The Villain is Too Good at Sniping

21. Entrance Exam, Aftermath (3)

Arsene has around a thousand students enrolled.

As one of the three top academies, Arsene boasts an unparalleled reputation, which is why new students flock to it every year.

Most students come from far-off places, making it impractical for them to commute. Therefore, Arsene has established dormitories for students to reside in.

First-year students use A, B, and C buildings, while second-year students use D to F buildings, and third-year students use G to I buildings.

There’s also a guesthouse for external visitors.

The nine buildings that make up the dormitory have separate names to avoid confusion, like OO Apartments or OO Complex.

Since each dormitory building is separate, Arsene is currently constructing a connecting passageway… but it’s still under construction.

My destination was Dormitory A, Chanelier House.

I climbed the fourth-floor stairs, carrying no luggage except for my backpack.

The maids working here would bring my luggage later, but I had to find my room because of the precious items in my backpack.

Although I had a spatial rune, its capacity was limited, so I couldn’t store all my precious items. I had to prioritize the essential ones.

I had stored my assassin mask in my spatial rune, ready to return to Sion Esperanza whenever I wanted.

My backpack contained items like Mata, which were hard to store in my spatial rune and inconvenient to mix with other luggage.

“Here it is…”

I finally reached the door with my nameplate, [A-77. Sion Illeayonhart]. I slung my backpack over my shoulder and grasped the door handle.

Click-

The door wasn’t locked. I pushed it open lightly, and it swung open. I tossed my backpack inside through the open door.

As I closed the door, I glanced around the empty room.

There was a personal refrigerator, a bed, and a desk.

It was like a small, cozy room, similar to a studio apartment. The reason it felt empty was that there were no daily necessities that you’d normally find in a home.

Anyway, daily necessities were provided in the common areas, and as a student living in the dormitory, I could use them freely. If I needed something, I could just take it, so it wasn’t a big issue.

There was nothing particularly eye-catching elsewhere.

Facilities like showers and dining halls were shared, so there was no need to install them individually.

This interior, which I had only seen as a background in the game, was now my new home.

It felt fresh and new in many ways.

***

I put down my luggage and headed down to the first floor of Chanelier House.

The first thing that caught my eye was the grand lobby.

As I walked in, several students who were already seated turned to look at me.

There were still many empty seats, as not all students had moved in yet. Just as I was about to sit down in one of the empty seats, someone waved at me from across the room.

“Sion, over here. This seat is empty.”

It was Ailee’s soft voice.

I was about to head towards the seat Ailee pointed out when I suddenly stopped. Next to Ailee was another person, a rather unexpected acquaintance.

Serin Anett.

A rookie from this year’s batch, assigned to the same Chanelier House as me. She was a bit of an awkward opponent for me.

Serin Anett might have already realized that I was the student who had pulled out a Mata behind her back.

She sat there calmly, but I couldn’t help but feel uneasy about this unexpected encounter.

Of course, if I left the empty seat, another student would take it. I sat down next to Airi, pretending not to know her.

“I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“That’s right.”

To be honest, it wasn’t like that, but I went along with it.

Serin Anett was sitting with her eyes closed, looking like she was meditating. She didn’t seem to care, so I focused on my own business.

The people who had gathered here, whom I had only seen on screen, were amazing in themselves. I didn’t know how the dormitory assignments were made, but all the necessary people were present.

There was Airi, Serin Anett, and Esili Silvergarden, the silver-haired woman leaning against the wall. She was going to be Kyle’s second partner.

The important person, Kyle, hadn’t arrived yet, but according to the original story, he would probably be late.

Another noticeable person was a short-haired, muscular male student with an exotic appearance. He was hard to ignore.

…Kai Alma.

An Oriental man who would become Kyle’s rival in the future. He looked very rough.

The wait wasn’t long. The sound of high heels echoed, and the teacher, holding a list, stood in front of us.

“Welcome, students who have entered Arsene.”

There was a brief applause. The teacher glanced at the list, looked around at the students, and then seemed to notice something strange. He looked at the list again.

“One person is missing. Let’s wait for a moment.”

The teacher’s eyes narrowed.

Everyone else didn’t think much of it, but I felt it at that moment. This person had a talent related to sight, even if it wasn’t clairvoyance.

It was probably a talent like [Insight] from the original story.

It seemed that’s what it took to be a teacher like him. After all, he was the person we would encounter the most in the original story.

Not in a good way, of course.

Getting caught drinking secretly, or getting caught playing pranks…

He was the person who would always appear and give demerits whenever we did something unauthorized.

In the original story, he was treated like a system. He was a mysterious existence who would suddenly appear and give demerits.

He would probably give Kyle over 40 demerits in the future.

To me, it was just absurd.

Dada-da-da-da—

The teacher arrived calmly, but Kyle was the opposite.

The sound of frantic running echoed from the end of the corridor. The person who appeared, looking flustered, was Kyle Ivanstier, the main character of the original story.

“I’m sorry I’m late!”

“…….”

Kyle immediately bowed his head, just like in the original story. I couldn’t help but laugh at the familiar action.

“You’re late, Kyle Ivanstier. This time, I’ll let it slide, but next time, it’s demerits.”

“Ah, ahaha, thank you, teacher.”

“Then, please take your seat.”

