Group Project (2)

What on earth were the odds of this happening? The moment I heard Cecily's name called last, my eyes widened. This was truly an astronomical coincidence.

What kind of odds would put those three and Jackson in the same group? The lottery exists for a reason; even if this wasn't impossible, it was still unbelievable.

After Professor Virrus called Cecily's name, I was momentarily stunned before looking behind me. Cecily and Rina wore similar expressions, so they were clearly just as shocked.

'Could this really have been rigged?'

Given the circumstances, it was only natural for me to harbor reasonable suspicions. If it had been just one person, perhaps I could have understood, but three people had ended up in the same group.

When Professor Virrus began calling the next names, I checked Marie's reaction before looking for Jackson. Being grouped with none other than Jackson, Rina, and Cecily had to be devastating news for her.

As expected, Marie slightly opened her mouth, openly revealing her disbelief. Even I was astonished by this unbelievable reality, so I could only imagine how she felt.

The difference was that I was watching a fire from across the river, while she was flailing around inside it.

'It'd be better not to comfort her.'

In a situation like this, it was wiser to keep my mouth shut. Being grouped with Jackson was already unfortunate for her, and Rina—whom she could safely call her worst enemy—was there too.

Moreover, Marie's opinion of Cecily had not been particularly good since the gathering. She did not hate her as openly as Rina did, but she was wary of her.

'This is going to be tough.'

It wasn't merely tough; this was a full-blown hell party. Marie came from House Rechillis, a family that practiced noblesse oblige, so she was the type to take action herself. But whether the others would do the same was another question.

The princess of the Minerva Empire, the princess of Helium, and the son of a wealthy count.

Those three had probably spent far more time ordering someone else around than doing things themselves. Rina in particular was probably the worst in that regard, since her position suited a 'leader' in the sense of a ruler more than one in the sense of a team captain.

In other words, she was the type to have the person best suited for a task handle it and finish it efficiently, rather than acting herself. Put another way, she was highly likely to become a freeloader in a group project.

"...Do you really think they won't change our group members?"

After some time, perhaps having come to terms with this unbelievable reality, Marie muttered with an expression of complete resignation. I sympathized with her wholeheartedly, but I did not comfort her. I merely gave her a pitying look.

I felt bad for Marie, but the professor had emphasized last time that group members would never be changed, and that anyone caught attempting it would be punished severely without mercy.

She shouldn't think that it would be fine as long as she wasn't caught. The professor was not an easy man to deal with, and getting caught would carry enormous risks. Naturally, rumors would spread throughout the class, and she might even receive the lowest possible grade.

"That concludes all the assignments. As I emphasized before, changing group members is impossible, and anyone caught doing so will be severely punished, so please keep that in mind."

"...Heh heh."

Right on cue, the professor kindly delivered the final blow. Marie let out a hollow laugh, as though she had given up in advance.

I almost laughed when I saw her, but I barely covered it with a fake cough. I don't think I had ever seen Marie make an expression like that before.

"The presentations will take place exactly two weeks from today. During that period, classes will be replaced with discussions among the groups. In addition, any student who gives an excellent presentation or asks a sharp question will earn bonus points for their entire group."

I could understand choosing The Chronicle of Xenon as the topic, but looking at things now, he did seem to have a subtle fondness for taking the easy way out. Still, he knew how packed the students' schedules were, so perhaps he had replaced class with group discussions as a way for them to rest.

As Professor Virrus continued explaining, I quietly raised my hand. I had a question I wanted to ask. The moment Professor Virrus saw me raise my hand, his face brightened, and he readily gestured for me to speak.

"Yes, Isaac. What would you like to know?"

"I'd like to ask whether we're allowed to use visual materials during the presentation."

This world had not developed computers, let alone machines. Never mind the PowerPoint presentations I had used so effectively in my previous life; it did not even have projectors, so we would have to use large sheets of paper instead.

Professor Virrus gently tugged at his mustache as he thought over my question, then answered in his calm voice.

"That's perfectly fine. Using visual materials also means you've prepared thoroughly. However, considering the topic this time, visual materials may not be particularly meaningful."

"Why not?"

"The topic of this group project is predicting the story's progression, not evaluating it. In my personal opinion, simply using the blackboard should be sufficient."

Then that's a relief. It didn't seem like I would have to draw pictures on huge sheets of paper for no reason.

Instead, I would probably have to be fairly thorough when organizing the material and practicing the presentation. Giving a presentation while using a blackboard was unfamiliar to me.

