Ivan looked at the transmigrators gathered in the small club room.
Oswald Eastvelpen, a first-year student in the Magic Department specializing in Mind Sorcery.
Yuri Franck, the top student in the Knight Department.
Yevgeny Novikov Karamzin from the Theology Department who was simultaneously learning swordsmanship.
And Ivan Petrovich, a scout from the Annihilation Squad.
Ivan thought to himself: Isn't this the composition of a Hero Party?
Oswald was a first-year student in the Magic Department. Like most elves.
Looking at the racial distribution at St. Yansk University, most elves were concentrated in the Magic Department and the Music Department. This could be attributed to their inherently lazy racial characteristics that made them dislike physical exertion.
It was mid-morning during class when Ivan and Yu-jin were walking toward the Magic Department.
"Sir, I've been thinking about something."
"Hmm."
"Isn't it strange that there are no paladins in this world?"
This guy seemed to have no intention of hiding the fact that he was a transmigrator anymore.
"You see, both you and I are in a world different from the original work. In a world with gods, divine spells, and knights, shouldn't there logically be holy knights?"
"Do priests really need to wield weapons?"
Ivan knew that the position of holy knight itself was closer to fantasy.
On Earth, holy knights were knights who fought for religious beliefs during the Crusades, so strictly speaking, they weren't priests. They hadn't been ordained. (And they were extremely secular on top of that.)
That's not to say there weren't ordained priests who served as knights, but in those cases, they couldn't be called knights. They were just armed warrior monks.
It wasn't any different in this world. Priests in this pre-modern era were fundamentally tremendous elites. They had to accumulate diverse knowledge comparable to modern legal professionals.
Add to that the three vows of ordination—poverty, chastity, and obedience—and divine spells from the gods, and they had even less reason to engage in physical combat.
When they could deliver a stronger blow than most knights with a single strike from where they sat, why bother...?
Why would an ordained priest need to go to the frontlines...?
And there was one more major reason.
In a world where personified gods actually exist, the authority that priests hold is beyond imagination. This is because divine spells cannot be used without proper character.
In other words, all priests in this world are fundamentally good. Surprisingly, that was really the case. And because this common sense was widespread, all priests received tremendous social respect.
Therefore, the only time they would need to wear swords and go directly to the front lines was during the Demon War era, and even then, they were never placed at the very front.
The concept of a knight using divine spells was bound to be nothing more than fantasy.
Yu-jin, who had been listening to the friendly education from the 30-year veteran headmaster of this other world, clapped his hands and said:
"Then I'll be the first?"
"...What?"
"I've been getting divine spell slots since I applied to the Theology Department! I don't have many spells I can use yet, but at least it's possible, right?"
And Yu-jin had a specialized passive called 'Sword Mastery.' In other words, his swordsmanship was superior to others.
"Then a priest who can use divine spells while also being good with a sword... isn't that a paladin? Wow, sir. I guess I'm the founder of paladin techniques."
He wasn't wrong. Ivan nodded and fell into thought for a moment.
Divine spell slots...?
"Can you learn other spells too?"
"It's possible, but the experience cost is too high, so I haven't tried. Life is all about choices and focus, right?"
Divine, magic, and swordsmanship. He can learn all three types of skills?
Ivan narrowed his eyes as he looked at Yu-jin. In his mind, a past conversation flashed by.
-It's good to learn anything! Except magic. That's really too difficult.
-It's a bit problematic if the hero can't use magic.
-Hahaha, I'm in the Knight Department, remember!
It was a conversation he'd had in passing with Isabelle.
Just because the hero's daughter becomes a hero doesn't mean... but what about Maximillian's case?
'A transmigrator who can use divine, magic, and swordsmanship.'
Is this guy the hero?
Ivan looked down at Yu-jin with a complicated expression. Yu-jin was walking along with a sycophantic grin.
"If I become a paladin, I really want to say this. You know, 'Deus Vult (God wills it)!' Kya."
Ivan, who had been reminded of Maximillian, shook his head. He didn't think a world where this guy was the hero would be necessary.
Ivan and Yu-jin soon arrived at the Magic Department lecture building.
Oswald, who was in the middle of class, felt a chill run down his spine and hunched his shoulders.
An intense gaze. Almost killing intent, no, something even more concentrated with greed...
It was Evelyn Rustfitz. The precious daughter of the Rustfitz ducal family, the confidential minister's beloved child, was glaring at him.
Oswald gritted his teeth.
'What am I supposed to do...!'
He was a normal man in his twenties. In other words, he had never read what was commonly referred to as "female-oriented romance fantasy" or villainess novels.
So he had absolutely no information about this novel.
Setting aside why he had been completely transmigrated into a novel he hadn't even read 30 chapters of.
A situation where he had to survive in a world he knew nothing about, without any special transmigration benefits.
'I should have at least read a summary!'
He felt like crying and pounding the ground. It wasn't that he had never read novels that were compiled as summaries, but that was a cliché that could only be enjoyed when it was fiction.
The situation where the heroine regrets, becomes miserable, and obsesses over the protagonist is called something else in the cold reality of 21st century Korea.
Stalking. It's a serious form of dating violence that makes police officers call you "this bastard"!
Anyway, the current situation.
So, why was Evelyn glaring at him?
