RotDG Chapter 76: The Class Of Solarin

I wanted to sigh in relief as soon as Headmaster Kaelen Angelus and Deputy Headmistress Claire Verena took their leave from the cafeteria. After all, my worst fears did not come true— they hadn’t discovered that I was in possession of four Artifacts of Death.

However, I couldn’t revel in my relief for even a single moment, before both Myrla and I were immediately swarmed by our fellow students gathered in the cafeteria. They inundated the both of us with a deluge of questions about the incident with the mawdrith that transpired a few days ago.

“Did you two seriously fight off a greater demon?”

“I heard one is capable of destroying an entire town on its own!”

“How did you two even survive?!”

“Wait, wasn’t Sonia Redheart involved in the incident too? Where is she?

“Did something happen to her? I don’t see her—”

I just scratched the back of my head as both faces I recognized and didn’t recognize surrounded me from all sides, keeping me boxed in from escaping.

Certainly, a rampaging mawdrith would be capable of pretty much slaughtering most of Velmond on its own— perhaps it would eventually be taken down by the sheer number of Silver Ranks it had to face. But that was not before causing the deaths of at least a thousand innocent lives, while leveling entire neighborhoods into rubble and dust. 

We were fortunate that the mawdrith that had attacked Sonia, Myrla, and I was commanded to focus its attention on us. Otherwise, the streets of the outer city of Albus would have been painted red.

But even if I wanted to explain all these details to the crowd of students— which, I did not, because it would have contradicted the story I had told the authorities— I couldn’t even say anything under the cacophonous weight of their voices.

Of course, while most of the students surrounding us were excited for us despite their disbelief, there were other students who were simply skeptical of what happened. 

They were mostly those who were from the other classes. Those who I had never interacted with before— from the Class of Caelrix, the Class of Noctis, and the Class of Viridane.

“You don’t seriously believe this, right?” a tall and slender brown-haired man said as he shook his head. “There is no way a couple of Initiates like us were capable of fighting a greater demon.” 

Next to him, a rather chubby girl nodded in agreement. “That’s right, they probably just ran away from it until an Inquisitor showed up…”

“I bet Headmaster Angelus is only praising them because they’re kids,” another guy, although he was more imposing, being tall and muscular with the build of a [Warrior], scoffed as he crossed his arms.

I furrowed my brows as I looked towards the three voices who spoke up. The crowd of students all around me parted ways, letting them through as I blinked a few times. They weren’t my classmates, since I didn’t recognize them at all. Not even in my summoning class, which had a mixture of students from different classes. However, Myrla seemed to know who they were as she piped up next to me with a serious look on her face.

“Owen Aurashard of the Class of Caelrix, Nel Chamberlain of the Class of Noctis, and Jakob Miller of the Class of Viridane.”

She introduced them respectively as they smirked and snickered back at her. I just raised a curious brow her way.

“You know them, Myrla?” I asked the young girl.

And she rolled her eyes back at me. “Gracious Goddess, Eli, do you even pay attention to anything that goes on on campus?” 

I gave her a shrug. “Not really, no.”

She sighed, “They’re the top students of their classes, and they all come from powerful families— but I don’t mean just in terms of noble houses either...”

Myrla shook her head and looked back at the three students standing right across from us.

“Nel Chamberlain is the daughter of Bishop Lawson Chamberlain, and Jakob Miller is the son of Templar Commander Denise Miller,” the young girl explained as she nodded at each one of them. “And Owen Aurashard’s father is Evan Aurashard the Archmage of Lightning of the Sanctus Empire.”

“Oh?”

I wasn’t impressed by either of Nel or Jakob’s parents, but I paused when I heard of Owen’s family lineage.

First of all, there were only seven [Mages] in the entirety of the Sanctus Empire who were given the Title of Archmage— each and every single one of them was extremely powerful, typically having reached Emerald Rank, which was a feat very few individuals ever achieved in all of Parvos.

But also, I was pretty sure I knew Owen’s dad. Because when I had slain the previous Archmage of Lightning in battle about thirty or so years ago. I remembered how he had an apprentice by the name of Evan— I didn’t kill him, because he posed no threat to me, so I spared his life.

So that kid became the Archmage of Lightning himself, huh? And now he has his own kid too, I thought as I placed a hand on my chin. I’d say I’m happy for him, if not for how annoying and stuck-up his kid seems to be…

“Oh, I’m surprised you heard of us, Myrla Arthus of the Class of Spoiled Brats,” Owen said as he grinned back at her. “I thought you and your classmates of nobles would’ve been too rich and important to pay attention to us commoners.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Myrla frowned at him.

And it was Nel who snorted in response. “Don’t play daft with us— everyone knows that every year, the Class of Solarin is packed with incompetent students who only got in through their noble heritage. That’s why we call it the Class of Spoiled Brats.”

I raised a brow when I heard that. Was the Class of Solarin known for having a higher number of noble children than the other classes? Honestly, that explained a lot, since practically everyone I knew from my class came from a noble heritage… 

I just thought it was normal for everyone in this school to be from a noble family, I thought as I pursed my lips.

