10 ~ I’ve Already Found My Teammates
“Many thanks for your promotion, Teacher. I’m endlessly grateful!”
“Mm.” Frand, watching the young trainee in front of him shedding tears of gratitude, was visibly smug—wielding his meager authority like a general waving a feathered token.
Just as Dylin had expected, the two teammates who had left his team—aside from Astrid—had done so not without the meddling of this half-elf teacher, who acted like a fox borrowing a tiger’s might.
Indeed, the higher-ups had merely instructed him to give Dylin a subtle warning—to let that human boy know his place, to dissuade him from having any presumptuous thoughts about the princess of the Elf Forest. To make him understand that harboring such desires, aspiring to cling to a High Elf, was delusional.
Elves were proud and disdainful of using power to oppress others.
But when it came to the executor—Frand—the approach had morphed drastically.
As a half-elf who had never gained acceptance among the elves, Frand was desperate to prove his loyalty to them, going out of his way to make a show of it.
On the other hand, this was also fueled by his own resentment.
Why was it that someone like him—a half-elf who didn’t even dare to covet, who wasn’t even worthy of eye contact with the Elf Saintess—had to watch some human brat act so outrageously, so brazenly without a shred of deference??
So, he secretly approached Dylin’s other two teammates and leveraged his connections to offer them better team resources.
Had they been Divine Princesses with even a shred of principle, they might not have agreed. But Frand was certain that any Divine Princess willing to follow a blind Divine Child like Dylin couldn’t possibly have much principle or strength to begin with—at best, they were illegitimate children from obscure Divine Princess families, unrecognized and without a surname.
All Divine Princesses came from noble lineages, and in a first meeting, it was customary to introduce oneself by surname. Those who only dared to offer their given name, without a surname? No need to wonder—they were undoubtedly secret offspring, born out of wedlock.
Such “wild Divine Princesses” held awkward positions in the academy. Desperate for validation, nothing would offer them greater recognition or status than joining a team with promise.
On the Kaleburn Continent, there was no shortage of “wild Divine Princesses” who had gone on to found families—or even entire clans. As long as your strength and talent were exceptional, it didn’t matter if you were born illegitimate. Your lineage could be buried under the weight of your achievements.
Frand had seized upon this mentality. He offered those two Divine Princesses in Dylin’s team a better opportunity. As he had predicted, they agreed in a heartbeat, abandoning Dylin without hesitation. If they could, they might’ve knelt on the spot, cupped their hands, and recited lines like: “Having drifted half a life in vain, I only regret not meeting a worthy master sooner. If you do not reject me, I’d gladly recognize you as my foster father!”
Wasn’t it splendidly done? And now, those two wild Divine Princesses even owed him their gratitude.
“Did you follow through with what I told you to do?” Frand looked down at the young man from a head taller.
“You can rest easy, sir. I’m very good at this sort of thing. Honestly, Dylin really wasn’t much of a decent person. Mediocre talent aside, he kept barking orders at us like he was king just because he was the team leader, completely ignoring his teammates’ feelings. A guy like that doesn’t deserve to have teammates. I don’t even know how he got into this prestigious academy!” The young man straightened up, speaking righteously.
“Mm, very good.” Frand nodded in satisfaction. What he’d instructed the young man to do was simple: spread rumors about Dylin behind his back. As Dylin’s former teammate, he was to tarnish Dylin’s image among the new students who hadn’t yet joined a team—discouraging them from even considering Dylin’s.
This way, when the Freshman Crown Tournament arrived in a month, Dylin—without a single teammate—would be guaranteed last place.
You little brat, calling me a mutt? You really thought I wouldn’t be able to deal with you??
“What about the other one?”
“Laini? Maybe she just hasn’t figured things out yet.”
Laini, of course, referred to the other former teammate. While this young man had betrayed Dylin without a second thought, the other girl—the Divine Princess—though eventually agreeing to Frand’s terms after some hesitation, had declined his request to slander Dylin.
Tch. Playing the virtuous victim after selling out your comrade? If you’re going to do it, do it clean. Waffling like that—you deserve to never rise again.
Frand sneered in his heart, though he remained courteous on the surface.
“I’ll leave the rest to you. Do as you wish. If anything happens, someone will cover for you. After all, certain students have offended people they really shouldn’t have… You understand what I mean, right?” Frand’s words were meant to dispel any lingering worries, giving the young Divine Princess free rein to go after Dylin.
“Don’t worry, teacher Frand.” The young man immediately returned a knowing look.
Heh. I said you wouldn’t be able to find a single teammate this month—and you won’t.
After the youth left, Frand chuckled coldly to himself.
“That brat Dylin probably still has no idea he’s about to get steamrolled.” Yet, just as Frand said those words, the very person he’d been “thinking about day and night” drifted right past him.
“…Yo, isn’t that Dylin?” Seeing the other walk by, pretending not to see him, Frand called out coldly, “What, you see your teacher and don’t even bother to say hello?”
“Mm?” Dylin turned around, catching sight of Frand. A flicker of irritation—like spotting a fly—passed through his eyes. “Oh. Hello, teacher. Goodbye, teacher.”
“Stop right there.”
“Does the teacher have something important to say?”
“Dylin, the Crown Tournament is almost here, and you still haven’t found a single teammate? I suggest you get moving soon—otherwise, you’re going to make quite a scene during the tournament,” Frand sneered.
“Oh, there’s no need for teacher to worry about that. In fact…” Dylin stuffed both hands in his pockets, tilting his head with a strange look. “Who told you I haven’t found teammates?”
“Hah, if you can’t find teammates, I suggest you just drop out instead of making a fool of—what did you say?!” Frand’s eyes widened in disbelief, his ears doubting what they’d just heard.