Chapter 36

If You Can

Meanwhile, at the military academy—

“I heard there are eight idiots who lost an eight-on-one fight against a little kid.”

At the mocking voice coming from somewhere nearby, the seven cadets who had participated in the training simulation against Haydam squeezed their eyes shut in anguish.

Ever since they had been thoroughly crushed by Haydam in the simulation, the eight participating cadets had been ridiculed by the others every single day.

Major General Meursault had ordered them not to disclose the details of the exercise, so every one of them had kept their mouths firmly shut about how they had lost.

That only made the criticism worse.

“And one of them is supposed to graduate at the top of our class… Guess it was all thanks to his father.”

Plato was mocked too.

But as always, he continued living his life with the same clear yet faintly unhinged look in his eyes.

“There’s no way Senior Plato could have lost. The other seven must have dragged him down!”

Because the cadets who admired Plato blamed the defeat on the other seven like this, only the seven excluding Plato suffered even more.

They were afraid that if they now claimed Haydam had won through underhanded tactics, everyone would accuse them of making excuses after losing to a child.

Conversely, the cadets who acknowledged Haydam’s ability could not bring themselves to say that he was simply exceptional.

They knew people would dismiss it as defeated losers flattering the victor.

They were being mocked by the entire academy for no reason other than losing to a child.

Naturally, it was unbearable.

And to them, the following announcement was nothing short of despair.

“…Therefore, Lord Haydam will temporarily train alongside you at the military academy until he participates in the subjugation campaign.”

Haydam stood on the platform beside the headmaster as the explanation continued.

When he spotted the seven of them, he gave them a faint smile.

All seven screamed internally.

No…!

The other cadets were already vicious enough in their criticism.

What would happen if they had to train alongside Haydam for a while?

Haydam was tiny and angelic-looking at first glance.

Once the other cadets saw him in person, the seven of them would undoubtedly receive even harsher abuse.

And there’s no way Lord Haydam will defend us…

Haydam had no interest in them whatsoever.

The moment the exercise ended, he had left without hesitation, as though he had already obtained everything he wanted.

The only consolation was that Haydam’s ability was genuine.

Before long, none of the cadets would consider it shameful to have lost to him.

…Though they were not sure whether it was really something to celebrate that the entire academy was inferior to a ten-year-old child.

The headmaster continued.

“This is technically closer to a temporary transfer than formal admission, but his overwhelming victory in the previous training simulation is sufficient proof of his qualifications. I assume no one has any objections?”

At that moment, one of the cadets raised his hand.

The seven saw the smile on Haydam’s lips twist slightly and silently offered their condolences to the cadet.

“Do you object to Lord Haydam’s transfer?”

At the headmaster’s question, the cadet shook his head and slowly answered.

“No. I believe Lord Haydam is fully qualified.”

“Then?”

“There is something I would like to say to Lord Haydam here.”

The cadet looked toward Haydam.

Haydam responded with apparent interest.

“To me?”

“Yes. There is one thing I hope you will not misunderstand.”

“A misunderstanding? What kind?”

“Lord Haydam, the eight cadets you defeated are indeed idiots. But I hope you understand one thing. Not all of us are idiots like them.”

The other cadets stared directly at Haydam as though they agreed.

Meanwhile, the seven who had just been called idiots in front of everyone—including Haydam himself—lowered their heads in humiliation.

They had been publicly disgraced, but it was still true that eight cadets nearing graduation had lost to a single ten-year-old.

Yet Haydam’s reaction was strange.

After staring at the cadet for a moment, Haydam asked in a gentle voice,

“Let me ask you one thing. Do all of you believe you could defeat me?”

“Pardon?”

The cadet seemed taken aback by the unexpected question, but soon regained his composure and answered confidently.

“Of course.”

“Of course?”

“I do not say that because I look down on you, Lord Haydam. A cadet who assumes defeat without even trying has no right to remain at this academy.”

“Hmm.”

Haydam appeared to think for a moment before looking down at the assembled cadets.

“My father acknowledged me after a single exercise, but it seems all of you require one more demonstration. Someone who believes I won through mere luck would never become my comrade… so I would like to settle this properly.”

“What do you mean?”

“I will participate in another training simulation against eight representatives chosen by all of you, rather than cadets chosen by me.”

“…!”

The assembled cadets began murmuring.

Ever since the previous simulation, the idea had already been circulating among them.

They wanted to choose new representatives and hold a rematch against Haydam.

However, asking a ten-year-old child to face another group of grown cadets was difficult to bring up, no matter the circumstances.

So they were only grateful that Haydam had proposed it first.

“Wait.”

Another cadet raised his hand.

