Chapter 131: Chapter 131

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: The Strongest in the Academy

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Aisha Bizbel's cousin.

Lexaron Bizbel.

I didn't actually know much about him.

And for good reason, he wasn't originally meant to be an associate professor.

'Even as the main story progresses, deviations are bound to occur.'

Lexaron was one such deviation.

True to a Bizbel, a marquess from the North, he possessed an enormous physique.

It was perfectly fitting for a bloodline known as a warrior tribe, possessing overwhelming physical prowess and combat ability.

Even Aisha, for a woman, had a tall and lithe build.

Yet, in front of him, she truly looked tiny.

"Hm?"

Just then, Lexaron saw me enter the training room.

Our eyes met, and an unbidden shiver ran down my spine.

It didn't feel like I was facing a human.

Even a gorilla would have less muscle mass than that.

He scrutinized me from head to toe before speaking.

"Little first-year, I apologize, but training is still underway. You can use the training room later."

It seemed he couldn't see my name tag.

"Associate Professor Lexaron, my name is Hanon Airey, and I'm a second-year student council member."

"Second-year?"

At my introduction, Lexaron finally examined my name tag.

Then, he stroked his thinly grown beard with his hand.

"You seem to eat too little. Eat more diligently from now on!"

"Thank you for the advice. More importantly, may I ask what's going on here?"

Even an associate professor has the authority to inquire about a situation if there's a disturbance involving the student council.

The academy grants the student council a certain degree of authority, commensurate with the tasks they're assigned.

That's why I intentionally mentioned the student council.

Fortunately, Lexaron listened to my concerns because of it.

"It's personal training. Though I am an associate professor, with the Demon Palace expedition approaching, I can't help but be even stricter with my cousin.

Aisha is still too weak. So, I intended to show her the reality."

I couldn't understand what he meant by Aisha being weak.

If he'd seen Aisha's windmill spin even once, he wouldn't be able to say such a thing.

But Lexaron's eyes were sincere.

"Even if you tell me the 'reality' for a hundred days, it won't change anything."

Just then, Aisha tumbled out of a broken wall, gasping for breath.

She fiercely glared at Lexaron, gripping her greatsword tighter.

"I will go to the Demon Palace."

"Hmph."

Lexaron let out an exasperated sigh.

"Aisha, I told you, didn't I? You're too weak. You'd be better off taking bridal lessons."

Lexaron slung a greatsword as large as his own body over his shoulder.

He looked no different from a barbarian.

"I let you go to Jerion Academy because you insisted, but look at you. You can't even withstand my greatsword."

"Even so, I have no intention of taking bridal lessons and becoming your bride, Brother Lexaron."

Bride.

Hearing that word, a certain fact finally came to mind.

The Bizbel family permits marriage between cousins.

Given how isolated the northern region is, such customs are permitted.

This was also why the Bizbels were particularly regarded as barbarians.

"Hmph, it's the natural order for a woman to marry a strong man."

Lexaron spoke, looking at Aisha as if exasperated.

"Among men my age, there's no one stronger than me. Aisha, why don't you understand that being embraced by a strong man is the greatest happiness?"

Lexaron's eyes were sincere.

He had grown up his entire life in Bizbel, a place full of insular customs.

To him, Aisha's actions were utterly incomprehensible.

"Happiness isn't the same for everyone."

However, Aisha had left that family and come to Jerion Academy of her own accord.

Her blue eyes shone with determination.

"I simply wish to walk my own path."

Lexaron quietly stared at Aisha.

"Alright, then."

Soon after, he slowly aimed his greatsword at Aisha.

"You'll just have to learn that your path is futile."

The atmosphere between the two once again suggested an imminent fight.

"Hold on a moment."

I couldn't stand by any longer, so I abruptly interjected.

I had already planned to take Aisha to the Demon Palace expedition this autumn.

If she couldn't go to the Demon Palace, our vanguard would be weakened.

I had to prevent that at all costs.

"Senior Hanon?"

Aisha belatedly realized I had arrived.

She had been so overwhelmed by Lexaron that she hadn't noticed her surroundings.

To put a student who needs to participate in the autumn Demon Palace expedition tomorrow in such a state, he must be out of his mind.

'This man genuinely intends to prevent Aisha from going to the Demon Palace.'

I stepped in front of Aisha, shielding her.

She was our Demon Palace expedition team's strongest vanguard.

I absolutely couldn't allow anything to happen to her.

"Little second-year, don't interfere. This is a family matter."

Lexaron stared at me with an annoyed expression.

It seemed I didn't impress him in the slightest.

But I had no intention of backing down.

"No. Precisely because it's *just* a family matter, I'm interfering."

"Just?"

Lexaron's eyes flashed ominously.

To him, Bizbel was his entire life.

Only the strong inherit the Bizbel family.

There were no exceptions, even if it was a collateral branch, not the direct lineage.

Lexaron was one of the promising individuals destined to inherit such a Bizbel.

When he said there was no one among his peers who could compare to him, it wasn't self-aggrandizement.

He said it because he genuinely believed it.

To him, Bizbel was above the Empire itself.

But to me, none of that mattered.

What was most important to me was the scenario.

"Little second-year, your manners are poor. Haven't you learned etiquette?"

"What etiquette is a Bizbel, who claims courtesy is equal before a fist, talking about?"

