"Hey. Lady Allen."

While taking a short break from my usual sparring with Freyr, a timid noble lady approached me cautiously.

‘What is it?’ “Why, Lady Noble?”

“Is it really okay to enter without practicing our coordination even once?”

It was surprising to hear the person who seemed most reluctant about this mission bringing up the need for coordination.

Why is she being so proactive?

Maybe she noticed my puzzled look, as she sighed heavily.

“Neither the esteemed Lady Allen nor Lady Kent might be aware, but this upcoming contest has become the talk of the entire academy.”

Apparently, according to the noble lady, the duel between me and Arthur had become an unexpectedly huge sensation.

They’re calling it a match between the genius Third Prince, who has been praised for his talents, and the first-place achiever in the entrance exams, a member of the Allen family.

“They say it’s become such a big deal that people are even betting on it.”

Betting, huh?

There’s only one character who would organize something like that.

Seth, the merchant’s son who runs a massive trade network.

His betting operations can be trusted. After all, he’s always shouting about how important trust is for a merchant.

‘The odds...’ “What are the odds?”

“That’s not what’s important right now.”

‘It is important.’ “Lady Noble, deciding what’s important is up to me, not a lowly servant like you. Now, answer me.”

“...The odds are 1.1 to 10.”

I didn’t need to ask who had the 1.1.

Of course, it would be Arthur.

Based on the rumors I’ve heard, his party members are apparently the top first-years.

Jakal at the front.

Arthur, who can handle both frontline and rear positions.

And even Matthew, who, despite being overshadowed by Fabian, possesses extraordinary talent as a clergyman.

The fact that these three have teamed up to prepare for Saturday is such common knowledge that even I, an outsider, have heard about it.

And how about me?

I’m still not even sure if my party is properly assembled.

Practice for the dungeon raid?

I haven’t done that even once.

So, where do you think the trust is leaning?

But isn’t the payout a bit too high?

It’s not like I haven’t shown any of my abilities.

I proved my talent by securing first place in the entrance exams.

And I demonstrated my combat skills by sparring with Freyr.

Even with just Freyr and me on the team, we shouldn’t be that far behind, so why is it 10 to 1?

Of course, I’ll take the free money.

I should have Carl place a bet with Seth later.

Didn’t Seth say the minimum bet was 10 gold coins per person?

That’s already 100 gold coins.

Ha, this is so sweet it might give me cavities.

“Anyway, this match is the academy’s main topic of interest. If you suffer a crushing defeat, imagine what people will say.”

She’s really worrying about nothing.

‘Why are you already thinking about losing?’ “Lowly cowardly noble, why are you thinking about losing? Is it because you’re a defeatist to your core?”

“How can you think of winning? Even if Lady Kent and Lady Allen are strong, a dungeon isn’t something that’s decided by strength alone!”

The noble lady has a point.

A dungeon raid isn’t determined solely by physical power.

While having strength makes things easier, the most important factor is knowledge of the dungeon.

But the noble lady is missing one thing.

Do you really think all I have is strength?

‘Lady Noble...’ “Lady Noble, if I were just a muscle-headed idiot, how do you think I managed to achieve first place in the academy entrance exam?”

“Wasn’t that because of the compensation from the previous incident...?”

Ah, so that’s what people think?

That a troublemaker like me couldn’t have achieved first place in the entrance exam through legitimate means?

I suppose it’s more convincing to believe that a piece of trash who lived as a delinquent all their life would resort to dishonest methods to snatch first place within a year.

No wonder the odds are so high.

Since trust in me is at rock bottom, it makes sense that, even with Freyr on my team, the odds are still this bad.

Seeing the noble lady’s nervous glances at me after her slip of the tongue made me sigh involuntarily.

Originally, I was just going to say a few words before entering the dungeon, but maybe I should give a little explanation.

‘Hey.’ “Noble, you have time today, right?”

“Yes? Yes!”

‘Wait a moment...’ “Wait here for a moment.”

I told the noble lady that and then approached Freyr.

When I mentioned that I wanted to discuss tomorrow’s dungeon raid strategy, Freyr asked why we needed a strategy.

“Can’t we just cut them all down?”

I was so stunned that I doubted whether this person even had a brain.

If an ordinary person had said that, I would have thought it was because they were confident in their abilities, but not with Freyr.

This person genuinely thinks that way and acts on it.

If left alone, she would probably run headlong into enemies and ruin the dungeon raid, just like in the game.

But it’s okay.

I have a way to rein in Freyr, at least somewhat.

‘Freyr...’ “Lowly swordsman. I’m the leader of this dungeon raid. Not an idiot like you.”

“Yeah, I know.”

‘You have to follow my orders.’ “You have to follow my judgment, not that beastly brain of yours.”

“Why?”

Freyr tilted her head in confusion at my words.

I knew this would happen.

When I first tried to raise Freyr’s favorability in the game, this ‘why’ question was the bane of my existence.

You can’t respond with logic here.

Freyr has already decided on the answer in her mind.

To persuade her, you must choose one of two approaches.

Either prepare an answer that fits her world or just be equally unreasonable.

