Chapter 43: CH 39

March 14th, 2023

There are various types of villains in the group assignments.

An incompetent team member who has absolutely no knowledge in that field and can’t do anything. A whining member who always has other commitments and demands to finish quickly. A troublemaker who not only ruins teamwork with unnecessary stubbornness but also causes serious conflicts.

As seen in the example above, there are various villains in group assignments, but the representative villain among them is the ‘Free ride’.

So what does ‘free ride’ mean? As a word, it refers to the ‘criminal act’ of using transportation without paying. In group assignments, it refers to people who have no conscience and expect others to do all the work even though they haven’t done anything themselves.

However, as shown in the definition of free rides, it stops being a criminal act if only the right price is paid. In group assignments, there are also cases where someone becomes a ‘Financier’, providing various conveniences, if they have a really unavoidable situation or have no knowledge in that area.

For example, renting a study room in full by themself, or buying delicious food every time they attend a discussion, etc. In this case, it is not a free ride, but a situation where you can ride the bus comfortably by paying the transportation fee.

Of course, it is not good to do this in reverse and try solving everything with only money. At the very least, you should discuss the circumstances before and obtain the consent of the team members before proceeding.

“I look forward to your kind cooperation in the future. I will be keeping an eye on you guys.”

A cute yet elegant look. And even a slender body that seems to be less than 160cm.

Aira, a girl with brown hair and a cute doll-like impression, greeted me with a smile. At a glance, she looked like a polite nobleman’s daughter.

However, before she greeted me, I could clearly see her gaze scanning Benjamin and Leona. It was definitely not a gaze that treated them as an equal.

She wasn’t glaring at me openly like Jackson, but it could be said that she was harboring a knife in her heart. I may have overreacted, but as a self-proclaimed pushover during group projects, I was able to see through her to some extent.

Whether this person is willing to participate in the group project or just trying to ride along without contributing.

For now, Aira’s first impression was close to the latter.

‘But Marquis Matheus…’

As everyone knows, the Marquis is a rank just below the duke, and there are a total of three marquis families in the Minerva Empire. Among them, the Martius family is the Marquis in charge of the frontier of the Minerva Empire.

In addition, my father once served the Matheus family, and I know that Dave is currently training as a squire in the Navy Knights, which is part of their family. The Navy Knights are a special forces unit that performs special operations rather than regular battles, and they are affiliated with the Matheus family, a military family.

“…my name is Isaac Ducker Michelle. So you were the Matheus family’s daughter. It’s an honor to meet you.”

I formally greeted Aira, who was waiting for my answer with a friendly expression on her face. I couldn’t say the first impression was great, but we’ll have to see.

Aira raised the corner of her mouth at my greeting, and this time she looked at Benjamin. Benjamin flinched at her as he met her eyes, then hurriedly greeted her.

“M-My name is Benjamin Blank! I-I look forward to your kind cooperation!”

“Please take good care of me, too. And…”

Finally, Aira turned her gaze towards Leona. As soon as Leona met her gaze, she opened her mouth with her characteristic stoic expression.

“My name is Leona Lions.”

Unlike Benjamin, who was shaking with nervousness, Leona greeted them with a stoic expression and a rigid voice. If it were an ordinary person, they might have thought that she had an unusual personality and let it pass.

However, it seemed that Aira was not one to let it go. When Leona greeted her bluntly, the corners of Aira’s mouth that had risen slightly, fell a little.

“…is that it?”

And then she even asked again. The tone of her voice had lowered, and anyone could tell that she was being childish.

However, Leona seemed to have not noticed the meaning and replied in a consistent tone. She tilted her as if she really didn’t know.

“Didn’t I say hello?”

“…No. I just think you have a unique personality.”

Fortunately, it seemed to pass somehow. A slight discomfort was evident on Aira’s face, but I pretended not to notice. I sighed inwardly as I watched it.

Even if the world changed, my luck for the group project seems to be as bad as always. In addition, it was difficult to predict the future because it seemed that the first impression was completely ruined. Of course, this wasn’t Leona’s fault, it’s purely because of Aira, and her sense of authority.

I’ve said it before, but the gap between nobles and commoners is so great that it cannot be described, and there’s even a difference between nobles and nobles. Commoners must always back out unconditionally, regardless of how low-ranking noble the other is.

It’s only because I lived in a democratic society, but unfortunately, such a system is normal in this world. If I were born in this world without memories of my past life, I might have lived with a sense of authority like Jackson or Aira.

