<469 - The One Who Knows No Shame>
Seoguyeon, ranked 4th, Yeltsin Brownie.
Determined not to miss the connection with the Grand Duke, even Yeltsin, who has endured the most challenging Midterm Exam of Picnic Healing, has reached the limit of his patience.
“Does it really matter if Seoguyeon burns down the fire village or treats the villagers as slaves? What matters is that we can rationally stop that mad Blood Band’s performance!”
A sharp critique aimed at the clueless classmates who cannot distinguish between priorities!
Unable to hold back his nature of saying what needs to be said, he spat out harsh words, causing the instructor, who had been protecting them with ridiculous justifications, to frown.
“Yeltsin Brownie, lose 1 point. Shouting does not suit a picnic.”
“No, I was just agreeing with your opinion…!”
Feeling indignant and about to jump up, he suddenly came to his senses at the instructor’s gesture of pointing behind him with his finger.
The students who had just criticized Seoguyeon were now silent, grinning!
‘Oh no, as an elite noble, I’m being provoked by basic taunts!’
Righteous commoners, stubborn old men who value pretexts.
Such classmates weren’t present here.
Only cunning competitors took advantage of the good opportunity provided by Oknodie, who had been coasting without points deducted.
In the exam venue of Picnic Healing, where cunning schemes run rampant, the awkward cannot avoid point deductions!
“Don’t be discouraged, Yeltsin.”
“Grand Duke?”
“They should view us not as nobles but as competitors. This means we are acknowledged as the most formidable rivals. In other words, we are the group that is leading in this exam.”
The Grand Duke sipped tea leisurely as if enjoying tea time.
His eyes gleamed coldly.
“Then we just have to treat them as powerful contenders, not just Seoguyeon.”
“What exactly do you want?”
“Erase the competitors. Since they refused to cooperate, it’s only natural to eliminate them.”
“!!”
“Oknodie. Leave the back to me.”
“Hmm. What should we do? It’s hard to decide~”
“…”
“Havi would gladly team up with a radical revolutionary. Alright, I’ll trust you once!”
With Oknodie’s tacit approval, the competitors, sensing something amiss, began to sweat and retreat.
“Please tell me you noble folks aren’t thinking of laying hands on a commoner? Seoguyeon cares about the commoners’ reputation too, doesn’t he?”
“Seoguyeon protects the commoners, and that much is definitely true.”
“Haha. How about we reconcile here? The exam isn’t over yet, and we don’t know when the next attack will start…”
“Oh, don’t worry about that.”
The indifferent performer, who had been standing idly doing nothing instead of performing, scratched his head with multiple arms and said.
“Since it’s getting interesting, let me watch a bit longer before starting. Feel free to grill and stir things up.”
“…”
The Blood Band maintained a stance of complete indifference!
Duke Andersen lightly nodded in gratitude.
“Thanks. Now let’s finish organizing the entrance. Seoguyeon protects the commoners. However… he only protects those commoners who pledge loyalty to us—the ones worth protecting.”
There’s no reason for nobles to be bound by noble dignity when commoners start viewing them as competitors.
A Fire Kit and a window that brings the wind were placed in front of the commoner classmates.
“After the second break, we’ll sip the prepared tea and enjoy the wind for 20 minutes before folding up the mat and standing up. There’s no rule saying the wind cannot be fiery.”
Duke Andersen pressed a button under the window frame to open it.
A gust of wind burst through the open window, shooting fire above the students’ heads.
“Ahhh! They actually shot fire!!”
“forfeit, forfeit!”
“Save me!!”
Some, startled by the sudden fire show, forfeited, while others simultaneously drew their weapons.
“We commoners wouldn’t know what tea time is. But there’s one thing we do know: the wind of blood.”
“The Grand Duke is still human and bleeds if he gets cut. Bring him down before he can use his magical tools!!”
“No way! Seoguyeon, draw your sword!”
The nobles following Duke Andersen and Adolf, who joined Seoguyeon’s side out of loyalty, all drew their swords together.
“Be it lazy hot winds or lazy bloody winds, we create all winds by ourselves. Let the tea time begin.”
*
In the midst of the sudden internal conflict, Hitler was left speechless.
‘So first-years can make such mistakes!’
It’s not wrong for students to compete during an exam.
In a relative evaluation exam, if I don’t perform well, as long as others do worse than me, it’s fine.
Gruesome battles where they trip each other and drag each other down can sometimes occur.
