Reincarnated as an Elf Prince-Chapter 55: Academy (2)

Lindarion and the lady locked eyes.

"…"

Silence. Uncomfortable, awkward silence.

For Lindarion, it was borderline unbearable.

"Well, I’ll take my leave then."

He gave a small nod, and the lady did too—her expression still trembling slightly as she watched him disappear from the tent.

’What kind of monster did you bring here…?’

Her thoughts drifted to Thalorin and the shattered crystal. Nothing like this had ever happened before. Ever.

—

Lindarion stepped out of the tent at a slow pace. Strangely, he didn’t hear any murmuring or gossip. Most of the students stood tensely outside their respective tents, waiting for their turn.

’This is going to take a while.’

He shook his head and made his way back to the podium, where a few future students had already gathered.

The moment he arrived, a few glances turned toward him… then, just as quickly, they averted their gazes.

’Not many of us.’

He scanned the group. Maybe ten people, give or take. He didn’t bother counting heads, but if the first student from each tent had already finished, then yeah, ten sounded about right.

Just as he sat on the ground, he felt something—no, someone—touch his shoulder.

’Huh?’

Turning his head, he saw… a little girl?

No, wait. An elven girl.

Her silver-white hair cascaded down to her waist, her eyes were as dark as the night sky, and she was… incredibly short.

’Who…?’

They just stared at each other in silence.

Lindarion had absolutely no idea whether he was supposed to recognize her or not.

"…"

The girl, almost ghost-like in presence, remained expressionless.

"Luneth Silverleaf."

Her voice was as cold as her appearance.

’Luneth Silverleaf…?’

Lindarion’s brows furrowed as his mind raced. The name sounded familiar, but from where—?

"The Traditional Festival. We met there."

Luneth’s monotone voice interrupted his thoughts.

Ah. That was it.

Though it hadn’t been that long ago, his time with Erebus had made it feel like an eternity.

’Right… Sylvaris’ daughter. The princess of Sylvarion.’

Lindarion cleared his throat, putting on a polite smile.

"A pleasure to meet you, Luneth Silverleaf. I am Lindarion Sunbla—"

"I know who you are. That’s why I came here. And just call me Luneth."

’…Call her Luneth… Then why does she look at me like I’m a ghost?’

He vaguely recalled her parents at the festival. They had the same demeanor. Cold, emotionless, like they had been frozen solid at birth.

"What do you want, Luneth?"

Lindarion asked with genuine indifference. He truly had no clue why she was here.

"…"

Luneth merely shrugged.

Lindarion’s face twitched.

’You came here to me… and you don’t know why?’

For a brief moment, he contemplated burying his face in his hands. Or better yet, burying himself.

"…My parents wanted us to be close."

’…’

Lindarion’s expression began to crumble.

Why would her parents want that? They were both just kids—

His eyes suddenly widened in horror.

’THEY’RE NOT TRYING TO SET ME UP FOR MARRIAGE, RIGHT?!’

He shook his head violently.

Luneth’s face remained as impassive as ever.

They stared at each other again.

"…"

Then, out of nowhere, Lindarion’s instincts flared, warning him of something. He snapped his head away.

Luneth followed his gaze.

An older man stood in the distance, his long black hair flowing and his piercing blue eyes sweeping over the crowd.

’Who the hell is this guy?’

The aura around him was suffocating. It oozed a predatory sharpness, like a blade honed to perfection.

The man cleared his throat. His voice thundered across the training grounds like an explosion, drawing everyone’s attention.

"Those who have finished, follow me to the Strength Assessment. Now."

Lindarion and Luneth exchanged glances before looking back at the man.

’He’s like Magnus… but way, way worse.’

Lindarion got to his feet and started walking toward him at a steady pace.

The man’s gaze shifted to him, scrutinizing him with a slow, deliberate look.

His expression remained unreadable—no twitch, no emotion, nothing.

R𝑒ad latest chapt𝒆rs at freewebnovёl.ƈom Only.

’Yeah. He’s bad news.’

Lindarion glanced at Luneth. She followed without hesitation, her cold demeanor unchanged.

Meanwhile, the other candidates whispered among themselves.

’Now what…?’

The man led them to an open area where a strange machine stood.

Lindarion blinked.

’Is that… a strength tester?’

It reminded him of the carnival games from his past life. The ones where you hit the target, and the machine judged how strong you were.

A pang of bitterness hit him.

He had never been good at those.

So much money wasted… for nothing.

The machine itself was made of what looked like steel, with a black display screen above it.

’I’ll probably rank first..’

