Episode 54: The Loser in the Mud

Let’s rewind time a bit.

This was right after Yompaldo split his forces to pursue Siegfried.

“…Let’s go!”

Led by Leon, the seventy soldiers began their advance all at once.

“…Prepare to engage.”

The deputy commander of Karadis Dorm was Pakitos, the third son of a viscount family.

Entrusted with this position by Yompaldo, he chose to intercept. It was a reasonable decision. If he let Leon’s group pass through here, they might seize his army’s flag outright.

(After all, they’re just makeshift commoner students… Even if we’re outnumbered, there’s no way we’ll lose.)

Victory in battle isn’t determined solely by numbers. The quality of soldiers, their experience, their equipment—in all these aspects, Karadis Dorm surpassed Slade Dorm. They could win. The deputy commander believed that firmly.

(Even if we can’t defeat them, all we need to do is hold out until General Yompaldo returns…)

Yompaldo would likely return soon after defeating Siegfried. At worst, they just had to buy time until then.

That was supposed to be all there was to it. But—

“Raaagh!”

Leading the seventy-strong Slade Dorm army, a man named Leon charged into the Karadis Dorm forces with the ferocity of a lion.

Leon Vague was originally just a young man working as a vigilante in a rural village. Had nothing happened, he likely would have lived out his days in that village.

But one day, an incident struck Leon’s village. Out of nowhere, monsters attacked.

Leon fought on the front lines against the monsters and, with remarkable leadership, successfully protected the village from the horde.

He wasn’t particularly gifted in strategy, but as a frontline commander, he possessed an innate talent.

His exploits reached the Royal Officer Academy, and he was admitted under the commoner quota.

The villagers sent him off with grand celebrations, hoping he would grow into an outstanding officer. Leon, too, wanted to live up to the expectations of his hometown.

However—the reality of the officer academy was far from the place Leon had dreamed of.

The notion of treating noble and commoner students equally was an empty pretense; what existed there was an absolute class hierarchy.

Graduating from such a school wouldn’t make anyone an exceptional officer.

(What did I even come to this academy for?)

Days filled with such hollow thoughts.

Yet, even so—Leon never skipped a day of practicing his spear swings.

After waking up, during lunch breaks, after classes… he always swung his spear, ceaselessly honing his skills.

He didn’t even know why he kept doing it. But—now, he understood.

“This is why… I kept swinging my spear!”

Charging into the enemy ranks, Leon wielded his spear from horseback.

“Gah…!”

With a single strike, a Karadis Dorm student was knocked off their horse.

“Uooorah!”

Pouring his suppressed anger and pride into each swing, Leon brandished his spear. This was the moment for those who had been oppressed to clash with all their might.

“W-What is this guy…?”

Deputy Commander Pakitos couldn’t hide his shudder at Leon’s overwhelming intensity.

“Target that man…! Take him down with three—no, five people…! I don’t care how many it takes, just crush him!”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

Multiple Karadis Dorm students rushed at Leon. He mowed them down one after another with his spear, but their numbers were overwhelming.

In the chaos of battle, a blow knocked Leon’s helmet off, sending it flying through the air.

At that moment, a sword swung blindly by a Karadis Dorm student struck Leon’s head directly.

Even if it was a training sword, it was still made of iron. A hit like that wouldn’t leave anyone unscathed. Blood spurted from Leon’s head.

“Y-Yes…!”

A smile crept onto the deputy commander’s face. —But it was short-lived.

“You think… this is enough to finish me!?”

Blood streaming from his head, Leon glared sharply at the Karadis Dorm students and swung his spear.

A single flash—his attack was merciless, sending a Karadis Dorm student flying off their horse.

“Alright… let’s keep going!”

“Hii…!”

Pakitos’ face twisted in fear. And finally, he understood.

(W-We… misjudged…!)

He, too, had been ensnared in Siegfried’s schemes.

(We knew Siegfried was a dangerous guy. But this one…!)

Blinded by Siegfried’s sheer abnormality, they had overlooked something. The fact that Leon Vague… was no ordinary man either.

And above all, Leon was throwing himself into this dorm battle with every fiber of his being.

Unlike the Karadis Dorm students, who relied on the superiority of their equipment, Leon’s resolve was on another level.

