The Gloomy and Timid Princess Heads to the Academy

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The day I confirmed she was a virgin, and even the next day, there were no notable results to speak of.

I had only learned that Ho-yeon liked big animals and that the divine beasts were scared of her—information of absolutely no use.

Fortunately, it seemed her mood had lifted, but in the end, it was like taking one step back and one step forward, putting us right back where we started.

The relationships with the other heroines were still stagnant, and since I hadn’t even met Camilla and Iris, it was actually worse off.

Besides, with Ho-yeon following me around, I couldn’t even approach the other heroines.

But I wasn’t overly worried.

In the end, I was bound to get involved somehow during the midterms.

Though the variable of Ho-yeon made me anxious, it wasn’t something I could influence, so I didn’t dwell on it too much.

I couldn’t interfere in the arrangements for the physical exam, so the only thing I could do until the midterms was to solidify my bond with Ho-yeon.

“Ho-yeon, aren’t you worried about the exam?”

I asked her during lunchtime.

With two weeks remaining before the exam and only half of the class left to study, the atmosphere in the class was gradually shifting towards study mode.

Since the exam was at the beginning of the semester, it was just meant to test our knowledge level. However, since most students at Amauros Academy were nobility, the standard was pretty high.

Besides, doing poorly meant automatic failure, whether you were a prince or a princess.

However, unlike the others, Ho-yeon would doze off in class or read another book.

“Pfft, most of it is just memorization, right? If you cram a week in advance, you’re fine.”

She seemed pretty confident. With a rare smug expression, she said that cramming would work just fine.

“And you, of all people, how’s your exam prep going?”

“I can manage the memorization subjects somehow, but… the problem is with math.”

Even during the entrance exams, I scored above average in every subject except math, where I barely scraped a level five.

The math we were learning here was at a high school level, which was honestly overwhelming. Just looking at the numbers made me queasy.

“Oh, struggling with math, are you?”

“Yes.”

“In that case, I could teach you.”

“…Huh?”

I didn’t doubt her academic skills, but she didn’t seem too chummy with math.

“I don’t know what your math grades are like, but I can assure you mine are higher.”

Sure, they were probably higher. Her home education was likely better than what was taught at the academy.

Plus, the confidence she displayed was the first I had seen from her, so I doubted she was bluffing.

“Then would you mind teaching me?”

It seemed like a good way to boost my rapport with her and improve my grades at the same time.

Failing because of one subject wouldn’t get me held back, but it would feel much better to have decent grades.

“Quite an arrogant attitude for someone seeking to be taught. If you call me teacher, I might consider it.”

Ho-yeon looked at me with a playful smile.

After offering to teach me, she made a remark about my attitude being disrespectful and told me to call her teacher, which was a bit annoying, but I knew how to handle it.

“I, a humble disciple, seek your wisdom, esteemed teacher. Please bestow your knowledge upon me.”

“…”

Her reaction was immediate.

The smug look she had a moment ago was now replaced with a blush.

“No, I was joking… Why are you like this…”

With no one around, her original self was starting to show.

“You don’t have to call me teacher. Just come to the library after physical education, and I’ll teach you what I know.”

“Alright.”

With that agreement made, lunchtime was coming to an end. Since she said to come to the library after gym class, it looked like she had no intention of following me today.

I felt a bit guilty for taking advantage of her trust, but this time I intended to get something for Exipri, no matter what.

Last time, she got mad and frustrated, but this time, I was planning to work on my rapport with a heroine other than Ho-yeon.

Just as I turned to head to the gymnasium, a silver-haired girl brushed past me. It looked like Anastasia, but I figured it was just my imagination.

Regardless of what happened, I had no intention of getting caught in Georg’s twisted glare, so I hurried off to the gym.

—

“Teacher,” huh.

I wasn’t sure why I blushed when I heard that. I absolutely knew it would happen, but I still fell for it.

Guess being sociable really comes with good reflexes.

I thought she might be worse at studying than I was.

But having experienced firsthand that social skills are more important for getting by than studying, I found myself envious of Dokan’s charm.

When I did tutoring, I didn’t feel anything when students called me teacher, but when Dokan said it, my heart fluttered.

