Chapter 39

There are various types of villains in the group assignments.

An incompetent assistant who can't do anything because he has no knowledge in that area. He has an appointment every day and is whining to finish it quickly. An idiot who is unnecessarily stubborn, not only ruining teamwork, but also causing serious discord.

As you can see in the example above, there are various villains in the group assignment, but the villain that can be said to be representative is 'Free Ride'.

So, what does free-riding mean? Literally speaking, it is a 'criminal act' that uses means of transportation without paying. These are the so-called consciences, who did nothing in the group assignment and just want others to do it for them.

However, as you can see from the meaning of free riding, it is not a criminal act if you pay the right price. Even in group assignments, if there are really unavoidable circumstances or if you have no knowledge in that area, there are some cases where you will become a 'water owner' and take care of various conveniences.

For example, renting out the study room in its entirety, or buying delicious food every time you attend a discussion, etc. In this case, it is not a free ride, but a situation where you can get on the bus comfortably by paying the transportation fee.

Of course, it is not good to use this in reverse and solve it only with money. At the very least, it is a law to obtain the consent of the members after discussing all the circumstances.

"I wish you all the best in the future. I've been keeping an eye on you."

Cute yet elegant appearance. And even a slender body that seems to be less than 160cm.

Ira, a girl with brown hair who had a cute atmosphere like a walking doll, greeted me with a smile. From the outside, it looks like a polite greeting from the daughter-in-law of a noble family.

But I could see clearly before she said hello. The gaze that looked at Benjamin and Leona. At least, she was never on an equal footing.

He doesn't look down on him like Jackson, but should he say he has a knife in his heart? Maybe I was overreacting, but I was able to see through to a certain extent because I often called myself a Hogu every time, I did a group assignment.

Whether this person is motivated to participate in the group assignment or will be a free rider.

First impressions of Aira were closer to the latter.

'By the way, he's Marquis Matius…'

Marquis, as everyone knows, is a rank just below the duke, and there are a total of three marquis families in the Minerva Empire. Among them, the Matius family was the martyr in charge of the borders of the Minerva Empire.

Also, I know that the Navy Knights, where my father once belonged to, and Dave is currently training as an apprentice knight, belong to the Matius family. The Navy Knights are closer to a special forces unit that conducts special warfare rather than regular warfare, so they belong to the Matius family, a military family.

"…My name is Isaac Ducker Michelle. You are the daughter of the Matius family. It's an honor to meet you."

With a friendly expression on my face, I formally greeted Aira, who was waiting for my reply. I can't say that the first impression is very good, but I'll keep an eye on it.

Ira raised the corners of her lips even more in my greeting, this time looking at Benjamin. Her Benjamin shuddered as she met her face, then hurriedly greeted her.

"Bee, my name is Benjamin Blank! Come on, please!"

"Please take good care of me too. And…"

Finally, Ira turned to Leona. Leona opened her mouth with her characteristic inorganic expression as soon as her eyes met.

"My name is Leona Lions."

Unlike Benjamin, who trembled with fuss, Leona greeted with an expression and voice that was as hard as a wooden stone. If she had been a normal person, he might have passed on to say that he had an unusual personality.

But it seems it wasn't Ira. As Leona greeted her bluntly, she lowered her raised lip slightly.

"…is that the end?"

And then until I ask. The tone of his voice was also lowered, so anyone can tell that it was sarcastic.

However, Leona did not notice the meaning, so she responded with a low-pitched tone until the end. The point is to tilt her head as if she really doesn't know.

"Did I say hello?"

"…No. I thought you had a unique personality."

Fortunately, it seemed to pass somehow. A slight displeasure was caught on Aira's face, but she pretended not to know. I looked at it and sighed inwardly.

Even if the world changes, my luck in my group assignments is not as good as it gets. Besides, from the first impression, it seemed to be rolled up, so it was difficult to predict the future. Of course, this isn't Leona's fault, it's purely because of Ira, her sense of authority.

As I said before, the gap between the aristocrats and the commoners is indescribably large, even though the nobility and the aristocrats do not know each other. A commoner must be unconditionally discredited by his opponent, no matter how low-ranking aristocrats are.

