Chapter 68: Modesty

The royals sat in their seats without a change in their expressions.

Though inwardly, each of them was stumped beyond anything.

Not only the royals but even the commoners were shocked to find someone among them having ranked second in the entire academy.

The shock soon turned into cheers, as everyone celebrated the unexpected outcome.

Well, not everyone—but the majority of commoners.

As for the nobles, many of them stayed silent, with some having sour expressions on their faces.

A commoner, an orphan no less, had ranked higher than any of them. It was an insult to their noble blood.

The only hope they had left was for the first ranker to be someone from the nobles. Though such an outcome should have been the normal norm, today’s results seemed to have shaken their longstanding beliefs.

Climbing the stairs, Noah reached the stage where all the dignitaries were already standing to congratulate him.

The first one to greet him was a man who looked to be in his fifties, with greyish-white hair adding charm to his already commanding presence.

Noah had heard and even read many articles about the man before him.

The headmaster of Namda Academy, and one of the Sovereigns in the world—

Nemur Daithra.

The headmaster extended his hand for a handshake.

“Congratulations, Cadet Noah! I expect great things from you.”

Noah felt the strong grip of the man, who seemed old enough to have grandkids.

The headmaster had a warm smile on his face.

Shaking his hand, Noah replied with an equally polite smile.

“I hope you take care of me.”

Noah bowed his head a little in a respectful gesture.

The headmaster nodded once while allowing Noah to continue further.

Shaking the hands of each of the dignitaries on the stage, Noah moved towards the podium to give his speech—something which he had already prepared.

The anchor greeted Noah once before letting him take the spotlight.

“Cough… Hello everyone.”

Adjusting the mic, Noah glanced at the audience before continuing.

“It is my pleasure to stand here before all of you. I am not a good speaker, so I will be keeping my words short.”

Noah’s warm voice, coupled with his modesty, made the students appreciate his character.

Even those among the nobles who were dissatisfied with the outcome before were now beginning to show a change in their…

Ugly expressions.

“As many of you might have already guessed from my name…

I am an orphan.”

There were some murmurs among the crowd.

Being an orphan was sometimes considered more disgraceful than being a commoner.

Not because orphans didn’t have social support.

No.

It was due to the fact that most of the time these were children from red-light districts and illegitimate noble blood.

Still, the students didn’t show much displeasure on their faces, as humiliating someone stronger than them—no one thought it was the best thing to do, as everyone in the auditorium knew one thing for sure.

No matter what, the guy before them was going to become someone important in the world.

Someone whose words couldn’t be ignored by any of the powerhouses in the future to come.

Noah glanced at the audience once before taking a low breath.

“I am grateful to the headmaster and all the people here at the academy for allowing students like me to learn with everyone else, irrespective of our standing in society.”

His words seemed to have hit the mark, as many of the commoners began giving a round of applause for his statement.

“I won’t take much of your time… I hope all of us will be able to enjoy these years at the academy and build something that will last for our lifetimes.

Thank you!”

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Noah’s speech was followed by another round of claps, but this time every student in the auditorium appreciated him and his thoughts.

Many of them were impressed by Noah’s modesty.

Some of the nobles who had a superiority complex were happy to see the subservient attitude in him.

Completing his brief speech, Noah began to make his way towards his previous seat in the audience, but was stopped by the anchor.

She directed him to one of the seats beside the headmaster, an honour that only the top student received.

Nodding his head in affirmation, he sat near the headmaster—who for the entire time had a warm look on his face.

Noah didn’t know the reason, but somehow he felt incredibly secure in the man’s presence.

“Thank you, Noah, for the words of motivation. I am sure the students will continue to build themselves for a greater future.”

The anchor was now back on track to make the next big announcement.

“Now I guess it’s time to announce the much-awaited result. Any guesses for the top ranker and your soon-to-be year representative?”

The anchor looked around the audience in silence, hoping to build more suspense.

“He’s strong. I could feel it. Probably at Silver 2.”

Kevin muttered in a low voice.

Beside him, both Diana and Alicia had serious expressions on their faces.

All three of them were at Silver 1, with Alicia and Kevin being early Silver 1, while Diana was now a peak Silver 1 ranker.

They were some of the best in the current generation. It was due to this talent that they knew how difficult it was to reach Silver 2 at such a young age.

Diana was the most surprised, as Noah was a human. For a human to outclass other races, who were inherently stronger than them, was shocking—while being an orphan no less.

Diana needed to investigate him. If Noah was from the Veltran Empire, then maybe she could use the academy as an opportunity to recruit him for the empire.

Still, she had to be careful.

If she came across as forceful, it might cause Noah to view the royalty in a negative way.

It was common for the masses to have resentment towards the upper echelons of society.

Alicia just kept looking at Noah as he sat near the headmaster, engaged in what appeared to be a very warm, casual conversation.

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