NOVEL NEXT Chapter 61
<61 - Lotto's Rational Doubt>
Students suffering from Professor Plato’s abuse, or rather, non-abuse, enjoyed a break of three hours, including lunch, yet still looked pale.
Some might not have fully recovered their stamina, while others were simply afraid of the upcoming lecture.
“How hard could the Principal’s lecture be?”
“Well, he gathered those awful professors, so it must be the toughest one!”
“I heard Oknodie attended a lecture in the second period?”
“…I’m sure. That kid is definitely half-orc. Otherwise, that stamina is inconceivable.”
“I want to say it’s speciesist… but honestly, with that kind of stamina, being called an orc is to be expected.”
“Right? Lotto, what do you think?”
“Uh?! I-I don’t really know…”
Lotto accidentally answered his long-lost friends, but panicked at the look of surprise on one friend’s face, mentally cursing himself in a double exclamation.
He realized he was too close and had spoken accidentally like the old days.
If he was going to regret it, he shouldn’t have talked in the first place.
If he was going to talk, he should keep his expression in check.
Ever since the showdown with Oknodie, he felt keenly aware of how he had tumbled into the abyss.
“Uh, we should get going. Haha.”
“Ah, that spot over there looks nice. Right?”
While awkwardly chatting, the girls moved to a different seat.
Although they lowered their voices a bit because they were slightly farther away, they spoke at a vague volume that was still loud enough for Lotto to hear.
“Idiot. Lotto isn’t in our line anymore.”
“Why did you talk to him?”
“Sorry. I just felt like the situation was the same as before.”
“And what if we end up getting involved because of you?”
“Right. Princess Masugaki hates Lotto for tarnishing the empire’s noble honor, and Oknodie wouldn’t have good feelings towards him either. We shouldn’t get close to Lotto.”
“I know that…”
If he’d known this would happen, he wouldn’t have fought with Oknodie.
While he was regretting, the group known as Oknodie’s posse settled down at one corner of the classroom.
As an aspiring knight student, Lotto had a few overlapping classes with Son Ohchun from that group, and he remembered that Son Ohchun was just as impressive, if not more so, than Oknodie.
Mana Flow Technique.
Mana Refinement Technique.
Without those two advanced techniques to improve the total amount of mana and one’s constitution, he was just a strong, primitive monkey humanoid who could easily overcome anything with natural brute strength and tough stamina.
He truly envied the seemingly effortless strength of the sturdy individuals who didn’t need training or refinement.
“Look over there. That’s the top student of Group B.”
“How come they wear the same school uniform as us but look that good?”
“One’s a warrior chosen by the gods, and the other is a saint selected by one of the twelve deities. If they have the favor of the gods, their charm level is just on a different scale from someone like us.”
Compared to the enigmatic gems like Oknodie and Son Ohchun, Lotto, who had merely accumulated mana a bit faster and improved his constitution through personal tutoring, felt like his lack of worth was laid bare.
With mediocre skills and status, Lotto hadn’t been outright despised, but he had become the kind of person who couldn’t even share a word of camaraderie with his former friends.
Though dismissed from Group B, he also couldn’t join Group A because his pride wouldn’t allow it, leaving him as a lone outsider exposed to even more hostility.
That was too depressing.
Listening to the conversations of the B Group students who spoke ill of him so he wouldn’t hear, and being in neither group was a lonely fate.
“Here I am!”
“Eek!”
“Ahh!”
“It’s really the Principal!”
A massive dragon head appeared at the podium, making the students freak out as if a demon had shown up.
The fierce hot breath swept through the whole classroom, blowing the buttons from their school jackets and skirts into a frenzy.
“Today’s lecture is the Principal’s lesson. I will teach you the bitterness of the Academy.”
The Principal’s large mouth twisted into a sinister grin.
“From now on, form groups of five. This lecture will measure all scores based on group assignments!”
Lotto nearly burst into tears.
How could they form groups on the very first lecture?
What was a loner like him supposed to do?
Did being a loner mean he shouldn’t focus on his studies either?
“Principal, what happens if a group has fewer than five members?”
The Principal answered.
“It’s point deduction.”
“!!”
Students exchanged urgent glances.
Lotto wanted to cry even more.
Having entered the world’s number one Gift Academy with his family’s support, if he returned after a few months with points deducted and flunked, what would his parents think of him?
How would his siblings look down on him?
The surrounding noble families would mock him, sending messages from their children attending the Academy, relaying tales of his flunking because he was a loner.
What would happen to his family?
“They’ll say things like ‘I will find you a husband.’ Or ‘You should marry this man or spend your life in a convent.’”