“Oh, shut it you jerks,” Myrla snapped as she crossed her arms. “I’m literally just the daughter of a baron— your parents are far more influential than my father will ever be. If anything, you three were the ones who used your parents’ influence to get you into the Holy Academy.”

“What an interesting story,” Jakob piped up with a grin. “It’s almost as interesting as that whole greater demon story you made up. You’re really good at this, aren’t you?”

Myrla ground her teeth together. “These guys are really getting on my nerves. Eli, back me up here, will you?”

“I mean, is there even anything for me to say?” I said, shaking my head. “I doubt they’ll believe us, no matter what we say or do.”

“That’s true, but…” Myrla trailed off.

“At least one of you realizes just how stupid this lie is,” Owen chuckled as he interrupted the young girl. Next to him, both Nel and Jakob snickered too.

When the watching crowd heard this, they exchanged hesitant glances, almost convinced by their arguments. The students from the other classes whispered amongst themselves, now overcome with a skepticism they didn’t have earlier.

“Is it really true?”

“I mean, look at them— they’re kids!”

“Well, the teachers will say we’re kids too. But I do find it hard to believe how a couple of thirteen year olds could fend off a greater demon, even if only for a minute…”

But then a young man’s voice from the side spoke over them, drawing everyone’s attention to him.

“Except, they’re telling the truth.”

There was a sudden pause in the chattering as they faced who it was. Even I was taken aback by what I saw. Because the student who spoke up in our defense was none other than—

“That’s… Prince Claudius?”

The watching students gasped as the Seventh Prince of the Sanctus Empire strode forward with a grin plastered across his face. He came to a halt right before Owen, Nel, and Jakob, before placing a hand on his chest.

“As a fellow student of the Class of Solarin, I have seen firsthand the capabilities of my fellow classmates in battle. So while you may sit and stew in jealousy, calling them liars. I can place my honor in the line as a member of the royal family to vouch for their abilities.” 

I blinked a few times, staring at Claudius in disbelief. …what? 

Was he seriously defending me? That made no sense— I was under the impression that he hated me. In fact, it was not an unfounded idea that I came up with, considering that he spent the better part of the first two weeks of school trying to bully me.

And yet, here he was, standing up for Myrla and I and arguing with the other three students from the other classes.

“So you really expect us to believe that a group of prepubescent teens were capable of fighting a greater demon?” Owen asked, giving the prince a flat stare.

“Before I even counter the bulk of your argument, let me be clear, Sonia Redheart, who is not currently present, is no prepubescent teen— she is very much the same age as us,” Claudius said as he held up a finger. “But more than that…”

He spun around and gestured at the both of us as he spoke almost exaggeratedly.

“Eli here is the youngest student to ever be admitted into the Holy Academy, and he has shown time and time again why he deserves that incredible achievement. You can ask your classmates who are in the elective summoning class, but even as a [Healer], he was capable of summoning and defeating a spectral sentinel in battle. Of course, with the help of some artifacts…”

Claudius nodded at me, before turning to Myrla.

“And Myrla Arthus has consistently proven herself to be a top student in all aspects of combat. Even during the entrance exams, she was the only one who won five duels in a row, while going up against much older examinees.” 

Owen, Nel, and Jakob exchanged dubious glances, but the other watching seemed to nod along, following what the Seventh Prince was saying. And he continued as he cleared his throat.

“That is not to mention that Sonia Redheart is the daughter of Natalia Redheart… so her reputation speaks for itself.”

A few of the watching students piped up.

“Is this really true?”

“I mean, I knew Sonia was the daughter of a famous adventurer, but I never realized her mother was Natalia Redheart!”

“Well, I can also say that Myrla girl really did hand my ass to me during the entrance exams…”

Some of the students I didn’t quite recognize nodded, agreeing with what Claudius was saying. But I knew one student in particular who piped up to sheepishly defend me.

It was Julie— my former seatmate in my summoning class.

“It’s all true, I saw Eli defeat a greater spirit on his own, it was really amazing…” she said as she shifted her feet, speaking barely loud enough for the others to hear.

Owen, who was from the same class as her, snapped his brows her way. “You can’t be serious, right? You don’t have to lie for them, Julie.”

She scratched the back of her head in response. “But it’s true…”

In response, Claudius just raised his head triumphantly as he addressed the crowd of students. 

“So you see, the strength and valor demonstrated by these two— that is what you all should expect from the Class of Solarin!” he exclaimed as he placed a hand on his chest. “So doubt us as you may, but we of the Class of Solarin will continue to embody the true meaning of what it means to be a student of the Holy Academy!”

And all around him, our other classmates from the Class of Solarin cheered. Meanwhile, the students from the other classes looked on in both awe and amazement at Myrla and I, leaving only Owen, Nel, and Jakob as the ones who didn’t believe this story. The three of them just gritted their teeth, evidently annoyed, but choosing to remain silent for now.

I watched this entire scene unfold, before rubbing my eyes. When I blinked my eyes back open and I was certain what I was seeing was real, I just shook my head.

“Yeah, I’m just going to go to my next class now,” I said as I drew back.

Myrla nodded next to me, before following suit. “Yeah, same.”

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