Chapter 42: Bloodlust [1]

Elise Valor looked at Lorenzo with an expression that barely concealed her desire to beat him until he was half dead.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t.

Not because she lacked the ability to do so, but because she was the student council president, and Lorenzo was a first-year student.

There were rules she had to follow.

For now, she decided to forgive him.

For the first and last time.

"Junior Lorenzo... I believe you are quite late."

Lorenzo glanced at the stage before looking back at her.

"That’s good to know. I spared myself from a boring speech."

Elise’s smile froze.

’This bastard...’

She had thought he might at least show some remorse after being called out in front of so many people.

Instead, he had casually admitted that he had deliberately skipped the speech.

"Junior Lorenzo, may I ask why you arrived late?"

"I overslept."

Elise stared at him.

He answered so smoothly that she almost believed him.

Almost.

"You overslept?"

"Yes."

"On the day of your entrance ceremony?"

"Unfortunately."

For a few seconds, Elise simply looked at him.

She had prepared herself for an arrogant response, perhaps even an attempt to intimidate her by invoking his family name.

She hadn’t expected him to offer such an utterly shameless excuse.

"Are you aware that the entrance ceremony is an important event for every student entering this academy?"

"Of course."

"And you still chose to arrive late?"

"Senior Elise, I believe we’ve already established that I overslept."

Lorenzo gave her a perfectly innocent smile.

"Unless the academy has a rule against sleeping, I don’t see what I did wrong."

Elise’s fingers twitched.

She wanted to punch that smile right off his face.

’Calm down, Elise. You’re the student council president. You represent the dignity of Golden Dawn Academy.’

She took a slow breath and looked back at him.

Unfortunately, Lorenzo had already closed his eyes, as though talking to her was making him sleepy.

’Now you’ve done it! I’ll show you hell!’

With a bright smile on her face, Elise turned her attention back to the remaining first-year students.

"Now that all the first-year students are here, let me announce the first-ranked student of this year’s entrance examination, who will give a short speech. Joseph Goldberg."

Meanwhile, Lorenzo was deep in thought.

’I still haven’t found Sofia among the first-year students here. But the president said everyone had gathered... which means she should be here somewhere.

Indeed, Lorenzo was in deep trouble.

The problem was that the students surrounding him were full of imperfections.

A boy sitting nearby had a noticeably asymmetrical face. The scar running along one side made the difference particularly obvious.

Lorenzo’s fingers twitched.

For a fleeting moment, he imagined taking out his dagger and correcting the imbalance himself.

Crack—!

He stopped his hand before it could reach his weapon.

Not now.

He inhaled slowly.

He had only learned this method a few days ago, but so far, it had proven surprisingly effective. Whenever the urge to correct an imperfection became overwhelming, he would crack his fingers and focus on the sensation.

It didn’t eliminate the urge.

It merely bought him a few seconds.

And right now, a few seconds were all he needed.

His gaze shifted toward a girl sitting in the next row.

There was a slight wrinkle in the fabric around her chest.

His attention immediately fixed on it.

’That shouldn’t be there.’

He wanted to smooth it out.

It would take only a moment. One simple movement, and the wrinkle would disappear.

Unfortunately, doing so would require touching her.

And no matter how reasonable his intentions might be, the girl would probably scream and accuse him of being a pervert.

Lorenzo valued his dignity too much to allow that to happen.

Crack—!

His middle finger popped again.

This is getting ridiculous.

He knew perfectly well that cutting someone to correct an asymmetrical face was unacceptable.

He simply found it difficult to ignore the feeling that something was wrong.

And when he couldn’t correct it, the discomfort continued to build.

Usually, he could manage it by himself.

Today, however, his patience was wearing thin.

Because there was one person who could make everything feel right.

Sofia Moretti.

Just thinking about her brought a measure of relief.

Her face was beautiful, her posture graceful, and every movement seemed perfectly composed.

To Lorenzo, she was the embodiment of perfection.

Even the thought of seeing her again helped quiet the restless thoughts in his head.

That was why he had been looking forward to attending Golden Dawn Academy.

But he still couldn’t find her.

"Thank you, President Elise, for the introduction."

A voice from the stage interrupted his thoughts.

Lorenzo opened his eyes.

A young man with neatly combed blond hair stood before the microphone.

Joseph Goldberg.

The first-ranked student of this year’s entrance examination.

His uniform was immaculate, and his posture reflected the confidence of someone accustomed to being at the top. His expression was composed, though the slight stiffness in his shoulders suggested that speaking before such a large audience wasn’t something he did regularly.

After adjusting the microphone, Joseph looked across the hall.

"Good morning, everyone. My name is Joseph Goldberg, but please call me Joe instead. I’m honored to have achieved first place in this year’s entrance examination."

He paused briefly before continuing.

"Golden Dawn Academy is the strongest academy in the world. Being accepted here is an achievement, but I believe it is only the beginning. Each of us has come here for a reason, whether to become stronger, protect humanity, or pursue goals that others might consider impossible."

His gaze swept across the audience before settling on Lorenzo.

A smirk played on his lips.

He had found a convenient target.

"Our journey has just begun, and I hope everyone remains diligent throughout the year."

Joseph paused, letting his gaze linger on Lorenzo.

"And I hope my fellow students won’t follow the example of the person who arrived late today. Someone who can’t even attend his own entrance ceremony on time will probably be among the first to get expelled or die fighting monsters."

His smile widened slightly.

"After all, if he can’t follow the academy’s rules, how can we trust him to follow orders during a mission?"

Joseph finished his speech with a satisfied smile.

"Thank you, and have a good day."

Oh boy...he was dead now.