Class F

“…” Having encountered Leonil, Letitia and I were heading toward our first class.

…It was an unexpected meeting. I never thought I’d run into the protagonist like this.

—Leonil Hyland. The one who would eventually duel me and bring about my downfall. The novel’s protagonist, the hero who would rescue and lead many comrades, and defeat evil.

He was a Grim Reaper to me.

In the fantasy novel, Alban dueled Leonil and lost. I was supposed to be hit with the full combo: exit the story, expulsion from the Academy, and revocation of my title. The thought alone is terrifying…

However, the current me was different from the Alban Odrant in the fantasy novel. I had sought Sebas’s guidance and honed myself to avoid ruin. I wouldn’t be defeated so easily—

…………No, wait, that’s too much of a hassle.

—Should I just ruin him first? Should I ruin Leonil? Should I make the first move, using every possible means to drive him out of the Academy?

Setting him up with a conspiracy would be great. Faking an accident to injure him would also work. The methods are endless. Heh-heh-heh… Ah, somehow, just thinking about it is fun. I truly feel like a villain when I think like this—

“…Alban, your face looks rather frightening,” Letitia murmured, walking beside me.

“Eh? Does it?”

“Were you jealous of Leo, perhaps?”

“Wha—! No way, I wouldn’t be jealous!”

“But you had that expression you get when you’re planning some villainy.”

“Well, yes…”

“Shall I guess? You were thinking about how to drive Leonil out of the Academy, weren’t you?”

“! How did you—!?” I stopped mid-sentence, quickly covering my mouth.

But it was too late. She sighed, an I-knew-it look on her face. “I know, of course. I am your wife.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“Yes, it is a perfectly sufficient answer. More importantly, may I say one thing?”

She stepped in front of me, stopping and turning around.

“I am grateful that Leonil helped me, truly. But no matter what happens, my husband is only you.”

“Leti…tia…?”

“I won’t be drawn to him. Because I know Alban Odrant is far more appealing. So please, don’t be so afraid.”

—Was she trying to encourage me?

She probably thought I was trying to eliminate Leonil out of sheer jealousy. I was just trying to avoid ruin, though. Well, I did feel a little jealous just now, but… Still, that… that made me happy. To hear her say that.

…She’s right. I’m me. I’m not the Alban Odrant from the fantasy novel. I’m a Great Villain, not some small-time thug.

Then, like a villain, I should stand tall and fight the hero head-on. That’s right, what am I afraid of? Come at me—anytime. I’ll make him feel to the very marrow of his bones how terrifying a Great Evil with someone to protect can be.

—As that thought settled, we arrived at the front of our classroom.

I didn’t know if this was the Headmaster’s plot, too, but my wife and I were in the same class. Literally, we would be together with Letitia twenty-four hours a day, from good morning to good night. I was happy about it, sure. But imagining that old man gleefully orchestrating this situation made my chest tighten. It felt like an overbearing relative was meddling in my life. Though, I don’t actually have an uncle.

The class Letitia and I belonged to was Class F. The F class, out of A through F.

“Well then…” I slid the classroom door open.

What met my eyes were two empty seats. And—eight students.

A nervous, short girl. A girl with extreme blonde vertical ringlets. A tall man wearing glasses. A tanned man who looked like a playboy. A twin-tailed girl with a smirk. A muscular, red-haired man with an undercut. A sullen-eyed girl whose mouth was covered by a mask.

And finally, a short-haired, blond, earnest-looking man—wait, what?

“…Huh? Isn’t that Baron Odrant and Lady Letitia?”

“! L-Leo…!”

There he was: Leonil Hyland, the very person I had just encountered. No way. Seriously!? Out of all the classes, why did it have to be this one!?

“I can’t believe we’re in the same class! This is great!” Leonil exclaimed excitedly.

“A-Ah… yeah… you’re right…” I had just thought, “Come at me” a minute ago. But not like this! I thought my heart was going to stop for a second!

