Licht was currently behind the stage, preparing to hold the speech for the entrance ceremony of the academy.
As the 2nd-ranked Cadet at the Slayer Academy, Licht was the deputy leader of the first-year cohort.
Fortunately for Licht, during the entrance ceremony he was just a figurehead. As a deputy, all he had to do was come out and look pretty.
The protagonist of the game should be arriving soon to take over as the No. 1 Cadet, and things were supposed to go smoothly from there.
At least, that's what Licht had thought.
Suddenly, as Licht was casually wandering around backstage, he saw Mr. Greyfax storm in with an ugly expression, furiously typing on his smartwatch.
Licht heard a buzz as a reply came in, and soon the old man's face went red. His entire body started trembling so hard, it looked like his beard was blowing in the wind.
Licht, the natural gossiper he was, couldn't help but take a curious glance at the principal's smartwatch.
But as he did, he was stunned.
With just one buzz, the living legend began trembling and his face went beet red. If this were a cartoon, there would definitely be a trail of smoke coming out of the poor old man's head.
Licht couldn't understand what on earth had happened to make a living legend look like a distraught old boomer.
But unfortunately, curiosity comes with consequences.
All of a sudden, Mr. Greyfax seemed to sense Licht's gaze and snapped his head towards him.
Licht instantly had an ominous feeling and took a step back to flee the scene.
But before he could even blink, the old man stepped forward and walked toward him with an air of majesty.
Licht saw the old man smile—but then, all of a sudden, the majestic aura vanished. What had once felt overwhelming and noble now seemed more like the shady charm of a snake oil salesman.
"Licht D. Valtier," the principal began, "I've read quite a lot about you. You're someone with immense talent and ability. In fact, your current rank as the No. 2 Cadet doesn't fairly reflect your true potential."
Licht's body subconsciously nodded at the praise before he quickly reined in his wayward meat suit. Despite receiving admiration from one of the strongest beings on the planet, Licht resisted the urge to drown in arrogance and instead became even more guarded.
Principal Greyfax didn't seem to notice the slip—or if he did, he simply didn't care. Still smiling, he continued:
"Since we both agree that you possess the talent worthy of the No. 1 Cadet, why don't we just make you No. 1—at least for today? The current top cadet is running extremely late. We might as well start without them."
That was when it all clicked into place.
'Tch! This old man is trying to set me up!'
Licht sneered internally.
What kind of occasion did he think this was? This wasn't just any entrance ceremony—this was the entrance ceremony for the Nexus Slayer Academy!
As the top academy producing Slayers—the saviors who would fight for the fate of humanity—they were the hope and center of attention for the entire world.
Right outside this curtain were swarms of media, waiting to capture the Rank 1 Cadet's every moment, post it online, and analyze it to death!
It would be okay if he really was the talented No. 2 Cadet, but Licht was an out-and-out fraud!
For someone with no abilities who needed to keep quiet and lay low, what was the difference between this and seeking death?
Licht quickly pushed this death flag away from himself and kindly rejected the principal's offer to become the Rank 1 Cadet.
But Licht didn't know what sort of spell the principal was under, because all of a sudden, he seemed determined to plant this death flag right on his head!
No matter how many times Licht rejected the offer, the principal simply refused to take no for an answer!
Eventually, Licht couldn't take it anymore.
"Why do I have to take this No. 1 Cadet seat? No matter how late they are, it's still wrong!"
"Why must I become the No. 1 Cadet in such a shady manner? Even if the cadet is late, they'll show up eventually!"
Ha! Show up! That damned girl! It'd be easier for me to become the head of the Valtier family than for her to show up now!
Licht paused.Wait—girl? I thought the protagonist of this game was a man. No, I'm sure of it.
Pressing down the ever-increasing sense of dread in his heart, Licht slowly approached the principal and carefully asked,
"Excuse me, Mr. Greyfax, but who is the No. 1 Cadet you've been talking about?"
"Who else could it be but that damned girl? There was only one person on the planet who dared to treat him like this—that crazy girl, Yuna. Yuna Greyfax!"
Boom!
The second Licht heard this, it was as if a bomb had gone off in his mind.
This is wrong! It's all wrong!
Things were so wrong, in fact, that Licht's brain was struggling to even function.
I'm sure the protagonist's name is… No, the name's not even important. The spot that was meant for the protagonist has been replaced by another named character. How can a game even function without a protagonist?
Countless thoughts were swirling in Licht's head, but he knew one thing:
Even if the protagonist was not here—no, especially because the protagonist was not here—Licht could not become the Rank 1 Cadet.
Unfortunately for Licht, he was still too green.
When facing a long-lived ghost like Principal Greyfax, Licht couldn't afford to keep his bottom line.
See, if Licht was shameless enough to drop the bar on the floor, then Mr. Greyfax was shameless enough to send it straight to hell!
Because of this, while Licht was still reeling from the bombshell revelation, the principal had already begun to act.
He suddenly felt a faint wind wrap around his body as he was pushed toward the curtain.
Licht's body entered crisis mode, but before he could react, he heard a faintly apologetic voice ring in his ears:
"From now on, you are the top student at the Slayer Academy. Congratulations on your new ranking, Cadet No. 01, Licht D. Valtier."
That fucking bastar—