I regressed and became the Sword Ice King

A baffled sigh exuded Raph's lips when the boy he had been staring at suddenly flinched, his head shifting upwards as their eyes met.

A startling silence suffused between them, their eyes scanning through each other, trying to decipher one another, trying to uncover the truth that they hid from the others.

It was fruitless for one, but fruitful for the other.

The boy's hazelnut eyes sparkled with intensity, as his smile widened, and his eyes narrowed, causing Raph to flinch a little, but nothing much came off his expression.

'The fuck is up with that guy?' He thought when a familiar voice echoed in the Lecture Hall.

While Dark mana wasn't as common as normal mana or Divine mana, it was still well-known in his past life.

The origins of Dark mana, though, stirred from the Arcanus household, so seeing a boy that was most likely related to the Greenhorns possessing such mana meant there was much more to them than what meets the eye.

'And to think I trusted them..' He thought. He would never forget their assistance when he was much younger when he searched for a means of hiding his mana circle, though now that he had become a Master, he didn't need such. 'What a pain, honestly. No one is as they seem'.

He thought, but then an image blurred that thought, and he glanced at Elsie, whose attention was fixed on the current situation at hand.

'....I wonder…' He thought, lost in his mind when a voice startled him.

"I recommend the princess!".

A girl with dark brown hair, and black eyes stood up, her palms hitting the desk at the same time, gaining the attention of the students and teachers.

She was none other than Rana Lana.

'Hah…she was always that sort'. Raph thought.

Rana Lana was an honest girl, too honest in fact. It's not difficult to understand that people with stoic beliefs tend to be unadaptable, and unbendable.

It's all good on paper, but it becomes difficult to cooperate with people like that. You could also say that their personality makes it difficult to like or dislike them.

Rana Lana was one of such people, as a strong supporter of the Princess even in his past life and the principles that she led throughout her life.

'At least her loyalty is unquestionable. After all, she killed herself right after the death of Princess Meadow'.

Raph thought as the students began to support her claim.

"Yes! How can there be anyone more fit than the Imperial Princess herself?"

Timothy Pheran, the son of the 5th vassal Imperial family, became the ringleader while the other members of the vassal families chirped in to assist.

It was an ironic situation since, at this point, the princess's future death was most likely concocted by the Vassal families.

'Most Nobles don't like her, for some…unknown reason….but…if she could read minds'. The speculation in his thoughts caused a curiosity from within, and he became a little bit concerned for the princess, though he would have to shove that feeling for now; after all, his family was at stake and under the Imperial family at that.

"Lana, what are you doing?" The princess spoke up; her cascading golden hair and beautiful pair of crimson eyes that matched her father's perfectly pierced through black eyes of Lana, and a cold shiver was sent through her skin.

With a subtle Yelp, the girl sat down quietly, leaving Meadow to the attention of the staring glances.

Well, for some of them, it was clear that the Great families didn't care much about their banter.

"I apologize; you may continue, Professor Crockwell". The princess stood and bowed before taking her seat back, causing Lana to tighten her grip while looking away in embarrassment.

Professor Crockwell sighed, turning towards the students who volunteered themselves.

"We have just four volunteers; having the princess as another one would be favorable to our class." He said, though, he didn't seem like he wanted to insist; he probably thought of giving it a try at least.

On the podium were familiar figures to Raph, three of which were system users and the last, the daughter of the second Imperial Vassal family.

Out of the three, two were boys, Javier Wright and Jonny Greenhorn, while the girl was, of course, Canary Yellowstone.

The other girl would be Alicia Berry.

There weren't any students from the Great families; Raph was sure most of them had better things to do than to lead a class of 'weak' freshers.

Princess Meadow giggled in her seat, placing her right hand on her lips as it curled upwards into a mischievous smile.

"How about I recommend someone instead, Professor?"

