At the entrance of the Arts Academy's standard dormitory, Hel stepped off the alchemical bus and quietly observed the building before her.
It was a simple-looking structure, yet compared to the dormitories of Skoll Academy, it was still a luxurious seven-story complex. The row-house style architecture reminded Hel of the university dorms from her previous life.
"Hello there, you must be a new student?"
A warm, gentle female voice rose from the direction of the dorm entrance. Soon, an elderly woman with white hair and a kindly smile stepped out. Fine wrinkles marked her face, but her eyes carried the calm wisdom of a scholar.
"I'm the dorm matron here. Just call me Martha, child."
She took Hel's admission documents with a smile.
"Come with me. I'll show you to your new living space. You arrived fairly early, so you still have plenty of rooms to choose from."
"Mm."
Hel nodded and followed her inside.
Polished oak flooring, soft interior decor, and elegant wall paintings spaced at regular intervals—everything inside contrasted sharply with the plain exterior.
"The Arts Academy may have expensive tuition," Martha said, "but we never skimp on living facilities. Each floor has a public bath and laundry room, and the first floor has all sorts of activity rooms."
She guided Hel to the elevator hall at the end of the lobby.
"This is the MagiTech Lift—an invention from the Alchemy Academy. You can operate it with your student card. Freshmen this year are housed on the fourth and fifth floors, so you can pick any room you like."
After sending Hel into the elevator and giving her a few more details, the elderly matron left.
Hel rode the lift alone and stepped out onto the fourth floor.
Barely moments later, the elevator beside hers dinged open. A girl carrying blankets and several bags stepped out, looking somewhat exhausted.
She let out a sigh and seemed ready to pick any random room—but then her eyes froze.
She spotted a familiar figure.
"Um…"
She opened her mouth, wanting to call out, but then realized—she didn't even know the person's name.
Left with no choice, she hurried after Hel's silhouette, but her arms were full and her pace slow. Soon, she watched helplessly as Hel turned into another hallway and disappeared.
Meanwhile, Hel was strolling leisurely, examining the nameplates beside each dorm room door.
Each one displayed the residents' names. After choosing a room, a new student simply had to insert their student card to register their information—their name would then automatically appear on the plate.
Hel was here for one reason: she had already confirmed that the Seventh Princess lived in this dormitory.
Yes—a royal princess choosing to live in a standard shared dorm instead of a luxurious private one. To most nobles, her behavior was absolutely baffling.
But Hel thought the princess might be trying to cultivate loyal followers here. Just as Hel approached the princess with an agenda, the princess might also be lowering herself to win over some talented commoner.
After all, the princess's situation in the royal family wasn't favorable. She lacked political capital.
But when Hel finally reached the door marked Hiness, she saw something that stunned her.
Tina? Why her? Did she expose her strength? That shouldn't be possible… The Arts Academy doesn't care about cultivation talent. How did she end up discovered?
Thinking this over, Hel inserted her student card. With a crisp ding, tiny metal particles gathered and reformed on the blank part of the nameplate, arranging themselves into her name.
At that exact moment, the dorm door was suddenly pulled open from the inside.
A cute girl with short pale-gold hair—its tips fading into a soft orange—popped out.
"Hello, roommate! Welcome to Room 4004. I'm Hiness!"
Without giving Hel any chance to react, she wrapped her arm around Hel's and pulled her inside with practiced ease.
"Come! Let me show you our other roommate—this is Tina, from the Dessert Kingdom!"
"Uh… hello."
Hel awkwardly greeted Tina, who was sitting on the sofa writing in a notebook. Tina returned a polite greeting—then glanced at Hiness still clinging to Hel's arm, her expression shifting into something like sympathy.
Only she knew how terrified she was yesterday when she was ambushed by this adorable girl's overwhelming enthusiasm.
Was this what people meant by the hospitality of Savant City?
"Oh right—what's your name, roommate?"
Hiness pulled Hel onto the sofa, then grabbed all sorts of snacks from the table, piling an entire plate high before offering it to her. Her eyes sparkled as she stared expectantly at Hel.
"Just call me Lyco. I'm also from the Dessert Kingdom."
"Really? I heard the newest specials in the Dessert Kingdom are gunpowder-flavored frosting and pickled-meat fruit pies. Have you tried them? I'm dying to know what they taste like! But since I was thrown here to study, I can't go try them myself."
Hiness pouted regretfully.
Hel's expression darkened. Gunpowder frosting? Pickled-meat fruit pie? What kind of culinary crime was that?
"I'm afraid I've never tried them."
"Oh, that's a shame. If we get the chance, I'll take you home with me to taste them! Oh oh oh—this is a macaron from the Dessert Kingdom! Try it! I heard it's made with a new ingredient imported from the Knight Empire—something called 'cream!'"
"Ah… this…"
Hel stared at the familiar snack. It looked exactly like her own trading company's product. Even after traveling to the Nation of Scholars, her merchandise still followed her.
But faced with Hiness's blazing enthusiasm, Hel had no choice but to take a bite. Seeing her satisfied expression, Hiness beamed like a child overjoyed to have their favorite treat praised.
"She's… surprisingly easy to please." Hel thought.
"But someone this simple—could she really be trying to recruit talented followers? She doesn't seem like the type with that kind of strategic mind…"
Just as Hel was thinking that, another soft ding sounded from outside the door.