Chapter 13: Anyway, I'll Serve You Awesomely (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 13: Anyway, I'll Serve You Awesomely (2)
In the long-standing genres of web novels, there exists an unwritten rule:
—Skip the stuff everyone already knows.
The "Gate" subgenre of modern fantasy is the perfect example.
—One day, a Gate opened.
When the genre first emerged, authors had to explain what a Gate was, why it appeared, and how society changed because of it. But once the genre became common, that single sentence was enough to explain everything.
Readers with enough experience understood exactly what it meant.
And through my conversation with Violet, I could tell she had devoured web novels at a level similar to mine.
She understood perfectly even when I skipped the obvious parts. Conversely, she also skipped over the redundant details when she spoke.
"Is there really a need for that?"
Seeing her slightly furrowed brow, I felt a surge of certainty.
This girl was subtly trying to use me.
"There is."
Was there a need to nurture the Minor Sword Emperor?
Thinking coldly, there wasn't.
According to the explanation, the character known as the Minor Sword Emperor was just a 'decent' person with 'decent' martial prowess.
Of course, that 'decent' was relative to the other male leads; by a normal person's standards, he was undoubtedly a superhuman.
The reason for his 'decency' was likely that he was designed to be the one who stayed by Daisy’s side, facing and resolving crises with her during the Academy arc—unlike Prince Ellen, who tended to hover on the periphery.
Therefore, unlike the original work, the moment Prince Ellen stuck close to Daisy’s side, the Minor Sword Emperor’s role became practically non-existent.
Besides, even without Prince Ellen, there was me—and I was stronger than the Minor Sword Emperor.
However...
"We don't need to fill the void left by the Minor Sword Emperor ourselves, do we?"
This is a common trope in web novels: possessing an extra and helping the protagonist.
It’s characterized by a 'Cider' development because the protagonist knows the future from reading the original work. But...
"Why should we be the ones to suffer?"
It might be fun for a third party to watch, but for the person involved, it meant getting swept up in the main story and suffering alongside the protagonist.
"We...?"
Look at that. The moment she understood the meaning behind my words, her expression stiffened.
She knew that 'we' referred to her and me.
"You don't mean 'we' as in you and Prince Ellen, do you?"
"I do, actually."
Though we were both transmigrators in the same novel, there was a huge difference between us.
She had possessed a character in a novel she had a love-hate relationship with, whereas I had thought I’d simply been reincarnated into a fantasy world until I entered the Academy.
"Hey, Prince Ellen is originally on this side."
"Didn't you say he barely does anything during the Academy arc anyway?"
I guess she wasn't even planning to hide it anymore.
As I thought, she intended to use me for the sake of the original plot, just as she was using herself.
"I'm telling you, this is for the sake of the world!"
It wasn't that I didn't understand her.
The plot of a novel she hadn't dropped for over 400 chapters had gone down the drain. Then she ended up inside that novel and gained the chance to change it.
If it were me, I might have felt the same.
"I'm telling you again, this has nothing to do with us."
But that was her problem. For starters, I had zero emotional attachment to the original work.
"From what I've heard, in the original, the Empire is the one where accidents happen every time. That influence might reach the Leon Kingdom, but would it really be a bad thing?"
An Empire isn't defined simply by having a vast territory and strong military.
It’s called an Empire because it can embrace and manage numerous ethnicities and cultures.
Consequently, once it starts to shake, all sorts of things can happen. That's the nature of an Empire.
If we played our cards right, the Leon Kingdom could actually benefit from that situation.
"Ha. You're really going to be like this?"
"Weren't you the one who tried to gaslight me by saying everything was ruined because of me?"
Besides, who said I was abandoning him? I said I’d take responsibility.
Just as I had provided Prince Ellen with a good sense of direction, I could exert a positive influence on the Minor Sword Emperor as well.
I also said I’d fill the void left by the Prince.
Since I had to handle matters related to Prince Ellen anyway, I wasn't going to abandon him.
"The Minor Sword Emperor can just grow up big and strong and defeat the Demon King for us."
If Prince Ellen went to slay the Demon King, I’d have to go too.
If the world were ending, I’d go, but if someone else could do it, I had no intention of going myself.
"Fine. So you're picking a fight with someone who knows the future?"
She growled quite menacingly, but I had already heard most of what I needed.
It was highly likely she hadn't told me everything, but normally, people don't know the future at all.
Since I’d been spoiled a little, I could at least decide on a direction.
I smiled and raised my middle finger.
"Yep. It's not like you know how it ends anyway, right?"
She didn't know everything either.
No one knew if the NTR'd Ellen eventually cut off the Demon King's head, or if the Demon King realized what love was, repented, and had a happy ending with Daisy.
"You're going to regret this."
With Violet flipping me off in return, the monumental first meeting of the transmigrators came to an end.
Know yourself and your enemy.
Nothing fits the pursuit of the Ultimate Secret of the Defeat Sword better than those words.
You must know your enemy and know yourself.
In that sense, my first encounter with Asran, known as the Minor Sword Emperor, was the 'lesser of two evils.'
I didn't know the Minor Sword Emperor's skill level, and I hadn't even achieved proper self-objectification.
However, the reason it wasn't the 'worst' was that the Minor Sword Emperor had been defeated too quickly.
As the saying goes, a person has a reputation to live up to.
The Minor Sword Emperor was one of the top ten 'named' students among the Academy freshmen.
Such a person had been defeated by an obscure classmate without even being able to put up a proper fight.
Naturally, people would think one of three things.
First, that the Minor Sword Emperor was overrated.
