Chapter 238
[Translator – Clara]
[Proofreader – Lucky]
Chapter 238 National University League (3)
Granola De Reviadon.
As the third son of the hostile poison clan Reviadon, one of the seven great clans of the empire, he had lived his entire life under praise and expectations as the family’s top genius. Never once had he allowed anyone to surpass him, at least until the entrance exam for the Colosseo Academy.
From then, he had maintained his second-place rank in everything.
From the beginning, something seemed off.
Granola thought about the woman who had risen above him – Sinclaire, a commoner without a title. He dismissed this impossible event as the first and last miracle that a lower-class commoner could have. However, even in the midterm exams, his ranking remained unchanged.
Always beneath Sinclaire, Granola struggled with feelings of inferiority and resentment. Yet, strangely, the more he struggled, the more peculiar emotions surfaced within him. Perhaps these emotions had been there from the moment he first laid eyes on her.
Everywhere, her striking white hair, clear skin, deer-like large eyes, finely-shaped nose, and lips were prominent. Each time Granola thought of Sinclaire, he found himself silently cheering for her deep within his heart. It seemed absurd, but it was an undeniable fact.
Since then, Granola had actively circled around Sinclaire, berating himself with harsh words whenever he habitually thought about ‘A commoner like her...’
Around that time, an annoying presence appeared – Vikir. Nothing special, just an ordinary guy with decent grades and a somewhat balanced appearance. Yet, all the female students in the entire school seemed to flock to him as if they would give him everything.
Sinclaire, whom Granola had been observing for a long time, also showed subtle signs of favoritism toward Vikir as she approached him first.
‘It’s unbelievable! It’s impossible!’
Though Granola couldn’t bring himself to speak, a relationship of doing volunteer work and studying together had already formed between them!
So, Granola made up his mind. He would be in the same group as Vikir for this competition, using his superiority he’ll highlight Vikir’s inferiority even more vividly.
‘I’ll embarrass him in front of Sinclaire!’
Perhaps then, she wouldn’t overlook me anymore. She might realize who the more impressive and strong man truly was.
That was Granola’s plan.
“Ahem!”
Granola took a seat at the round table.
The members of the same group for this competition were already seated around the table.
Granola was about to ask Vikir, who was in front of him, to take his luggage and put it in the storage compartment above when he realized it was a bit awkward to command without further consideration.
Not because Vikir was intimidating, but because of the people on either side of him.
Highbro, Middlebro, Lowbro—the three brothers of Baskerville.
As they vaguely occupied the seats on either side of Vikir, Granola couldn’t help but be a little cautious.
But Granola remained determined.
‘Yeah. I shouldn’t be intimidated by these guys. I am the leader of this group.’Nêww chapters will be fully updated at novelhall.com
The seating arrangement was in the order of Highbro, Middlebro, Vikir, Lowbro, and Granola, forming a circle.
Skipping over the adjacent Lowbro, Granola spoke again to Vikir on his other side.
“Hey, commoner. Can’t you hear me? Take my luggage and put it on top for storage.”
“?”
Vikir, who had been meditating with closed eyes, opened one eye. Granola’s luggage was placed right in front of him.
“What are you doing? Not gonna take it?”
“...”
“This kid, seriously? Are you relying on your midterm grades? A kid who got lucky... after gathering some info on ants or something.”
At that moment, Lowbro, who was between Vikir and Granola, spoke up.
“Shut up. It’s fucking noisy.”
Granola’s expression stiffened at those words. Is he telling me to shut up? That expression of his seemed to question if that statement was directed at him.
A dismissive tone that passed by casually. However, Granola’s attention was laser-focused on everyone’s reactions.
...
But no one reacted. Eyes closed, fists clenched, deeply immersed in meditation. Granola grinned at the lack of response.
‘Is this their way of acknowledging me as the leader? They’re basically saying, do whatever you want, right?’
So, with a touch of arrogance, he tried again.
“Ahem. Well, it’s just a formality, but I’ll take charge. It seems like the competition results will be better if I lead... I’ve received specialized training at home, and, well, I come from a noble background, naturally used to dealing with the lower class...”
Continuing to babble with the scent of alcohol, Granola, holding the vodka bottle, glanced around to gauge everyone’s reactions.
...
Wanting to drive the point home, Granola decided to try one more time...
“Ah, w-well, did you guys hear me, I-I’ll be the lea-”
“Cough.”
Vikir cleared his throat and stood up, leaving the room.
Granola furrowed his brow.
“Yo, yo, yo. Look, the leader is talking. Anyway, these commoners are so mannerless. Even if you go to the bathroom, when you come back, I, as the leader, will give you a stern warning...”
Just then.
...Thunk!
A dull sound echoed. Granola smile slowly vanished.
“....?”
An unbelievable sight unfolded.
Granola’s hand on the table, had a dagger deeply embedded in the back of it. Flesh tore, muscles split, bones broke, and blood flowed freely.
Granola stared blankly at the abnormal scene before him, momentarily oblivious to the pain. And then...
“AHHHHHHH!”
A scream belatedly erupted from Granola.
He tried to move his hand, but the dagger protruding from the back of it prevented any movement. The one holding the handle of the dagger grumbled irritably.
“I told you to keep it the fuck down.”
It was Lowbro.
He tongue-clicked, leaned back as if bored, and then suddenly Granola, who was now sobbing with tears and mucus, looked terrified.
He then poured the clear vodka over the back of Granola’s dagger-pierced hand.
“Aaaahhh!”
As his hand burned, Granola screamed in agony.
Always overshadowed by Highbro, he thought Lowbro and Middlebro were mere followers,
However upon closer inspection, Highbro, Middlebro, and Lowbro consistently had similar academic standings, and their rankings were almost interchangeable with minor differences.
As Granola, with his hand caught in a table, tears and mucus streaming down, presented a pitiful sight, Highbro and Middlebro opened their eyes and began to chuckle.
“This kid, turns out he’s quite entertaining. Hey, you want to be secret friends with us?”
“Don’t let him off until we arrive at the station. Put something like a sock in his mouth, it’s too loud.”
“We even disinfected it, so it should be fine, right? Even if there’s something, it doesn’t matter. Just call the nurse as soon as we arrive.”
In a moment, Granola’s plan to assert dominance in the beginning had spectacularly derailed.
[Translator – Clara]
[Proofreader – Lucky]