Rewards

Many students were even more surprised. They had never expected Suye, who had been so quiet last year, to speak so logically, or to possess an air faintly reminiscent of a teacher.

Some noticed that Suye seemed much taller and sturdier than he had been last semester. He looked nothing like a mage and more like a warrior.

Hote said from the side, "Yeah, Suye's absolutely right. We're all classmates, so let's not act like this."

"I think we should just let it go." Jimmy, another desk mate, smiled.

The lively classroom fell silent, and more students turned to look over.

Horton's expression changed. He reached out and shoved Suye hard. Suye reeled backward and hurriedly grabbed the desk, nearly flipping over and smashing his head.

Horton roared angrily, "What do you mean? I was only joking with you, and you made it sound so serious! If you can't take a joke, don't play!"

"I never wanted to play with you in the first place." Suye's tone remained gentle.

"Are you provoking me?" Horton took a step forward. Relying on his height, he glared down viciously at Suye.

A stool stood between them.

Suye patted his robe, then turned to Hote beside him and smiled gently. "I'm having a little trouble. Could you watch my back? You don't need to do anything."

Many students' expressions shifted slightly. Among soldiers, watching someone's back was equivalent to fighting side by side. Although Suye said Hote did not need to do anything, it implied that Suye might make a move.

Hote rose while pushing his stool aside with his foot.

His body, over two meters and ten centimeters tall, rose like a Little Giant. Combined with his broad, heavily trained physique, it was extremely imposing.

"I won't expose my partner's back to the enemy," Hote answered seriously.

Hote had an excellent reputation at school and never caused trouble. However, whenever students from his school clashed with warriors from other academies in private contests of strength, wrestling, boxing, or the like, he always participated without hesitation.

"Thanks, Hote." Suye turned back to Horton with a smile. "I don't like people calling me Three Idiots, and I don't like people calling me Two Idiots either. So I hope you'll promise in front of everyone that you won't call me Three Idiots or any other nickname again, and that you'll treat me like an ordinary classmate."

"You're still provoking me!" Horton's expression grew colder.

"No." Suye answered seriously.

Horton's expression eased. "Good! Who I call what is my freedom. It's none of your business!"

"Are you sure?" Suye asked.

Horton sneered. "What, you want to fight? Think carefully. As long as you don't use magic or divine power and don't use weapons, the academy doesn't prohibit private fights. Do you remember what I did to Pelius back then—"

Before Horton could finish, Suye suddenly swung his right arm and smashed his fist into Horton's nose.

Caught completely off guard, Horton let out a scream and staggered backward until his back struck the wall.

Blood sprayed everywhere from his nose.

Suye leaped after him, slipped between Horton's two desk mates, and swiftly drove an uppercut into Horton's abdomen.

"Urgh..." Horton doubled over like a hunchbacked sea shrimp and began retching from the intense pain in his stomach.

Horton's two desk mates were about to attack when Hote placed one hand on each of their shoulders.

"This is between the two of them."

The two grimaced and bore the pain in their shoulders, not daring to move at all.

Horton covered his bleeding nose, tears streaming from the pain as he mumbled a string of curses.

Suye seized Horton's chin and pressed his head against the wall. Staring calmly into Horton's eyes, he said, "When I said 'no' just now, I meant that you weren't worthy of being provoked by me."

"You're courting death... argh..."

Suye's knee slammed into Horton's abdomen.

With one hand covering his nose and the other clutching his stomach, Horton collapsed crookedly onto the ground, letting out a continuous stream of low moans.

The students in the class were all dumbfounded. Fights like this were common enough, but how could that normally quiet boy have defeated Horton? Suye looked down at Horton from above and said calmly, "I admit that my grades are poor. But as long as I study hard, using better methods, my grades will definitely improve. But you? You bully your classmates, force people to drop out, and ruin their lives. If you refuse to admit your mistakes, your vileness and errors will sink into your bones, turn into sin, and burden you for the rest of your life. Tell me that you were wrong."

"No!" Horton shouted.

"Tell me." Suye's tone grew even calmer. He slowly raised his foot toward Horton's face.

Horton clenched his teeth tightly on the ground. But when he saw Suye's icy gaze, he suddenly remembered the soldiers who had killed people. His body trembled, and he hurriedly said, "I was wrong. I'll never call you Three Idiots again! Never again."

"Say it again."

"I was wrong. I'll never randomly give you nicknames again. Never again."

"Suye." Lake reminded him in a low voice.

Suye glanced at Lake and nodded once, indicating that he would not make things worse in the classroom.

Suye smiled, bent down, and extended a hand toward Horton. "Good. I hope that starting today, we can resolve our misunderstanding. We'll remain friendly classmates."

Horton stared at Suye for a long while before nodding and reaching out. Suye pulled him to his feet.

Suye patted Horton on the shoulder. "Go find a teacher for treatment. Once your injuries heal in a few days, I'll treat you to a meal at Dolphin River."

Horton nodded and walked out with his two desk mates.

The many students breathed sighs of relief. Since Suye had offered to treat him to a meal, it meant the two sides would not become enemies. Choosing the best restaurant in the non-noble district, Dolphin River, was probably just something he had said. It was not a place Suye could afford to visit.

The classroom soon returned to its lively state. A few students secretly watched Suye and increasingly felt that he was very different from the previous semester.

Suye leaned against the wall, his emotions slowly settling.

He was filled with helplessness. He had never expected to encounter this sort of thing repeatedly after coming here.

A shadow fell over him.

Suye turned his head and found the smiling Hote standing beside him.

"Good job!" Hote lightly bumped Suye's shoulder with his fist.

Suye said, "Thanks for your help."

"I didn't expect you to fight, much less fight so brutally," Hote said.

Suye shrugged. "I just didn't want to keep rewarding him."

"Rewarding him?" Hote looked at Suye in confusion.

The Blue-Eyed Girl, who had been watching Suye all along, sat with her back to the two of them and subtly turned her ear to listen.

Suye realized that he had revealed knowledge he should not have mentioned. There was no way he could explain the hints, habitual behavior, reward circuits, or related foundational knowledge at a time like this.

Suye smiled and said, "If I remember correctly, you like eating honey."

"Yes! I like eating honey the most." The simple-minded Hote grinned happily.

"Why?"

"Because it's sweet!"

When the two-meter-ten-tall man spoke of sweetness, he sounded like a child weighing over two hundred pounds.

Suye smiled. "That sweetness is the reward for eating honey. You like the reward, so you want to eat more. The more you eat, the more rewards you receive, and the more you want to eat. Think about it—isn't that how it works?"

"That's really true." Hote nodded vigorously.