“Excuse me, but could you please be quiet in the classroom?” the girl with the blonde ringlets cautioned, looking slightly annoyed.

Humbled by her reprimand, the three of us took our seats.

—The class had ten students, including my wife and me. It was a surprisingly strange class. Their titles and ranks were clearly not unified; it was obvious at a glance. There were students who looked like the children of major nobles, and there were commoners like Leonil. I had assumed class assignments would at least consider social standing.

“Hello, everyone!” a teacher said, smiling broadly as she entered the room.

She was a female teacher with a ponytail and extremely thin, slit-like eyes. At first glance, she looked gentle… though she radiated an unknown, oppressive aura and had absolutely no openings.

“I am Paula Velvet, and I’ll be teaching Class F! I’ll be your teacher starting today, so let’s have a great time!”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“Oh dear~ Why is everyone so quiet~?”

“Teacher, a question, if I may.” A classmate raised his hand abruptly. The tall man with glasses.

“Let’s see, you’re Ivan Scottish-kun, right? Go ahead and ask!”

“Why am I in the same class as this lot?” he asked, sounding extremely disgusted.

Immediately, every student’s gaze shifted to Ivan.

“I am a member of the prestigious Scottish Ducal family. I request to be transferred to a class with more refined individuals.”

“You…! Are you implying that we are base and low-born?” The muscular, red-haired man, Rowen, shot up from his chair. Ivan’s remark had clearly rubbed him the wrong way.

“That’s exactly what I’m implying.”

“You haven’t heard the Headmaster’s words, ‘Forget your ranks while you are a student’?”

“That has nothing to do with me.”

“…Interesting,” Rowen said, his cheek twitching as he clenched his fist. The atmosphere was already a powder keg.

“—’Why are you with this lot,’ you ask? Well, this is the perfect time to explain.” Instructor Paula merely smiled softly, making no move to stop the two who were about to fight.

“This is a new rule starting this year, you see—I want one person among you to be chosen as the King who will rule this class.”

“A King…?” We were all dumbfounded. For a moment, we didn’t understand the meaning of Instructor Paula’s words.

“Yes! You will choose only one King, and the other nine must swear absolute obedience until graduation. If you fail to choose a King within one month, you will all be expelled, without exception.”

“Wh… What did you say!?” Ivan slammed his desk and stood up. “That’s ridiculous! I never heard anything about this before enrollment!”

“Of course not. That’s why I said it was a new rule.”

“—Teacher, a question.” Following Ivan, the playboy-looking man with the tan raised his hand.

“Yes, Matthias Wolf-kun. Go ahead!”

“How do we choose this King? What’s the method?”

“I leave that entirely up to you. You can choose based on academic or physical standards, or through negotiation, violence, or money—I won’t question the means at all.”

“…So, as long as everyone acknowledges him as the King, any method is fine?”

“Exactly. Just one thing: please refrain from murder. It deviates from a student’s main purpose!”

…I don’t think that’s the issue here. Wait, are you saying you would condone murder if it didn’t deviate from a student’s main purpose?

Instructor Paula continued to smile placidly, starting to write names on the blackboard. They were the names of all the classmates.

1st Seat: Shanoa Grain
2nd Seat: Ester Appleberry
3rd Seat: Ivan Scottish
4th Seat: Matthias Wolf
5th Seat: Laki Azalea
6th Seat: Rowen Sterajian
7th Seat: Carla Rexon
8th Seat: Leonil Hyland
9th Seat: Alban Odrant
10th Seat: Letitia Barrow

“Teacher, my name is already Letitia Odrant,” Letitia pointed out.

“Oh, my apologies! The class register still had your old name…” Instructor Paula hastily corrected only Letitia’s name. Jeez, she’s a scatterbrain. And I was impressed that Letitia could make a correction in this kind of atmosphere. That’s my wife. Her nerve is incredible.

