"I'm lost."
Great, she has no idea where she's going anymore. The academy is ridiculously massive!
Surrounded by nothing but doors—every single room looks the same. She can't figure out the way to the principal's office.
She keeps guiding her character to move forward and, somehow... ends up in a strange room.
It looks a bit like an alchemy lab...
Suddenly, the screen goes dark. She realizes she's triggered some kind of event.
In the alchemy room, there's a guy with glasses sleeping on the desk. He has green hair and, oh god, he's stunningly handsome.
As expected of an otome game, all the guys are gorgeous!
Out of nowhere, a choice screen pops up:
[Approach]
[Leave]
"Heh, with my experience wooing guys (in games), I'm definitely picking option 1!"
As soon as she selects it, her character moves closer to him.
[Touch him]
[Do nothing]
Of course, she chooses to touch him!
Her character's hand reaches out and touches his cheek, waking him up instantly.
[???]
[Ugh! Damn it, I still have exams to proctor!!]
He stands up straight, his slightly dark-circled eyes locking onto her character.
[???]
[Huh? Who are you?]
Just as he asks, another choice screen appears:
[I'm Yunyun, new to the academy and got lost.]
[I don't know who I am, but I know I like you!]
Alright, that second option is definitely out of the question!
[???]
[Yunyun...? Ah! You're the one who received the official invitation from the principal! I didn't expect to meet you here!]
[You said you're lost? Let me take you to the principal's office!]
What? He's not flirty at all? That's a bit disappointing...
He leads her to the principal's office, which turns out to be not far from the academy's main entrance—in fact, it's right next to the first room.
"I hate my sense of direction."
To make things worse, there's a whole group of other players gathered here too! How did she not notice them before??
Afterward, he gently knocks on the door, which slowly creaks open.
Inside the office is a slightly muscular man smoking a cigar, wearing a four-leaf clover pin on his slicked-back orange hair.
[???]
[Nicholas Flamel... What's the matter?]
He speaks in a calm voice.
[Nicholas Flamel]
[Oh, Principal Leprechaun! The student you sent the invitation to has arrived!]
Hearing this, the man looks up.
"Leprechaun? Isn't that an Irish fairy?" she wonders while staring at the screen.
[Oh, welcome to our Fairy Tales Academy!]
He greets her by raising both arms.
Uh... he's really buff, totally different from how leprechauns are described in fairy tales or anything like that...
He starts saying a ton of stuff—blah blah, blah blah—
to the point where Nicholas Flamel yawns and lies down on the couch to sleep.
[Leprechaun]
[So, this is the world's top-tier institution! The most prestigious academy where you can-]
[Nicholas Flamel]
[Zzz...]
[Leprechaun]
[Hey! Who said you could sleep in the principal's office?! A newbie teacher like you has some nerve, huh?! Why aren't you in the exam room proctoring exams?!]
[Nicholas Flamel]
[Ah! Thanks for reminding me!!]
With that, he rushes out of the room, leaving her and Leprechaun alone.
[Leprechaun]
[Alright, now that it's just the two of us, let's get to the main point. Do you know why I sent you an invitation to enroll here?]
What's this? Could it be that he invited me because I have the bloodline of a saint or possess some kind of special power? That must be it—fantasy otome game plots are always like this!
[Because of your mother. She has a nice ass.]
...
[Though you seem to have a high magic capacity, which is... fine, I guess? BUT your mother is truly exceptional. Considering your parents' marriage seems to be on the rocks, how would you feel about a big, muscular man like me becoming your stepdad? I wouldn't mind raising you at all—]
"ENOUGH!!!!"
She punches Leprechaun square in the face, sending him spinning like a top and crashing into the nearby bookshelf.
[Psychopath! But that punch was amazing! You really are your mother's daughter!]
What the hell is this?! A MILF hunter?! What kind of twisted logic makes him think he can marry my mom, who's still married, and adopt me?!
[Hehe, I love that look of disgust! You really are the best thing your mother has ever brought into this world! I like it!]
He's even into being degraded?! This guy is a total freak!!
Just as I prepare to leave, he moves to block the door.
[Hey, hey, hey, calm down, my daughter! I know you're mad, but don't storm off just yet. As the principal of this academy, I have the authority to place you in any class you want without taking the entrance exam! How about that?]
Who's your daughter?!
Wait... I can choose any class I want? Does that mean the academy has a ranking system?
[Heh! I know what you're thinking, so let me explain it to you!]