His career as a fighter would end before it even began, and the fate of an arranged marriage as a ‘noble lady’ would come knocking.
His family might be noble, but he would end up marrying some scum who hits women or has plenty of wives.
Or he could marry some ugly guy from a poor family who looks at him with lewd eyes, believing the man is kind.
A future of misfortune.
A severed career.
Only a life as someone’s wife or a mother with no freedom waiting for him.
The fate of a noblewoman losing her worth was unfolding in his mind like an opera.
She didn’t want to be anyone’s wife, mother, or a nun.
Absolutely not.
She didn’t want to face such a fate.
“Hey! W-would you like to form a group with us…?”
Though she spoke boldly, Lotto shrank back immediately, exchanging glances with her former friends, who all shook their heads.
“Sorry. We want to pair up with friends. You understand, right?”
Of course, it was a cut-off.
The noble born students armed with social smiles were all silently telling her.
Don’t stick around.
Don’t talk to us.
Do you want to be embarrassed?
He was angry at the hypocrisy of those who had previously prodded him into fights only to cowardly turn their backs.
“Princess Masugaki! You know we’re only for you, right?”
“I~ I guess I can’t help it since you like me so much. Should I hang out with you a bit~?”
The Second Princess Masugaki faction.
“Warrior. Your skills are said to be half of the rumors. Would you like to team up if you don’t mind?”
“Sure.”
The top warrior faction in Group B.
“Why don’t we unite as heirs of prestigious families to overcome this crisis of group assignments?”
“I refuse. Why would I team up with some chicken family’s punk?”
“You were treated like royalty because you’re also a noble family, but you don’t know your place. When the group duel starts, you’ll be the first to get eliminated!”
Among the three major noble families of the Sacred Central Empire.
The chicken family faction and the pizza family faction.
In the midst of fierce competition, Lotto chose to look away.
If everyone in Group B abandoned him, it was no time for him to be bound to Group B either.
It would be the greatest humiliation if he mingled aimlessly and returned home as a failure, ending Lotto’s individual life and freedom.
“If needed, I will even put up with teaming up with commoners!”
“You guys! If you want, this Lotto, who has expertise in fighting, can join your group.”
If the border nobles belonging to Group A heard that a central noble was offering to join, they would surely be thrilled.
Wasn’t the Princess Arcadia, who was said to be the leader of A Group’s female students, particularly interested in other countries’ cultures?
If he allied with them as an imperial noble, they would gladly accept him for sure.
“Hah? Don’t you have any shame? How could you accept someone who disrespected our cute Di?”
His seemingly solid plan crumbled immediately.
It wasn’t just Arcadia who was a mental support for the A Group girls who held animosity against her.
Anderson, the Duke, a mentor for the A Group boys, also gave a disgruntled look.
“Oknodie is the most important student to our Seoguyeon. Do you think anyone in Group A would join hands with someone who turned her into an enemy?”
“Why the heck do you say what you want? Is everyone in Group A your subordinate?”
“Jigoku. You again? How about exhibiting some cooperation once in a while?”
“Hmm? You want a fight?”
“…I was foolish to seek cooperation with a pirate.”
Having thought he couldn’t recruit even one comrade, he unexpectedly found one.
Not a girl, not from Group B, and not exactly sane either. A bit trigger-happy, perhaps, but hey, at least he had a teammate now!
“…I’ll do it too.”
“Hestia! I-I said some harsh things to you. You’re willing to join?”
“It’s not like I’m joining because I’m fond of you. I just have no other team to go to…”
Lotto was taken aback by Hestia’s words as he glanced around.
As expected.
Most of the 44 students in the upper class had already formed groups of five.
Even the unknown group C, who was shunned by both A and B, had gathered all five members.
“Oh wow. Are we the leftover group? So who’s the last member?”
Jigoku’s exciting question was answered by someone pulling on her clothes.
“Me!”
“Eh? Oknodie?”
One of the most popular candidates for group members had joined this ragtag bunch.
“The group formation ends here.
-Those who could not find all five members will have 400 points deducted!
-And as consolation, I will grant a bonus of 500 points!”
“???”
“Yay!”
Oknodie grinned as if she’d known this was going to happen.
Seeing her smile, Lotto recalled that Oknodie had the clout to intentionally cause electrical outages during the Academy’s training sessions.
‘Did she know she was going to get extra points ahead of time?’
Unless she was involving herself with old group mates and a goofy kid who follows them around, it was impossible for her to end up in a ragtag group alone.
Rational doubt welled up.