Chapter 146: A new beginning [3]

[Zero's Pov] - *James's Pov*

After a full night's sleep, I was finally starting to feel like myself again. Or at least like the one I thought me to be. 'No... There is no doubt that I am James... Zero isn't real...'

Sitting myself up in bed, I had to make doubly sure that I never lost sight of what was real and what was merely a construct of the goddess' work. Thankfully, it didn't seem like Loki was all that worried, but unfortunately, I had no idea to what extent I could trust him.

For all I knew, he might as well have found the fact that I might lose myself amusing enough to just let it be. Standing up and equipping my armor in the form of the school uniform, I started making mental notes of all I had to do today.

With today being the last day before the semester would start for the freshmen, I needed to make sure I was ready. "So, shall we get started? Or what do you say, partner?"

'[Double Trouble]'

Bubbles started to emerge from my body, quickly reallocating and building onto themselves beside me. A second later, my familiar partner in crime emerged, although he didn't quite look like he used to. Or rather, we didn't quite look like we used to.

This was the first time I got a good look at myself in my full glory, and I had to say that I didn't disappoint. There was no doubt that my old body was handsome, but Zero had a much more traditionally handsome face.

Strong jawline and eyes that reminded one of a predator. "Hmm... I do look more like a villain than a saint... But I guess my size might make up for it. After all, who would think that someone as skinny and frail as me would be the one they call a demon?"

"So, should we get started? After all, we won't be able to call ourselves the son of god if we aren't capable of doing some impressive things!"

"Yea, that's right. There's no time to waste."

With that, I made my way to the training room with both of my bodies, now for the first time in a long time with the goal to practice similar things.

There was no point in trying to increase my rank right now as I would probably already be regarded as a freak when thinking about my current rank. What I did need, however, was to quickly learn something that was fitting for the one that was to be called the child of god.

"I guess a saint should be someone who protects?"

"Yeah... It would be perfect if we could heal others, but I don't think we are suited for it. [Water Orb] will probably be enough for offense right now as we can use it with [Detonate], so we can just fully focus on skills that are meant to protect."

Taking a second to think with both of my brains, it didn't take long until I could visualize two spells that I wanted to learn. With my mastery of the [Conjurer] Manual, it didn't feel like it would take all too long to become proficient either.

"Man, I am so excited for tomorrow! It's almost like a dream... Maybe I should pinch myself to see if I wake up..."

"Ouch! Don't pinch me! Moron!"

==========

The day had arrived, and I felt eerily giddy as I was walking through the academy grounds. Somehow, even though I didn't have to force it, a huge smile emerged on my face when I was thinking about getting to attend the academy.

'I can barely contain myself! Teachers, lessons, friends... I'm finally getting to experience all of... Fuck! No, I have already experienced that! It ended up with me losing my head!'

As I was pushing away the fake emotions of Zero out of my head, it didn't take long until I ended up in front of the classroom where I had most of my homeroom sessions in.

[1-A]

Because they had reduced the number of freshmen this year, we were only allocated one classroom, and we wouldn't be divided into an A-and B-class. Opening the door, I was met by the sight of all of my new classmates already having taken their seats.

With our class seemingly evenly divided between boys and girls, I could see half of my classmates blushing as I entered the room, most likely not ready to see the wonder that was my new face. This time, I had no idea who they were, making me feel a bit nervous but at the same time excited.

After all, this was my chance to make friends!

...

'No! Fucking stop! We are not here to make friends! I guess if we do make one, that's fine... Not!'

Snapping back to reality, I just met my classmate with a smile, something that made the girls' faces sink into an even deeper shade of red. 'Wait, isn't he blushing as well? Is he into guys?'

Knowing that I had to act as a model student now, I quickly found a seat in the foremost middle row, a seat that luckily didn't have anyone else sitting there.

"-Holy... He is so handsome..."

"-Yea, I know! I wonder who he is. I haven't seen him before, so maybe he isn't a noble?"

It wasn't hard to hear the whispers going around the room, with most of them talking about yours truly and my amazing appearance, but I just kept a gentle smile on my face, knowing that the present is always the most important when building a future.

After a few minutes of waiting, our new teacher arrived, a face that I was all too familiar with.

"Welcome, freshmen of Ainu. I will be your homeroom teacher for at least this year, but hopefully also for the years that are to come. Now, as no one here knows each other, let's start by briefly presenting ourselves. Oh, and by that, I don't mean for you to talk about your hobbies or something. Just tell us your name and your combat role."

Yes, the teacher we had been assigned was Ms. Turner, now standing with her usual white shirt and black skirt in front of her students, an uncannily warm smile present on her face.

'Did she feel a need to talk about how to do our presentations because of what I did last time...?'

Not minding my inner thoughts the presentation had already begun, starting with a girl to my left. With long, aquatic blue hair and a well-proportioned body, she was quite a looker, "My name is Stella Klein. I'm a shield user and a tanker. Please take care of me!"

As she finished her presentation, I made myself ready for my turn. However, for some reason, our teacher decided to skip me and go to the row behind us where two girls were sitting next to each other.

'Did she skip me on purpose...?'

One of them had dirty blonde hair and looked quite similar to a certain girl who enjoyed calling me an idiot, only that she was more petite and looked a bit more innocent. Seeing where the eyes of our teacher were looking, she stood up, "I'm Caroline Rue and I'm an archer. A pleasure to make your acquaintance!"

Somehow, the presentations followed along, with me still being skipped. After Caroline, it had been the girl sitting next to her with brown hair and a very average body but who had a very interesting role. The seemingly very ordinary girl was a beast tamer.

After that, we had Robert Evans, who pretty much looked like a less handsome and less well-built Arthur. Appropriately, he was also a swordsman. Still, if it wasn't for the fact that I was in the same class, he would absolutely have taken the price for the most handsome student.

"Next!"

The following person, however, was someone I was a lot more interested in.

"Gomerick Ritter, multi-elemental mage. Please take care of me."

With black hair that was sprinkled with purple and blue, and an athletic body, Gomerick was someone I felt like I should keep an eye on. Mostly for the fact that he was seemingly going against one of the laws of this world, that everyone only had one elemental alignment.

'Though I guess that I'm also going against that rule now...'

Then it ended with a green-haired girl with glasses that was a spear-user, Celine Tromb, and a bulky, black-haired man that was a brawler, Thomas Everstone.

Though it hadn't actually ended. After all, there was one student left that hadn't introduced himself. Turning her head to me, Ms. Turner made sure that I got the signal that it was my turn to introduce myself. Or so I thought...

"Now, for the last student of our class, I will begin by presenting him a bit before he gets to speak. The reason for this is that he is kind of a special case, and even though we will look at you all equally, there is no doubt that Zero Adler is a one-in-a-million student."

'...what.'