'...Wait. Why am I naturally assuming I'll be giving the presentation?'

This was why trauma was frightening. After taking repeated hits during group projects, I had naturally shifted in that direction.

Of course, I was also the author of The Chronicle of Xenon. Perhaps there would be a group member who was better at presenting than I was, so I should wait and see.

'It'll be fun to watch.'

If I was lucky, there might be people who proposed developments I had never anticipated. Just as I had seen with Jackson at the gathering, there might be students who were good at picking up on subtle foreshadowing and clues.

Although the result had been strange, even taking that into consideration, Jackson's powers of observation were impressive.

'...Though I don't know whether he'll manage.'

While Professor Virrus explained what we needed to watch out for while working on the group project, I glanced behind me. Perhaps they had already sorted out their thoughts, because both Rina and Cecily wore expressions that said they did not care.

'They'll manage on their own.'

I wondered who would suffer the most in this madhouse of a group. I predicted it would be either Marie or Jackson.

"Then we'll end today's class here. You may spend the remaining time becoming familiar with your group members and making plans."

There was still more than an hour left in class, but Professor Virrus ended it early. Just as he said, he seemed to have done so to let the group members get acquainted with one another during the remaining time.

The class ended after Professor Virrus gave us a polite farewell. Before standing up, I checked on Marie beside me.

Her face was hidden behind hair that hung like a curtain after she buried it in the desk, but I could hear her occasional muttering.

"It's over... I should give up on humanities..."

"... ..."

"If it had been Isaac instead of that bastard, I could have managed, so why did it have to be him...?"

"... ..."

"Lady Lumines. Why are you giving me this trial...? I pray every single day..."

Should I really comfort her? I cautiously watched Marie's depression, which seemed deep enough to bore through the floor.

But as though pouring oil on a blazing fire, Rina, who had been sitting behind her, encouraged Marie in a carefree voice.

"Since things have turned out this way, how about we all work hard together? Professor Virrus told us not to change group members, so wouldn't it be best to give up?"

"...Bitch."

It was the first time I had heard Marie swear. That meant she must have been truly furious. Fortunately, she had said it quietly enough that Rina probably hadn't heard her.

"By the way, it would have been nice if Isaac were in our group. What a shame."

Rina gave me a subtle smile and looked directly at me. I let out an awkward laugh under her gaze and answered.

"Jackson should be fine too. I noticed at the gathering that, whatever else may be said about him, he has pretty good powers of observation and analysis."

"Isn't that true of you as well?"

This time, it was Cecily asking me the question, not Rina. Her voice was filled with certainty, and it seemed that both Rina and Cecily had a tendency to overestimate me.

Many people misunderstood this, but I was not a genius. I simply possessed a great deal of miscellaneous knowledge thanks to my previous life. In addition, access to information in this world was far less developed than it had been in my previous life.

I maintained a wry smile at Cecily's question and opened my mouth. I couldn't bring up my previous life, so I offered a plausible excuse.

"You're overestimating me. I've simply read a lot of books."

"From my perspective, it seems like you're underestimating yourself. Even the consideration you occasionally show is something only a thoughtful person can manage."

The 'consideration' Cecily mentioned was closer to a habit. As everyone knew, I had a somewhat clumsy side, and the habit had developed because of that. Before saying or doing something, I made a point of thinking it over one more time.

Of course, having that habit did not change my nature. One could tell by the way I occasionally acted carelessly.

"Um... You can think of it as a habit. I have a bit of a clumsy side, so I tend to think things over once more before doing anything."

"That's a good habit. It must be difficult to develop one like that."

It was Rina who spoke, not Cecily. I glanced at her once before opening my mouth.

"That may be true, but I occasionally miss opportunities. People with outstanding strengths inevitably have weaknesses hidden by those strengths. If circumstances arise where they can't use their strengths, only their weaknesses will be exposed."

I didn't need to look far for an example. Even I made all sorts of mistakes whenever I failed to think things through. Once, I had nearly been caught by Marie after accidentally bringing my idea notebook instead of my lecture notebook.

Rina pressed her lips together after hearing me, as though something had occurred to her. Her expression also darkened slightly, so she must have thought of something unpleasant.

I quickly organized my notes and stood up during the brief silence. Class was over, and I intended to meet my group members, just as Professor Virrus had told us to.

"Then I'll be going. I hope things turn out well for you."

"Good luck, Isaac. We'll... do our best."