This time, I chose the latter.

‘Otherwise, I won’t spar with you anymore.’ “Otherwise, I won’t spar with a lowly person like you.”

Freyr seems to be obsessed with our sparring sessions.

Normally, she wouldn’t show any interest in anyone until her favorability level increased, but she seeks me out, which says something.

Since she only looks for me during sparring, it doesn’t seem like her favorability has increased much.

I don’t know why, but as long as there’s a method to use, I’ll exploit it.

Freyr’s eyes widened at my firm declaration of refusal.

“Why? You said you’d keep sparring with me.”

‘That was...’ “That was when I beat the pathetic prince.”

Freyr rolled her eyes, seemingly deep in thought, before nodding in agreement.

“Got it.”

Since she seems to have agreed, she should restrain herself somewhat.

Her nature might cause her to act out a little, but it’ll be within predictable limits.

And that’s enough for me to consider Freyr a manageable variable.

After getting Freyr’s agreement, I took her and the noble lady to my dormitory.

There, I showed them the various items I had prepared and explained my plan.

“...I should tell my friend to place a bet on the underdog.”

After hearing everything, the noble lady said this.

The day of the contest had finally arrived.

Arthur had been warming up at the training grounds since early in the morning.

Once they entered the dungeon, they wouldn’t have a moment to rest, so it was essential to warm up beforehand.

“You’re here early, Third Prince.”

Arthur turned his head at the voice calling him, and there stood Jakal Burrow, resting his spear on his shoulder.

“For a warm-up, it seems a bit excessive.”

“No one knows my body better than I do.”

“Of course, I thought perhaps you might have been spurred on by what’s over there.”

Jakal gestured with his eyes toward Lucy Allen and Freyr Kent.

As usual, the two were sparring as if they intended to kill each other, even on the day of the contest.

It seemed like one of them might get seriously injured, giving Arthur a victory by default.

“Do humans get influenced by beastly fights?”

“Haha, you’re right.”

Would I get tense by watching that delinquent?

No way.

Arthur shook his head decisively, dismissing Jakal’s suspicion.

There was no reason to be influenced.

Because today’s victory was already as good as decided.

Even at a glance, it was clear.

Lucy Allen might be something, but...

Freyr Kent was just a beast who didn’t listen to anyone and relied solely on brute strength.

Another party member had been coerced into joining by Lucy Allen’s threats, just a regular student.

On the other hand, Arthur’s party consisted of the academy’s second and third top students, along with Matthew, who was all but certain to become a future cardinal.

The difference in power was clear.

It was almost enough to declare victory right then and there.

But Arthur wasn’t complacent.

He had gathered as much information as possible about the academy’s dungeon from the students who had already progressed through it.

How the dungeon was structured.

The layout inside.

What to prepare.

Methods for clearing it.

Everything.

The students were still stuck on the 30th floor, so there wasn’t much information beyond that, but it didn’t matter.

Lucy Allen was arrogant.

She hadn’t made any preparations for the dungeon raid.

She hadn’t even made the slightest effort to find out how the dungeon was structured.

She hadn’t prepared any of the supplies necessary for the raid.

She didn’t even bother to gather her party members for a practice run.

As if she believed that even without such preparations, she could easily defeat someone like Arthur.

Did she think she was so overwhelmingly talented that she didn’t need any of that?

Arrogant and presumptuous, Lucy Allen.

Did she really think she could defeat me like that?

I won’t deny that you’re a genius.

Maybe you’ll even surpass my expectations and clear the 30th floor.

But it doesn’t matter.

Because today, you haven’t prepared for defeat.

If the time comes when you shatter my expectations...

Perhaps because I told her I wouldn’t spar with her if the results yesterday were poor.

Freyr was particularly ruthless today.

We hadn’t even entered the dungeon, and I already felt drained.

After a quick shower and preparing to enter the dungeon, I stepped outside and found someone waiting for me.

“Young Lady.”

“Lady Allen.”

Standing in front of the dormitory were Carl and Joy.

While it made sense for Carl to be here since he was entering the dungeon with me today, why was Joy here?

The moment she saw my face, Joy sighed heavily.

“Do you have any sense at all?”

Huh? Why the sudden nagging?

It’s not like we talk that often.

“You challenged the Third Prince so confidently, but you haven’t made any preparations? Does that make any sense?”

Seeing her furrowed brow as if she found me completely ridiculous, I realized that Joy had come here out of concern for me.

As expected, she’s a kind person.

“Here’s the information we’ve gathered about the academy’s dungeon so far, and this is...”

‘Joy...’ “Dull Lady, do you really think I need something like this?”

I’ve already prepared everything I need.

“Lady Allen, you haven’t prepared anything. If it’s because of your pride, you need to let that go.”

‘I have.’ “Do you think I’m as dull as you? I’ve already made all the necessary preparations to win.”

I don’t know what Arthur has prepared, but it doesn’t matter.

I’m not so incompetent as to be defeated by an NPC.

‘I’ll win and come back.’ “I’ll win and come back, so just watch. Dull Lady.”