Warm welcome for a new student

"The next class starts soon, so we should hurry up."

Rain said, pointing to the clock on the wall.

"Sure."

Olivia agreed with him and they walked towards their classroom. 

For some reason Olivia didn't initiate the conversation first, and Rain had a lot to think about, so he didn't say anything to her. He looked with a strange emotion in his eyes at the girl walking beside him.

Long violet hair flowing down her back, delicate facial features and a perfectly groomed student uniform that can't contain her breasts bouncing with every movement.

Olivia Whiteheart.

That name popped into his head every time he looked at her.

She, like Rain, was a second year student, and was the head of his class.

Even in the Elite class, full of various geniuses and prodigies, she managed to stand out from the rest. And it wasn't because of her good looks.

If she could be described in one word, it would be 'perfect'.

No matter what subject it was, she was always the best in both theory and practice, which put her at the top of the academy's rankings. Throughout her freshman year, there was not a single moment when her name left the first position of the ranking. It seemed like she was literally born to rise above the rest.

It wasn't just her grades, her every word and movement was imbued with grace and nobility, giving the impression that she was a perfect being with no flaws.

Perfect academics, perfect behavior, perfect reputation... whatever aspect of her life you looked at seemed to be the epitome of perfection.

The excessive perfection of her image without a single blemish awakened dark desires in Rain, but that wasn't all that moved him. There was something about her that caught his attention even more.

Rain stared again, as if trying to find something, at the violet-haired girl walking beside him with the class journal in her hand, giving the image of a diligent student. When he didn't find anything unusual, Rain was slightly surprised.

'If I hadn't seen it through the Ticket of Opportunity, I wouldn't have believed she–'

"Rain."

Her words snapped him out of his thoughts again.

"Is there something on my face?"

Olivia asked curiously, noticing his gaze on her.

Looking into her lively eyes, Rain grinned and asked a counter question.

"Do I need an excuse to look at my friend I haven't seen in months?"

Rain may not have been top of the class, but they both came from powerful families with similar positions in society, so they had naturally bonded during their freshman year, though not enough to be considered close friends. 

Olivia smiled slightly and said nothing. But this time the silence didn't last long, because she decided to continue the conversation.

"Since when have you been interested in Alchemy? And more importantly, when did you come back to the academy?"

"Literally today."

Rain carelessly answered her two questions, not bothering to explain anything.

After some silence, all that came out of her mouth was.

"I see."

At this point, they had already reached their classroom and immediately entered it.

There was no longer the past stern teacher in the tight skirt and she had been replaced by another whose gaze was much kinder.

The next class passed quietly, except for the hero, who often cast an angry glance at Rain, as if to say that he had not yet forgotten that shameful incident. Of course, Rain didn't care about that, so he just ignored him.

While Rain was thinking about ways to get what he needed during break, a girl entered the classroom accompanied by the teacher. When they reached the front of the classroom where everyone could see them, the teacher introduced the girl next to her.

"Her name is Aelorian and she will be studying with you from now on."

At first Rain didn't pay attention to her, and it wasn't until after the teacher's words that he looked at her.

At this moment, his eyebrows rose involuntarily, for he couldn't help but recognize the girl in front of him.

'It's times like this that I start to believe in fate.'

A seductive body, long pointy ears, and a cute mouth, not long ago spewing not at all cute swear words at him. She was the elf girl he'd met on his way to the academy.

"Aelorian is from a royal family and due to some circumstances, she transferred to our academy."

The teacher continued, and as if to confirm her words, Aelorian looked around the class and showed a friendly smile. At least that was until she noticed Rain sitting nonchalantly at the back of the class.

A smile froze on her lips, and all the previous emotion was gone from her eyes, replaced by confusion and then anger.

Ignoring her gaze, Rain focused on the whispers of his classmates, which he could hear clearly thanks to his enhanced senses.

"If she's from the royal family, does that mean she's a princess and one of the Elf Queen's daughters?"

"Of course, that's obvious. When was the last time you opened a textbook on the history of the races?"

"God, look at her body, it's on a whole other level."

"Shut up, one more word and we'll break up!"

"But what is she doing here? I've heard that elves prefer to continue their training in their forests."

A multitude of voices reached Rain. Some were surprised, some were delighted, and some were angry, but in spite of that Rain managed to confirm the most important point.

'So she really is an Elf princess.'

Rain thought, shifting his gaze to her. 

Even from his seat, he could sense the faint killing intent directed in his direction. As if oblivious to the people around her, Aelorian's blazing gaze was fixed on him.

However, this only brought a smile to his face.

'It's no good continuing to ignore her.'

Rain thought and gave her a friendly wave.

Seeing his warm smile along with his gesture, her fists clenched even tighter and her gaze felt like it was trying to burn him to the ground.

This brief exchange of gestures was quickly picked up by the teacher's attentive eyes.

'Do they already know each other?'

She shifted her gaze to Aelorian, whose eyes read strong emotion, and confirmed her assumption.

'That blazing gaze... it's exactly how one looks at one's best friends. Then the choice is obvious.'

Prior to this, the teacher was in a dilemma as to who to pair the transferred student with.

At the moment there were only two available people without a date. The first was Сale, whose partner had had a sudden accident the day before, and Rain, who hadn't attended the academy for more than a few months and, as a consequence, hadn't chosen a partner yet.

The teacher had originally leaned towards Сale as he seemed like a better option, but seeing the deep emotional connection between Rain and the new student, she quickly made a decision.

She turned to Aelorian and spoke in a soft tone.

"From now on, you will be paired with student Rain."

And before she could say anything, the teacher waved her hand lightly, and then on the magic screen the new student's name appeared on the same line as Rain's.

Aelorian stared dumbly at the screen, unable to comprehend what had just happened. One moment she was thinking about how to kill this guy as painfully as possible, and the next she found herself paired with him.

Noticing her stunned expression, the teacher came to her conclusion.

'She must be shocked by such a warm welcome. But if I can plant a seed of love for people in her heart, then I can consider my duty as a teacher fulfilled.'

With a warm smile, she looked at Aelorian.

"You don't have to thank me."