Abandoned in the mountains, I was adopted by a lizard ~I mastered magic and surpassed my parents, but I didn't know they were legendary ancient dragons~ - Chapter 12

Chapter 12   Entrance ceremony

Two weeks later, I received another order for alloy beams from Bamboo Inside Construction, so I went to the headquarters for alchemy work. Apparently, the previous price caused an excess demand, and this time the unit price increased slightly. The same quantity was purchased for 5.2 billion kururu.

I must say, I’ve got an incredibly generous client. Although this is likely just beginner’s luck and I’m not committed to joining the construction industry, my determination to build up valuable student experiences (Gakuchika/Career background) remains unchanged.

A week later, the entrance ceremony finally arrived. The day’s schedule included a general ceremony followed by class introductions.

The general ceremony was held in the largest auditorium on campus. Since the principal’s speech was quite long-winded, I used space-time tuning magic to speed it up and listen at double speed. After that tiring event, we headed to our classrooms. I was assigned to Class A.

Initially, seats were assigned based on exam numbers until the first seating arrangement. After checking the seating chart posted on the door, I found my seat and sat down.

While waiting for the homeroom teacher, the very muscular student next to me started a conversation.

“You’re the scholarship student, right? What’s your name?”

I wondered if he had memorized the exam numbers from the results announcement day. Impressive memory.

“Hadar.”

“I’m Ian. I saw you make that orichalcum-adamantite sword. I was next in line, after all.”

Apparently, this muscular guy—who introduced himself as Ian—had watched that test.

“Is that so?”

Although I ended up scoring perfectly, I consider that match a bit of an embarrassment, so I’d rather not talk about it. Hoping to change the subject, I replied nonchalantly with a poker face.

“Being able to alchemize adamantite is an amazing ability. So, if you don’t mind… could you make some dumbbells out of adamantite for me?”

It seemed like diving into the dumbbell topic might help steer the conversation away from my test.

“Sure, but why?”

“As you can see, weightlifting is my hobby. I’ll make it worth your while.”

Ian flexed his arm, showing off his biceps as he spoke.

“I see… sure.”

I wondered if someone as strong as Ian could really get a workout from something like adamantite, but I decided to fulfill his request. I created three different sizes of dumbbells, two of each size.

“How about these?”

“…Perfect. The weight is incredible.”

Ian responded while gripping a medium-sized dumbbell.

Oh, right. He’ll probably outgrow these eventually. Since I don’t have much use for it, I should give him the sword I made during the magic test as well.

“Here, take this too. It might come in handy.”

I handed him the orichalcum-adamantite sword I had created. Ian’s eyes lit up as he accepted it.

“Would you also like a gravity manipulation device? It only goes up to three times, though.”

I pulled out the magic tool I had made back then with my storage magic.

“A g-gravity manipulation device? You’ve got to be kidding…”

“No, really. If you turn this dial…”

“Whoa, I feel lighter!?”

Since Ian seemed skeptical, I reduced the gravity around him to about one-sixth. Ian started floating slightly off his chair, his eyes wide with surprise.

“If you turn it the other way, it gets heavier.”

“This… this is like an ancient artifact. I can’t possibly accept something so incredible.”

“I have no use for it anyway. It’s fine.”

“I… I don’t know how to thank you. It feels like no matter what I do, it won’t be enough, but I’ll definitely give you a proper thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it too much.”

As we were talking, the teacher finally entered the classroom. After the teacher arrived, we began the scheduled introductions.

At first, everyone just listened passively. But during the fifteenth introduction, the room started to buzz a bit.

At the same time, Ian leaned in and whispered to me quietly.

“Hey, don’t you think that girl is super cute?”

…So what? Was that really why the classroom was buzzing earlier?

“I don’t know. I grew up in the mountains, so I don’t really get that stuff.”

“Feeling someone’s cute has nothing to do with growing up in the mountains… I already have a fiancée, so it’s not possible for me, but if you like, why don’t you try making a move?”

“…”

As I tried to brush off his comment, thinking it was annoying, Ian dropped a bombshell. Why does he already have a fiancée at his age?

While I was mulling over that, the fifteenth student began speaking.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Jasmine Valevalley. My father is the president of Bamboo Inside Construction. Pleased to meet you.”

Another surprising revelation. I didn’t expect the president’s daughter to be a classmate.

Taking that into account, I responded to Ian.

“No, I think I’ll pass. I don’t want to mess up anything related to work.”

Getting involved with a client’s family and risking the relationship going sour is the worst-case scenario. There’s no need to take that risk.

“Work…? Dude, it’s just the entrance ceremony today…?”

Ian said, tilting his head.

Why is he emphasizing “just the entrance ceremony”? Is he the type who thinks there’s no need to worry about job hunting in the first year?

If you procrastinate, you’ll end up with nothing but fifth-tier contract mage tool engineering jobs. The earlier you start, the better.

And besides…

Next in the seating order, it was Ian’s turn.

“It’s your turn to introduce yourself.”

“Oh, my bad.”

Apparently, he had genuinely forgotten, so Ian hurried to the front of the classroom. Then, he began his introduction.

“I’m Ian Zelgius, the first prince of this country. My hobby is weight training. Since I just received pure Adamantite dumbbells from the special scholarship student, Hadar, I plan to train even harder.”

He introduced himself briefly and concisely.

Hearing that… I finally understood.

Of course, he’s got time to think about cute girls and such because his career path is already decided. As the first prince, he’s pretty much guaranteed to be the next king.

Barring times of war or famine, being a king is generally a cushy job. It would be a lie to say I’m not a bit envious. However… the flip side of that is “no freedom in career choice,” which is a bit of a downside. It might be better to just work hard on job hunting.

Also, given his position, it’s no surprise he has a fiancée.

Come to think of it… I was just casually chatting with the first prince like it was no big deal. Ian did mention giving a grand thank-you for the magic tool earlier. I’ve hardly ever built human relationships, and now I might be invited to the royal family for a formal dinner? That sounds way too complicated.

While I was pondering this, Ian returned to his seat.

“Hey, about the magic tool, you don’t have to thank me. I don’t think I could handle properly communicating if I were invited to the royal family…”

“No way. I can’t just take something like that without showing my gratitude. But if coming to my place would make you nervous, I’ll keep that in mind. And please, drop the formal speech. It’s exhausting to hear that from classmates all the time.”

At least I managed to avoid the royal family invitation. And it seems he’s fine with me speaking casually, just like before.

After that, no one’s introduction was particularly noteworthy.

As for me, I introduced myself in the most straightforward way possible: “I’m Hadar. I come from a remote mountain village. My hobby is reading.”