"Hm?" Zaroth raised an eyebrow. "A third one… wait, don't tell me that guy also has a high-tier blessing!" he said, turning his head to Zack.
"Yeah, I didn't know there would be another one in our year… much less one that isn't in A-class. You are?" Zack asked, turning to Roran, who was looking at them with an unreadable expression.
"From B-class. And what was that you said about blessings?" Roran responded.
Zack quickly explained to him how blessings were actually divided into tiers. Surprisingly, at the end of the explanation, Roran didn't look too surprised.
"You… don't look too surprised," Zaroth remarked, glancing at Roran.
At the question, Roran awkwardly scratched the back of his head before answering. "Well… I've suspected that I'm different from the others…" His blue eyes shone slightly, emitting a menacing glow.
"After all, most of my peers are too weak."
While Zack and Roran chatted happily, Zaroth didn't miss the chance to enjoy every second of his steak.
'Man! To think some people eat something like this every day! If I succeed in accomplishing my mission and gaining Elysia's support, would I be able to eat something like this every day too?'
While the trio chatted happily, a thought came into Zaroth's mind.
'I, a person able to control a mythical dragon, have a high-tier blessing… if these two also have blessings of similar power, how strong are they really?'
He wanted to ask until his bracelet activated. In fact, glancing around, it seemed the bracelets of every student had activated.
A message appeared before Zaroth's eyes,
[Announcement]
[To every student in every academy, from the first to the last year: All are to appear in the grand arena by 14:30, where the Emperor will make a grand announcement.]
'So it has begun…' Zaroth thought, seeing the message.
"Ah, thank goodness!" Roran sighed, stretching his arms over his head. "This means the other classes for the day have been canceled."
"Guys, you know what this means, right?" Zack said, clearly excited.
"What?" Zaroth asked, raising an eyebrow.
"If the Emperor is making an announcement, his whole family will be there! Including his daughters! So we must be at the top of our game!" Zack proclaimed, standing up. "We need to get dressed up!"
"I don't really care about that. I have Lily," Roran yawned as he got up.
'Lily? Oh, the girl that was staying close to Roran before the start of the exam,' Zaroth remembered. "Where is she?" he asked curiously. They looked close, so it was weird that they weren't together.
"She went to make friends, and I didn't want to bother her," Roran responded.
"Listen, I don't care about that. We three need to make the best impression possible," Zack said, placing his hand on Roran's shoulder.
"So what do you think we should do to achieve that?" Zaroth asked curiously. There was about an hour left before the meeting—what could they possibly change in that amount of time?
Zack smiled, and his white eyes seemed to become even brighter. "Oh… you'll see. I know a place…"
*****
At the arena, thousands of students were already seated. Curiously, the seats at the very front were left empty out of respect for the Emperor and his family.
The belief was that their family was so pure that even standing close to them—even by occupying the row of seats nearest to theirs—would be disrespectful.
All around, students were engaged in conversations, speculating about the grand announcement.
Despite the large crowd, they had managed to organize themselves—first by the academy they attended, and then by class and year.
The more experienced students and those from higher-ranking classes sat closer to the front, while others were positioned farther back.
It wasn't a requirement to wear the student uniform, but almost everyone did. It was a way to showcase one's status by academy, class, and year.
The noble world operated in a way that didn't rely on written rules, what mattered most was what was left unspoken.
Even the few citizens and commoners who had managed to enter the academies quickly picked up on this from their very first day, obediently following the unspoken norms…
Of course, there were always exceptions…
"Who are those three sitting at the very front?" asked an irritated third-year male student.
"I don't know. They aren't wearing the uniforms provided by the academies, so we can't tell," a fourth-year student replied.
"But aren't they hot?" a third-year female student asked, blushing slightly as she watched them.
"Yeah, especially that one with the white hair! Gosh, he's so cute!" a second-year female student added, clearly fond of cute things.
*****
'How the hell did it come to this?' Zaroth wondered. He, Zack, and Roran were the only ones sitting at the very front of the arena. To add insult to injury, they were the only ones not wearing their uniforms!
'Though, seeing the amount of hostile gazes from male students and questionable stares from women, I guess we've managed to attract attention. Though, I wonder if this is what Zack wanted.'
Shifting his gaze, Zaroth saw Zack sitting calmly, almost like a statue. 'Is this guy trying to appear mysterious or something?!'
Deciding to shift his focus, Zaroth glanced at Roran, who was resting his head on his hand.
"After this, I'm taking you two to a bar. We're getting blackout drunk so we can forget this ever happened. Understood?"
Zaroth was surprised that someone who looked like a stereotypical hero from a heroic tale would want to get blackout drunk at a bar. He was about to respond when—
"Hello, students and future of our mighty empire," the Emperor began his speech, and the entire stadium fell silent to avoid disturbing him.
Even though Zaroth and his friends were in the front row, the center of the arena separated them from the Emperor and his family. Still, he was able to see the Emperor's daughters. Suddenly, Zack's earlier comments about the women began to make sense.
Each of them was breathtakingly beautiful.
'So I have to prevent one of these women from getting married?' Zaroth wondered. Why didn't Elysia give him more information? Maybe it was her way of testing him...
Shifting his gaze to Zack, Zaroth almost burst out laughing. Zack had become even more motionless, practically a statue, staring at the Emperor's daughters.
'This guy really wants to appear mysterious!'
Roran, on the other hand, looked bored out of his mind.
Zaroth was once again looking at the princesses, trying to determine which one was most likely to be asked for her hand, until his gaze froze—his body and breath along with it.
His heart skipped a beat when he noticed one of the women sitting close to the Emperor.
"Is that one of the queens?" he muttered under his breath.
'Zaroth,' Luna suddenly spoke in his mind. 'Seeing your attraction to me and Elysia, it's clear you have a thing for more mature women, but please don't get any crazy id—'
'Too late,' he responded, a smile spreading across his face.
'I guess coming here and trying to stand out was worth it after all.'
It seemed Zaroth had found one more person he desired...
The Queen.