An old acquaintance

"Everyone, make way! Please, make way!"

Roland saw what had happened and hurried over.

Seeing someone on the ground, the others did not dare move recklessly. After a while, the venue staff helped disperse the crowd and pulled Skord out.

"Are you all right?"

"Nothing serious. I just got stepped on a few times."

Skord rubbed his hand, grimacing.

Roland helped him over to one side to rest.

Before long, Froya came hurrying over.

"Skord, are you all right?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine..."

"How could you be so careless?"

After confirming that Skord really was all right, she put her hands on her hips and began sternly scolding him.

"With so many people pushing and shoving, you still dared to go in there? What if there'd been a stampede? You'd have been done for!

"A weak, low-ranking mage like you barely has any spell allotments on the Magic Network, and you don't have any magical equipment either. Doing that is dangerous.

"As an old proverb puts it, a wise mage never stands beneath a cracked wall..."

"All right, all right, Senior Froya. He knows he was wrong. Stop scolding him."

The little-girl auntie took her responsibilities seriously, and her lecture had left Skord cowering like a quail. Roland had no choice but to intervene.

Skord also hastily promised, "I won't do it again, I won't! Never again!"

"Hmph. Just stay away from crowds like that from now on. She's only a dancing celebrity. What's so interesting about that?"

Froya puffed out her cheeks in indignation.

"Well, well, if it isn't Froya. It's only been a little over six months. Since when did you become such a nag?

"You only hate dancing because you're short, don't you?"

Suddenly, a snide voice came from outside.

Roland and the others turned to look. A fashionably dressed woman in a trench coat walked through the lounge door.

Following close behind her was a woman bundled up tightly, wearing a headscarf and sunglasses.

The woman who had spoken looked to be in her thirties. She had a capable air about her, clearly a seasoned professional who had honed her skills out in the world.

She was tall, with an impressive bust. Standing before Froya, who was skinny as a beanpole and looked like a little girl, she deliberately thrust her chest forward, looking thoroughly overbearing.

She's outclassed! Completely outclassed!

Roland and Skord cried out inwardly. Never mind Froya-even they felt a little inadequate.

This woman is so tall! (What a figure!)

"Big-Breasted Monster Sophia!"

Froya gritted her teeth, so furious that even her twin ponytails trembled. Yet she was clearly losing the battle of presence and unconsciously took several steps back.

Just as Froya was about to be backed into a corner, the young woman behind Sophia stepped forward and removed her sunglasses. "That's enough, Auntie Sophia. We came to apologize."

She had delicate features and a beautiful face, a classical beauty with hair reaching her waist. Even simply standing there, she possessed a breathtaking beauty that could leave people spellbound.

Perhaps because she was used to special treatment and adulation, however, that beauty concealed an icy aloofness that kept ordinary people at bay. Her proud gaze made her resemble a white swan with its neck held high.

An ice-cold beauty from the wider world like her was entirely different from the innocent, unripe little apples in the Mage Tower.

Roland and Skord were taken aback by the sight. A thought suddenly struck them: with that beauty and that bearing, could she be the famous star Polina?

"Heh." Sophia gave the defeated Froya a smug glance, then turned to Skord. "Young man, we're terribly sorry. We heard someone had been hurt in a fall. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Skord said hurriedly.

"I'm very sorry for causing the congestion," Polina said with a smile. "This is a souvenir booklet with my autograph. You didn't get one earlier, did you? I brought one over for you."

"I fell because I wasn't careful. There's no need to go to so much trouble."

Skord spoke hurriedly. In truth, he had only gone over to join in the excitement.

Watching this, Roland could not help sighing inwardly.

A celebrity who knew how to get ahead really did know how to charm everyone.

Yet for some reason, he could not shake the feeling that she was handing out charity...

That could hardly be helped. On one side stood a lofty celebrity, and on the other, a young fan chasing after a star.

Their identities, accomplishments, wealth, and status were completely unequal, and their feelings about the encounter were entirely different as well.

The souvenir booklet was a small pamphlet printed with a poster, containing song-and-dance photographs taken at the theater. It was something like a photo collection.

Polina did not overlook Roland and Yvonne, giving them each a copy as well. "You two get one too. No need to worry."

"Uh... thank you." Roland and Yvonne both accepted them.

Although he felt vaguely uncomfortable, he considered that the problem might lie with him rather than her, so he would not rebuff someone who was being friendly.

When it came to Froya's turn, however, she refused with her hands on her hips and her cheeks puffed out. "Why would you give me something like that? Besides, I don't want anything from a traitor."

"A traitor?"

Roland and the others were startled. Where had that come from?

"Hehehe..." Sophia laughed. "Froya, you're still holding a grudge after all this time?

"Come to think of it, we were students at the Orvisto Wizard Tower too. But with so much going for Polina, why would she keep studying Arcana? Naturally, she left the Mage Tower to join the Entertainment Company.

"Even if she continued her arcane research, she'd have to focus on the Enchantment School. There was no way she would keep studying runes.

"As for me, as the agent who discovered her potential, of course I went with her."

"So there's history between you?" Roland and Skord exclaimed in surprise.

It turned out that Sophia had overseen new students much as Froya did, while Polina was a senior several years ahead of them.

"You two junior boys, and this shy junior girl-the Runes School has no future. I'd advise you to switch to another school while you still can.

"Spending a year or two studying this doesn't count as wasting your youth. Just treat it as building a foundation. Once you move to another school, you'll take off immediately.

"Even going to the front lines of the Planar Battlefield as a battle mage would be better than staying in an old school like this.

"But if you graduate from there and then choose to stay at the tower, you'll end up like Froya. Finished."

"Shut up, Big-Breasted Monster!" Froya snapped, humiliated and furious.

"Oh? Was anything I said wrong?"

"Just because you've gone astray doesn't mean you should lead the juniors astray too."

"I'm clearly helping them. How is that leading them astray? Runes School graduates can barely even find jobs. All they can do is grind away in the arcane world.

"By the way, if you want to enter the Entertainment Industry, feel free to come to me. Priority goes to an Enchantment Specialist."

"No need for you to concern yourself with that. Hmph! What's so great about your Polina? She's nothing compared to Roland. His prospects are far brighter than either of yours!"

Having lost the upper hand, Froya suddenly shoved Roland forward while he was still watching the drama in bewilderment.

"Oh, really? It seems we have another talented junior with excellent grades." Sophia put on an astonished expression, clasping both hands over her heart.

But it was obvious that she did not care in the slightest. She even seemed to feel superior in her social savvy.

Polina also wore a faint smile, not offended in the least by Froya's words.