CHAPTER 46: MAJORITY RULE (PART 1)

My arms are folded as I stand before a crowd of people.

With a firm stance that radiates authority, coupled with a scowl that exerts pressure, while also adding a hint of softness, I deeply sigh while staring at my audience.

The hot rays of the sun beat my olive skin, perspiration glittering on its surface. At the moment, we are in a garden outside; however, it is so large that it could resemble a park. This place exists in the southwestern part of the Academy’s Middle Court. In essence, right in the middle of the Bronze Wing and Silver Wing.

As the winds blow, the grass around us dances, and the aroma of flowers fills the air.

Despite the hot atmosphere, the cool winds create a serene atmosphere, one that is further enhanced by the silence of my audience.

At first, there were a lot of side talks, but after they whispered among one another for so long, they began to fall silent one after the other. Now, no one speaks at all. They simply stare at me with curious gazes.

I smile internally, but maintain a hardened expression on my face.

Then—

"My name is Javier Aditi. Some of you may already know me by now, but I’d prefer to still make a formal introduction. I am the Heir of the Aditi Household, a Mid-Rank Knight Household, and I got a Scholarship to come here after performing excellently in the Entrance Exams..."

—I begin speaking, going over introductions very quickly.

Before long, I share my journey with these students—of course, in a concise manner—and slowly get to my point.

"I know how frustrating it is... seeing your hard work vanish into thin air as a result of suppression. It is not a good feeling. It is also very unfair that we have to live like this. Is it our fault that we come from Knight Households or Clergy backgrounds? No, is there anything wrong with that in the first place?"

Indeed! Everyone present is either from a Knight Household or from the Clergy.

This is my target audience.

After thinking on the matter for quite some time, I have decided to create a Faction of my own.

The only issue was finding the members.

Naturally, this school already has its pre-existing student Factions. In fact, there are a lot of them, though they would either fall under the broad classification of Royal or Noble Faction.

Still, the major student factions in this Academy are split into three—

The Randalorion Faction, led by the Prince.

The Ashfall Faction, led by Duke Ashfall’s son.

The Starcrest Faction, led by Duke Starcrest’s son.

These three are the major players in the Academy, and they each belong to powerful families.

The Ashfall and Starcrest Factions fall under the Noble Faction umbrella, but due to the many differences that exist between the two, as well as how powerful their families are individually, it would have been impossible for them to form a single Faction.

The Randalorion Kingdom only has three Dukes, so having two students from different Duchies in the same school at the same time would naturally cause each of them to create their own Faction where they are on top.

If they were to join hands, it could signify a union between the two Duchies, which would cause a lot of attention from the Royal Family and a kind of suppression. Also, in these Factions, there has to be a central figure. Neither student would want to relinquish that position; hence, they would need to create their own separate Faction.

As for the Randalorion Faction, the nature of it is quite evident.

The students of Noble, Knight, or Clergy Households who belong to the Royal Faction automatically fall under it.

Of course, there are active members and also passive members.

For example, I should also be a part of the Randalorion Faction, but I have dissociated myself from that group, while also refusing to ally myself with any other Faction. That makes me a neutral party without a Faction.

Many of the Knight and Clergy students here are the same, though theirs isn’t necessarily by choice. In the end, they aren’t of any use to any of these Factions and would only serve as figures to bloat their numbers. These Factions, as a result, wouldn’t pay much mind to them or even outright ignore them.

Factions thrive off exclusivity.

I’m certain these major Factions don’t want just anyone to join them, as much as they’re trying to raise their prestige. Especially since a Faction has to take care of its members, if it takes in useless members, they’d have to help these freeloaders without gaining much in return.

In essence, the students will be using the Faction, and not the other way around.

No Faction wants to see this, even the most generous one.

Naturally, even I wouldn’t want freeloaders in my Faction who benefit from me more than they benefit me. It’s simply that, right now, I don’t have a choice.

The only way for me to build my prestige is to create such a scenario to attract many people.

As many as possible!

It wasn’t easy gathering all of these people. I had to join clubs, speak to far more people than I normally would, and then take my time to convince the popular students among the circles I wanted... just so I could facilitate this meeting.

Now that we’ve reached this precipice, I do not intend to waste my chance.

"Because of all the reasons I just outlined, I have decided to organize a study group!" The moment I utter those words, gasps echo within the vast garden.

I nod to myself, satisfied.

This is the kind of reaction I want to see.