As I live in a democratic society, unfortunately, this system is normal in this world. If I had been born into this world without memories of my previous life, I would not have lived with a sense of authority like Jackson or Aira.

"…Anyway, greetings are over, what do we do now?"

While the bizarre atmosphere was continuing, Aira brought it up from the beginning. It seems that she was also uncomfortable with this situation.

I remembered the group assignment method that Professor Berus had explained to me a little while ago. In fact, there is no big difference from the group assignments in the previous life, but rather, it is a level that has been completely removed.

So now we have to decide on the most important part.

Someone must do it, but that's something I don't want to do, and I want others to do.

"…Who's going to help?"

It is necessary to decide the 'leader' who should lead the team.

As soon as I spoke and looked around, other people started rolling their eyes. This made it clear that the place where people live does not change wherever they go.

But for this moment, it is right to say that our group is unique. Benjamin, a commoner, would be hesitant to step forward with Aira and I, a nobleman, and Leona is not active as long as she maintains the concept.

Therefore, it means that there are only me and Aira who can lead.

'I'd rather do it myself.'

For me, that's more comfortable. I went out with the mindset that I was the only one who would look uncomfortable in my previous life.

It was just before he opened his mouth and sighed inwardly.

"If there's no one else to do it, I'll do it. Would that be comfortable for you too?"

Something completely unexpected happened.

Aira put her hand on her waist and confidently said that she would take the lead. I looked at her with her surprised expression.

I don't know where the confidence comes from, but the person with the greatest risk in the group task is the leader. There is no problem if the Jo Won does well, but from the moment even one villain appears, all kinds of stress are stressful roles.

Will Aira be able to do her job well? I was genuinely concerned and expressed concern.

"Are you really, okay? It wouldn't be easy."

"Don't worry. Leave it all to me. You guys just have to do what I tell you. Okay?"

"… …"

This style can be rather poisonous. People have always been motivated, but incompetent people are the most dangerous. This is because, let alone the efficiency of the work, it can put even allies in danger.

However, if you become the 'water drinker' I mentioned earlier, the story is different. Ira may not know, but for me, this task is easy enough that I can do it all by myself. I'm the author of Xenon's biography, and if I can't do that, I'll have to put down my pen.

In any case, I have no choice but to pray earnestly that Aira wins as a leader rather than a solitary general. If you really have a style like a solitary general, the future will be tough.

If you add the free ride to that, there is a high probability that you will only have them do it, but you will not do anything. When I saw those eyes earlier, the possibility was a little high.

"First of all, is there anyone here who hasn't read up to eight volumes of Zeno's biography? By the way, I've read all of them. There are books in the dormitory, so you can borrow them if you want."

Did he change his mind as he became the leader? Surprisingly, Ira was ambitious.

Seriously, is she really a free rider? It was questionable. I replied with a look on the face that I saw it again.

"I've read them all."

As soon as I opened my mouth, Leona said the same thing as me. The two of us, huh? They looked at each other without saying who came first.

However, when Leona made eye contact with me, she only wiggled under her eyes, and without saying anything, she turned her head forward again. I trembled slightly.

It's me, I'm a writer, so how did Leona purchase it? It is a biography of Zeno that even Marie, the daughter of the Duke of Requel's, was difficult to find.

Then I tilted my head and looked at Aira. She had one of her eyes raised and her face of surprise was on her face.

"…I see. It must have been difficult to find, but I also found Yongke."

Judging from the reaction, she must have guessed that Leona and I couldn't save Zeno's biography. However, what we need to pay close attention to here is that she felt very sorry for her.

Xenon Biography is a book that is so popular that it sells out immediately when it is released, but it is normal to think of it as a good thing. In order to proceed with the task easily, it is necessary to read at least one more book to make the process easier.

But she didn't know what she didn't like, but she was uncomfortable. Could it be that something didn't go his way?

"Hey, I haven't read all of them. Actually, I haven't even read 6 books…"

"Yes?"

As if to disprove my doubts, as soon as Benjamin carefully opened her mouth, Aira burst into anger. It wouldn't be strange at all to see that, for some reason, an uneasy feeling creeps in.

Then, Ira tapped her lips and spoke to Benjamin with the nuance that she was willing.

