prejudice

"Excuse me." With a quick bow, Kyle followed William into the classroom.

The inside of the classroom was spacious, almost like a small hall. The

teacher's podium sat at the front of the room, facing the desks that were fixed

to the tiered floor that elevated those at the back of the room. There were

roughly fifty people in the class, with three classes in each year. Kyle stepped up

onto the podium and felt the stabbing looks of all the students in the room. Soft

whispers spread from every corner.

"Huh, so that's the orphan being admitted.

An orphan? Someone like that enrolled into this prestigious academy?"

"Yeah, I heard from my father that he was enrolled as reward for saving princess Eira."

"...Are you sure it isn't some kind of mistake? How can someone like him do that."

And so on. The male students conversed curiously; it seemed like the rumor

of an orphan enrolling had already spread. As for the female students'

reactions...

"Black hair is a rare sight."

"Yes, I was wondering what kind of animal would show up, but..."

"He has a surprisingly cute face."

"He'd look like a girl if he put on a wig and a dress."

"But he is quite hansome."

"Hmm... Well, his face isn't bad, but he's still an orphan." His classmates

added more comments about his appearance in their evaluation. Both sides

were fairly ornery in their reactions, having already been instilled with the

values of nobility that thrived on social standing.

The looks they sent Kyle were filled with prejudice.

"Okay everyone, quiet down. He's going to introduce himself," William said with

a small sigh as he looked around the room,he felt is head aching on the reactions of this spoiled brats. Once the students had stopped

whispering, Kyle took a step forward.

"My name is Kyle. By the grace of His Majesty the King, I have been

immeasurably blessed to attend this honorable learning space. I am lacking in

more than several aspects, but I will do my utter best not to cause any

inconveniences to anyone here. I humbly beg your tolerance."

Sure enough, Kyle and William's predictions as to how the class would react were

not wrong.

"Well, it seems he has the right level of respect, at least."

"Yeah, he can speak as adequately as a servant, at least."

"So orphans can talk like that..."

At the very least, his speech hadn't brought about any dissatisfaction. That

being said, no one applauded him, either — they spoke as though they were

observing a rare animal, clearly looking down on Kyle. Though he might be a

student of the Royal Academy from today onwards, Kyle had been an orphan

until recently, and his existence was far beneath them.

So I have to spend at least six years here... He sighed wearily in his heart at

how uncomfortably out of place he was. While he would no longer be troubled

to find food, clothes, or shelter, the thought of his future life was rather

depressing.

But it's still better than the slums. I'll learn everything and anything that

seems useful. Otherwise, there would be no point in coming to this school, and Kyle already knew how important it is to have proper education.

Without knowledge and skills, his future job opportunities would be extremely

limited, though he didn't know what would be useful in his life anyway.

As long as he was being made to attend this school, he had to make the most

of his situation.

Kyle raised his head after bowing and looked around the room. Then...

Hm? He spotted a familiar face among the students staring at him. Seated

next to a window at the back of the classroom was someone with long,

azure that was tied back with a barrette. Beside her sat a cute girl with

blonde ringlets. The azure-haired girl — Annora Erugenia— glared at Kylebefore turning her nose away with a huff. The thought had passed through his

mind in the audience hall too: she seemed to really hate him, although that was

understandable considering how they met.

Well, it's probably best not to get involved... She probably thinks the same.

Annora definitely didn't have any favorable feelings towards Kyle, and Kyle

had absolutely no intention of having any connection to Annora. William noticed this too and sighed again.

"Alright. From today onwards, Kyle is one of our classmates. He may be

unfamiliar with many things, so please help him out when he needs it. I hope

you all get along well,"William said in a bright voice trying to break the heavy atmosphere in the classroom, but there was no response from the students. William again gave a small sigh.

"...Okay Kyle, why don't you sit in one of the empty seats? That'll be your

assigned seat from now on. I would recommend the one at the very front."

It would be easier for Wiiliam to keep an eye on him there.

"Understood." Kyle moved to the open desk at the front of the classroom and

lowered himself into the seat.

"That's all the announcements for today, so let's dive straight into the

lesson."

At the royal academy of Erugenia,the teachers changed with every subject and the homeroom teacher isn't necessariely the teacher for all subjects just like on earth.. "Everyone here passed the entrance examination, so you all know your four

basic operations already. Today, we'll be trying solve some more advanced

problems," William said as he stood at the teacher's podium and wrote the

exercises down on the blackboard. The questions were simple enough to be

solved by a elementary school student in Earth.

Ah... Kyle I'm not sure what level you're at, so I'd just like to check — can you

solve the questions on the board?"

"I'm sorry... I can't even read the words," Kyle answered William's whispered

question. "I see. So we'll have to start with numbers and letters," William said with an

uneasy look. "Then I'll give you some individual lessons in my research lab...

Could you come to the basement of the library tower after class? You can just

sit through the lesson for today," he added after a few seconds of

consideration, keeping in mind the balance of progress with the rest of the

class.

.