"I will be imparting my knowledge to help you all. Since I am taking most Departments in this Academy, everyone here can benefit one way or the other. So invite your friends, and come to this location. For one hour, every day, I will be sharing very important study guides, key information, and so much more. I will break down difficult topics, and also answer your questions..." I go on and establish many things to increase their appetite.

I can already tell, based on their gazes, that most of these students are interested.

They are all desperate for academic guidance.

And I will be their savior.

To be honest, an hour is a little too short to cover so much, but that’s the most I can spare per day based on my current schedule. I also have to study hard, so it’s a major sacrifice on my end.

However, if my plan works, this will be a worthwhile investment.

"I will call this study group... J-Tutorial!"

And so, the next day rolled around, and I was pleasantly surprised by the crowd that showed up.

More than twice the initial number.

’We’re almost a hundred!’ I think to myself, pleased by the turnout.

Almost every Knight and Clergy are in attendance, and they even bring their notebooks to show seriousness. It seems they all recognize how important their Academics are and are quite determined to scale through.

I understand and even appreciate their resolve.

How can I disappoint such a crowd after they’ve just shown me such resolve?

Using the tutoring skills I picked up in my past life and my vast breadth of knowledge, I begin the tutorial and try my best to break things down for the students. Of course, I summarize a lot of things, skimming through all the unnecessary information so they can understand the core elements of the topics.

So many eyes stare at me in wonder, but one in particular catches my attention.

It’s that girl!

The one who kept staring at me on the first day of classes, and also during all my Theology classes in the first week. Who in the world is she?

I do not let her gaze distract me, though, and simply continue with the tutorial session.

Once I am done, I answer some questions.

Despite timing myself very strictly, I end up spending an hour and thirty minutes in the study group. I should have known a single hour wouldn’t suffice.

Still, I achieved my goals.

Almost all the students who attended were satisfied. The unhappy ones wanted the study group to last longer, but there’s no pleasing such people. I can barely keep up with my own Academic journey, yet these people still expect me to dedicate even more time to them.

In life, these people will always exist.

I don’t bother myself with them and solely focus on the positive results I gained from this experience. Other than the issue of time, things went better than I expected.

As expected, this is something I can capitalize on!

And so, I continued doing this for the subsequent days, eventually leading up to weeks.

In time, the true nature of this study group began to show itself.

For one, it’s a group I made to be intentionally discriminatory against the Nobles. I have prevented any Noble—High or Low—from joining this gathering. It is simply a place for Knights and Clergy to learn.

This has made the members of my study group feel a strange sense of belonging and pride, while also increasing the curiosity of those who aren’t allowed into the party.

Overall, this is a good thing.

It’s causing my influence to rise considerably.

Of course, nothing goes smoothly in life. After a few weeks of operating like this, the Noble students finally had enough of our study group and decided to report us to the Academy’s authorities.

They called us "prejudiced against the common students" among other things.

I find it ironic, to be honest.

How is the Academy allowed to be prejudiced, but we aren’t? There are several courses that students can’t offer unless they are Nobles. The school system also favors the Nobility above all other students—especially High Nobility.

Despite having these thoughts, there’s no way I can seriously bring it up with the authorities.

I already know nothing will be done about it.

In the end, the Academy made a decision regarding the complaints.

They have ordered the disbandment of our study group if we don’t accept any and all students into our ranks. This, of course, quickly reaches the ears of the Knight and Clergy students, and many of them have sought me out with many concerns.

The J-Tutorial arrangement is really helpful to a lot of people, and they do not wish to see it end.

At the same time, they also do not want their safe space to be invaded by the Nobles.

"Can we appeal this matter?"

"What should we do, Javier? Is there anything we can say to make them change their mind?"

"Damnit! Do we really have to accept those Nobles...?"

I smile to myself as I hear them speak.

Is it so easy to appeal and change the Academy’s mind? If it were so simple, my results would have been changed already. I wouldn’t have had to take such a convoluted route.

No, the Academy won’t be changing its mind on this matter.

However, this doesn’t mean I am stuck.

No, rather... I actually expected this to happen at some point. After all, there is only so much the Nobles can take with the kind of pride that they have.

"Do not worry!" I comfort all the worried students with a charismatic smile. "Even if our study group has been abolished, we have already reached the minimum requirement necessary to advance beyond a mere gathering."

It is only at this point that some of them pry their eyes open in realization.

Some express shock.

Others show amazement, and even relief.

They understand my intentions.

"We will be establishing a Club!" With a loud voice, I raise everyone’s spirit with my emphatic declaration.

This has always been my intention from the start.