Everything Went According to My Plan
Everything went according to my plan. I was the top student recognized by the king. My English was in a league of its own. There was no way I wouldn't be chosen. Just then, the English professor stepped forward. He was the first to pick a student.
Who could possibly be better at English than me? The professor's own skills fell short of mine. So naturally, I should have gotten the single room...
"I will choose the Saint. No, Serena."
What...? I stared at the English professor in disbelief. Anyone could see I was number one. Yet he picked Serena instead.
Are you seriously choosing like this just because you don't like me?! Maybe it was a mistake when he used a word he didn't know. His pettiness was unbecoming of a professor.
Tsk, don't get angry. It's not over yet. I still had chances left. No need to be disappointed already. After all, Serge Geis and Armel were still there. But then...
"I will choose the Hero, Franz."
"I... will go with Constantine."
Both of them picked the Hero and the Archmage.
No...!! I could barely keep my expression in check. In overall ranking, I was first. I was the top student, after all. But when they split us by individual strengths, the situation took a strange turn.
How did it end up like this? It was absurd. Now only the Character (?) Professor Leman remained. I hadn't expected much from him anyway. There were plenty of people with better character than me.
In that case, I'll just crush my three roommates from the start... I was already planning how to deal with the other three roommates. Then I'd claim the four-person room all for myself. My character definitely wasn't that good.
Soon, Professor Leman opened his mouth. He looked around at everyone. They all stared at him desperately. Everyone wanted the single room. But his gaze finally landed on...
"I will choose Jace Allen."
"Hmm?"
It was me.
"Ho, a fine choice."
Strangely, the other professors agreed with him. I couldn't understand it.
"A mercenary has good character?!"
"I... I didn't get chosen? Me, a prince? That's ridiculous!"
"Tsk, I don't like this."
Of course, the other academy students weren't happy either. Especially Grand Duke Philip and Prince Maximilian, who hadn't been chosen, looked furious. But the decision was already made. Throwing a tantrum here wouldn't change anything.
Thus ended the noisy single-room assignment. And just as planned (?), I secured the single room.
Ahem, well, I got the single room anyway.
The four of us followed the dorm supervisor separately. The Royal Academy was much larger than I expected. It felt like a university back on Earth. No, it seemed even bigger than that. The scale was no joke. Because of that, we had quite a walk ahead of us.
The single room is a bit out of the way, though. Nothing came without drawbacks. On the plus side, the security seemed decent enough.
Just then, the Hero approached me from the side. He whispered quietly, picking a fight.
"Must be nice having such good character, huh?"
He didn't seem pleased that I had claimed a single room alongside him. Of course, there was no need to argue with the Hero over something so petty.
"Idiot."
I muttered just as quietly.
"What...?!!"
His face flushed red in an instant. I ignored him and started walking ahead.
"Is something wrong, Franz?"
"Ah, no, it's nothing."
The Saint was here now. As long as she was around, it would be hard for him to drop the act easily.
At that moment, the dorm supervisor walking at the front spoke up.
"It's... over there. No, that's it."
Soon we spotted a luxurious standalone house. Surprisingly, there were standalone houses inside the academy. There were four of them in total. Moreover, they were spaced quite far apart. At this distance, we wouldn't have to worry about soundproofing.
"Don't tell me each of us gets one of these houses to ourselves..."
"That's right. From now on, the four of you will each live in your own house."
"Huh..."
I stared in disbelief at the current situation. What kind of academy provides housing better than the place I used to live in? I never imagined they'd hand out entire houses.
If I hadn't stepped up, I would've died of envy. With this much space, there were plenty of things I could do. A satisfied smile spread across my face. Switching to Plan B had turned out to be a huge help after all.
Without another word, the other three headed off to their respective houses. Ah, the Saint gave me a greeting.
"Then please get inside safely, Jace!"
"Ah, yes. You too, Saint..."
"Tsk."
Of course, the Hero looked thoroughly displeased. Still, I entered my house while receiving the Saint's farewell.
Creak.