"I can borrow it; can you lend it to me? I bought all eight books."

"I, really? Then it's good for me…"

"Instead, there is one condition."

"Yeah?"

Benjamin opened his eyes wide and perplexed when Aira told him that there was a condition while cutting his horse along the way. Not only that, but I was also embarrassed.

Just in case, I glanced at Leona to see that she was maintaining an unfamiliar expression like before. She guessed, though, that she might feel like me on the inside.

In the meantime, Ira raised the corners of her mouth and brought out the identity of the condition to Benjamin, who was bewildered.

"You have to do it for me…"

"If it's a book, I can lend it to you."

Before Aira could even speak, Leona played first. He spoke politely, but there was a slight discomfort in it.

Then, when Leona stopped talking, Aira paused. She then shut her mouth, and she looked at Leona with a chilly look.

"…Did you learn that it's okay to interrupt someone in the middle of a conversation?"

Aira's cool pressure continued. Like her doll, an atmosphere that did not match her graceful appearance and her small body flew out of her.

But Leona wasn't easy either. She looked up at Jira Aira, who was sitting in her seat, and said hard.

"I did not feel the need to borrow from Aira-sama, so I brought this up. If you were offended, I apologize."

"Can I just apologize? Am I in a bad mood right now?"

"… …"

Leona did not answer Aira's continuous pressure questions. Although she was still expressionless, I had the illusion that her face contained the deepest thoughts, 'Should I do it?'

In response to such a reaction, he bit Aira and kicked his tongue, warning Leona with a stern voice. Fortunately, it seems that he has decided to move on.

"This is a warning. If you say or do something like that again, I will remove you from the group. I have the authority to do that because I am the leader.

"Okay. Still, I will lend the book to Mr. Benjamin."

"Do whatever you feel like."

"Go, thank you. Leona."

As Benjamin thanked Leona, he looked at Aira. Seeing her crouch, she looked a little pitiful.

I muttered to myself as I watched the situation.

'There is no need to cause division…'

It might have been better for Ira to lend Benjamin the book and pay for it. Benjamin was a commoner, and Ira was a nobleman.

What Leona did just before was clearly an act that undermines the authority of the nobles. I don't care about a sense of authority, so there's no problem, but I'm sure other nobles will look down on me.

As I said before, commoners have to bow down even if their opponent is Young-shik or Young-ae, who has not officially inherited the title. This is a kind of 'common sense' concept.

"Heh, commoners… you can't get angry over something like this…"

"… …"

"Why are you looking at me like that? Do you have anything to say?"

"no."

I think I know roughly what kind of style Ira is. Not sure yet, but one thing is for sure.

The moment she upsets her stomach, this group will be torn apart.

I could feel it vaguely when I just said that I had the authority to do that because I was the former captain. She'll have to wait and see, but she doesn't seem to like her own authority being compromised.

'This makes me a little tired…'

I thought that maybe something more than free-riding might be born.

While I was thinking about it, Ira looked at my face with a blank expression and called out my name.

"Isaac."

"Yes. Please tell me."

"Are you good at it?"

It may sound like a question of trusting me, but it implies that Benjamin and Leona don't trust me.

It seems that she was more aristocratic than commoners, and I was more reliable because I stood out in the class.

Besides, I never know about her, but I am the original author of the subject of the group project, Zeno's biography.

I can assure you that you will be able to chew and eat more than you are good at.

"Don't worry."

"Hmm. Okay? Okay. I'll trust you."

Am I already discriminating between nobles and commoners? Ira patted my shoulder and encouraged me. And he looked at Benjamin and Leona with sullen eyes.

As I looked at Ira like that, I let out a blunt expression on the outside and a sigh on the inside.

'Everything is fine, so please don't be stubborn.'

I can do everything, so please don't just troll.

Although I don't know if she has the ability or not, it's clear that she has a sense of authority, as in the previous conflict with Leona. I want to avoid Joe's disintegration because of his stubbornness.

'In case you don't know, the worst number should be kept in mind.'

Although it was creaking from the start, there were no major problems so far.

At least not yet. More than anything…

'Looking back, she looks like a fairy.'

I believe everyone knows who I saw and thought the above.