“…Anyway, the greetings are over, what should we do now?”

While the bizarre atmosphere continued, Aira brought up the main topic. It seemed that she was also uncomfortable with the situation.

In response to that question, I recalled the group assignment method that Professor Beerus had just explained. In fact, there was not much difference from the group projects of my previous life, and it was rather at a completely elementary level.

So we have to decide the most important part now.

Something that someone must do, but I don’t want to do it and hope someone else does it.

“…who wants to be the leader?”

It was necessary to decide who will lead the group.

As I spoke up and looked around, everyone else started rolling their eyes. This made it clear that some things never change no matter where you live.

However, at this moment, it is right to say that our group is unique. Benjamin, a commoner, may hesitate to take the lead when there are nobles like me and Aira, while Leona is not very active as long as she gets to maintain her concept.

Therefore, it means that I and Aira are the only ones who can be the team leader.

‘I’d rather do it myself.’

It makes me feel more comfortable that way. Even in my past life, I took on tasks without hesitation instead of feeling uncomfortable and being self-conscious about it.

I sighed inwardly and was about to open my mouth.

“If there’s no one else to do it, I’ll do it. That would be comfortable for you guys too, right?”

A completely unexpected situation unfolded.

Placing her hand confidently on her waist, Aira declared that she would take charge as the team leader. I looked at her in surprise.

I don’t know where her confidence came from, but the team leader is the person with the greatest risk in a group project. If all team members perform well, there won’t be any issues. However, being the leader means receiving all sorts of stress the moment even a single villainous member appears.

Can Aira really handle the role of team leader? I expressed my concern with genuine worry.

“Are you sure you don’t mind? It won’t be easy.”

“Don’t worry. Leave everything to me. You guys just have to do what I tell you to do. Got it?”

“… …”

This style can be rather poisonous. Since ancient times, people who are full of enthusiasm but incompetent are the most dangerous. This is because not only does their work efficiency suffer, but they can also put their allies in danger.

“However, if she becomes a ‘financier’ as mentioned earlier, the story changes. Aira may not know, but this project is easy enough for me to handle alone. I’m a Xenon Chronicles writer, and if I can’t even do this, I should put down my pen.

Anyway, all we can do is hope that Aira becomes a leader rather than a dictator. If she truly has a dictator-like style, the future will become more difficult.

In addition, if she takes advantage of us, the probability is high that she’ll order us around without doing anything herself. When I saw her gaze earlier, there was a high possibility of this happening.

“First of all, is there anyone here who hasn’t read all eight volumes of Xenon’s Biography? For your information, I have read them all. I also have the books in the dorm, so I can lend them to you if you want.”

I wonder if her mindset has changed since becoming the leader. Surprisingly, Aira was quite enthusiastic.

Is she really a free ride? It was almost to the point that I considered taking a look at her again, as I answered.

“I’ve read them all.”

As soon as I opened my mouth, Leona also said the same thing as me. Then, we both looked at each other without anyone saying who would go first.

However, when Leona met my gaze, the bottom of her eyes twitched, and she turned her head forward again without saying anything. I felt a little uneasy.

As for me, I may be a writer, but I wonder how Leona managed to obtain it. It’s the Xenon’s Biography, which even Marie, the daughter of the Requilis ducal family, had difficulty obtaining.

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Then, I tilted my head and looked at Aira. She had a surprised expression with one eyebrow raised.

“…I see. It must have been hard to obtain, but you managed to get it.”

Judging from the reaction, she seems to have guessed that me and Leona couldn’t get Xenon’s Biography. However, what is noteworthy here is that she seemed quite disappointed about it.

Xenon’s Biography is a tremendously popular book that would sell out immediately as it was released, so it is actually really fortunate to obtain it. In order to proceed with the assignment easily, reading at least one more book will make the process easier.

However, even though I don’t know what exactly she didn’t like, Aira seemed uncomfortable. Perhaps the situation didn’t flow the way she wanted it to.

“I-I haven’t read all of them. In fact, I haven’t even read the 6th volume…”

“Is that so?”

As if to contradict my doubts, as soon as Benjamin opened his mouth carefully, Aira’s expression changed to anger. Looking at that, I felt uneasiness creeping up for some reason.

Aira then tapped her lips and told Benjamin with a patronizing tone.

“Should I lend them to you? I actually bought all eight volumes.”

“R-Really? That would be great…”

“There’s one condition, though.”