“I’m sure you’ve all noticed, but your ranks are all different. Not only that, you share no common ground in your intelligence, talent, or life circumstances.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“Therefore, you must all use everything you have cultivated until now to tear down the others. From this moment, until the class King is decided, consider everyone to be your enemy.”

—At Instructor Paula’s words, the classroom fell silent. Enemies, huh? I knew this was a super-elite training ground, but I never thought it would go this far…

The new rule was essentially intended to create a deliberate hierarchy within each class. The ruler and the ruled. Who was truly worthy of nobility? Who was the genuine master? That was probably the lesson they were trying to instill. What a brutal thing to ask of students. That Headmaster was truly something else.

And come to think of it… was there a similar development in the fantasy novel? Ah, I’m starting to remember a little. Yes, there was a story about deciding the greatest student in the class. In the process, the protagonist Leonil and Alban Odrant dueled, and Alban lost. He lost so shamefully that Alban’s one-sided grudge began to grow.

However, the whole thing started because Alban tried to become the class boss. So, if I didn’t try to become the King, the first step toward my ruin shouldn’t happen… I think. Unlike the original Alban Odrant, the current me has no interest in power. All I want is to graduate with Letitia without incident. I’ll just keep a low profile. Let them choose their own King.

“A King, you say… Then this is simple!” Rowen, the muscular, red-haired man in the 6th seat, suddenly yelled with glee. “The strongest is the only one worthy of being the King! We should have a duel involving everyone, and the last one standing should be the King!”

“Oh dear, how barbaric,” Ester, the girl with blonde ringlets in the 2nd seat, said, opening her fan with a snap and hiding her mouth. “The King must be elegant and pure. A fighting-only monkey is only suited to be a pawn, wouldn’t you agree? Oh-ho-ho-ho!“

“Y-You…!” Rowen growled.

“P-Please, let’s not fight… Even if we are enemies, we’re still classmates…” Shanoa, the nervous girl in the 1st seat, tried to mediate between Rowen and Ester.

“She’s right,” Matthias in the 4th seat interjected. “This should be settled with wealth, like a true King would.” This man definitely looks rich. “You should all submit to me quietly. I’ll guarantee you a comfortable life for the rest of your lives, even after graduation.”

Matthias Wolf Marquis—The Wolf Marquisate was famous for having assets that rivaled some Dukes. Consequently, the people of the Wolf Marquisate are notorious for “using money to do literally everything.”

“Hmph, that’s absurd,” Ivan in the 3rd seat sneered, pushing up his glasses with his finger. “Money is just low-class. A King is a King because of his authority.”

“Oh really? And you think you have that authority?” Matthias challenged.

“Of course. I am the heir to the Scottish Ducal family.”

The Scottish Ducal family, huh… As far as I knew, they were the highest-ranking family among the classmates. They likely held the same or more authority than the Bertoli Ducal family. Although… not as much as the Barrow Ducal family.

“Heh, authority? Well, I know of a young lady here who was born into a higher authority than yours, don’t I?” Matthias glanced in a certain direction.

His gaze landed on—Letitia.

“Letitia Barrow—ah, now Lady Letitia Odrant Baroness. What do you think?”

“Heh-heh-heh, isn’t that a rather nasty way to ask? After all, she was expelled from the Barrow family, wasn’t she?” Ester mocked with a small laugh. Matthias had definitely said that with subtle malice.

I’m gonna make those two cry someday. Maybe now. I wasn’t gentle enough to stay silent when my wife was insulted.

—Just as that thought crossed my mind,

“…Teacher, may I ask a question?” Letitia asked Instructor Paula, her eyes still closed.

“Yes, what is it, Letitia-san?”

“Can the King be nominated from someone other than oneself?”

“Of course! Any method is acceptable!”

“Then there is only one thing I can say.” She took a deep breath.

“The only person worthy of being the King of this class is my husband, Alban Odrant.”