The Smiling Death

Footsteps of students echoed through the hallways.

Everyone was going to their own classes. Among those students was a young man with black hair and dark eyes.

He was an ordinary-looking guy. There was a happy smile on his face, his hands tucked in his pockets.

'Yesterday, I got to eat a lot of things from Senior. In the end, she paid for all of it~'

The average-looking guy was none other than Amon. Though, for some reason, many students were glancing at him from time to time.

Last day, after meeting Selena, he had spent most of his time with her—forgetting to train.

'This is so wrong. I shouldn't distract myself just because of a beautiful, rich girl. Focus, Amon, focus.' Despite being delighted, he continued to remind himself to stay focused on his goal—to train more and become stronger.

But how could he let free things go?

He reached his class.

Class A.

Amon checked his uniform to see if it was okay. He adjusted his tie and then entered.

The moment he entered the class, all the students who had been chatting suddenly stopped.

The classroom became silent as multiple pairs of eyes fell on him.

Amon gazed at all the students.

Seraphina and Eliana were already there, sitting in the front row.

Marcus sat in the middle of the row, the wolf girl near the window, and that bastard Arnold in the last corner.

'Hah... It seems I got popular because of the incident from Mistvale Town... fu... no wonder the students kept looking at me even while coming to class.' Amon shook his head, understanding why he was getting attention.

This situation was just like those from novels, where the protagonist gets attention for doing something amazing or crazy.

Amon raised his right hand and ran it through his hair, his dark eyes calm.

He exhaled lightly and started walking.

He passed near Seraphina and Eliana without glancing at them.

At this moment, he felt like some kind of celebrity.

'This is not bad.'

He stopped walking near Marcus and quietly sat beside him.

After that, the classroom filled with chatter again.

The silence was broken.

There was a smirk on Amon's face.

He could still feel a glare from his side.

Marcus was looking at him intently, his purple eyes fixed on Amon.

"Wanna say something? Just blurt it out, man," Amon said with the same cool and calm expression.

Was Marcus going to ask how he survived? How he killed the abomination in town? Was he going to ask about Amon's well-being?

But his expectations were shattered.

"Bastard! The moment you came back to the Academy, you started to flirt with the princess! That too openly in the campus! Wrapping arms around each other! You've gone truly crazy!"

What came out of Marcus's mouth first was nothing but nonsense—well, not all nonsense, but yes.

Amon froze in his seat.

He couldn't believe his ears.

'What? He's actually worried about that? Also, how come this information spread so fast? Damn it!' Amon cursed internally.

This time, he tried to hear what other students were chattering about.

He couldn't hear it clearly, but he could understand some of it.

"Did you know that commoner was at a café, having coffee with Princess Selena?"

"Not only that, I heard they were openly flirting on campus."

"I know! Some say the president had her arm wrapped around that boy's shoulder."

Amon covered his face with his palm.

"Hey, answer me. Why are you silent, boy?" Marcus continued to nag beside him.

"Cough…" Amon cleared his throat.

Removing his palm from his face, he met Marcus's annoying eyes.

Amon gave him a smirk.

"This is just the start... there's still many things to come... don't get too shocked by this much." Like hell Amon gave a damn about it.

The situation looked interesting, so he was going to enjoy it.

He giggled.

Hearing Amon's words, Marcus's eyes widened. His jaw dropped at the boy's audacity.

Marcus was thinking, This commoner is crazy. He's gone insane. Does he even know what he's doing?

Before Marcus could say anything, the witch-hat professor came.

Aria Magestra.

The same professor who had laughed at Amon during the first lecture.

Her long, wheat-blonde hair was loose. A conical witch-type hat sat on her head. She was wearing a black robe inscribed with some complex runes. A long magic wand was in her hand.

"Good morning, students!" she greeted enthusiastically.

All students sat in their seats silently.

"Aargh!" Marcus groaned beside Amon but didn't say anything, keeping his eyes forward where Aria stood.

Aria's eyes observed all the students.

'Not me. Not me. Not me.' Amon was looking down, not wanting to catch the eye of this bitc—he meant, professor.

He was literally praying.

But alas—

"Oh! Amon! You're back! Hehe," she called out excitedly, giggling.

Like a child who just found her lost toy.

Amon slowly raised his head and gave her a smile.

"It's good to see you're fine, Amon. Not injured but safe. You really went through a lot. Anyway, let's put that aside. Welcome back, boy."

To his surprise, she didn't tease him. Rather, her voice was kind.

Amon looked at her, surprised.

He remained silent for a while, contemplating what she just said. "Thank you, professor, for being worried about me."

She just nodded appreciatively.

"You were on leave for a whole week, so take notes from your friends. You need to catch up with your studies," she said to him.

"Yes, professor. I will do it," Amon agreed.

Then his eyes fell on Seraphina and Eliana, who were looking at him.

Eliana gave him a smile, while Seraphina just nodded at him.

'Fuu... I didn't say anything to them when I entered the classroom. I was so absorbed in acting cool.' He wanted to punch himself for being an idiot.

Not only that, but everyone was more curious about Amon and Selena—rather than what happened to them on the mission.

'Now that I think about it, the information about that incident might not have spread yet.'

The professor started to teach.

As the class got absorbed in it, everyone focused on the lesson.

Exams were coming closer, after all.

Meanwhile,

Arnold observed Amon from the back corner of the classroom.

His expression was unreadable.

His dark blue eyes were cold and calculating.