Chapter 8
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Enrollment (2)
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The first night at the Loud Swordsmanship Academy.
After finishing dinner, Roin and Drake headed straight to the dormitory.
It had been a tiring day with the entrance ceremony and all sorts of other exhausting events.
Perhaps because of that.
Drake fell asleep in no time.
Watching him, Roin shook his head.
At least brush your teeth before bed.
Teeth whitening was incredibly important too.
White teeth revealed when smiling.
It was one of the fantasies Roin had always dreamed of.
Back in his Rodri days, his teeth were yellow and full of buckteeth.
No, his dental state was so horrific that even calling them buckteeth felt like an insult to actual buckteeth.
Maybe that was why.
Rodri rarely smiled.
He felt like people didnt like seeing him smile.
Once he started wearing the black helmet to hide his face, he erased the very concept of smiling from his mind.
Rodri had never once been happy because of his appearance.
Because of that pain, Roin was extremely obsessive about beauty care.
Standing in front of the mirror, Roin pulled out some leaves from the moonshade tree, known for their teeth-whitening effects.
Rubbing your teeth with these produced pretty good results.
In my previous life, I went through boxes of these leaves and still got no whitening effect.
Thanks to Eliens genes, perhaps, his teeth were as pristine as his mothers, reflecting cleanly in the mirror.
Roin tried flashing a small smile as a test.
Perfect.
And one more thing.
After brushing, use dental floss to clean every nook and cranny.
The condition of your teeth greatly affects whitening.
Then, a light cleanse followed by deep cleansing.
He applied scrub product, wet his fingertips and rubbed, then used a sponge, a warm damp cloth, and finally toner to finish up.
Flawless.
Even in the dormitory, Roins passion for beauty never waned.
If anything, in this unfamiliar environment, he had to pay even more attention to his routine.
Only effort creates a handsome man.
The moment he woke up in the morning, Drake nearly fainted.
What, what the hell!!!
He was shocked to see Roin with a face pack on.
Startled by Drakes scream, Roin woke up and scowled.
What.
No, you whats that?
What do you mean, what. Its a face pack. Face pack. You dont even know that?
I know what it is, but.
He wanted to ask why you were doing it.
But Roin beat him to the punch.
These days, guys need to take good care of their skin too. You should start managing yours early before you turn into an ugly mug.
You? Im still your older brother, you know.
For the record, Drake was two years older than Roin.
Roin shot him a glare.
Drakes shoulders jerked in surprise.
No one knew Roins freakish strength better than Drake.
A guy who single-handedly subdued a rampaging tactical golem before the instructors could even step in.
Plus, at the entrance ceremony, Kern had actually asked Roin for a handshake first.
So from Drakes position, even though Roin was the younger one, he couldnt treat him carelessly.
Just then, Roin smirked.
Fine. Ill call you hyung from now on.
It was an unexpected response.
Given what Drake knew of Roins personality, hed expected something like, Whats age got to do with anything?
Surprisingly, Roin had some manners(?).
Y-yeah. Looking forward to it little bro.
Dont call me little bro. If you want me to treat you like hyung, just use my name.
O-okay.
See?
Roin was Roin.
After a brief orientation.
The first morning class waiting for Roin and the others was theory.
Nelli, dressed in the instructors uniform, took the podium.
After a short greeting, she began a basic explanation of swordsmanship.
There are countless types of swords. Long swords, short swords, sabers, rapiers, parrying daggers, claymores, and so on. They can be divided into daggers and long swords based on length, or one-handed and two-handed swords.
The trainees focused on Nellis lecture.
Each country has big differences in swordsmanship culture. But at our Loud Swordsmanship Academy, well teach you by supplementing the swordsmanship theory established by our founder, Hero Loud, with various other theories. And among them, we cant leave this person out alongside Loud?
Nelli wrote a name on the blackboard.
Coincidentally, it was someone Roin knew very well.
Rodri
The hero who faced down a monster horde with a single rapier and defeated Muorat, who terrorized the Redinus Continent nine years ago. You probably saw the statue wearing a black helmet on your way here. Thats Lord Rodri.
Rodris statues stood in famous cities all over the world.
Commonly known as the Black Helmet Hero.
And there are just so many other achievements from this savior of humanity. They say swordsmanship advanced a full century ahead thanks to the theory Lord Rodri established. He had that big an impact.
They too would learn the swordsmanship Roin had spread as Rodri.
At that fact, Roin snorted.
Having to learn what I taught. Talk about contradictory.
In the middle of the lesson, someone shot their hand up.
