Book 4 Chapter 20
Episode 94
As everyone expected, the next day <Delighten> was in an uproar, as if it would be turned upside down, right from the morning commute to school.
“Hey, did you hear? Prince Inseong said he's going to smash Griffinballer!”
“What? Wasn't Griffinballer the royal club for nobles?”
“I don't know! Anyway, they say he even quit the student council to smash it?”
Unlike before, when it only drew significant attention among freshmen, even the skilled students in the 2nd and 3rd years had their eyes shining with interest.
“Wow, that young master sure makes school life interesting.”
“It's good that there's something to see before the festival, isn't it?”
“When's the match? Ten days from now?”
Those excited voices, carried on the summer-announcing breeze, clearly reached Ellyn Ludwig's faculty office.
“No matter how pathetic, since I have ears on both sides, I can hear what those guys are chattering about, right?”
When Rain, who was standing across the desk in the faculty office, replied, “Yes, I can hear it clearly,” Ellyn's fist exploded on top of his head!
“What? You said, 'Yes, I can hear it clearly~'?! How much more do you want to get hit?! Are you out of your mind? What kind of twisted logic did you use to create such a mess?!”
“Argh, aack!!! I'm sorry! Just spare my life!”
“This Griffinballer, you know, it's a royal club with a thousand years of history! My father and I, and your mom and dad, are all OBs here! My brother even led the team to victory in the national competition with the president!”
But you're going to shut it down?
While even quitting the student council?
Only after delivering a total of fifteen punishments did Ellyn sigh and lean back in her chair as if collapsing. Clasping her forehead due to a headache.
“Do you understand what you've just done?”
“I'm sorry, Aunt. But it was a situation where I couldn't back down due to personal reasons.”
“Alright, you pathetic one. You can go now. You'll have no time since you need to master the basics within ten days.”
One couldn't help but feel considerable doubt at Ellyn's reaction.
Why is she letting it go so easily?
It wouldn't be strange to press her on what exactly those personal reasons were.
“Weren't you angry? About me quitting the student council…?”
“You pathetic fellow, where is there any reason to get angry about that? If my brother or I were in the same situation, we would have done the exact same thing.”
“Huh?”
Far from being angry, she was even proud that he made that decision faster than anyone else among the six student council members.
Even with all the excellent executives from the 2nd and 3rd years in that situation.
The reason Ellyn was angry was that his solution was far too reckless.
“Maya's unreasonable demands could have been sufficiently dismissed if you had spoken to the faculty or the president.”
“But… I thought I had to teach them a lesson before it was too late.”
“What?”
“That your magic skills aren't as great as you think they are.”
For a moment, seeing her brother's face superimposed on her nephew's, Ellyn's eyes wavered slightly. And then, a 'hahat' empty laugh escaped her.
Yes, that's what it means.
As if he weren't his son.
So you also have that fighting spirit stemming from chivalry. Just as my brother earned everyone's respect with it.
“About 90 points out of 100.”
“Yes…?”
“Of course, an heir to the Ludwig family should have that much spirit. That way, the lesser ones like the Ten Great Noble Families won't dare to crawl up later.”
When her nephew, who had naturally flinched, expecting to be scolded further, tilted his head in confusion, Ellyn showed a sharp smile.
“But this genius professor Ellyn Ludwig isn't a weak opponent just because you're my nephew, you know?”
“…!”
“I'm going to give 100% of my effort to protect this club. Train until you're about to die and come. Unless you intend to bring shame to the family name.”
When he exited the faculty office with his head bowed, Logan, who had been waiting outside holding his breath, fretted.
“Are you alright, Young Master? You haven't had an arm or leg cut off, have you?”
“She just told me to do my best?”
Logan and Nora exchanged glances and then tilted their heads almost simultaneously.
“It seems like the Young Master somehow gets along really well with scary professors.”
“My aunt is my aunt, so that's fine, but professors?”
“I'm talking about our great master! He's a really scary person, but doesn't he only praise the Young Master a lot?”
“You think that's scary? I thought he was an interesting person.”
If the tiger professor of the 1st year was Owen, the tiger of the 2nd year was Ellyn, and the 3rd year was Senior Professor Marhena.
For Rain, who received favor from all three of them, it was a difficult topic to understand.
Anyway, since he had finished the conversation with Ellyn, arguably the biggest hurdle (?), it could be said that the main event was starting now.