“Yes?”

Benjamin’s eyes widened in surprise as Aira interrupted him and mentioned the condition. Not only him, but I also felt equally flustered.

As if to make sure, I glanced at Leona, and she was still maintaining an inscrutable expression like earlier. Nevertheless, I secretly speculated that she might have similar feelings to mine.

In the meantime, Aira rolled up the corners of her mouth and brought the condition to the flustered Benjamin.

“You have to do it instead of me…”

“I can lend you the book.”

Before Aira could finish speaking, Leona cut her off. Leona’s tone was curt and formal, but there was a hint of discomfort in it.

When Leona interrupted her, she suddenly stopped. Then she closed her mouth tightly and glared at Leona with a cold gaze.

“…Did you learn that it’s okay to interrupt people while they’re speaking?”

The cool pressure from Aira continued. Despite her doll-like appearance and petite frame, an atmosphere that did not match her appearance slowly flowed out.

But Leona was also formidable. Sitting in her seat, looked up at Aira and replied stiffly.

“I spoke up because I didn’t feel the need for you, Aira-nim, to lend it. I apologize if you were offended.”

“Will an apology be enough? My mood has worsened now, you know?”

“… …”

Leona did not respond to Aira’s continuous pressing question. Although she was still expressionless, her face seemed to contain the thought of ‘Do I really have to do it?’.

In response to that, Aira clicked her tongue, then warned Leona in a sharp voice. Fortunately, it seemed that she had decided to let it go.

“This is a warning. If you show such behavior again next time, I will remove you from the group. As the leader of the group, I have the authority to do so. Do you understand?”

“Okay. But I’ll lend Mr. Benjamin the book.”

“Do as you please.”

“Thank you, Ms. Leona.”

Benjamin thanked Leona and looked at Aira. It looked a little pitiful to see him groveling.

I muttered to myself as I watched the situation.

‘There’s no need to create unnecessary division…’

It might have been better for Aira to lend the book to Benjamin and get paid for it. Benjamin was a commoner, and Ira was a noble.

What Leona had just done was clearly an act that undermined the authority of the nobility. While I personally don’t care about such a sense of authority, other nobles may look down on her.

As I said before, commoners must bow down even if the other person is a young master or a young lady who has not officially inherited the title. This is a kind of ‘common sense’ concept.

“Hmph. Commoners… can’t be angry with something like this…”

“… …”

“Why are you looking at me like that? Do you have anything to say?”

“No, I don’t.”

I think I have a rough idea of what kind of style Aira has. I’m not entirely sure yet, but there’s one thing that’s certain.

The moment something rubs her the wrong way, this group will dissolve into thin air.

I could vaguely feel it when she said that she had the authority to do so because she was the leader. I’ll have to keep an eye on her in the future, but it seems that she dislikes anything that undermines her authority.

‘This is making me a little tired…’

It occurred to me that something more than a free ride might be born.

While I was lost in thought, Aira stared at my face with a sharp expression and called out my name.

“Isaac.”

“Yes, what is it?.”

“You can do it well, right?”

It may sound like a question of trust in me, but it also implies that Benjamin and Leona aren’t trustworthy.

It seems that she found me, a noble who stands out in the class, more reliable than a commoner.

In addition, she will never know, but I am the original author of Xenon’s biography, the subject of the group assignment.

I can guarantee that I can chew it up and swallow it whole, not just do it well.

“You don’t have to worry.”

“Hmm. Really? Okay. I’ll trust you once.”

Are we already divided into nobles and commoners? Aira encouraged me by tapping my shoulder twice. Then, she looked at Benjamin and Leona with a suspicious gaze.

I stared blankly at Aira, put on a blunt expression on the outside, and let out a deep sigh on the inside.

‘Everything will be fine, so please don’t be stubborn.’

I can do everything, so please don’t just troll.

Although I don’t know if she’s capable or not, it’s clear that she has a sense of authority, as seen in the conflict with Leona just now. I want to avoid the group being blown up in mid-air because of her useless shit stubbornness.

‘Just in case, I should keep the worst-case scenario in mind’

Although it’s squeaking from the beginning, there hasn’t been a big problem yet.

At least for now. Above all else…

‘Looking back, it looks like a fairy.’

I believe everyone knows who I saw and thought of above.

(TL note: ‘Looking back, it looks like a fairy.’ – An expression jokingly used to refer to something that doesn’t seem particularly special in itself, but looks relatively better when compared to others.)

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