Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Brother, Get Out (1)
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Time rewound by exactly one day.
Eon Yong-un submitted his application to join Azure Bamboo Hall to Jin Kyung-ryong and, at the same time, wrote three letters which he sent to the autonomous councils of Cloud Plum Hall, Fragrant Orchid Hall, and Yun Nation Hall.
The content of the letters was identical in all three.
『We sincerely thank you for taking the time to offer us a position.
To get to the point, after much deliberation, Eon Yong-un and the others have decided to join Azure Bamboo Hall rather than your hall.
We regret this and are sorry, but we wish you boundless prosperity and look forward to friendly competition in the future.
From Eon Yong-un, Yin Xia Lian, Jeong Hyun, Yin Ha-seong, Woo So-rung.』
However, the reactions of the recipients were not the same.
Cloud Plum Hall, which had seen the recruitment of Eon Yong-un as essentially a solo bid, was disappointed at first.
"What? Eon Yong-un's going to Azure Bamboo Hall?"
"Yes?! Azure Bamboo? Are you sure you didn't hear wrong?"
"Read this."
"Uh... hmm... It's real?!"
"If he'd chosen Yun Nation Hall, I would've thought he wanted to use their great facilities. If Fragrant Orchid Hall, then deep down he must desperately want his family to reinstate him. But Azure Bamboo Hall..."
But that disappointment ended in intrigue.
"...That guy's got some romance to him."
"Romance?"
"Don't you remember back when we were freshmen, thinking we'd make Cloud Plum Hall, the untouchable top dorm, our own? It's probably something like that."
"Oh, so you're saying Eon Yong-un chose Azure Bamboo Hall, the perennial last place, because he wants to elevate its status himself? Hmm. Now that you mention it, that kinda makes sense?!"
"Yeah. That's why it's even more of a shame. Cloud Plum Hall is the perfect place to chase that kind of romance."
"True. Thinking of it that way, it does have romance. But can just one freshman really lift up Azure Bamboo Hall's slugs?"
"Not our problem anyway. But it'd be nice if he did. Honestly, Azure Bamboo Hall has no backbone, like those Qingqing Troop guys—they get swallowed whole. Matches against them are always boring."
On the other hand, Fragrant Orchid Hall had received a prior report from Un Hyeok, who had gone to make the offer, saying Eon Yong-un wouldn't join them, so their reaction differed from the other two dorms.
"Hm? He went there?"
"Yes. Mingling with lowly scum and completely losing his roots. I told you from the start that wastrel wouldn't fit Fragrant Orchid Hall."
"Well, it's for the best."
If one had to classify that reaction, it would be relief.
"Phew. So, the matter you asked us to reconsider—is that fully resolved?"
"Hm? You mean pushing you, Un Hyeok, as Fragrant Orchid Hall's next leader?"
"Yes."
"No."
"...Pardon? But you said it was for the best."
"What I meant by 'for the best' is that it's better than him going to Cloud Plum or Yun Nation Hall. That would've meant a big gap in freshman power. But that doesn't erase your blunder. From another angle, him choosing lowly Azure Bamboo Hall is like slapping us. Tsk."
"......"
"Don't take it too hard. I'm the one clicking my tongue here. The autonomous council chair is seriously displeased about Fragrant Orchid Hall's damaged prestige, so don't mention it anywhere for a while."
"...Yes."
"The autonomous council election is at the end of fall semester anyway. We can recover slowly. Slowly."
Eon Yong-un would've quipped that they were masters of mental victories.
In any case, Fragrant Orchid Hall dismissed Eon Yong-un's character as lowly while blaming Un Hyeok, the publicity director in charge of freshman recruitment, for incompetence, concluding the matter by saying it was better than him going to Cloud Plum or Yun Nation Hall.
Next was Yun Nation Hall.
The reaction in Yun Nation Hall's autonomous council room was somewhat anticipated.
"Cadet Eon Yong-un went to Azure Bamboo Hall?"
"Yes. Didn't you think that was possible too?"
"Right. During the entrance exam, among the group with Cadet Eon Yong-un, there was this Woo So-rung who fell exactly five points short of passing. Even though he himself was at risk of failing, Eon Yong-un chose a five-point task at the final gate. Given his character, I figured Azure Bamboo Hall was possible. Did you find out what they offered?"
"Nothing confirmed until he officially joins, but I hear Jin Kyung-ryong brought Professor No Sam and offered her the autonomous vice-chair position."
But still.
They smacked their lips.
"Giving the autonomous vice-chair to Professor No Sam? Hmm. That's basically allowing some upheaval? Azure Bamboo Hall's vibe might change."
"Conversely, it could backfire on Eon Yong-un. Can Azure Bamboo Hall's ingrained loser mentality, built from years of defeat, change easily? Even as top cadet, it's no easy task. Will the current students cooperate properly?"
"Top entrant as a first-year autonomous vice-chair. Yeah, too bright a light suddenly shining on a dark place makes people frown without realizing."
"Yes. There will definitely be backlash from the current students."
"If Eon Yong-un handles it, Azure Bamboo Hall might change. If not, he'll get crushed."
"If he gets crushed, we'll have another shot. There's the dorm transfer system. Since they pulled in Professor No Sam, if Eon Yong-un wants it, getting Professor Jeon Gal-min's approval won't be hard."
"A hot topic like Cadet Eon Yong-un? Professor would approve the transfer. She liked him during the entrance exam."
"Yes. It's rare for her to publicly praise a cadet's exam performance."
"But don't bank too much on uncertainties. For now, form the council mainly with Cadet Jeon Gal-seolji and those who've expressed interest. Just keep an eye on that side."
"Yes. We'll proceed that way."
