Chapter 334

I saw it. The moment Malboro raised his hand, he froze for three seconds.

His mind was probably filled with chaos by now. That’s how baffled he must have felt.

Why him? For what reason? What on earth is he planning to do? His head must be spinning.

But there was no way to skip the selection process now. Malboro cleared his throat, trying to lighten the weird atmosphere.

“Um, um. Just so you know, if you take on the assistant role, your free time will pretty much vanish. You’ll have to help with the second-year exams, as well as the first-year ones, so it’s only natural.”

But did he think I’d lower my hand? Not a chance.

I kept my hand raised through Malboro’s explanation, as if to say, “Look at me.”

In the end, Malboro let out a long sigh and had no choice but to give up. After observing me for a year, he must have known my personality well enough.

“As you all know, usually two to three assistants get assigned per class. And currently, there are over ten people with their hands raised. So, I’ll filter out about half of you.”

“Didn’t you say we’d be dueling earlier?”

“That’s when there are fewer than five candidates. If there are too many, we’ll have to filter it out since there won’t be enough time.”

“I don’t think that’s true…”

Kara muttered quietly after hearing the explanation, glancing at me.

If someone else heard it, it might sound like a shot aimed at me. But that wasn’t a shot at all.

It was just following an existing manual and principle. But my existence made it sound like discrimination.

“Just to clarify, this is absolutely not discrimination. It’s because the candidate assistants are chosen through a fair game.”

“A fair game?”

“Yeah.”

Malboro nodded and slowly raised his hand into a fist.

Then he showed the fist to the students and said in a serious tone, “Rock-Paper-Scissors.”

“…?”

“It’s the fairest game in the world.”

When he announced that candidates would be selected through Rock-Paper-Scissors, questions erupted from everywhere. And rightly so; it’s a ridiculously simple game.

But there’s no denying it’s the fairest game. The issue is that it relies on ‘skill’, not ‘luck’.

Some people decide what to throw based on what their opponent might throw.

Given the reaction speed and visual acuity, even Rock-Paper-Scissors can reveal skill levels.

Right now, if I played Rock-Paper-Scissors against Rod, I’d lose nine out of ten times. In fact, winning even once would be quite the feat.

Rod was skilled enough to rise to the rank of Sword Saint just based on his basic technique. It’s not just fancy swordsmanship; he knows his opponent’s psychology inside and out.

“The rules are simple. You won’t be facing off against each other, but against me. And instead of one-on-one, it’s a group contest.”

“A group one?”

“Yeah.”

The rules Malboro mentioned were also familiar. It’s an efficient method for filtering out candidates.

Let’s say Malboro throws his fist. Anyone who ties or loses to him would be out immediately.

That gives a probability of winning about 33 percent. Currently, with around ten candidates raising their hands, that method makes sense.

“All candidates, turn your backs.”

“Uh?”

“We’ll choose by luck for fairness.”

That was unexpected. Being told to play Rock-Paper-Scissors with our backs turned was a bit shocking.

As I mentioned earlier, Rock-Paper-Scissors is a game where you can win based on skill. If you have excellent visual acuity and reaction speed, it’s doable.

But Malboro had cut that off in advance. Whether it was his intention to separate me or just protocol, I couldn’t tell.

“This is strange. In the Soul World, we definitely…”

I tilted my head. In the Soul World, we played Rock-Paper-Scissors facing each other.

It was clear that he was trying to make it a game of luck because of me. Others seemed to overlook it without a thought.

But what could I do? I fully understood Malboro’s feelings. Still, it was infuriating.

“I have to win, no matter what.”

I grumbled inwardly and turned my back. It was time to shatter Malboro’s hopes into pieces.

However, since it was a game of luck, I was worried. I wouldn’t be able to handle it if I got eliminated.

“What should I throw? A tie is considered a loss, so maybe I should throw rock?”

Just when I thought I’d start with rock.

[Faith is decreasing.]

Out of the blue, my faith dropped. I blinked in surprise at the message.

I couldn’t grasp why Chaos was decreasing my faith at that moment. But soon enough, it dawned on me.

“Huh… then rock?”

[Faith is decreasing.]

“Then paper?”

[Faith is increasing!]

Looks like even Chaos doesn’t want to miss out on the entertainment. I decided to trust the message.

“If I don’t throw, I lose… *ahem.*”

“…”

Malboro was about to say something but cleared his throat instead. He was definitely about to say that if I don’t throw, I lose.

It must have slipped out due to the fact that he has a kid now. The serious vibe he usually had slipped away a bit.

But it didn’t matter. After clearing his throat, Malboro opened his mouth again.

“Rock-Paper-Scissors… shoot!”

I immediately threw out paper.

“Aah.”

I could hear Malboro’s sigh. A sigh filled with the feeling of defeat.

The outcome was clear without even looking. I slowly turned around with a triumphant expression.

As I turned, I saw Malboro frozen, his fist still clenched. His trembling gaze was an added bonus.

“Oh… I was eliminated.”

“Luckily, I won.”

“I won too.”

With only 33% probability, it’s to be expected that there would be quite a few eliminations.

Among those who remained… it was quite a surprise. Me, Kara, Luna, and finally…

“Lucky me. Very lucky.”

