Chapter 16
“…Oh… we have to sit separately?”
When they entered the auditorium, signs from Class 1 to Class 10 were displayed, with chairs arranged in rows beneath each sign.
They had no choice but to part ways here.
“Let’s meet after the entrance ceremony when we’re free!”
“Yeah, see you later.”
Mie reluctantly let go of Selina’s hand and walked away, her face full of regret.
After watching Mie head toward Class 5, Selina walked into the area for Class 1.
“Are you Class 1?”
Just as she tried to sit down, someone approached her.
“Yes, I’m in Class 1.”
“What’s your name?”
“Selina. My student number is 322001.”
“Hm, Selina… 322001…”
A male student scanned the paper he was holding. His gaze stopped at a certain line, then he looked up at her again.
“So you’re Selina. You’re not supposed to sit here. Go sit right at the very front.”
“…Huh?”
Several students were already seated in the rows. The front row was definitely not an ordinary place.
“There’s a reason for it. Hurry, go to the front.”
The boy stepped aside and lightly pushed her forward.
Still confused, Selina walked to the very front, feeling all the stares from her classmates on her as she moved.
Strangely, there were exactly two empty seats waiting there. Assuming this must be where she belonged, she sat in one of them.
Meow~
In the noisy auditorium, a faint cat’s cry could be heard. Selina lifted the cloth covering the cage.
“What’s wrong? Are you uncomfortable?”
[It’s stuffy, nya. When will this end, nya.]
Luna drooped weakly, looking exhausted. Being stuck in a cage for a long time must have been tiring.
“Just bear with it a little longer. Once the ceremony ends, we’ll settle down.”
Meow…
His voice had no strength. Feeling bad for him, she opened the cage slightly and petted his head.
A soft purring vibration slipped between her fingers.
While stroking his fur, Selina checked the schedule pamphlet given at the entrance.
There wasn’t much on it—just the dean’s speech, the student representative’s oath, and the usual entrance ceremony items.
“Who is that girl? I thought that person would be there.”
“Same. They said only the student representative sits in the very front, so I thought it would be the two of them. Guess not.”
“Who is she? A noble?”
“I’ve never seen her before.”
As Selina sat lost in thought, she heard whispers aimed at her from behind.
A glance back showed not only her classmates but students from other classes whispering about her.
It seemed they were wondering why she was seated in the front.
Wait… student representative?
What nonsense was this? Student representative? Me? This seat??
Her blood ran cold. She had simply followed a senior’s instructions—why would she be the student representative?
“Oh my.”
As Selina clutched the cage in confusion, a refined voice came from her side.
When she lifted her head to look at the speaker, her mind went blank.
“A face I haven’t seen before?”
A girl with a gentle smile and an elegant posture sat beside her. Her soft, lilac-colored hair—looking entirely natural—was striking.
Selina’s mind went into emergency mode. The moment she saw the girl, a strange and undeniable certainty hit her.
Ah… she’s the protagonist.
Luna had told her many things about the protagonist, though never about her appearance.
Yet her awakened insight—a kind of natural intuition—made it immediately clear who she was.
Selina tried desperately to deny it.
No. No way. It can’t be. It SHOULDN’T be.
She wasn’t even an extra in the original story.
Getting involved with the protagonist already? Impossible. So this girl couldn’t be her.
“Hello, nice to meet you. My name is Sylvia Hailers. We’re in the same class, so let’s get along.”
The moment Sylvia said her name, Selina’s denial shattered to pieces.
Sylvia Hailers.
The heroine of “I Will Become a Saintess.”
Luna had told her this name many times.
“Um… is something wrong with my hand…?”
Sylvia scratched her cheek awkwardly, her handshake still extended, because Selina had frozen.
Snapping back to her senses, Selina blushed and grabbed her hand in a hurry.
“S-sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. Huh?”
Meow~
Sylvia’s gaze shifted to the cage on Selina’s lap. Luna meowed loudly inside.
