Chapter 70: Hello, Guys (1)
Chapter 70: Hello, Guys (1)
“Ooh, this room is nice. Honestly, can you even call this a room? It’s more like a private house.”
As the core of the Royal Academy, the Knight Department received a massive budget from the state.
That abundance translated into a superior environment for the students, and the dormitories were no exception. Every student was provided with a private room, which included a separate space for an attendant and a small bathroom for bathing.
“This is better than my place back home. But wait, do I have to fetch the water myself?”
“It’s equipped with a plumbing system, so you just have to turn this faucet,” April explained.
“Huh? Where… Ohhh. Now this is truly amazing.”
Patrick was genuinely impressed as water came gushing out the moment he turned the handle.
“What’s this one on the left?”
“They say hot water comes out if you turn that one.”
“What? Really? Hot water just comes out like that?”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“How is that even possible?”
“It’s an integrated water and sewage system powered by magic tools.”
“Ooh? Magic? I should’ve known… But April, how do you know all this?”
“…I just know.”
She couldn’t exactly say, ‘Because I actually listened when they explained it to us while we were getting our room assignments.’
She had expected that Patrick, who made a habit of letting tedious explanations go in one ear and out the other, wouldn’t pay attention. That was why she had focused even harder on the instructions.
“It’s not just the water. That lamp on the ceiling is magic, too. Is the heating in this room also…?”
“It is magic.”
“Daaaamn. They’ve plastered the whole dorm with expensive magical tools. This is why money is the best.”
Deeply moved by the power of wealth and the convenience of magic, Patrick inspected every nook and cranny of the dormitory’s facilities.
While Patrick was busy marveling at the advanced technology of the capital, April began unpacking their luggage and organizing the space. Once she finished…
“Young Master, you need to go collect your uniform.”
“Huh? Uniform?”
“Yes. You have to wear it to class tomorrow.”
“Ahhh… Right, I guess I do.”
“……”
He understood the necessity. However, his face clearly broadcasted a single emotion: I don’t want to leave this bed.
Patrick was currently lost in the sensation of the plush mattress, which he was certain was far more expensive than the one at his family’s estate.
“It’s such a hassle. Can’t you just go and get it for me?”
“No, I cannot.”
“Whyyyy?”
“You need to go in person to try it on and make sure the size is correct.”
“Ah, right. Clothes should be fitted.”
April’s logic was sound.
“Can’t be helped, then. Shall we get up? Where do we go for the uniform?”
“They told us to go from the Administrative Office to the Supply Management Office.”
“Let’s go. Let’s get it over with so we can eat. I’m curious about how the food tastes here.”
Patrick arrived at the Supply Management Office to receive his uniform. The academy staff member took his measurements and asked, “How many sets do you require?”
“Can I have as many as I want?”
“Of course. We have plenty in stock.”
“Heeeey… Then a hundr—”
“For your information, there is a fee for each set.”
“…Two sets, please.”
As Patrick’s voice lost its energy, April chimed in.
“He needs at least three.”
“Hey, why buy three of the same outfit?”
“Even if you rotate them for washing, you need one as a spare. It is necessary.”
“Fine. Buy them, then.”
One might call a young noble stingy for fussing over the price of a single uniform, but what could he do? The habit of saving money had been ingrained in his soul since his previous life.
On their way back after receiving the clothes, Patrick’s eyes suddenly sparkled as he spotted something.
“Ho… look at that.”
“What is it, Young Master?”
“I’m just realizing once again that people are the same wherever you go.”
“……?”
Humans are social animals. This means they cannot survive without forming groups.
However, whether every person who becomes a member of such a group can live happily is a different story. Forming a group inevitably leads to the establishment of hierarchies and superior-inferior relationships.
Why? Who knows. It just happens. That’s just how humans are wired—whether in the Martial World or on the Pangemonia Continent.
“You still haven’t learned your lesson, you piece of shit?”