‘Still, they shouldn’t be openly hostile in a professor’s exam like this!’
An exam where scores are measured on an absolute scale.
In an exam where it’s hard to meet an absolute standard, everyone must join hands.
The commoner students had forgotten this fact.
The pressure from the exam was so overwhelming that they were mentally cornered to the point of forgetting the scoring criteria.
The noble students were also thoroughly frustrated by the commoners’ backlash.
As swords began to clash among themselves, it was clear this exam would end in chaos, regardless of who won.
‘The fewer remaining participants, the less space for the performers to concentrate their mana, and the greater the damage they will receive.’
The monstrous performers took convenient advantages by letting the students’ fights ignite while doing little work themselves.
“Instructor Hitler. If the kids do this, how much deduction should I impose on whom…?”
“There are no rule violations.”
“What? There are sword fights, and it’s not a rule violation? Are you serious?”
“There are only the regulations to enjoy a picnic in this exam. Actions outside the regulations are not necessarily forbidden.”
“Even so, a sword fight at a picnic has crossed the line!”
Hitler scoffed.
“Is it acceptable to have a Blood Band invited to perform at a picnic?”
“…!”
“Professor Demonika indirectly declared: This exam is to verify composure. As long as they maintain their composure and make a minimum effort to respect the rules, there’s no reason for a rule violation.”
Using not just being dragged into the exam but also deciphering the intent of the orchestrator and exploiting it.
Whether Duke Andersen had thought that far or not, from Hitler’s standpoint, there was no reason to deduct points from him since he kept that fact in mind.
‘What surprises me is the decisiveness and capability of that Duke Andersen. I knew he was a VIP target and an extraordinary person, but usually, the child of a border noble wouldn’t be incredibly steadfast.’
Though Hitler himself was just shielding Adolf, whom he wanted to protect, by turning into a noise-canceling shield, the sight of Duke Andersen mercilessly taking down commoners made him look like a villainous noble.
‘Is he setting fire to fire villages back home while enjoying tea time?’
Even his every move was out of the ordinary.
Those who attacked like they had learned about Fighting Barehanded Without Weapons effortlessly took down commoners, using a physical strength so formidable it seemed like they had learned How to Use Sacred Magic Without Faith.
“Take that!”
With many students charging at once, one unexpected attack did hit Duke Andersen on the shoulder.
“AAah!”
The one who cried out and dropped their weapon was actually the student who attacked Duke Andersen.
“Is that a shield spell?!”
“It’s a defense technique honed through Defending Without Shields. Right at the moment of impact, I focused my mana into the impact area and parried it with the same force.”
“That’s impossible! The maximum speed of the attack reaches sonic levels, and you reacted with the same force?!”
“It’s the result of having awakened a precise sense of time through the class Seeing Time Without a Clock.”
“That’s ridiculous! This is all because you’re a noble! It’s just the power of early education!”
Duke Andersen couldn’t hide his disappointment towards the student who denied reality.
“Common first-years who only attended basic classes wouldn’t be able to handle this. But this is reality. You cannot catch up to me, who took on the hardest and most difficult classes while dreaming of just munching through grades and only finding the easy ones. The proof is right here in front of you, Adolf.”
A young man, compared to a lifeless light blonde dog you can find anywhere, Adolf.
“He may be a farmer’s son, but he took all the classes I attended, aiming to catch up with me, a duke. And he gained strength equal to any noble of Seoguyeon.”
“That’s nonsense!!”
“Go, Adolf. Show with your own hands the strength you’ve built up for the past semester.”
Adolf rushed awkwardly at his attacker.
His swordplay was slow and his techniques clumsy.
However, the timing of his counterattack and his strong physique resembled those of Duke Andersen without a doubt.
His words were not a lie.
With just the difference in classes taken over one semester, Adolf had surpassed his fellow lower class students.
“Cough. We’ve lost. I forfeit.”
The attackers felt humiliated in front of Oknodie, Duke Andersen, and the noble student Adolf, who had no unique traits, but was linked to Seoguyeon.
The difference in resolve overshadowed their abilities, leaving deep wounds in their pride.
As they turned away in solitude, the monstrous performer clapped with many arms.
“I watched a touching story. May I resume the performance now?”
“…But your struggle must also have its own resolve! Don’t give up and raise your swords again. Today, I’ll bring all of you to the same level as Adolf!”
At Andersen’s shameless declaration, students glared at him with faces showing their lost pride and self-criticism.
