Rise of the White Devil

Chapter 75 Entrance Ceremony

A tired sigh left Lucas's lips as he looked at himself in the mirror.

It was currently 8 a.m., an hour before the entrance ceremony.

He was wearing the Shield uniform consisting of black pants, a black tie, a black jacket with a golden shield logo on the right side, and a white shirt underneath.

Nodding as if satisfied with himself, he turned around, gently picked up Luna, and placed her on his shoulder.

She was still sleeping.

'Seriously, how much can she sleep...'

Unlike her, after he and Elizabeth departed to their respective rooms to rest, he still couldn't get an ounce of sleep.

In the end, he just sat on a chair while playing with his phone.

Even though he could go for days without sleep normally, for some reason he already felt tired.

He was consciously breathing and blinking constantly, making him extremely annoyed and tiring him further.

'Just what is happening to me... is it because I am anxious?'

Perhaps it was the anxiety of inviting a secret organization to his doorstep, not knowing when they would arrive and if they were an ally or enemy.

'I didn't have a choice... the exam was the best and easiest way to get their attention...'

All he could do now was relax and wait for them to contact him, but of course, it wasn't that easy for him to relax.

Every day just became harder and harder for him to stay calm, especially now that his family, with whom he felt most comfortable and happy, had left.

Snapping him out of his thoughts was a gentle knock on his door.

Walking up to it and opening it, he saw Elizabeth standing outside wearing the same clothes as earlier.

"The uniform certainly suits you. Are you ready to leave?"

"I am."

As he said this, both started walking together towards the academy.

After exiting the hotel, he decided to start a conversation while walking down the streets.

"Is it a good idea to even walk with a student of the academy?"

"Hmm? Of course it is. There aren't any weird rules like that preventing me from interacting with other students."

"I see... I still think it is too troublesome, though."

He said as he noticed the surprised looks of people who started to take pictures of both of them.

They weren't only looking at him but also at Elizabeth.

It was safe to say that she was extremely beautiful, as many were charmed and some men were starting to drool at seeing her.

'Have I become immune to beautiful women?'

He didn't find it that weird that she didn't affect him that much with the number of gorgeous women that Lucas had already met.

He simply decided to ignore the people.

"Does all the attention bother you? That's weird though... with everything you pulled in the exam, I thought you liked it... no, actually even last night you tried to avoid people as much as you could, covering yourself with your hood."

She said as they walked, giving him a curious look.

"That is right. I don't like being close to people."

He said shortly, not intending to delve deeper, which she luckily understood and didn't pry any further.

"I should warn you then that after the entrance ceremony, parents will be allowed to enter the academy for an hour until the classes start."

'Great... so now I have to avoid the students and parents for an hour... if that is even possible.'

"By the way, Teacher Elizabeth, are you going to be one of my teachers?"

Lucas asked, making her smile a little.

"I am not allowed to tell you that normally until you get your curriculum, but as long as you don't tell anyone else, it's fine. So yes, I am actually the head teacher of your class."

"I see..."

Lucas said as they started walking without talking anymore. Yet, it wasn't awkward as both were just enjoying the peacefulness and ignoring the stares they were getting.

'I wonder how strong she is... I can't tell since she has suppressed herself, but she must be a grandmaster as well like most teachers would be.'

After 20 minutes, they finally arrived at the academy as countless students wearing the same uniform could be seen.

The moment he arrived, everyone looked at him and Elizabeth.

"I will go now and meet up with the other teachers to prepare. I will see you later, Lucas."

She said as she suddenly disappeared under the eyes of everyone, surprising them.

Except for Lucas.

'Illusion magic? Well, I'll ignore it and act like I can't see through her.'

As he thought, he started walking towards where the entrance ceremony would be.

******

Arriving at the hall, Lucas could see that no one was seated in the rows of chairs.

On the podium, there was a mic placed on a stand.

Most people had already arrived and were in groups talking to each other.

He could see Seraphina, Sylviette, and Amaya all talking with a group of girls.

Not just them, even Klaus and Leonne were together, conversing with others.

'Looks like everyone is warming up with the others...'

As he thought this, he calmly walked towards the last row of seats and sat on the right end.

The moment he sat down, everything became quiet as everyone looked at him in surprise.

Annoyed but not showing any of his emotions on his face, he simply closed his eyes, hoping to relax a little, even though he couldn't sleep.

But of course, this world was cruel...