It was Karas. I had a strange expression seeing Karas, who was grinning with satisfaction.

Every time I saw him, I wondered if he was also blessed by Chaos. His luck was remarkably good.

On top of that, he wouldn’t normally have come to the academy. He’s definitely a variable worthy of being compared to me.

In any case, it looked like about four candidates emerged. I figured this must be the end of it.

“They say Rock-Paper-Scissors is best played in three rounds.”

“…”

Excuse me.

*****

Malboro tried his best to eliminate me, but it was meaningless in front of Chaos’s guidance.

Instead, I won all three rounds and confidently passed in first place. I can’t forget the expression of liberation on Malboro’s face when I passed in first place.

Surely, he knew that acting this way would get him scolded. Nevertheless, he pushed through with ridiculous excuses.

That clearly showed how desperately he wanted to prevent me from becoming an assistant. He couldn’t outright say no either.

“It’s only natural that Sivar becomes an assistant, right?”

“That’s right. No one among the same year can beat Sivar.”

Lunchtime was guaranteed free after class. As usual, I went out to eat with acquaintances.

Grace looked visibly dejected as she hadn’t even qualified as a candidate, while Kara’s face was as bright as ever.

And why not? Kara was also a top student among her peers. It was only natural for her to become an assistant.

“Sivar.”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s hang out together from now on. Right, Luna?”

“Sure.”

“Huh…!”

At Kara’s teasing, Grace clenched her teeth. If she became an assistant, the chances of hanging around with Kara would increase significantly.

There are drawbacks to that, like being much busier, but that’s not really a problem. After all, I have plenty of time, so being busy doesn’t pose a big hit.

Most importantly, even if I were to take on the assistant role, it wouldn’t affect the story’s progression at all. Being an assistant is really more of a ‘hidden story.’

It’s something you can choose to do or not, but if you do, you can gain a fair amount of benefits from it.

‘At least I could carry on comfortably in the Soul World…’

But I had no idea how things would unfold this time. For now, the future I know is quite twisted.

There hasn’t been a rebellion in the Eastern Empire, so many nobles fled to enroll in the academy, and even the delinquent siblings have come.

Originally, the academy had a fairly balanced ratio between nobles and commoners, but this time, the ratio of nobles among the new entrants is particularly high.

I’ve heard that professors have been dealing with quite a lot of troubles because of this. They have to deal with nobles with an inflated sense of pride, so it’s understandable.

“…Hmm?”

Just as I was about to head back after finishing lunch, something caught my eye.

It was the academy’s clothing store, and a ‘hat’ displayed outside caught my attention.

I walked towards it as if I were in a trance.

“Sivar?”

“Where are you going?”

As I headed for the clothing store, my friends showed signs of confusion. And understandably so; I’m not one to show much interest in clothes.

The most I’d buy would be a regular pair of pants and a shirt. My clothes wear out quickly due to frequent fighting.

But right now, what drew my interest was the hat. I picked up the hat displayed outside the store.

“A hat? Why a hat all of a sudden?”

“That’s a red one.”

The hat I picked up was indeed a red one. Not a floppy one, but a structured hat.

If it had been a floppy hat, it would have looked a bit ridiculous, but with its structure, it added a touch of dignity. It was precisely what I wanted.

“I want to buy this.”

“Really?”

“Are you really going to buy this shabby thing?”

“Yep.”

I feel like it would really come in handy when I work as an assistant.

Of course, everyone looked bewildered, but since it was the hat I wanted, I purchased it at the right price. I was looking forward to the day I’d wear it as an assistant.

“It seems like you really like red.”

“Yep.”

“Just so you know, you can’t say you like blood because it’s red.”

“…”

I looked at Luna with a dumbfounded expression. It’s not like I’m some sort of mass murderer.

But Luna’s expression was quite serious. Despite her usual playful nature, she couldn’t shake the worry.

I felt a bit uneasy and nodded. I don’t prefer seeing blood either.

‘Except when absolutely necessary.’

I hope that time never comes.

******

And later that evening.

“Why the sudden alcohol? Isn’t your wife going to say something?”

“I’m more worried about you than I am about her.”

“What the hell? Why are you acting all creepy? Is something up?”

The man reacted as if he couldn’t understand. Yet he silently accepted a drink from the man in front of him.

The man in front was Malboro. And the man across from him was the professor assigned to the new students.

Malboro looked at the professor with a complicated expression. Having taken a year off, he was unaware of the current situation.

It’s standard for professors to take a year off after graduating all the students up to the fourth year. That’s the principle.

However, during that year off, all sorts of incidents and accidents had occurred at the academy. It’s only natural for him to be worried.

“I just figured… it’s going to be tough from here on out.”

“Me? Even if many nobles have come from the Eastern Empire…”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Then what is it?”

Malboro’s friend questioned. Is there something more dangerous or annoying than the arrogance of nobles?

At that question, Malboro sighed and poured more drinks into his glass.

“Get ready to write a statement of regret.”

“A statement of regret?”

“Yeah. That’s all I have to say.”

Then Malboro took a swig of his drink. Unsurprisingly, his friend wore a look of confusion.

“Ugh…”

Today, the drink tasted exceptionally bitter.

---