Volume 2: Ruglian — Prologue

When it came to starting formal classes, Teresa didn’t find it much different from her previous life. Compared to other class tiers, Class A only had a more comfortable learning environment, better teachers, and a higher monthly stipend recharged to the card—nothing else really changed.

Teams were usually assigned to the same class. Teresa’s A-Level Class 3 was composed of three teams, all A-class. Besides Radiance of Sun and Moon, the other two were also elite teams. Relations with teammates were generally good, but things weren’t necessarily the same with others—even if they knew each other, they might not be close.

So after a week of classes, everyone in Class 3 knew each other’s names, but most interactions were limited to one’s own team.

Of course, the reactions of the other two teams when they learned they were in the same class as the top four of the Crown Tournament were absolutely priceless.

In addition to their specialized courses, both Divine Children and Divine Princesses had mandatory general subjects—like math.

Beyond core and specialty courses, students were required to pick two electives, otherwise they wouldn’t meet the semester credit requirements.

Teresa selected Linguistics and Alchemy.

She had an interest in languages. As for alchemy, she wasn’t particularly drawn to it, nor did she expect to become an alchemy master. Thanks to the Golden Chalice Butterfly, she never lacked for potions. During the Crown Tournament, she’d had flashbangs and grenades strapped to her thighs—so her need for alchemical knowledge was very low.

The Divine Princess Classroom only had the four of them. Due to differing specialties, they couldn’t attend core classes together—Dylin, for example, had gone to the Divine Child Classroom.

But as always, Teresa preferred to self-study Divine Child knowledge; she only occasionally asked for guidance in the Divine Princess field.

Semester credits were split into personal and team points. A team’s total was the sum of each member’s personal credits—so improving your own grades helped the team, too.

At the end of the term, it wasn’t just about whether you passed exams—you had to meet personal and team point thresholds. Fail to meet them, and no matter what rank you were, you could still be held back.

The Academy offered many ways to earn credits—team competitions, for example.

At the start of the semester, there was a large-scale competition specifically designed to help freshmen familiarize themselves with their team and teammates. Naturally, Radiance of Sun and Moon did not miss this opportunity.

Felicia had strongly proposed they participate—this would earn them a huge chunk of personal and team credits, and so long as they didn’t slack off for the rest of the term, even average grades would guarantee they’d pass.

The other three agreed. Thus, the entire team entered. From the moment they stepped on the field, the opposing side’s eyes nearly popped out.

Forget the Divine Child—just look at this lineup:

Crown Champion Teresa, Runner-up Astrid, Third-place Felicia, Fourth-place Wenfu—all on the same team. The spectators were so stunned they thought four separate top teams had entered... until they realized they were all in the same team.

What kind of nonsense was this?

That was exactly how their first-round opponents felt. When they saw the absurd lineup across from them, everyone from Divine Child to Divine Princess lost the will to fight. They surrendered before the match even began.

Felicia, who had been itching for a real match, felt completely robbed and ended up dragging Teresa off for some private sparring just to vent.

The first round was over. In rounds two and three, even though the fights may have been good—the Radiance of Sun and Moon team wasn’t part of them. Any team scheduled to face them either forfeited on the spot or suddenly came down with a full-team stomach flu the next day. The excuses were laughably creative—and never repeated.

Teresa didn’t mind. She just disliked losing. Astrid was the same—no war lust.

Felicia, though—she was another story. Every time, she would prepare with great enthusiasm, only to be told the opponent had dropped out or couldn’t attend. She burned with frustration, and if not for her excellent composure and reason, she might have grabbed someone by the collar and said, smiling coldly: “Don’t you dare say ‘surrender’ or ‘forfeit’. No time to waste—let’s begin.”

In the end, our dear Whiteglass Knight Princess didn’t get a single real fight in that whole week. She had no choice but to ask Teresa and Astrid to help her "vent" out back.

As for Wenfu—don’t be fooled. This soft little kitty was really just here to be cute.

To be fair, she wanted to contribute... but one glance at her teammates told her the brutal truth. Whether she cast buffs or not made absolutely no difference to the outcome.

Honestly, this team walked sideways through the academy. Any one of them could solo a team—together, they were practically a small army.

By the time the finals rolled around, Felicia did finally get a few real fights—but still left unsatisfied.

After all, this was Coleman Academy—there were students who got excited by a strong opponent. But even with battle spirit, raw power still mattered. Up against the Radiance of Sun and Moon, they shattered like porcelain.

Teresa had originally hoped to use this freshman tournament to build team cohesion—but the opposition was too weak. She didn’t even need to use Divine Appraisal on the field.

Sometimes she didn’t need to lift a finger. She’d sit with Dylin and Wenfu, munching popcorn while Felicia and Astrid wiped the floor with their opponents. That was more than enough.

No synergy was built. Teresa finally realized there wasn’t a single same-grade team in the entire academy that could act as a proper training dummy for them.

They swept straight to the finals and casually took first place.

Frankly, Dylin didn’t feel the experience helped the team at all. Everyone was still the same as before—the only change was the points distributed to each member.

Of course, some teams raised complaints—arguing it was unfair to lump the top four from the Crown Tournament into a single team. They submitted formal feedback to the academy, asking for adjustments.

