The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound
chapter-238

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.’

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.

Granola experienced such a blatant provocation for the first time. Wasn’t he the heir to the Reviadon family?

“What did you just say?”

Granola asked, looking bewildered. When Lowbro closed his eyes as if annoyed and didn’t respond, Granola became even more puzzled.

‘No, it ain’t even Highbro, now even the most cowardly guy is trying to say shit to me?’

The most famous of the triplets from Baskerville was probably Highbro. He was the strongest and had good grades, making the other two, Middlebro and Lowbro, feel like followers. Hence, the awkwardness Granola felt was even more significant.

‘This won’t work. If I want to control this group, I have to show charisma from the start.’

Closing his eyes, Granola took a deep breath.

“Ah, just got on the train, and these guys are already annoying me. Hey, commoner!”

Granola slumped back in his seat, once again motioning towards Vikir.

“Take out a bottle of liquor from my luggage.”

Yes, Granola had secretly brought ‘vodka,’ a drink that students shouldn’t have, in his bag.

Granola looked at the silent Highbro, Middlebro, and Lowbro with a smirk.

‘How about that? I’m the guy who openly flaunts drinking from a vodka bottle on a train heading to a competition. And, mind you, I’m underage!’

Granola displayed his courage and recklessness by nonchalantly committing an act of questionable behavior.

“Hey, commoner. Quickly take it out. There’s a bottle of vodka in my bag.”

“….”

However, Vikir still showed no reaction. Granola’s eyebrows twitched. If he personally took out the bottle, everything would be ruined. Even if he drank, it wouldn’t be a big deal.

So, he had to find a way to get that commoner guy to move and take it out for him.

“Hey. Are you deaf? Hurry up and take it out~”

At that moment, Lowbro, who was next to him, spoke up again.

“Man, you’re really annoying. Did you stick a crow in your mouth?”

“….What?”

“If you want to drink, take it out yourself. This isn’t some fucking joke.”

Granola’s face turned a shade of red at Lowbro’s words.

Then, a hand holding a bottle of liquor blocked the view between them. It was Vikir’s hand.

“Your liquor is right here. Cut it out.”

Vikir took out the vodka from Granola’s bag and handed it to him. Granola, in a show of defiance, confidently grabbed the vodka bottle.

…Thunk!

Granola assumed the most delinquent posture he could manage (carefully not overstepping the boundaries of Highbro and Lowbro sitting nearby) and opened his mouth.

“Ah, feeling dirty. Guess I should have a drink.”

But no one paid any attention to Granola. He swaggered, puffing out his chest, and opened the lid of the vodka bottle.

“Any of you know how to drink?”

“….”

“Heh, whatever. Why? Scared of getting caught by the prefect while drinking? It’s probably because you’re all so inexperienced.”

“….”

“I actually like alcohol. Whenever I come to a place like this, I make sure to have a drink. Well, it’s only 70 proof, so it’s not much different from water. Cheers~”

Granola tilted the vodka bottle, taking a few drops into his mouth. Then, as if he had just remembered something, he opened his mouth.

“Oh, right. Hey, I’ll be the leader of this group. Any objections?”

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.