Chapter 236: National University League (3)
Grenouille Des Leviathans.
As the third son of the extremely venomous House Leviathan, one of the seven great families of the Empire, he has lived his whole life being respected.
Raised with the praise and expectations of being the greatest genius in his family, he has never allowed himself to be looked down.
...Until he entered the Colosseo Academy.
Second in the entrance exam rankings. Something was wrong from the start.
There are limits to achieving a mental victory just because the levels of Hot and Cold Class are different.
Grenouille looked at the woman who had stepped over him.
Sinclair, a commoner without a surname.
Grenouille decided to ignore this impossible event as the first and last miracle of a lowly commoner's life.
But the midterms didn't change his ranking.
Looking at Sinclair, Grenouille was filled with inferiority complex and hatred.
...But why? The more he struggled, the more strange feelings arose in Grenouille's heart.
Or perhaps it had been there since the moment he first laid eyes on her.
The white hair that stood out wherever she went. The clear skin. Eyes as big as a deer's. A tight nose and lips.
Every time he thought of Sinclair, he found himself inwardly cheering for her.
It was ridiculous, he thought, but he couldn't help it.
From then on, Grenouille diligently hovered around Sinclair, hoping to get one more word in with her.
When he did, he kicked himself for not being able to say anything more than the stinging words "commoner..." out of habit.
And that's when an unwelcome presence appeared.
Vikir. An ordinary(?) guy with nothing special about him.
At best, he's a good student and has a pretty face, but he acts like every girl in the school wants his body, liver, and gallbladder.
Sinclair, who has been watching for a long time, also approaches him with a hint of crush.
'No way! This can't be happening!'
Grenouille himself was speechless until now, but they are already in a relationship where they do volunteer work and study together!
So Grenouille made a decision. He was determined to be in the same group as Vikir in this competition.
And with his superiority, he would make Vikir's inferiority even more obvious.
'I'll humiliate him in front of Sinclair!'
Wouldn't that make her look at himself a little differently? Wouldn't she realize who the better, stronger man was?
That's what Grenouille thought.
"...Keuhum!"
Grenouille took a seat at the head of the round table.
At the round table were the members of his group for this competition.
He handed his luggage to Vikir in front of him and told him to put it in the luggage locker above.
"Hey, commoner. Put my stuff on top of your head...."
But it was a little too much to ask.
It wasn't the Vikir that scared him, it was the humans on either side of him.
Highbro, Midbro, and Lowbro. The three Baskerville brothers.
They occupied the seats on either side of Vikir, and even Grenouille couldn't help but notice them a bit.
But Grenouille steeled himself.
'All right. Let's not be scared by these guys. I am the person who will lead this group.'
The seating arrangement was in a circle: Highbro, Midbro, Vikir, Lowbro, and Grenouille.
Grenouille skipped over Lowbro next to him and spoke again to Vikir next to him.
"Hey, commoner. Can't you hear me? Take my stuff and keep it above your head."
"?"
Vikir, his eyes closed and deep in thought, opened one eye.
Grenouille's luggage was placed in front of him.
"What are you doing? You're not taking it."
"...."
"Look at this kid? What a dog? What are you doing, believing in your grades during the midterm exam? A lucky child ...Where did you pick up some information about monsters?"
Then.
Lowbro, who was standing between Vikir and Grenouille, spoke up.
"Shut up, you two. It's loud."
Grenouille's expression stiffened at the words.
'Shut up? Is that what you're saying to me?' I thought.
This was the first time Grenouille had ever experienced an argument like this.
Even the seniors in the Noble Faction were frowning at him, and he was the heir to the Leviathan Family!
"What did you just say?"
Grenouille asked in disbelief.
When Lowbro closed his eyes in annoyance and didn't answer, Grenouille became even more confused.
"No, I don't know if it's Highbro, but now you've got to come crawling up on me, even the smallest one?'
Of the Baskerville triplets, Highbro is by far the most famous.
He's the strongest, and he gets the best grades.
His two younger siblings, Midbro and Lowbro, feel like they're always following in his footsteps, which is why Grenouille is feeling so much more bewilderment right now.
'I can't do this. If I'm going to take over this group, I need to show some charisma from the start.'
He closed his eyes and sighed heavily.
"...Ah, I just got on the train and these assholes are pissing me off again. Hey, commoner!"
Grenouille slumped back in his seat and jerked his chin at Vikir once more.
"Get a bottle of liquor out of my pack."
Yes, Grenouille had sneaked a bottle of vodka, a drink that students are not supposed to drink, into his backpack.
Grenouille crossed his arms with his eyes closed and sneered inwardly at the silent Highbro, Midbro, and Lowbro.
