A blonde-haired boy walked up to the teacher's desk, looking like he wanted to ask something important.
Meanwhile, at one of the desks, Aslan and Alice were teasing each other—and loudly laughing like they had no care in the world.
"Pfft! Hahaha! The look on Alice's face back then—he looked like his soul had left his body!" Cael burst out laughing, wiping away tears from his eyes as he clutched his stomach.
"He looked like a pumpkin!"
"Stop it, guys!" Alice groaned, hiding his face behind his hands.
Aslan smirked. "Come on, admit it—your face really was something else at that moment."
A few desks away, the blonde boy and two other nobles were deep in conversation. The blonde boy shot an irritated glare toward Aslan's group, clearly annoyed by the noise.
Alice, folding his arms, muttered, "Well, at least I didn't get beaten up like a dog and now can't even walk straight."
"Pfft—HAHAHA!" George lost it, laughing so hard he had to hold his belly.
"Well, that's true," Cael added with a teasing grin. "Who gets thrashed that badly?"
Aslan's face turned red. "Ungrateful idiots! I saved your life, Alice!"
Before anyone could respond, the blonde-haired noble suddenly stormed over. Without a word, he slammed his register down on their desk with a loud thud.
Everyone turned to look at him.
"You filthy commoners!" he spat. "Do you have any idea how important our discussion was? Trash like you shouldn't have been admitted here in the first place."
The noble's lackey sneered from behind him. "I could beat you up right here, you know."
Another one scoffed. "And look who we're talking to—someone who doesn't even know proper etiquette. Filthy commoner." He threw a sharp glance at George as he said it.
Aslan's temper flared.
"You can call me lazy, trash, weak, or filthy — say whatever you want about me," Aslan growled, stepping forward. "But don't you dare insult my friend."
George leaned over to whisper in Alice's ear, voice dry, "Is he defending me… or insulting himself?"
Alice stifled a laugh and whispered back, "Honestly? Sounds more like self-sabotage."
The blonde boy scoffed, "Okay, maybe we shouldn't be this rude—" But then his expression turned serious. "Still, we were having an important discussion. Do you even realize that?"
One of his lackeys sneered, "What would someone like him know about serious studies? He's a repeat failure. Trash like you should know your place."
Aslan, unfazed, smiled lazily. "Then how about we place a bet?"
The group fell silent.
"If I win this competition," Aslan said, "you'll apologize to us in front of everyone. Loud and clear."
"And if you lose?" one of the cronies smirked from the back. "Then you walk around the whole campus… naked."
"What the hell, John?!" the blonde snapped. "You can't make a disgusting bet like that!"
"I accept."
Everyone froze.
"…Huh? Pardon?"
"I said—I accept your condition," Aslan repeated calmly, eyes sharp and confident.
Alice stepped forward, grabbing Aslan's arm and pulling him back. "Aslan, are you out of your mind? You can't agree to something this stupid!"
"You didn't need to do this for me…" he whispered, worried.
Behind them, the lackeys chuckled.
"Poor commoner," one sneered. "As if he could ever beat Reynold. He just signed his own humiliation."
Reynold crossed his arms and frowned. "You shouldn't joke about things like this. It won't end well."
The next day, in the library…
Alice and George dropped a stack of thick books onto the table in front of Aslan.
"Aslan, these are all the books you'll need to prepare," Alice said seriously.
Aslan lazily glanced at them. "Tch…"
"Come on, man," George groaned. "We're doing this so you don't end up walking around the academy naked after failing. At least try to study!"
Aslan picked up one book and flipped it open.
His eyes lit up. A grin crept onto his face as he turned more pages.
'This math is a joke compared to Earth's…' he thought to himself smugly. (Top math student in his past life, after all.)
He closed the book with a soft thump, pushed it aside with one hand, leaned back in his chair, and folded both arms behind his head.
"I don't need to study. I could pass these exams in my sleep."
The others stood up in unison, shaking their heads.
"We're just worried about you," Alice sighed. "Good luck, okay? And please — don't embarrass us."
Three Days Later – Results Day
Aslan and his friends were walking through the corridor toward the results board.
"God, please save us from humiliation today," Cael muttered like a prayer. "He may not have any shame, but we do." He threw a glare at Aslan.
"What are you implying? That I have no self-respect?" Aslan shot back.
The two instantly began bickering like usual.
Meanwhile, Reynold and his lackeys approached the results board.
One of them sneered. "Today's gonna be a great day. That commoner's finally going to feel shame. Hah!"
But the moment Reynold checked the board, his smug expression shattered.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
The Results Were In.
Aslan's name was at the very top of the list.
By the time his friends arrived at the academy plaza, the notice board was already surrounded by excited students. But there, in bold golden letters, one name outshined them all:
Aslan – Rank 1.
Not just top of his class.
Top of the entire academy.
Cael's jaw dropped, eyes sparkling with disbelief and excitement. "What?! Aslan, you're ranked first? In the entire academy?!"
Aslan blinked, completely unprepared. "Wait—what?"
Alice whistled. "Yo, Aslan. You surprised us too!"
George pushed up his glasses. "Actually, I expected this. My calculations were never wrong."
Aslan raised a hand to his forehead and groaned. "Ugh… this is bad. I didn't want this much attention!" He peeked at the crowd forming around the board. "I just wanted to win a dumb bet… How did it turn into this mess?"
His friends laughed while students around began murmuring excitedly:
"That redhead's Aslan?""The one who knocked out Cael during the football match?""Wait, isn't he the weird guy who slept during mana control class?"
Aslan slowly turned, horror dawning on his face as more eyes landed on him.
"Nope. I'm leaving. I'm retiring. I've peaked. I'm cooked," he muttered dramatically, turning to flee.
Alice grabbed his collar. "Where do you think you're going, Mr. Number One?"