Chapter 94: How to Make Friends (And Fail)

Arthur walked down the hallways of the banquet building.

Like everything, except the principal’s office, it was overly luxurious. Wide marble floors, high ceilings with chandelier like lights every dozen meters.

On the walls were decorations made from what looked like gold, silver, platinum, and other expensive materials. The sight of all this luxury reminded Arthur of his dreamlike time in the Solaria castle.

"Haa..."

Letting out a melancholic sigh, Arthur recalled the perfectly soft beds, servants that attended to his every need, and as much tasty food as he could gobble down. Not to mention having zero responsibilities and being able to just lay around for days doing nothing.

Yet here he was, in an academy where the academic pressure was quite high, with nobles itching to cause trouble because he was a commoner. Well, that last part didn’t bother him too much, since it would give him a chance to wipe the floor with them.

Still, he could practically feel the immense pressure the academy placed on its students. Arthur had never liked school; in his first life, school was never a place he enjoyed being.

He wasn’t one of the popular kids. He wasn’t good looking, he wasn’t charismatic, and he wasn’t especially smart. He was simply the most average guy imaginable. The only personality trait he possessed was reading web novels and manga, and watching anime.

No one at his school had shared those interests, leaving him isolated and alone for most of his youth.

He wasn’t even sure if his parents missed him after he died...

Arthur clapped both hands against his cheeks with a sharp smack.

"Okay, stop with the depressing thoughts!"

Pulling himself out of the memories of his past life, he refocused on the present.

This time he wasn’t alone. He had friends, well, just one, but that single friend meant more to him than anyone back in his former world ever had. He wasn’t average looking anymore, either; he was quite handsome now, and he liked to think he possessed plenty of charm.

’This time it will be different.’

With burning conviction, Arthur made his way further down the corridor, the clicks of his dress shoes echoing across the polished stone.

For the banquet celebrating the first-year intake, Arthur had tried to go all out, aiming to look his absolute best for any potential partners he might meet.

He wore a sleek black suit with cuff accents matching the exact color of his eyes. The tailoring hugged his frame cleanly, hinting at the defined physique underneath, layered over a crisp white shirt and a midnight tie.

It wasn’t excessively flamboyant, but paired with his natural charm and build, it subtly accentuated his underlying strength without overdoing it.

His shoulder-length hair was gathered into a sharp, high ponytail held securely by silver hairpins. He felt genuinely proud of how he looked.

The entire ensemble had been tailored specifically for him by the staff in Solaria Castle and handed to him right before their departure.

Reaching the end of the absurdly long hallway, he stopped before a massive set of silver double doors.

As he moved to push them open, the mechanisms parted automatically, revealing the grand hall where the banquet was being held.

True to the scale of the Starlight Academy, everything was colossal to accommodate the sheer size of the student body.

Rather than a single flat floor, the venue rose vertically with dozens of encircling tiers, each vast enough to host thousands. The core of every level was hollowed out, creating an open atrium overlooking the lower tier below.

Buffet tables lined the perimeters, laden with exquisite food and drink. Even with many students still arriving, the banquet stood fully served, every spread was set atop dishes etched with localized stasis runes, freezing the food in time to keep it steaming fresh until someone served themselves, reactivation occurring the moment they stepped away.

The ground floor was reserved exclusively for the top 1,000 rankers from the placement trials, giving these rising talents direct space to mingle and build connections with the academy’s high-ranking faculty.

Arthur stepped fully inside, and the reality hit him square in the face.

He didn’t know a single soul here.

His only friend was missing, and without knowing his room number, Arthur hadn’t been able to drag him along. To him, everyone else in the room was a complete stranger.

’Haa, how do you even make friends again?’

He genuinely had no idea, having spent his past life with none. And his one friend in this life had an utterly bizarre way of connecting with people. Arthur had no frame of reference for how normal socializing worked.

Slumping his posture slightly, he grabbed a drink and positioned himself against a nearby marble pillar, leaning against it because he figured it made him look composed.

The vibe he aimed for was the enigmatic, aloof commoner genius that intrigued nobles felt compelled to approach. Once they bit, he’d casually strike up a conversation so he wouldn’t look like a total loner.

It was a foolproof plan.

Except for the minor detail that not a single person had spoken to him in the last thirty minutes, leaving him leaning against cold stone like an idiot holding a glass he hadn’t even sipped from.

’Man, what the hell is wrong with these people?!’

While screaming internally, he checked the time, noticing the ceremony was set to officially begin in ten minutes, and Valerian was supposed to deliver the opening address.

’Damn it, I should’ve arrived fashionably late. Now he gets the grand entrance instead.’

His scheme to play the distant prodigy had completely backfired.

Just as he was about to abandon the pillar and look for an empty seat, a flash of shimmering silver hair and pointed ears caught his attention in the distance. A tight cluster of male students had circled around her, blocking her path.

’That’s it! Classic rescue mission. I can step in, help her out, and look like the hero!’

Arthur pushed off the pillar, set his untouched drink on a passing tray, and strode toward the gathering while clearing his throat.

"Hey, you guys shouldn’t really cor-"

His sentence was cut short as a violent burst of compressed wind detonated outward, scattering the encroaching students across the floor like autumn leaves.

The clearing revealed the girl’s face clearly.

’Oh.’

Standing in the center of the dining hall, surrounded by groaning young men sprawled across the marble, was Seraphine. Her pale silver hair caught the crystalline light, and her vivid crimson-magenta eyes flashed with thinly veiled disgust as she glared down at the pests around her feet.

She wore a form-fitting black evening gown with an elegant side slit, striking a clean balance between poise and sharp edge. Dark lace lined the neckline, accented with subtle gold thread and deep jewel-toned gemstones that caught the ambient mana lamps without cluttering the silhouette. A simple black choker encircled her throat, while a sheer evening wrap rested loosely around her arms, completing the stately look.

Her waist-length hair was secured in a refined high ponytail tied with dark silk, the front strands plaited along the temples to keep her vision clear.

She looked breathtaking, commanding the attention of half the room.

Yet Arthur wasn’t processing her appearance at all.

’WHY? Out of everyone here, why is the one distress flag tied to the girl Valerian is hung up on?! Does the universe just despise me?!’

While Arthur went through a quiet internal panic attack, Seraphine turned her head, noticing him clutching his temples with an expression bordering on tears.

’Oh. Him.’

She recognized Arthur immediately; after all, he was the one who had eliminated her from the placement matches. Not that she held a grudge, the arbitrary rankings meant very little to her in the grand scheme of things. But another matter took precedence.

"You’re Arthur, right?"

Arthur’s head snapped up at the sound of his name. Flustered, he straightened his posture.

"Yeah. And you’re Seraphine."

Seraphine gave a slight nod.

"Do you know Valerian?"

The question took a second to land, but the moment the gears clicked in Arthur’s head, a distinctly mischievous grin spread across his face.

’Right, the dynamic between those two...’

"Know him? We’re practically brothers!"

Seraphine narrowed her eyes slightly. It wasn’t that she doubted Valerian could form attachments, but the smug look plastered across Arthur’s face made her instinctively wary. Still, she pressed for what she actually wanted to find out.

"Do you know where he is?"

Arthur shook his head.

"No clue, honestly. But since you’re asking, there’s a little story you might appreciate. About a month back, your dear Valerian was busy seduci-"

The words died instantly in his throat as a suffocating chill gripped his spine, cold sweat breaking out across his skin.

At the entrance to the hall stood Valerian, looking utterly dead on his feet, his gaze locked directly onto Arthur with a look that promised violence.

Gulp.