## Chapter 96 – Night of the Social Gathering (2)
“N-Nice to meet you…!!
I’m Karla… von Sterben from the Alchemy Department…!!”
“Boo!! Too formal!!”
“Karla von Sterben!! Found to be highly controversial in social gathering etiquette!!”
“What the…!!”
Karla finished her introduction in what she thought was a normal way.
But no sooner had she finished than jeers erupted out of nowhere, and before Karla could even panic.
“Using honorifics at this social gathering?!
Guards!! Punish Karla severely!!”
A lively boy from the Alchemy Department, who seemed to have repaired his wig at some point and was now sporting a fake mustache, struck a clear, ringing sound from a metal cup with a spoon in his hand, delivering his verdict.
“Oh…!! Ack!! Wait!!
Ahahaha!! Ahahahaha!! That tickles!!”
In response, the girls next to her giggled and began tickling Karla’s sides, causing the ticklish Karla to twist and squirm, letting out joyful screams.
As other students stepped forward to introduce themselves, the atmosphere among the surrounding students noticeably lifted.
“I’m Gideon de Charlemagne from the Fusion Magic Department.
Although I’m already married to Fusion Magic, please treat me well!!”
“That’s it!! That’s an introduction!!
Setting a great example for everyone!!”
“Jerinel von Kranditz from the Alchemy Department!!
I’m divorced from Alchemy, so I’m recruiting a lover 24 hours a day!!”
“Trying to fulfill personal desires from the very introduction?!
I haven’t even done that!! Aggravated punishment for contempt!! Punish him severely too!!”
“Eekyagyagyack!!”
Amidst the atmosphere of a public trial (?) filled with personal desires, among the giggling girls and grinning boys.
Karla, positioned somewhere in the middle, blooming with bright smiles alongside her friends, seemed to be swept away by the cheerful atmosphere of the social gathering, where even self-introductions were filled with laughter.
In the midst of all that, Karla’s eyes began to catch familiar faces.
“Consider it an honor to have met me, you commoners.
For I am Hye-ryeong Dang, from the Dang Clan of the Pharmacy Department.”
In any other situation, it would have been nothing short of arrogant, but thanks to the special circumstances of the social gathering, she seemed to be perceived as having a pleasant, unique concept, this Hye-ryeong Dang.
“Ahahaha!! That concept is amazing!!”
“Wow!! It’s a princess!!”
“Ah… Sometimes, even I get tired of being so perfect… My popularity is…
Anyone who raises their voice louder will be personally stomped on by me.”
“Waaaaah!! Industry reward!!”
“A bowl of rice, gone in a flash!!”
“What kind of crazy talk is that?!”
But she, who somehow managed to make use of her personality, retreated while receiving cheers from the male students who were going wild over her slightly cynical smile.
And the place where she retreated and sat down was right next to Karla.
“Oh…”
“We meet again? Sterben, was it?”
Hye-ryeong, who had been familiar since the self-introductions, approached Karla, who was surprised that she was coming closer, and spoke to her with a smug expression.
“Ah…!! You’re the one from back then…!!”
“That’s right. Your brother owed me a favor back then.
Because he couldn’t handle things underground, I had to sprinkle precious medicine on the ground.
And he even borrowed a pin from me while urgently repairing that steel bird.”
“You were from the Pharmacy Department…!! Long time no see!!”
The woman from the special evaluation who had been matching Antonio’s natural back-and-forth beside him.
Karla recalled her graceful movements, like dancing, as she matched the clumsy brother who could barely dance, naturally timing the switching between attack and defense against Arachnella.
“Speaking of pins…? Is it a gold pin with a slightly peeled-off plating at the end?”
“So you know about it? That’s the one.
But since it’s been scratched up while scraping spiderwebs off the bird, there’s no point in getting it back…”
“That… my brother was wearing it on his cloak when he returned to the main family…”
“I-It’s probably worthless…!!
There’s no point in getting it back!!
I-I-It’s just something I lent to a man!!”
Watching Hye-ryeong’s face turn pale in an instant, Karla couldn’t help but feel that she was easy to read.
“Haa…? It doesn’t matter!! So… where was he wearing it…?”
“On his chest…? It looked like he was using it instead of a brooch to fasten his cloak…”
“W-What…? You guys just use brooches…
Did he really have to go that far…? Ahem!!”
“Ahaha…”
‘She’s so obvious…’
Karla hadn’t really thought of her that way, but it seemed Hye-ryeong’s arrogant attitude wasn’t all there was to her.
Feeling like her precious older brother was in great danger for some reason, Karla could only force a weary smile with a troubled expression.
As the self-introductions of various students came to an end, Lucas, as if he had something to say, rose from his seat and clapped his hands to gather attention.
Lucas, who was slightly tousling his white hair, began to shout loudly as if to convey it to the dozens of students sitting around.
“This social gathering is a party hosted by our family for all of us.
So, everything that happens here will be kept secret.
I hope it will remain a pleasant memory where we can all freely interact.
So, regardless of family or anything else, let’s all enjoy ourselves freely during this party!!”
“Wooooooo!!”
While everyone was going wild over Lucas’s plausible words,
“And by special request, we’ve invited a few more people.
They looked favorably upon this social gathering and participated, and I think most of you know them, they’re alumni from each department!!
Some have already graduated, and some are working as teaching assistants!!
Let’s have them introduce themselves one by one!!”
Just as the students began to stir at the surprise appearance, spotlights were shining on the six or so people who were walking in from the back, as if they had been waiting.
They still looked like students, but there was a subtle sense of maturity about them.
Depending on what they said, the students’ reactions seemed to vary in all sorts of ways.