Pretty clean. It couldn't compare to the modern world, of course. Still, for the medieval era, this was excellent. The floors and walls were finished with marble. It must have cost quite a bit to build. There was even a basement and a second floor.
I'll set up the magic tobacco facility in the basement and the community server on the second floor. Magic Tobacco was a term I'd coined. It hadn't been officially released yet. But I had a rough idea of how it would work. If this succeeded, I'd be raking in money by the cartload.
And the community was literally a community site I planned to implement in this medieval world. Of course, it wouldn't be an internet-based community like the one I knew. But to medieval people, it would feel revolutionary.
With this, I'll monopolize both the academy's money and information. I had to surpass monsters like the Hero, the Archmage, the Saint, and the Elf Princess. The ordinary approach wouldn't cut it. I had to use every method available.
Even today, my predictions were off. In the end, the only thing I can rely on is my own power. I could still picture the English professor choosing Serena. I clenched my fists. This academy was no different from the world I came from. Today, I felt that truth clearly. But instead of frustration, I felt relief. If everything had been too clean, it would've been harder to endure. The world I'd lived in wasn't clean at all. I was more comfortable in a world full of schemes and corruption. And more confident, too.
Well then... shall we get moving? I hadn't even unpacked yet. But there was no time to rest. From now on, the competition had essentially begun. To stay ahead of everyone else, I had to move first.
"Hmm... so this is Trier's Mercenary Guild?"
A dark alley in the city of Trier. I stood in the alley, staring at a shabby building. What I needed most right now was money. Creating Magic Tobacco required significant startup costs. I also had to maintain the Steel Mercenary Group. Ah, and I needed to build the community too. Naturally, a lot of money was required.
And I knew one easy way to make money. Of course, it was an idea most people couldn't pull off. Simply put...
Why not just rob the underworld? It was a method of taking money from the wicked (?). Of course, I'd have to disguise myself. I couldn't go around robbing people as the Mercenary King. But to do that, I needed information. And for me, the Mercenary King, the most convenient place was the Mercenary Guild.
But it's way shabbier than I expected. The city of Trier was practically called the second capital. No, if you measured by size alone, it was even larger than the capital. It was the largest city in the kingdom. Combined with the academy's synergy, all sorts of wealth flowed into Trier. It was the kind of city that had no rival except the capital itself. Yet the Mercenary Guild was far too rundown for such a place. I almost thought I'd come to the wrong location. Even the city's shabbiest tavern looked better than this.
Still, let's go inside first. I opened the door.
Creak.
Then the scene inside came into view. It was completely different from what I'd expected. No, it was far too different. And for good reason...
"Oh my, look at those muscles! Oppa! I'm going to fall for you!"
"Hehe, really? How about here?"
"Wow! Your chest muscles are so cool!"
"Oppa! I want to touch them too!"
Three women and one man were having a drinking party. The women were half-naked, clinging to the man. They looked exactly like prostitutes.
What the hell? Isn't this the Mercenary Guild? For a moment, I thought I'd walked into the wrong establishment. But that wasn't the case. A quick glance revealed the reception desk and a woman who appeared to be the receptionist. She had brown hair and was quite pretty. She was staring at the man with a frustrated expression.
I walked toward the receptionist.
Thud. Thud.
"Aah, you can't touch there. It'll get wet."
"Hehe, so what? If it gets wet, that's even better."
Even as I walked, the man and women were busy playing around. They didn't seem the least bit interested in me. I approached the reception desk and asked her a question.
"Isn't this the Mercenary Guild?"
"Haah, that's right."
"Then what is that?"
I pointed to the scene she was watching. She let out an even deeper sigh and answered.
"What can I do? They're members of the Steel Mercenary Group..."
"Huh? The Steel Mercenary Group?"
"You've heard of them, right? The strongest mercenary group in the Aachen Kingdom. They've never failed a single mission..."
As she answered, she turned her head toward me. Only now did she start looking at me properly. And then her eyes widened. It was only natural, because...
"Y-Y-You... the Mercenary King!!"
The leader of that very Steel Mercenary Group was standing right in front of her.