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Chapter 100: The Ryu Family\'s Black Sheep (1)

A classroom for fourth-year candidates, located in a remote part of the school.

Seeing an unexpected face there, I couldn’t help but show a confused expression.

“Huh? Dale?”

Berald had spotted me too, and with wide eyes, he slowly walked toward me.

“What are you doing here, brother?”

“That’s what I want to ask you.”

Berald was still a second-year student.

What was he doing in a building used only by fourth-year candidates?

“Well... that’s, um...”

He trailed off, looking awkward.

Then—

“Haah. What the hell? He really came, this damn fool.”

A voice laced with irritation.

A sharp, knife-like gaze was directed at Berald.

‘That guy...’

I turned my head in the direction of the voice and saw a man with a mix of black and blue hair.

His unusual hair color, rarely seen, was symbolic of the Ryu family.

And currently, the only person from the Ryu family among the fourth-year candidates was...

‘Laios Ryu.’

The man who would one day be called the "Thunder Emperor" and the grandson of "Thunder God" Lionel Ryu.

Unlike Berald, who was from a branch family, Laios was a direct descendant of the main family, with full legitimacy.

“Haha. My grandfather told me to bond with you for the sake of family harmony.”

“‘Family’? Coming from a branch family?”

Tsk.

Laios clicked his tongue, showing a look of disdain.

“And didn’t I tell you before to call me ‘senior,’ not ‘brother’? Did you forget because your brain is so dull?”

“Haha, sorry, senior.”

Berald scratched his head and laughed sheepishly.

“Seriously... How did someone so useless end up being born into our family...”

Laios sighed deeply, glaring at Berald.

“So, you’re supposed to take a picture of us having a meal together and send it to your grandfather?”

“Yes.”

Tsk.

“Grandfather sure knows how to give out annoying tasks.”

Laios clicked his tongue again, crossing his arms.

“But anyway...”

Laios\'s gaze turned toward me.

“Who’s this? A third-year?”

After confirming my necktie color, Laios frowned.

“Oh, this is Dale, a brother I’m close with,”

Berald said.

“Hmm. Dale? Dale... Where have I heard that name before?”

Laios tilted his head, then snapped his fingers.

“Ah, right. You’re that guy. The crazy one who’s deliberately keeping his evaluation scores low, despite being much more skilled.”

“...”

So that’s how the rumor was spreading among the fourth years.

Well, from their perspective, it must have seemed insane.

As fourth-year candidates, they would naturally be obsessed with their cumulative evaluation scores, so someone like me, who could easily score higher but deliberately stayed at the bottom, must have seemed out of his mind.

‘That’s a bit unfair.’

But what could I do?

I had ended up with a score of zero even in the most recent mid-term evaluation.

Whatever the reason, it must have looked to others like I was intentionally maintaining low scores despite having the skills to score high — like some weirdo with bizarre preferences for grades (not that kind of grades).

“You said you two were close? Hah, he really is a good match for you, Berald.”

With a sneer on his face, Laios looked back and forth between Berald and me.

I sighed quietly, feeling that Laios had not an ounce of respect.

‘Now that I think about it, there were rumors that the Thunder Emperor had a nasty personality.’

I’d heard them in my past life, but experiencing it firsthand... This was like a male version of Rozanna.

‘Should I teach him some manners?’

I clenched my fist lightly and considered it, but decided to hold back for now.

If I was going to teach him manners, I’d do it somewhere more secluded.

Beating him up right in the middle of the fourth-year building’s hallway didn’t seem like the best idea.

“Wahaha! So, you think so too, senior? Dale and I do make a good match, don’t we?”

Berald burst out laughing and threw his arm around my shoulder.

Laios, who had been smirking and mocking us both, now looked like he’d bitten into something bitter and clicked his tongue.

“...Insults don’t work on idiots.”

Though he was probably referring to Berald, who was laughing like he’d just heard a compliment.

‘The real idiot is you, punk.’

I clicked my tongue internally, feeling Berald’s grip on my shoulder tighten.

Berald might be a fool, but he wasn’t oblivious.

The moment he heard the mockery, he put his hand on my shoulder and pressed down, silently telling me, ‘Please bear with it.’

“Hm? What are you doing here, Laios?”

“Oh my~ It’s the juniors! What are you doing here?”

At that moment, two figures approached us from down the hallway.

One was a handsome man with silver hair and sharp features, and the other was a beautiful woman with long, light brown hair that reached her waist.

I knew both of them from my previous life.

‘Aaron Baek and Bella Leonhart.’

The two people who would later earn the titles "Meteor Spear" and "Ghost Blade" were among the most talented students in the fourth year, known for competing for the top spot.

There was another reason, beyond their exceptional skills, why they drew attention from people across the continent.

‘The love triangle.’

There had been rumors that the Thunder Emperor had harbored feelings for the Ghost Blade since their candidate days.

It was gossip that kept the continent buzzing, thanks to those who loved a good story.

“B-Bella? Why are you...?”

“What do you mean why? We were getting ready to have dinner. Do you want to join us, Laios?”

“Right now...”

Before Laios could answer Bella’s suggestion, Aaron smiled faintly and glanced at Berald.

“Bella. Laios’s cousin came all the way to the fourth-year building to see his brother. We should leave them to have some family time.”

“Oh, right! I heard there’s someone from the Ryu family in the second year too?”

“This guy isn’t my brother...!”

