)

    That night, Bester and I decided on various policies regarding our plans for the defense post.

    I have to say, while exploring together with Al and Coco was nice and all, but the little talk you have with friends while looking at the bonfire just scratched a different sort of itch.

    "Speaking of which, what do you think of the Diarmaq territory, Allen?"

    Oh? The Diarmaq territory — or the House of Marquis Diarmaq as it was officially called — was the faction that the Stocklauds, a quasi-noble family and Bester''s home, had been serving for generations.

    The quasi-nobles, in simpler terms, were the families that had sworn allegiance to other nobles, outside of royalties, whose authority were above Count rank.

    There was no limit to how many quasi-noble families could be, but they also needed to secure sufficient compensation, so their population stayed on the lower side.

    In terms of standing, they were even lower than a baron family who had been appointed directly by royalty, but this was only on paper. There was no question on who had more authority between a quasi-noble who served a marquis and a baron family from a faraway hinterland.

    As for my answer—

    "Why would I have any opinion on them? If something had happened before, I''d probably long since forgotten it."

    He was probably talking about the time some fellow named Ruderio Von Diarmaq or something, the 2nd year senior with a creepy vibe, came barging in while saying he wanted to join the Hill Road Club.

    He kind of acted like a clown, shouting that I should transfer the presidency of the club to him, or that I’d never have a peaceful life if I dared oppose him, which I ignored. Though it seemed to have further fueled his unreasonable flame of fury.

    Back then, he had been acting behind the scenes, hindering other students from joining the club. The situation had continued until Godorfun handed down his verdict on the assignment he gave to me, so up to that point we barely had any 2nd year students or anyone from the Diarmaq territory.

    During that time, Fey and Jue were quite ready to take on the challenge as they commented "It''s clear he wants a beating. Huh, you''re not going to act? Ufufu, you want me to take care of it?" or "Let''s turn him into a lesson for others. Alright, Allen-san?" with cheerful voices. I had to use my authority as the coach and pressed for a ''wait and watch'' attitude.

    Frankly, I had been in quite a pickle back then with the incessant stream of applicants despite the fact that I needed to focus on clearing Godorfun''s assignment, so Rudge-senpai was instead a savior in my heart, if anything.

    And then, Bester began to tell his story.

    ◆

    Bester, while bearing the name of Stocklaud, came from its branch family.

    He was bound to have a life similar to a commoner when you put quasi-nobility on top of being a branch family member together.

    In the usual course, his excellence started to show itself in elementary school, and when it was seen that even his mana had an outstanding growth, his family was swiftly contacted by Marquis Diarmaq, and the conversation started to shift about adopting him.

    Marquis Romelio Diarmaq initially intended to use him as a whetstone for his talented son while having him as a spare tire in case of an unfortunate situation at the same time.

    Though of course, the good ol'' deep-seated factions couldn''t let it happen and due to the overwhelming opposition, Bester was eventually set to be raised in the main house of the Stocklaud family.

    While Bester had no chance to succeed in the inheritance as of now, what had almost happened already pushed Rudge-senpai to consider him as a snake eyeing his possession, considering Bester might gain the position if he was wed into the Marquis family or adopted again.

    The struggle climaxed around the time when the rumors about me having a verbal spar with Godorfun over the assignment result, pushing him to change it, gaining the authorization to enrol into knight order from His Majesty, and even getting into apprenticeship circulated around.

    While the other 2nd years sharing the same hometown refrained from joining the Hill Road Club in their consideration of Rudge-senpai, the same didn''t hold for the other students and in the end, it was just the Diarmaq people that remained singled out in one corner.

    Apparently, Rudge-senpai had even started a club similar to the Hill Road Club in response as he led an anti-Hill Road Club movement. Though the club was immediately disbanded with a word from Marquis Diarmaq, he even endorsed the other students from his territory to join the Hill Road Club.

    Meanwhile, the movement turned into a loss for Rudge-senpai in politics, which greatly chipped away at his prestige as well back home.

    And so, the old hatred inside him overlapped with a newfound grudge for the both of us — I was hated because I was the one who established the Hill Road Club and the precursor to everything, and Bester, because he never budged from the club ever — as if we''d killed his parents.

    "......Unless life takes a new turn, I’m contemplating becoming a scholar and later expanding on it. I’ve probably explained it a thousand times that I have no interest in taking over the title of Marquis since childhood to Rudge-sama, but it''s clear that he never believed me. And now...... he isn''t even ready to listen to me."

    Bester concluded his story on a dejected note.