Chapter 37 – Group Assignment (1)

March 13th, 2023

Even though I created a dark history for the first time in my life during the gathering, it didn’t change my daily life.
I suffered from a hangover all weekend, although it didn’t cause any major obstacles for me to write.

I just went in and out of the bathroom a lot.
I’ve heard that wine causes a worse hangover than other alcoholic beverages, and I felt that fact keenly.

Anyway, despite some issues, I was able to write smoothly like a ship with sails set even if there were some bumps in the road.
The historical knowledge I learned from Cindy while teaching her writing skills and the ecology of the demons that Cecily taught me were a great help. 

However, it’s inevitable that the progress has slowed down as my free time has decreased by more than half compared to when I’m at home.
It’s only natural because I only focused on writing every day when I was at home.

'Certainly…
the next volume will take two months at the earliest.'

At home, I was able to submit a manuscript every 15 days at the earliest or a month at the latest, but it was very difficult to do so because of the current situation.
In fact, two months is a very fast pace given the circumstances.

Because of this, I sometimes think how great it would be to have a machine like a typewriter.
We live in a world where paper-making and printing technologies have advanced enough to produce newspapers, but why are machines underdeveloped?

‘What can I do? It's still the Middle Ages.'

In this world, not only industrial technology, but even objects that can be called ‘machines’ have not properly emerged, so the concept of ‘engineering’ itself does not exist.
The refrigerator in my lodgings, the temperature control function, and finally the magic pen I use are all ‘magic’ instead of engineering.

Perhaps even if we reach the Industrial Revolution, machines will not be entirely mechanical like in our past lives, and may contain a little bit of magic.
I shook my head from side to side after recalling the steam engine I wrote about in volume 8.

'It's not something to be concerned about until then.'

After finishing my work, I stopped abruptly while writing with the magic pen my father had given me.

‘Come to think of it, don’t we have a group assignment starting tomorrow?’

My forehead automatically furrowed at the thought of a group project.
I don’t have a single good memory of doing a group project in my past life.

During group project periods, even a miracle of miracles, things like a sick parent, attending a funeral, or a broken phone preventing communication can happen.

It is common to be absent for various reasons, and there were even cubs who went to serve in the military.

The most frustrating experience for me was when I did everything alone and still received a C grade from the professor.
The memory of being scolded for doing everything alone instead of showing leadership and leading the group was still lingering in my mind.

I wish such situations did not exist.
If someone cannot do it, I am willing to do it all myself.

‘Am I a fucking writer if I can't even do that much?’

The trauma of group projects was so strong that I ended up cursing.
I had nothing but negative feelings towards group projects.

Some people might ask if it’s different because it’s a whole other world here.
Unfortunately, however, the essence of a “human” does not change anywhere.
Moreover, since there are social classes, the situation could be worse.

‘But there isn't even a PowerPoint here, what should we do? Should we draw a picture?’

The difference between having and not having visual effects is huge.
It’s like the saying goes, “hearing a hundred times is no better than seeing once”, and seeing something once is still better than not seeing it at all.

It seemed wise to ask the professor about this later.
If possible, I would like to present a rough drawing.
The higher the grade, the better.

‘We have to select a topic…
It's going to be harder than I thought.’

Not for me, of course.
I put off the group project and concentrated on writing for now.
Currently, writing the setting about the Seven Deadly Sins is a priority.

'Let lust be a demon.
And as for appearance…'

I stopped the hand that was playing with the magic pen.
A demon in charge of lust came to mind, Cecily, even dressed up in a dress she wore to the gathering.

According to the rumors I heard during the entrance ceremony, she was a descendant of a succubus.
If you only look at her behavior or the alluring atmosphere, the credibility is very high.

‘…If I write something like this, I'll certainly be suspected, so let's describe it differently.
I can add a setting that she was betrayed by a human man who treated her equally despite being a demon.
Finally, the name should be…’

Of course it’s only natural that the name of a beastman in charge of anger is Satan.

‘The fact that the name of a beastman is Satan…
That's really something.’

I giggled inwardly and continued to write the story without interruption.

∗∗∗∗∗

There’s a saying about group projects.

Unity is death, and separation is life.

Normally, the proverb should be the exact opposite, but it doesn’t apply to group projects.
Paradoxically, when two or three people team up to do a task that could be done by one person, the efficiency of the work decreases sharply.

Of course, that’s just what the saying implies, and it’s not always true that only bad things happen during group projects.
It could also be an opportunity to get to know each other and build connections, which could lead to even better relationships.

The problem is though, whenever I do group assignments, I meet a team member who’s like a total loser.
Thanks to that, I was able to vividly experience the process of coming to hate humanity.

Anyway, to make a group project ‘slightly more’ efficient, it’s essential to first assign a small number of people.
That’s an absolute must.

Just like the proverb that says ‘too many cooks spoil the broth,’ it seems that there are problems that arise when the number of people exceeds four.
In many cases, when people run away thinking ‘I’ll be fine on my own~’ problems start to occur.

Those kind of bastards that are planning to blame everything on the professor.

“As I mentioned last time, I will randomly assign groups today and give you an assignment.
The topic is to predict the development of Xenon's Biography.
Explain why you came up with that hypothesis and provide evidence to support it.”

As Monday approached and the humanities class began, the professor brought up the topic of group assignments right away.
As always, I sat in the front row and inwardly smirked after hearing his words.

'It's finally here.'

Even in my past life where social classes did not exist, group assignments were the perfect trigger for human mistrust.
I wonder how it will be here.

In the meantime, the professor counted the number of students inside the classroom one by one, then he opened his mouth with his characteristic soft voice.