“We appreciate the proposal. It could not have been easy to make that decision, and we respect you for it. But surely… you are not suggesting another one-against-eight match?”

Haydam gave a faint laugh.

“So one against eight is unacceptable again?”

“Of course! It would be an honor to compete against you, but our pride would not allow us to claim victory eight against one. Lord Haydam, the eight cadets you defeated, and the eight cadets representing us. That would make it a fair contest.”

“Your side gets eight, while mine gets nine?”

“You are not yet formally enrolled as a cadet at this academy.”

The warmth in Haydam’s gaze vanished in an instant.

He remained polite, but his voice became noticeably colder.

“Let’s make it a clean eight against eight. Otherwise, I suspect you will claim again that I failed to contribute the strength of one full person.”

The seven cadets panicked as the situation took an unexpected turn.

What? We never agreed to this…

Another training simulation?

And we’re on Lord Haydam’s side?

All seven arrived at the same thought.

If we win this time, the insults will finally stop…!

Their expressions brightened at the thought that their treatment as sinners might soon end.

A few of them, however, still looked dejected.

Because—

What if we lose again…?

They had, after all, already lost to Haydam.

Recently, they had begun to wonder whether they had truly lost because they were simply not good enough.

Their self-esteem had fallen so low that some had even started believing they really had dragged Plato down.

Then Haydam spoke.

“We will make it eight against eight, but I would like to add one condition.”

At the mention of an added condition, the ordinary cadets wore expressions that said, As expected.

There must have been a reason Lord Haydam insisted on one against eight. Those fools probably got careless because they thought their numerical advantage guaranteed victory. That must be why they lost. But with equal numbers, things will be different. We won’t let our guards down. The fact that he is adding a condition proves it.

Admittedly, Haydam possessed a boldness that made it difficult to see him as a ten-year-old.

Even so, a child was still a child.

They simply could not imagine losing to the adorable boy standing before them, so they were prepared to accept any condition he proposed.

Then Haydam’s next words shattered their expectations.

“My team’s victory condition will be that not a single person dies.”

“…Pardon?”

The cadets blinked stupidly.

“Do you mean… our victory will only be recognized if none of us die?”

“The opposite.”

Haydam tilted his head.

“The moment even one member of my team dies, you win. You also win if even one of you survives or if you plant the flag first.”

The seven cadets were horrified.

We never agreed to that condition, Lord Haydam!

The rest of the cadets were equally dumbfounded.

The condition he added… puts his own side at a disadvantage?

They had no choice but to ask.

“Are you looking down on us? Or are you setting an impossible condition so you can use it as an excuse if you lose?”

“Neither. Why would you assume I am considering defeat at all…?”

Haydam looked directly at Lucas, the cadet who had first raised his hand.

“I am not looking down on you. It is simply that a cadet who assumes defeat without even trying has no right to remain at this academy. Isn’t that right, Cadet Lucas?”

“…!”

Lucas was surprised that Haydam knew his name.

But he was even more startled by the pressure emanating from the tiny child.

It was not the sort of presence an uncommissioned child should have possessed.

He feels like a company commander who came out to straighten out the troops…

While Lucas remained frozen, another cadet stepped forward and gave both his acceptance and a challenge.

“Very well. We were planning to annihilate your entire team anyway.”

The other cadets nodded in agreement.

Haydam smiled brightly and gave a brief answer.

“If you can.”

***

“Lord Haydam is participating in another training simulation!”

After hearing from the academy headmaster that Haydam would compete in an eight-on-eight training simulation against the cadets, Meursault went straight to the Commander to report it.

It was a fairly urgent report, but the Commander responded with indifference, as though he had already expected it.

“You’re making too much of it.”

“Too much of it? You must stop him!”

Meursault hurriedly continued.

“Lord Haydam suffered a gunshot wound only a few days ago! Even if the injury was minor, a training simulation is not something light enough to perform twice in such rapid succession.”

“We cannot exactly go around announcing that Haydam was shot outside the district, can we, Meursault?”

A gag order had been imposed regarding Haydam’s gunshot wound.

The heir of the warlord being shot outside the district could easily develop into a major incident.

The academy cadets had likely accepted Haydam’s proposal without knowing anything about the injury.

The Commander spoke with his usual calm expression.

“Since we cannot reveal that he was injured, refusing permission for the exercise now would appear suspicious.”

“That may be true, but…!”

“If Haydam accepted, then that is enough.”

“The cadets who lost to him will be on his team. Some of them harbor resentment toward him! What will you do if they deliberately lose?”

“It does not matter. I believe I understand what Haydam is thinking.”

“You understand that complicated mind of his?”

“Yes.”

The Commander looked through the window toward the military academy.

“He knows how to rise above others.”