CHAPTER 47: MAJORITY RULE (PART 2)

At the Royal Academy of Randalorion, there are numerous small groups and informal gatherings of students. However, only five clubs currently exist.

This is because of the strict requirements necessary for a Club to be formed.

At least a hundred members must exist in the group for it to be formed into a Club, and there are also stipulations regarding Prestige Points, among other things.

There is also the fee involved.

Due to these reasons and many more, creating a Club in the Royal Academy is rather difficult.

Plus, just making a Club doesn’t mean it will continue to function.

Once the number drops below a hundred... that Club is open for termination. As such, even though there have been many Clubs made in the past, only five exist at the moment.

First is the High-Blue Society, which is filled with aspiring intellectuals and future Scholars. Due to the high requirements necessary for joining, it can be considered Noble-exclusive. In fact, it is clearly stated within its constitution.

This is actually one of the unique aspects of Clubs that makes them distinct from other gatherings.

It can be openly prejudicial.

As long as this exclusion is reserved for the core purpose of the Club, it is allowed.

This is why the High-Blue Society, which was established for and by High Nobility, is allowed to be exclusive to the High Nobility and Royals.

No one else—regardless of how exceptional or loyal they are—is allowed within their ranks.

Then, there is The Circle of Blades, essentially a dueling guild occupied primarily by Knights and the Lower Nobility seeking to become Royal Knights. After them, we have The Order of the Quill, a literature and art appreciation club. This one has the highest rate of mixed membership.

Then, the least populated is the Ethereal Choir, a Clerical singing and religious group that is often marginalized and can also be considered to be dying.

Finally, The Royal Debate Assembly. This is actually the most prestigious Club, and it controls a lot of student affairs in the Academy. It holds occasional debates and has a lot of influence in student elections.

It takes in all manner of students, but only the cream of the crop.

In essence, regardless of whether one is a High Noble or a Knight, so long as one has the ability, they can join this Club. This also means that High Nobles who don’t pass the requirements can’t make it in.

It is the closest thing to a meritocracy in this Academy.

But even I am not so optimistic about it.

After all, almost all members of the higher-ups are High Nobles. Perhaps their standards also exist to give a false sense of equality, but the reality within this club will surely be one that discriminates against those of lesser backgrounds while promoting the upper echelon of the Randalorion Kingdom.

Logically, this is the right move to make. After all, Clubs require funding and a lot of influence to operate on the scale that they intend to.

As such, they require the top brass of the Kingdom to be actively involved.

If the less-privileged are the ones in charge, the Club would simply die out, since the kind of support Knights, Clergies, or even Lesser Nobles can provide is too limited.

Look at the Ethereal Choir, for example.

Their Club is barely hanging by a thread for this very reason.

It isn’t sustainable to exclude the moneybags and high power from a Club. It is also somewhat necessary to put them in positions of authority. This is the only way to secure members of the High Nobility, since they have a lot of pride.

How would a Duke’s son or a Count’s daughter feel being led by someone of lower status in a Club? Wouldn’t it be absurd? This is exactly the issue...

Also, the High Nobility tend to score the highest and have the best academic record, which makes them the prime students of the Academy, as well as the best fit for leadership positions. Their excellent grades are partially due to prejudice, but it is simply due to their early education—something that other, less-privileged students would be unable to match.

This is why many Knight and Clergy students find my study group so helpful.

They need it a lot more than these other students.

Such inequalities have already existed long before the students entered the Academy, and the prejudice within its walls only serves to broaden the gap. In essence, the system is specifically designed to uphold the status quo.

Nothing will truly change—it is all set in stone.

But—

"I don’t need things to really change. I just have to exploit the current situation and create a situation most advantageous for my goals..." I grin to myself while staring at a parchment from the Academy higher-up.

My smile only grows broader once I see the words "Application Approved."

Success!

The J-Tutorial Club has officially been created.