“The exact number of students currently attending my lecture is 46.
We will divide them into groups of four and randomly assign the remaining 2 students.
I will provide paper for you to write your name on and you can put it in the box”

After that, Professor Beerus handed out a small bundle of paper to the student in the front.
I took one sheet from the stack of papers and passed the rest to the back.

“I hope we can be in the same group if possible.
It's because you are the most comfortable for me to work with.”

As I was folding the paper with my name written on it squarely, Marie, who was sitting next to me, opened her mouth.
I nodded my head because I completely agreed with her.

I would rather be in the same group with someone I know and feel comfortable with, even if it means doing it alone, rather than being with someone I don’t know.

“I hope I can be in the same group as Isaac.
If it's Isaac, he might have already predicted the development of the Xenon’s Biography.”

Cecily, who was sitting behind and probably heard Mari’s words, spoke up in her playful tone.
As soon as I heard Cecily’s words, I couldn’t help but flinch slightly.

I couldn’t figure out why she said that, but it wasn’t a good thing for me.
Besides, her words somehow seemed to have a hidden meaning, and it gave me a somewhat uncomfortable feeling.

“Cecily, are you saying that you only want to rely on Isaac and not do anything?”

Rina, who was sitting next to Cecily, asked in her soft voice.
Cecily shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly and replied with a hint of sarcasm in her tone.

“Well, I don't know.
What about you, Rina? As the princess of this country, it seems like other people will do everything for you, right?””Well, I would appreciate it, but I also have a conscience.
I should help too.”

Rina smiled slightly as she spoke, but Marie’s expression quickly hardened.
Marie looked back at her for a moment before turning her head forward again.

Then Mari murmured uncomfortably under her breath, and expressed her uncomfortable feelings.

“…What conscience? She’s saying things that she doesn’t even mean.””…
…”

I deliberately pretended not to hear.
It’s not just once or twice that Mari has expressed her displeasure with Rina so now I can let it in with one ear and out with the other.

After a moment, Professor Beerus collected folded pieces of paper with names on them and put them one by one into a box.
Then, in order to mix the papers evenly, he shook the box vigorously and stirred it with his hand.
It’s not like he was making bibimbap, but he sure was mixing them evenly.

“Okay.
Then, I will draw the names.
The first person to be drawn is…”

When the professor unfolded the neatly folded paper, he looked at me with a surprised expression.
Although I had some expectations when I saw the paper folded neatly into a square, it seems that my prediction was correct.

While I was thinking about it, Professor Beerus tugged at his mustache with interest and called out my name.

“Student Isaac Ducker Michelle.
And next…”

Please let someone I know come out.
Oh, except for Jackson, of course.

While I was waiting anxiously, the professor took out a paper from the box and called out the name with a strong voice like before.

“Aira Ben Matheus.””Yes!”

As soon as the name was called out, a loud cheer was heard from the back.
Judging from the voice that entered my ears so clearly, it seemed to be a woman’s voice.

In response, I turned my head back to see who my team member was.
A cute-looking girl with brown hair raised her hand.

Of course, I didn’t recognize her face either.
Judging from her middle name, she was probably a noble’s daughter or someone from a prestigious family.

“Next is Benjamin Blank.””Yes, yes!”

A reply came from not too far away.
I leaned my head forward and looked to the side where the sound came from.

A boy with dark blond hair and curly hair caught my eye.
For some reason, he seemed very tense.

Unlike the girl named Aira and I, he doesn’t have a middle name, so I guess he’s a commoner.
In Halo Academy, admission to the literary department for a commoner, who is not from a noble background and not proficient in combat, would require a very difficult process.

Compared to my previous life, it is like a middle school student who has only gone through the middle school curriculum, has to pass the Seoul National University entrance exam.
Unless their intelligence is at a genius level, it is almost impossible to get admitted.

Which means that at least it’s not incompetent.
I considered that somewhat fortunate.

“Lastly…
Leona Lions.”

Wait a minute.
What?

I blinked as soon as I heard the name the professor called.

I looked around to find a familiar face and ended up looking at a woman.
She had a typically expressionless face, but her surprise was written all over her face.

It was Leona, who I discovered to be a beastwoman.

‘…I don't know whether I should like it or not.’

If it’s meant to be, then it’s meant to be.
I hesitated on how to react after facing Leona but decided to gently wave my hand.

Leona, also startled, quickly erased the look of surprise on her face and turned her head.
Although I felt disappointed that the greeting was ignored, I understood her position and didn’t take it personally.

“We have a group of four people.
Next is…
Jackson Mirrell Carrison.”

As soon as the group members were determined, the person I was keeping an eye on, Jackson, was called out.
Although I wasn’t paying much attention since I knew that Jackson wouldn’t be in the same group as me.

“Marie Hausen Requilis”

Surprisingly, Jackson and Marie were assigned to the same group.
I wondered if this too was just a coincidence.

I checked Marie’s reaction as soon as the professor called her full name.

“Of all people, with him…”

Marie made a face as if she was chewing shit.
Considering that she had seen Jackson flirt with Rina and Cecily with her own two eyes, it was understandable for her to react this way.

For reference, Jackson hit on Marie once and didn’t do it again after that.
It was only natural after Marie openly cursed at him to screw off.

But the problem didn’t end here.

“Rina Urmi Christine””Hmm?”

Even Rina, whom Mari hated so much, joined the group.
When I looked back, Lina was also surprised and raised one eyebrow.

Even until this point, there were already plenty of problems, but then the final blow came right after.

“…
…”

Professor Beerus, who had been calm until he picked Rina, hesitated as soon as he checked the paper he had chosen next time.
After that, he made a puzzled expression and turned his head to me.

I looked at it and waited until his mouth opened.
And…

“Cecily Drat Eisilia Bin”

A crazy party was formed by breaking through the extreme odds.