Chapter 9
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Enrollment (3)
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Jerka Tayla's gaze fixed on Roin.
"As expected. You passed, just like I thought."
During enrollment, Jerka had been the one to read the enrollment declaration on behalf of the 159th class.
However, Jerka knew the truth.
In reality, this declaration was supposed to be read by the top scorer.
Among the 159th class trainees, the one with the highest enrollment score wasn't Jerkait was Roin, standing right in front of him.
And yet, Jerka had been allowed to read it solely for the sake of the Tayla family's reputation.
It would be unseemly in every way for a child of the prestigious Tayla swordsmanship familywhich commanded everyone's attentionto play second fiddle.
So, they had contrived various excuses to make Jerka do it.
That had only wounded Jerka's pride even more.
From that moment on, Jerka had started paying attention to Roin.
Roin, the son of a fallen noble family, had outranked himsomeone who had walked the path of the eliteand taken first place.
How could a kid from a ruined house be stronger than him?
That was what Jerka wondered.
And so, he had deliberately approached Roin.
Roin gave Jerka a light bow.
"Thank you for letting me know, Jerka."
"No need to thank me. As fellow trainees, sharing info like this is good for both of us."
Jerka flashed Roin a grin as he spoke.
"If you ever need a sparring partner, just let me know anytime. I'd be happy to oblige."
"Aren't there plenty of others who could spar with you, Jerka?"
"No one as strong as you."
For Jerka to offer himself as Roin's sparring partner was quite unusual in itself.
Just looking at the two boys' family backgrounds made it clear why it was so surprising.
But Roin didn't react with much agitation.
He responded calmly instead.
"Got it."
That said, Roin had no intention of actually calling on Jerka.
As he had told Mering, he had zero plans to do any extra personal training.
Jerka left, promising to spar another time.
Drake looked at Roin and said,
"You're exploding with popularity, Roin."
"Yeah."
But Roin wasn't particularly thrilled.
Because this kind of attention was the last thing he wanted.
After the theory class, the trainees gathered at the training grounds for full-scale practical training.
As usual, before heading out, Roin slathered his entire body with sunscreen and hand cream.
Lepid, who had been assigned as the practical training instructor for the 159th class, stared at Roin in disbelief.
"Trainees."
The instructor pointed at Roin and asked,
"What's on your face? It's unnaturally pale compared to the others."
"Sunscreen."
"Sunscreen?"
"Yes. My skin's precious."
"......"
He was the top lunatic who had shown up with a parasol during the mock battle against the tactical golem because he hated the blazing sun.
Overdoing the sunscreen was downright cute by comparison.
'Is he really Senior's apprentice?'
Lepid still couldn't believe that Roin had trained under Gillion.
If it had been Gillion, noble's son or not, he would've thrown the kid straight into the mud pit and scrubbed off every bit of cream on his body.
'Something Senior couldn't do, I'll handle myself.'
Lepid decided inwardly to get vicious.
At Lepid's signal, the waiting assistants appeared, each holding something in hand.
Training uniforms.
"Change into the training uniforms I just handed out."
No matter how hard they'd been washed, the ones who had rolled around in the mud showed stubborn stains that wouldn't come out completely.
And there were rips and tears here and there.
The trainees gulped at the sight.
How brutally were they planning to drill them, forcing them into these rags?
Anxiety was already building.
At that moment.
One trainee raised his hand.
Lepid's personally designated problem child, Roin.
"Instructor."
"What?"
"Do I have to change into this?"
All eyes turned to Roin.
Daring to ask that?
Their gazes were filled with shock.
Even Lepid was so flabbergasted at first that he swallowed empty air.
He had handled plenty of trainees at the Loud Swordsmanship Academy, but none had ever asked so brazenly.
"If you don't change, you'll regret it later."
The pristine uniform he was wearing now might end up as tattered as the training one in front of him.
That was Lepid's warning.
But Roin remained unfazed.
"I'll take responsibility."
A small sigh escaped from among the other trainees.
That was as good as slapping the instructor in the face.
He was utterly insane.
That's what they thought.
Even the assistants were thrown off.
Lepid glared.
He nodded.
"Fine. Just hope you don't end up crying and hand-washing that uniform alone while everyone else rests."
"Thanks for your concern, Instructor."
At that moment.
Lepid made up his mind.
'No matter what, I'm gonna drill you harder than anyone!'
While all the other trainees donned the stained training uniforms, Roin alone stuck with his clean academy uniform.
