Chapter 21
Chapter 21
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Let's Settle It with a Duel
-----------------------------------------------------------------
People face many desperate situations in life.
For example, something like "tomorrow's rent day, but there's only 5,000 won in my bank account,"
or "it was definitely Friday just a moment ago, but in a few hours it'll be Monday."
And after reincarnating here, I'd forgotten all about that kind of despair.
Because from the moment I was born, I was handed weapons that could smash through all of it.
Overwhelming money and power!
With just those two, you can bulldoze through most despair!
This truth about human society held just as true here, of course.
Though money and power can't extend Sunday, of course—
But I didn't have the concept of days off anyway, so it didn't matter.
I'd hoped things might liven up once I entered the academy, but no such luck.
'How is handling family administrative work from the academy dorms considered fun?'
After a date with Laura, I returned to the dorm to find Rita piling documents on my desk. That was the vibe.
The Iron-Blooded Duke truly doesn't understand the human heart….
Anyway, that's not the point.
The point is that I'd lived so long without feeling despair.
So when a desperate situation finally hit me, it came as a sudden, unforeseeable disaster.
A hopeless situation even the third son of the empire's pinnacle grand duchy couldn't escape!
And that was—
"Today we'll cover formations. Formations are techniques for fighting more efficiently in large-scale melees—"
The everyday yet brutal ritual of university life.
"Pair up with your friends starting now."
As I've mentioned a few times before, my image had improved a lot since enrollment.
I hadn't done anything after entering the academy to earn a bad reputation.
On top of that, rumors from the salon and the image boost from Laura.
All that combined meant my reputation was at an all-time high this lifetime.
But that didn't help much in the current situation.
My image had always been rock-bottom in the basement anyway.
In other words, I'd upgraded from "someone you scream and run from on sight" to "doesn't seem dangerous, but you don't want to get close."
And with an image like that, there was no way I'd conquer group project social content.
Just like in my previous world, I was left behind.
"……."
"……."
"Hiiik…."
The leftovers form a group.
And so, for the crime of having no friends, I was sentenced to hellish awkwardness while doing group work.
I looked at my teammates: one glaring silently at me, the other trembling like he might faint any second.
'This is gonna suck.'
Of all people, these two had to be the leftovers.
I steeled my crumbling heart amid the despair and checked out my teammates' faces.
First up, Rodwell Paella.
For some reason, he burned with fierce rivalry toward me. Male lead candidate (presumed).
Though he didn't seem to have planned this either—his glare felt a bit awkward.
Translated: "Of all people, stuck on a team with this guy…."
I was puzzled that a supposed male lead candidate ended up in the loser loner group, but it also made sense.
'He debuted spectacularly flashy on day one.'
Going braindead aggressive on a fairly well-known noble? No friends for you.
That kind of behavior would scare off even existing friends.
No matter how loyal they were, nobody welcomes a headbutting dinosaur that charges everyone in noble society.
Especially when his family wasn't high-status enough to justify it.
The bitter taste of a status society.
And the last one—
'Huh? Face looks kinda familiar.'
……No clue who, but he seemed familiar.
Met him somewhere before?
Couldn't tell, but he didn't seem eager to speak first either, so I broke the ice.
"Leonardo Dominica."
My name, as an intro.
But Rodwell gave me a "So what?" look, and the other just trembled in confusion.
True to loser loner form, zero social skills!
Feeling grim, I explained my intent.
"Just sharing names."
"Why? We all know each other's names already."
"Hiek!"
Rodwell reflexively shot back "Do I have to?", while the other freaked at the sight.
Instead of saying "Speak for yourself, I don't know that guy's name," I added an explanation he'd get.
"This team's not temporary. Unless something changes, it'll last until the tournament. So until then, we'll be comrades-in-arms, not just classmates."
Tournament.
The stage where knight candidates show off their skills and fame!
That's also why I chose the knight faculty over admin for better court noble connections.
'Build a record in the tournament, and knighthood's an option later.'
There are ways to network with court nobles without admin faculty, but no tournament without knights faculty.
So this team matters.
Personal tournaments are best for fame, but team ones are key for knight reputation.
So let's please do well.
I wrapped up with that sentiment.
"Memorizing a comrade's name is important. You know that."
Rodwell looked slightly surprised.
The guy who'd been sniping at me seemed to get it—
"Didn't expect such a long speech from you."
"……."
Or not?
Luckily I was right, as he introduced himself after the surprise.
"Rodwell of the Paella Viscountcy. Training to become a knight."
Once we two had spoken, the last one hurriedly followed.
"R-Robin. Robin of the Jest Family…."
Robin, huh.
Not just the face—even the name rings a bell.
I wrapped up the "let's do well" moment and sighed inwardly.
'Can we pull this off?'
Honestly, I was anxious.
But Rodwell's skills were solid, so maybe we'd manage on talent.
Clinging to that optimistic hope, I dove into class—
And it shattered soon after.
"I absolutely cannot approve that method!"
This team's chemistry was utter trash.
Things were fine right after intros.
Rodwell, despite hating me, wasn't reckless enough to tank the team, so he cooperated decently. Robin was all "I'll follow orders, just let it end smoothly."
We synced up, honed formation techniques, and reached a passable level.
But then came the next part.
"You've synced up last time, so today we'll do mock battles."
Mock battle after formation training.
It extended the training, but went beyond—
The instructor pushed teams to devise and execute strategies, not just apply lessons.
Setting up a more realistic battlefield.
And that's where Rodwell and I clashed on "strategy."
My stance:
"For mock battle, better to spread out and approach than clump up."
Ditch standard tech-based formations for chaos-inducing melee.
Not relying on taught skills, prioritizing personal technique and judgment. I had reasons.
'Easier for me.'
First, Rodwell and I were top-tier in this class.
In chaos, individual skill shines, so this favored us heavily.
Not ideal for real combat—
'They say it's realistic, but mock's not real.'
Just three-per-side scraps, no long-term sync.
Formations crumble fast anyway.
So I proposed a situation-optimized plan.
But Rodwell pushed back.
"Splitting up in a group fight? That make any sense?"
He ranted long on how absurd it was, insisting we stick together against foes like in formation class.
Real-combat assumption over current setup.
Not wrong, but stifling for me.
'Mock ain't real—why assume real conditions?'
No resolution between us, needed a mediator.
Problem: the mediator was Robin.
"Hii… Hiii…."
He couldn't chime in, overwhelmed by our fight.
So Rodwell and I had to settle it ourselves.
He realized it too and spoke.
"No choice then. Let's settle it with a duel."
Duel.
The event fizzled on enrollment day reignited here.