It happened because Oswald had smiled and said it was okay to a female student he accidentally bumped into while walking down the corridor...!
'What the hell, should I have slapped her instead?'
Unless you're a psychopath, you don't do such things. Even though elves are a race coated in arrogance, they don't have such a culture.
Because they believe that arrogance is just another aspect of nobility. Meaning they don't do such vulgar things. In other words, Oswald had responded reasonably even by elven society standards...!
However, our Miss Evelyn, who had transcended the range of elven character, didn't seem to think so.
"Well, the class was a bit boring, wasn't it? Can't be helped. Everyone, wake up that student who's dozing off, and let's take a 10-minute break before continuing."
When the professor on the podium spoke with a warm smile, students all over the lecture hall stood up stretching.
Oswald also naturally stood up and headed for the corridor, avoiding Evelyn who was still glaring at him as if she wanted to kill him.
This time, very carefully, to avoid bumping into any female students.
"Catch him."
"Yes, sir!"
Walking down the corridor, Oswald ended up bumping into a group of transmigrators instead of female students.
Oswald's impression of them was simple. A duo of a madman and a lunatic.
In reality, the young madman, a black-haired human youth with a sycophantic face who kept rubbing his palms together, said this as soon as he saw him:
"Oh, it's nice to meet you, Mr. Eastvelpen! I'm Yevgeny, known as Kim Yu-jin in Korea. And this is Ivan, I don't know his Korean name, but he's Korean!"
"...?"
"We know you're a transmigrator. Don't you need help?"
"...???"
What chapter was this event supposed to be in? At least in the chapters he had read, no other transmigrators had appeared...
"The Magic Genius Obsessed Over by the Villainess" that Oswald had read wasn't about this. Of course, it didn't have this strange Russian background either.
While he was momentarily confused, the old man introduced as Ivan spoke.
"I understand your surprise. But both you and we need each other's help. Could you spare us a moment?"
"Ah, yes... but how did you...?"
What's the biggest characteristic of a transmigrator? Obviously, it's hiding the fact that you're transmigrated.
Transmigration is, simply put, the act of taking over the body of someone who was already living. What would happen if you entered a body with family and relatives still alive?
At best, you'd be subjected to human experimentation; at worst, you might get your throat slit by someone thinking you're their son's (or daughter's) enemy.
This is a fact already proven by countless Korean transmigration clichés. From the perspective of family and relatives, a transmigrator is nothing but an enemy.
Therefore, after learning about his transmigration, Oswald spent sufficient time in despair before thoroughly hiding his identity.
So, it should have been perfect...?
"You weren't acting like an elf."
"Excuse me...?"
"Elves hardly ever use honorifics."
Except for beings like saints, kings of nations, or those of equivalent status. Elves don't use honorifics even in official correspondence. That's generally how long-lived races are.
But this guy used honorifics to get his enrollment documents at the admissions office. The moment Ivan heard this story, he thought of the word "transmigrator" before "polite and kind elf."
Because the proposition that there could be a polite and kind elf in the world is impossible.
Ivan, who had so naturally identified the transmigrator, had underlined Oswald's name and was watching him.
An elf who smiles and says it's okay to a human classmate he bumped into while chatting with his friends at the corridor corner...?
Such a thing couldn't exist.
-Are monkeys' visual fields not in front? Are you perhaps a herbivore? Can't you see in front of you? Don't misunderstand, even vegetarians deserve respect.
Isn't this the kind of thing normal elves would say to a rude human...?
As he listened to Ivan's explanation, Oswald's expression gradually hardened.
What on earth is this old man saying...?
Is this racial discrimination? Feeling emotions he hadn't experienced on Earth, and as an elf in another world at that, made his thoughts complicated...
"So what story did you see?"
"Oh, by the way, I was in 'The Sword Genius Scoundrel of the Northern Grand Duke's Family'!"
"...I was in 'The Magic Genius Obsessed Over by the Villainess'..."
"Oh, a villainess obsession story. You must have transmigrated after 2021?"
"May 2023."
"Oh...!"
Oswald ignored Yu-jin, who was chattering about his personal circumstances, and turned to Ivan.
"Are there more transmigrators?"
"Probably."
Yu-jin nodded heavily.
"Let's go to the Knight Department."
Yuri turned pale as she looked at the three men blocking her way.
A suspicious gardener with a towel around his neck, a sycophantic-looking man with a golden sun rubbing his palms together beside him, and...
"Hello? I'm Oswald from the Magic Department. I'm also a first-year. My major is Mind Sorcery, um, that is, the mental field."
Added to them was a narrow-eyed guy who openly admitted to using hypnosis magic.
"You're a transmigrator, right? I heard you're Korean. Kya, feels like we should make a Seoul hometown association or something?"
The golden sun guy extended his hand with a grin.
"Eeeek!!"
Yuri's vision went black!
The top student in the Knight Department, Yuri Franck.
Yevgeny Novikov Karamzin from the Theology Department who was simultaneously learning swordsmanship.
Oswald Eastvelpen from the Magic Department, majoring in Mind Sorcery.
And Ivan Petrovich, a scout from the Annihilation Squad.
Ivan looked at the transmigrators gathered in the small club room and thought.
Isn't this the composition of a Hero Party?