While I was tempted to make it a Knight and Cleric exclusive Club, I decided not to for two major reasons. One is the fact that such a club would generate major animosity from Nobles and would be doomed to fail from the start. From complaints to general schemes, and even the intervention of the Academy staff, all of these attacks would be too much and would ultimately lead to the Club’s collapse.

The second reason is that I know I’ll ultimately need the aid of Nobles at some point. Making it exclusive will completely block out the possibility of them joining us.

No proper Club in this Royal Academy can function without the blessing of the Nobles.

I know that very well.

This is why I have to handle things with tact. I intentionally ensured the Club was open to everyone on the surface, but I don’t intend to make it so easy for Nobles to join. In fact, they won’t have access to the Club for a while.

What do I mean by this? It’s rather simple, actually.

To join the J-Tutorial Club, a student needs to pass a series of difficult tests. Even if Nobles study and do their best, they won’t be able to get the results needed to join. As for the Knight and Clergy students, they will be highly favored in their assessments.

In fact, answers will be given to them, giving them an easier and more comfortable experience.

This is essentially using the Royal Academy’s method of helping the Nobles against them.

The irony...

While such tactics will undoubtedly be seen as underhanded when I use it, the Academy will not suffer the same backlash due to its immense reputation, and also because it favors the Nobles.

But do I care? Not at all!

The thing is, I wouldn’t be able to exclude the Nobles any other way.

My J-Tutorial Club is meant to simulate the study group experience, and while I could make certain excuses as to why it is an exclusive club for Knights and Clerics, none of them will hold any water under scrutiny.

In essence, unlike the High-Blue society that has a justified reason for its exclusivity, the J-Tutorial Club has none of that.

Without the legitimacy to exclude Noble students, as well as the repercussions that come along if I dared to do so, I have no choice but to resort to such methods to achieve temporary exclusivity for the Knight and Clergy students under my wing.

Using this tactic, I was able to unify the students under my Club banner and help them out even more with a more structured scheme.

Before, I was the only one teaching in the study group... but things are different now.

I have chosen the most exceptional students to lead certain sessions, hence taking a lot of the heavy load from my shoulders. Funny enough, one of the students I chose is the strange girl who still stares at me strangely to this day.

I have come to realize that she is actually a hotshot among the Clergy students and is somehow the most important figure among them.

They really revere her for reasons they have refused to tell me.

It must be some secret that they aren’t allowed to say.

I don’t mind not knowing about that, though. Everyone has their secrets to keep, and as long as she is competent... I have no problems.

The girl, Seth Clayford, is a Scholarship Student like me, so her intelligence is nothing to scoff at.

She also has a certain charm that causes anyone in her presence to relax.

I have attended some of her sessions before, and while she can be a little clumsy in her speech, she passes the message across well and functions best when answering questions. In fact, for some reason, a lot of people seem to like that she is clumsy.

I can only wonder why.

The J-Tutorial Club has been growing considerably, nearly reaching three hundred members now. This is because seniors are also participating, thus increasing our numbers.

However, I have begun to notice some problems.

For one, I have fallen out of favor with the Nobles I used to be closely acquainted with.

This isn’t a good thing.

Even though I do not consider any of them my friends, these Nobles are still very helpful. For one, some of them help me understand very difficult topics, making my study sessions easier.

Also, it is very important to make connections with some of them, particularly when you consider things like group projects and assignments. As much as I want to present this Anti-Noble persona to my followers, I can’t deny their importance, even in my life.

The thing is, I have become the undisputed leader of a rising Faction in the Academy.

—The Anti-Noble Faction.

As a result, the other Factions have seen me as an enemy.

This includes the two major Noble Factions, and they have been causing all kinds of trouble for me. If this continues, I can see many issues that can arise.

This means... it is time to concede.

As much as I would like to maintain the illusion for longer, it is impossible to continue with the farce. There are simply too many disadvantages of losing Nobles, and the benefits of gaining Noble supporters are too immense.

