The atmosphere in the Piqmentia Grand Academy had not changed much after being left on vacation by the academy people for half a month. It had been a week since the teachers and students returned from the Cirlus Kingdom. This morning was the students'' first day of their second semester at the academy. They were currently gathered by Merlick suddenly on the academy grounds for an unknown reason.


    On a small tform, Merlick stood opposite the students who lined up neatly ording to their sses, and their homeroom teacher stood at the front of the row. The teachers'' faces also looked confused because they didn''t know Merlick''s purpose in gathering them.


    "You must be confused about why I gathered all of you in this ce." Merlick smiled and looked at the group of students in front of him. They nodded at Merlick''s words.


    "Yesterday, I received an invitation to attend the inauguration of the Arcuz Grand Academy. The event will be held next week. For the students who don''t know yet, Arcuz Grand Academy has the same goals as ours, and they are in the demi-human region or rather in the territory of the Beast Kingdom." Merlick opened his mouth and began his exnation. He used magic to make his voice louder and could be heard by the students in the back row.


    "Shouldn''t Arcuz Grand Academy be inaugurated next year? Why is it suddenly elerated to next week?" vio raised his hand and asked Merlick.


    "I don''t know the exact reason either, but I suspect that this has something to do with the incident in the Cirlus Kingdom. Perhaps this was due to the report of King Redis of the Demon Kingdom to the kings of other kingdoms in the demi-human region." Merlick calmly answered vio''s question. The students started to get noisy after hearing Merlick''s answer. They recalled the incident when the academy people were on vacation in the Cirlus Kingdom.


    "So, why did you gather us here?" Beatrix raised her hand and asked Merlick the purpose of gathering the academy students and teachers without any prior notice.


    "That''s because the invitation allowed me to bring five students from each ss and one teacher. The rest will remain at the academy and carry out their studies as usual." Merlick exined some of the contents of the invitation and why he had gathered the students and teachers all of a sudden.


    "I have to go there and see the geniuses of the demi-human region!"


    "Eh!? So only a few of us can go to the event?"


    "If it''s only five students, what about the Princesses or heroes in ss S? Will some of them stay in the academy?"


    The students became noisy after hearing Melrick''s words. Some were excited, and some looked disappointed that the number of students Merlick could bring was so small. The maximum number of students Piqmentia Grand Academy can bring is only 35 people. That would naturally disappoint most students who had to stay in the academy. Not to mention that ss S has a lot of genius students. It would be a shame if they were not included.


    "I know what you''re thinking right now. For the Princesses and heroes, you have your own invitation. The princesses get an invitation to their respective kingdoms, while the four heroes get a special invite. So they were not included in the quota of students who would represent the Piqmentia Grand Academying to the inauguration ceremony. For the princesses, whether you want to go there or not, you can talk about it with your parents. But for the heroes, you are obliged toe to the event." Merlick exined further to the students.


    The disappointed students became excited, especially from ss S. They had a greater chance of getting a quota toe to the event when the Princesses and heroes were not included.


    "So, what should we do to get that quota? Will the principal directly choose the students who will attend the event??" One of the students from ss S asked.


    "I will not unfairly choose you directly. The academy will be holding a written test today, and the top 5 from each ss will participate in the event. Is there anything else you want to ask?" Merlick smiled at the question. He looked into the faces of the students in front of him and waited for them to ask another question.


    "Why do you need a written test? Wouldn''t it be better if we did a practice test like a one-on-one fight?" One of the boys from ss A raised his hand and asked Merlick.


    "The inauguration ceremony of Arcuz Grand Academy will be in one week while the trip by magic train will probably take five to six days. So like it or not, we have to leave tomorrow. If I use the one-on-one battle as a test, the students who make it into the top five might get injured and not fully heal the next day. That''s why I decided on a written test to determine the quota." Merlick exined his reasons for choosing written tests over practical tests. The students nodded in agreement after hearing that answer.


    "Okay. If there are no other questions, the students may return to their respective sses and wait for the test to start. For the teachers, please stay here because there is still something I want to talk to you about." Merlick saw that the students had understood the exnation and allowed them to return to their sses and prepare for the written test. Meanwhile, the seven teachers approached the stage and stood right in front of Merlick.


    "I asked you to stay here because I wanted to talk to you about something else, which still concerns the invitation." Merlick didn''t want to mince words and immediately stated his reason for keeping the teachers there.


    "Is there any specific order for the academy teachers regarding the invitation?" Beatrix asked Merlick. The question represents the other six teachers.


    "I don''t have any orders for you. I just wanted to say that I''ve decided that vio wille with me to that inauguration. So, I''d like you to help look after ss S while he''s gone." Merlick had already decided who would go with him since receiving the invitation.


    Merlick made this decision because he saw that ss S was the only ss whose student numbers would decrease significantly when they left for the inauguration of the Arcuz Grand Academy. The five Princesses and the four heroes would go with him there. So he thought it was eptable to leave it to another teacher. While looking at the teachers in front of him, Merlick suddenly raised his eyebrows and looked at Kalya.


    "Ah, I forgot to tell you. Kalya, you are also going to that event because Jasmine contacted me. It would be best if you came with her to represent the Elven Kingdom. She said that your presence with the Elven Kingdom is significant. Besides that, you can also meet your little brother at Arcuz Grand Academy." Merlick reminded Kalya about the message Queen Jasmine had left when she gave the invitation for the inauguration.