Cecily glanced at Rina and Marie in turn as she spoke quietly. She seemed well aware that the composition of their group was atrocious, as could be inferred from the way her voice trailed off.

What did she expect me to do about it? I felt bad for Cecily, but it was not my concern. If any of them asked me for help, I intended to refuse firmly.

That might seem cold, but didn't they need an experience like this too? It was when I stood up and headed toward Leona.

"Hello, beautiful ladies. It is an honor to be on the same team."

"...Hello. It's nice to meet you too."

As soon as I left, Jackson appeared out of nowhere and smoothly inserted himself into the conversation. His oily voice and gentlemanly manner were worlds apart from how he treated me.

Cecily accepted the greeting on behalf of Marie, who had her head on the desk, and Rina, who was lost in thought. Her characteristic mischievous expression had vanished without a trace, leaving only stiffness behind.

Jackson would probably take this as an opportunity. I watched him continue his conversation with Cecily, wearing a genial smile, then immediately turned away. Meeting my own group members took priority.

'I should be able to work well with Leona, right?'

With her true self concealed, Leona presented an image that was much more taciturn and studious than mine. Unless we were alone together, she probably wouldn't show her aloof side.

That was far better than being part of that madhouse. I was walking toward the desk where Leona sat when I suddenly ran into a male student.

"Uh."

"Ah! Hello! I'm Benjamin Blank!"

Dull blond, curly hair—and an innocent face like that of a country boy.

He was Benjamin Blank, one of my group members. I nodded at his energetic greeting and replied bluntly.

"I'm Isaac Ducer Maishal. You can speak casually to me."

"Ah... I-I... can...? But you're... a noble..."

Benjamin faltered at my words and started gauging my reaction. Since he couldn't even meet my gaze properly, I could tell what he usually thought of nobles.

'This damn class system.'

Unfortunately, Benjamin's reaction was normal in this world. Unless they were both children of noble houses, there was an unmistakable gap between commoners and nobles.

For that reason, it was not strange that Benjamin found me intimidating. I sighed inwardly before speaking to him.

"I don't care about that sort of thing, so speak casually. I feel uncomfortable otherwise."

"Ah... okay? I'll be casual, then."

"You switched right to casual?"

"S-Sorry!"

"I'm joking."

For some reason, the situation reminded me of the military in my previous life. Benjamin wore a bewildered expression when I added that I was joking.

I chuckled at his expression and started walking. Benjamin hurried after me as soon as I did.

"I-I really can speak casually, right?"

"I said you can."

"Okay. I'm really dropping the honorifics, then?"

"You're already doing it."

While chatting with Benjamin, we soon arrived at the desk where Leona was sitting. She had been writing something in her notebook, but quietly closed it when we approached. Then she raised her head and met my gaze.

As expected, she wore a stiff expression that looked as though not even a drop of blood would come out if she were pricked with a needle, rather than the cynical expression she had shown before. At least she had nailed her persona.

"I'm Leona Lyons. I look forward to working with you."

She alternated her gaze between the two of us and introduced herself in a monotonous voice. Her attitude was so different from her true self that I felt a slight sense of incongruity, but I forcibly suppressed it.

"I'm Isaac Ducer Maishal."

"I'm Benjamin Blank. I look forward to working with you."

The three of us had just finished introducing ourselves to one another.

"Oh my. You've already gathered?"

A girl's voice, so bright it was almost too much, reached my ears. The other two and I all turned our gazes toward the sound.

A female student with brown hair and brown eyes, and a doll-like, adorable appearance, was approaching us. I hadn't noticed from a distance, but up close, she was quite petite.

She looked at the three of us in turn, then placed a hand over the center of her chest and greeted us politely.

"I'm Aira Ben Martius of House Martius, the family of a marquis. And..."

After introducing herself as Aira, she alternated her gaze between Benjamin and Leona, rather than me. A moment later, once she seemed to have figured everything out, I caught her curling the corners of her lips upward.

I slightly furrowed my brow as I watched her. Surely she wasn't going to say it outright...

"You're all commoners except Mr. Isaac, right? I'll speak casually with you."

"... ..."

"Oh, right. Come to think of it, you're from the baronial House Maishal, aren't you, Mr. Isaac?"

Judging by how deliberately she had added 'baron' after my family name, I could make a fairly accurate prediction. It was a conclusion I had reached through my experience of being battered by group projects.

"I look forward to working with you. I've been keeping an eye on you."

There was one bitch here who intended to use her status to freeload.