“Alright, then shall we go find teammates!”
“Roger that!”
“Yay★”
First, they decided to split up one by one and recruit teammates. This was to bring in friendly late-stage disciples, and the people assigned were as follows.
“Then I'll bring Lilian.”
“I'll get Caden. He usually listens to everything I say ♣”
“Okay, then I'll get Yuber. We're in the same class, so we're quite close.”
“Huh?”
“Hmm★?”
“Why?”
Yuber, due to his uniquely sharp personality, had hardly any close acquaintances among the late-stage disciples of the Eight Great Schools, except for Caden. In fact, Caden was someone who treated everyone without any rough edges, regardless of their personality, so he was close with everyone…
Anyway, for that reason, Logan was now standing nervously in front of [Sohyang] Class, his heart pounding!
“Um, Lilian…?”
“Hmm?”
“Logan over there is asking for you…”
Lilian, who was preparing for the first period, raised an eyebrow and looked at Logan. Not only Lilian but even other students had their eyes shining with interest, wondering if some dispute was breaking out among the late-stage disciples.
As Lilian stood facing Logan, the tense silence amplified to its extreme.
“What is it?”
Then, Logan, who had been grinning foolishly and mumbling for an annoying amount of time, finally spoke. A high-pitched, strained voice.
Logan was nervous. Although he possessed powerful muscles that all men would admire, the rule for men to become pure-hearted in front of a woman they like was something Logan couldn't avoid either.
“If it's not urgent, I'd like to go back inside.”
In the past, he would have just ignored her and gone in (or wouldn't have come out in the first place), but for some reason, Lilian's slightly kinder attitude emboldened Logan.
“Uh, well, that is… you know, about Prince, uh, Rain playing magic volleyball, right?”
“Roughly.”
“The, the team is short on members, so I was wondering if, um, you could, uh, help out, haha…”
He had stated the main point. Now to think about how to persuade her.
Lilian was a formidable woman who hated wasting time to an extreme degree and was extremely reluctant to interact with others. Therefore, he had expected her to immediately express her refusal and was deliberating on how to persuade her, but.
“A magic volleyball team member?”
Strangely, Lilian, who was stroking her chin with her hand, seemed to be lost in thought for a moment. Then she gave a very perplexing answer.
“There's no reason I can't.”
“W-what did you say?”
“I'm not affiliated with any club yet. And it's not like I don't have time.”
What's going on?
Does Lilian actually like me too?
Was she just playing hard to get because she was shy all this time?
'If that's the case, shouldn't I be thinking about how many sons to have first?!'
Three daughters would be nice… He pondered how to persuade both deans and their parents, how they would spend their old age, and what kind of grandfather he would be to his grandchildren.
As Logan furrowed his brow in deep thought, Lilian, mistaking it for suspicion, cleared her throat and shook her head once.
“No need to doubt my intentions. I just owe Rain Ludwig a debt.”
It is said that Logan, who was already running a mental simulation of what to say at the introductory meeting between families, did not hear those words.
Meanwhile, outside the school building, in the schoolyard, Yuber, with a leather bag slung casually over his shoulder, stretched and spoke irritably.
“School life is just a joke, really. Some people struggle just to get in here and try to graduate somehow.”
Then Caden, who was walking to school alongside him, quickly scribbled with a fountain pen in his notebook. He was born mute and couldn't speak.
[It's not an incomprehensible reason either. The challenge to the student council came from a 3rd-year, so it's hard to call it a joke.]
“That guy, everything's just a joke to him! He enjoys watching guys like us struggle! He got into university so easily, that's why he talks like that!”
Caden tilted his head slightly. Yuber shook his head with a sigh.
“The final exam was a shame too. If he weren't from a powerful family, you would have won.”
Caden tilted his head slightly once more. His gestures for expressing emotion were always subtle in this way.
[I lost because my magic was lacking;; Even if all the judges were adults from a school faction, the result would probably have been the same?]
“No, why do you keep taking his side?”
[I'm not taking sides, it's a fact.]
This was when he was trying to console him somehow… just as Yuber exhaled, as if swallowing his annoyance.
“Caden, found you★”
At that chilling voice, Yuber tensed up and flinched, while Caden simply turned to look at the fellow.