"Oh?" Raph muttered, and he didn't seem to be the only one interested in hearing her opinion as well. She was still royalty, and being recommended by a royalty on your first day of class would increase your standing by a lot in that class.

Even Darell and Ciara, who had not seemed interested at all, had their ears perched up to find out who she would call out first.

It was no surprise, but they expected her to recommend a member of the Great families, though who amongst the five present was unknown.

Raph sat up to listen to what next she would say, but something began to bite at him like a bad premonition.

"I recommend Raffaelo Jun".

A pin-drop silence descended in the Lecture Hall as the students all turned towards him in unison.

'Well, fuck me'. He thought when he noticed the girl who had implicated him in this mess giggle.

'Something about her response is very fishy'. He thought though he had no other choice but to shove that thought to the side as Elsie tapped him.

"Should I kill her?". She asked, her tone low and serious as she glared at the girl from behind.

Raph tapped her on the head. "No, you will not," He said in a silent hush.

He sighed, feeling the intensity within those juvenile gazes.

'It's uncomfortable'. He thought, staring down to find Professor Crockwell's gaze on him as well.

"Well, Would you like to? You seemed to be specially recommended by the princess". He asked.

Raph looked around, his gaze lingering on Darell, Jane, Ciara, and Mariam; their expressions were currently seen through.

They were curious about his answer.

'Technically, there is no need for me to become a Class Monitor. In my past life, Javier and Canary were the Class Monitors and Assistants'.

A distinctive memory of Javier's image appeared in his head as he locked his gaze with the white-haired boy.

He was a lot taller than his peers, but Javier Wright, the only level 30 Fresher, was a force to be reckoned with.

His innocent facade only lasted till he became the Student Body President, and with a profession as a Dark Knight, he became a troublesome individual to deal with.

'Now that I think about it….isn't one of the qualifications of becoming the President to hold at least one perfect position each year?' He thought, his brows in deep contemplation.

"Well, will you, Raffaelo Jun? Time is ticking, and we will need to choose a Class Monitor soon". Professor Crockwell urged as Raph concluded his mind.

'Well, I can always drop it in the next semester, but for now, I can as well just give it a try'.

The qualifications of becoming a president weren't easily exposed as it became a sacred position, but if he were to take hold of their office in his final year.

'....now that would be a lot of fun'.
Continue reading stories on empire

With a sigh, he stood up and headed towards the Podium.

"On my way Professor".

The students began to chatter after his response, a little bit surprised at his decision. There was nothing much to gain from becoming the Class Monitor other than work, and unnecessary meetings, so why would a member of a Great Family decide to carry such work?

'It can't be helped, once the qualifications were known, people like Ciara and Darell were busy looking for means of earning five prefectships to make up for the loss.' He thought. 'The work is a hassle, but with a good Assistant, everything can be handled without necessarily raising a finger'.

His gaze lingered on the four students on the podium.

'In my past life, Javier had chosen Canary over Alicia simply because he couldn't trust Alicia, and it was the right call. There was no telling what an Imperial Vassal family would do to a system user, but Alicia Berry would be the best candidate'.

The Berry vassal household was in charge of businesses and financial flow within the kingdom, though they paid a heavy tax in return.

'It wasn't something they couldn't afford though'

Standing next to Jonny Greenhorn, he resolved himself.

'Well, being a class monitor would also be a boost for my application of a club…even if I had other methods, this one will come in handy'.

Though all these thoughts were 'what ifs' as they chose their Class Monitor by voting, it was hard to imagine someone else winning that vote when a member of the Great Family, recommended by the Princess herself, stood among them.

With a final confirmation, Professor Crockwell ended the recommending phase and moved on to the voting phase.

The students were assigned a paper and instructed to write their candidate, and then the papers would disappear after they confirmed their decisions from the Professor.

The paper reappears in front of the Professor immediately, folded neatly and arranged in five places, stacking on top of one another, representing their candidates.

In under five minutes, the voting phase was done, and the winner was about to be announced.