Chapter 130: Surrender Like a Man, Fair and Square

Aisha Bizbell’s older cousin.
Rexaron Bizbell.

To be honest, I don’t know much about him.
That’s understandable since he was never meant to become an associate professor.

‘Even as things proceed as planned, some deviations are bound to occur.’
Rexaron is one of those deviations.

As expected of a northern frontier noble of the Bizbell family, he had an enormous build.
It suited the bloodline renowned for its overwhelming physique and combat skills, earning them the title of a warrior race.

Aisha, too, was tall and slender for a woman.
But next to him, she seemed incredibly small.

“Mm?”

Just then, Rexaron noticed me entering the training room.
Our eyes met, and a chill ran down my spine.
It didn’t feel like I was facing a human.
Even a gorilla would have less muscle than that.

He gave me a once-over and then spoke.

“Little freshman, sorry, but we’re still in the middle of training. You can use the training room later.”

It seemed like he hadn’t noticed my name tag.

“Associate Professor Rexaron, I’m Airei, a member of the student council from the second year.”

“Second year?”

At my introduction, Rexaron finally glanced at my name tag.
Then he stroked his thinly grown beard with his hand.

“Looks like you’re not eating enough. Make sure to eat more from now on!”

“Thank you for the advice. But may I ask what exactly is going on here?”

As a student council member, I had the right to question even an associate professor if a disturbance occurred.
The academy granted us a certain level of authority since we handled various tasks.

That’s why I intentionally mentioned my position.
Fortunately, it worked, and Rexaron acknowledged my presence.

“Personal training. Even though I’m an associate professor, I can’t help but be stricter with my cousin, especially with the Demonic Palace Event approaching. Aisha is still too weak. I wanted to show her the reality.”

Weak?
I had no idea what he meant by that.
Anyone who had seen Aisha’s windmill-like sword swings would never call her weak.

But Rexaron’s eyes were filled with conviction.

“No matter how many times you show her reality, nothing will change.”

Just then, Aisha stumbled out from the broken wall, gasping for breath.
She glared at Rexaron fiercely, clutching her greatsword tightly.

“I’m going to the Demonic Palace Event.”

“Hah.”

Rexaron let out an exasperated sigh.

“Aisha, I told you. You’re too weak. You’d be better off taking bridal lessons instead.”

He slung his massive greatsword over his shoulder, a weapon as large as his own body.
The sight was no different from that of a barbarian.

“I allowed you to attend Zeryon Academy because you insisted, but look at yourself. You can’t even withstand my greatsword.”

“Even so, I have no intention of taking bridal lessons and becoming your bride, Rexaron.”

A bride.
Hearing that word, I suddenly recalled a particular fact.

In the Bizbell family, marriages between cousins were permitted.
Such customs were tolerated due to the isolated nature of the northern region.
It was also one of the reasons why the Bizbells were often labeled as barbarians.

“Hmph. It’s only natural for a woman to marry a strong man.”

Rexaron spoke as if exasperated by Aisha’s defiance.

“There’s no man in my generation stronger than me. Aisha, why can’t you understand that being embraced by a strong man is the greatest happiness?”

Rexaron’s eyes were sincere.
He had spent his entire life growing up in Bizbell, a place filled with closed-off traditions.
To him, Aisha’s actions were utterly incomprehensible.

“Happiness isn’t the same for everyone.”

But Aisha had broken free from her family’s expectations and come to Zeryon Academy of her own will.
Her blue eyes shone with determination.

“I just want to walk my own path.”

Rexaron silently stared at Aisha.

“Fine then.”

At last, he slowly pointed his greatsword at her.

“You’ll realize soon enough how pointless that path is.”

The tension between the two quickly escalated, and it seemed like a fight could break out at any moment.

“Wait a minute.”

I couldn’t stand by any longer, so I stepped in.
I had already planned to take Aisha to the Autumn Demonic Palace Event.
If she couldn’t participate, our vanguard would be severely weakened.
That was something I absolutely had to prevent.

“Senior Hanon?”

Only then did Aisha seem to realize I was there.
She had been too focused on Rexaron to notice.

To leave her in this state, especially when she was supposed to head to the tournament tomorrow, was pure madness.

‘Is this guy seriously trying to keep Aisha from going to the Demonic Palace Event?’

I stood in front of Aisha, shielding her.
She was the strongest vanguard on our tournament team.
Letting something happen to her was out of the question.

“Little second-year, stay out of this. This is a family matter.”

Rexaron shot me an irritated look.
It was obvious he didn’t see me as a threat in the slightest.
But I had no intention of backing down.

“No. I’m stepping in because it’s a mere family matter.”

“Mere?”

Rexaron’s eyes glinted dangerously.
To him, Bizbell was everything.

Only the strong could inherit the family name in Bizbell.
Even if one wasn’t a direct descendant, strength was the ultimate deciding factor.

Rexaron was one of the most promising heirs to the family.
When he claimed no one his age could match him, it wasn’t arrogance — it was conviction.
To him, Bizbell stood above the entire empire.

But to me, none of that mattered.
What mattered most was the scenario.

“Little second-year, you have a bad habit of speaking out of turn. Didn’t anyone teach you manners?”

“And what’s a member of the Bizbell family, who claims that fists are the ultimate form of respect, doing lecturing me on manners?”

“Ha! At least you know that much! Maybe I should give you a proper lesson in respect!”

This brute was impossible to reason with.

