MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin
Chapter 3 CH 2: FRIEND

"Privetik! Adam. I hope your morning went well."

An elegant golden-haired and exotic blue-eyed woman of considerable height was already seated on their destined bench. She was wearing a black t-shirt that gave her a rather valiant look and a tight pair of jeans that alighted her perky round butt, showcasing her delightful assets.

Ostentatiously, her pure white skin, as though a version of the myth of Snow White brought to life, shone with a glowing luster.

"A pleasant day to you too, Natasha."

— Natasha Antonovna Nikitina, the undisputed first-ranked student since their first year at this University. She was a foreign student originating from Russia. She wasn't an exchange student, nor did she enter through connections.

She was a rich girl who was also extremely talented and hard-working. An odd mix of beauty, talent, intelligence, and resourcefulness, she was basically the very definition of perfection.

Despite her numerous talents and accolades, she was a calm girl with an elegant personality. Of course, this was only a front to show toward the outside world. In front of her close friends and acquaintances, one she could call her own, she chose to show another side— her true side to them.

"Hey hey, why are you only saying hello to Adam? I am also here, you know? You can't just ignore me like that, dammit!"

Sae complained with her hands placed on her hips, arms akimbo. Her posture and her sudden jerking motion made the ginormous mountains she was packing shake up and down in a trembling fashion. The scene was enough to give a nosebleed to a hotheaded youth.

'She really looks like a squirrel.'

A sneer formed on Natasha's elegant face, marring it with the derision she obviously felt at that statement. She didn't leave the short girl hanging as she replied to her statement, guns blazing,

"Sorry sorry, it's just that, you are so small. I simply couldn't even see you even while I was seated so low. You can't blame me for your shortcomings now can you?"

"Ku~!"

'Oh! Natasha used a direct attack on Sae. It was super effective! Is she even alive at this point?'

"Fufufu~! I see. Sorry for being so short, Ms. Nikitina. Well, but what can I do even? It's not my fault that all of my nutrients went into these babies rather than my legs."

As she spoke till here, she used her hands to indecently knead her breasts, pushing them up for Natasha to see before throwing an equally disdainful smile towards Natasha as she blatantly stared at the Russian girl's own peaks.

"I guess being a runway airport must be quite the nice feeling. Sometimes I feel like I can walk all over it and there won't even be any bumps. It's really hard to own such a smooth surface, you know? Good for you."

— Crack

The pen held in Natasha's hands snapped into two in a split second. Evidently, Natasha had become so angry at Sae's effective remarks that she had unconsciously broken her pen in half. There was no resistance, just the simple sound of the severance. Sometimes, Adam wondered just how strong she was.

'Incredible! Sae refused to go down and counterattacked! Natasha's HP is in the red now. How will Natasha respond!?'

"Blyad!!"

"Fuck you too! Don't think you can insult me in your language and I won't retaliate."

Natasha's face had become beet red. Her snow-white skin had the added effect of letting even faint traces of rushing blood to be seen by the naked eyes, much less when she was blushing so much due to the absolute sense of shame and embarrassment she felt due to Sae's words.

Meanwhile, Sae, having completed her counterattack on Natasha, was breathing heavily due to the rapid-fire nature of her assault. As the tension between them grew heavier and Adam questioned to God why there was no way to conjure popcorn with a single thought…

"Ciao Amici!"

A high-pitched voice suddenly resounded from the entrance, breaking the heavy tension as though it never existed in the first place.

'Tch!'

Adam clicked his tongue in pure disappointment. Watching Natasha and Sae fight was one of the few pleasures he had left and allowed in his bleak life. But such a delightful and action-packed moment was wasted by that guy who was walking toward them while waving his hand, oblivious to what he had done.

Alberto Aldini.

A flamboyant guy with an equally flamboyant and loud nature. Also, he was officially ranked 4th in the law department, something a passerby would never believe in hearing it for the first time unless he had a screw or two loose in his head, that is. Truly, one should never rely on looks to judge how smart someone could be.

He was also dressed in the ever-stylish black theme, wearing a black long-sleeved shirt, slightly open around the neck, that teased a peek of his muscular chest, as well as sporting a pair of rather expensive long white pants down below.

Finally, his excited march stopped just in front of them, falling just short of literally crashing into the group. Nobody flinched, however. They were already used to this eccentric guy's antics.

"Sae! Nata! How are my favorite girls doing?!! Still fighting amongst yourselves?"

Being weirdly in sync in the oddest situations, the two hmphed simultaneously before looking ok opposite sides. It was obvious that they didn't even wish to see each other's faces right now.

Seemingly unbothered by the two's usual squabbles, he turned to Adam and his already bright smile seemed to stretch even further as he spoke to him. His behavior suggested that he saw Adam in a slightly different light than the two girls. He was more friendly with the nerdy boy.

