CH 117

According to Luca, Marcus was a capable person who could already receive 3 stars, but if he did, he would be forced to graduate so he didn’t go all out.

It was a fairly unusual pattern, as most copper star students had a tendency to drop out from the academy to support their families and earn money. Even if it was called “dropout”, doing it at “The King’s Sword” held a different meaning than Sophie’s previous life, as it was closer to meaning “getting a job”.

The longer one stayed in the academy, the more opportunities they had to earn a star, but it wasn’t as easy as it sounded, and it could be considered a narrow gate.

Even if a student didn’t aim to get a star, which was difficult to get, as long as they enrolled in “The King’s Sword,” then they would at least gain the prestige of a “copper star.”

Since there were only a few people who managed to earn stars to begin with, copper star people would be evaluated quite highly as potential escorts even if they didn’t have any stars. Because of that, those who desired would drop out from the academy after about a year to work.

Some people chose to take the knight exam instead, but since not everyone could join the knight brigade, working as an escort was the quickest way to earn money.

However, since Marcus didn’t have any family, there was no need for him to earn money in a hurry, and since “The King’s Sword” provided free meals and a place to stay, he chose not to challenge danger but stay at the academy for as long as he could instead. 

“Will Marcus eventually become a knight?”

Just like how a person who earned 3 black stars was exempted from the examination for the paladin order, copper stars enjoyed similar treatment in the knight order. Although treatment and salary for black stars and copper stars were completely different, they would be guaranteed to live a much better life compared to working normally.

When Sophie asked whether he would enter the knight brigade through exam exemption once he earned 3 copper stars, Marcus scratched his head as he said, “I wonder about that…”

“I hadn’t really thought much about the future. I might be a king of a mountain while I’m still here, but once I enter the knight brigade, I would end up being exploited as a grunt, so I’m not sure.”

When Sophie said that since he was a person who already earned two stars by this time, he wouldn’t be treated as a grunt there, Marcus replied with a nihilistic smile.

“I have no idea how things work in women’s society, but men’s jealousy could get pretty ugly. Even I wouldn’t be able to resist decently if I was ganged up all at once.”

Sophie said, “Oh my…” as she covered her mouth with her white fingers when she heard that.

I guess he isn’t the director of the copper star for nothing. Although he seems easygoing, he can look at things calmly.

Luca told her on the way to visiting the copper star faculty that Marcus was a man raised in a slum before he enrolled in the academy, which made him mentally more mature than his age suggested.

After Marcus’ words, Luca followed up.

“There were many arrogant seniors a few years ago. After the head of the generation changed to Marcus-san, things became much more refreshing.”

Since the copper star adopted meritocracy, one’s standing was determined by their personal strength and number of stars. Although higher standings meant their words held more weight, it also gave them responsibilities to take care of the people below them.

When a person with a nice personality stood at the top, the people below him had an easier time living. On the contrary, if it was a domineering person instead, the people below them would be in a lot of trouble.

Marcus made an awkward expression at Luca’s explanation. He seemed embarrassed to be praised like that.

“Luca, you might praise me like that, but isn’t it you who beat them up in the end? I sure had a good laugh looking at them completely helpless against an 11-year-old brat in the first battle~. On top of that, you managed to win the championship that year.”

In order for a copper star student to earn their star, they needed to win the championship of the tournament that was held once a year, and Luca managed to do so when he was 11 years old.

Marcus earned his first copper star at 12 years old, and the one who beat the record of the youngest to earn a star was Luca. Marcus seemed to win the following tournament, but Luca won it again the next year, resulting in 4 years of Luca and Marcus competing for the stars.

In other words, these two people were the top among the copper stars for the last four years.

“That’s… isn’t that because Marcus-san held back?”

“Fool, I don’t hold back in competitions. The match was done to the best of my abilities.”

Marcus made a light retort at Luca’s pouting expression. Luca might be considered unique for having the surname of the marquis family while most people of copper star consisted of commoners, yet Marcus interacted with Luca without being bothered by that. Sophie was a little relieved to see that.