Ban blinked at her, honestly stunned for a moment. Then, slowly, he lowered the cucumber as if she had just spoken a divine revelation.

"…So, you have spirit." His voice rumbled low, almost reverent. "A warrior's tongue. A defender of order in this wasteland of waste. Good… good! The earth loves strong roots."

Leona's brows twitched. "I wasn't complimenting you. I was telling you to leave."

Ban's grin widened, sharp as a blade. "Leave? When there are sprouts to water? When there are minds to cultivate? No, This isn't about farms anymore."

He raised the cucumber again—like a knight drawing his sword.

"This is about salvation."

A collective groan spread through the classroom. Someone whispered, "Not again…"

Ban stomped toward the front row, each step a mini earthquake. "You mock me now, but when famine comes, who will you beg for food? The blacksmith? The bard? No! You will beg the farmer!"

He thrust the cucumber toward Leona now, like a knight offering a duel. "And you, bold one—tell me! What sustains you? What fuel makes your sword arm swing? Steel? Pride? Or the humble vegetable!?"

Leona didn't flinch, though her knuckles tightened. "…Protein."

The room went silent.

Ban froze as though she had just uttered blasphemy in a holy temple. Slowly—painfully slowly—he dropped to one knee, clutching his chest.

"Protein…?" His voice cracked, like a man betrayed by the gods. "So… you would forsake the cucumber… for meat?"

His cucumber quivered in his grip. The air grew heavier, as though nature itself was watching.

Before Leona could answer, Ban whipped his head toward me, eyes blazing.

"You there! Nutrient boy! Speak! Are you with me, champion of the soil—or with her, butcher of purity?!"

Dozens of eyes turned to me.

I wanted to crawl into the floor and never return.

Before I could even open my mouth, Leona stepped forward again. "Don't involve him. Just leave."

For me.

She stepped up again… for me.

Leona, you're really cool!

Ban turned toward her. I braced myself, thinking he'd erupt again, but instead… he just stared. Up and down. Slowly. Like he'd just discovered a new species in front of him.

"I had doubts before," Ban said at last, his voice low and oddly curious. "…but are you a man?"

The entire classroom froze.

Leona's face went pale, her hand instinctively moving toward Frostveil, her cursed sword.

"Your body fat and physique are just like—"

But then salvation came from the hallway.

"Here! Professor!"

The door burst open. A guard stumbled inside with an eggplant hanging out of his mouth, and behind him, Professor Lena appeared, clearly out of breath.

"Mr. Ban! You said you were here to donate vegetables! What are you doing?!"

Ban's eyes widened. "Oh dear, you're right! I mustn't delay the harvest's blessings!"

He gave me one last grin. "Think seriously about my offer, boy!"

Then, with all the grace of a lunatic, he threw open the nearest window and jumped out.

At least he didn't smash the glass, which somehow made him feel like a bizarre cocktail of madness and… common sense.

The room was dead silent.

I exhaled slowly.

…No. He wasn't just insane. He was the exact kind of insane I needed.

A madman with muscles, conviction, and a cucumber.

I had already made the scouting offer—I couldn't take it back now.

So I decided to accept it.

Ban, the vegetable zealot… would make a fine villain someday.

The silence stretched on long after Ban's dramatic exit.

The only sound was the faint clatter of the guard outside still choking on his eggplant.

Finally, someone whispered, "…Did he really just… jump out the window?"

"He didn't even scratch the cucumber…" another muttered.

A ripple of uneasy laughter spread through the room, like everyone was trying to convince themselves they'd just imagined the whole thing.

Ryen yawned, looking unimpressed. "That guy's got more drama than sense."

Leo didn't even bother lifting his headphones. "I've seen cult leaders less intense."

But Leona… she was still stiff, her hand resting on Frostveil. Her expression was hard, but her ears were red.

"Tch. What a nuisance," she muttered, finally lowering her hand.

I almost wanted to clap for her. Twice she'd stepped up, shielded me from the storm of madness, and faced him down without flinching.

Leona, you really are too cool.

Meanwhile, I just sat there, staring at the desk Ban had nearly split in half and the faint cucumber-shaped dent he'd left on the wood.