“For the record, Aisha is the top-ranked first-year in martial arts. If someone like her isn’t allowed to participate in the tournament, then who is?”

“I find that surprising myself. Everyone else is ridiculously weak! That’s why I took this position as an associate professor.”

“Then… are you saying you won’t allow any other students to enter the tournament besides Aisha?”

Starting in the second semester, regular first-year students were also eligible to participate in the Demonic Palace Event.
When I pointed this out, Rexaron scoffed.

“Anyone besides Aisha? I couldn’t care less about them.”

“…What?”

I was momentarily so baffled that I had to ask again.

“Aisha is my destined bride. As her future husband, I cannot stand by and let my bride be put in danger. That’s the only reason I object. I have no particular reason to oppose other students participating in the Demonic Palace Event.”

“…So you’re blocking Aisha purely for personal reasons?”

“I already told you. It’s a family matter.”

At that moment, I realized something.
This wasn’t a problem that could be solved with common sense.
Rexaron and I had fundamentally different perspectives.

Trying to reason with someone who lived by a different set of beliefs would only lead to conflict, not resolution.
If I wanted to persuade him, there was only one way.

I had to engage with him using his own logic.

I decided to abandon my own common sense.
There was no point in dancing around the issue with meaningless words.

“I’ve heard that the Bizbell family follows the words of the strongest.”

“That’s right.”

Rexaron answered without hesitation.

“Then, if there’s someone at Zeryon Academy stronger than you, Associate Professor Rexaron, would you follow their word?”

“Senior!”

Aisha called out to me in shock.
She immediately understood the implication of my words.
And so did Rexaron. His narrowed eyes fixed on me.

“Ho.”

A low whistle escaped from him, as if he’d stumbled upon something amusing.

He was a man who had spent his entire life fighting in the northern lands of Bizbell.
Avoiding a fight wasn’t in his nature.

“Fine. They say when in the empire, follow the empire’s laws. If there’s someone at Zeryon Academy stronger than me, I’ll abide by their word.”

A murderous glint flickered in Rexaron’s eyes.
It was terrifying how naturally he directed such killing intent even at a mere student.
Truly someone from the brutal northern tribes.

“Senior, you can’t!”

Aisha clutched my shoulder tightly, her voice filled with concern.

“I know you’re strong, Senior! But even so, you can’t beat Rexaron!”

Even Aisha, usually so composed and confident, couldn’t hide her fear in front of him.
That’s how overwhelming his strength was.

And I knew that fact very well.
He had once fought to rescue the Saintess, displaying strength comparable to that of a cardinal-level monster.

Which is why—

“Huh? What are you talking about? I’m not planning to fight him.”

I had no intention of fighting a monster like that.
Not when I had to be in top condition for tomorrow’s Autumn Demonic Palace Event.

“…What?”

Aisha blinked, unable to comprehend my words.

I flashed her a grin.

“Didn’t Associate Professor Rexaron just say he’d listen if there’s someone stronger than him at Zeryon Academy?”

“Y-Yes, that’s what I said.”

“Well, there is someone.”

My eyes curved mischievously as I met Rexaron’s gaze.

“Someone even you can’t do anything against, Associate Professor. So just wait right here.”

I’ll bring them right over.

Leaving behind a bewildered Aisha and a confused Rexaron, I quickly left the training room.

Rexaron’s face showed a flicker of realization — this wasn’t going how he expected.

Without wasting time, I dashed up the stairs.
Reaching a certain break room, I flung the door open.

Inside was a professor, undoubtedly slacking off as usual.

“Whoa.”

A woman sitting in the break room popped open a can of beer, startled by my sudden entrance.
Some of the beer spilled, and she hastily tried to save it by drinking straight from the can.

With foam still clinging to her lips, she glanced at me.

“What is it, Hanon?”

Drinking beer so casually during working hours — it was hard to believe she was a professor.

“Professor, didn’t you say you wouldn’t drink alcohol the day before heading to the Demonic Palace Event?”

“That’s why kids like you are troublesome, Hanon. Look carefully. This is just a drink.”

Beganon Mercia, the second-year martial arts professor.
She shamelessly held up her beer can, declaring it to be nothing more than a ‘beverage’.

“Anything under 10% alcohol is just a drink to me.”

She truly lived by her own rules.

“Anyway, what’s the rush? You’re practically out of breath.”

Beganon downed the rest of the beer in one gulp.

“Something came up. I need your help, Professor.”

“My help?”

She raised an eyebrow and slouched lazily into her chair.

“Go on, spill it.”

“Let’s just go first.”

I knew she wouldn’t budge if I simply explained.
Without hesitation, I lunged forward and lifted both her and the chair she was sitting on.

Thanks to my well-trained body, carrying both a chair and a professor was nothing.

“H-Hey, what the—?”

Beganon flailed slightly in surprise, but I didn’t slow down.
Charging down the stairs, I sprinted straight to the first-year training room.

Inside, I found Aisha and Rexaron awkwardly waiting.
Both turned to look at me the moment I barged in.

Their expressions quickly shifted to disbelief.

I confidently placed Beganon, chair and all, in front of them.
She looked thoroughly annoyed at having her break interrupted.

To add the finishing touch, I bent down and neatly fixed the loose slipper dangling from her foot.
Then, with a flourish, I gestured toward her.

“Ta-da! Here’s your opponent.”

Face Zeryon Academy’s strongest.