Jade Voice Broadcast

Chapter 14: Jade Voice Broadcast

Pei Renli had never thought much of school cafeterias. If he had to describe them, he thought of cafeteria ladies who deliberately gave the serving spoon three shakes to knock all the meat back into the tray, and food that was merely edible—if he had a choice, he would definitely eat outside the school...

However, perhaps because aid from various countries had not been completely cut off, the cafeteria food seemed fairly decent.

Everyone got a serving of properly simmered cream stew, a salad made entirely of leafy greens, and as much fresh bread as they wanted.

It was very different from the Chinese food he was used to, but it was still far better than wild chicken and wild vegetables. After several meals of game, Pei Renli finally got to enjoy the fruits of civilization.

The three of them found an empty table and sat down. Alton pinched a piece of bread as he looked toward another table.

"Isn't that guy only a little taller than me? He's got it way too good."

His words were full of envy.

He was talking about the handsome blond guy who had "glowed gold" earlier. To be fair, having a good-looking face did give someone an advantage. The table next to his was already full, making it obvious how popular he was.

Then again, Alton was a halfling. When he said the other guy was only a little taller than him, it was best not to take it seriously. That was far more than just "a little."

"I heard halflings only grow to around one meter at most. I don't think you can catch up to him in that regard."

Koura sat across from Pei Renli with her tray and mercilessly pointed out Alton's weakness.

"And objectively speaking, your faces aren't even comparable."

"You don't have to crush me like that..."

As she spoke, Koura flipped open the notebook in her hand.

"It's normal for him to be popular. Kamil is handsome, cheerful, and kind. His abilities in every area have broken the school's records. People probably approach him because they hope to team up with him for adventurer activities in the future."

In contrast, Kaya was curled up in a corner. Even though she had a table all to herself, no one went near her.

How miserable.

Pei Renli did not really dare approach her either. He knew absolutely nothing about curses. If he got caught up in one, he would not even have a place to cry about it.

"You seem especially concerned about Kaya?"

Koura's eyes shifted.

"Do you have a crush on her? Her appearance certainly draws the attention of the opposite sex."

Pei Renli waved his hand, indicating that was not what he meant.

Her looks were undeniably outstanding, but it was not as if he had fallen in love at first sight.

He was mainly interested in curses themselves—or rather, in supernatural powers like curses that defied science.

He could not forget that the threat known as the Demon King Arena was always hanging over his head. He did not even know how much longer he could live. He had to make sufficient preparations before he was thrown into the Demon King Arena again, so he could ensure his survival.

Magic might be a good place to start.

Pei Renli did not explain. Koura simply flipped through her notebook and offered a suggestion.

"Although there are plenty of exaggerated rumors, many things have indeed happened around Kaya—unexplained fires, nearby servants suddenly dying, and so on. According to my investigation, she is very troubled by it herself. If you're interested, you could try starting there."

Gary, who had been eating with his head down, looked up and asked in confusion.

"Where did you get all that information?"

Gary and Kaya were practically from the same hometown, so naturally he knew a lot. Koura was not.

"By asking around, of course. From her personally."

Alton and Gary both looked at her with expressions that said, You're incredible, and voiced their admiration. The two of them truly did not dare get near Kaya.

"Sometimes I use methods that aren't entirely aboveboard. Anyway, it's just one of my hobbies."

Wasn't she basically a paparazzo...?

After lunch, the four gathered together went their separate ways.

Koura vanished in the blink of an eye. With that girl's paparazzi-like hobby and her absurdly strong social skills, she had probably gone looking for other people.

Gary and Alton returned to their dormitory. The former intended to take off that suit of armor, while the latter said he needed to change into something more handsome and could not let that blond pretty boy named Kamil steal all the attention...

With only himself left, Pei Renli chose to walk around the school alone. Most people made the same choice. The place was simply too large, and failing to familiarize themselves with the surroundings would be troublesome later.

Naspar's Adventurer Training School had been designed and built to accommodate up to five thousand people. There were over twenty classroom buildings alone, not to mention multiple training grounds, libraries, infirmaries, and other necessary facilities. The grounds were enormous.

When he ran into other people along the way, most merely nodded, introduced themselves, and moved on. Every now and then, he could also spot Koura busily moving about.

It was not an illusion. That girl really did resemble a paparazzo.

Precisely because the school was so huge, Pei Renli wandered around for over an hour and felt he had covered less than a quarter of it. That did not even include the dormitory area.

When he heard a clear peal of bells, he could no longer keep wandering.

The bells were a reminder for everyone to gather in the auditorium. He remembered someone mentioning that the principal would come out to give a speech or something.

