After exercising, Jake cleaned himself again, but he did it quickly because the class was about to start at 9.00 AM. After leaving his room, he visited the dining room and had a light post exercise meal before going to the classroom.
In the class, only girls had arrived first. There were only four girls in class A, and they got along real quick. He could tell it because their seats were close to each other, and they had easygoing expressions when they were having conversations.
One of the girls, a girl with thick eyebrows, noticed his arrival and waved at him. "Morning, Incubbus Prince. I hope the teacher didn't cause problems with you again," the girl said. She was called Olympia Claymore, ranked 11 out of 12 people in class A, and her talent was [Swordsmanship].
Jake's eyes twitched when he heard the nickname. He was a pure human, but her mother was actually a pure-blood succubus, so the nickname kind of hit the mark.
"Inccubus Prince?" asked the white-haired girl beside Olympia. She was Anastasia Remington, the number 5. Her talent was [Ice Manipulation].
"He stripped in front of Her Highness," a girl with black jet hair replied. Her name was Reina Rowe, the strongest female student in this class with two talents [Swordmaster] and [Mana Manipulation]. If Jake wasn't around, she would have taken the first rank in the class.
"Mr. Butler, you shouldn't think you can do anything just because you are handsome!" a girl with thick, wavy black hair scolded. Her name was Devina Foster, the second of the triplets in this class. She was ranked ninth, and her talent was [Barrier].
Jake obviously recognized all his classmates because he had read their information before going to the class. He memorized their information because he wanted to get close to them in order to commence his plan, but it seemed they labeled him as a pervert, at least the girls thought so.
"It was an unfortunate incident." Jake simply smiled at their gossips and walked past them. He had better things to do than going along with their prank.
"Come on. We are just joking around. Tsk, boring," Olympia said. "Man, I just want to talk with him more. He is so handsome," Olympia suddenly whispered to her friends.
Jake picked the rear seat because he didn't want to sit in the front. He immediately closed his eyes and tried to sleep until the class was starting. However, he still couldn't get used to the loud chattering around him. He sighed and said, "Ah well. I have had enough sleep anyway."
Jake looked at the girls and thought it would be good to join their conversation as he had nothing to do. Maybe he could get close with them. Of course, he didn't have a bad intention. He just thought it would be easy to persuade girls to get along with his plan if they were close. He had to bring victory to this academy in the Young Heroes Tournament, and he couldn't do it by himself. He needed people's cooperation.
Thinking about that, Jake had a reason to get close with the girls. He was about to stand up, but another student entered the classroom. He was a short black-haired boy with a cute face. He was the one who asked him two questions at the introduction event yesterday. His name was Cody Hall, and he was ranked the last in this class.
As he saw the cute boy, Jake suddenly thought girls could wait. Closening his relationship with the boys came first. "Yo, Cody. Come here."
Cody became alerted when Jake called him. The call attracted the girls' attention, and they darted their eyes around Jake and him. He scurried to Jake and asked. "W-we aren't close enough for you to call me by my first name, are we?"
"Sure. Allow me to call you by your first name then."
"O-okay, why are you calling me?".
"We are deskmates now."
"Why?"
"Because you don't have any plan to sit with anyone, right?"
Cody glanced at Reina Rowe before looking at Jake again. He sighed and put his bag on the table. "Why me, though?" he asked as he sat beside Jake.
"You just happened to enter the room first. Don't sweat the small stuff. Let's get along from now on."
Thus they spent time in silence and awkwardness. For Cody, not for Jake. Jake wasn't the type of person who liked to initiate conversation to begin with. If he didn't get a request from Aunt Mercedes, he would have spent his life in solitude. His plan for getting along with people? Well, he always believed people would eventually begin to care about each other if they spent time together. That meant someone's presence plus time spent together was equal to getting affection. Of course, it didn't mean he was bad at conversation. He was just a lazy person.
"Do you really have no bad intentions, Butler?" Cody asked, starting the conversation.
Jake stared at him with his odd eyes, making the latter nervous. As Cody averted his gaze, he asked, "You are scared of demons."
Cody scratched his neck and replied, "Isn't that the case for many people? Even though we have won against demons in the war, many people lost their lives in their hands."
"So... what's your story? The Holy War was over twenty years ago. We weren't born yet. If you have this much fear against demons, that means you have experienced first hand trauma."
"I—it's none of your business."
Jake nodded. "Well, as you are my deskmate, it's my duty to care for you. I can't provide you with a solution if you don't tell me anything, but I understand it. You don't have to tell me your secret. Just remember I will be here to hear your stories if you are willing from now on."
"Why go to such an extent? If I may ask?"
Jake smiled and patted his head. "Don't sweat small stuff."
