Chapter 130: Reputation and Evaluation
'When is Adrias coming?'
As the start of the school year approached, Vivianne, who had been dedicated to training, couldn't contain her excitement. She hadn't heard from Adrias, who had mentioned having some business and had been away for a while.
'I heard that Mulfery Dormitory has been closed down.'
The incident where two students had died under mysterious circumstances during the break. Vivianne thought it was fortunate that Adrias had been out during that time.
While wandering around the academy grounds, waiting for Adrias' return, Vivianne unexpectedly received some visitors.
"Hello, Senior Vivianne! I'm Richard Wilson, a first-year from this Academy."
Three young men approached her. They were Marvin Garrett, who had come on an educational tour from Balkan Academy, and two newspaper club members.
Vivian regarded them with an expressionless face.
"Hello, Senior Vivian. These gentlemen here are interested in conducting an interview. We're planning to interview students from Rodren Academy who are actively participating in activities."
"Students? Besides me, are there any others?"
"Yes, there are. We plan to gather some other students and conduct a joint interview."
Dexter interjected from the side. While Marvin observed with keen interest, Vivianne asked, "Are you planning to ask Adrias as well?"
"Senior Adrias? Well, we plan to ask, but we're not sure if he'll participate yet."
"Adrias hasn't returned yet. Ask him when he arrives."
"Ah, we just saw Adrias. He should be somewhere around here. However, we couldn't ask him right away due to an urgent matter. We plan to request an interview in a little while."
Upon Dexter's words, Vivianne's eyes widened. Then, she suddenly grabbed his shoulders.
"Se... Senior?"
"Adrias is here? Where is he?"
"Uh? Well, he was at the Magic Department's infirmary. There seemed to be some friction between him and Senior Dianne Alben."
Upon hearing this, Vivianne quickly headed somewhere.
Upon seeing her abrupt departure, Richard called out, "Senior Vivianne? What about the interview...?"
"If Adrias does it, then I'll do it too."
Vivianne disappeared from sight, leaving Richard bewildered. Marvin cleared his throat.
"Uh... I know it might be a bit impolite to say this, but it seems like they're both promising individuals with exceptional personalities."
"Well, yes."
"By the way, it looks like Senior Vivianne has some acquaintance with Adrias. Is that correct?"
In response to Marvin's question, Richard nodded.
"I heard a rumor that they attended an external evaluation together and that happened to meet a dark wizard and joined forces to defeat him."
"Indeed, starting from the rookie tournament and now even defeating a dark wizard? Those two are amazing."
Then, Marvin asked Richard, a sudden thought crossing his mind.
"Didn't they say a while ago that Adrias unofficially holds the top spot?"
"That's correct."
"If Vivianne Velocan and Adrias Cromwell were to fight, Adrias would win, right? He is the unofficial number one after all."
"Well..."
As Richard hesitated to answer, Dexter nodded as if to ask what he was pondering.
"Of course. Senior Vivian is an outstanding inspector, but she won't be able to conquer Modras's Tower."
"You never know! In a one-on-one duel, Senior Vivianne might win."
"What are you talking about? Adrias Senior is considered the unofficial number one even in the newspapers. If Senior Vivianne wins, she would have been the unofficial number one."
"That's because you haven't seen Senior Vivianne's true skills. You didn't watch the sparring between her and Louis during the break, did you? If you had, you wouldn't say such things."
"So, what's the point? Senior Adrias is the unofficial number one. And don't argue with me; ask the seniors in the newspaper club. I didn't create the unofficial rankings."
Marvin intervened in the sudden heated pride battle between the two undergraduate students.
"Oh my, I spoke unnecessary words. I was just curious about Adrias based on what I saw during the evaluation. It seems like other countries only care about tournaments."
Awkwardly laughing, Marvin tried to calm them down and then fixed his gaze somewhere.
Over there, Louis and Serena were coming out of the training hall at the right moment.
"Ah! How about asking them?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I mean, ask those two. Since they are highly skilled, I'm curious about their opinions."
The newspaper club members turned their heads and spotted Louis and Serena approaching in this direction. They immediately went to them and started a conversation.
"Louis! Serena!"
"Hey, Richard! What are you doing here?"
Louis greeted warmly, wearing a dazzling smile.
"Good timing. There's a student from another academy visiting our newspaper club."
"Another academy? That person?"
"Yes. They're from the Balkan Academy."
Marvin approached belatedly and offered his greetings.
"I'm Marvin Gerett. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Louis Artman. Nice to meet you too."
"I'm Serena Erestial."
Richard, glancing at Dexter, asked, "Could I possibly interview you?"
"Me? Or Serena?"
"Both. Not right now, but I plan to ask you both later and compile the interviews."
Richard briefly explained the purpose of the interview.
Serena nodded, seemingly excited about it. "I'm fine with it."
"Louis, how about you?"
"You haven't asked Adrias Senior yet, have you?"
"Oh? Um, no, not yet."
"Alright, I'm in too."
Marvin nodded in gratitude. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. It's nothing, really."
Then, before the two of them could leave, Marvin stopped them for a moment.
Marvin, with a friendly smile, addressed the two with an unasked question that had been on Richard and Dexter's minds.
"I'm sorry, but may I ask you both a question?"
"Of course."
"Have you ever heard of Adrias Cromwell being unofficially ranked as number one by the newspaper club?"
"Unofficial ranking?"
Serena, who was beside them, asked in confusion.
Since it had only been discussed within the newspaper club for analytical purposes, the two of them were completely unaware.
"We didn't know."
"I see. Do you happen to know Adrias personally? Being magic department students, you might not..."
"I know."
"I do."
