Chapter 111: Orrey Auditorium

The assembly hall was a massive auditorium called "Orrey Auditorium". The interior was massive and was filled with rows of red-cushioned, fixed black chairs, all arranged in a descending crescent shape as they curved towards the stage below.

There were enough chairs to fit close to 700 to 800 people inside the auditorium.

All the students who were currently seated were those who had taken the logistics exam. Each person held a physical copy of their results and sat in scattered groups, having been given the freedom to choose where to sit.

The teachers were seated along the sides at the front, their faces stoic as they waited for the students of the Combat exam to arrive.

The atmosphere inside the auditorium was deafeningly silent, as neither teacher nor student felt comfortable talking. Eventually, the silence was broken the moment Herman pushed open the doors.

Nadia followed in and widened her eyes a little.

’This hall is definitely an imposing one...’ She thought, glancing around with an awed look.

She then noticed numerous gazes settling on her person and turned to look at them. ’There are also a lot of people here too...’

With so many staring at them, she felt slightly intimidated, but quickly got over it.

She turned to look at Hilda, figuring she would have a similar reaction to the auditorium, but found the woman’s face to be completely still.

If not for her small smile, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to say she was expressionless. But that swiftly changed the moment the German took notice of her glance and winked at her.

In response, Nadia immediately withdrew her gaze and turned her face away. "Ugh..."

Once everyone outside managed to flood in—

"Ah, looks like the rest have arrived."

—They were immediately welcomed by a woman standing all the way down at the stage.

She wore a black-furred coat over her shoulders, with the Academy’s insignia embroidered on the back, and an all-black uniform. She also wore three eye-catching red Stripes on her left chest and several other medals.

The woman was someone who had clearly been through her fair share of battles and harsh years.

She had dark blue eyes and pale blonde hair. She had a black eyepatch over her right eye, held a metal cane in her left hand, and had an inconspicuous prosthetic leg in place of her right leg.

Although she looked to be in her middle age, the gaze in her eyes spoke otherwise — giving her the impression of someone who’d seen it all.

Herman half-bowed. "Apologies for the wait, Headmaster Orrey."

"Not an issue. Quickly find a seat, you all, so we can start." Headmaster Orrey nodded coldly.

With a signal from Herman, everyone behind him scattered to find their seats. Most of them funnelled down the steps before branching off into the many rows of chairs.

Nadia swiftly found one in the middle lane and sat down.

’The seat...!’ She widened her eyes. ’They’re so high-quality!’

The very moment she sat down, it felt like she was sinking into it completely! Was this what it was like to attend such a highly-maintained and regarded institution?

Nadia placed her bag between her feet and shuffled in her seat, concealing her satisfaction. She then caught a glimpse of someone sitting right beside her.

Her mood instantly dropped when she discovered who it was.

Nadia became deadpan. "There’s so many seats here and you chose to sit next to me?"

"Haha, what~? Don’t like it? Hehe." Hilda snickered and crossed her legs. "There’s no fun in sitting alone, my dear Dame."

After getting properly seated, she turned to the Heroine, who was staring at her...

Rather intensely.

Hilda feigned a bashful expression. "My~... if you look at me that intently, I might get all flustered. Though, I’m not going to refuse such attention from you—"

"Ugh..."

Noticing her glare wasn’t going to deter Hilda, she gave up and relented.

Watching as the Heroine returned to giving her the cold shoulder, Hilda chuckled.

She turned back to look at the rest of their group, who sat with them.

Ross, Elias, Roxy, and Beatrice were seated behind them, while Callum and Seraphine were seated to her right.

Once she checked that they were all seated comfortably, Hilda turned to Seraphine, who was right next to her and asked:

"How’s the experience so far, Miss Halloway?"

Seraphine, who had been looking around earnestly, nodded vigorously. "It’s so cool! I’ve never been in an auditorium before! Well, one that is as big as this, I mean. And the seats are also really nice, don’t you think so too, Callum?"

"Haha, I do!" Callum shifted around. "You can tell that the people who made these seats took a lot of care to make them turn out right."

Seeing how close they were, Hilda pouted and turned to Nadia:

"How come we aren’t as close like them?"

Nadia quirked an eyebrow and gave her an odd look.

She then said straightforwardly, "Isn’t it obvious? It’s because you’re unhinged, weird, and dangerously unpredictable. You’d wish we’d be close."

Nadia then turned away again.

Each of her comments sent an arrow through Hilda’s chest, imaginatively petrifying her.

After she managed to recover, she chuckled wryly:

"Haha... W-well... those are quite the comments. But what if I do want to wish for that?"

Nadia stiffened.

This time, it was her turn to become petrified at Hilda’s word.

She creakingly turned back to Hilda and asked apprehensively, "You... still remembered that?"

Hilda snickered. "Of course I would."

She then playfully tilted her head. "It took quite of bit of effort to get. It’d be absurd of me to forget such an important deal between us."

"But—you wouldn’t wish for something as insignificant as my friendship... would you?" Nadia stared doubtfully at Hilda.

Hilda blinked, then laughed.

"Pfft... there’s nothing insignificant about friendship, regardless of who you are. There’s always something special in every kind of relationship you’re a part of. Sometimes unique."

She turned away from Nadia and leaned back into her seat.

"As tempting as it is to wish for your friendship, I’d rather we develop a genuine relationship, rather than a forced one."

"Oh... I see..."

Nadia gulped. ’She’s telling the truth...’

Once she was certain of {Truth Finder}’s result, she leaned back into her seat and reflected on Hilda’s words.

She occasionally threw glances at the woman until the welcoming began.

...

Once everyone was seated and comfortable in their chairs...

"I believe a brief introduction is in order."

The assembly began.