"Yo, prince charming. I see you are already seducing another princess," Warren greeted. He came with Brian Foreman and sat in front of them. "Wait, isn't this Cody? So you swing that way, Butler. I for one will support you. That means less competitors."
"Shut your trap, Warren. I will pat you!"
"Wait, wait. I apologize. Please spare my beautiful head. I want my first head pat to be with a nice mama."
"Seriously. This teenager can't stop his raging youth hormones!" Brian Foreman complained as he slapped Warren's head. "Stop embarrassing me."
"I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling that people will have a bad impression about me if I hang out with you," Jake said to Warren.
"For real, man. You have no idea what he did in the dining room yesterday. He actually went and seduced a married woman!" Brian complained. "Man, I know Uncle Reid asked me to look after you, but I am on the verge of giving up here."
"It seems your families are close," Jake said curiously.
"Both of our fathers work in the imperial palace. They are best friends, so our families often have dinners together," Warren replied.
"And I am always worried when our families have dinners together because this fool likes to flirt with my mother. Anyway, don't ever introduce this guy to your mother."
"You are slandering me, Bri. I also like girls of my age too," Warren said.
"For real? Impossible. Then tell me one girl you want to date."
"Sure. I want to date Her Highness Marilyn!" Warren declared loudly, attracting disgusted gazes of the girls."
"Are you serious?" Brian asked lowly after sensing the girls' disgusted gazes.
"I am always serious, my dear best friend."
"But like... Why? I mean she inherited her mother's beauty for sure, but she is like the opposite of mature women that you like."
"Well it is a long story...." And thus, Warren narrated his flashback. According to him, he fell in love with Marilyn after she picked up his dropped cup cake in the dining room. Her innocent smile as she gave the cup cake to him made his heart race. Since then, he couldn't erase her smiling face from his mind.
"Okay. Give up," Brian said after Warren was done.
"Bro, that's cruel. Even I can feel hurt, you know."
"Well. You know I am a good judge of people, right?"
"You always brag about that," Warren said.
"Well, I hate to tell you, but her highness looks like a maiden in love. That means she already has a crush on someone."
Jake coughed when he heard that. He didn't want to think about the possibility for the moment. Luckily, Mr. Fang Whitehound suddenly entered the room, making them stop talking.
"Heya, student. Your lovely teacher is coming. Have you all had breakfast?" Fang waited for his students to reply before continuing, "Since this is our first official studying session, how about we just play a game? To be honest, I am too tired." He yawned, while the students looked at him with dumbfounded expressions. "I was joking, hahaha. Let's see. Today's regular class is about magic systems. Please open your book."
Fang Whitehound taught the students about the magic system in this world. For example, he explained that the level limit was level 100. One could level up when they absorbed the Legacy of living beings, and they had a small chance to inherit the talent contained in it. Of course, this information was basic, and many people already knew it. People started paying attention when Fang explained something new.
There were a few pieces of new information. When someone reached certain levels, they would face a wall that was preventing them from leveling up. They needed to break the wall somehow, but the solution was different for each of the individuals. Fang also encouraged the students to learn something new, even though they were not born with the magic talents because when someone worked hard to learn something, they would gain an ability related to their preserved hard work. For example, even if someone didn't have the talent to use swords, they could gain a new ability related to sword techniques if they worked hard enough.
Fang's speech encouraged everyone. Even Jake felt the same way with the other students. Even though he was blessed with talents, he never underestimated people without one. He knew well a perfect example of someone who reached the peak of the world with just hard work. The man was Jake's most respected person.
In his mind, Jake recalled the wide back of his father. Tang Xia was his father's name, and he was the strongest person in this world. The man was born without talent, even though he came from the prestigious Tang family. Yet, he never gave up. He trained the hardest, fought countless battles, and overcame failures in order to become the strongest. He was the man who had slain the Demon King of Gluttony in the Holy War 20 years ago.
His father was Jake's pride. Thanks to the man, Jake never looked down on anyone. He learned from his father to look at people as they were and not their potentials. That was why he would never give up on someone, even though they didn't have a talent.
After Fang Whitehound finished his lesson, he didn't immediately leave. He looked at the students and said, "I almost forgot. Every class will have a class president. The title is decided by ranks, so...." He pointed at Jake. "You are this class's class president, Jake Butler."
"Can I have a word about it?"
"No, everything has been decided."
"Oh, don't worry. I won't refuse the position." Jake stood up and looked at everyone. "I will be blunt. I am a lazy person. That's why I will order you guys around like a tyrant. You can't refuse because everything has been decided. And my first order is... you all have to be stronger, so we can reach first place in the Young Heroes Tournament!" So he could finally have a relaxed life in the academy.