“Ugh…!”
A fist flew without mercy, snapping a boy’s head back. It was a clean hit, but apparently, it wasn’t enough to satisfy the attacker’s rage. He grabbed the victim by the collar and continued to rain down punches.
“I’m already in a shitty mood, and you’re smiling? You dare smile at me?”
“I didn’t… Argh…!”
“If I say you smiled, you smiled, you bastard! Just take the beating! Who told you to talk back?”
The one exerting the one-sided violence was Roist, the student Patrick had faced in the sparring match earlier today. He was currently beating another student in a secluded area behind the dorms.
Behind him stood several other students wearing the same Knight Department uniforms. As is usually the case, it was many against one. It was a clear scene of one-sided bullying.
“Roist, won’t it get troublesome if you hit him any more?”
“So what?”
“No, I just meant…”
“Shut up and just watch! I’m in a foul mood today, so I’m going to take it out on this trash.”
At Roist’s fierce glare, the others watching from behind simply shrugged and stepped back. They knew exactly why Roist was so on edge.
‘He got completely wrecked by a freshman.’
‘He even dropped his sword.’
‘It’s embarrassing, for sure.’
To avoid his misplaced wrath, it was better for them to stay a step back. In the Knight Department, making an enemy of Roist was far from wise. It wouldn’t just mess up one’s academy life; it could become a serious obstacle to one’s future career. But then…
“Step two!”
Huh? What was that?
Startled by the sudden voice, they turned their heads to see someone sprinting toward them at full speed. Before they could even identify who it was…
“Flying kick!”
“Gah?!”
“Whoa!”
There was no time for the bewildered onlookers to intervene. Patrick’s right leg, extended in a brilliant leap, slammed directly into Roist’s face.
WHAM!
“Guegh!”
Caught completely off guard, Roist was sent flying backward. Patrick landed gracefully, then flashed a bright, innocent smile.
“Hello, guys.”
“……”
“……”
“……”
“Nice to meet you. My name is Patrick Schneider.”
What is this crazy bastard?
Everyone present—except for April, who was pressing her hand to her forehead and sighing—was thinking the exact same thing.
* * *
A few minutes earlier.
“Are you going to help him?”
“Huh? Me?”
Patrick pointed a finger at himself with a look that said, ‘Are you talking to me?’ April nodded calmly.
“Yes. If you step in, Young Master, you can save him.”
“Well, yeah. I guess. I could. But…” Patrick shrugged. “Why should I?”
Patrick placed his hand over his heart—assuming he actually had a conscience—and pondered.
‘Am I a good person? Am I the type of pervert who gets off on protecting the weak and crushing the strong?’
He didn’t think that made someone a pervert, but regardless… after some self-reflection, Patrick reached a conclusion.
‘Nah, definitely not.’
He might have been called the Radiant Dragon Hero in his past life, but that was just a title he earned while crushing Unorthodox Faction bastards for the sake of his Master. Of course, he had saved many people as a result and received their gratitude, but…
‘It was a meaningless act.’
Their gratitude had never truly touched his heart. When strangers sobbed and wailed, saying, ‘Thank you, Great Hero,’ ‘You are my savior,’ or ‘I will never forget this debt as long as I live,’ Patrick had always been indifferent.
He used to think, ‘I’d prefer a material token of appreciation over words of thanks.’
Human hearts were fickle things that could change at any moment. He had seen plenty of people who, after being saved from drowning, complained that their bundles hadn’t been retrieved as well.
The Patrick of his past life couldn’t bring himself to feel proud over the gratitude of total strangers. His heart had been too worn down by the storms of the world for that.
The only reason he had saved people and swung his sword for the greater good was…
[Well done. I am proud of you.]
For that one sentence.
The words his Master would say after he saved people. To hear those words, Patrick had been more enthusiastic than anyone else in saving people and standing at the front lines of the war against the Unorthodox Faction.
‘But my Master isn’t here, is he?’