Remina Whisli, the female swordsman from Roins group.
Instructor. Why did Lord Rodri always wear a black helmet? Does wearing a helmet help improve your swordsmanship?
Even Nelli didnt know much about that part.
Well. People say it was to protect his head. But then why only the helmet and not other gear? It doesnt add up. Honestly, I dont know either. I saw him once from a distance a long time ago, but it wasnt like I could just ask.
Youve met Lord Rodri?
The trainees eyes suddenly lit up.
Rodri was an object of admiration for those aspiring to senior knight.
With that kind of popularity, this interest was only natural.
But Roin had no memory of meeting Nelli.
Guess she really only saw me from afar.
Better to stay distant, anyway.
Because.
If shed gotten a look at my face back then, she wouldnt be praising me like this now.
All because of that damn appearance.
After theory class, Roin headed to the cafeteria for lunch.
Thats when Drake approached him.
Roin. Lets eat together.
Since yesterday, Drake had been sticking to Roin like glue, insisting on hanging around.
Honestly, Roin found Drakes behavior annoying.
Hed always preferred acting alone.
Having a tagalong was just uncomfortable.
Eat alone. No friends?
Thats why Im asking you. You neither?
Dont need em.
Come on. Lets eat together. Please?
Sigh.
Every time he saw Drake, Roin was reminded of his old friend Dian.
His sword skills were so-so, but his business savvy was no joke.
He helped me out a ton, from the fight with Muorat on down.
Roin suddenly wondered what he was up to now.
Hes not dead, at least.
The guy had nine lives.
Even if you tossed him off a cliff, hed come back fine. He was probably living large right now.
Maybe Drake was the same type as Dian.
Unable to refuse his plea, Roin reluctantly joined him.
Before eating, Roin pulled out a few pill-like supplements.
That piqued Drakes curiosity.
Whatre these?
Nutritional supplements to take after eating.
Supplements? What do they do? Build more muscle?
Nah. They strengthen hair and boost skin elasticity.
Beauty-related, of course.
Drake was floored by Roins obsession with grooming.
From where Im sitting, you dont need to go this hard.
Roin looked plenty handsome as is.
Skin smoother than a girls.
Clear eyes.
Well-groomed hair.
A perfect pretty boy without a single blemish.
Kids around them were stealing glances at him, proof of his standout looks.
But getting complacent now would spell disaster.
Lucass blood flowed in Roins veins too.
Thats why he could never slack off.
To keep this face forever, I gotta start the maintenance young.
Even so, face packs every night, popping supplements. Doesnt it get annoying?
Make it a habit, and its nothing.
For Roin, it already was.
After eating, he promptly took his supplements.
Thats when Mering came over to greet them.
Hello, Lord Roin. Lord Drake.
Hey, Mering? You passed the entrance test too?
Yes. Barely scraped by.
All the members of Roins group had made it into the academy.
Roin rated Merings talent pretty highly.
He hadnt shown it much in the tactical golem sim, but his skills were legit.
If its okay, could I join you two when you do personal training?
But Roin turned down Merings request.
No.
Mering looked deeply disappointed.
Is it because Im a commoner?
Nope.
Roin didnt discriminate between commoners and nobles.
Hed been a commoner turned peasant in his Rodri days, after all.
There was only one reason Roin refused Mering.
I dont do extra training. Thats why no.
Mering was stunned.
You dont even do it normally?
Not dont much. I dont at all.
Then.
Where did his strength come from?
Roin put it like this.
Im strong without training.
Ah.
There was a perfect word for moments like this.
Talent.
He didnt mind coming off arrogant.
Hed always been that way.
Besides, Roins goals had changed.
He just wanted to live life as a handsome guy.
Getting high praise and hero worship from others wasnt part of the plan.
As long as he could do what he wanted and keep up his looks.
That was his new lifes direction.
Training would wreck my skin.
Roins least favorite scenario.
So he planned to skip personal training as much as possible.
Still, just in case, Mering left the door open.
If you ever feel like training, call me anytime. Ill be your sandbag.
Sure. Ill think about it.
Thank you!
After sending Mering off, Roin suddenly got curious.
Where do personal training sessions happen, anyway?
What? Merings words make you wanna train all of a sudden?
Nah. Just wondering.
Roin wondered if that old spot he knew from before was still around.
Right then.
Theres a training hall behind the dormitory building. Go there for sessions.
Someone answered Roins question for him.
The fourth son of the Tayla family.
Jerka Tayla.
He had come to see Roin in person.