“The Genius (Calamity) Prince needs magic volleyball teammates, let's help him out together ♣”
Nora, grabbing Caden by the nape of his neck and dragging him along, as if consent wasn't needed. But Caden's reply written in his notebook was even more absurd than her actions.
[Yeah, let's go.]
Yuber, who had been blankly blinking, blocked Nora the next moment. Nora smiled brightly and tilted her head.
“Why, Yuber, do you want to join too?”
“That's ridiculous. Are you crazy? Nora might be like that, but Caden, why are you helping a guy like that?”
[He asked for help, so I'm helping him. Yeah;;;]
Ah, come to think of it, Caden was also that kind of guy. A typical kind-hearted person who grants every request, making him easy to stab in the back…
Just as he sighed, the voice Yuber hated to hear most was heard.
“Oh, found him, found him.”
He enrolled with the infamous title of "Genius Prince," but now he was undeniably the No. 1 among <Delighten>'s first-year students.
Rain Ludwig.
A beautiful young man whose appearance, not just his family, was unparalleled, was approaching, waving his hand warmly as if they had always been that close.
“Yuber~ Let's play magic volleyball together.”
Yuber's eyes narrowed. Is this a provocation? If not, why is he asking so matter-of-factly?
“I refuse.”
“Why?”
“Why, you say… Are you asking because you don't know?”
Rain's eyes, tilting his head at the question, sparkled genuinely as if he truly didn't know.
He's joking.
He thought he should clarify things here to avoid future trouble.
“Because I dislike you. It's not just you. The entire tribe of nobles is simply tiresome and disgusting.”
So, get out of my sight.
Even though he threatened him with a more aggressive and thorny tone than usual, Rain calmly tilted his head to the other side.
“Why?”
Seeing that, annoyance, no, rage welled up in him.
“Do you know how I was able to come this far from the Lohwinum School?”
“?”
“For my father to enter the school, he had to perform 108 full bows for a year! For a whole year, until the skin on his knees was completely worn off!”
Remembering the hardships his father endured then, his voice involuntarily rose.
The first-year students, who had been chattering amicably as they entered the Yongmyeongwan building, one by one glanced their way with surprised faces.
Yuber didn't even pay attention to those guys and cast a sharp gaze at Rain.
“And even after entering, I had to work like crazy not to be expelled. That's how I climbed to this position.”
“Oh.”
“But what about you nobles? Just because you were born into good families, you naturally enjoy everything I've barely achieved! How unreasonable is that? That's why I dislike you, that's why!”
It was pure rage.
It was also the root of the malice towards nobles that had accumulated deep within Yuber's heart… and whenever he made such remarks, the nobles' reactions were always similar.
They would either shout that he was rude, or sneer with a mocking smile, "Then you should have been born a noble"… there was no logic whatsoever in their responses.
'I've been subjected to it so much that I'm not surprised anymore. Now I don't even expect anything.'
To the beings called nobles, commoners were beings with a status similar to that of animals.
There was no need to respond.
If a wild dog barks, who would comfort it by asking why it barks so hard?
'Right now, we wear the same clothes because we're students, but those guys only appear the same; fundamentally, they're different.'
Therefore, Yuber, who had climbed this far solely through effort, was always a thorn in their side and an anathema to them.
“Hearing you speak so loudly, it seems you've truly worked hard.”
But something was strange.
In the noble's tone right before him now… something was missing. The nobles' sense of superiority, as if looking down on the efforts of commoners from the very beginning.
“That's so sad★”
[T_T….]
Unlike those two bastards who were watching the situation from the side and being annoying.
“I understand why you dislike nobles.”
Instead, Rain nodded as if he finally understood, then uttered words that were difficult to grasp.
“But if that's the reason, then there's no need for you to dislike me, is there?”
“?”
“Yuber, how many hours did you study a day?”
“Twelve hours was the minimum.”
When he answered provocatively, Rain chuckled.
“Eighteen.”
“?”
“Eighteen hours on average. That's the time I've invested in magic studies every day since I was nine years old. That's six hours more than you, isn't it?”
Strangely, in his eyes and voice, which seemed to purely reminisce about the past, there wasn't even a shadow of deceit.
Because it was the truth.
When he was Lynn, until he embarked on his journey; when he was Rain, until he entered school, the boy had always dedicated that time solely to magic studies.
“You said you disliked me because you thought I got to this position without effort, right?”
“…!”
“But, it turns out I worked harder, didn't I? So there's no reason to dislike me.”