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Chapter 12. There Are Already Factions

"I'm sorry, I just assumed you were going to run for the student council."

"No, that's not it. Besides, I'm the lowest-ranking first-year, you know? It's not like I belong in the student council, which is a group of elites, right?"

"Isn't that because you haven't taken the exams? If you had taken them seriously, you would have been first, and I could confidently recommend you for the student council."

What's with this guy? He's constantly talking about how talented I am and subtly suggesting that I join the student council. The student council members who were doing paperwork stopped and turned their attention to me because of what he said.

"I think this year's first-year students are quite remarkable. Jeremiah is first, Elissa is eleventh, Nina is seventeenth, and Theodore is nine hundred and eighty-fourth."

"Well... whatever. Can I have the rankings for first-years for now?"

"Sure. Personally, I want your name to be at the top as soon as possible."

"No, thanks."

This guy, what's he thinking? He keeps talking about how talented I am, and now he's even indirectly asking me to join the student council. All the student council members are now observing me instead of working.

"I don't mind if you think of it as my special skill... I can tell how strong someone is with just a glance. Call it intuition, maybe. Anyway, I still remember the impact when I saw you."

"Well, that was just a month ago."

"No, even though I met all 984 freshmen, there was no one like you. No, not only that, you're stronger than me right now!"

Stop it. The looks around me, which had been merely observing until now, suddenly became filled with hostility. When he says I'm stronger than the student council president, it means I'm stronger than all the students in this school. He needs to change his wording a bit more.

"I'm certain. You're undoubtedly stronger than me. I understand."

Looking at the student council president who handed me the rankings with a smile, I became convinced of one thing.

I don't like this guy.

Since I received the rankings for first-years, I started checking the names from the top.

At the top of the rankings reigns Jeremiah Frisberg. The eldest son of the Frisberg Duke family, he's a perfect superhuman with the ability of a magic knight. Also, he's handsome and has a decent personality.

Second in the rankings is Hiralda Miessis. The only daughter of the Miessis Marchioness family, she's a warrior who unusually wields a long spear taller than herself as her main weapon. I haven't met her personally, but I heard she's damn unfriendly and taciturn.

To be honest, I don't think much of the rest. But, according to Senior Ars, even the 11th and 17th have talent.

11th is Princess Elissa. 17th is Nina Violet.

"...Oh, she's not noble?"

I was browsing through the nobility list from Nina Violet's name.

Apparently, there are no Violet-named nobles in the Riester Kingdom. So, she must be a commoner like me, but it's amazing to be 17th in the initial rankings.

The difference between commoners and nobles lies not in innate talent or lineage, but simply in how much exposure to magic one has had since childhood.

Commoners inevitably have fewer opportunities to be exposed to magic, while nobles have had extensive exposure to magic since birth. This leads to a significant gap in understanding from the outset, and the gap widens exponentially from there. For a commoner to bridge that gap, they must become a magic knight relying solely on their natural talent.

Those who become magic knights need knowledge and experience of magic, but the quickest way to gain that is to become a magic knight. It's quite a story.

Conversely, a commoner who becomes a magic knight is a monster with innate talent that even nobles can't catch up to, meaning they're stronger than all the students enrolled in the academy. It's troublesome when a monster like Jeremiah, who's also a noble, is born.

"Oh, it's late today, isn't it?"

"Hmm?"

When I looked at the table while browsing through the nobility dictionary, Eryxila suddenly spoke from behind me. She probably came to this library right after class as usual. Is she bored? Even though she's ranked 983rd and can't handle weapons.

"Is that the rankings?"

"Yeah... trying to figure out who to target."

"Target... can you do that?"

"Well..."

I'm looking for someone around 250th place who seems like they're just smoldering. I'm searching for someone who'll give up the moment they lose to me and immediately transfer to another department from the magic knight course. Once they transfer, they'll have fewer chances to interact with the magic knight students, and rumors about me will also decrease. But all I see are Elissa's lackeys. And here's this guy at exactly 250th, who's been glaring at me.

"He's part of Elissa's faction, right?"

"...Hasn't it only been a month?"

"Yes... What about it?"

"Why are there factions already?"

"W-well... I like nobles... factions."

I guess nobles are just not my thing.

"Well, never mind. Can you tell me about the existing factions and the people in them?"

"Um... the current factions are the Kuria Royal Family faction, the Frisberg Duke Family faction, and then the Miessis Marchioness Family faction."

"Marchioness... isn't that a demotion?"

"Why would you say that... While it's true that there are noble families that become margraves through demotion, the Miessis Marchioness Family is a traditional noble family with a history of over a hundred years, you know?"

I see... so there are noble families that become margraves through demotion. Maybe that's why they can't be so open about it, so all the margraves are written as if they've been promoted in this book.

"The Miessis Marchioness Family..."

"Located on the border with the neighboring country, Crosster Kingdom, which ended its war seventy-eight years ago. Although they've now reconciled with the Crosster Kingdom, they were originally a powerful noble family trusted by the Riester Kingdom, guarding the kingdom on the front lines... that's what it says."

"You know about them, don't you!?"

"It was written."

A margrave family entrusted with the defense of the kingdom's border. They're probably a family that historically values ​​military power. That's why there's a monster like their only daughter ranked second.

Royal Family, Duke Family, Margrave Family. These are the factions existing among the current first-year students at the Chronos Magic Knight Academy. It seems troublesome to meddle with any of them, a hassle.