Marvin's intrigued expression was met with simultaneous responses.
Marvin's intuition told him that if the answers came so readily, there might be something to it.
"So, do you agree that Adrias Cromwell holds the unofficial number one ranking? Just a moment ago, I overheard a conversation about Adrias and Vivianne Velocan. If Adrias and Vivianne were to fight, who do you think would win?"
The question left both of them deep in thought.
Serena was the first to speak.
"I'm just a first-year, so I haven't been at the academy for long. However, based on what I've experienced so far..."
Serena paused for a moment before making her decision clear.
"In a sword fight alone, it would be Vivianne. But if Senior Adrias uses magic, I'd say it's about 70% likely that Adrias Senior would win."
"Wow!" Marvin exclaimed, Richard's expression became furrowed, and Dexter looked pleased.
However, Serena had more to say.
"But until you face off, you can't be sure. In fact, there's talk that Senior Adrias isn't particularly talented in magic. Using both magic and a sword at the same time might actually scatter his focus and weaken him."
"Indeed! That could be the case."
Using magic didn't necessarily provide an advantage.
Especially in fast-paced combat situations, adding magic to the mix could sometimes be a hindrance, given the additional concentration required.
"What about you, Louis?"
In response to Serena's question, Louis, who had been lost in thought until then, gave a faint smile.
"Well?"
"But you did fight Vivian Senior, didn't you? Do you have an estimation of her abilities?"
"Hmm..."
After a moment of contemplation, Louis spoke.
"I haven't fought Senior Adrias, so I can't say for sure. But I've seen his strength at Modras's Tower. It's a bit vague, but if I were to describe it based on my gut feeling..."
Everyone's attention turned to Louis.
"I felt like I just wanted to spar with Senior Vivianne once. Even if I lose, I think I could learn a lot. While Senior Vivianne might not seem that strong at first glance, when she wields a sword, she exudes a violent strength that feels like she could tear through anything."
"That strong?"
"I'd appreciate it if you could ask her for a match someday. I was able to learn quite a bit."
"What about Senior Adrias?"
"He's in a league of his own."
It was a succinct response.
Serena nodded in understanding, as she had also faced Senior Adrias and experienced firsthand what Louis was talking about.
"It's a bit embarrassing to admit, but the moment I stood before Senior Adrias, I lost my composure. It was so deep and dark that I couldn't gauge it."
Louis reminisced about Adrias as he spoke. His cold demeanor and, as Louis had anticipated, his intelligent and calculated movements left a deep impression on him.
"Someday, for sure..."
In Monas, there was no goal because they had an overwhelming leader.
However, now that he had come to Rodren, there are so many people he need to catch up with.
So, he decided to strive harder every day.
Thinking of Adrias, strength filled Louis' fist as he spoke.
"Thank you for your opinions. We'll contact you later to arrange the interview date."
"Understood."
As Louis and Serena disappeared, Richard ignored Dexter with a slightly relaxed expression, and Dexter subtly teased him.
"Did you hear that? They say it's the sky above the sky."
"I get it. But why are you so proud when you're not even a senior like Adrias?"
Marvin, who had been watching their conversation, couldn't hide his excitement about the news of visiting Rodren Academy.
'Adrias Cromwell. An undisclosed scoop! I'm looking forward to the interview.'
.
.
.
.
What happened with Dianne was resolved easily.
It could have been a situation where she might face disciplinary action, but Dianne let it pass quietly.
So, after finishing this day, just as I was heading to Deregion dormitory for the first time, someone came looking for me.
"Student Adrias!"
"Morgan."
A staff member directly under the school's headmaster, Deos Canyon.
Was it because I had just returned from the hidden dungeon? It felt like it had been a very long time since we last met.
"I'm glad you returned safely."
"Yes, it's been a while."
"Could you spare a moment?"
When Morgan called me, was it because Deos was looking for me?
"Yes, that's fine."
"Headmaster Deos wants to speak with Adrias. Let's go to the administrative building right now."
Did he still not know that I had the tablet with me?
There was probably no need for him to come in person.
Anyway, I followed him and headed straight to the headmaster's office.
"Welcome, Student Adrias. Morgan, thank you for your help."
After Morgan left, Deos gestured for me to sit.
"Please, have a seat."
What does he want to talk about?
I had a rough idea, but I couldn't believe it.
That's because it's something I wouldn't even think of with the old Adrias.
"Do you have any idea why I called you, Adrias?"
"I heard some unusual news as soon as I returned. Strange things happened in the Mulfery Dormitory."
"Indeed, Adrias. You guessed it correct."
My guess was correct.
Originally, it should have been Dianne, and the students from the Knight Department, including the graduating class, and Louis, who would be asked to come.
That's how it was in the original game scenario.
Now that Dianne is already involved, the only thing that has changed is that I've been added.
Since the timing has been accelerated, I'm not sure if Louis will join as planned.
"It seems I have a good hunch."
I had never felt a strong sense of reputation, but it seems to work like this.
"It's a request and a proposal. You can refuse."
"Is it an investigation?"
"Yes. If you find clues about this incident or resolve the cause, we will give you graduation bonus points. How does that sound?"
Not bad.
Rodren Academy's graduation requirements were quite strict.
So, while admission was easy, graduation was said to be difficult.
Now that I'm in my fourth year, second semester, it's time for me to start thinking about graduation.
"I had also asked for help from Dianne Alben. And Professors Iselin and Charon have been working together as one team until now."
Originally, the professors were led by Bart.
But now, the situation has changed as he was in Portrian.
'It's something I somewhat expected.'
So, it would be appropriate to use it.
Anyway, this incident won't just end in the Mulfery Dormitory.
"I will accept the proposal."
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