Chapter 7: Opening day (2)
Lilith Lust—a calculating, cruel, playful, and above all, mysterious woman. The most dangerous figure in the demonic world, they call her by many names: a bitch, a whore, an outcast, the widest vagina in the world, and many more vulgarities. But no one knows her true origins or what her ultimate goals are. Her actions often seem insignificant, but she is the only demon to have entered the Sacred World undetected and unscathed. No one knows how she does it—it's a secret. A secret she shared with a slave she picked up off the street. Maybe it's an experiment, or perhaps it's just one of her games to stave off the boredom that weighs on her. I'm not sure. She's an odd woman without a clear purpose, or so it seems. I say this because of the visit I received from her this morning. The smile on her lips and her close proximity struck me as abnormal. Maybe she was happy to witness something interesting, or perhaps it was all just a joke...
"And what's your name?!" A timid voice broke through my thoughts, coming from the lips of a young woman with black hair and purple eyes. Leslie. Her gaze wavered as she tried her best to appear confident, but the blush on her cheeks and the nervous tone in her voice betrayed her.
She was walking beside me, having joined me by chance as we left the dormitories. We had walked in silence until she finally spoke. But judging by the pout on her face, she had probably been trying to talk to me earlier while I was lost in my thoughts.
"Ah... sorry, I was thinking about something else." I forced an awkward smile and scratched the back of my neck. "My name is Arthur, nice to meet you." I gave her a small bow. Now that I think about it, this is the second time I've run into her... and the first time I've said my name to anyone. "I'm a commoner."
"Please, just go away!" Though I kept my expression polite and my smile friendly, inwardly, I was begging her to leave. She was a young woman with a beauty on par with a goddess, and that wasn't all—she was the only daughter of a ducal house. Plus, her shy personality was well-known, and she usually avoided men, preferring the company of other women. Cursing in my mind, I could feel the curious, envious, and hateful stares of the other students. Leslie's face was known throughout the empire...
And for her to be talking to a nobody like me was bound to raise eyebrows.
"Oh... My name is Leslie Violet Rose!" She stopped pouting and gave me a friendly smile, lowering her head slightly.
"Hey..." I leaned in closer to her, trying to be discreet. "Are you sure someone like you should be talking to someone like me... you know, a nobody?" I looked at her seriously, hoping she'd get the hint and leave. God, I'm going crazy. These stares are killing me. I've got enough problems as it is—Lilith is probably spying on me, I need to figure out how to survive the class assignment, and now I have to worry about noble brats picking a fight with me for talking to their goddess... Silently pleading...
"Don't worry about that. I actually don't care. Besides, I feel very comfortable talking to you!" She smiled sweetly, looking directly at me.
Biting my lip, I shook my head internally. I couldn't understand why she was approaching me... and I couldn't figure out why her dorm was next to mine... This was all wrong. On the first day, she was supposed to be aloof, glaring at any man who tried to get close to her. So why the hell is she...?
Forcing a friendly smile, I replied, "You're very considerate, but you know, look around—people are whispering and staring at us strangely..." Please, just go away! My life is on the line here...
"That doesn't matter to me!" She shook her head resolutely and raised her fist. "I'll kill anyone who dares to approach us. Leave it to me!" She looked at me with determined, yet strangely empty, eyes.
"I'm doomed," I thought to myself, nodding silently and trying to keep the conversation to a minimum.
"Isn't this place beautiful?" Leslie's cheerful voice broke my thoughts, and I looked around. The sight took my breath away. She was right... this place was magical. I had seen it on a screen before, but seeing it in person was something else entirely. The Sacred Academy of Light was like a castle—a massive white marble castle with black streaks running through it. The way it soared into the sky, the sunlight reflecting off it, creating a dazzling array of colors on the ground... I had been so preoccupied with how to survive that I hadn't paid much attention to my surroundings. And then there were the crystal flowers lining the path to the academy, glowing with the same radiance...
"You're right, it's quite beautiful..." I agreed. Looking ahead again, I saw a large building. Around it, many students were nervously chatting, while others looked excited. But as we approached, all eyes turned to Leslie, then shifted to me...
Ignoring the stares as best as I could, I kept walking with Leslie beside me. The inauguration was to be held in the main building, where the enormous doors, over two meters tall, stood open. They were decorated with flowers, and two paladins stood guard, their swords resting on the stone floor.
Beyond the doors, rows of chairs covered in the most expensive silk in the empire were arranged in neat rows. My eyes were drawn to the front... to the exact spot where, in the game, the protagonist had killed Arthur by stabbing him through the heart.