Chapter 4
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: I'm Helping Them Because They're Really Pitiful
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“Go.”
“Richi.”
“I said go.”
“Richi!”
“Please just leave.”
“Ah, Sir Richi!!”
When Lester raised his voice like that, a few seniors far away lifted their heads.
They looked like they wanted to tell him to be quiet, but all they did was move their lips silently.
His two eyes were hollow from exhaustion, his appearance evoking zombies from an apocalypse.
That was the future of the Administrative Department. Hmm. The future of the Imperial bureaucrats is indeed bright!
Thinking that, I slammed the heads of Lester and Michel onto their desks.
“How many times do I have to tell you to be quiet?”
“Sorry. But you keep refusing...”
“Isn't refusing my right, Lester?”
“But Richi! This is a matter of the Officer Department's pride!”
No, seriously, why are you bringing up the Officer Department in front of me!
I'm in the Administrative Department. A future Imperial bureaucrat! A civil servant waiting for quitting time!
Would I be happy if they came to me crying, “Wahh, please make a strategy for us!”?
You're lucky if I don't crack your skulls with the documents I'm holding, you idiots.
“What exactly do you want?”
“Ooh! You finally made up your mind?”
“I'd rather end this quickly than listen to you two whining here.”
I deliberately snapped at them in a cold voice, but Lester and Michel just grinned.
These guys dream of becoming Imperial officers someday. Good lord.
“You've heard about the joint training, right?”
“You just told me.”
“And that we want to turn the tables on them there.”
“Repeat yourself again and I'll flip the table.”
When I slightly tore the paper they'd given me, they freaked out.
Daring to repeat themselves in front of a Korean transmigrator.
That's no different from not saying it at all!
“You know the Knight Department guys are a bit annoying, right, Richi?”
“A bit? Michel, say it right. They're fucking annoying!”
“L-Lester. As nobles of the Empire, we should watch our language...”
“Fuuuucking annoying bastards! We want to win, Richi! We want to beat the Knight Department!!”
“...Anyway, they keep poking at us Officer Department guys, saying we can't even wield a sword properly yet try to command soldiers. We're not as focused on swordsmanship as the Knight Department, but we're still above basic level.”
Swordsmanship. Ugh, it's childish, but I had to nod anyway.
Even Administrative Department students and Imperial bureaucrats, who have nothing to do with combat, learn basic swordsmanship.
Not to mention the Officer Department, who will command soldiers on the battlefield.
But those basics are what the already growling Knight Department guys mock as, “Wow, you guys suck.”?
Impressive that they haven't started brawling already.
This situation was like someone trash-talking my gaming skills.
I'm no pro, but I think, “Yeah, I'm average at least!”
Then some weirdo comes along and spits out, “You suck at games.”
If you just laugh it off there, you're Buddha or Jesus.
Fuck that—my gaming skills are on a level where only a senpai could compete!
“But guys? Sorry to say this, but objectively, the Knight Department scores higher in swordsmanship.”
If the Officer Department scored lower than us in swordsmanship, they'd be dead meat.
These are words from the Knight Department, full of top noble sons and daughters.
It means they hold the advantage in swordsmanship.
“...You jerk.”
With nothing to say, Lester grumbled while Michel let out a groan.
“Alright, alright. So what's next?”
Enter, who had been reading a book beside me, subtly chimed in to ask why swordsmanship came up.
“There's a swordsmanship duel in the joint training. Ten from each side do 1-on-1 matches, and the side with more wins takes the overall victory.”
“Wow.”
“Then we're screwed?”
Oh, and just to clarify, the last line wasn't me—it was Enter.
I held back Lester, who was about to curse him out for saying that to a friend, and asked the most important question.
“Hey. So what you're asking for... Don't tell me you want a strategy to win the duels?”
Nod, nod—
I looked at the two boldly nodding and laughed.
Hahaha. These fuckers. Coming with something ridiculous and calling it a strategy.
Without a word, I rolled up the paper in my hand.
And smacked them without a second thought.
“Ack! R-Richi?!”
“Ow! It hurts! It hurts!”
“It hurts because I want it to, you damned idiots. What strategy? You think you win duels by planning? Is this a battle? Swing your sword one more time instead! Huh?! Come here. You need more! Come here!”
These enemies. And you call yourselves Imperial nobles!
The judgment continued until some seniors finally yelled at us to be quiet.
Eventually, Lester and Michel left without getting anything.
Suddenly, Enter, who had been reading beside me, poked my side with his elbow.
