Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Hero Academy.
That was the name of the game I’d found myself transported into.
Just as the title suggested, it was about the protagonists growing into heroes at an academy and standing against the forces of evil.
“Evil forces or whatever, they have nothing to do with me. The protagonists will take care of everything themselves, anyway.”
I leisurely sipped my tea.
“I’m going to enjoy myself. Being born with a silver spoon is the best.”
“Ban’s” family was considered the greatest in the Empire.
By Korean standards, it was one of the largest chaebol families, so I could fulfill my dream of doing nothing but lazing around to my heart’s content.
“I’ll keep my head down and behave myself, then inherit a reasonable share of the family fortune and set out on my own.”
Although “Ban” wasn’t the eldest son, but the third child, that was even better.
I wouldn’t be saddled with any troublesome obligations.
“Even if I inherit only the scraps from the Ducal House, I’ll be richer than a Gangnam property owner.”
At the thought of my bright, sunny future, a smile came to my face all on its own.
“Heh heh. This is wonderful. Truly wonderful.”
I couldn’t help flinching at the chuuni-sounding voice that slipped out of my mouth.
“Ugh, this is so embarrassing. Can’t I fix the way I talk?”
It was because of the latent trait I’d unlocked after possessing this body: “Black Flame Dragon’s Charisma.”
Everything I did had become drenched in chuuni theatrics.
For example—
“Young Master, I’ll clear away your teacup.”
“Do so. You have worked hard. I shall not forget your efforts.”
A voice full of solemn dignity.
What I’d meant to say was, “Yes, thank you for your hard work.” But that was what came out instead.
The maid looked at me with a start.
Her eyes seemed to ask, “Did he eat something strange?” which made me so embarrassed I could barely stand it.
“I’ve always been at the very bottom of the pecking order, even back on Earth. This kind of way of speaking doesn’t suit me at all.”
Fortunately—or unfortunately—“Black Flame Dragon’s Charisma” made me carry myself with such confidence that none of my embarrassment showed.
Once the maid had left, I muttered to myself in another chuuni fashion.
“Heh heh. How delightful. To think I could live a life as paradisiacal as this.”
I, “Ban Ecclesia,” was a notorious good-for-nothing.
So even though I’d come of age, I hadn’t been given any position in the Ducal House.
Eating, sleeping, shitting, and lazing around—that was all I did.
“This is the life I’ve always dreamed of!”
Just as I was about to take a nap, the butler came to find me.
“Young Master, His Grace the Duke requests your presence.”
“My father?”
I looked puzzled.
Since becoming “Ban,” I’d only caught glimpses of him a few times.
“I’d better make sure the Duke likes me.”
The Duke was the only person in this world who had power over me.
If I were kicked out of the Ducal House, this peaceful life would be over.
“I understand. I shall go at once. Inform Father.”
Had I sounded chuuni again?
The butler looked at me strangely for a moment.
“You’ve changed somehow.”
“…You speak foolishly. I have merely found the refinement I should always have possessed as a scion of the Ducal House.”
What I’d meant to say was, “No. I’m simply trying to conduct myself with the proper manners befitting a child of the Ducal House.”
Enough with the transcendent translation.
“…Still, it’s good to see you carrying yourself with dignity, unlike before. I’m glad. Perhaps His Grace the Duke may yet change his mind.”
“??”
What was he talking about?
“You’ll hear the details from His Grace. I pray that fortune will accompany you in the future, Young Master.”
The butler left me with a remark that sounded ominous in a most extraordinary way.
With a troubled expression, I knocked on the door of the Duke’s office.
Knock. Knock.
“Father, it is I, Ban. I have come in response to your summons.”
“…Come in.”
A cold voice answered.
At the desk before a wall of windows, where the sunlight streamed in from behind him, sat a handsome middle-aged man with a cold expression.
Duke Huam Ecclesia.
He was the father of this body, and one of the Empire’s most influential figures.
A named character who had a major impact on the game’s progression.
