The Retired Hero is an Extra
Chapter 166 - 166: The Principal's Presence

The crowd was cheering and growing rowdy as the Entrance Test ended and even the results were announced.

Of course, it wasn't without reason.

'It's time for him to arrive, no?' Jash mused, ignoring the stares and the spotlight he was in.

—Woosh!

The air suddenly blasted off in all directions, silencing all the noise that could be heard in the stadium.

"Hah," Jash secretly breathed a sigh of relief at the sight, aware of who it was.

'So flashy,' he clicked his tongue inwardly at the needlessly flashy entrance of the man floating in the air.

"Finally, the principal has arrived," a murmur low enough to be easily missed was actually heard by a vast majority of people.

Everyone looked at the moving wind, trying to find its source and also the elusive Principal of the Solarnelle Academy.

Finally, the figure of a slightly older man appeared, who had grayish hair and black eyes, wearing a pristine white suit.

He had a short beard that suited his sharp face with eyes that seemed to contain an aged wisdom.

Just by catching a glance of his eyes, one could see the wisdom underneath.

'He looked older than grandpa,' Jash noted, 'Still, his presence is no joke, even when he's not releasing it.'

While Jash could only guess it in his heart, all professors and those ranked S or above felt the Principal's presence was akin to that of a dragon.

His unique appearance included features from all three races: slightly longer ears than humans but shorter than elves.

Taller than any dwarf and most humans yet the muscular stature and strong build seemed to have come from his dwarven lineage.

Despite his impressive presence, the Principal had no family backing and was once deemed insignificant trash because of his mixed heritage.

Although rare in the early years, inter-race marriage and dating became quite a common thing.

That's why one could see half-elves or those with minute elven or dwarven bloodlines within them.

'Of course, those darned races banned anyone in an important position from having lovers from other races.'

While Jash thought so, he knew that the same was the case for the humans, but he chose to conveniently ignore that.

A confirmation bias, if you will.

The Principal's voice cut through Jash's thoughts as he finally spoke, "Congratulations to the Year Representatives for getting your positions and ranks."

His voice was serene and calm as his gaze fell over Jash and Ziva before turning to the audience.

However, he couldn't really focus on them, or else his passive presence of SSS-Rank would bring great oppression unto them.

Although he appeared to be an ordinary man if he wasn't in the air, he was the strongest hunter in the whole world.

Turning to face the examinees back, he added calmly, "If you're upset or disappointed by the results, then know that you will get your chance to compete again, next year."

'They really do make the Year Representative hold the position for a year, even if they lose their rank,' Jash thought with curiosity.

However, he suddenly seemed to recall something as his expression soured.

The Principal of the Solarnelle Academy, Fendril Vale, was considered the strongest hunter in the world.

'He's also a SSS-Rank, but the strongest? I doubt that,' Jash guessed, always thinking of untouched elements or hidden monsters.

Anyways, his guess might be wrong or might be correct, but it would change nothing of the current situation.

Meanwhile, Fendril turned to a different spot and called out, "Professor Zander."

Right then, Vice-Principal Zander showed up, nodding to Fendril's words.

"Take both of our winners to their rooms and give them their gifts," Fendril implored before turning to the audience.

"With this, I announce the Entrance Test's end. To the new students, we will meet again at the opening ceremony in the next three days when you will enter the Solarnelle Academy," Fendril added and disappeared just like he appeared.

Professor Zander quickly signaled Rui, who was still in awe and was nervous about his entertainment being discovered.

Nevertheless, he understood his role as the commentator, "I hope you enjoyed the Entrance Test!"

"Now..."

While Rui addressed the crowd, Zander disappeared and appeared next to the stage where the examinees were huddled together.

"You guys follow me," Zander said, addressing Jash and Ziva and they both immediately nodded.

"The rest of you, the staff will guide," Zander added before walking away, with Ziva and Jash in tow.

The two nodded to each other behind Zander as Jash had a small smile gracing his face.

It seemed to be telling Ziva, "Now what? Even I won."

However, Ziva averted her gaze, not getting into his tirades and quietly followed behind Zander.

Dumbfounded by her change of attitude, Jash could only wonder, 'What's up with her?'

He was fed up with the changes in the plotline and couldn't understand why everything was ever-changing.

Of course, he forgot to account for the changes brought by himself as Amael was the one who was supposed to win, and not the protagonist.

'Shit! Just what the hell is his name!?' Jash cursed inwardly, getting angry due to the frustration from the pain as well as the changing state of events.

While the two were being led away, the remaining examinees were guided away by the staff members and one of them had a particularly downtrodden face.

"It's fine, isn't it? We got exposure and that's the reason we came here," Caeron said, consoling Vivia and the protagonist.

"Why the long face, huh? Vivia? Helios?" he asked again, unable to understand their situation.

In fact, from their perspective, he seemed to be mocking them, but neither had anything to retort with.

Meanwhile, the VIP rooms were also a hub of discussion,

"He didn't perform that well," a person said.

"Well, what could he do in front of the two monstrous geniuses, let alone that monster of a kid," another replied.

"Inform them about all of the events" he continued, "We can help them against each other if everything works out."

In another VIP room, the entire area was thrashed as the noble left after his son faced an early defeat, leaving behind the words, "That can't be no son of mine."

Unlike this impulsive noble, a man was consoling his son who couldn't even get into the top 2000.

"It's fine, son. Life is like this only. At this young age, you wanted something, but you didn't get it so you broke down, and that's absolutely fine,"

Patting his son's head, he added with a smile, "But if you had won, you might have become too proud and lost sight of its true value, since it would seem too easily gained."

While his words might seem random or strange for the Entrance Test, they carried profound wisdom that any mature person would relate to.

"Do you get it son? And what if the Goddess has better plans for you?" he said with a final pat before taking his son with him.

"Wow! What an ideal father!"

"That's why he gets marriage proposals despite being a single father..."

If only those who believed in 'seeing is believing' noticed how the son's expression had been frozen in terror all the time, they'd know how wrong they were...