Greg's brain was spinning at an unprecedented speed at this moment.
He took a deep breath, refraining from shouting cliché nonsense like "calm down" as ordinary people might.
He simply stepped forward calmly, standing between the two of them, and said in a respectful tone:
"Headmistresses, please allow me to say a word."
Both Olivia and Luna's eyes fell upon him at the same time.
One was a drunken scrutiny, while the other was a completely emotionless stare.
"Although I am only a student, I have read about your various deeds in the newspapers."
Greg spoke slowly, his gaze landing on Olivia first:
"Headmistress Olivia, when you were twenty-five years old, you single-handedly suppressed the monster tide of the Northern Abyss Rift, safeguarding seven border towns."
Then he turned to Luna:
"Headmistress Luna, when you were twenty-five, you pierced the core of the Siren King raging across the Western Coast with a single arrow, putting an end to three years of sea disasters. These achievements are still included in the required textbooks of major magic academies to this day."
He paused, his tone growing even gentler:
"I am not saying all this to flatter you both, but because, as a junior who has read these records, I truly believe you are both seniors worthy of respect!"
"If the two of you draw weapons against each other here over a mere moment of heat, not only would it disappoint those who look up to you as role models, but it would also cast an unnecessary shadow over the reputation you've accumulated for years."
His eyes moved back and forth between them, his voice carrying an earnest yet unservile tone:
"So I still hope you can prioritize harmony. There is no need to fight over these matters."
Silence fell over the corridor.
Olivia's hand holding the revolver slowly lowered. She stared at Greg for several seconds before letting out an ambiguous hum, stowing her magic conduit back inside her clothing.
"...You kid, I've never seen you talk so smoothly before."
Luna also released her fingers resting on the bowstring. Her silver eyes lingered on Greg's face for a moment before shifting away.
"...Your student is very good."
Olivia snorted. "Of course. Look who raised him."
Seeing this, Greg finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as if he had just walked back from the gates of death.
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, then turned to Luna, weighing his words carefully:
"Um, regarding taking me as a disciple... please give me some time, and I'll think it over carefully."
He didn't accept directly, nor did he flatly refuse.
For he knew very well that if he became Luna's disciple, although he could latch onto another heavyweight ally, it wouldn't solve his current dilemma and would instead make things even more troublesome.
Given Luna's rigid and meticulous personality, he would undoubtedly be assigned numerous training tasks very soon, which would clash severely with his original plans.
Of course, these drawbacks were mainly relevant for the time being, so Greg left himself an out rather than giving a definitive refusal.
Having resolved the conflict between the two, Greg quickly found an excuse to leave on his own.
He needed to find his room as soon as possible, settle down, and begin planning his next moves step by step.
As Greg's figure completely vanished down the end of the corridor, the last trace of tension between the two dissipated completely.
Looking in the direction Greg had disappeared, Luna suddenly asked:
"Is he truly a pure-blooded human?"
Olivia was slightly taken aback, shedding her previous drunken demeanor as her gaze deepened. "Oh? Why do you ask?"
There was still no ripple in Luna's silver eyes, but her voice carried a sense of conviction:
"Because I can feel that his soul seems even more noble than that of a Holy Spirit. It's something I've never seen before."
Hearing this, Olivia remained silent.
She stayed silent for a moment, recalling the mysterious power she had once witnessed in Greg, a thoughtful expression surfacing on her face.
...
Since one of the main goals of the Hundred Academy Exchange was to promote interaction and communication among students from various academies, the organizers intentionally adopted a mixed housing arrangement.
Each dormitory had to be shared by students from three different academies to break down barriers between schools and give representatives more opportunities to get to know one another in their daily lives.
Holding his assigned key, Greg wandered around the residential area of the Magic Tower for a few turns before finally finding his room at the end of the corridor on the seventh floor.
The moment he pushed open the door, he saw two figures inside already unpacking their luggage.
Hearing him enter, both raised their heads at the same time.
One was rather tall with dark skin, wearing a dark green uniform, while the other was slender, wearing round-framed glasses and a blue academy uniform.
The attire and fabric quality of their uniforms appeared somewhat plain; they clearly did not hail from the Five Great Magic Academies, but were ordinary students from ordinary schools.
"Yo, hello!"
The dark-skinned boy grinned first, showing a row of white teeth, and greeted him enthusiastically:
"I'm Rom from Greenfield Magic Academy. We'll be roommates for a while!"
"I'm Corwin, from Frost Ring Magic Academy."
The boy with glasses nodded as well, speaking in a gentle tone. "Please take care of me."
Greg introduced himself, put down his luggage, and briefly shook hands with them.
They had all checked their roommates' information beforehand, so they didn't seem overly surprised upon learning that Greg came from one of the prestigious Five Great Magic Academies.
After a few pleasantries, Greg found that although they came from ordinary academies, both possessed cheerful personalities and were quite pleasant to get along with—much better than those few back in the Student Council.
After chatting for a while, Rom suddenly seemed to remember something, scratched his head, and said:
"By the way, Greg, there's something I wanted to mention to you."
He paused, seemingly weighing his words:
"When we just arrived today, we heard three girls downstairs going around telling everyone that you're a bad guy who often commits evil deeds, warning us to be careful around you."
"But we remembered seeing you earlier carrying so much luggage while being forced to carry a drunk woman on your back, plus you don't act arrogant with us at all now... We're certain you must be the target of bullying at your academy! Those rumors are definitely put out by those bullies to target you on purpose!"
Corwin adjusted his glasses and chimed in:
"Don't worry, we'll also explain this to students from our academies so everyone knows not to believe those rumors, and we'll help clarify things when necessary."
Hearing this, Greg was startled for a moment before realizing what was going on.
The three girls spreading bad rumors about him were, without a doubt, the noble representatives who had cornered Victoria on the airship earlier.
Having suffered a setback at his hands and not daring to confront him face-to-face, they were spreading rumors behind his back to ruin his reputation.
As for the current situation, Greg had no intention of explaining.
He merely smiled to himself in secret; this was an unexpected windfall.
His roommates' misunderstanding had, by a twist of fate, helped him craft the image of an outstanding student being bullied.
Far from harming his plans, this image would help him garner sympathy and goodwill among students from other academies, further solidifying the persona he wished to project.
So without offering much explanation, he put on a melancholy expression:
"I didn't expect they wouldn't let me off even during the exchange... but thank you so much for not misunderstanding me because of those rumors, and for helping me clarify things instead. Thank you, you guys are truly good people!"
Rate on N.U.
