"I am grateful for the opportunity. As headmaster Vendro'in said, in times of danger and the threat of demons eyeing out the Jewelboxia continent, the best choice of action is to create bonds of trust between our nations. Demonkin and demon followers thrive where the intelligent races are at each other's throats - and we cannot allow the tragedy of Rubia Archipelago to repeat itself!"
Melinda called out, instantly pulling on the heartstrings of the students of the Jade Academy - as the citizens of the Emeraldios Empire, since infancy, they heard stories about the former holy land of the goddess Perseverance's faith being lost to the hordes of demons decades ago.
"!!!"
Long story short, Melinda picked the right option, which was confirmed by the applause she received from the originally hesitant and distrustful crowd.
Of course, it wasn't a particularly vigorous one, but the few hot-headed students definitely saw the gold-haired girl as an ally already. Maybe not a completely trustworthy one, but that didn't really matter at the moment~
"..."
"Hmhm~"
The gold-haired girl couldn't stop herself from snickering lightly at the look in the headmaster's eyes he gave her after she pulled off that sort of cheap stunt.
Castor might have made a deal with Zane, but he clearly had his own opinion on the matter.
…and Melinda made a mental note never to forget that…
Since she didn't believe that should be the end of the performance, Melinda decided to play around just a bit, and instead of returning to her spot, she stepped back to the side, returning the spotlight to the black-haired headmaster, patiently waiting for a chance to spice things up.
"..."
Vendor'in stared at her for a second before stepping up.
"It's as young lady Fenrioette said! Demons and their abominable followers are never to be treated lightly, as their transgression against goddess Perseverance cannot be forgotten!"
The headmaster said, getting a much more enthusiastic cheer than Melinda attempting to one-up her.
"The goddess also didn't forget about it!"
"...?"
The black-haired man added, this time causing a slight consternation amongst the students with his choice of words.
"Some of you might already begin to guess, but the chosen champion of the goddess did appear amongst us! A champion who has the ability that, in time, will allow him to wield the goddess's sword left in the holy city buy Perseverance first Champion! Allow me to introduce the second special student enrolling in Jade Academy! Champion of the goddess Perservenace! Zane!"
"!!!"
Vendro'in announced with visible excitement, and the railed-up crowd let out a unison gasp as the main building backdoor opened and a tall man wearing the Jade Academy's uniform stepped out.
His mouth was slightly too wide, his green irises oddly distorted, and his limbs seemed disproportionally long, which was even more obvious because of his lanky torso.
Finally, his hair was pure white, although the ends were slightly grayish as if the black dye he had used for most of his life had not completely washed off yet.
His appearance was definitively uncanny, but the white hair—the known mark of the goddess Perseverance's champion—helped ease the brunt of the overall image.
"Hmhmhm~!"
Melinda perked up at his sight and couldn't stop her expression from brightening even if she wanted to.
"...!"
"...?!"
And then she did something that stunned both Zane and Castor—she stepped beside the headmaster and bowed towards the white-haired youngster.
It was a proper bow that nobles of lower status would use towards those of higher positions or those whom they respected greatly.
"Greetings to the champion of the goddess."
The gold-haired girl spoke up without raising her head while Zane had no idea how to react, and even Castor Vendro'in couldn't hold back a confused look as if all of his expectations were turned on their heads.
"Th-thank you. I am inexperienced but will do my best to meet the expectations everyone has of the Perseverance's champion…"
The white-haired monstrous man managed to bounce off the unexpected instantaneous support as he honestly expected to be the one doing the surprise and not being on the receiving side of it, and bowed back a bit awkwardly.
"Well said!"
The headmaster stepped forward to remind everyone that the gold-haired girl wasn't, in fact, the master of the ceremony.
"With that in mind…?"
"...!"
Alas, despite Castor's intentions, Melinda wasn't quite done yet as she reached out her hand, initiating a handshake with the blushing Zane.
"!!!"
"?!?!"
…and as the white-haired young man held her hand, the gold-haired girl leaned down and kissed it instead, showing him even more respect!
The onlookers couldn't notice, but Melinda playfully pinched Zane's skin with her lips before straightening her back and stepping back without taking her eyes off the increasingly red Zane.
"...~"
Melinda couldn't stop smiling, enjoying picking the most disruptive options out of all the choices available to her.
"Y-yes… that concludes this part of the entrance ceremony. First-year students stay behind for the tour around the campus. Everyone else, go to your classes. On behalf of the teaching staff at the Jade Academy, I wish you a fruitful academic year."
The headmaster hurriedly cleared his throat and declared.
Honestly, it would be a lie to say that his decision wasn't directly caused by the worry about what the gold-haired girl could do next.
The students began to move, most of them disappointed that the headmaster had not addressed the monster attack incident from the previous day.
"..."
The black-haired man gave Melinda a troubled look as if he wasn't sure what to say and left as the teachers in charge of the first-years began calling out the names of students assigned to their classes.
"...hmhmhm~"
"Young lady Melinda Fenrioette!"
Melinda chuckled, watching the headmaster enter the main building before walking toward the tall, strict-faced teacher with long black hair and grim, dark-brown eyes.
"...M-Mel…"
"...~"
Zane called out shyly after her but lowered his haze the moment she turned around and winked at him.
The two of them ended up in different classes, which appeared to visibly bother Zane - especially because Melinda didn't seem all that disheartened by it at first glance.
The person who was bothered the most - and by far - was Catherine, who ended up in the same class as Melinda.