“Yep!”

Kyle, who was scratching his head as he moved, looked at me. Our eyes met, and I gave him a brief nod.

“Then, once again, welcome, students who have entered Arsene.”

The applause followed naturally. The teacher waited for the noise to die down before continuing his explanation.

“You will all be staying in dormitory A, Shanelia Hall. You will be spending a lot of time with your fellow students, so please take care of each other and cherish your relationships.”

The teacher’s gaze signaled, and several maids who had been waiting stepped forward. A pamphlet-like booklet was distributed to everyone’s hands.

“The pamphlet I’ve handed out to you all is a list of essential notes to keep in mind while living in the dormitory.”

At that moment, one of the male students sitting in front raised his hand.

“I have a question!”

“Yes, please go ahead.”

“Where is the bathroom?”

The student’s silly question made many of his peers burst out laughing. Only the dormitory teacher, Sa-gam, maintained her silence.

“The bathroom is located next to the communal shower room. That’s Kyle Ivansteer.”

“Understood!”

Just as Sa-gam teacher was about to clear her throat, another student raised his hand again. It was none other than Kyle Ivansteer.

“Teacher!”

“Yes?”

“So, where are the toiletries like shampoo and lotion?”

Sa-gam teacher still maintained her silence, but I could see a faint tremble in her facial muscles.

“Basically, they are provided in the shower room, but if they’re not available, you can get them from the supply room. The maids here will take care of the inventory, so you don’t need to worry.”

“I have one more question!”

“Yes?”

This time, Sa-gam teacher’s forehead began to redden. She was, after all, a living person, not just a system.

“What about meals?”

“You can eat at the school cafeteria or use the communal kitchen on the first floor. There will always be a maid on duty in the kitchen.”

“I have one more question!”

“Save the rest of your questions for after the orientation is over.”

Kyle’s questions about the dormitory rules were important in their own right, but it was impossible to answer them all forever.

That’s why Kyle was getting on Sa-gam teacher’s nerves, and even Rebecca’s. It was already clear that trouble was brewing.

Sa-gam teacher, holding the roster, took a step back to the side. In her place, a maid who had been standing beside her stepped forward. I remembered that she was the head maid.

“You can use the communal facilities as needed.”

“There are no special restrictions on using the communal facilities, but our dormitory has a curfew. Unless there’s a special circumstance, you’ll receive demerits if you return after midnight. Please return to the dormitory on time.”

“Our maids will do their best to ensure your comfort. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask. Thank you.”

The head maid bowed her head and stepped back.

Her youthful face, unsuitable for her position as head maid, suggested that she had recently taken up the role.

The rules were nothing new… I had heard them many times in the original story, so I listened with a sense of déjà vu.

The explanation was long, but the content was concise.

Arsène would support the students in developing their talents, but if they didn’t follow the rules, they would receive demerits.

That’s all.

But I, and Kyle, would inevitably break the rules.

Most of the early story was composed of episodes where the students broke the rules and received demerits.

In return, they would receive rewards, such as hidden items or deepening relationships with the people around them.

Kyle would receive countless demerits in the future and would have to participate in dormitory cleaning or volunteer activities. Along the way, he would encounter villains and get entangled in the various incidents that occurred at Arsène.

The first episode was the “Ghost Story of the Dormitory” that we were about to face.

“Finally, to foster camaraderie among you all, we’ll have a brief self-introduction session. Let’s start with A-1 student.”

The temporary numbers we received before entering the school were cancelled, and the students received new numbers. These numbers were not assigned based on academic performance.

The first student to stand up was Serin Anett. With her hair neatly tied up, she cleared her throat.

“A-1, Serin Anett. Nice to meet you.”

Her self-introduction was brief, just like the original.

“A-2, Elin Beonard. Nice to meet you, fellow students.”

“A-3, Airi! My full name is Airi de Sugamon, and I’ll do my best from now on!”

“A-4, Kyle Ivanstear. Let’s get along, friends.”

The main characters from the original story went first.

The other named supporting characters followed.

“A-5, Estelle Silvergarden.”

“A-6, Kazuha Yuuki, no, I mean Yuuki Kazuha!”

“A-7, Kai Alma. I transferred from Dongfang Academy.”

As Kai Alma spoke in a somewhat cynical tone, I closed my eyes. My turn was quite far away.

“Next student.”

Many names passed by, and soon it was the end of the order.

I slowly got up, feeling a bit sluggish.

“A-77, Sion Illeonhart.”

No one responded to my introduction.

Only Airi and Kyle gave me friendly glances, while the others were cold or indifferent. It seemed like I had made a strong impression.

Everyone glanced at me, trying to act like they weren’t interested, but I could see right through them with my [clairvoyance].

“Let’s move on to the next step. Please follow me.”

The teacher led the way, and the students got up one by one. I did the same.

The sound of the ticking clock.

It was around the time we passed by the large grandfather clock. Airi suddenly popped out beside me.

“Sion, do you know that?”

“What is it?”

“I heard a rumor.”

Yeah, it was about time. Keeping pace with the person in front of me, I walked with Airi.

“There’s a rumor that a ghost appears in the 1st-year dormitory.”

As we walked under the moonlight, I looked out the window. It was a night with an unusually large full moon.

Time remaining until the event – 02:12:08