158 – Rebellion
After taking a class for the first time in a long time, it felt like a forgotten daily life had returned.
However, after class, I headed to the 5th floor of the main building, which I had never been to before, rather than the club room on the 2nd basement floor of the main building.
From the 4th floor of the main building, freshmen were banned from entering, but I have a club badge that allows me to enter anywhere in the academy.
Of course, it was okay even without a badge because the participants were gathering today in preparation for the triathlon.
On the 5th floor of the main building, there was a training ground used by 3rd and 4th graders.
When I opened the door with the name [Plainland] Written on it and entered it, a wide plain appeared in front of me, as if I was passing from the club room to the island where my house is.
Looking at the sound of water flowing quietly somewhere, it seemed that there was a valley nearby.
As if the seniors had prepared it in advance, a blackboard and a table for movement were placed on the wide plain.
It was about 20 minutes earlier than the scheduled time, but contrary to expectations, there were passengers.
It was from the back, but I couldn’t tell who it was. It was Ellie, my childhood friend.
The hair that used to touch her shoulders must have grown in the meantime, and now it looks like it’s over her shoulders.
A useless thought came to my mind, whether I was going to grow her hair to fit Roel’s taste.
I would have avoided the seat normally, but in the triathlon anyway, I will be on a team with Ellie.
Even if you avoid it, there is no reason to avoid it if it eventually returns to its place.
I silently sat down on the corner of the table away from Ellie. I could feel the legs of the chair sinking into the soft soil, perhaps because of my weight.
She must have sensed someone’s presence, so Ellie only glanced up to check on me, then turned her attention to the book she was reading.
I wondered what book he was reading, but I couldn’t see him from this distance. I couldn’t even see the cover of the book.
Feeling a feeling of awkwardness or discomfort, I stared blankly at the plain.
I’ve experienced how many times I’ve been alone like this after an argument with someone.
I learned two things from that experience. Either resolve the awkwardness and become closer friends, or become worse off than before.
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No matter what it is, it is polar opposite. What I wanted from Ellie was the latter.
As she was thinking about her triathlon, she heard Roel’s voice with a rumble.
“Ross, you’re back soon. Are you with Ellie?”
She was Roel whom I hadn’t seen in two months, but honestly, I envied her cheeky appearance as she naturally put her hand on my shoulder with an unaffected smile as always.
I don’t know how to approach someone this friendly. I never learned, and no one wants to.
“Oh, yes.”
As she answered roughly, a hand suddenly jumped out from beside her. He was a good-looking man with glasses.
“Hello, I’m Cassius, senior year 3. Faculty of Magic.”
“I’m second-in-command in the first year, Ross of the combat club.”
After shaking hands and removing his hand, Cassius sat down next to him, placing his hand on the shoulder opposite my empty shoulder.
“Are you Roel’s younger brother? It’s the first time I’ve seen it in person, but I’ve heard a lot of rumors.”
“Thank you.”
While saying that, I was suddenly curious. What rumors have you heard about me?
A younger brother worse than his older brother? The Combat Division Chief with the Minimum Time on the Survival Test? Cassius said this and that, but he answered casually, not on a topic that interested him.
Roel patted me on the shoulder and sat next to Eli with Ilia. Ellie, who was looking at her book expressionlessly, put her book down and gave Roel a bewitching smile.
Involuntarily, I slightly frowned. How he interpreted it, Cassius, who had been trying to carry on a useless conversation, finally shut his mouth. He had no intention of clearing up the misunderstanding.
I was staring blankly at the plain again with a sigh, and after a while, a 4th grade senior appeared with food.
“Hello everyone, you are here quickly.”
“Should the student council president be the last? Senior Edward.”
At Cassius’ words, Edward apologized while placing snacks and drinks on the table.
“Sorry, but I was late to get something to eat. Look.”
Edward’s cheeky smile led to a pleasant atmosphere. Edward looked at me as we chatted while drinking snacks and orange juice.
“It’s always too late. Sorry. For the first graders, I will briefly explain why we gathered today.”
His eyes focused on Edward as he brushed off the powder on his hands and naturally headed towards the blackboard. Maybe it was because he was a 4th grader, he was skillful at drawing people’s attention.
“Ellie of the 1st Year Ministry of Magic and Ross of the Combat Club, right?”