Azure Bamboo Hall.
Even this perennial last-place dorm heard the news that Eon Yong-un was joining.
The first emotion that spread through the dorm was pure joy.
"They say the top cadet chose our Azure Bamboo Hall as his dorm!"
"I-is that true?!"
"Of course it's true! Why else would I run here? If such unbelievable news was fake, would I bother rushing over?!"
"He beat out stars like Zhuge family's Little Martial Sage and the world's top late bloomer Namgung Yun-deung, and he's coming to our Azure Bamboo Hall?!"
"Yeah! And he started as a regular warrior with penalties, yet still took top spot! That Eon Yong-un chose our Azure Bamboo Hall! I just heard it straight from the council chair!"
"Hahaha! Finally, a top cadet recognizes the true value of our Azure Bamboo Hall, inheritors of the Southern Beggar's spirit!"
"Even Cloud Plum, Fragrant Orchid, and Yun Nation—the ones who always looked down on us—all offered recruitment, and he chose us!"
"Hahaha! That must've flattened their noses! What a guy—doing something no senior ever has, before even joining!"
"His exam group mates, including the top liberal arts cadet, are coming too, so this year will be different! Escaping last place—the slogan hung every year—might actually happen!"
But not everyone was thrilled.
Some were steeped in the long defeatism that hung over Azure Bamboo Hall.
"That amazing guy is coming to our dorm? Why?"
"W-well, because he likes our Azure Bamboo Hall. Something like that."
"You really believe that? Seriously?"
"It does feel weird. Why would the top cadet pick Azure Bamboo Hall? Did Jin Kyung-ryong offer something?"
"...Hmm? I heard he promised the autonomous vice-chair?"
And there were those eager to fan those doubts.
Yang Geum-pyo was the prime example.
"Ha. So the chair made that deal. Eon Yong-un's coming to our Azure Bamboo Hall—as vice-chair no less? I hear he was a notorious wastrel up north. That punk wearing the armband and bossing us around? A mere first-year?!"
Yang Geum-pyo had quite a following.
For two main reasons: first, his silver tongue.
Second, he spent generously on drinks and meals when making friends or juniors, so people saw him as having the air of a great man.
"Geum-pyo's right! How arrogant must he be to get kicked out by his family! Sure, we're called the dregs of Righteous Martial Academy! But any of us hear 'wastrel of the world' and get booted from home?! If his own family did that, will he treat us strangers like people?!"
"Exactly. Geum-pyo hyung's right! Plus, Eon Yong-un's from the Pearl Eon Family—a young master from the pinnacle of noble houses. He'll look down on us inside."
The funny part? That money came from embezzling Azure Bamboo Hall's pittance of funding.
He'd even been suspended for it.
But the dorm students didn't know the truth.
"We can't let the chair look down on us just because other dorms do! First-year vice-chair?! We're not lacking skill—we've got pride! Listen up—this isn't something to let slide! We gotta show him who's boss!"
First, the academy hushed it up as an unfortunate incident.
Second, Yang Geum-pyo spun it with his eloquence as an injustice done to him.
"B-but is that okay?"
"Of course. Other dorms haze pretty harshly, but we've been too nice not to. No one can complain. And I checked—Eon Yong-un's crew are all swordsmen. Call 'em to East Yun Hall where weapons are banned. What can swordless swordsmen do?!"
Swept up in Yang Geum-pyo's rhetoric.
"That's a solid plan! Gotta show we're not pushovers!"
Azure Bamboo Hall cadets started getting riled up.
Watching them, Yang Geum-pyo smirked slyly.
'Jin Kyung-ryong. Should've split the council funds with me when I suggested it and handed over the chair position.'
Arriving at East Yun Hall, we faced a wall lined with hooks for stowing weapons.
This was the Blade-Shedding Area.
Since it was a strict rule, I reached to unfasten Regret from my waist. But Master's voice echoed in my head.
- Can't see inside from here? Put it on the window ledge instead.
Not a tough request, so I placed Regret on the nearby sealed window, punched a hole through the oiled paper between the bars for visibility, and asked.
'Can you see well?'
- Perfect. Buncha riffraff all riled up. Would be great with some aged liquor and snacks. But my hands... Argh!
Anyway.
Ignoring Master's grumbling, I entered.
Jin Kyung-ryong, the autonomous chair facing off against other Azure Bamboo cadets, rushed over hurriedly.
"...Vice-chair. This is absolutely not the will of all Azure Bamboo Hall!"
"I know."
"Oh, you understand? Good. Thank you. Anyway, you leave! I'll handle it somehow! Right now, I wanna slap my past self who said even if this happened, it'd be better! My oversight—I'll fix it!"
"No need."
"N-no need? What do you mean?"
"It was bound to happen once. Better to squash nonsense like this early."
"...Squash? Look, you're unarmed too! I don't know how much staff technique Professor taught you, but a few moves won't cut it! Those guys passed the needle-eye of Righteous Martial Academy's entrance—don't underestimate 'em!"
Some worry he had.
I got it, though.
He probably hadn't heard from No Sam how many Anti-Dragon Palm forms I'd wrangled.
Still, not bad.
He was worried for me and trying to clean up his oversight.
But amid this, a shrill voice grated from their side.
"Didn't our vice-chair foresee this when he snatched the position? Scared chick running away?! Yeah, run! Places begging for you everywhere! Don't crawl into others' good spots and stir trouble!"
That man's voice hastened my decision.
Cracking my knuckles, I turned to Jin Kyung-ryong.
"Hyung Kyung-ryong."
"...?"
"Brother... if you don't wanna die—no, get hurt. Ha-seong-ah, So-rung-ah. Lock the door."