“I’m Hagins von Verdium from the Energy Engineering Department, who will be graduating this time.
I don’t know if this is the right place for me to be at a freshman event.”
“Saihar de Karzina. From the Fusion Magic Department.
I may not have a fun personality, but please treat me well.”
“Lucia de Borgia.
I also graduated this time, but I’m currently working as a teaching assistant in the Swordsmanship Department, educating the juniors.
It wasn’t originally planned, but I was asked to attend with an interesting request.
I brought one of the juniors I’m teaching, so please get along.”
With that, the students from the Swordsmanship and Magic Departments, who made up the majority of the social gathering, cheered as familiar faces appeared.
It seemed Lucia was quite a famous figure.
To both men and women.
And as attention focused on the junior she had brought, the eyes of the other students were filled with bewilderment, while the students of the Swordsmanship Department were in shock.
“Ah, is that the first-year friend you were talking about?”
The girl in the dress, who had been standing behind Lucia, pushed her long purple hair behind her ear and slowly bowed her head as Lucia signaled her.
“U-Um… Hello…? I’m… Anne…”
And the first to recognize her were, of course, two people, but an excited reaction only came from one person.
“Miss Monehen!!”
“Ah!! It’s that person from last time…!!”
Next to Karla, who stood up from her seat and shouted happily as she looked at Anne, Hye-ryeong, with a fed-up expression, let out a small sigh.
And following that sound, Anne looked at Karla and made a troubled expression, recalling an unforgettable memory.
How much she had suffered, tanking alone, on that very road where she couldn’t even use the escape artifact comfortably and had to walk out raw at the end of the dungeon.
The memory of how much she had suffered, not only protecting Marie but also covering several people, was vividly coming back to her as she looked at Karla.
“It’s been a long time…!! How have you been?”
“Ugh… W-Well…”
As the other students, unaware of what had happened between them, still had puzzled looks on their faces, Karla then began to explain the background of their acquaintance to the others.
“She helped me during the last special evaluation…
My escape artifact broke down…
Miss Monehen was in the same group as my brother…”
“Karla, she helped you, so she’s a grateful person, right?
Monehen… no, you said Anne, right? Let’s get along too?”
“U-Um…”
Even the students from the Alchemy Department were happily welcoming Anne, who had helped Karla, and just as the situation was continuing in a heartwarming manner.
From behind Karla’s shoulder, a somewhat familiar mustache was floating in the air.
“In that sense, punish Karla for using honorifics again!!
How can you become friends with that attitude!!”
“Aah… Aha… Ahahaha!! I got iit!! Stooop!!”
.
.
.
.
.
.
Anne also had her circumstances.
She had a strong sense of pride and a strong desire to improve her abilities.
Her family was all she had, and she had focused all her time on training.
‘I’m… going to graduate quickly and help the family’s trading company…’
Besides, she didn’t really have any connections with most of the students in the Swordsmanship Department.
After all, most of the first-year students were in an atmosphere where it was difficult to approach Anne easily because Vivian, a senior, was openly ostracizing and hostile to her.
Therefore, even if they didn’t necessarily mistreat her, there was a bit of a problem with being close to her.
‘Those guys… I don’t need them…’
‘Hmm… I see…?
Make some time for me tomorrow.’
‘Yes…?’
That’s why she didn’t really have anyone she could call a friend, and that’s why Lucia had caught her.
But Anne couldn’t say no to Lucia, who she couldn’t understand what she was thinking, when she heard that Lucia was participating in this event as a senior because of Anne herself.
‘I’m not prepared at all…
And I don’t have the money to spend on that…’
Anyway, according to Lucia, who had persuaded Anne, who was trying to refuse because she was just being dragged along, that she would provide the clothes and personal items herself.
It was a demonstration of the tremendous drive and ability of the Borgia ducal family, who could be called the big hands of the Groden Kingdom.
Anne, who had been dragged along without knowing why, was speechless when she saw that everything was prepared, from the perfect dress to the makeup and accessories.
‘This… must be expensive…’
Anne’s soft cheeks, which were originally good, were reflected in the mirror, looking even whiter.
And when she saw the beautiful crimson jewel earrings that were gently attached to her earlobes through the mirror, Anne swallowed hard, guessing that they were worth the same as the family trading company’s annual operating expenses.
Of course, she would have to return them later, but Anne was a little scared by Lucia’s attitude of readily offering such items, saying that they were what she used to wear.
The male students, regardless of whether they were from the Swordsmanship Department or other departments, were staring blankly at Anne, who had transformed beautifully, and some of the female students were probably able to perfectly estimate the cost of the clothes and accessories she was wearing.
‘Why…?’
Why was Lucia giving her, a mere junior she didn’t even know, such excessive treatment?
Unlike before, when she was wearing a plain, simple uniform only for training, she could feel the gazes of others fixed on her.
Lucia, who had everything from family to status, was being trusted so much that she was teaching her, and even bringing her to a social gathering to show her face.
The current situation, where quite a few people were looking at her in a new light just because of that, was too unfamiliar to her.
As Anne was thinking deeply to herself.
After introducing each other, the atmosphere was gradually becoming quieter.
And Lucas, the host of this social gathering, who felt that it was time to move on to the next stage, slowly rose from his seat.
“Okay, then!! I think we’ve introduced ourselves enough!!
How about we play a game now?
Games are the best way to get to know each other!!”
“No way!! No way!!”
“The famous product of the Proden family!!
Let’s start the Wicked Game!!”
“Wooooooo!!”
Looking at the reactions of the people who couldn’t help but be enthusiastic at his words, only a few, who didn’t know what was going to happen, were tilting their heads with dumbfounded expressions.