That resolve began to spread to the other Slade Dorm students.

“L-Let’s go! W-We’ll follow him!”

“Y-Yeah! Let’s push through all at once!”

With Leon at the forefront, Slade Dorm surged forward like a tsunami.

(Ah… it’s impossible.)

Pakitos realized.

Holding out until Yompaldo returned was utterly impossible.

All they could do was be trampled.

Thus, the battle between Slade Dorm’s seventy and Karadis Dorm’s forty ended in an overwhelming victory for Slade Dorm in the blink of an eye.

 

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“Guh…!”

What Yompaldo saw was the very moment when Deputy Commander Pakitos’ unit was annihilated.

Leon, who had led that ferocious assault, shifted his unit’s course.

Changing their target to Yompaldo, they began advancing toward him.

“Shouldn’t you prepare to intercept, Yompaldo-senpai?”

Siegfried spoke up.

“At this rate, you’ll be taken down by Leon’s unit. …This isn’t the time to be trying to surround me, is it?”

“Y-You… You knew!?”

Yompaldo was stunned. Everything was in the palm of Siegfried’s hand—his every move had been completely anticipated.

And the situation was rapidly becoming the worst possible one for Yompaldo’s side.

On one side, Siegfried’s ten soldiers. On the other, Leon’s advancing unit. Caught between them, Yompaldo’s forces were being encircled.

“Damn… Damn it…! Why is this…!”

Yompaldo was forced to make a decision.

—Charge at Siegfried and break through?

…No, even if it’s just ten soldiers, breaking through Siegfried’s unit wouldn’t be easy. While fighting Siegfried, Leon would likely attack from behind.

—Split the forces to prepare for both Siegfried and Leon?

…But that would leave them unable to withstand either side’s pressure, and they’d end up crushed in a pincer attack.

—Flee in a direction away from both Siegfried and Leon?

…No, even if they escaped, what then? That would only lead to their flag being captured and defeat.

No matter the choice, he could see no path to victory.

Unable to decide, Yompaldo stood frozen.

Meanwhile, Leon’s unit closed the distance, finally reaching his front.

“Ugh…! Intercept them!”

Yompaldo shouted. But at that moment, Siegfried’s ten soldiers sprang into action.

A simultaneous attack from two directions—Siegfried and Leon.

Caught in the pincer, Yompaldo’s army crumbled helplessly.

“Damn! Damn! Damn it…! Me, of all people…! Siegfried, you…!”

Surrounded by his collapsing army, Yompaldo gripped his sword tightly and glared at Siegfried.

(At… At the very least… In this chaos, I’ll take down Siegfried…!)

But—at that moment.

Suddenly, a firm grip seized his shoulder from behind.

“Where do you think you’re going, senpai?”

The one grabbing Yompaldo’s shoulder… was Leon Vague.

“W-What…! Let go…!”

Yompaldo shook off Leon’s arm and thrust his sword. But the strike was easily deflected by Leon’s spear.

Then, Leon silently raised his spear.

“Ah… Aah…”

Despair consumed Yompaldo’s heart.

At that moment, a voice echoed from somewhere… Siegfried’s voice.

“—A fitting end, Yompaldo-senpai. You will be defeated by the very existence you looked down upon.”

This was the conclusion Siegfried had chosen for the ‘villain Yompaldo.’

Namely—he would ‘fall in defeat without even being struck down by Siegfried himself.’

—A filthy commoner. A worthless existence.

The ironic end of being defeated by the very one he had scorned.

“S-Stop it!”

Yompaldo’s scream was drowned out as Leon’s spear came crashing down.

“Gwah…!”

A sharp blow to the head. Then, his defenseless torso was mercilessly swept aside.

“Agh!”

Blown off his horse, Yompaldo was slammed into the ground.

“Gugh…! Ah, aah…”

Lying on the ground, Yompaldo was trampled by countless horses in the midst of the chaotic battle.

“Guh…! Ugh…! S-Stop…! I’m right here! It’s me…!”

In his fading consciousness, Yompaldo desperately shouted. But everyone was too caught up in the battle to notice him.

—The ones he had once mocked as insignificant. Now, at their feet, Yompaldo lay smeared in mud.