    "Okay. I wille to that event." Kalya sighed heavily. She didn''t want to participate in such an event, but she wanted to meet her younger brother.


    Kalya had not seen her younger brother in a very long time. She had a better rtionship with him than with her older sister, Queen Jasmine. Unfortunately, when Kalya returned to the Elven Kingdom at that time, her younger brother was in the territory of the Beast Kingdom. She feels a bit sad when she remembers it.


    "Because of that, the teachers will also take care of ss D. Do you understand?" Merlick added an exnation.


    "We got it!" The other five teachers answered in unison.


    "Okay. Youe with me to pick up the materials for the written test in my office. After that, you go back to your sses and immediately start the written test." Merlick walked toward his office. vio and the other teachers nodded and followed behind him.


    ***


    The students walked towards their respective sses after being dismissed by Merlick. They put on various expressions on their faces. Some students looked serious, some were excited, and others looked nervous. Most of the students seemed interested in participating in the inauguration of the Arcuz Grand Academy. Apart from broadening their horizons about other countries'' territories, they could also meet geniuses from all over the demi-human region.


    Unfortunately, Ziel wasn''t one of the students who wanted to participate in such an event. He would rather stay in the academy, or so he wanted. But that depends on ra. Ziel had to follow her and take one of the ss D quotas if ra wanted toe to the event.


    "Ken!" ra patted Ziel''s shoulder from behind. She walked along with Princess Iris, Kyouka, and Megumi. Ziel saw Megumi waving her hand while smiling at her, but Kyouka scolded her when she saw it.


    "Would you like toe to that inauguration ceremony, mydy?" Ziel could tell from the expression on ra''s face. He could only sigh and ept reality.


    "You are right! Iris and Kyouka are going to that event! Because of that, I had to get a quota in ss S and go with them. Besides, I heard that Irene would also be enrolling in the Arcuz Grand Academy, and I could meet her again there. It motivated me even more to attend the inauguration event. I have to get one of the ss S quotas no matter what!" ra said with fiery eyes. Princess Iris and the two girls behind her couldn''t help but smile bitterly.


    "Yes. Good luck, mydy. I''m sure you''ll be able to get one of those quotas." Ziel cheered ra on. Even though he was reluctant, he had to join the fight for ss D''s quota and go with ra to the Beast Kingdom.


    "You have to fight too, Ken! You could easily make it into the top five in ss D!" ra cheered Ziel back with a big smile.


    "I understand." Ziel answered curtly. He didn''t know what to say after seeing ra''s fighting intent.


    Not long after, Ziel and the four girls parted ways because their ss directions were different. Ziel arrived at his ss earlier than the four girls because it was closer to the entrance of the building. When he came into the ssroom, Ziel saw that most of the students had already taken their seats. The students only nced at him briefly and returned to their preparations for the written test.


    Ziel has a thin presence in ss D and has average grades. Because of that, almost no students pay attention to him. The only ss D student who knows the real Ziel is the pink-haired girl who always has a cheerful expression on her face, Rhea.


    Right after Ziel sat in his chair, Kalya entered the ss and started a written test topete for the quota to participate in the inauguration ceremony of Arcuz Grand Academy.


    ***


    The written test was over just before lunchtime, and the results would be announced on the same day because the students who had ranked in the top five had to prepare for their departure tomorrow morning.


    As usual, Ziel spent his lunchtime with ra and Princess Iris. Besides the two girls, Princess Freya, Lilith, and Princess Aishia were also at the same table as him. This sight naturally attracted the attention of all the students in the cafeteria, especially the male students. They looked at Ziel with bloodshot eyes like they were ready to kill him. The boys were envious of seeing Ziel having lunch while surrounded by the five beauties.


    At first, ra also invited Kyouka and Megumi, but they had to have lunch with Hikaru and Sintaro. Meanwhile, Kalya has to have lunch with the other teachers in Merlick''s office because they will discuss the written test results there.


    The students could see it directly in the magic projection for their respective sses. Anyone who got the top five in the test got a quota toe to the inauguration of Arcuz Grand Academy.


    When Ziel got to the announcement site for ss D, he saw several students from ss D muttering while looking at the magic projection in front of them.


    "Who is that person in rank five?"


    "Ken Nijisaki? Who''s he? Is there a student with that name?"


    "Ah! Isn''t he a boy who is always surrounded by beautiful female students?"


    "I think he got such luck because his master is a friend of the Princesses."


    Most of the ss D students were disappointed and confused after seeing the announcement on the magic projection, especially when they saw ranked five in the test results.


    After Ziel saw the results of the ss D test, he walked towards the announcement ce for ss S to see ra''s test results, but he didn''t see ra anywhere. Then he checked the top five rankings in magic projection. ra got rank one because the Princesses and heroes didn''t take part in the test, whereas he saw Lilith''s name at rank five. Ziel returned to his cottage after finishing his business there.


    Time passed quickly, and the day had changed. This morning was the day Merlick and the students from the academy departed for the Beast Kingdom to attend the Arcuz Grand Academy inauguration event. Another incident no less dangerous than the one they had experienced so far was waiting for them in that kingdom.