Chapter 112: Headmaster Orrey

"Welcome everyone to Orrey Cross Academy!" Headmaster Orrey spoke into the mic. "I’ll believe a brief introduction is in order, so I’ll do that right now."

She tapped her cane loudly on the stage twice to further focus everyone’s attention on her.

"I am Orrey Hillary Cross, the Headmaster and founder of this school, and the ex-captain of an assault squad for the Western Duke of Europe’s General Predicament. I may not look it, but I’m 79 years old — 80 this year — and have been around since the dawn of Vitality.

"Because of my advanced age, I’ve been given the liberty of retirement. But in fear of weakness in humanity’s future generations, I built this school with the help of our generous government, to help remedy that fear of mine."

She then flicked a button to switch on a screen that was placed high above her head and began to flip through countless slides, showcasing the many things the students had access to on campus.

She then moved on to the curriculum.

"From Monday to Friday, you will all go through 9-hour days. From 8:00 am all the way to 5:00 pm. Each lesson will last 2 hours, with 30-minute breaks between each — for either rest or lunch. If you want to come in earlier, the school’s gates will be open from 6:00 am to midnight. This is the curriculum for your two years here at Orrey Cross Academy."

She then added:

"While the curriculum between those who took the Logistics exam and those who took the Combat exam will be virtually similar, they will ultimately be different in terms of theoretical workload and practical learning.

"But this can all be found on the school’s website, or on your smartphone’s mobile application."

...

Headmaster Orrey continued to explain the curriculum a little more before moving on to the next topic — a topic that caused many to straighten their backs. Especially Nadia’s.

"At our Academy, we have a unique currency called Contribution Points, which you can gain by completing tasks set out by the school or by teachers — on rare occasions. You can use these points for anything.

"For example, you can exchange them to opt out for a day’s worth of lessons, to exchange them for a piece of equipment, or even... to guarantee a position in the military. You can also use them for something as small as food, but that’s a waste, as some of you could already guess."

"This leads me to one of the last two things I want to say before letting you all go to your classes."

Headmaster Orrey pulled out a folded sheet from her pocket.

"I would like to congratulate the first-place scorers of each exam. For the Logistics exam, I would like to congratulate William Sembles for his deep insight and intelligence. And Hilda Hertel for the Combat exam, for her immense skill and bravery when dealing with Predicaments.

"On top of the points you scored in your exams, which will later be processed and converted, I award you both 500 Contribution Points. Well done. Those who achieved second and third places in their respective exams will receive 200 Contribution Points. Could we please have a round of applause for them?"

The second she said that, the entire auditorium erupted with applause.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Hilda, leaning on her fist, listened to the applause before snorting with a light chuckle. "Bravery, huh?"

She slowly turned to Nadia with a smug look and garnered an annoyed look from her.

"Must you look at me like that?" Nadia asked, irritated.

"Aww~ how am I looking at you?" Hilda snickered, then began poking the Heroine’s shoulder. "Don’t worry, my sweet Dame~ I’ll be happy to use my points for you, since you were the one who got me so many points. Of course, I’ll only help for reasonable requests~"

Nadia scrutinised Hilda’s face before turning away. But she didn’t click her tongue, as Hilda had expected. Instead, she only huffed before muttering:

"Then don’t be surprised later when I take advantage of you."

Hilda blinked before laughing. "Haha, it would be an honour to be taken advantage by you~!"

"Tch."

Once the applause died down, Headmaster Orrey checked the time before stating:

"With that, the assembly is now over. In the next 30 minutes, you’ll have your first class, which can be found on the time table inside the mobile application. So, you all can explore the campus until then, and since today is your first week, we’ll be lenient with you, if you get lost on your way around."

She then planted her fist over her Heart.

"Give your Heart for the Good of Humanity, students! And I wish you all the best of luck in your time here!"

...

"Each lesson will last for two hours?! Is this school insane!?"

"I know, right...?"

"At least the place looks nice."

The moment all the students left the auditorium, they immediately began to talk about the curriculum.

Seraphine, who was trailing behind their group, felt lifeless at the idea of two years filled with schoolwork. In her past life, she had only just graduated from college a month before her death.

’As much as I hate it, this period will be on the more safer end of the story’s spectrum.’

She then pulled out her phone and logged into the Academy’s app.

Nadia was doing the exact same thing nearby.

[Lesson: History]

[Time: 10:30 AM]

[Room: 10LB]

’Room 10LB... where’s that?’ Nadia tilted her head, staring at her phone screen. What on Earth was LB?

’The number must be the room, so... LB must be the abbreviation of a building?’

As she pondered this, a certain German slowly peeked over her shoulder to see her screen. Of course, this small act immediately caught the Heroine’s eye.

Annoyed, she turned to look at Hilda, who was extremely close to her, and asked:

"Do you know the concept of personal space?"

"Hm? Nope!" Hilda swiftly answered with a laugh. "So! Where are we headed to?"

Nadia’s face twitched at Hilda’s plan response, then she gave the woman an odd look.

"... We?" She asked, visibly confused. "What do you mean?"

"Yeah! We have quite a bit of time on our hands, right? I think we can cover close to a quarter of the campus, after factoring in the time it takes us to get to class."

Before Nadia could respond, Hilda gestured towards their group and everyone around them.

"Everyone’s doing it, you know? We might as well join them. Und wouldn’t it be nice to know some of the school’s layout~?"

At this, Nadia immediately fell into thought.

Although it would be nice to find where the class was going to be held first, just so she wouldn’t be late, it would be nice to know more of the Academy’s layout for herself.

’But I suppose we can just do that along the way...’

Nadia sighed. "Alright, fine..."

"Woohoo~"