Reincarnated with an SSS-rank Tamer System: My Harem of Villainesses-Chapter 30 – A… Peculiar Morning

The sky still held that usual grayish-blue tone of dawn when Adam stepped out of his room in training clothes.

It wasn’t a new habit. He had done it even before the academy, and he had no intention of breaking that routine just because he now slept in a building full of nobles who probably considered waking up before noon sacrifice enough.

The academy grounds had a compacted dirt track that circled the main courtyard.

Adam had already completed several laps when he noticed he wasn’t the only one with the same idea.

There were several students scattered all around: some running at a steady pace, others stretching by the trees, a couple lifting weights beside a small training shed. More than he had expected at that hour.

What he hadn’t expected was to see Ansel Stone and the student who had defended him in the dining hall running side by side, at an identical and sustained pace.

The blond with his gaze fixed ahead, jaw clenched, clearly focused. The other with a perfect posture that seemed completely natural on him.

Adam noticed them out of the corner of his eye as he passed by and continued on his way without slowing down.

’Interesting.’ That was all he thought before looking away.

He spent the next few minutes in silence, his mind free of any thoughts. Without the system bothering him, without Piers talking beside him, without anything distracting him other than the sound of his own footsteps and the breathing that grew heavier as he picked up the pace on the final lap.

When he finally stopped, he was fairly exhausted.

He searched for the first bench he could find and dropped onto it with some relief, elbows resting on his knees as he tried to steady his breathing.

He was completely drenched in sweat, his shirt clinging to his back, and he could feel the accumulated heat leaving his pores as if he had spent half an hour inside an oven.

Without more, he closed his eyes for a few seconds, letting the fatigue wash over him, but barely ten seconds passed before he heard a sound beside him.

A long, dramatic sigh. The kind someone makes after running for far too long. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Adam opened one eye and glanced sideways.

The girl who had sat down beside him on the bench had green hair tied in a high ponytail, with a few loose strands stuck to her neck from the sweat.

Her eyes were the same color, a bright and intense shade, with a slightly unusual shape—almost like a star if one looked at them long enough.

She was wearing training clothes: a fitted white shirt that was now completely soaked and so plastered to her body that it practically didn’t exist.

It revealed a black sports bra underneath, which was the only thing left between her and the world.

Adam noticed it with the same indifference with which he would notice clouds in the sky.

That was when the girl, without looking at anyone in particular, grabbed the edge of her soaked shirt and fanned it forward a couple of times, letting the fabric peel away from her skin for a moment as she cooled herself off.

The gesture was completely shameless, almost as if Adam weren’t sitting half a meter away.

He looked at her for a second—just one—before turning his gaze forward again.

The silence lasted only a short while.

"Do you always stay this quiet when a girl does this next to you?"

Her voice was direct, but there was an amused tone that made it clear the question wasn’t innocent at all.

Adam didn’t look at her, he simply replied, "Depends on the girl."

That made her laugh, a short but genuine laugh. "What a peculiar answer." She leaned back slightly on the bench, stretching her legs out in front of her. "Every first-year boy I know would’ve turned red up to their ears. Some would’ve even left."

"What a tragedy for them."

"Isn’t it?" She turned her head to look at him with a smile. "They seem more afraid of a sweaty girl than a magic exam. Chickens in uniforms, all of them."

Adam let out something that wasn’t exactly a laugh, but was close enough. A short, almost inaudible sound that slipped out on its own.

The girl seemed satisfied with that, as if she had earned some kind of point.

"Alice Velmoor." She said as she extended her hand toward him. "In case you were interested in knowing."

Adam looked at her for a second before shaking her hand. "Adam."

"I already know who you are." She said as she leaned back again without immediately letting go of his hand. "The emblem says it all. Besides, everyone’s been talking about you since yesterday." She finally released his hand and vaguely gestured toward the academy. "I’m in the middle nobles group. In case you were wondering."

"I wasn’t."

"Of course you weren’t." She smiled, unbothered. "But I’m telling you anyway. I’m from Ketharis, so I’m basically a foreigner here. Which gives me the right to ignore ninety percent of this country’s social rules without anyone really being able to say anything to me."

Adam glanced at her. "Is that how you see it?"

"That’s how I see it." She confirmed with complete seriousness before the smile returned to her face. "Works pretty well, honestly."

There was a small pause. Adam was about to stand when Alice spoke again.

"Did you see Isolwen Ashveil at the ceremony yesterday?"

Adam frowned slightly. He remembered that name, the princess of Ketharis, with silver hair and violet eyes, along with an elaborate braid. "I saw her."

"She’s beautiful, isn’t she?" Alice’s tone was completely relaxed, as if she were commenting on the weather. "Seriously, that body, that face, the way she moves... even I stared for a moment, and I’ve known her my whole life."

Adam looked at her.

Alice looked back at him without moving an inch, still wearing that same smile.

"A lot of confidence for someone you just met..." he finally said.

"Too much?" she asked, though her tone made it clear she wasn’t particularly concerned about the answer.

"Depends on what for."

Alice let out a small laugh and stood up, stretching her arms over her head. The soaked shirt shifting with the motion. Then she looked down at him.

"If you want to keep talking, you know where to find me." She vaguely nodded toward the dorms. "Although if you take too long, I might be the one who finds you." She made a deliberate pause. "I don’t give warnings first."

Without another word, she turned on her heels and began walking back toward the building without hurrying, her green ponytail swaying behind her with each step.

Adam watched her walk away for a few seconds before turning his gaze forward again.

’Velmoor.’ He repeated mentally as he stood from the bench.

That girl supposedly knew Princess Isolwen closely...

The system didn’t appear, nor did Nox react to that girl.

Without more, Adam began walking back toward his room. He had classes in two hours.