I returned to my seat without trouble. Honestly, I half-expected that punk to try and trip me. Another student walked toward the front.
“Okay, this time it's me for real.
…
.
.
.
….My – my name is... Aria. I'm 13 and a half.”
“Welcome Aria!”
“Welcome to our class, Aria. I forgot to say it earlier, but welcome Elijah. You could have waited your turn though.”
”...Thanks, um, *Checks nameplate* Alyandrea, is it? To be honest, this whole thing makes me nervous. Too many people in this academy already know me. I'm afraid I'll implicate you all somehow.”
“Yeah, I gotchu. You’re the former ‘Prince’ after all. The baggage comes witchu.”
"If you're really that popular, then, why are you so afraid of them? You sound fine..."
Mr. Prince turns around in his seat, ready to address the voice, except his neck needs to crane up quite a bit in order to meet her gaze.
…
…
...
At this moment, the class finally noticed her. Long hair shyly covering her face, rippling muscles threatening to break out of her clothing - in fact, she seemed to dwarf the bully from before! A behemoth of a girl...I think, tried to make herself appear as small as possible. If she could shrink, that would probably be her dream superpower based on her body language right now. Though, she doesn't seem to have such a gift and so, her body barely fits in her assigned seat. Aly looked like she was in love. Mr. wild-hair was gritting his teeth with darkened eyes, hehe.
Everybody else looked like intimidated guppies.
"You...You're a non-combatant?"
.
.
.
"Who the hell is this monster, she can't possibly be a non-combatant... right...?"
"Wayne, stop making fun of your classmates. Aria, you're done with your introduction, right? Then go back to your seat. Ophelia, come. You're next."
"...B-But I wasn't fini... *Sigh* yes sir."
So that boy's name is Wayne, mhm. Now I know the name of the guy that acted like my age was a death sentence to his pride. Aria sat down with a gloomy aura surrounding her. I don't get why when she sounded just fine. Did she have more to say?
At last, the titan stood from her seat, albeit shyly. Her long, blonde hair draped over her shoulders, I already recognized one of her 'tells'. When she's nervous, her hands tend to play with the edges of her hair!
I'm starting to understand these guys...eh? Why is she looking at me?
...
No, she's unfocused. Does she have stage-freight? Uhh, this is awkward. Should I, like, wave or something...?
".........Well? TALK already!"
"Oliviera, shush. Don't scare her."
...
She's not speaking. She's nodding, but, jeez. I can't stop looking back and forth to see if anyb- ahh, too late. The other students are beginning to turn their heads to look back at me! Wh-Why? What do you expect me to say- that we know each other or something? Well we don't! I've never met her before, I'd certainly remember!
But I can't just...grumble. I should...treat this like an infiltration mission. Right. This is a school of powerful hero teachers. I'd stand no chance even without my suppression patch active if they learned I... did stuff under the Malierano name.
I calm down at the thought, this is...an ordinary day for me.
I... Just need to play the role of a... kind classmate. Breathe...yes, I gesture for her to inhale...then exhale. Two times, then a third, each one more exaggerated than the last. She seems to get mimic my breathing, and relaxes. I faintly make out a smile beneath her draping hair.
"......Sorry. My...name's Ophelia. I...I'm... I’m 14 today, and although I can't really control my powers well, I do still have them.
I...I don't want to fight anymore, and because of that, my powers were sealed.
…
But even if I’m nearly powerless - I just... I wanted to see real heroic students up close and-
...well and offer what meager help that I can give. I’ll study to help others without fighting. Please be kind to me, and I hope that we can become friends."
Her end-of-turn bow triggered a round of silence. Even Oliviera kept silent, 'stealthily' taking a snapshot with her phone. She's not as sneaky as she might've thought.
"Hmph, waste of potential if you ask me. You come off as a loser with this 'All brawn, but no brains' -style, meek and weak-willed persona. The load it does is make you a bigger target. How boring."
