The Strongest Student of the Weakest Academy

As soon as Eleonora's words echoed through the auditorium, a heavy silence fell over the room.

The students, who had been chattering excitedly just moments before, suddenly stopped, like they were all frozen in place.

Not a single sound. Just pure silence.

Then, from the sea of students, a figure slowly stood up.

Her long, violet hair shimmered in the light as if it were made of polished amethyst crystals. It flowed down her shoulders and back in soft waves.

She walked with a grace and calmness that made everyone's eyes follow her without a single blink.

Step, step...

Her face held a peaceful expression, with a small smile placed on her lips.

As she reached the podium, the entire room erupted.

A wave of shocked gasps filled the space.

"Wow... It's really her!"

"She's finally stepping up to get her reward!"

"But still... I didn't expect her to only get second place!"

"Right? She always gets first place!"

Violet Von Luxuria had just entered the spotlight, and every student in the room was in awe of her.

She wasn't just any student; she was the one who had been the Student Council President for four consecutive years, the one who always held the top spot, and the one who everyone looked up to.

"She's perfect... how does she do it?"

"She's the best, no doubt. No one could ever top her."

As Violet stepped onto the podium and faced Eleonora, she bowed gracefully, her hands delicately holding the hem of her skirt.

Her movements were refined, like a noblewoman from a royal court.

Eleonora smiled at her.

"Violet Von Luxuria."

"You have been our Student Council President for four consecutive years. You have excelled in every field, held the first-place position in the academy, and maintained that title with unmatched dedication."

The room was still, every student hanging on to Eleonora's every word.

"Your achievements are extraordinary, Violet. And as a reward for all of that, I offer you the opportunity to choose anything from the academy's treasury."

At those words, a collective gasp echoed through the room.

The academy's treasure was legendary—filled with weapons so powerful that they were said to have the ability to slay gods.

Ancient artifacts, magical items of unimaginable power, and rare knowledge all lay within its vaults.

The thought of someone being able to choose anything they wanted from there was beyond anything anyone could have imagined.

"Anything?"

"She gets to pick anything from the treasury?"

"That's... that's insane!"

Violet didn't show the slightest sign of excitement or surprise.

She simply smiled and bowed her head slightly.

"Thank you for this honor, Headmistress."

With that, she slowly turned and made her way back to her seat, the applause from the students ringing in her ears.

Even as she sat down, her serene smile never left her face, and the students continued to stare at her with a mix of admiration and envy.

Once she was seated, the focus of the room shifted back to Eleonora, who now had a slight grin on her face.

The anticipation in the air was electric.

The students were on edge, waiting to see who could possibly surpass Violet, the most talented student in the academy.

"And finally..." Eleonora spoke slowly.

"Our first place."

The room held its breath.

"The only student who has managed to score full marks in every exam they've taken. The student who has earned the highest honor, surpassing even the best of the best."

The students were leaning forward in their seats, eyes wide with curiosity and excitement.

Who could it be?

"And..."

Eleonora added with a hint of a smile.

"This student is also an exchange student from a faraway land."

At that moment, the students' eyes widened as they figured out who it was.

There was only one student that could fit that criteria.

Eleonora's eyes sparkled as she looked toward the back of the auditorium.

"I'd like to welcome to the podium... the one and only, Moonlight Swordsman!"

BAM!

The giant double doors of the auditorium suddenly slammed open.

There, a silver-haired man with glowing red eyes could be seen.

A figure stood in the doorway, a silver-haired man with glowing red eyes.

His face had a certain beauty to it, though there was no mistaking that he was a man, especially with the small diagonal scar under his left eye and the sharpness of his unusual glowing eyes.

His clothes were a little disheveled—some buttons were missing, showing off the nape of his neck.

A small collar with a crescent moon symbol was visible around his neck.

But he didn't seem to care much about the state of his attire.

Then...

He slowly walked forward, towards the podium.

Despite his steps having almost no sound, everyone felt some kind of pressure coming from him.

It wasn't anything overt, but it was enough to make the air feel thicker.

As he climbed onto the podium, he slowly lowered his gaze to meet Eleonora's.

She tilted her head slightly, her lips curling into a faint smile, as if she had been expecting him.

"Aestrea Moon. Despite only being in this academy for a single semester, you've shown that you are the best at everything. From acing the written texts, to get the highest marks in the other exams."

"Not to mention that you held the highest role against the Archdemon, fending him off single-handedly until the Sword Duke arrived."

The crowd couldn't help but react to that.

The Archdemon was the biggest attack that the academy went through, and it also was the one that had the biggest damages.

Eleonora continued.

