An Average Student

After the Ceremonial Day ended, I moved from my seat and started heading toward the exit where all students were going.

When I was almost at the exit door, someone called out to me.

I stopped my feet and looked behind to find who it was.

But I only saw students and some teachers.

'Did I imagine it?'

Thinking I was mistaken, I started heading toward the door again, but just then someone grabbed my hand.

Surprised by it, I turned my head and saw someone who looked like a professor holding my wrist.

At first, I did not recognize him.

"There is something important we need to discuss."

His grip was firm but not aggressive.

"Come with me."

He gestured toward a quieter area away from the crowd.

Several students nearby noticed us.

I could feel their curious gazes.

After a brief pause, I nodded and began heading there with him.

Many questions emerged in my mind.

'Does he know me? Or do I— I mean, does the owner of this body know him?'

Letting those questions aside, we arrived at that secluded place.

He then let go of my hand and said—

"The Principal is looking for you. You need to come with me to the principal's office."

My heart skipped a beat.

The situation was unexpected.

I thought about asking who he was and what the principal wanted from me.

But if this person knew the real owner of this body, he would find it suspicious if I acted unfamiliar.

So, I just nodded again and began heading where he was leading me.

After some time, we came in front of the principal's office.

The professor then knocked on the door.

"Come in."

A heavy voice came from inside.

With the permission to enter, we went into the room.

There, I saw the principal whom I had seen earlier in the auditorium.

I greeted him, and then the principal said—

"You may leave now, Varron."

"Yes, sir."

Hearing the name of the professor, my memory kicked in, and I understood who he truly was.

Varron Halecrest.

The troublemaker professor.

That was his nickname.

He had average skills and knowledge but got here through connections.

Everyone knew that.

But no one could do anything about it.

Even the strict rule-abiding principal himself could not.

That was because he was assigned here b—

"You can sit."

Cutting my thoughts, the principal asked me to sit in front of him.

I was literally shaking inside, but I did not let it show.

I grabbed the chair and took my seat.

Without wasting time, he asked me—

"Do you know why I called you?"

Hearing that question, Only one word echoed in my head.

'Fuck.'

I was cursing and panicking internally, but I did not let it show.

The reason was obvious.

The person I was facing was not just some principal.

He was a veteran of combat.

A hero known throughout the world.

Someone who had fought on par with one of the demon lords.

When a sharp person like him asked a question, I could not answer carelessly without understanding the context.

Forbidden dark magic that replaced souls was not that rare.

And if the principal already knew the real owner of this body, he would definitely find it suspicious if I gave the wrong answer.

If he somehow found out my identity, I would be completely screwed.

If he knew the original owner of this body, then the real issue was how close they had been.

Since there was no way to find that out immediately, I decided on the most reliable option.

I needed to extract information through this conversation.

For that, I had a perfect plan.

And that was— give a vague answer.

Something that was neither fully yes nor fully no.

Something in between.

Then push the conversation to get the full context.

All of that thinking happened in less than five seconds.

Then I spoke—

"I can somehow guess."

I kept my voice low, my posture relaxed, and my gaze calm.

I behaved like a normal person casually conversing.

"There are mainly three reasons. The first one is because of the letter you sent me."

The principal took out a white letter from his drawer and placed it on the table.

"So, what about it?"

"What about it?"

The principal's posture changed slightly.

I managed to get a hold of my pounding heart and looked at him like I did not understand what he meant.

As if this was normal.

Seeing that, the principal said—

"You asked something unbelievable, like hiding the fact that you were the top scorer of this year from everyone, or you would not attend the academy. And now you are asking me what about it?"

'Oh, so all I did was score top. And here I thought it was something mor—'

My thoughts suddenly stopped.

'I did what??!'

And then it exploded.

The shock was so strong that I could not think straight.

'I— The owner of this body scored top this year???'

Just thinking about it felt ridiculous.

'How?'

That was my only thought.

How could someone with this body and those measly talents score top?

I was still questioning how he even passed the physical test.

And now the principal was telling me I scored top and even sent a letter to hide it.

Was I missing something?

Or was he pulling my leg?

For a moment, I considered that he might be joking.

But I dismissed it instantly.

He was not the type of person to joke about something like this.

Seeing that I was not answering, he resumed his talk.

"The second reason is about the test you just took today. Why did you just stay still in your seat after countering the illusion spell?"

Without giving me any time, he asked again—

"Clearly, you understood that it was illusion magic at a glance and also that it was a test. Then why did you not do anything to secure a nice score?"

Hearing the second reason, I was baffled again.

'What the hell is he saying? I understood it was illusion magic purely because I already knew it. And the reason I stayed still was because I did not want to stand out. Is it a crime here to not want a good result in a test?'

Seeing that I was not saying anything again, he asked—

"Were you mocking the test? Thinking that you did not need to follow the regular rules?"

Hearing that the conversation was going in a strange direction, I hurriedly tried to clear the misunderstanding.

"I just did not want to stand out."

Because of my haste, I blurted out my true feelings.

"Hmm... as I thought."

Hearing my answer, he muttered something to himself and then said—

"The third reason is to confirm something."

His expression changed, and his tone became serious.

I understood that this was the real question and prepared myself.

"Were you hiding from someone? Someone who is threatening your life, and that is why you cannot reveal your strength to others?"

'Huh...'

He said something completely unexpected.

Something straight out of a cliché novel.

'Huhhhhhh??!'

I was completely thrown off.

'What the hell is he even imagining? Is this some kind of protagonist background story or what?'

'Why are you the principal? You could be the greatest cliché writer.'

I almost wanted to say that out loud.

But I forced myself to calm down and rethink the entire conversation.

After thinking it through, I realized that the best option right now was to agree with the principal.

If I denied it, he would definitely push the issue further.

And if he publicly revealed that I was the top scorer, my entire plan would collapse before it even started.

The best way to bury these incidents and avoid future trouble in situations like this was to go along with it.

So I made a stiff expression and said in a heavy voice—

"I cannot say anything in detail. But you can think of it like that."

I deliberately kept it vague.

That way, even if I was exposed in the future, I could still make excuses.

Hearing that, the principal pondered for a moment, then took out a small wooden box from his pocket.

"This is the first time I am doing a favor for a student. As this involves something that could endanger your life, I am making an exception."

"But I cannot just let you go empty-handed."

He handed me the small wooden box, and I took it from his hand.

"As you know, the top scorer receives a medal and top privileges. In exchange for the medal, I am giving you this artifact."

"As for the privileges, I will grant you equal credits instead. You will also be assigned to the best class."

"That will not be a problem, right?"

Thinking about it a little bit, I nodded.

"Good."

"And as for today's test, it will also be considered as top score."

I tried to refute.

"But—"

"Do not misunderstand."

"This is not a favor. You performed the best in the test. Pointing out the illusion magic before it was fully cast was the best evaluation. After that, you countered it with an illusion magic barrier. It would be a crime not to evaluate you as the best."

"I will arrange it so that nobody knows about this. You will also receive your reward. So tell me, will this be enough?"

Enough?

It was more than enough.

I had been worrying about the artifacts and items I would miss by not standing out.

Now I had a way to get them without drawing attention.

What more could I want?

"Do as you think is best."

Suppressing my emotions, I tried to act nonchalant.

"Alright. You may leave now."

I got up from my seat and reached for the doorknob when I remembered something and stopped.

I looked back and said,

“Also, please assign me as an average-scoring student among the others.”