Perhaps luck wasn't on Emilia's side today, because just before the class bell rang, their last classmate entered along with the teacher.
If the short but shiny silver hair and stone cold grey eyes of the boy weren't enough for Emilia to know who he was, the squeals and whispers from the students at the back made it more than clear.
Amos Black, the heir to the Black Tiger corporation, and the future 'most sought after boyfriend' in the Imperial Academy.
At first, he looked indifferent and cold, not bothered by the fuss in the classroom at all. But as the teacher organized the materials for the class and told him to take a seat, Amos's expression turned disgusted.
To him, it was clear that this spoiled young lady had threatened everyone else to make sure that the only empty seat was the one beside herself. All just so she could be the only one by his side.
"Teacher, is there nowhere else I can sit?"
The teacher, a middle aged man with deep dark circles under his eyes, looked at him with both confusion and irritation.
"What the heck is wrong with you? Just go sit on the floor outside if you don't want to sit in the only empty seat after arriving late! Fu—ahem."
He muttered a 'stupid spoiled rich brats', and although Emilia was praising him in her heart for scolding the hero, she was also dreading studying under this obviously 'difficult' teacher.
Amos looked gloomy, having never been treated like this in his entire life. But he could only helplessly take his seat beside Emilia.
He made sure to make it obvious that he was trying to stay as far away from her as possible, and the classmates behind could already be heard whispering to each other in confusion.
Of course, there was someone who looked even more disgusted than Amos.
"Tch. Emily, you switch with me after this class is over, okay?"
Who was she to refuse such a generous offer? "Of course, when the angry mobs fling mud at the innocent princess, it is the knight's duty to protect her with their shield!"
Dixy was already used to her 'funny titles' and just rolled her eyes.
The hero had a bunch of question marks floating on his head.
What's going on? Are they fighting over who gets to sit next to him? Did the spoiled princess Danielle actually compromise? Who the fuck was Emily? And what was the identity of the other girl to make this obnoxious villainess actually bend her knee?
A bang from the teacher's desk made everyone in the classroom sit straight in fright. If the duster was alive, it would be crying from the mistreatment right now.
"Alright, you little spoiled brats! My name is Teacher Jefferson, you can also call me Mr. Jeff if you want to fail my class. I'll be making a futile attempt at teaching you mathematics! Now, for sanity test, who can tell me what two plus two is?"
As if to mock them, he actually wrote '2 + 2 = ?' on the board with the exaggeratedly forced squeaking of chalk. Emilia was worried that it might leave permanent marks on the poor black board.
A girl with shoulder length brown hair raised her hand enthusiastically, looking very happy at knowing the answer to the first question in her high school life. "Teacher! I know, I know! It's four!"
And he threw the half used chalk at the girl, hitting her squarely on the forehead with a 'Ugyuu?!'.
"Congratulations, you have failed at detecting even the basic level of sarcasm. If you're as bad at mathematics as you are in logic and comprehension, I suppose I'll be spending more brain juice here on you rich brats than even the morons in class C."
Emilia rolled her eyes, thinking about how such a hostile teacher could survive in this place at all. Even if the children in class C had the lowest performance compared to their competitors, merely getting into this school meant they must have been exceptional beforehand.
"Ah, I see some of you rolling your eyes and making funny faces. I shall have you know, this is not an acting class, and you will be getting no bonus points for that! Well, enough wasting time, let's start with permutation and combination!"
----------
Emilia had to admit that she really underestimated the level of education in this world. After the whole talk about bullies, she thought a bunch of morons must be in charge here, and what could a bunch of morons possibly know that she already didn't?
Unfortunately, she failed to comprehend almost the entirety of the first lecture, and she wasn't sure if the teacher was even being hostile once the lecture began. At the very least, he looked like he was being professional.
Dixy pressed the back of her palm in reassurance, unable to sit by as tears hung in her friend's eyes, looking almost ready to fall. "W-Well, don't cry. You don't need to know everything to pass in the end. Just memorize the easier topics and clear the exam. The grades don't matter anyway."
But how could Emilia say that she wasn't upset because she might fail, but because her pride as a princess had been hurt? As someone who spent nearly ten years studying and preparing for the throne, she felt that she should have at least been on a much higher level than these children.
"C-Cynthia… am I stupid?"
Her system's voice was panicked. "No no no, don't cry! How can a villainess cry ah! What a disgrace! This is a different world, and it has a completely different educational foundation than what you had! So what's wrong with having to learn a few things?! And if you still cry, I'll save the memory and make fun of you forever!"
Emilia seemed to have gathered some of her self-confidence back from her words. Right, how could she collapse so quickly when she had been so confident just this morning?
Besides, she could always learn what she didn't know.
'That's my villainess!' Cynthia cheered silently.
Emilia gave her friend a nod, no longer looking like she was about to cry. "Um. Dixy… let's study together after school?"
"Eh? But what about the karate?"
"The what?"