"Watch yo--"
"As if you're any better. Do you think snuffing out a class member who bothers to look at you won't lead you to trouble? Ha. The pot calling the Kettle black."
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
"Noel, stop antag-"
"I'd like to see who's brave enough to mess with me. Lookin' to try?"
"..."
"Oh no~ I'm being threatened by a villain - a villain masquerading as a non-combatant~!"
"You FUCKING los-!"
"ENOUGH! *Clap!*"
......Dammit, my mouth has been magically silenced. This is so embarrassing - I couldn't react! Well, at least he looks dumber than me, raging in his seat like a caged beast.
"If you can't speak nicely to one another, then you don't have to speak for the remainder of the class. Elijah, were you going to say something? It better not be offensive."
"N-No, no sir! Of course, it isn't! I was just in awe, that there could possibly be any other student that suffers from being unable to control their powers, yet...still chose to come here. I'm honestly...grateful. I-I mean I'm impressed! Haha...hah."
Elijah and Ophelia shared an awkward laugh together. I would've smiled at the two finding solace in the other's presence if their confessions didn't make them look so pitiful.
"I need to remind you about somethin'. The moment you stop taking YOURSELF seriously is the moment everybody's gonna walk all over you. You don't NEED somebody to play bodyguard for you out here. Just gotta be your OWN bodyguard and stand up for YOURSELF. 'Cause if you're alone with that temperament, you in trouble. You listenin'?”
Ophelia, this titan of a girl noticed how fierce her smaller classmate Aly, was, and all of her built-up confidence crumbled like jello, "I... I am."
"Good. On that note, how the fuck did you manage to get these huge biceps?! Gurl~ WE'VE GOTTA work out together! I'm aiming to become a hero someday, and I could definitely use that strength of yours! Oh, and tips! Can you help me out here?"
She bounces back really quick. It would appear that aside from her initial fear, she's mainly in awe of Ophelia’s impressive physique. Mr. Abrams is growing a little impatient, I can see his left foot tapping to a slightly faster rhythm than during my introduction.
"Well...if, if it's just that... then yes. But if – if you're asking me to spar, then ….I-I'm sorry. But I can't. I don't want to fight."
"Not sparring is fine. All I'm askin' about is for you to spot me and share those bicep secrets! If-"
"Okay! Stop... TAKING SO LONG! Who's next? Anyone??
.
.
.
Nobody? Okay! Then I’m Oliviera! I don't care for being a hero. I just wanna be close to them! I am in LOOOVE with heroes, so much that I happen to be an official fan club member for all the newest top ten Generation leaders! Oh...well, top 9. I REFUSE to become a follower of that evil, horrendous substitute for the Pri-err...Elijah.
BUUUT the ones I DO support are:
10th place) Biceps King: Harvey! I don't know his last name!
9th place) Snake King...sorry, I mean Queen! Orochi Suzuki!
8th place) Music King: Nikita Abdulov!
7th place) Queen of the Feathered maidens: Valkyrie's Captain, Kari Avon! She leads the charge for the freshmen hailing from the Norse Faction!!
6th Place) Though not official because of the intense rivalry between her and her step brother...Cubic Quee- er, "Empress": Saskia Beke!
ALSO 6th place) Until they settle their rivalry and choose who is stepping down ...Vector Monarch, Maximilian Meier!
5th place) Sonic-speed King: Momo Humphries! He's already decided on his superhero name... Sonic Light!
4th place) Mind Master: Tetra Terror! I don't know their gender, but they seem really cool in a... kind of creepy way!
3rd place) The Young Painter of Egypt: Luxor Al Amin! His group all hail from those who've been granted divine powers by Anubis, Wepwawet, Anupet or Kebechet! They say whatever he paints becomes REAL!
And 1st place! None other than the Elemental King himself... Rhys Abrams! The lazy King himself who was the only person, other than Elijah Abiko: Prince of Shades, to go undefeated against the other Generation Leaders! OH, and don't get me STARTED on the UNRANKED HASTY QUEEN HERS-"
"Okay! Okay...sheesh. Telling me that I take so long, when you can't stop praising others long enough to fuckin' breathe. What part of that shit was a 'SELF-INTRODUCTION'?"
