“Hey, Yuriko, did you see today’s newspaper?”
“Not yet. Where can I read it?”
“You can see it on the Academy Official Website.”
“Oh, so there’s a digital version.”
Yuriko opened the Academy Official Website and searched through the categories for a while before finding the Academy Daily section.
After clicking in, the first issue listed was today’s paper.
The daily summarized the contents of yesterday’s broadcast interview.
The writing was fine, with no signs of misleading behavior.
Yuriko also saw a photo of herself.
It was the one taken in the News Club yesterday, but it was different from the image she had seen then.
This one had undergone post-processing; the edges were beautified, and filters had been applied.
Although they hadn’t changed Yuriko’s actual appearance, the edits added a distinct atmosphere that made the photo feel more vivid.
However, the section discussing the topic of romance from the interview was written a bit suggestively.
[Willing to accept everything about a lover and satisfy all their hobbies and “playstyles”—this Senior is such a pure girl. Her future lover will surely be very “satisfied”!]
‘Just what kind of “satisfied” are you implying?’
Yuriko scrolled down further.
The following content featured interviews with Carmilla and the others.
The interview question was: What is your opinion of the new student?
Carmilla was the first to answer.
Her response was:
“Ruri is a very loving girl. She is strong, kind, and always works hard. She never slacks in her studies, and I really enjoy the feeling of being around her.”
As expected, Carmilla’s evaluation of Yuriko was entirely positive.
Second was Olesia:
“I look forward to her future performance. She is a rival worth taking seriously.”
‘Huh, Olesia thinks that highly of me?’
Seeing how confident she usually was, Yuriko had assumed the girl didn’t care about her at all.
The third was Yuri:
“I don’t think this new student is as simple as she looks. She is full of secrets that make one want to investigate and see exactly what she’s hiding~”
‘Of course, she’s not even trying to hide her suspicions anymore.’
The last one interviewed was Nomily, whose answer caught Yuriko slightly off guard:
“While she isn’t as amazing as my Sister, she is still a decent person. At least she’s much better than most of these other people.”
Nomily had been asked two questions.
The second was: We heard you challenged Ruri multiple times. As her opponent, what do you think of her?
“I hated her at first! I thought some random person showing up out of nowhere and studying alongside Sister would lower her status. Later, I realized she’s actually quite strong. And… she’s not a bad person. She was kind of cool when she saved me… No, no! What are you making me say?! Start over, start over!”
The editor’s note followed: [Even the famous Kipling Nomily has been conquered by the new student. It seems our new student’s charm is very high. By the way, Senior Kipling, could you please stop hitting the juniors?]
‘Conquered? They make it sound like I’m here to find a partner.’
She only wanted to improve her classmates’ favorability toward her.
‘They really did start talking nonsense. That editor deserves to get hit.’
Speaking of which, the editor was probably the News Club President, right?
She thought she remembered hearing the News Club President screaming on the broadcast yesterday.
After the interview section came the conclusion, where the editor summarized the piece.
[Evaluated as a woman full of secrets by the Astrologer Yuri, having captured the heart of Kipling—who usually only has eyes for the Student Council President—and receiving high praise from the Student Council President herself… This Ruri is truly a mysterious woman. We wonder if she will give us more surprises in the future. This editor will be waiting along with everyone else!]
“What do you mean ‘captured my heart’?! Who wrote this daily? I’m going to find her and have a long talk!”
Seeing how the paper described her, Nomily’s face immediately flushed with embarrassment.
She only had a bit of a good impression of Yuriko; how did it get exaggerated to this extent!
“I can tell this was written by that News Club President from yesterday. She’s in Grade Four, Class B,” Yuri said, clearly trying to stir the pot.
Upon hearing that, Nomily rushed out in a huff, likely heading off to settle the score with the News Club President.
‘Good luck, News Club President.’
“Does the News Club always exaggerate this much when writing the paper?”
Yuriko asked while looking at the daily.
“Yes, but today’s issue is actually quite restrained. Plus, they didn’t say anything bad about you, which is very rare,” Carmilla replied.
Yuriko flipped through previous issues and found that Carmilla was right.
Compared to their past work, this paper regarding her could be described as 100% true.
The interview matter concluded smoothly, and Yuriko’s image successfully spread throughout the Academy, mostly in a positive light.
Over the next two weeks, Yuriko’s academy life went well.
She maintained her hardworking and enthusiastic attitude, subtly improving her image in her classmates’ hearts.
If there was one special thing that happened during this time, it was that on the day after she received a love letter, a Grade Four junior publicly proposed to her in the hallway.
Yuriko was stunned when it happened.
It had only been a few days; how was she already being publicly proposed to?
Furthermore, the person proposing seemed to be a noble from some country.
His father was a high-ranking official close to the King, so his status was not low at all.
She remembered people cheering for her to accept at the time.
Just because the guy had a good character model and a significant background, they were making a scene.
Fortunately, most of the people in the hallway were her classmates; otherwise, everyone would have joined in the heckling.
Being publicly proposed to by a man made Yuriko feel like she had lost all her dignity.
Yuri had been beside her at the time, and Yuriko could still remember the girl’s expression as she struggled to hold back her laughter.
“Yuriko, I think this guy’s conditions are pretty good. Why don’t you give it a try?”
If the situation had allowed it, Yuriko would have loved to punch that guy into the wall.
When she asked for the reason behind the proposal, he said he had some niche and unique “tastes.”
He had been deeply moved by Yuriko’s answer regarding romance during the interview and believed that if it were her, she would surely be able to accept his flaws.
“Junior, you’ve misunderstood one thing. While I said I would embrace everything about a lover, the prerequisite for that is having enough mutual affection. What you should do is not propose to a stranger like me, but rather look for someone who can truly accept your flaws. If you think about it carefully, perhaps that person is already by your side?”
To maintain her image, she eventually relied on a persuasive speech to make him give up.
The way the guy looked at the end—like he had just had a “Master, I understand” moment of enlightenment—was quite comical.
Later, she heard he had gotten together with a servant who had come to the Academy with him.
It was a very pretty-looking male servant.