“Did I not understand correctly?”
The situation Chloe faced now was so astounding that the words she had thought to herself slipped from her mouth unconsciously.
Incidentally, “Did I not understand correctly?” in such a situation does not actually mean she didn’t hear; rather, it is a polite way of saying, “What kind of nonsense is this?” but in a respectful manner toward a higher-ranking supervisor.
The instructor repeated his words with extreme kindness to make them face reality.
“This is the dormitory where you will reside throughout this year.”
Meaning… the place that the upperclassmen were smashing just moments ago with faces full of joy was, in fact, the dormitory itself.
And from what they were saying, it seemed that the dormitory, which resembled an artistic model, was of their own construction.
As their predecessors had done, and the predecessors of those predecessors, there was only one reason why they demolished the temporary housing that the 86th batch had exerted great effort to build and live in for a whole year.
Because they had suffered what they suffered, and they did not wish for those juniors to enjoy what they built with their sweat without going through the same suffering.
This was a clear example of why bad habits and corruption repeat themselves.
“There is nothing here, so how are we supposed to sleep?!”
“And the restrooms? And the shower room? We’ve been splattered with trash at the welcoming party, and you want us to stay like this?”
“Do you have the right to do this just because we didn’t pay fees? I will send for my family immediately to pay the fees, so give us a proper place to sleep!”
Then the place exploded with the screams of thirty students at once, until the noise became painful to the ear.
“Shut up!”
With a terrifying and thunderous shout, silence descended over the place as if someone had poured freezing water over their heads.
With a frightening dread, the instructor made those who used to cause riots in society tremble for a moment.
Then, the punishment commenced immediately.
“Those who are late when I order to rise will go to the back to sleep! To the front to sleep now! Why aren’t you moving faster?!”
Sleeping in the open was humiliating enough, and here they were also being subjected to punishment.
But when one of the rebels tried to attack the instructor while screaming that he didn’t understand why he was being punished, the level of punishment rose for everyone, and he became the reason for the entire group’s suffering; thus, everyone went silent afterward without objection.
With the smell of sweat mixing with the smell of the trash that fell on them at the welcoming party, even breathing became an arduous task.
“From now on, when you ask a question, you identify yourselves first by rank and name. And you always end with the words ‘Da’ or ‘Ka.’ Do you understand?”
(*A reference to formal respect)
After exhausting the 87th batch completely, the instructor explained to them the conduct they must adhere to.
“Why don’t you answer?”
As everyone was busy panting with difficulty, no one answered, and a terrifying glint sparkled in the instructor’s lone eye.
“Understood…?”
“Understood?”
“Understood!”
“Yes, we understood completely!”
Even in this short response, the fools were distinguished from those with quick understanding.
‘Truly… it seems the instructors of this academy, who are accustomed to taming rebels, are completely different in their severity compared to the instructors of the Royal Central Academy.’
While Chloe was comparing the instructors of the two academies within herself, Altair raised his hand and spoke.
“I have a question.”
“Did I not say that you identify yourself first when you ask? Is the instructor’s word a joke to you?!”
Despite the instructor’s shout that would terrify stone, Altair did not back down.
“How do we identify ourselves?”
This question completely extinguished the instructor’s intensity.
“You identify by rank, then affiliation, then name.”
“And what is our affiliation?”
It seemed from the tone of his voice that he didn’t care about the steps at all, so the instructor let out a long sigh. Then he pointed directly at Chloe, who had performed a perfect identification yesterday.
“You there, set an example for the others.”
“Trainee of the 87th Batch, Chloe Winsalet.”
“Did you hear? This is what must be done. Trainee Winsalet, you get one merit point.”
The instructor nodded with satisfaction for granting her a point.
But because the place was full of profligate rebels, no one envied her; instead, they began whispering and mocking her, calling her an “overachiever.”
However, the title of “model student” left no mark on Chloe’s soul. Throughout her life, she had heard far worse things such as: “You orphan” or “You unlucky one because of your parents,” so this did not move her at all.
“Trainee of the 87th Batch, Theodore Callins. I have a question. What about the restrooms and shower rooms?”
The smooth voice was very familiar, so Chloe turned from the corner of her eye to recognize its owner.
She saw the leader of the bandit gang, Theodore Callins, who was wearing a fake smile for the instructor. It seemed he had somehow managed to arrive within the permitted time without being disqualified.
“Shared restrooms and shared shower rooms are on the first floor of the dormitory building. Use them wisely.”
His meaning was clear: do not use them at the same time the upperclassmen use them, or you will be subjected to humiliation or punishment. Most likely, no one would allow the new students to use them before the seniors.
And usually, the punishment did not fall only on the offender, but on the entire batch.
After Chloe returned to the bottom rung of the ladder like the rest of her batch, she remembered her beautiful life in the fourth year at the Royal Central Academy, where she had been at the top of the ladder after years of suffering.
After the one-eyed instructor finished providing all the instructions, he left the place saying he would cancel the evening roll call today.
The 87th batch remained alone amidst the ruins of the temporary housing.
Among her stunned colleagues, Chloe began searching the debris with burning eyes for anything that could be reused.
‘This… it’s as if they trampled it down completely.’
They had destroyed everything so seriously that finding anything usable to build a temporary shelter was like searching for a needle in a desert.
Surely the upperclassmen had obtained these materials from somewhere when they built their temporary dormitory. Perhaps if Chloe wandered around Northfort, she would find more.
While Chloe sat thinking about the types of materials needed, a shadow fell over her.
She raised her head, to find a fake smile in her face.
“What a surprise… the holder of the fastest record is searching in the trash? Isn’t someone who possesses such a record supposed to show off their abilities? Not dig in the trash, for example.”
It was the gang leader, Theodore Callins.
It seemed his anger over her toppling him previously and forcing him to endure hell in the minefield had not subsided, as he was now trying to humiliate her before the others.
“By the way… Winsalet, huh… I’ve never heard of this family before. Does it even exist?”
But unfortunately for him, even if he disparaged the family, it would not touch Chloe herself at all, for the family is not hers.
And if someone was to receive insults instead of her, that was better for her!
Because commoners are not allowed to enter Northfort Academy, Chloe—as a commoner—had entered with a forged noble identity, being a distant relative of the Commander.
The operations unit had taken care of forging her papers and identity, so even if the academy tried to verify her identity, they would find nothing.
Chloe was completely confident in her ability to live among the children of nobles without her reality being exposed.
As she remembered her extraordinary background, faces she missed crossed her mind, so she tried to cut off that feeling before her melancholy increased.
“As long as I am here… it means my family exists. Do you use your head or do you carry it for decoration?”
Chloe blocked the provocation with the greatest amount of impudence, and perhaps a bit of her sincerity appeared unintentionally.
She was used to insults much worse than this, so her heart felt no disturbance.
Since the difference in experience between Chloe and Theodore was vast, she was not one to get angry at a teenager bothering her with the beak of a small chick.
When Theodore went to open his mouth again to provoke her, he didn’t even reach the middle of the sentence.
Chloe grabbed his clothes and reminded him of the memories of the minefield.
When he lost his balance and rose into the air before being thrown to the ground, he closed his eyes in preparation for the impact.
But after time passed without him feeling pain, he opened his eyes cautiously.
To find himself suspended between the ground and Chloe’s hand, a small distance away.
His face turned deep red when he realized his humiliating position.
For Chloe—even if she didn’t get angry at the chick—was perfectly capable of taking matters with him with full seriousness.