I thought it would feel similar to how my gaming friends would tell me to call them “bro,” but it was a completely different sensation.

…Well, anyway, she wasn’t hiding anymore. Anastasia was blatantly trailing a good distance behind me.

To be careful, she was probably surrounding her feet with mana to mute her footsteps or hiding in the blind spots as she followed me, but…

…Hmm. Let’s see.

At least I could see her.

It was too much of a hassle to say anything, and as I waited for Dokan, I figured I’d just read a book instead, so I ignored them.

Ignoring them, I reached the library, where a stranger was guarding the entrance.

“Welcome, Lady White Royal Family’s Eldest Daughter. I am Angelos, the librarian and head of the library.”

Previously, the response had been from a mechanically answering man, but now there was a lady who spoke fluently.

“Where did the previous one go?”

“Oh, Octavius, you mean? His lifespan expired, and he was disposed of.”

…Disposed of? A person?

It sounded a bit odd, but did she mean to say he was just killed instead of fired?

“Disposed of… a person?”

“You didn’t know? All the librarians here are homunculi. I am one as well.”

Ah, a homunculus. They looked so human-like that I couldn’t tell.

“A homunculus, that means… an artificial human?”

“Yes. If the task is simple, it’s cheaper to use homunculi like us rather than hiring real people.”

So it all boiled down to money. But that made it even more unsettling. They looked so human, yet they were just produced for labor until they died.

I wasn’t sure if this felt right.

“If you have no further questions, please feel free to use the library.”

“…Right. Thanks for your hard work.”

“I hope you find the book you desire.”

The Eastern Continent might not entirely lack this notion, but they would never create something so human-like.

They’d mold clay and imbue mana into it to make workers, but they wouldn’t give them enough intelligence to comprehend speech like that.

…It was unsettling.

It wasn’t that I was necessarily offended by the existence of homunculi, but I was disturbed by the reason for their creation. For money, really.

If it weren’t for Dokan, I probably wouldn’t have come to a place like this at all.

I tried to shake off the uneasy feeling and settled into a corner with some books.

Regardless of the idea behind it, the novels from this continent were undeniably fun to read.

The novels back home were a bit dull. Half of them were about praising gods, and 25% were about wanting to return to nature.

They were absolutely boring for someone like me, who had been conditioned by web novels and movies.

On the other hand, this continent’s novels described goddesses as often incompetent or foolish, which added flavor to them.

I was surprised the church hadn’t designated such content as banned literature.

“Uh…”

Oh, interesting. The pastor was actually the culprit. But maybe due to the buildup, it was so satisfying to see the protagonist denounce the pastor in front of the villagers.

“Um… excuse me…”

Who was it? Someone was rudely interrupting me while reading.

…It was Anastasia. She had followed me in here. I don’t think she’d ever gotten this close to me.

“Uh, hello, Ho-yeon… It’s a coincidence to meet you here!”

It was so awkward that it was embarrassing to even point out how awkward it was.

However, I actually felt a sense of kinship with her.

It reminded me too much of when I was in high school, feeling like if I lived like this just a bit longer, I’d die alone in my room, never being noticed when I tried to make friends.

I couldn’t follow through as smoothly as Dokan, but we ought to help each other out, being of the same kind.

Knowing the pain of being friendless, I decided to engage with her.

“You’re Anastasia, right? What a coincidence to see you here. Please, have a seat.”

I even made sure to pull out a chair for her.

Having learned from accompanying Dokan, who always prepared my chair first, I figured I should do the same.

“Um… can I sit?”

“Of course.”

I smiled at her so she wouldn’t feel pressured as she shuffled into her seat, and I closed the book I had been reading.

“…”

“…”

…But neither of us was willing to take the first step in conversation.

“Then…”

Gathering my courage, I spoke, but our timing overlapped, and all it did was make it awkward.

“You start…”

“No, you start, Ho-yeon…”

…This was going to go on forever.

Something had to be done to break this vicious cycle.

“Um, so… do you like reading?”

I knew it was a terrible question, but I thought it would be better than this silence.

“No… not really…”

It took less than five seconds to realize that was the wrong topic. Maybe I shouldn’t have picked that subject.

Should I have brought up the topic of swordsmanship instead…?