"BITCH Don't tr-"
"Ahem."
Oliviera and Alyandrea: "..."
They both got in trouble. Oliviera didn't even go to the front of the class, She just began her intro while Ophelia returned to her own seat. Elijah seemed to go red as he was praised, yet, it's hard to tell if he's happy or ashamed.
"While I'm flattered that you'd fangirl over me… honestly. You should follow whoever you like. I don't mind if you support the 'Gravity Queen' set to replace me."
"N-No! No way! She's a fraud! How can she replace you when she can't even claim to be undefeated at her level?! She lost two- no, THREE TIMES!! Sure, two of those losses were to the Unranked and Undefeated Hasty Queen and Undefeated 1st King themselves... but still! That means she can't suddenly become #2! Besides she hasn’t fought all of the other KINGS yet! She even lost to some …nobody named 'Nathan Eridani'! Who the PLUB is that! SHE'S UNWORTHY!!!"
...Eridani?
"Haha~ Now, now... As kind of you to point that out... I'm no longer fit to be the undefeated Prince of Shades, since I myself lost to-"
"...Eridani? You mean, the Eridani family?"
Although I spoke softly, Elijah seemed to pick up my words. Stopping partway caused a series of heads to roll, facing me like a domino effect. This included the girl sitting next to Elijah, Oliviera.
"What, what? The Eridani Family? What the heck is that supposed to be?"
"Hm? Noel, did you perhaps hear of those 'rumors' too? That's pretty impressive! I only heard about them myself a few days ago~ hahaha!"
...Am I missing something here? Aria and Ophelia are looking at me confused, Ian did the same before taking his phone out...does nobody here know about the Eridanis? But father and big brother Aeron both told me that they're as strong as the Malieranos! Aren't the 10 families supposed to be the ones maintaining the entire Spes Nova Continent itself?! Don't these hero children know who trains 1/5th of their heroes one way or another?
Mr. Abrams looked at me with pity, and my equally confused classmates with pity, then sighed...
...WHAT?! I'm not the weird one! The Eridanis are real!
"Haaah. Should've kept his mouth sealed.
To those of you confused with Noel's question, listen up! There are 10 Families who financially support the stability of Spes Nova's economy throughout the areas on this continental piece of land. I believe in no exact order, that they are: The Malierano Family, The Richeval Family, The Eridani Family, The Rowe Family, The Gonzara Familia, The Mabras Family, The Korvel Family, The Kimsun Family, The Fallcrest Family and The Wayfarer Family - or Families. All 10 of them financed the production and creation of Spes Nova, from its structure and economy down to every blade of grass grown to this very day. Those are the 10 families. That's it."
"That's NOT it! There are rumors!"
Oliviera looked at that whiny 'Wayne' guy.
"Rumors? About the 10 families or whatever...?"
Honestly, I had to agree with him. Teacher's explanation barely scratched the surface. But just as I was about to hear these so-called 'rumors' and if they were accurate or not, Elijah interrupted.
"What I want to know about is... Noel! Why did you ask about the Eridanis? Was there something you wanted to say, before everyone interrupted you?"
"..."
Oliviera: "Ah, is that so? Sorry Noel. Please continue!"
"..."
Wayne: "Oh I'm so sorry Noel! I didn't mean to rant! I just get so lost in the topic sometimes. Please- do go on!"
"..."
...I didn't wanna say anything!!! Aaah, me and my...stupid, STUPID mouth. I just meant to think that to myself because dad- er, Father is always ranting about them being a pain in the butt! What do I...
"Sorry Noel! we're your seniors, yet we only thought of ourselves! Don't worry, nobody will interrupt you. Go ahead and speak!"
...Curse you, Elijah. You're the third name on my list!
