Episode 40: Student Representative

“Y-You… You’re looking down on me because I’m the second son with no inheritance rights to the family headship, aren’t you…!”

Ruberus glares up at me, his face smeared with nosebleed. His voice, muffled by his clogged nose, is hard to make out.

“I’ll teach you a lesson…! Once I graduate from this academy, I’m set to marry into a marquis family and become their heir…! In a few years, I’ll be a marquis! Haha! Surprised, huh!? It’s too late to apologize now…”

“Ah… That’s a relief, Ruberus.”

I smile gently.

“If you had the guts to stand up and fight back after I hit you, that’d be one thing, but to boast about your family status even now? It seems there’s no mistake—you truly are the most vulgar, crass, base, and despicable person here.”

“W-What…!”

Ruberus’ hands tremble with rage. Then he glances around at his lackeys.

“Y-You lot! What are you standing there for? Hurry up and beat this guy to a pulp!”

The lackeys hurriedly draw the training swords from their waists.

Though the blades are dull, they’re still iron rods. More than sufficient as weapons.

“I don’t care if you seriously injure him… No, even if you accidentally kill Siegfried, my family’s power will cover it up! Do it!”

Whether Ruberus’ family actually has the influence to hush up the murder of me, the head of an earl family, is questionable at best…

But to Ruberus, consumed by rage, such realities are probably invisible.

The six lackeys charge at me all at once.

I deftly parry their attacks, delivering a single blow to each.

Five punches for five of them. For the last one, I give a little extra service—a roundhouse kick.

“Gah!”

“Guah…!”

“Geha…!”

Raising their varied cries of pain, five of the lackeys collapse to the ground, unconscious.

The last one, hit by the roundhouse kick, is sent flying, landing on the ground and fainting as well.

“Wha…!”

Ruberus’ eyes widen in shock.

The flames of anger in them are snuffed out. Now, all that’s left is… the color of fear.

“A bit repetitive, isn’t it…”

I let out a small sigh as I analyze the recent events.

“The pattern of ‘beating up the villainous leader, only for their lackeys to come charging in’ is getting old. I’d like a bit more variety… but I suppose you could call this a kind of traditional beauty, couldn’t you…?”

If this world were a ‘story,’ I’d love to hear the readers’ opinions on whether tradition or variety is better…

As I ponder this, a terrified scream reaches my ears.

“Hii… Hiii…!”

I look to see Ruberus crawling away, trying to escape.

…Ah, right. First, I need to give this man the fitting end that a villain like him deserves.

My bad, Ruberus. To think of other things while facing a villain like you.

I’ll make sure to present you with a suitably pathetic finale…

I take a step forward. …And that’s when it happens.

“What in the world is going on here!”

A sharp voice echoes through the alley. I turn toward it and see a young man with a stern expression sizing us up.

His neatly styled, subdued brown hair and perfectly worn academy uniform make it clear at a glance that he hails from a high-ranking noble family.

Behind him stand several other students.

“L-Lord Randolph…!”

Ruberus lets out a desperate, clinging cry.

The brown-haired youth… Randolph, glances at the fallen students before approaching me.

“What happened here? …Or rather, who are you?”

“Siegfried von Kreving.”

I give my name curtly, and Randolph responds immediately.

“I see. You’re the transfer student, Earl Kreving. I’m Randolph von Rekrem-Steyart, the eldest son of the Steyart ducal family.”

The Steyart ducal family.

One of the five great noble houses of the Kirchien Kingdom. As the eldest son, he’s in line to inherit the dukedom in the future.

“Additionally, I am the student representative of this officer academy.”

The student representative is a position held by the most outstanding student in the entire academy.

Basically, something like a student council president.

“As the student representative, let me ask—what exactly was happening here?”

“Well, you see, Lord Randolph!”

Ruberus crawls forward.

“This new student… Siegfried, he seemed lost, so I approached him to make friends. But then, out of nowhere, he attacked me…”

“…Don’t lie.”

All eyes turn toward the low, resonant voice.

The speaker is one of the commoners Ruberus and his group were beating up earlier.

A tall young man with tanned skin.

“Ruberus and his goons were beating us up. This new student, Siegfried, stepped in to stop them by hitting Ruberus. Ruberus got mad, and his lackeys attacked… only to get taken down.”

“Y-You… Don’t say unnecessary things…!”

Ruberus glares at the man before turning back to Randolph.

“Lord Randolph! This guy’s lying!”

“…You can tell who’s lying just by looking at our wounds.”

The tall man points to the bruises on his face.

“…I see.”

Randolph surveys the scene again, as if to confirm.

Then, in a calm tone, he says,

“Taking everything into account… it seems Ruberus’ claims are correct.”

“Haha… T-That’s right… As expected, Lord Randolph understands!”

Ruberus flashes a triumphant grin.

In contrast, the tall man explodes with anger.

“What the hell! Why’s that the case!?”

“Ruberus is from the prestigious Bakkeholk earl family. Someone of his standing wouldn’t lie so easily. If it were known he lied, it would tarnish his family’s honor. On the other hand, you, a lowly commoner… You have no honor to lose, so you’d lie without hesitation.”

Randolph rattles off self-serving logic with ease. Then, he turns his gaze to me.

“Siegfried. You’re also from an earl family. I don’t want to believe you’d resort to violence without reason… but I’ll have to side with Ruberus. I know his character well. He’s not the type to lie lightly.”

“T-That’s right… As expected of Lord Randolph!”

Ruberus praises Randolph with an expression that screams he’d lie without a second thought.

Randolph may have given some reasoning, but… it’s all just a pretense.

The five great noble families of the Kirchien Kingdom are divided into factions, constantly vying for power.

Ruberus’ family, the Bakkeholk earls, belongs to the faction of Randolph’s family, the Steyart dukes. That’s the only reason he’s covering for him.

“Heh… I see.”

A smile unwittingly creeps onto my face.

“…Is something amusing?”

Randolph narrows his eyes, catching my smile.

“Ah… My apologies.”

I shrug lightly.

“I just got a bit excited at the appearance of a new villain.”