Suddenly, he pulls out a board and starts scribbling furiously.
Here's the list of it:
The classes are ranked by level.
Class E (around 5 class)
Class D (around 4 class)
...
Class A (just 1 class)
Why is it divided like this? It's to motivate the students to work harder!
It's like a ranking system. If you're skilled, you'll climb the ranks!
As you might expect, the higher the rank of the class, the better the knowledge and the more interesting opportunities.
However, getting into Class A is extremely difficult because not only do you have to be intelligent, but you also need power!
...and status. High-ranking nobles and royalty are automatically placed in Class A.
After listening to the explanation, she notices one particularly odd class—completely cast aside.
Class F.
[Interested in Class F, are you? Haha, it's the worst class. It's mostly filled with delinquent nobles, uneducated commoners, and, well, let's just say people who need special treatment to be here.]
Why do I feel like this principal is going to end up being the antagonist for Class F?
[Leprechaun]
[Now that I've explained everything, do you want to pick a class? I'll place you right now!]
He's surprisingly generous for someone who has a thing for my mom...
[Choose a class.]
[Not yet, I want to think it over.]
Well, normally she'd pick Class A. After all, the chances of meeting a lot of handsome guys to romance are highest there.
But the workload would probably be intense, though it's unclear if that even matters since this is a game.
So which class should she choose?
Of course, Class A! How could she pass up such a great opportunity?
Just as she's about to select Class A...
She spots a very familiar guy walking past the window outside.
"Willhart?!"
What?! Is that him?! He goes here too?!
Damn it! I don't even know which class he's in!!
"Do you know this guy Willhart?"
[Leprechaun]
[Willhart? Never heard of him... must be a new applicant. Let me check.]
He flips through a notebook, searching for a while.
[Ah, here we go. Willhart Milov, 15 years old. He just registered to take the entrance exam!]
"In that case, I'll wait and see which class he gets placed in!"
[...Huh?]
***
"Room 37... ah, here it is."
Looking into the room, I saw many people already sitting and chatting with one another, while a few others were exchanging greetings.
It seemed like the exam hadn't started yet since the room was still quite noisy.
But I had to admit, this exam room was extremely large and spacious—probably big enough to fit all the students in this school. (Actually no, just 50% of them.)
I walked in, found a spot I liked, and sat down.
"Ahh… still haven't sold all the bread yet…"
"Huh?"
I glanced at the guy sitting next to me. He had short orange-blonde hair that revealed his forehead, kind of like Éclair, but less cool and handsome.
Most importantly, he had a basket of bread sitting on his desk, and he was taking bites out of a loaf.
"Hmm? You want some of my bread? If you do, one copper coin per piece!"
"I'm not hungry."
"Come on, don't deny it! Just one loaf of bread, I'm begging you!"
Are you here to take the exam or sell bread?
As I was trying to refuse him, another guy—quite muscular—sat down on my right.
'Wait a second, isn't he the guy in the red jacket who was arguing with someone earlier?'
He had brown hair like mine, a red headband, a red jacket, and a black tank top.
All in all, he looked pretty rough, like a protagonist straight out of a shounen story.
'What are you? Sol Badguy?'
"Ugh, I hope this exam is easy…"
Wow, his voice was super deep.
And then there was the guy sitting behind me—the one who had been arguing with the red-jacket guy earlier.
He wore casual clothes, had brown hair, and green eyes.
He looked like a perfectly ordinary person.
He glanced at the red-jacket guy with an annoyed expression but decided to ignore him.
...Okay, I don't know why, but these three guys all ended up sitting close to me. Someone definitely planned this.
"KYAAA!! IT'S THE PRINCE!!"
"HE'S SO HANDSOME!!"
'What now?'
I looked over at the entrance. There stood a tall guy dressed elegantly, with bright blonde hair and sapphire-blue eyes. He even had a beauty mark under his right eye.
What kind of god-tier beauty is this? Who could possibly compete?
He waved and smiled gently, making the girls scream even louder than before.
Then, he started looking for a seat.
...
...?
Wait, why is he coming this way?
He walked over, looked around, and decided to sit in front of me.
...Okay, someone's definitely pulling strings here. How did a prince end up sitting near me?
"Ah, hello everyone! Do you mind if I sit here?" He turned around and greeted us.
"Tch."
Hey, why are you clicking your tongue, red-jacket guy? Do you have a problem with the prince or something?
"Oh! Greetings, Prince! If you don't mind, please buy some of my bread! I promise it's delicious and affordable—only one coin each!"