I might have a chance.
Those who thought so challenged the Minor Sword Emperor.
"Winner, Asran."
Asran proved himself by accepting 42 challenges and winning all of them overwhelmingly.
The Minor Sword Emperor's prestige was vindicated.
Then, the second thought would be: Isn't the guy who beat him actually amazing?
Those who thought that couldn't help but have doubts.
"That guy is undefeated too, but..."
"He doesn't really stand out, does he?"
They really didn't have an eye for talent.
My techniques were the very definition of the fundamentals.
To think they didn't recognize that.
But it wasn't bad.
Since the Minor Sword Emperor’s flashy swordplay looked more impressive on the surface, people began to wonder.
Perhaps the Minor Sword Emperor, having just entered the Academy, had simply been too careless.
And so...
"Winner, Adam Smith."
During the fourth lecture of Basic Practical Swordsmanship.
I won again, proving that it was indeed the case.
Usually, when people think of 'throwing a match,' they only think of losing on purpose.
But the ultimate goal of defeat was, in the end, for the growth of the royalty.
Therefore, one must create a sense of intimidation through a narrow defeat, and by the time the royalty gets used to it, provide a sense of crisis through victory.
The crisis of realizing that an opponent who was once at a similar level has now surpassed them.
In that sense, how should I handle the Minor Sword Emperor, whom I had already defeated overwhelmingly at the start?
"That was a good match."
"It was a good match."
I just had to make him whip himself harder through a narrow loss.
"Ah, so close!"
"It was really down to the wire!"
The duel ended with my victory by a hair's breadth after an incredibly long battle, to the point where everyone watching let out such lamentations.
Of course, it was all a scenario I had constructed.
However, the Minor Sword Emperor had also grown significantly compared to last time.
Perhaps he really had been careless during our previous fight.
Additionally, it seemed he had put in extra effort while brooding over his defeat.
...Though the fact that he attended the Flower Arrangement Club religiously was a bit annoying.
But since he was doing what a RoFan male lead should do, I had to let it slide.
"Good work, Adam. But the Minor Sword Emperor really fought well."
Seeing Prince Ellen speak with a bright smile as I returned to my seat, it seemed I hadn't been caught.
"The compatibility just feels off. I feel like I lost every tactical exchange."
However, since duels between top-tier students happened frequently in class...
I decided to lay some groundwork before Prince Ellen faced the Minor Sword Emperor later and got suspicious.
"You did seem a bit more off than usual. But you still won with the fundamentals, didn't you?"
"Normally, I should have won much more easily."
"But a win is a win, right?"
When I spoke with a deeply crumpled expression, Prince Ellen offered words of comfort.
It was a truly strange feeling.
It was an act where I reversed the usual dynamic between Prince Ellen and me.
Of course, in terms of technical precision, I couldn't even emulate a quarter of Prince Ellen's skill.
But to others, it would look like I had won through sturdiness and precision, calmly blocking the Minor Sword Emperor's flashy attacks.
"Next time will be different."
It was the truth.
Next time, I planned to grow a bit more and defeat the Minor Sword Emperor again.
After that, the scenario was to leave a slight opening for the Minor Sword Emperor to exploit, making it look like he almost won, only to have him lose by a hair's breadth once more.
I should keep winning until the end of the first semester.
Seeing him today, he didn't seem like the type to break easily, so it was a viable plan.
Once the second semester hit, I could lose to him once after seeing how much effort he put in.
That would be fine as long as I maintained a ratio similar to the one between me and Prince Ellen.
"Excuse me, Student Adam."
Just then, one of the assistant professors acting as a referee approached quietly and dropped a bombshell.
"Yes?"
"The Head Professor asked me to tell you to come to his office once all your classes are over today."
"Me?"
"Yes, you."
Why?
I felt like I knew the reason, so I didn't want to go.
"Understood."
But since refusal seemed impossible, I had no choice but to nod.
Knock, knock.
I tapped on the door a couple of times and spoke.
"Adam Smith, first year, Swordsmanship Department."
"Enter."
It was a low voice, yet it rang clearly in my ears.
I cautiously opened the door and stepped inside, seeing a desk sitting solitary in a vast space.
"..."
The room felt strangely empty.
Usually, there would be at least some books for decoration on a desk.
But the Sword Emperor's desk had nothing on it except for a few documents that looked like paperwork.
"Sit."
Facing that desk, the Sword Emperor and I sat across from each other.
True to the office of a Head Professor, the room contained only the two of us.
I’d heard that the Magic Department Head Professor had over twenty assistant professors.
Here, there were almost no traces of other people.
Judging by the two desks in the corner with polishing agents and whetstones, were the two assistant professors I saw in class the only ones?
Even at most, there wouldn't be more than four.
"..."
Since he just stared at me intently, I looked around to avoid his gaze.
But since dragging this out wouldn't benefit me, I decided to go for a direct approach.
"What did you call me for, Professor?"
"Professor, is it?"
It was a natural title, but was there something wrong with it?
Despite the question, he seemed somewhat satisfied.
"Good."
It seemed I was right; he liked it.
"Everyone else sees me as the Sword Emperor, not a professor."
Was that his grievance?
Well, it was unavoidable.
Most of the Swordsmanship Department freshmen had enrolled solely because of the Sword Emperor.
"A professor is a professor."
Since there was no harm in getting on the Sword Emperor's good side, I offered a bit of flattery, but...
"Which makes me wonder even more. Why did you go easy on my grandson?"
He cut straight to the point, just as expected of the Sword Emperor.