I Was Reincarnated as a Villainous Noble Who Loves Betrayal, so With My Knowledge of the Original Story, I Plan to Become Invincible While Living Sincerely Without Betraying Anyone

Episode 5

All the cadets of the Officer Academy gathered in the auditorium for the briefing on the class competition.

The auditorium was bustling with hundreds of students, resembling a festival.

“Ahem… Can you hear me? Well then, let’s begin the explanation for the class competition,” the elderly professor stood at the front, using wind magic assistance to amplify his voice throughout the auditorium.

“While we call it a class competition, in reality, it’s a team battle with shuffled classes. Each team will consist of one member from each of the seven classes, from S-class to F-class, making a total of seven members per team. We’ll explain the challenge later. For now, let’s start forming teams.”

With a casual signal, the team formation process began. In the original story, teams were forcibly created, and Viper ended up on the same team as Goose, leading to betrayal.

Furthermore, Ariniki was also in that team, so he even poisoned Ariniki. This action would serve as a catalyst for Ariniki’s growing distrust of Viper.

In other words, to break the flag, we needed to be on separate teams.

For now, I was in F-class, and Ariniki was in E-class, so we should be able to be on the same team.

“Ariniki, is it okay if we’re on the same team?”

Ariniki, who had been beside me the whole time, showed no sign of moving away. I decided to confirm.

“Of course. Our birthdates may be different, but our death dates will be the same, won’t they? You haven’t forgotten your proposal, have you?”

What kind of Three Kingdoms-like proposal did he make?!

“Alright, we need five more! We need students from S-class to D-class… It’s hard to approach them,” I remarked.

“Let’s split up and search,” Ariniki suggested.

I and Ariniki divided into two groups to find teammates for our class competition team.

“Viper!? Can we really team up with that traitor?”

“Aren’t you the broke noble who betrayed your friends for money?”

“Viper? No way!”

Viper notoriety seemed to have spread throughout the school. His previous attempt to wipe out my own team with poison magic in the last class competition had left a lasting impression.

Rumors even suggested that he had betrayed his team to collaborate in match-fixing for money.

So, the team search turned out to be fruitless. Dejected, I made my way back to the corner of the auditorium, reuniting with Ariniki.

“Ariniki, how did it go?”

“It didn’t work out. Well, you see, I’m pretty much useless.”

“No need for that kind of self-deprecation. They probably turned you down the moment they heard my name, right?”

Ariniki went silent, saying, “Well…” It seemed that was indeed the case.

Ariniki was a rare user of healing magic in the Officer Academy, even in the E-class. She was in high demand, and I had often included her in my party during the game.

“Hey, Ariniki, I’ll do my best on my own. Maybe you can find a team that’s willing to take you in?”

“It’s too late for that. Looks like there are only two teams left. I guess I’ll just keep being stuck with Viper like this.”

Ariniki grumbled but seemed oddly content, smiling as she pointed toward the professor.

In the direction she indicated, two swordsmen stood at the front—one was Goose, and the other appeared to be an unknown female swordsman.

“It looks like our teams are almost complete. If we can get some volunteers from E-class and F-class, we’ll have our teams set. And if a beautiful healer joins us, I’ll turn a blind eye to the trash next to her,” Goose said, looking at Ariniki as he recruited.

The remaining cadets were those who hadn’t been able to form teams. This meant that I and Ariniki had the choice of joining Goose’s team or forming a team with the remaining cadets.

“Viper, what do you think?” Ariniki asked, her face twisted in discomfort. It was clear she had no intention of teaming up with Goose. Plus, if we ended up on the same team here, it might trigger another betrayal event, entirely beyond my control.

“Team up with Goose? That’s out of the question,” I replied.

“I thought you’d say that.”

Ariniki walked towards Goose. Was she really going to abandon me and join Goose’s team?

Feeling frustrated that I hadn’t been able to show my worth, I watched as Ariniki approached Goose. Could she be leaving me to join Goose’s team?

But then, in an unexpected turn of events, Ariniki stopped in front of Goose and abruptly turned on her heel, heading toward another female swordsman.

“You must be Lamia from S-class, right? I’m Ariniki from E-class, and this is Viper from F-class. Would you like to team up with us?”

“Oh, sure, why not? It doesn’t matter to me. Besides, we don’t really have a choice,” Lamia replied.

Lamia and Ariniki shook hands, sealing the deal. At that moment, it was confirmed that the remaining cadets from E and F-classes would join Goose’s team, while the rest would form our team.

With the teams set, I and the others headed to a corner of the auditorium for introductions.

“It can’t be helped, but we’ve got quite the odd bunch here,” Ariniki whispered to me, making sure her words didn’t carry to the others. After all, we were the last ones picked from our respective classes, so it was only natural that the group would have some eccentric personalities.

“I guess I’m the oddest of them all,” I replied with a grin.

“Well, that’s true,” Ariniki shrugged, smiling.

“But… why didn’t you go with Goose instead of staying with me? It’s not like we’re breaking off our engagement just because we’re on different teams in the class competition. You could have taken the easy way out.”

In the original game, this was the moment when I and Ariniki were supposed to join Goose’s team. This drastically alters the course of fate.

“Well, um… It’s just that I… I wanted to be on the same team as someone I like…” Ariniki said, blushing as she held onto my hand.

She was still my fiancée after all, and she looked adorable when she blushed.