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Chapter 41
└[A troll? HERE???]
└[Troll vs Noob: Battle of the Century]
└[Don’t call him a noob! It’s just that Damian hasn’t tried yet. He’s actually good when he does!]
Even the comment fairies who normally mocked Damian as an idiot immediately switched to protective parent mode at the mention of Gerold.
But one thing was certain: before the regression, Damian was not the type to put in effort.
“If Damian had done decently at the academy, Gerold would’ve definitely been annoyed.”
Count Torto was the kind of man who couldn’t stand not being the best wherever he went—and Gerold was a perfect copy of that father.
For someone like Gerold, who lived off his own superiority, a young viscount’s son with higher status than him was naturally a thorn in the side.
And yet, I didn’t remember hearing him ever mention Damian when he was at the academy.
“Maybe he tried to compete with him at first.”
But that was before I was adopted into House Torto, so I wouldn’t know. When I first met Gerold, he was already a second-year at the academy.
He must’ve decided early on that Damian wasn’t worth competing with.
But!
If Damian wanted to study—really applied himself—then maybe he could turn Gerold’s comfortable academy life into a hellscape of frustration!
└[So that’s your goal??? LOL]
└[This is so personal LMAO]
└[Hey, petty revenge is the most satisfying revenge.]
“I just hope Damian gives it his all.”
“Hmm.”
Damian sat on a garden bench, cooling off after training and drinking water, but his expression was still unclear.
“Mother said experience is more important than grades.”
“She’s not wrong.”
Hestina’s point was valid. I didn’t intend to pressure him with high expectations.
But giving him some motivational words to spark initiative—that couldn’t hurt.
“Remember what I said before? The reason your swordsmanship was lacking was because you hadn’t studied enough.”
“You did say that.”
“Same goes for other students. There’ll be lots of kids who lack experience.”
“Hmm.”
“But you already studied hard. If you take advantage of that and get ahead of the others—?”
“If I get ahead?”
Damian tilted his head, repeating my words as if he didn’t quite get what was so great about being top of the class.
“You could become… the leader who guides the others who fall behind!”
“The leader!”
He might not have understood everything, but that word—leader—clearly hit home. His eyes lit up.
“Yes! Rose, I’ll recruit Minion #2, #3… all the way to #10!”
Apparently, Damian numbers his subordinates based on the order he finds them, not their skills.
His enthusiasm was great, but I had to give him a dose of reality.
“Yes! But if you end up in last place, who’s going to want to be your minion?”
“In that case, I’ll draw my sword and defeat them all in the name of the Valent Knights’ honor!”
└[Honor: “Excuse me? Me??”]
└[No, you sweet dummy]
└[What did the knights ever do to deserve this]
└[Is this the start of a tragic loner arc…]
Though he trained hard under the grand master, well… his starting point was still, um, yeah—not quite there yet.
“The academy’s beginner course doesn’t include swordsmanship. To truly become a leader, you have to win with academics!”
When he realized it had to be a mental victory, some of that confidence faded from his face—but Damian eventually nodded.
“Break time’s over! I’m heading off.”
“To the training ground?”
“No!”
Damian jumped up from the bench with a solemn face and declared:
“To study!”
“!!”
└[OMG this is so emotional]
└[MY BABY HAS CHANGED!!!]
└[Damian’s really growing up
└[Is this what wholesome parenting stories feel like?]
└[Something feels off but he’s so earnest it’s cute]
With light steps, Damian ran toward the guest quarters where his tutor stayed.
Behind him, I could already imagine the tutor’s face filled with tears of joy.
Even after Damian left for the academy, his private tutor still oversaw his education.
“Academy classes aren’t customized for each student. For many kids, that’s just not enough.”
That’s why students who wanted to study more or supplement weak areas often hired tutors at their own expense.
└[So private education exists even in ro-fantasy now]
└[This is peak K-rofan worldbuilding]
The beginner courses at the academy had plenty of free time built in.
Some students studied independently, but…
“How many young kids are really going to open books on their own? Be honest.”
So the tutor planned to hold lessons near the academy or in the Valent townhouse.
However, as mentioned before, during the early academy period, students can’t leave campus, and outside visitors aren’t allowed.
With his class schedule up in the air, the tutor was assigned a new mission.
“The school building’s already finished?”
“They just refurbished an empty structure. It didn’t take long. I’m planning to visit tomorrow.”
Yes—the neighborhood writing school that hands out bread!
But in this world, literacy is usually learned naturally from parents or village elders.
This was the first attempt at a free, professional facility to teach reading, so we planned a trial run before full-scale operation.
“Hestina said we should hang a sign to help people find it. Have you come up with a name?”
“Yes. It’s a little embarrassing, but for now, we’re calling it ‘Noil Academy.’”
└[Why not Rose Academy?]
Even though the idea was mine, the school was ultimately for the people of Valent.
The Valent duke covered all costs, so officially, it was the duke’s initiative.
└[Wait, then what’s “Noil”?]
Oh? That’s the tutor’s name.
└[Huh?? First time hearing that LOL]
└[Since when???]
Uh… probably since birth?
We always called him “teacher,” so I guess the comment fairies never knew his name.
└[Congrats on escaping from being an unnamed extra!]
└[Let’s do an acrostic: No – No slave / Il – 1st in line]
└[Suddenly enslaved LOL]
Not a slave—a business partner on the same boat.
If this trial-run school succeeds, my plans will roll out perfectly.
“Shall I come with you tomorrow?”
“Hmm, no need. It’s a bit far, and it’s better to observe the mood on the first day. When I need help, I’ll ask then.”
He told me to help later, but Noil already had a motivated, confident look on his face.
“Well, I guess I can trust him with this.”
I’d sat in on his lessons with Damian—he was a great teacher.
He knew far more than I did in my pre-regression life, so me interfering in education would be absurd.
Instead of the school, I chose to focus on my next phase of plans.
└[Was that… foreshadowing?]
“……”
A comment fairy immediately poked right where it hurt.
“Wait—weren’t good teachers and willing students all we needed to teach reading?!”
Noil Academy didn’t hold daily classes.
Since it was a trial run, they did classes every 2–3 days at first to identify potential problems.
On off days, Noil returned to the duchy to share feedback and make improvements.
So, over the past week, he’d been going back and forth between the school and the duchy.
“Haaah…”
At the end of the first class, he seemed okay.
After the second, he looked troubled.
By the third session, he returned and slumped in the annex with a heavy sigh.
“This… I’ve seen this before.”
└[When Damian tried to escape LOL]
└[If the school fails, will he get fired too?]
└[Hang in there, extra guy]
I don’t know why people keep calling him an “extra,” but the point is—the fate of Noil Academy matters to me too!
“Teacher.”
“Ah, Lady Rose.”
“Is the school… not going well?”
The people involved in the academy project right now were: Noil, an aide from House Linward (called in while Hestina was away), an aide from the Valent duke, and me.
Apparently, they thought I was too young to understand the serious business talk, so the other three had meetings without me.
I’d left it in their hands while I focused on expanding the bakery into a patisserie.
But now—
“The children… aren’t coming to learn.”
We hired a teacher to educate the students and raise them as future talents for the region.
But now the entire premise was crumbling!