"You know that well! That's why I'm thinking of *instilling* some etiquette in you!"

This ignorant brute, he's impossible to reason with.

"Furthermore, Aisha is the top student in first-year martial arts. If she can't go to the Demon Palace, then who can?"

"I find it baffling myself. Everyone is far too weak! That's why I came here as an associate professor."

"Then, besides Aisha, are you planning to prevent other students from going to the Demon Palace too?"

From the second semester, regular first-year students also participate in the Demon Palace expedition.

When I pointed this out, he snorted.

"Other than Aisha, it doesn't particularly concern me."

"...Pardon?"

I asked again, momentarily unable to comprehend.

"Aisha is to be my bride. As her future husband, I simply cannot allow my bride to be in danger, which is why I'm opposing this.

I have no particular reason to oppose other students' desire to go to the Demon Palace."

"...So you're stopping Aisha solely for personal reasons?"

"I clearly stated it was a family matter, didn't I?"

At that moment, I realized.

This wasn't a problem that could be solved with common sense.

His common sense and mine were different.

Trying to assert common sense to someone with different common sense would only lead to conflict, not resolution.

To persuade him, there was only one way.

I had to operate within his framework of common sense.

I decided to abandon my own common sense.

There was no need to beat around the bush with words that wouldn't get through anyway.

"I've heard the Bizbel family follows the word of the strong."

"That's right."

Lexaron replied without a hint of hesitation.

"In that case, if there's someone stronger than Associate Professor Lexaron within Jerion Academy, would you then follow their word?"

"Senior!"

Aisha called out to me, startled.

She had caught on to the meaning behind my words.

And Lexaron, too, stared at me, his eyes narrowed.

"Hoo."

A whistle escaped his lips, as if he'd discovered something amusing.

He was someone who had fought his entire life in the northern Bizbel lands.

He was a man who never shied away from a fight.

"Very well. There's a saying: 'When in the Empire, follow the Empire's laws.' If there's someone stronger than me in Jerion Academy, I will follow their word."

A menacing killing intent gleamed in Lexaron's eyes.

Indeed, like a true northern warrior, he didn't hesitate to reveal killing intent towards a mere student.

Just as expected from someone beyond my common sense.

"Senior, no!"

Just then, Aisha grabbed my shoulder and cried out.

"I know you're strong, Senior! But even so, Brother Lexaron is different."

Even Aisha, who always appeared strong, folded in front of Lexaron.

Lexaron was an absurdly powerful individual.

I knew that fact well too.

At the time of saving the Saint, he was a monster on par with a Cardinal.

So.

"Huh? What are you talking about? I have no intention of fighting."

I'm supposed to go to the autumn Demon Palace expedition tomorrow.

Why would I be crazy enough to fight a monster like that?

"What?"

Aisha also seemed to misunderstand my words and asked again.

I smiled faintly at her.

"Associate Professor Lexaron just said it himself, didn't he? That he'd listen if there was someone stronger than him in Jerion Academy."

"Th-that's right."

"There is."

My eyes curved into crescent moons as I looked at Lexaron.

"Someone even Associate Professor Lexaron can't handle, in fact. So just wait a moment."

I'll bring them right away.

Leaving a bewildered Aisha behind, I quickly exited the training room.

Lexaron, who had expected me to challenge him, now had a face that showed he realized something strange was afoot.

I sprinted up the stairs at full speed.

Then, I flung open the door to the lounge, where a certain professor was always slacking off.

"Whoa!"

The woman, who had been cracking open a beer can in the lounge, was startled by my sudden appearance and spilled some of her beer.

With a look of regret, she hastily brought the beer to her lips and drank it.

Then, with foam on her lips, she glanced over at me.

"What is it, Hanon?"

It was working hours, yet she was casually cracking open a beer.

It was truly baffling if she could even be called a professor.

"Professor, don't you usually avoid alcohol the day before going to the Demon Palace expedition?"

"This is why you're a child, Hanon. Watch closely. This is a beverage."

The second-year martial arts professor, Veganon Mercia.

She brazenly held up her beer, declaring it a beverage.

"To me, anything under 10% alcohol by volume is just a beverage."

She was a woman who disregarded all conventional rules.

"More importantly, what's going on? You came running in here all out of breath."

Veganon drained the rest of her beer.

"Something's come up. I need your help, Professor."

"My help?"

She raised one eyebrow slightly, then leaned back in her chair.

"Tell me."

"Let's just go first."

I knew if I told her, she wouldn't budge.

I rushed forward and lifted Professor Veganon, chair and all.

My trained body could easily lift Professor Veganon and her chair.

"Whoa, what the—"

Veganon was startled, but I rushed out without hesitation.

Veganon swayed in the chair but didn't fall off.

I swiftly dashed down the stairs and burst into the first-year training room.

Aisha and Lexaron, who had been waiting there in an awkward atmosphere, turned to look at us.

Soon, expressions of utter bewilderment appeared on both their faces.

I brazenly set Professor Veganon down in front of them, still in her chair.

Professor Veganon sat there with a thoroughly displeased expression, clearly annoyed at having her rest disturbed.

As I carefully put her dangling slipper back on her foot, I presented her with a flourish.

"Alright, *this* is your opponent."

Accept Jerion Academy's strongest force.