A Duel with the Hero?
After the entrance ceremony came the dormitory assignments. The Royal Academy generally housed students four to a room, all in the name of fostering cooperation. But exceptions existed, and the Special Class students had more than their fair share of them.
“Your Highness Maximilian… I mean, M-Maximilian.”
“Yes.”
“The Hero… I mean, Franz Lahm.”
“Yes.”
“The Saint… S-Serena.”
“Yes.”
We were still seated in the auditorium. The king and professors had already left. The reason was simple: dormitory assignments. The dorm supervisor soon called out the prince, the Hero, and the Saint. Their special treatment was obvious.
Those three will probably get private rooms.
The Academy did have private rooms, reserved for guests. Those three would surely claim them.
“E-everyone, follow me. You three… go elsewhere…”
No one seemed surprised. Their status set them apart, and everyone accepted it.
I need a private room too.
I had every intention of using every trick in the book to claim the top spot at the Academy, including the shady ones. A secure private room was essential. Besides, private rooms were simply better for maintaining peak condition.
I rose from my seat without hesitation.
“Um… Y-you are the Mercenary King… I mean, Jace Allen.”
Even the Academy’s dorm supervisor was just an ordinary man. He might have been a noble, but that was all. Compared to the Mercenary King, he was nothing. That was why he stammered.
Good. I’ve already seized the initiative.
I had played the humble card in front of the king, but there was no need for that here. I strode forward confidently and stopped right in front of the supervisor. He looked thoroughly flustered. The guards were no better. None of them knew what to do. This was the power of the Mercenary King’s reputation.
Of course, it didn’t work on the other Special Class students. They each had something to say.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“Are you intimidating the supervisor?”
“Oh my, is that how mercenaries behave?”
I ignored their voices and spoke to the supervisor.
“I’d like to go with them too.”
“T-that’s…”
He looked extremely troubled. He didn’t even seem to notice I was using informal speech. Then Franz Lahm, who had been silent until now, stepped forward.
“Ha…! What do you think you’re doing? Are you bullying a commoner?”
“What are you talking about? I’m just offering my opinion.”
I feigned ignorance. I hadn’t even released my presence yet. If I had, the supervisor would have collapsed on the spot. That alone proved how gentlemanly I was being—for a mercenary, anyway. Franz seemed to realize it too.
“Grr. Typical mercenary scum.”
“Really? Then how do you feel about the three of you getting private rooms while everyone else doesn’t? Very heroic of you, isn’t it?”
“Ugh…!”
Franz fell silent, his face twisting in anger. One more push and he would draw his sword—I could feel it. At that moment, Prince Maximilian, who had been watching quietly, spoke up.
“Jace Allen. Are you acting so boldly because you have that sword?”
“Sword…?”
“Tsk. I still don’t understand why Father gave it to you.”
Isn’t it just a decorative sword?
The sword itself wasn’t important right now. I looked at the prince and said,
“Your Highness… I mean, Maximilian.”
“Hah…”
“Since we’ve all entered the Academy, aren’t we all equals?”
“Grr… Well, that’s true.”
He was right. No matter how lofty their status, once inside the Academy, everyone was the same.
“Then why do only the three of you get private rooms? Isn’t that unfair? After all, you’re all of equally noble birth.”
Everyone present was a noble, including the non-humans. The Hero was the only one of common birth, though he had since been ennobled. My words left the three of them speechless—because, fundamentally, I was right. Serena even sided with me.
“Jace is right. I won’t take a private room.”
“Serena!”
I wasn’t against her having one. I just wanted one for myself. I turned to face everyone and made a suggestion.
“Since it’s come to this, why don’t we decide the private rooms by skill? After all, we came here to determine who’s the best.”
Everyone showed interest. Every person here was skilled and of high birth. There was no way they wouldn’t be intrigued.
“Not a bad idea.”