“A cat? But animals aren’t allowed inside…”
Her beautiful brows furrowed in confusion—then suddenly her face lit up, her eyes sparkling intensely.
“Is that… your familiar?”
“Uh… y-yeah.”
Sylvia leaned in so close that Selina instinctively recoiled.
Perhaps she didn’t notice Selina’s panic, because she grabbed her hands tightly and leaned even closer.
“It’s been so long since I’ve seen someone with a familiar! So that’s why you’re sitting up front!”
Her excited voice wasn’t loud, but it was loud enough to draw every nearby student’s attention.
“If it’s okay… can I see?”
Selina wanted to say no—firmly. But with all eyes already on her, and since the request came from the protagonist, she couldn’t refuse.
Sighing inwardly, she lifted the white cloth.
Sylvia gasped, covering her mouth and hopping lightly in excitement.
“Oh my gosh! So cute! A black cat—well, a familiar, but still!”
Her genuine excitement felt strange. Most people frowned upon black cats.
Some even whispered that black cats were demons.
But Sylvia looked delighted.
“It’s amazing. I have a familiar too! Mine also looks like a cat! The fur color is different, though!”
Sylvia lifted her own cage from beside her chair.
Inside was a cat completely opposite to Luna.
Long, silky white fur that shimmered with perfect grooming.
The only unusual thing—its eyes.
Unlike its white body, the cat’s eyes were pitch-black like ink.
Selina had never seen a cat with pure black eyes. Was it because it was a familiar?
“Say hello, Nox. Look, you’ve made a friend.”
Sylvia brought the cage closer to Luna’s.
HSSSSSS!
A sharp hiss rang out as Luna shook his cage violently.
Both Selina and Sylvia panicked and pulled their familiars back.
Had they not been confined, the two might have fought immediately.
“W–why is he doing that?”
It was Luna who hissed, but Sylvia was the one panicking, staring at Nox in confusion.
“Luna, stop.”
Selina tried to calm him.
His golden eyes had turned navy blue, and divine energy seeped from his body.
She quickly covered the cage again before anyone noticed.
“Calm down. What’s gotten into you?”
She whispered as she opened the cage slightly to stroke his bristling fur.
Her hands tingled with divine power. Luna’s emotions were sharp and raw.
[Why is THAT bastard here…]
“Huh?”
Luna growled a curse under his breath—his hostility clearly aimed at Nox.
This was strange.
Luna had never reacted this way to any creature, not even other familiars.
Even Becky’s familiar Jerry hadn’t bothered him.
Something about Nox was different.
“I’m sorry. I think it’s my familiar’s fault.”
Sylvia apologized.
“Usually animals get nervous when they see Nox. I thought it would be okay with another familiar, but… maybe not.”
“I’m also surprised. This has never happened before.”
“That’s a relief. But it’s strange… Nox never cries like this.”
Sylvia tilted her head, looking down at Nox, who had somehow gotten out of the cage and was now standing on the floor.
Nox stood up on his hind legs, placing his front paws on Luna’s cage, meowing repeatedly.
Their reactions couldn’t have been more different—Luna fiercely hostile, Nox eager and excited.
“Ah, come to think of it—I never asked your name. May I?”
“It’s Selina.”
At the reply, Sylvia’s eyes widened a moment before she quickly composed herself.
“I see… Selina. We’re in the same class, and you’re the student representative, so let’s get along.”
“S-student… representative?”
“Yeah. Isn’t that why you’re sitting here?”
Everyone’s whispers had been right—this was the student representative’s seat.
But Selina had no idea why she was in it.
All she could think was:
Why? Why? WHY??
[Attention, everyone. The entrance ceremony will begin shortly. New students and returning students, please take your seats.]
A voice boomed through the entire auditorium.
“Oh, it’s starting.”
The entrance ceremony officially began.
Excited students looked forward with eager eyes toward their new academy life.
Only Selina sat pale as a sheet, frozen in place.