"How have you been, Adam?"

"Well, not bad I guess."

Adam shrugged and took his seat at the table that was practically assigned to them at this point. He didn't want to talk more than necessary with this eccentric friend of his. The reason… Even though he was a nice chap to be around, Alberto was far far more tiring to have as a friend than Sae ever could hope to reach. He was a menace in his eyes. A menace through and through that squeezed out all the energy in him.

Thankfully, the others were there to save him from the troubles of interacting with the guy all day. Seating at the side of the table, he made sure to replace the usual seating.

The seating arrangement was established by him into the most optimal state possible. And for good reasons too…

Adam separated Sae from Natasha and Sae protected Adam from Alberto. This was the best option he could replace and was truly the only way for him to be at peace.

Letting out a sigh of lethargy, Adam fought to keep his growing headache at bay.

Because of how introverted he was, his goal has always been to be that unrecognizable guy who somehow got super good results but was silent as fuck. But because of these three damn menaces, he still had garnered for himself a reputation of a sort in this class.

Even though university students were not assigned to a seating arrangement, as years went by, some places were reserved by themselves without anyone even trying to put effort into it. Such was the case for this eccentric and exotic bunch.

From the very start of the first year, all students in this class understood one significant fact.

The last bench in the very back of the room was reserved for some individuals.

Said individuals occupying that dream seat were none other than the 4th, 3rd, 2nd, and 1st ranked students of the year.

But more importantly, this was also the weirdest group of the year. Thus, it resulted in almost all folks in the department staying as far away from them as possible, leaving them to their devices during class time.

"Good morning, dear students. I hope you guys are all ready for the classes. And a reminder, I swear that those sitting so comfortably on the back…if even one of you disturbs my class, I will punish all of you backbenchers by deducting points."

Finally entering the auditorium and standing on the podium was a beautiful brown-haired woman.

A low chuckle resounded in the auditorium. It was perhaps the sole class where the students sitting at the back were in reality the best students in said class.

Standing proudly on the podium, clad in an office-lady style uniform, was none other than Mrs. Shuri. An aunt of sorts to Adam as well as a pretty successful lawyer in the Los Angeles law scene.

Shuri Nakiri. A 33 year old career woman with the profession of a lawyer. She was both the strictest and most popular professor among the students of the law department. She mainly dealt with the study of civil rights and she was an outstanding lawyer when she didn't hold lectures in the university.

Looking at her like that and feeling the respect all those students had for her, Adam smiled while adjusting his thick glasses.

Sometimes he really wondered how all those students would react if they knew how wild and unbridled Shuri truly was at home.

It was always funny to see how people changed their personalities depending on where they were and who they were talking to.

Well, not like he was going to advertise this situation to the others. It was a secret of sorts that only he as her relative was privy to.

And he wasn't keen on letting the others know. Lest this beautiful aunt of his twists his neck off for this transgression.

Yeah… Shuri was one hell of a scary woman.

———

At the Faculty of Law, students studied the administrative, legislative, and judicial branches of the government from a wide range of angles. These concepts are huge, complex, and important phenomena that have a direct influence on people's existence, lives, and well-being.

Students studying this important subject were expected to acquire fundamental legal thinking skills and basic political insight.

For some people, the term "Faculty of Law" may conjure up images of a school that trains students to be lawyers. The Faculty of Law's graduates, however, went into diverse career paths.

Even for students who aspire to be lawyers, it is the Faculty's policy to provide education that does not focus strictly on a narrow definition of "law."

In short, this wasn't the kind of university where you just copied what the professor said without trying to think.

The system was extremely effective and each year, the university released competent lawyers as well as valuable members of society.

The way Shuri taught was by following this rule. She was both kind and strict.

Her voice sounded gracefully in the ears of the students and she didn't hesitate to answer all the questions that were asked as long as they were pertinent enough.

What's more, she didn't just teach them some obscure theoretical knowledge. She also taught them her own experience and views as a lawyer, thoroughly experienced in the field of law.

Listening to her lecture was always a pleasure for everyone and the students were mature and smart enough to understand that they shouldn't waste their time and should pay keen attention to the experiences she shared.

The lecture lasted for two whole hours, but no one seemed to feel the time pass with how focused they were.

Finally.

"Well, this is all for today. I will not be available for the rest of the year and my assistant will take my place. So now is the time. As you know, you guys are basically at the end of a cycle and must now get some first-hand experience.

I will only accept two students in my firm for an internship this year. Natasha Antonovna Nikitina and Adam Gospel. You two were the ones with the highest grades in my class. So if you are interested, bring me your resume later. That's all."

On those words, she waved at the students who were groaning in disappointment and left as gracefully as she entered.

Truly, she was a narcissistic woman who would die but never forget to look cool.

Was what Adam Gospel thought with a subtle chuckle.