The headmaster personally rejected the request in an official statement.

He explained that freedom of team formation and competition had always been one of the Academy’s core principles. It would be unfair to forcibly dismantle a team just because it was strong. Doing so would also unsettle all the other students—what if their team got split up next?

In short: it violated academy policy, and no changes would be made.

The polished official rhetoric left the complainers speechless. With even the headmaster subtly expressing support, they had no choice but to let it go.

***

During this time, Litt also delivered the custom weapon forged by her father.

It was a refined flintlock, made from Crown Gemstones. Entirely silver in color, with elegant carvings on the stock and amethyst inlays on the butt and end.

If visual appeal equaled combat power, this thing would be undefeated. At least, that was Dylin’s view.

Its most distinctive feature? Unlike typical flintlocks, this one could fire semi-automatically—load up to ten shots, and fire them one by one in sequence.

In modern terms: it was a semi-automatic rifle.

Dylin was thoroughly amazed by Elven black tech. In a world with no infrastructure for firearms, they had somehow managed to create a semi-automatic gun. The craftsmanship was genuinely impressive.

***

That afternoon, after lunch, Teresa strolled to the training field—only to find a crowd gathered.

When they saw her, the crowd quickly parted, leaving a clear path.

Everyone at school knew this golden-haired highland flower didn’t like noise.

Teresa gave a soft “thank you” with a hand over her chest and walked up to the railing. On the field, familiar faces were sparring.

“Yah! Princess Astrid~ how are you feeling? How’s this?!” Felicia was in full battle-frenzy mode, wildly swinging her Earthen Aegis Greatsword at Astrid’s curved blade, striking over and over.

The sheer force sent shockwaves blasting outward, keeping the crowd at a safe distance so their cheeks wouldn’t get slapped by stray gusts.

“Her Highness Felicia’s really fired up,” someone nearby remarked.

Battle spirit, my foot, Teresa rolled her eyes inwardly. This wasn’t “battle spirit”—this was pent-up frustration from not getting to fight in the tournament.

Felicia was just venting it all on Astrid.

There weren’t many people at the academy who could exchange blows with Felicia. Astrid was one. The only sparring partners she acknowledged were Astrid and Teresa. Everyone else? Not worth her time.

In fact, Teresa suspected Felicia’s real reason for joining Radiance of Sun and Moon was to get more chances to duel them. As teammates, it would be easier to ask for sparring.

***

That evening, back at the manor.

The day Astrid and the others joined the team, Dylin had taken them to activate their magnetic cards—now they could open the manor gate on their own.

“Wenfu, any ideas on our team’s semester project?” Dylin asked, watching the cat-girl hum a tune as she stood on a stool cooking.

“Huh? Project?” Wenfu tilted her head. “What project?”

Dylin facepalmed.

Was it just him, or had Wenfu gotten dumber since joining the team?

Probably because she didn’t need to worry about anything. No one expected her to fight. She just cooked and cleaned. With nothing to stress over, she was slowly becoming more airheaded.

“I mean our team’s semester project. Have you decided on a submission yet? Otherwise we won’t meet the credit requirement.”

At that moment, Astrid and Felicia came down the stairs.

“Semester project, huh?”

“Oh? Miss Felicia, you have something in mind?”

“Sure do. In fact, I’ve had this idea for a while.” Felicia grinned, flashing her cute but sharp tiger teeth.

“Oh? Let’s hear it.”

Astrid looked over silently.

“I think there’s nothing left around Coleman Academy worth using for practice. So why not leave Kaleburn this time—and go straight into the Coleman Forest.”

“You mean…?”

“‘Venture deep into the Coleman Forest and destroy a Demon stronghold.’ What do you think of that project?”

“...”

The others fell silent.

“Isn’t that a bit too dangerous?” Astrid eventually spoke up.

“I agree. The area beyond Coleman Forest is Demon territory. The native Demons there aren’t like the weaklings that sneak in,” Dylin added.

“That’s exactly why they’re worth fighting,” Felicia grinned. “Only by facing stronger foes and braving real peril can we grow stronger. There are no shortcuts on this road.”

“Is that what you truly believe, Miss Felicia?” Not wrong—but not the full story either.

Dylin twitched slightly. He had a hunch Astrid missed the point.

Maybe Felicia partly believed that. But the other half?

She probably just wanted to test what it felt like to step on a strong, muscle-bound Demon.

After observing Felicia for some time, Dylin had come to a conclusion: this Knight Princess had some... peculiar tastes.

Her love for strong opponents wasn’t about “growth.” It was about the thrill of defeating them, stepping on them, and relishing that intoxicating sensation.

There were no shortcuts in the path to strength, sure—but Felicia had ignored one key fact.

This wasn’t a game. Lose your life, and you couldn’t just reload and try again. You might never get a second chance.

And fighting Demons? Losing meant far more than just dying.

As he looked at the gleam in Felicia’s eyes—burning with confidence—Dylin felt that this Princess had yet to witness the true cruelty of war... or the brutality of the Demon Race.

If they lost this time...

He half-expected it would unlock a pay-to-read side story titled: “The Princess and the Demon: A Forbidden Tale.”

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