…No. This wasn't a hallucination. He was real.

And honestly? I couldn't stop thinking about it.

Ban, the lunatic who preached the gospel of vegetables like they were holy relics. Ban, who could terrify a room full of cadets with nothing but a cucumber and his biceps.

A madman, yes. But maybe… exactly the kind of madman I needed.

I tapped my notebook under the desk, jotting down his name.

"Ban. Recruit for villain role. Plan is already in motion"

The class might've wanted to forget this day, but I wouldn't.

I couldn't.

....Few minutes later, homeroom resumed with Professor Lena standing in front of blackboard.

"Good morning, everyone. Today is the day the latest rankings are released, reflecting the results of the ranking match. You've all been waiting for this, right?"

And she started the homeroom class as if nothing had happened.

I understood. No one wanted to be associated with a real madman.

Professor Lena clapped her hands together, trying to sweep away the lingering tension like dust. "Now then—let's begin. The new rankings are here."

Her tone was brisk, professional, but even she hesitated for a fraction of a second when her gaze swept over the cucumber-shaped dent in the desk. She blinked, adjusted her papers, and carried on as if it wasn't there.

The class shifted uncomfortably. Everyone knew what the ranking reveal meant—it decided privileges, resources, and prestige for the next month. The anticipation was thick enough to drown out any lingering madness Ban had left behind.

I leaned back, tapping my pen against my notebook. Unlike the others, I wasn't nervous. Rankings didn't matter to me the way they mattered to them. I wasn't here to be the academy's brightest star. No—I was here to scout, to prepare, to build.

But watching how they reacted? That was worth far more than any number next to my name.

----

"Rin, what's your rank?"

On the way back to the dorms, after classes had finally ended, the conversation drifted, as it always did, toward rankings. It was impossible to avoid—numbers defined everything in this academy.

"Me? Uh… 333rd."

Leona—well, Leon—tilted his head at me, eyebrows raised. "That low? Honestly, I thought you'd be higher."

I shrugged. "Really? I figured I'd be lower. So this is a win in my book."

Leona frowned slightly, as if my answer didn't quite fit me. But I wasn't lying. I had already burned through the points I got at the start, plus the bonus from the Ethan Caldwell mess. So 333rd was just my raw match points. Out of 400 freshmen, that wasn't terrible.

"What about you, Ryen?" I asked, trying to deflect.

Ryen's usual smirk returned. "Still first.Leo is second."

Leo pushed his earphones down and gave a lazy grin. "Would've been first if our last match hadn't been interrupted."

Ryen's smirk sharpened. "You think I'd have gone down that easily?"

"Yeah. Obviously."

The two locked eyes, silent sparks flying. Honestly, I didn't know if they were about to fight or kiss.

Leona stepped in quickly, breaking the tension. "Anyway, I'm sixth. Messed up the written exam on the entrance test, so…" She trailed off with an awkward chuckle, scratching his cheek.

She said it so casually, but something about the way she carried himself didn't quite fit "sixth place." Her instincts were too sharp, too… knight-like.

"And you, Keira?" I asked.

"Hundred-fiftieth," Keira said, puffing out her cheeks with a playful grin. She jabbed a finger at me. "Loser. That means I'm closest to you."

I blinked at her. "…That's not something to brag about."

"Sure it is!" She beamed, proud of herself for some reason.

"…Right."

"Nora?" Ryen asked.

"Fifteenth," Nora answered instantly. Her pink hair swayed as she smiled, and then she turned that smile toward Ryen. It wasn't the sweet kind, though. It was hers—sharp, devoted, and just a little too intense. Her tail even swished happily behind her.

She could look like ice to everyone else, but when it came to Ryen, she melted into someone dangerously warm.

"I see," Ryen said with his usual calm, completely missing the heart-shaped daggers she was throwing at him.

Nora's smile didn't falter. If anything, it grew softer, like she'd already forgiven him for not noticing. Maybe she didn't even see it as rejection—just… inevitable.

I sighed, watching the group chatter around me. Everyone's numbers felt like armor they wore proudly.

Mine? Mine was more like a dented shield I had to drag along.

But still…

333rd wasn't the worst place to be.