your eyes were the same."
Jake clapped his hands once, making him stop and apologize. He shook his head, indicating he was fine. For once, he was glad for a question. He predicted his eyes would bring him problems, so he was glad to have a chance to explain it.
"I understand well what you want to ask. I am a pure human. The academy can testify to it. However, my mother is a demon. She married my human father and had me. Although I am a human, I inherited these eyes' characteristics from her."
As he explained that, people started to whisper to each other. Jake smiled bitterly at their reaction, but he was mature enough to understand them. After all, demons were the common enemies of humans and many living creatures throughout the world. Around 20 years ago, humans had waged war against the demons, and they had won it. Even though they had killed the Demon King, they had suffered great loss too. Countless people had died.
People who had lost someone they held dear were alive. That was the reason the hatred against demons was still big.
Being the son of a demon, Jake was used to discrimination, but he never cowered and tried to fit into the society for the sake of his peaceful life. Through the sheer of hard work, perseverance, and failures, he found a way. He concluded people's desire was greater than other emotions, so if he could hold their desires, people would bear with him, while trying to squish him dry. As his father once said, Humans' greed knew no bounds.
Jake needed to hold their desire somehow. For if he left their wariness alone, he would become the target of their hatred. They would come as one, but he would be left alone, and he didn't want that, so he began to think of a solution.
What could he bring to the table, so people could eat from him? The answer was simple. He had abundant talent and connection, and some people would want to get close to him no matter what his identity was. He was the food. Though, revealing his cards at a random moment would be considered awkward. He needed the right moment to reveal one of his cards.
Luckily, the same guy asked another question that could help him to reveal his card. "What is your intention of attending this academy? I am sure there are good academies in another continent too."
"Mr. Hall, one question per person," Fang Whitehound interrupted.
Jake raised his hand and said, "Let him, Mr. Whitehound. I like the question. What is my intention of attending this academy?"
Jake smiled. He finally had a chance to show one of his cards. "Simple. I had no intention. As you said, there were many top academies like this academy in my hometown. I originally planned to attend a certain academy there, but someone requested me to attend this academy. You can ask my cousin over there.
Jake pointed at a blonde woman who wore a blindfold. "Her mother asked me to attend this academy."
"Isn't that... Princess Marilyn?" a man asked.
"If the princess is his cousin, that means...."
"Her Majesty the Magic Empress is his aunt?"
"Correct," Jake said. "So you can doubt me if you don't trust me. Instead, believe in your ruler. I believe I have answered all the questions. You can proceed to the next person, Mr. Whitehound."
Mr. Whitehound nodded and looked at Ms. Green. Skye Green looked at the student data she was holding and called, "B-1. You can introduce yourself."
The blindfolded girl stood up gracefully, but she didn't immediately introduce herself. If one inspected her carefully, they could see her trembling arms. Her face was blushing that people could tell she was nervous without looking at her eyes.
"What's wrong, B-1? Speak up," Ms. Green said coolly while looking at her with her sharp eyes.
"M-Marilyn Norrington. Please don't be kind to me."
Without waiting for the teacher's instruction, someone raised his hand and asked, "Did you mean please be kind to me?"
"Ah, ah, I slipped out. P-please don't bully me," she said while closing her face.
The one who asked the question suddenly felt the chill on his spine as people glared at him. He immediately stood up and said, "P-princess, calm down!"
"Kya! Forgive me for being alive!" Marilyn ran away and slipped out. She fell and crashed her face against the ground, making everyone silent. Fang Whitehound, however, found this funny and let out a small laugh. Hearing that, Marilyn stood up and cried as she left the room.
"Mr. Whitehound, you made the princess cry. Do you know you can be jailed for this?" Ms. Green glared at Mr. Whitehound as she brought her face close to him.
Mr. Whitehound gulped and said, "Please don't report me, babe—I mean Ms. Green. We must send someone to chase her first."