The auditorium was not hard to find. Pei Renli had seen it while wandering around earlier.

"Good afternoon, everyone. I apologize for being unable to meet you until now due to certain matters. I am Howard, the principal of this school."

Perhaps because Pei Renli had wandered too far away, the principal's speech had already begun by the time he hurried back to the auditorium.

Moreover, he had quietly entered through the back door. From where he stood, he could see the principal speaking before the podium, as well as the neatly arranged heads of the students below.

At first glance, the principal looked very old, but he was actually only around fifty. The reason he seemed so aged was that, for some unknown reason, his hair had already turned completely white.

Something resembling a microphone stood beside the podium. It transmitted through sound equipment... well, there was no sound equipment in this magical world, but spells could solve that problem, so every word reached everyone's ears clearly.

It did not really matter whether anyone listened to the principal's speech. It was all stale, inspirational drivel with no practical meaning.

After listening for a couple of sentences, Pei Renli planned to quietly enter the student formation through the passage along the edge of the podium. Before he could move, however, he heard the principal say:

"Next, let us invite a student representative to say a few words."

The others cooperatively applauded—or rather, they did so rather perfunctorily. Apparently, no one cared much for such formalities.

In truth, anyone could give the so-called student representative speech.

Back when there had been many applicants, enrollment required an assessment, and the student representative would be the person with the best scores. But now, there were not even many people willing to come, so naturally there was no longer an assessment.

Thus, the current rule was that if someone was willing to speak onstage, they would arrange it. If no one came up, everyone could disperse once the principal finished speaking.

Pei Renli had not cared at first, but then inspiration suddenly struck—or perhaps his brain simply short-circuited—and he dashed forward in a single stride.

As mentioned before, anyone could be the student representative. The principal did not know that Pei Renli had acted on a whim, so he stepped half a pace aside and left the microphone for him.

"My name is Pei Renli."

The opening was perfectly normal, but then, before the entire school, Pei Renli crossed his arms and used his left hand to cover half his face. In an exceedingly cringe-worthy, chuuni pose, he declared:

"Feast your eyes upon my holy visage!"

"..."

The entire hall instantly fell into an awkward silence. Only Koura stood out as she slapped her thigh hard, desperately trying not to laugh aloud.

That unique self-introduction truly made everyone in the school—teachers, students, and staff alike—remember him deeply...

The principal's speech did not take much time. It only lasted around twenty minutes in total. It had originally been scheduled before lunch, but had been delayed because the principal suddenly had something to attend to.

Perhaps it had been important during the school's heyday, but now it was merely going through the motions.

After leaving the auditorium, everyone continued familiarizing themselves with the grounds and their classmates. The entire afternoon passed at an unhurried pace, until evening approached and people gradually began heading home or returning to their dormitories.

Pei Renli was much the same. After roughly making a circuit around the school, he returned to the dormitory entrance before dark.

He took out his key and opened the door.

"Your Majesty the Demon King, how was your day?"

The moment he opened the door, he saw Lavna standing there. It looked as though she had been waiting for some time...

Wait!

"Didn't you go back?"

Pei Renli hurriedly shut the door, afraid someone might see her.

"No. I was merely restricted by the school's barrier. In order not to cause trouble for Your Majesty, I did not accompany you. The dormitory area happens to be outside the barrier, so I waited here all day for you to return in order to protect you."

Saying she had been waiting the entire time was not entirely accurate.

During that time, Lavna had also asked Puni, the magical creature that looked like a toy panda, to help thoroughly clean the dormitory. All the dust Pei Renli had seen before had been swept away.

"I cannot enter the school freely, but if you encounter danger, simply use the Spear of Blessing. The Solar Flame Burst it activates will produce an extremely conspicuous cross-shaped flash. The moment I see it, I will rush over."

As she spoke, Lavna pointed behind her.

"I have also set up a magical alarm in your room. Anyone who enters will be detected, so please rest assured."

Pei Renli had been very cautious about being the Demon King, afraid he might let something slip or have someone discover a clue. But Lavna's security measures were a little excessive...

Seriously, unless someone noticed Pei Renli's identity, there was no reason to deliberately target a student who had just entered an adventurer school.

"I have also carefully investigated the people around you. None of them can pose a threat to you. Even if they can, I have confirmed that I can deal with them."

"When did you do that?"

"I had already completed the preparations when you decided to come to the school. I investigated all the students a little."

"..."

For Lavna, she had waited twenty years for Pei Renli. No matter what, she could not allow anything to happen to him. This much was merely basic procedure.

If Pei Renli had not wanted to attend the Adventurer Training School and interact with people to obtain more information about this plane, Lavna would absolutely have kept him like an invalid...