Dude, aren't you afraid of being executed for talking to the kingdom's prince like that?
"Is that so? In that case, I don't mind. Here, take this."
The prince handed over a pouch of coins, leaving the bread guy wide-eyed and drooling.
The prince then elegantly took a loaf and ate it.
Meanwhile, the bread guy greedily pocketed the money, looking thrilled as if he'd just conned someone.
And the guy behind me… he kept eyeing the coin pouch.
Everyone around me was so strange…
"Ah! Hello, everyone!"
A mature voice called out, and a man with green hair and glasses entered the room.
Following him were two mages dressed in robes that covered everything but their noses and below.
"My name is Nicholas Flamel, and I'll be taking roll call! Even though the number of exam candidates here is… quite large, don't worry! I'll remember all your names!"
…Are you seriously planning to remember this many people? There were a lot of us here.
"Alright, Number 1… Arack Robam!"
"Here!"
"Number 2… Phoenix Atoney!"
"Here!"
Time passed until he got to this name:
"Number 134, Eugene Fitzherbert."
"Here," said the red-jacket guy beside me.
'Eugene? That sounds familiar… but I can't quite place it…'
"Number 135, Prince Charming."
"Ah, that's me!"
The blonde guy in front of me raised his hand, flashing a dazzling smile that made the women around him swoon.
...Seriously? Prince Charming? Like from Cinderella?
"Number 237, Robin."
"Here."
That was the guy behind me.
"Number 268, Cinderella."
"Y-Yes!"
A gray-haired girl with matching gray eyes stood up, looking shy and flustered.
...Cinderella, huh?
Judging by her outfit, it was easy to guess that her stepsisters still bullied her, and her stepmother treated her poorly.
"Number 269, Anastasia."
...No one responded.
"Anastasia, are you here?"
...
"Well... in that case, she'll have to take the exam another day. Number 270, Drizella."
...
"Seriously? Are those two sisters?" Nicholas glanced at the person next to him.
"Seems like it."
"Well... okay then, moving on. Number—"
20 minutes later... (This is taking forever...)
"Here!"
"Great! So, only two people are absent! It's wonderful to see how much you all value the importance of this exam!"
"As for the two girls who didn't show up, they probably have their reasons, so I won't comment further. Now, let's begin the test!"
As soon as he finished speaking, one of the mages began chanting a spell that caused exam papers to float through the air and land in front of everyone, along with pencils.
On the sheet, it read: Class Placement Exam. The subject?
MATH.
'Good thing I studied beforehand.'
I glanced around and saw everyone looking pale.
The bread guy next to me was trembling, his eyes darting everywhere.
Eugene looked completely unfazed and got straight to work on his test.
Robin seemed calm too, though he was sweating slightly.
And the prince in front of me? He was smiling confidently and writing at lightning speed.
'Let's see...'
I looked at question one and began calculating in my head.
A few minutes later...
'This is harder than I thought...'
I stared at question seven, realizing it was a trap question.
'I should've asked Leo to tutor me...'
Frustrated, I clenched my teeth and glanced to my left.
...The bread guy immediately looked away, whistling as if he were innocent.
...Did he just peek at my paper?
"No whistling," said one of the mages, casting a spell.
"Huh—AGHHHH!!"
The bread guy got hit by the spell and started transforming into a goat.
"Beeehhh."
...Did he just lose all human awareness? What kind of terrifying magic is this?
The other candidates, horrified by the sight, buried their heads in their tests.
I glanced at Eugene, and oh wow, he was already asleep, drooling all over his paper.
'Huh?'
For some reason, I sensed someone nearby using magic.
I looked behind me and saw Robin's eyes glowing with a bullseye-like pattern, staring intently at the prince while writing furiously.
'Is he seriously using magic? Isn't he afraid of getting caught—'
Wait... something's off.
I started observing more closely around the room.
'Magic?!'
Don't tell me... everyone's cheating?!
One guy was using a mirror. A frog was sitting next to someone's test paper. A silver-haired girl conjured a tiny snowman to waddle toward someone else.
What the heck is this?! A Chunin Exam?!
And the proctors aren't even stopping them??
Apparently, only Prince Charming, Cinderella, me, the girl who dropped the match earlier, and a few others were taking the test seriously.
Should I cheat too?
[Grandpa, I want to go to school.]
...No. That wouldn't be fair. I'll rely on my own abilities.
So, I focused and continued working on my test until the bell rang, signaling the end of the exam.