"Line up," the man ordered, his voice like a detonation. "You will channel mana into your fist and strike the target."

He pointed to a red circle in the center of the machine.

’It is just like those carnival games…’

Lindarion sighed and found himself at the back of the line.

Luneth stood right in front of him.

Unfortunately, more students arrived, and before he knew it, he wasn’t at the end anymore.

’Damn it.’

The line moved slowly.

One by one, students stepped up and announced their names before striking the machine.

A boy with short black hair went first.

"Nimbus Orros."

His voice echoed across the grounds as he stepped forward.

The man gave a curt nod.

Nimbus focused his mana and punched the target.

BANG.

"1099," the man announced.

Silence.

Lindarion frowned.

’Is that good or bad?’

The instructor’s expression didn’t change.

"You may return to the podium."

Nimbus hesitated. "S-So… is my score good?"

"I said return to the podium."

The instructor’s voice boomed like a cannon, releasing a faint pulse of mana.

Lindarion’s face twitched.

’Is he seriously using mana pressure against kids?’

Nimbus, now visibly trembling, nodded and shuffled away.

The line continued moving.

Some students scored much higher. Others… much lower.

Then, it was Luneth’s turn.

She stepped forward, unfazed as she announced her name calmly.

"Luneth Silverleaf."

The man nodded.

Luneth struck the target.

"…"

Lindarion’s eyes widened as he saw the score.

The display flickered.

Then, a number appeared.

"9910."

Silence.

Lindarion smirked a little.

’…so she ended up scoring the highest so far.’

He glanced at the others. Their expressions ranged from confusion to outright terror. Even the instructor’s eyes twitched—just the tiniest bit, but it was there.

Luneth, on the other hand, simply stepped back, her face as blank as ever.

’Ha…she doesn’t even seem to care about it.’

Lindarion swallowed calmly, Luneth was the strongest contestant so far he had seen.

Then, he noticed something even more horrifying—the ghost like Luneth was now looking directly at him!

A thought crept into his mind.

’So she’s expecting me to beat her score?’

His smile widened.

It was his turn now.

"Lindarion Sunblade."

Lindarion sighed whilst announcing his name as he stepped forward.

He stared at the machine.

It stared back.

’This isn’t going to be hard, I just need to punch it properly once.’

Taking a deep breath, he channeled his mana. It gathered in his fist, humming with power.

He clenched his jaw, focused on the target, and—

BANG!

The machine whirred. The screen flickered.

The number appeared.

Lindarion’s eyes widened as he saw the number.

The instructor’s face seemed to freeze as well.

Luneth’s mouth hung open at the sight.

It was a bizarre sight—like a ghost about to devour someone.

The entire field was silent as the instructor cleared his throat and, with visible hesitation, read out the score.

"42,420!"

"…"

’This is aura..’

Lindarion flexed his hand, shaking off the lingering force from the strike. He glanced at Luneth, who simply gave him a silent nod before turning back to go back to the podium.

"…Y-You can… return as well," the instructor finally managed, his voice unsteady for the first time ever.

Lindarion nodded and followed after Luneth, his pace slow and deliberate.

Behind him, the whispers erupted.

"H-How is that possible?"

"D-Did he cheat?"

No one had even come close to that score. Not even remotely.

Lindarion exhaled sharply.

’How the hell would I even cheat at this? I’m just better.’

Shaking his head, he ignored the murmurs. The test continued behind him, but the atmosphere had shifted.

As he reached the podium, Luneth glanced at him out of the corner of her eye as she murmured nearly silently.

"…strong."

Lindarion sighed as he clearly heard her.

’I hope she doesn’t become my fan or something.’

Lindarion and Luneth stood silently, watching as more and more candidates returned to the square. The tests continued, the lines were moving steadily at each of the tests.

’Something’s about to happen, isn’t it?’

The air felt tense, anticipation creeping in as the group grew larger. Then, amidst the murmuring crowd, a familiar figure stepped forward.

It was her—the woman from the tent.

’Shouldn’t she be in the tent?’

Lindarion thought as her igraceful steps barely made a sound as she approached, holding a parchment in her hands.

"Participants, follow me to the next test."

Her voice rang through the space, firm and unquestionable.

’So there is another one.’

Lindarion sighed but followed along, Luneth walking beside him. The other candidates hesitated before trailing after them, whispering amongst themselves.

The woman led them into a closed-off room.

It was… too clean. Stark white. No windows. No decorations.

It looked like the kind of place where lunatics were locked away.

Lindarion and Luneth exchanged glances.

’…What now?’

As the last person stepped inside, the woman turned—

And then, without warning—

The door slammed shut.