A young grand duke responded—Grand Duke Philip, second only to the prince in status. He was special in his own right, having inherited his title at such a young age. Yet he hadn’t been included among the three. He was probably quite displeased. With the grand duke’s support, his faction began to rise—mostly nobles.
“I agree with the grand duke.”
“The grand duke is absolutely right!”
He commanded the support of many nobles present. In an instant, my proposal gained momentum. Then she stepped forward—Lucien, the Divine Archer from the Hero’s party.
“I agree as well. Deciding by skill sounds much more fun.”
She had the status and skill to be included among the three, but her non-human heritage had excluded her. Naturally, she supported my idea. The Archmage joined in too.
“Me too. I prefer Jace’s suggestion.”
At that point, it was over. The prince’s face turned red and purple with rage. The Hero and Saint, however, had no objections—especially the Hero, who was confident in his abilities. Both nodded in agreement.
“Ha, skill, is it… Everyone seems quite confident.”
“This method seems acceptable.”
The prince was powerless to stop it alone. I turned to the now-pale supervisor and spoke, this time using formal speech.
“It seems a decision has been made. Would you inform the professors? Ah… perhaps you could phrase it like this.”
I smiled at him, though the smile carried a subtle pressure.
“W-what…”
“We intended to assign private rooms by status, but the students opposed it. They wished to decide by skill rather than birth. Something like that.”
It was technically true, though I omitted my own involvement. He nodded.
“U-understood.”
He seemed genuinely afraid of me. He probably wouldn’t even mention that I had intervened. It was written all over his face. The supervisor hurried out of the auditorium, and soon the Academy was in an uproar.
Serge Geis and the other professors moved quickly.
“Good heavens, something like this…!”
“As expected of the Special Class?”
The kingdom’s finest talents had gathered here. Everyone had anticipated some kind of incident, but no one expected it right after the entrance ceremony. When they arrived at the auditorium, they found it already swarming with students.
“The new students are going to duel?”
“As expected of the Special Class.”
“Tsk, no matter how impressive, they’re still just freshmen.”
“Come on, the Hero is there too. What are you talking about?”
Rumors had already spread throughout the Academy. The professors’ expressions hardened. There were already plenty of voices criticizing the Special Class for receiving special treatment. And now this… A sigh escaped them. Still, it wasn’t too late. Serge Geis addressed the other professors.
“There’s no sign of presence or mana yet, so no fight has broken out. We’re not too late.”
All they had to do was stop the fight. Then they could fairly assign the private rooms. The professors’ authority at the Academy was absolute, even over the Special Class. After all, they were the ones evaluating the students. The students would listen.
They pushed through the crowd and opened the auditorium doors.
Creak.
What they saw inside made them freeze.
“Is there no one who will face me? Where did all that bravado from earlier go? Especially you, Jace Allen! What are you doing? Scared?”
All the chairs in the auditorium had been pushed aside, creating an open space. Franz Lahm stood in the center. He looked ready to take on challengers one by one. Serge Geis was about to step in and stop him when it happened.
Ooooooh—!!
Kyaaaaah—!!
Hero-nim—!!
The watching students suddenly surged into the auditorium—hundreds of them. The professors were pushed back.
“Ugh! Everyone, move!”
The situation inside only grew more chaotic.
“Ha! I knew you’d be like this. No matter how much fame you’ve built lately, you’re still just a mercenary…”
“Who said I wasn’t coming out? Tsk, I didn’t want to step forward first…”
To everyone’s shock, the Mercenary King was walking toward the Hero. He stretched as he approached, his movements relaxed. In an instant, a match between the Mercenary King and the Hero had been decided. The crowd grew even more frenzied.
“The Hero and the Mercenary King are going to fight!!”
“What?! Really?!”
“I have to see this!”
Students poured into the auditorium in a frenzy. The Mercenary King was a rising star whose reputation had soared recently. The Hero was an established powerhouse who had long been famous. A clash between these two was a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle that money couldn’t buy. Naturally, even more students rushed inside.