"Unfortunately, since you're an exchange student, I cannot offer you the same reward I gave to Violet."

There was a pause, the room quiet as Eleonora's smile turned a little more teasing.

"Instead... I'll let you choose what you want. I'll do everything in my power to do get from along as it is not something unnecessarily expensive, like..."

Her eyes curled up a bit.

"A Dragon's Heart."

As soon as those words left her mouth, Aestrea's eyes turned cold.

Eleonora's tone softened, as though she was genuinely curious.

"So, what is it that you need from me?"

All eyes were on him now.

Even Zeva, who had been ignoring everything around her, now watched him with a quiet interest from the corner of her eye.

"...I want..."

Everyone held its breath as Aestrea opened his mouth.

"A pass to enter the ancient magic library."

"...Huh?"

Eleonora's eyes widened completely.

A confused murmur rippled through the students. No one knew what he meant. Even Violet, who had been at the top of the academy for so long, looked puzzled

Not even she knew, nor did Zeva or the other instructors.

"Why? Can you not grant it?"

Aestrea smiled lightly, raising an eyebrow while looking at Eleonora.

The only reason why he was smiling was because nobody except Eleonora should have known about that.

The ancient magic library.

It was a place no one outside the highest circles even knew about.

It contained all the strongest magics, lost ancient knowledge—things that had been hidden away for centuries, if not milleniums.

But there was more to it.

Only Eleonora, the heir to that place, could grant access.

So, only she could grant him that 'pass'.

Eleonora's body gave a small, almost imperceptible shiver as she took in his request.

Then, after a long pause, she finally replied.

"Sure."

Aestrea's lips curled up.

"Great."

Without another word, he turned, stepping off the podium and walking back toward the doors.

He didn't sit down like the others had.

Instead, he simply left the auditorium, making everyone look at his back.

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[Aestrea's POV]

"That's it."

I muttered to myself.

"I guess this is the last time I'm going to see this beautiful view."

In front of me was the view of the academy's garden, the place where I had spent most of my time during my time at this academy.

The wind rustled against my body as I lay down in the soft green grass.

My attire was not even more messed up than it already was.

But I didn't clean it.

Because it was the last time I would be hearing it.

It's incredible to think that three months have already gone by since I left Silverleaf City.

And just like I thought, I really got into a lot of trouble in this place.

From the first time I entered the capital, I dealt with a crazy scientiest and got a Gluttonous Slime as a reward.

I found a horde of demonic beasts and defeated all of them on my own.

Thinking back...

It was kind of a dumb move, heh?

Well, I still had Aestrea's heroic spirit inside of me, but it still makes me embarrassed thinking about it.

At least, I didn't have any prophetic vision granted by the system until now.

Maybe it was a one-time thing?

Anyways...

After the horde of beasts, I got the news that I was going to be an exchange student. I was really mad at that time.

After all, the academy itself is cursed by Lucas's attrocious hero's luck.

Well, at least I thought like that during that time, until I noticed that it was Eleonora's way of nurturing her students.

She's really a crazy bitch, huh?

...Talking about crazy bitches, there's also Zeva.

Our first meeting was quite spicy.

She swung her sword at me, and we had a battle during one of the exams. We still ended up saving quite a few students with that fight.

It was kinda funny.

A few days later, I had another fight with her. One that turned spicy, but because she didn't want to go all the way, I got enraged.

However, there's still one more crazy bitch.

Yara.

My first meeting with her was messed up, to say the least.

I met up with the Saintess to rescue an elf from a black market auction and ended up making a deal with Yara to get the elf back.

Which...

I'm thankful that I did that.

Because I really... do love Alaine.

She's the sweetest lover that I'll probably have.

Other than that, I made a strangely close friendship with the hero and even made two people interested in me.

One of them, I teased as a joke, and the other one... just came to me, somehow.

Rose and Violet.

A shy type and a teasing type.

Now that I noticed, they really are opposites, and both of them even have the name of flowers.

Both of the flowers even have a meaning related to "love".

Quite a funny coincidence.

And finally, the last person that kind of gave me a change of heart...

Chaerin.

My only daughter, even if she's adopted.

She's really cute, and even though I didn't feel it before, now I care deeply about her, just like a father would do for her daughter.

So yeah, a lot of things happened...

"...Quite an eventful semester, huh?"

I laughed.

But slowly, my laughter died out.

"But now... I guess the time to play around is going to stop for a few months, if not years." I mumbled coldly.

My eyes turned to the sky.

In a single year...

No.

In six months...

I'll kill that fucking emperor.

And bring down that fucking succubus with him.