The 8th Son? Are You Kidding Me? (八男って、それはないでしょう！)

Adventurers' Academy

I'm the third daughter of the Overweg family,

the instructors of the martial arts in the Dukedom of Bleichröder,

Louise Jolande Aurelia Overweg.

I've studied the Magic Fist Style since I was little...

I've spent the last seven years at home in solitude.

I've kept my distance from others

and lived by myself to prevent any succession issues.

I'm the third daughter of the Hillenbrand family,

the instructors of spearmanship in the Dukedom of Bleichröder,

Iina Susanne Hillenbrand.

My talent with the spear was recognized,

and that's why I'm in this scholarship class at the Adventurers' Academy.

But thanks to that, my communication skills have hit rock bottom.

Just calm down.

This is where my story starts.

My story about making friends!

All right, the next one is our last.

Baumeister.

Yes, sir!

I'm the eighth son of the Baumeister Knightdom,

Wendelin von Benno Baumeister.

I'd be happy if you would call me "Well."

I look forward to our time together.

All right, now I'll explain the curriculum for this scholarship class.

Maybe announcing a nickname was going too far?

We'll start by discussing this.

Name

Specialty

Member Name

Specialty

A party registration form?

Party Registration Form

Name

Specialty

Member Name

Specialty

Next month, you'll begin training in parties.

Make sure you decide who you'll be joining up with on your own before then.

I guess it's like choosing groups?

I suck at that.

The 8th Son? Are You Kidding Me?

The 8th Son? Are You Kidding Me?

The 8th Son? Are You Kidding Me?

The 8th Son? Are You Kidding Me?

The 8th Son? Are You Kidding Me?

The 8th Son? Are You Kidding Me?

The 8th Son? Are You Kidding Me?

The 8th Son? Are You Kidding Me?

Episode 3 A Loner? Are You Kidding Me?!

I feel ostracized already.

That's this year's only scholarship student of magic, Baumeister.

Magic users are rare enough as is,

but I've heard his magic power is already on par with top-class adventurers.

I heard that the magic instructor decided there was nothing more he could teach him,

and gave up on instructing him.

If you party up with that guy, you're set for life.

You know how it goes, right?

Most of the parties from the Academy continue to stay together

even after they graduate and become adventurers.

Looks like everyone's thinking the same thing.

Party Registration Form Name Specialty Erwin von Arnim Sword Member Name Specialty Iina Susanne Hillenbrand Spear Louise Jolande Aurelia Overweg Martial Arts Breichburg Adventurers' Academy

So I have a proposal for you two.

Hey! You wrote my name on it!

Listen, that guy's currently appraising us.

He's trying to decide if we're worthy of a great mage like him.

Oh! So that's why he's always alone!

Huh? You really think so?

That's why we do this.

If you two, the top martial artist and spearwoman, join me, the top swordsman,

don't you think even he might recognize us?

Hey!

It's not a bad idea.

Huh? You're kidding. You plan to form a party with him?

I'm the fifth son of the Arnim Knightdom, Erwin von Arnim.

You can call me "Er."

I'm Louise. This is Iina, my friend since childhood. Nice to meet you!

Huh?

Muster up your courage...

Blend into the class more!

U-Um, hey...

This is called sansho pepper. If you'd like some...

I see. So you guys are after the same thing.

Too bad, though, because he's going to recognize us, the axe trio!

They're laughing and having so much fun...

I probably shouldn't bother right now.

Now, I'm sure some of you here aren't receiving a stipend from your family

and have to work part-time to earn your living.

That's me.

Our academy recommends hunting in such cases,

but since it's dangerous to hunt alone, make sure you go in groups if you do.

In groups?

There's no room for me anywhere.

Hey, what do you think?

Should we say something to Baumeister?

No, let's be careful about this.

If we're too hasty and make a mistake that disappoints him, it will all be for naught.

Though... I notice he's not speaking to anyone.

That's it! This is a challenge from Baumeister!

Huh?! What do you mean?!

This is what he's trying to say:

"You should have no trouble bringing in more prey as a group than I could hunting alone."

So if a group brings back less prey than him...

Then that group will removed from his list of candidates.

Here you go.

We should be okay with this much.

Still, you two really are the daughters of great masters.

Have you both been training with your families since you were little?

Yeah.

B-But you were awesome with your sword, too!

Well, I come from a poor knightdom,

so I've been training with the sword like crazy ever since I was a kid.

Oh, excuse me. Coming through.

Huh? Where's his prey?

Oh, a magic bag, huh?

Where did you get one of those?

Oh, my master left it to me.

Hup!

Wh-Whoa... Wait a...

Hmph. This is dumb.

I'm out.

Huh?

He lives in a whole different world.

With this much difference between our skill levels,

it'll be impossible to earn his recognition.

It's not worth the effort.

You all get it too, right?

If you're not the eldest son,

it's wiser to not bother dreaming of more.

This is a big help! They're all precious bounties.

I hope you'll come again.

Sure!

If you're interested, let's grab a bite to eat together with this mo—

...ney?

My brother once said something similar.

He said that no matter how hard I trained with the sword,

a fifth son will never inherit.

That I was just wasting my effort.

It was the same for Louise and me.

No matter how strong we were,

we couldn't inherit the school because we weren't eldest sons.

It's the same everywhere, huh?

It would be one thing if that were all it was.

The truth is, both of us were born with a bit more magic power than most people.

I mean, not that it's enough just that we can use magic,

but if we use that magic to enhance our physical abilities...

Then a normal person stands no chance, huh?

Before I knew it, I was stronger than my father and brother,

and at some point, they began avoiding me.

So I ended up having to train in secret.

I can't accept this!

Why on earth does being born later mean we're not allowed to dream?!

That's just wrong, isn't it?!

I'm not giving up.

At this point, let's hunt lots of big game and make sure Baumeister recognizes us!

If you're after big game, this is the place! Deep in the forest!

The teacher told us we weren't allowed to go in here, but we have no choice!

We do have a choice.

Come on, let's turn back.

They're here.

Wolves.

Extra-large ones, at that.

Wolves, and... those are... people?

If those are my classmates, maybe we can become friends if I save them!

Damn it! How many of them are there?!

I'm sorry. We should have listened to Iina.

Louise, above you!

Er!

What in the world...

Are you okay?

We're sorry.

It's fine. I mean, we're classmates, after all.

We were trying to get you to recognize us,

but we just made trouble for you.

Huh?

Me?

After seeing that magic you used, though,