“Berald Ryu, was it? Laios might act tough, but he really cares about his little brother. With hero training and all, he probably hasn’t seen you in a while. Enjoy some time with your family.”

With a bright smile, Aaron patted Berald on the shoulder.

“Anyway, we’ll be off.”

“Yeah! Aaron, what should we eat for dinner?”

After a brief farewell, Aaron and Bella walked away.

“Damn it...!”

Watching them leave, Laios twisted his face in fury.

I could see his clenched fists trembling slightly.

‘Wow, seeing this up close is entertaining.’

Now I understood why people couldn’t stop talking about the Thunder Emperor’s unrequited love.

‘But Aaron Baek, huh.’

The Meteor Spear, Aaron Baek.

As a descendant of Divine Spear BBaek Seunghyuk, one of the \'Five Great Heroes,\' Aaron was a powerful hero, even said to have been the rival of Yuren in his previous life.

‘Though he does die fighting the Witch of the Night.’

Still, if he was going to become strong enough in the future to rival Yuren, it would be wise to build a good relationship with him in advance.

‘Having one more ally is always better.’

Unless I was planning to fight the demon army alone, it was important to gather as many allies as possible to prepare for the disaster to come.

Especially when the person in question had the potential to rank within the top five heroes in the future.

‘Well, I\'ll think about that later.’

Right now, the matter with Berald was more important than Aaron.

"Sigh."

Laios, who had been standing silently, suppressing his anger, glared fiercely at Berald.

He turned around and walked off somewhere with heavy footsteps.

"...Follow me."

"Hmm? Where are we going?"

"I don\'t want to be seen with an idiot like you, so just follow me."

With that, Laios headed toward the back of the building.

It was a place with almost no sign of people, quite different from the crowded hallway.

"I\'ll wait here, so go buy some bread from the store."

Laios, sitting on a waist-high flower bed, gestured at Berald, ordering him.

Berald tilted his head and asked,

"Why are you suddenly asking me to buy bread?"

"Didn\'t you say earlier that Grandpa told us to send a picture of us eating together?"

"That\'s true, but..."

"I can\'t be bothered to go to the cafeteria with you, so just buy some bread from the nearest store."

At Laios\' words, Berald made an awkward face.

"Hmm. But considering it\'s a photo for grandfather, eating bread from a store feels a bit inappropriate, don\'t you think?"

"Oh, you little... Are you talking back to me?"

"It\'s not that I\'m talking back, it\'s just..."

"You really are as stupid as your father."

"..."

The usually cheerful smile on Berald\'s face hardened.

"What? Did it bother you that I mentioned your idiot father who can\'t even remember his own kid\'s name?"

"...Brother."

"Didn\'t I tell you not to call me brother, you idiot?"

Laios grabbed Berald by the collar and glared at him fiercely.

Berald lowered his head and spoke in a low, calm voice.

"Please... stop."

"Stop? Why should I? Did I say something wrong? Didn\'t your dad go crazy a few years ago?"

Laios laughed loudly, making a swirling motion with his finger near his temple.

"Tsk, tsk. He probably went mad because he couldn\'t stand having a moron like you for a son."

"..."

"What are you waiting for? Go buy the bread already. Oh, right, I forgot to give you money."

Laios pulled out his wallet and tossed some gold coins onto the ground.

"Come to think of it, wasn\'t your entire family living off the support money from our household? Haha! To think a person with the name \'Ryu\' is surviving on someone else\'s money, what a joke..."

"Sigh."

I sighed deeply as I stepped toward Laios, who was still mocking Berald.

"Huh? Who are you? You\'ve been standing there this whole time?"

I slowly walked toward Laios, who squinted his eyes at me.

‘Sorry, Berald.’

I really tried to hold it in, you know?

‘But I just can\'t anymore.’

I clenched my fist and slowly ignited my ‘Ashen Flames’, ready to give Laios a solid punch to the jaw.

Thunk!

The dull sound of impact echoed through the air.

"Ugh!"

Laios\' body, struck by a massive fist the size of a pot lid, lifted into the air before crashing back down to the ground.

"Huh?"

I looked at Berald in surprise.

Berald, clutching his cheek, rushed over to Laios, who was sprawled out on the ground.

"Oh no! Are you alright, senior?"

"You, you little... What the hell...!"

"I was trying to swat away a bug that was on your cheek, but I accidentally hit your face instead!"

"W-what?"

Laios stared at Berald in disbelief.

As Berald hurried over, his body suddenly wobbled.

"Oh no, my foot slipped!"

"Ugh!"

Falling forward, Berald\'s knee slammed into Laios\' stomach.

Laios, crushed under the weight of Berald, who was nearly two meters tall, let out a strangled scream and started foaming at the mouth.

I quickly approached Berald and shouted at him.

"Berald, you idiot! What do you think you\'re doing to senior?!"

"Ugh! I\'m sorry! I tripped and fell by mistake!"

"Look at senior\'s face right now! He\'s foaming at the mouth!"

"W-what should I do? Tell me what to do, Dale!"

I quickly scanned the area to make sure no one else was around, then grinned and said,

"I think you should cast an \'Awaken\' spell to bring him back to consciousness."

"Got it!"

Berald nodded, raised his hand high, and shouted.

"Awakeeeeen!!!"

Smack! Slap! Thud!

With the power of Berald\'s spell, Laios, who had been unconscious, was jolted awake.

"Ahhh! Stop it! Arghhh!"

The spell worked brilliantly.