How did it all start?

Yes. That’s right. It all began on that day two weeks back.

“I apologize, but your admission is fairly late.”

Those were the words the Vice Principal of the academy said to me as I sat in his office inside the empty Glorenstein Academy. The glorious place of dreams, an unmatched educational institute all over the continent.

It was the dream of everyone to graduate from Glorenstein. Especially for commoners like me. Glorenstein admitted students based on merit and not on status. For any commoner, a Glorenstein diploma was the same as a warranty that lasted a lifetime.

After toiling day and night, merging blood and sweat, I had passed the strict entrance tests that made seasoned veterans cry and secured a seat.

Only to hear those words.

My world seemed to be crashing down. I quickly wiped my foggy glasses.

“But, sir, the admission was approved…”

“Right, right,” the vice principal sighed and nodded at my words. “Hm… should I… But…”

He was talking to himself. It was quite unnerving for me. I took the moment and pleaded with the vice principal.

“Sir, please! My parents are sick, I have spent my entire life trying to get to this place so I can secure my and their future!”

That was the biggest mistake. I should have stuck to cutting logs or something.

Maybe touched by my pleas, the Vice Principal nodded to himself.

“I guess that place can use a hint of normalcy.”

The Vice Principal suddenly stood up. He wore a smile, but for some reason, I could feel a sense of sympathy in his eyes. “Alright! Atlas Whisper. You are going to be a member of the Black Rose Classroom!”

And that brings me to right now, at the grand entrance ceremony of the academy.

The host of the event was a professor that looked like a model. He took the mic and with a natural voice as harmonic as a lyre, began the ceremony.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t focus on what he said at all.

With my head lowered and my feet trembling, I wiped my foggy glasses and pinched myself. Yup, this was reality. I had seen it correctly.

To my left sat the second prince of the empire, His Highness Ier von Kelvin Bezark.

Biting my lips, I turned to my right. With her legs crossed and a paper fan covering her face sat the daughter and heiress of one of the biggest merchants on the continent, Lady Rosentea Il Scential.

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Tears threatened to spill out of my eyes, but I kept it inside. Front or back, left or right, heck even top and bottom, no matter where I turned my eyes all I saw were bigshots.

Normally, commoners would not even be able to breathe the same air as them for most of their lives. I used to believe that was one of the things common about me and all the bigshots, I hadn’t seen them and they hadn’t seen me.

But it turns out there was another thing in common.

The thing that was ready to make my peaceful, diligent academy life royally screwed right from the start, pun intended. It was the stupid badge on all of our collars. The small symbol of a Black Rose.

As if they had read my mind, the stage called up the professor of the Black Rose as well.

“Professor Ethan Kalenice will be joining us—”

All the eyes around me turned to the professor on the stage. The black-haired professor in a neat suit and gloves looked just as handsome as the first professor, but he had a friendly smile that made him seem extremely approachable. It was a waste of good looks, but maybe the good looks added to his friendliness.

I was pleased for a moment, at least the professor was someone nice.

But then I realized that he was supposed to be the professor of all the big shots around me, of course, he must be someone amazing. How dare I think I could make friends with him?

No, Atlas Whisper, you have worked hard. You woke up early every morning and spoke to the morning saying you can do it. Unless the mirror somehow jumps out and manages to get a diploma, I will be able to get through school easily.

Being in class with all these big shots might be a good thing! Let’s think of it that way.

It was too early to lose hope.

With renewed vigor, I pushed myself out of the gloom.

The introduction that I completely missed came to an end. With a closing note from someone named Gladwin Hark, we were asked to disperse and head to our classrooms.

As I looked around, I noticed some of the other students holding their luggage. I was told on the door by the knights that they’ll deliver mine to the rooms. Maybe the Black Rose was getting some special treatment.

Yes, this was not all bad.

There was no reason to lose hope.

It was our turn to move. Everyone on the seats of the First Years from Black Rose stood up. I did too and lowered my head.

But no one else moved.

Was it because they didn’t want a commoner behind them? Damn it! I thought a commoner shouldn’t be in the front, but it was natural for them to have shields and bodyguards.

Understanding my role, I scooted out of the chairs and started walking out. It seemed it was the right answer as the others walked behind me too.

I heard a few whispers from behind.

“Do you know the way to the class?”

“No idea. Let’s just follow someone else.”

Nooo. My image of bigshots. I was hearing things, just hearing things.

Biting my lips, I brought both my hands in front of me and walked ahead. Not fast enough to lose them and not slow enough to overhear anything else.

To my surprise, most of them seemed awkward with each other as well. They all kept a fair distance from one other.

After going past the central plaza and heading toward the Eastern Ends of the Academy, we passed through a few parks and reached a fairly deserted place. In front of us, an assortment of five tall buildings had made the complex that would house the Black Rose students from now on.

I could see the dorms, the classrooms, the staff dorms, a recreational building, and a last building for miscellaneous purposes.

In this distant corner of the academy, no other sound came around. Only the other students, about twenty or so of them, were making any noise.

It was strange. Even the professor hadn’t reached it yet.

We looked around in confusion. Just as I was about to head to the classrooms first, a loud rumble resounded over the grounds.

The earth slowly trembled as a low-pitched growl spread through the skies.

I gulped and looked ahead.

With a bag at its feet, right in front of us, was an enormous two-headed blue ogre.

A tear streamed down my eyes as I saw it.

There goes my peaceful, simple academy life.

Fuck this.