"Ahem, no nevermind that. Of course we'll study together!"
Amos looked condescendingly at the two. Isn't it obvious you should know all of this before even coming to this school?
'Tch, if not for the special privileges of class S, I doubt these morons could even get admitted here at all. As for me, I missed the score for class A by just two marks. After the next exam, I'll be free from the company of these retards.'
It was a good thing that Emilia couldn't hear the hero's thoughts, or a fight would have broken out right in front of the next teacher.
The gentle looking woman in her early thirties looked much kinder than Mr. Jefferson, and didn't even raise a brow at the two girls shuffling around to change seats.
She gave the students a gentle smile. "I'm sure you guys and girls must be quite depressed after meeting Mr. Jefferson. Don't worry, although he's got a strict manner of speaking, he can be quite kind once you get to know him more."
The students looked at each other, thinking that it's true that some people thought of others as they would think of themselves. Kind people saw kindness where there was none.
Looking at their unconvinced expressions, the teacher did not argue.
"Anyway, you can call me Mrs. Macmillan, and I'll be teaching you science. Unlike Mr. Jefferson, who will be with you throughout the FOUR years of high school, we'll only have this one year together, as next year this subject will be separated into three!"
There was a mix of despair and disappointment from the crowd of students, causing the lady on the podium to chuckle.
It's been only an hour since the school started, and Emilia already felt exhausted.
"Hey Dixy, between Mr. Jefferson and Mrs. Macmillan, which one do you think enjoys seeing us suffer more?"
"I-I'm not sure…"
----------
Thankfully, the science class wasn't as bad as the maths class.
Perhaps it was because Mr. Jefferson had intentionally started with a complex topic to scare the children, or perhaps the difference between the level of scientific knowledge in her previous world wasn't as great as the mathematical knowledge, but Emilia was relieved either way.
Contrary to what she expected, the school actually only had compulsory classes for two to three hours out of six, varying by the day.
The rest of the time was left to the students to allot for themselves. They could take optional classes, study by themselves, or go to various clubs. They could even go home if they took permission from a teacher or a doctor.
The fierce competition made it so that the children did not dare waste too much time, and the efficiency of this method was already proven by the years of performance records.
The hero had bolted out of the classroom the moment the second bell rang, and Emilia was of course relieved to see him go.
And just as expected, it didn't take long for their bench to be surrounded by a bunch of curious boys and girls.
"Emilia, Emilia, do you know that super hot guy from before? Why was he looking at you like that?"
Some of the girls looked dreamy eyed when they thought of the hero, while others were simply curious. The boys had most of their attention focused on Emilia herself, and Amos was just an excuse.
"Ugh, disgusting bastard."
Surprisingly, this came not from Emilia, but Dixy.
Although many of the boys agreed by instinct, even they were surprised.
"Ehhh?"
Dixy made a 'tsk tsk' sound before motioning them to huddle closer, as if sharing some exciting secret.
"You guys don't know, but that guy's been wooing and pestering poor Emilia for years! She didn't know any better because she always stayed at home before, but he's a real piece of work! Not only did he try so hard to make her fall in love, on the outside he pretends to be disgusted!"
Even the girls were shocked this time. Could someone who looks so good really act like that?
"Ehhhh?! Is that really true?"
Dixy rolled her eyes, as if she knew they wouldn't believe her 'even though she's telling the truth'.
"Tch. You can see for yourself. Look at my cute little Emily. Who would act like he did?"
As dozens of eyes focused on her face, Emilia blinked, suddenly thankful that Danielle's face was so cute and childlike. No one can think badly of her with just a look.
Most of them looked half convinced, but one of the girls shook her head, as if saying 'you guys are too naïve!'.
"What's wrong?"
The girl chuckled, pushing her glasses up as if about to share some great knowledge.
She looked quite cute with tasteful freckles on her otherwise pristine skin, but the chalk mark still on her forehead reminded everyone that this was the same girl who got hit by Mr. Jefferson for being an idiot.
Nevertheless, her confidence didn't seem to be shaken at all.
"It seems to make sense on the surface. But I think you're misunderstanding something, Dixy!"
Dixy looked doubtful. "Huh, did I?"
The freckled girl wagged her finger from side to side. "Fufu, you may not know, but I have a friend in class A who is super good at figuring things out, and there was once a case very similar to this that had me confused, but she solved it in an instant!"
Now the curiosity of all the children was piqued, and they all huddled closer to listen carefully. If it was someone from class A, they must be a genius!
Looking quite proud at their 'please tell us' expressions, the girl continued with her chest puffed up.
"That boy had been bullying and chasing after this girl for years too, and everyone thought they would be sweethearts later. But when they grew a little older, he always ran away in disgust when she got close! Guess what's his secret?"
The students all huddled together, their faces almost sticking to each other. It was as if some great mystery of the world was about to be revealed!
"Oooh, so what's the secret? Tell us! Tell us!"
"It's because… he didn't like girls at all!"