'What do you think, I'm the kind of bastard who would open a bottle of alcohol in broad daylight on a train to a tournament, and I'm underage!'
Grenouille flaunted his bravery and bravado by casually committing dangerous levels of deviance.
"Hey, commoner. Get it out. There's a bottle of vodka in my bag."
"...."
But Vikir still didn't respond.
Grenouille's eyebrows twitched.
If you move here and take out the bottle yourself, everything will be ruined. Even if we drink it, there will be no saving face.
So I have to move that commoner somehow to get it.
"Hey, are you really deaf, hurry up and get it out~"
At that moment, Lowbro, who was beside him, spoke up once more.
"What a noisy bastard. You must have a lark in your mouth."
"...What, what?"
"If you want to drink alcohol, you can take it out and drink it. This isn't even a joke."
Grenouille's face flushed at Lowbro's words.
Then.
"Stop."
Something stood between them. It was Vikir's hand, holding a bottle.
"Here's your drink. Stop."
Vikir took the vodka out of Grenouille's bag.
Grenouille grunted and snatched the bottle away.
...Tsk!
Grenouille assumed the worst posture he could muster (being careful not to encroach too much on the space of his fellow Highbrow and Lowbrow) and opened his mouth.
"Ugh, I feel dirty, and I need a drink."
But no one looks at him or speaks to him.
Unable to cool his temper, Grenouille gritted his teeth and unscrewed the cap of the vodka bottle.
"Don't you people know how to drink?"
"...."
"Ha, that's me. Why, are you afraid you'll get caught by the inspector if you drink, or are you just a bunch of nerds and it's no fun?"
"...."
"Well, I'm a bit of a drinker, so when I come to a place like this, I always wet my throat. Well, it's only 70 percent alcohol at most, so it's no different than water, but it's good."
Grenouille tilted the vodka bottle and poured a few drops into his mouth, puffing it up with air as if he'd drunk a lot, then gulped a few times.
Then he opened his mouth as if he had just remembered something.
"Oh, right. Hey, I'm in charge of this group. No complaints?"
His tone was casual and nonchalant.
But Grenouille's nerves were extremely focused on everyone's reactions.
....
But no one responds. Their eyes are closed, their arms are crossed, and they are simply meditating.
Grenouille shook his head, not sure if his words had worked or not.
'Does this mean you recognize me as the leader? Does this mean I can do whatever I want?'
So I tried to drive the nail in the coffin one more time.
"Hmm. Well, it's a formal event anyway. I'll just take care of it. I think my performance in the competition will be good if I lead... ... I also received this kind of education separately from my family, so I am somewhat specialized... And I'm from a noble family, so I'm used to being bossed around...."
Grenouille continues to reek of alcohol and stutter.
Just then.
"keuheum."
Vikir coughed once. He stood up and walked out of the room.
Grenouille frowned.
"I, I, I. Look at the way you move when the boss is talking. If you go to the bathroom or anything, and you don't come back, I'm going to give you a stern warning. ...."
That was it.
...Puck!
A dull noise was heard.
Grenouille cocked his head.
"...?"
I saw an unbelievable sight.
Grenouille's hand was on the round table. A dagger was deeply embedded in the back of his hand.
Flesh splintered, muscles split, bones shattered, and blood flowed freely.
Grenouille stood dumbfounded at the unusual sight before him, feeling no pain for a moment.
And then.
"Aaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
The scream comes a step too late.
Grenouille tried to move his hand, but the dagger had pierced the back of his hand and the palm of his hand and was now embedded deeply in the round table.
The one holding the dagger's handle muttered irritably.
"I thought I told you to be quiet."
It was a Lowbro.
He clicked his tongue and leaned back, picking up the bottle of vodka that Grenouille had dropped.
He then poured the clear vodka over the back of Grenouille's hand, which was pierced by a dagger.
"Aaaahhh!"
Grenouille screamed in pain as his hand burned.
Next to him, Lowbro suddenly looks as scary as a ghost.
I used to think they were funny because they were always in the shadow of the Highbro, but they weren't.
In fact, the grades of Highbro, Midbro, and Lowbro had always been tied, with only a few points separating them.
As Grenouille sat there with his hands stuck to the table and tears streaming down his face, Highbro and Midbro opened their eyes and began to giggle.
"You know, you're actually pretty funny. Hey, do you want to be secret friends with us?"
"Let's go like this without leaving until we reach the magic tower. It's noisy, so try putting something like a sock in your mouth."
"I've disinfected it, so it shouldn't be a problem, even if it is. We can call the priest when we get there."
It was a moment when Grenouille's plan to take the lead early on was derailed spectacularly.
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