Ms. Green fixed her glasses and pointed at Jake. "You, aren't you the princess's cousin? I order you to chase her."
Jake sighed and slapped his face. He hadn't met Marilyn for a few years and thought she had changed. It turned out she was still an overly introverted princess.
Even though he knew about her personality, Jake thought it wasn't his job to chase her, so he wanted to refuse. However, he had an idea. If he went, he could make an excuse to skip the class. Thinking about that, he said, "Good grief. I guess it can't be helped."
Jake left the auditorium and began his journey to search for the princess. His journey lasted for a few minutes as he found her in the garden at the back of a certain building. The blindfolded girl found him and smiled. She held her wavy, short golden hair and said, "Hi, we finally have time to chat."
Jake sighed. He didn't lie when he said she was an overly introverted girl, but she wasn't a clumsy, innocent girl that people thought of. She was cunning. She would do anything to please herself to the extent of acting like a stupid girl in front of other people in order to put them off guard. The only people who knew about her true self was Jake and her mother.

"As clever as always, Marilyn. You shouldn't trick your entire classmates and teachers like that."
"Hehe, In the end I helped you to get what you wanted, right? Let's just relax until school is over." Marilyn patted the empty space at her side enthusiastically.
Jake thought it wasn't a bad offer. He had got permission to leave the class. He could just say he couldn't find Marilyn later, so his attendance wouldn't get erased.
Jake approached the carpet on the ground and lay on the opposite side of her. However, Marilyn crawled toward him and lay beside him. She positioned her body sideways and looked at Jake with an enthusiastic expression.
"Do you want some snacks?" Marilyn asked.
"I have eaten my breakfast," Jake said, yawning.
Marilyn pouted at the refusal. "All of these are handmade. I didn't ask the royal chefs for assistance. I learned the recipe and made these all by myself."
Jake laughed when he heard that. He was genuinely impressed that the person, who had a similar lazy nature such as himself, tried hard to do something. He faced Marilyn and praised, "I am glad you have found another hobby than studying magic. Aunty will be proud of you."
Marilyn blushed when she heard his compliment. "Then... Do you want to try one?"
Jake rubbed his chin and pondered. In his mind, he was calculating all the food and nutrition that had entered his body this morning. "I guess one cookie won't hurt," he said after reaching a conclusion.
Marilyn happily pulled a basket of various cookies to him. As Jake pulled one cookie and ate it, she put on an expectant expression.
"Hm, it is buttery and sweet. The texture is smooth, and it is easy to swallow. Girl, if you don't want to be an empress or a wizard in the future, you need to open a bakery!"
Marilyn's lips rose up into a wide smile. "Was it that good?"
"I won't tell a lie to my friend," Jake assured.
"Hehe, if I open a bakery in the future, will you come everyday?"
"Haha, my body will be out of shape if I eat cookies everyday. But hey, aunt has a sweet tooth. She will be happy to eat your cookies everyday."
"Heh, forget it. I won't open a bakery. My future is set out anyway."
Sensing the gloomy mood, Jake decided to take another cookie. "How are you?" he asked, breaking the ice.
"Normal. I and my feelings never changed, but I heard a lot happened to you. I always heard about you from mom. You have never sent a letter to me since I last saw you a few years ago."
Jake looked at the blue sky and recalled his memory. There was a time when he decided to lose contact with all his childhood friends. It was due to personal reasons, so he didn't have a reason to tell Marilyn, his childhood friend.
"Hey, to tell the truth, your mom asked me to attend this academy. She said I have to win the Young Heroes Tournament. Don't you think participating in the tournament sounds like a pain in the arse? That's why I am planning to make my classmates stronger instead. Help me, Marilyn. You nurture your classmates. I do mine."
Marilyn put on a disappointed expression. She packed the basket and stood up. "I suddenly remember I have an important matter to do."
As she turned around, Jake noticed her blindfold was wet. He watched as she walked away and stopped. "I will always help you, Jake. Forever."