‘And that kid isn’t one of my people.’
‘Conclusion: Syllogism complete. Therefore, I have no need to help.’
That wasn’t a syllogism. Regardless, having reached his conclusion, Patrick smirked.
“He’ll figure it out. Looking at his uniform, he’s in the Knight Department too. Shouldn’t he learn to grow up tough?”
“If that is what you think, Young Master, then very well.”
April turned around to follow Patrick. But after two or three steps…
“Ah!”
“What is it?”
“Well, you see…”
“……”
“I suddenly felt the urge to do a double flying kick.”
“…Suddenly?”
“Yeah. Don’t you have moments like that in life? Moments where you suddenly, out of nowhere, just really want to land a double flying kick?”
“……?”
“Sigh… I can’t help it. If I hold it in, I’ll get sick. I’ll definitely get sick.”
“Young Mas—”
Before April could finish, Patrick bolted back toward the group. And just as he said, he unleashed a spectacular double flying kick right into Roist’s face.
“And that… is why I sent his face flying. Everyone understands, right?”
At Patrick’s kind explanation, the first-year Knight Department students looked utterly dumbfounded.
“Does that… even make sense?”
“Huh? It does, doesn’t it? Why wouldn’t it?”
“……”
“Have you guys never felt that? Don’t moments where you suddenly want to do a double flying kick come frequently in life?”
“Who says that? Who?!”
“Tsk, tsk. This is why kids who haven’t lived enough life are so…”
Patrick clicked his tongue, treating the others like green brats who lacked life experience. And then…
“You… you bastard, how dare you?!”
Roist, who had briefly lost consciousness after being kicked, came to his senses. He glared at Patrick, grinding his teeth.
“Do you think you’ll get away with this?”
“Yeah. I think I will.”
“If I set my mind to it, someone like you—”
“Someone like me?”
“……”
“Go on. Keep talking.”
“……”
“It’s obvious what guys like you say in situations like this. Go ahead, say it.”
“……”
“I said, say it.”
Patrick spoke with a thin smile. But the moment Roist met that smile, he felt the blood in his veins turn to ice.
‘This… this guy…’
Normally, he would have used his family’s prestige to intimidate this country bumpkin from the East and force him to his knees. But he couldn’t.
The expression Patrick was wearing as he looked at him… His mouth was curved into a smile, but his eyes looked at Roist as if he were an insect.
‘You think you can actually oppose me?’
There was no arrogance or conceit in that gaze. There was only overwhelming confidence and certainty.
‘Schneider… Schneider… I’ve never heard of that family.’
He had heard Patrick’s full name and place of origin during the duel. A country bumpkin from a remote estate in the East, the most backwater region of the kingdom. So what on earth was he relying on to look so confident?
‘Does he have a powerful backing? Something that rivals my own family?’
If so, he couldn't afford to act rashly. Roist gnashed his teeth, stared at Patrick, and finally spoke.
“Today… I’ll let this slide.”
“Why?”
“……”
That was a difficult question to answer.
“Let’s go.”
As Roist and his lackeys turned to leave, Patrick shouted after them.
“Hey! Why are you letting it slide today? Why? You have to tell me! Huh?”
There was no answer. Instead, Roist’s pace quickened significantly.
“Ah! Is it the bathroom? Diarrhea? Then run faster!”
“Urgh…!”
“Is this any time to be walking? Sprint! Clench those glutes and sprint!”
“Shut up, you bastard!”
“Run! You have to run! Run for the dignity of your life!”
“Aaaaaaaah!”
Roist covered both ears, let out a scream, and actually started running. He was filled with a desperate urge to get away from that madman as quickly as possible.
“Right. That’s how you run.”
Patrick watched Roist’s retreating figure with a look of immense satisfaction. Just then…
“Thank you for saving me.”
“Hmm?”
The boy who had been getting beaten by Roist cautiously spoke to Patrick.