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Nodding his head, Edward took up chalk and quickly wrote something about the triathlon on the blackboard like a professor. Edward turned around and looked at Ellie and asked.
“How much do you know about triathlon?”
“It is a competition between famous academies on the continent, and an official festival in the capital city. Last year was my 30th, and I heard this is my 31st triathlon. I heard that Transcendence Academy has never missed a win since the triathlon started.”
At Ellie’s words, Edward nodded and looked at me.
I, who had been feeling uncomfortable for a while at the eyes mixed with strange anticipation, replied in a harsh voice.
“It’s not just a festival, it’s the emperor’s politics using innocent and innocent students.”
People’s eyes were focused on me. Roel smiled amusedly with a slightly surprised look, and the others looked interested as well.
Repentance came belatedly, but I had already said it. He spoke in a voice mixed with a sigh at the gaze demanding an explanation.
“If the winner is the same 30 times, it can’t be called a contest. It is like an execution ceremony.”
Let’s start with those words. I don’t have to worry about my thinking being wrong.
Because it was really a setting made for that reason. Later, it was also the reason why Bella, who became emperor, reformed triathlon.
“The continent is large. Therefore, the emperor’s influence inevitably weakens as he moves away from the capital. The imperial family intentionally supported Transcendence Academy in order to suppress forces such as the 3 nobles of the East, the Golden King of the West, and the Union of Southern Nobles.”
Among the students attending the academy, about 30% were born and raised in the capital city. The rest were filled by some of the continent’s most talented students.
“It became the best academy on the continent, but nobles had no reason to send their children hostage to the academy in the capital. That’s why triathlon was created. A political festival to put down other academies and make Transcendence Academy unique.”
The awareness that a bright future is unfolding just by entering Transcendence Academy spread across the continent. The emperor intentionally appointed most of the Transcendence graduates as servants and knights.
The quick-witted nobles scrambled to send their children to the capital, and over time, even without the intervention of the imperial family, talents from the continent naturally gathered at Transcendence Academy.
“Citizens of the capital will feel vicariously satisfied with overwhelmingly suppressing the provincial academy, and the provincial people will once again engrave in their heads the perception that it is nothing special if it is not Transcendence Academy.”
It was a festival with such political intentions hidden. The local nobility couldn’t have noticed this. But they chose to jump on the bandwagon rather than go against the bandwagon.
Typically, Ilya from the Prax family, the loser of the north, is a student at Transcendence Academy. There is no central point to unite in this unjust festival.
Aristocrats with less power and students who were not admitted to Transcendence Academy ended up being victims for over 30 years.
Edward gave a satisfied smile.
“So we can enjoy the execution ceremony without any worries?”
As he asked the question, he looked like a teacher testing his students. Suddenly, he wondered if Edward would become a professor after graduation.
He will definitely become a professor who makes students suffer with embarrassing homework.
I shook my head slowly.
“In the last triathlon, a freshman alone led Transcendence Academy to victory with overwhelming force.”
As I turned my gaze to Roel, he scratched his head with a shy smile.
It was the second triathlon for Roel. Worried that a story going the same way would get boring, I made up a story.
“Three academies have been overwhelmingly defeated. It was the biggest defeat in 30 years. Now they have only two choices.”
I paused for a while. He spoke with a smile in a situation where all eyes were focused.
“To curl up like a dog in despair and bow its head, or gather a grudge that has lasted 30 years in one place.”
Except for Edward, everyone looked surprised as if they had noticed what I was saying.
There were several attempts like that, but in the end, they didn’t have a central point, so they repeated divisions to occupy even the second place, which received a good reward.
But now it’s different. Roel trampled on them so overwhelmingly. Even the pride and self-respect that remained was cruel. Roel has become the perfect focal point for revenge.
“There will be a rebellion at the execution. They will now join forces and execute us in reverse.”
“Could they unite? Even if they make us last, the first place belongs to one academy. In the end, the academy aiming for first place has no choice but to conserve its own strength. Without a clear goal, it is bound to divide like before.”
Even though Edward knew the answer, I knew he had asked me that.
It is a method of solving other people’s questions through questions. Also, he suits the professor.
Without hesitation, I replied in a confident voice.
“So they will be looking for a ‘joint win’.”