"Lucas! You are finally here."

Opening his eyes reluctantly amidst the silent hall, Lucas saw Seraphina suddenly standing next to him, surprising many.

Not just her, even Sylviette came and stood next to her with a small smile.

"Mm, I am. How have you both been?"

Lucas asked simply, knowing he wouldn't be able to rest anymore.

Suddenly, Leonne, Klaus, and Amaya joined in as well, making the group bigger than before.

'Great...'

Leonne had his usual stoic face and just nodded at him, while Amaya looked a little nervous but stuck close to Leonne.

'Are they perhaps a thing?'

He didn't dwell too deeply on it.

As for Klaus, he was just... looking weirdly at Lucas, making him even more uncomfortable than he already was.

After Lucas greeted everyone, the others sat down amidst the countless gazes focused on them.

"So these are all the champions of our year..."

"Lucas Nightstar, the white devil... to think he is stronger than all of them."

"What do you think his relationship is with one of the three great dukes' daughters and the princess of Eldrath?"

People were starting to whisper among each other, each sitting down as well, following Lucas and the others' example.

Though no one sat in the remaining few seats of the last row where Lucas and the others were.

'Do they really think we can't hear them?'

As Lucas thought this, Seraphina suddenly got close to his face, whispering, making many look at them even more surprised.

"Lucas... um, we have a small problem?"

'We?'

Looking at Seraphina, who was darting around nervously for some reason, he furrowed his brows and asked, matching her tone.

"What is it? Did something happen?"

"N-no, it isn't something bad... I think. But you see, for the past week, my father and brother kept asking questions about us since they have never met you and were surprised at how close we were. I just kept telling them we were friends, but... He is already here and will probably try to talk to you after the ceremony..."

'Her father... Alaric Darkcrest, was it?'

"It's alright, I'll talk to them..."

Lucas said a little softer to ease her worries.

"...Sorry."

She mumbled, not wanting to trouble him more than necessary.

"I said it's fine, alright? You don't need to feel so down because of it."

As he said this, she looked at him with a small grateful smile.

After that, he just conversed with her and Sylviette for a while, sometimes even with Leonne or Amaya.

But he and Klaus didn't talk to each other, as Lucas felt a little weirded out since Klaus kept looking at him determinedly for some reason...

As the time for the entrance ceremony started and every student took their seats, the room darkened and only the podium was lit up.

Standing at the back of the podium was a line of teachers.

Lucas could spot Julius and Elizabeth standing next to each other among some other teachers.

In front of the teachers and behind the stand, a man with black hair and blue eyes appeared out of nowhere, surprising everyone.

Even though he was suppressing himself, it became a little difficult to breathe for most who were new to the master stage.

It felt like an invisible pressure was pressing on most.

His presence was just that overwhelming, making a few break out in cold sweat, realizing who was in front of them.

Eldric Stormrider.

The vice principal of the Shield Academy.

'A saint, huh...'

Lucas, narrowing his eyes at him, could tell that he was much more experienced and stronger than his grandfather.

'He might be on par with King Michael.'

As he thought this, he and the vice principal suddenly made eye contact.

Eldric merely smiled a little at him before looking at the other students again with a stoic face.

"Welcome and congratulations to everyone here for passing the entrance exam. My name is Eldric Stormrider and I am the vice principal of Shield. I am sure most don't want to hear this boring speech of mine, but unfortunately, I don't have a choice since I still want to get paid."

Finishing what he just said, he coughed a little after receiving a few glares from the teachers behind him.

"Right... so before I start, let me tell you that not just me but everyone is extremely pleased by the results of the exam. This exam was made harder than the previous one since this year was supposed to be the most talented of the golden generation. But to think it was true, we would have so many talented students this year. Some even surprised us more than others."

Saying the last part, he and most glanced at Lucas and Seraphina.

"It makes me glad to think we will have such strong future pillars protecting Myrniel from any dangers that might arise."

"Now, let's get on to the boring part..."

It took more than 40 minutes for the vice principal to finish his speech.

Everyone got extremely bored and Lucas's eyes kept closing, but he still couldn't fall asleep since his body would start getting annoyed for some reason...

After the vice principal released a big tired sigh, the entrance ceremony was finally over, meaning that they could go and wander around the academy to enjoy themselves until classes started.

Though...

For Lucas, this meant something else instead of enjoying himself...

He would have to face a Duke instead.

'Truly a cruel world indeed...'