“Hey, Richi.”
“If you say something like, ‘Great future war hero Sir Richi, is there really no strategy to beat the Knight Department?’ you'll get hit too.”
When I swung the dictionary I was holding, Enter immediately covered his head.
He was definitely about to say that. What are these three idiots doing?
“But they're kinda pitiful. The Officer Department getting mocked in swordsmanship by the Knight Department.”
“The Knight Department clearly has the edge in swordsmanship. What can you do? They need to train harder.”
“That's for later. Right now, they need a strategy to close that gap, right?”
Enter sidled up closer. Hey, back off. You're creepy.
“You really don't have any strategy?”
“...”
“I'm not teasing. I'm serious—I'm expecting it. You always say it's a hassle, you hate it... but in the end, you're a Reinhardt. From the great Imperial war hero family.”
This is why it's a hassle. Damn it.
From close friends to total strangers, everyone goes on about war heroes. How am I supposed to cope?
Even if my grandfather, father, and brother are war heroes, that doesn't mean I can be one too...
Damn. Saying it like that makes it feel weirder not to be one.
I let out a sigh and closed the book I was reading.
“Enter. Think about it. This isn't a battle. It's not a group fight. 1-on-1 duels. Pure skill against skill. I don't know the opponents, and I'm no sword genius. What strategy could I even make?”
“Yeah... you're right. Pitiful. If they lose to the Knight Department again, those guys are gonna get reamed.”
Why do you keep looking at me while saying they're pitiful?
Don't pressure me. Don't beg! It's not gonna magically appear!
No matter what I do here, I can't raise their skills. So how...
...Huh.
A sudden thought flashed through my mind.
I can't improve the Officer Department's skills. Then what about the opposite?
Can I lower the Knight Department's skills for their duels?
I don't know those two departments perfectly, but I know this.
In duels, the key is swordsmanship, backed by stamina.
And finally, the mind that controls both.
“Hey, Enter.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you owe Lester or Michel anything?”
“No? Nothing like that.”
“Then do you really want them to do something for you?”
Enter grumbled at my words, like, “Why do you ask?”
“No. That strategy thing... I think it could work.”
*
As dusk fell and the sun fully vanished.
Darkness blanketed everything, and students returned to their rooms.
But some students here did not.
Looking around cautiously as if afraid of being seen, they sneaked off somewhere.
Are they harboring impure intentions against the academy?
It might really be that. They're overly alert of their surroundings—
“Hurry up. We're late!”
“Quiet! The Knight Department might see us!”
Apparently not.
“Is this the place?”
“Seems like it? But where is everyone?”
As they looked around again, shadowy figures suddenly appeared and surrounded them.
“Freeze. Be quiet. Resist and you get smacked. Got it?”
“Cigarettes!”
“You're late, you bastards. You're the last ones.”
Quickly grabbing the last ones, they moved to an even more secretive spot.
How much time passed? Finally, they arrived where male and female students were gathered.
“Hurry up already!”
“Sorry. We had to distract some seniors!”
These were none other than the first-year freshmen, specifically from the Officer Department.
Normally, they should be back in their rooms preparing for the joint training in two days.
But gathering secretly this late at night—what for?
“He's here!”
At one student's words, everyone sitting shot to their feet.
And moments later, the one who entered was the second son of the Reinhardt family, Richi.
“What the hell are you... Sigh. Whatever. Sit down, you damned idiots.”
Richi clutched his forehead as if just looking at them gave him a headache.
But what could he do? He was the weak-hearted one who called them here.
“I'll explain once, so listen well. If anyone complains later, I'll march straight to the Knight Department and spill everything. Especially you, Lester.”
After issuing the warning, Richi got straight to the point.
“Your current swordsmanship strength is clearly at a disadvantage.”
“U-Um, Richi. But our swordsmanship is...”
“Yeah. It's not a huge gap, but a disadvantage is a disadvantage, right?”
When he asked if anyone could deny it, a female student sheepishly lowered her hand.
Clicking his tongue, Richi continued.
“There are two ways to close this gap. First, get better at what you're good at. But that's impossible, so pass. The other way: make the opponents screw up. Michel?”
“Yeah?”
“You're sure it's real swords for training?”
“Positive. First joint training, so everyone was told to bring their family swords.”
“And swords are the ultimate pride for both you and them, right?”
As Michel nodded, Richi drew a smile on his lips.
That was no war hero's smile. That was the smile of a villain!
“Good, gentlemen. Now, I'll explain the Romantic Thief Cat Operation.”