Perhaps that's why.
He drew extra attention from the instructors.
There was a reason Roin refused the training uniform.
'Just putting that on feels like it'd give me a skin rash.'
It was to protect his skin.
No matter how thoroughly they'd washed them, clothes that others had sweated and rolled in the mud in couldn't possibly be clean.
Plus, these were meant to get dirty.
No way they'd been laundered with extra care.
So Roin exercised his right to refuse.
He was the first trainee in the history of the Loud Swordsmanship Academy to reject the training uniform.
As such, a strange tension hung in the air from day one.
Before starting, Lepid gathered the assistants.
"The others are one thing. But Roin Leydenthat traineeneeds to be broken properly. Got it?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Don't worry, Senior! I'll smash him good!"
The assistants pledged (?) enthusiastically.
Meanwhile, from a distance, the trainees watched the huddle and let out heavy sighs.
Drake shot Roin a resentful look.
"What is this? Because of you, we're all gonna suffer too..."
"Well, the harder the training, the stronger we get. Let's turn this crisis into opportunity and build the habit."
Every time Roin said something like that, Drake harbored doubts.
Was he really just a kid our age?
He looked like a child on the outside, but felt like an old man insideand not just once or twice.
Of course, that guess was spot on.
The strategy meeting ended, and the assistants deployed.
The first drill: balance training.
A crucial exercise for maintaining bodily equilibrium.
The content was simple.
"Stay on top of those wooden posts as long as you can. Got it?"
"Yes!"
Small wooden posts stuck into the mud pit.
Smaller than a person's foot sole.
The trainees sensed it immediately.
Oh, they're just dunking us in the mud straight-up.
The first group went in.
Trainees stepping onto the posts via the stepping stones over the water.
Right from the start, two out of ten couldn't last 30 seconds and plunged straight in.
The first dip felt electric, to put it mildly.
After that, the others toppled like dominoes.
Drake muttered softly.
"Looks harder than it seems."
It had to be.
Because...
"Those posts are shaking."
"Huh? Shaking?"
"Look closely."
When the second group climbed up, Drake watched the posts intently.
Roin was right.
The posts began wobbling back and forth.
That's why the trainees couldn't balance and dove into the mud.
That's why they scheduled this as the opener.
A sort of initiation dunking for the whole class.
But Roin had no intention of falling for the instructors' cheap trick.
"Next group, in!"
"Go!"
Finally, Roin's group was up.
Roin, standing out in his immaculate clothes alone.
The other trainees looked at him with anxious faces.
What if he falls like that?
Even the bystanders started getting nervous.
Ten trainees on the posts.
Roin lifted one foot slightly, assuming position.
The moment it started, the first dropout splashed in.
Amid it all, Drake barely hung on.
Just as Roin said, they were shaking.
But the wobble was fiercer than expected.
'I can't last like this!'
Drake struggled to balance,
"Whoooaaa!"
Splash!
But he fell anyway.
Less than five minutes in, nine out of ten had dunked.
Through it all, Roin maintained perfect balance.
Lepid clicked his tongue inwardly.
'Well, well. Not bad?'
It confirmed that refusing the training uniform wasn't just bravado.
But that confidence ended here.
Lepid secretly signaled an assistant.
Double the shaking.
With a button press, the posts rocked even harder.
Now even the trainees could see the violent swaying clearly.
And yet, Roin held his pose with the most relaxed expression imaginable.
Not a hint of disturbance in his serene face or stance.
"Wow...!"
"What's with him?"
"How's he staying up?"
An unbelievable sight.
Ten minutes passed, then fifteen.
Roin survived unscathed.
Perhaps from standing so long.
He even yawned.
That irked Lepid once more.
At the 25-minute mark.
One assistant approached Lepid.
"Senior, if we don't wrap this up, it'll mess with the other drills."
"I know."
He knew in his head.
But his body wouldn't obey.
He desperately wanted to knock him off, but Roin showed no sign of budging.
With a grunt, Lepid reluctantly called it.
"Enough! That's good. Come down."
"Thank you, Instructor."
Roin smiled brightly and turned back toward the stepping stones.
Watching him return alone in perfect shape, the trainees shot him looks full of envy and awe.
Among them was Jerka Tayla.
'Roin Leyden...'
From this moment, Jerka Tayla was certain.
To become number one in this class, he had to defeat Roin somehow.
But.
It didn't look easy.