Why?

Because the Nobles are actually the majority in the school, and they are also the ones with actual power to influence its affairs.

In essence, this is Majority Rule—an immutable concept.

These Nobles are too important.

I need them on my side!

But... I have to be smart about this. If I overdo things, I might end up scaring away the support I have already built. Also, if I let the floodgates open, those High Nobility will charge in and swallow all the hard work I have built up.

There’s no way they would want to be ruled by me, which means I’d be kicked out of my position of power. Even if I am not removed, I’d only be a figurehead.

I can’t allow that to happen.

As such, this process has to be a smooth transition.

"We will be revising our entry requirements!" I announce to all the students before me, my arms folded and my expression showing the same brazen resolve as always.

Naturally, the crowd listens.

Even my seniors respect me to the point that they also maintain silence and hearken to my voice.

I have achieved such a status in this Academy.

"I have already discussed it with some of you, and I have gained positive reception... so I would like to announce that from this point on, we will be considering the application of the Lower Nobility among our ranks." I declare with unfiltered passion. "Their sincerity has reached my ears, and my heart has been moved. If they show such diligence in their studies, what right do we have to deny them such a privilege?"

In the end, the Lesser Nobility isn’t much different from Knight Households and the Clergy.

We all belong to the same societal strata.

It’s just that the Lesser Nobility has an edge in this Academy because of the prejudice that exists here. However, if we factor in the fact that the Lesser Nobility also live in the Bronze Wing and have a much closer relationship with the Knights and Clergy, then it becomes an acceptable thing to reel them in first.

Just as I expected, many students voice out their concerns.

As much as I understand their fears, these people are too short-sighted, unable to see the value of letting in Nobles to further increase our standing in the Academy. They cannot possibly fathom the benefits that this expansion will bring, and are stubbornly clinging to their vision of what the Club should be.

Thankfully, I have put no such people in positions of power.

Every single higher-up in the Club was chosen specifically by me, and their ideologies are close to mine. Plus, with their intelligence and foresight, they are able to think the way I want them to.

I already spoke to all of them beforehand and got them to accept my position.

As such, powerless dissenters like the students who want things to remain the same do not hold much relevance to me. They aren’t going to change anything.

I still have the Club under my grasp.

Still, in order to show my sincerity towards the Knight and Clergy, I was able to appropriately respond to many of their concerns and prove my loyalty to them. As much as I see the bigger picture and find these criticisms worthless, it is still important for me to show a strong attachment to my roots.

In the end, these people are the foundation of the J-Tutorial Club.

At the end of the meeting, the decision was made: all students belonging to the Lesser Nobility would be allowed to pass the tests and enter the J-Tutorial Club.

Of course, this sparked outrage among some students, with many threatening to leave.

As tempted as I am to simply let them go, I can’t ignore this matter.

How can I allow my precious members to leave just like that?

No... I still need them.

To stop this uprising from succeeding, I gather all the higher-ups of the Club—essentially, the Tutors besides me—and direct them to respective student groups.

Their goal is simple: convince them not to leave.

"Raphael, you’re closer to the Mid-Rank Knights. Handle the situation among them. Claire, all the female students from the Knight Household admire you, so I expect you to take care of things in that department. Julius... Lumian... Liliana..."

I assign roles to them based on their capacity, finally reaching the last person.

"Seth, you’re the most popular person in the Clergy, so you should be able to relate well with the female members." There are simply too many Clergy members who intend to leave, so to cover more ground, I had to assign multiple people. "Lumian is handling the boys, so can you focus on the girls?"

"T-the girls? But why?"

My brows rise slightly, and I speak as-a-matter-of-factly "Because... you’re a girl?"

"A girl? What? I’m not a girl."

"Huh?" I blink twice and stare at the obvious girl in front of me. "You’re not?"

"No! My name is Seth! Seth Clayford! I am a man!"