“His presence is no joke. He’s every bit as charismatic as my Black Flame Dragon’s Charisma, isn’t he?”
His eyes were like blades.
This wasn’t a fake persona he’d put on, like mine. This was the real thing.
“He isn’t just a powerful noble. He’s a Sword Master, and he also holds the post of imperial chancellor.”
A cheat among cheat characters.
“…I’d better not provoke him pointlessly.”
I did my best to look respectful and waited quietly for the Duke to speak.
For an instant, a look of contempt passed through the Duke’s eyes as he looked at me. Then—
“Ban, I have decided to disown you from the Ducal House.”
For a moment, I couldn’t understand what he meant.
“Di… what?”
A beat later, I was struck with shock.
He meant he was throwing me out of the family.
“Why? Please tell me the reason.”
I was taken aback, but I’d been through the wringer many times before.
I asked without letting my surprise show.
“Black Flame Dragon’s Charisma” added dignity and confidence to my bearing.
At the sight of me, the Duke’s eyes briefly glimmered with surprise. But that lasted only a moment before he spoke in a frigid voice.
“You ask as though you don’t know? Think back on all the trashy things you’ve done up to now.”
“……”
As I’d said time and again, I, “Ban,” was the worst good-for-nothing in the entire Empire.
“Our Ecclesia Ducal House does not recognize the unworthy as blood of our family. As your father, I believe I have waited long enough. I can no longer bear the sight of you, so leave the family at once.”
I could feel how serious he was.
The Duke truly intended to sever all ties with his son.
“No! I’d finally been born with a silver spoon in my mouth—how could this happen?!”
I clenched my fists tight.
“I have to persuade him.”
Who was I?
The Sales King of my previous life.
I began searching for a way.
“The Duke doesn’t truly hate ‘Ban’ right now. He’s just had one disappointment piled on top of another.”
I hadn’t become a sales genius simply by groveling to people.
I had to give them the reaction they wanted.
“Bowing my head and apologizing blindly here won’t work. He’ll think I’m being insincere.”
I had to try a different strategy.
‘What the Duke wants is to see his son change. I have to show him that I can stand tall.’
“Won’t you regret that decision?”
“!!”
I nearly jumped out of my skin.
I’d meant to say, “Please reconsider.” But thanks to the transcendent translation, what came out was far more insolent than I’d intended.
“Of course, I know my past has been shameful. But you’re still letting the past hold you captive, Father. You won’t even look at me properly.”
“…Are you saying you’ve changed?”
“I’m saying you should judge me by what you see right now.”
“You little….”
The Duke glared at me as if he meant to kill me.
As though he were trying to see right through me.
My heart pounded with tension, but I steeled myself.
‘I can’t back down now.’
Even while bowing your head, you have to inspire trust when the moment calls for it. That’s the basics of sales.
Now was the time to stand my ground.
Black Flame Dragon’s Charisma helped me do just that.
The Duke’s eyebrow twitched at my confident bearing.
“…You have changed, I’ll give you that. You used to be unable to even meet my eyes.”
“……”
“But I still don’t trust you.”
The Duke folded his arms.
“Here’s what you’ll do. Either join the military or enter government service, and prove that you’ve changed.”
“!!”
At those words, I made a face inside like I’d just bitten into a mouthful of shit.
Both paths meant working myself to the bone.
‘Both the military and government service will put me right in the path of the evil forces that are about to make their move.’
The Duke sneered.
“You know that the men of our family are required to serve in the military or in government for four years once they come of age, don’t you? It was only postponed because you were a hopeless piece of trash.”
Come to think of it, the Ban in the game had held some kind of position, too. Not that he did anything but throw his weight around like the trash he was.
‘What do I do? I absolutely cannot join the military or become a government official.’
I knew the scenario of this game inside and out.
I had to avoid both options, no matter what.
But judging by the mood, if I didn’t do something, I was in danger of being thrown out of the family.
And if I were cast out, my goal of living the easy life would be over.
