Chapter 88

The entrance ceremony ended without a hitch.

The representative greeting was, as expected, given by Julian.

Cain was also introduced on stage as an international student, but he got through it with a non-committal greeting.

There is a nominal principle within the school that "all students are equal regardless of status in academic matters," which essentially means that one should not use their status to force homework on others or demand unfair advantages in tests.

However, there are still status-based rules in place, such as the order of greetings and giving way to those of higher status in the corridors.

Therefore, class assignments were based on status rather than academic performance. Since the noble school does not have an entrance exam, it is impossible to assign first-year students by academic performance, and even for second-year students and above, classes are not assigned based on academic performance.

Cain ended up in the same class as Julian and Sylphridea.

"Cain-sama, please take care of me this year."

"Sylphridea-sama, I also look forward to working with you."

After the ceremony ended and they entered the classroom, Cain and Sylphridea greeted each other.

Julian, who had been on stage for the entire representative greeting, finally entered the classroom and interrupted their conversation.

"Cain, Sylphridea. I also look forward to working with you."

"Thank you."

"Thank you."

"Shouldn't you show me a bit more respect? Something a bit more formal, perhaps?"

"Teacher is here. Cain-sama, Julian-sama, please take your seats. I'll see you later."

"Huh."

The seating arrangement was written on the blackboard at the front of the classroom, so they sat according to it.

There were no classes that day, and the students spent the time introducing themselves and receiving explanations about the upcoming lessons.

After the class was dismissed, Cain hurried to the podium and spoke to the teacher.

"Teacher, I would like to ask about skipping grades. Do you have a moment?"

"Cain-kun, of course. Skipping grades, you say?"

"Yes."

"Then, after you prepare to return to the dormitory, please come to the staff room. I'll have the materials ready for you."

"Thank you."

Cain bowed slightly and returned to his seat.

Sylphridea and Julian were waiting at Cain's desk.

"Cain-sama, do you have something to do after this?"

"I need to go to the staff room to get some materials and talk to the teacher. Do you have something in mind?"

"We were thinking of showing you around the town nearby, Julian-sama and I."

"Hehe. I'll introduce you to a delicious restaurant."

"Julian-sama's favorite places tend to have cute waitresses but the food is often greasy. If your business doesn't take too long, would you like to have lunch with us?"

Their invitation was probably out of concern for Cain, a foreigner. This friendship was appreciated by Cain. He didn't want to be isolated just because he was an international student, which would be lonely.

Even if he wanted to return home soon, he would have to spend at least a year at this school. There would be classes where he couldn't work alone, and being alone would be tough.

Most of all, he wanted to know about the stores that sold cute stationery, so the offer to show him around the town was very welcome.

"I appreciate your concern. I would love to join you."

"Then, let's meet at the entrance after we change back at the dormitory. Since you have something to do, how about in an hour?"

"Yes, that would be fine."

"Is it impolite not to ask about my schedule?"

"Are you busy?"

"I don't have any plans."

"Then, let's meet at the entrance in an hour. Good day, Julian-sama."

With a graceful smile, Sylphridea left the classroom.

After seeing her off, Cain glanced at Julian, who was standing next to him, and couldn't help but laugh.

In his previous life, there was a popular app called "Pet Camera" that recorded pets while their owners were away. Many owners posted videos of their pets, and one common scene was a dog looking sad at the door after the owner left for work. Julian's face was exactly like that.

"If you were going to make that face, you should have suggested we go back to the dormitory together."

"I'm not making any such face. What kind of face is that?"

This time, Julian glared at Cain with a pout.

If Cain called him a dog, it would probably make him even more upset. Cain said nothing more and headed to the staff room.

"Cain-kun, you came. I have the materials ready for you."

"Thank you."

When Cain entered the staff room, his homeroom teacher waved him over. The adjacent seat was empty, so he was instructed to sit there, which he did.

"However, since you've come all the way to study abroad, wouldn't it be better to spend six years here, build connections, and form relationships?"

"Yes, I would prefer to do that, but there are circumstances."

"I see. Then, regarding skipping grades. There is a promotion test at the end of each year. You can take the test for the next grade level at that time. If you pass, you can advance two grades the following year."

"Can I only take the test for one grade level at a time?"

"Yes, you cannot take the tests for three or four grade levels at once. Therefore, the shortest time to graduate would be three years."

"Three years..."

After that, Cain learned useful information, such as the fact that textbooks are included in the tuition but if he wanted the ones for the next grade, he would have to pay extra, and that practicing with past exam questions is effective. He received the necessary documents for the application to skip grades and left the staff room.

When he returned to his room, Julian was already changed and waiting.

Cain threw his bag on the desk and took out casual clothes from his closet to change.

"Cain, you can change your clothes by yourself. That's impressive."

"Unless it's a formal evening dress for women, changing clothes is something I can do."

"Not everyone can. Some nobles practice changing clothes to get into the dormitory. Others bring in younger brothers as servants by paying for their room and board. It's essentially bringing in personal servants."

"Self-reliance is..."

They walked together to the dormitory entrance, where Sylphridea was waiting in a light pink dress and a wide-brimmed hat.

Sylphridea noticed Cain and Julian coming out of the entrance and waved with a smile.

Cain was waiting for Julian to compliment Sylphridea.

He had learned from his etiquette teacher, Mr. Silas, that it is impolite to compliment a woman before her fiancé. Mr. Ianis had also warned him to be careful when complimenting women with fiancés, saying that it could lead to marriage. He was too scared to ask what had happened.

However, Julian did not compliment Sylphridea and instead started talking about which restaurant to go to for lunch.

This made Cain look like a dullard who couldn't even compliment a woman.

"Sylphridea-sama, that dress is beautiful. It suits your bright hair. The wide brim of the hat makes your face look smaller and enhances your beauty."

In his haste, Cain used awkward words. "Small face effect" isn't really a compliment. He covered his face with one hand and held out the other to say, "Wait a moment."

"I'm sorry. I mistimed it. Please forget it."

"Hehe. Cain-sama, thank you for the compliment. I'm glad you noticed my effort to make my face look smaller. ...But, you know, it might be even nicer if you kept it to yourself."

"You're right... I'm sorry."

"Sylphridea is always beautiful and has a good sense of style. It's impressive that you can recognize that, Cain."

"If you think so, why don't you compliment Sylphridea-sama?"

"Sylphridea is always beautiful. Isn't it normal to not specifically compliment something that is always there?"

This prince is hopeless. Cain pressed his temples and slowly shook his head.

Happy New Year.

I look forward to working with you this year!

I rely on you for reporting typos...