With what I knew from the game, I could probably manage to survive somehow, but I’d have to go through a hell of a lot of hardship.
‘I have to come up with something.’
Then, an idea suddenly flashed through my mind.
“There’s no rule saying I have to serve in the military or in government, is there?”
“What?”
“I’ll fulfill the family’s obligation in academia.”
The Duke looked bewildered.
“Academia? You?”
Here, academia meant an educational institution.
In other words, the Academy.
I would have to become a professor.
‘Being a professor is much better than being a soldier or a government official.’
Soldier, government official, professor.
Just hearing the titles, didn’t professor sound like the easiest job?
And I had a secret weapon that would let me become a professor and live the easy life.
“Yes. I can certainly do it.”
But then, a problem arose.
The Duke suddenly flew into a rage.
“Even the most outstanding talents can’t get a position teaching at the Academy, and you think you can? Are you trying to mock me?”
True to its title, Hero Academy, the Academy held enormous prestige throughout the Empire.
Its professors, too, were held in high regard, and only the finest talents were allowed to stand at the lectern there.
“Or, what, do you expect me to recommend you? You little…! Do you have any idea what a disgrace it was for me to intervene so you wouldn’t be expelled while you were attending the Academy?! Enough! It was my mistake to take anything you said seriously!”
The Duke rose from his seat, his presence seething with menace.
He looked ready to beat me black and blue, and I nearly jumped out of my skin.
“Please, calm down.”
“Calm down?! Don’t make me laugh. I’ll deal with you right this—!!”
“I’m going to become a professor of magic.”
“Hah?! You couldn’t even reach First Star Rank after studying for ten years, and now you think you can—!”
“Father, I am telling you plainly that I will become a professor of magic.”
“!!”
Perhaps it was the force in my voice.
The Duke flinched.
“I have a plan. I’ll secure a professorship, of course, and I’ll accomplish something in academia that the family will recognize.”
“…And how do you plan to do that?”
I thought to myself.
‘With my Grandmaster of Magic ability, I can do it.’
—You possess the potential to become the Grandmaster of Magic!
—You can instinctively see through the essence of magic!
It was exactly the kind of ability a professor would need.
Of course, I did have the weakness of Mana Insensitivity.
‘You don’t have to be strong to become a professor.’
There were two types of mages.
Practical mages, and scholarly mages.
I planned to become a professor in the field of Magic Theory as a scholar of magic.
‘With my Grandmaster Ability, Magic Theory should be a piece of cake. I’ll be able to enjoy life as a professor without breaking a sweat.’
But one problem remained.
I had to convince the Duke.
‘He won’t believe me no matter what I say.’
Not only would he refuse to believe me, he looked ready to beat me up on the spot.
His distrust of Ban had taken root all the way down to the deepest roots.
‘There’s only one way to handle this. I have to make a bold gamble.’
“I’ll prove what I’ve said to you, Father.”
“How?”
“Fight me.”
“…What?”
The Duke looked at me as though I’d lost my mind.
Of course, I knew it was a crazy thing to do, too.
Because this message had appeared before my eyes.
<In anticipation of a duel with the Duke, Gambler’s Judgment activates!>
It was one of the latent traits I’d unlocked.
An ability that let me know my odds of winning.
—Odds of winning in a duel against the Duke: 0%
However.
“I’m not asking you to duel me right now. I’m not ready yet. So… a month from now should be good.”
<Gambler’s Judgment activates again, using one month of training as the basis!>
—Odds of winning in a duel against the Duke one month from now: 0%
Still no change.
Of course. The Duke was a Sword Master, after all.
There was no way I could beat him in a month.
Even so.
Black Flame Dragon’s Charisma lifted the corners of my mouth.
Something that ran counter to my old personality.
Even to my own ears, a thoroughly obnoxious voice slipped out.
“That day, I shall give Father the gift of utter astonishment.”
Why had I thrown down such a crazy challenge?
One final message had appeared.
-Probability of landing a blow on the Duke after training ends, one month from now: 100%