This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

Kain was pissed.

It would have been one thing if he'd lost. But that indecisive referee had actually announced it as a tie. Which had never happened before in the final re-ranking match of the top 2 students.

But that wasn't what upset Kain. Tell him why, even though they technically tied and he should technically now be Rank 1, he was still in the room for the second ranked student!

Moreover, the way his classmates and underclassmen describe Kain hasn't changed!

"Oh my god! That's Kain, the famous Evolutionary Planner, he's also the second strongest of the second years."

"Oh, of course I know Kain Newman! He's Rank 2 of our year!"

They tied, okay! TIED! Why is he still considered as the second rank!

When he'd raised his grievances about the room to the staff, they'd embarrassedly said that such a situation wasn't expected when they'd built the dorms, and since Serena already lives in the room for the rank 1, and him in the room for the rank 2, it was simpler and natural to just leave things as they were.

He disagreed! It wasn't about what was 'simpler,' it was about the principle! He'd been denied his rightful residence in the Rank 1 room once again, since he was bumped down a spot after the entrance exam.

Kain couldn't help but think back to when he'd first suggested that he and Serena could live together in the Rank 1 room, but the backlash to what he felt was a reasonable suggestion was greater than he'd expected…

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After the closing ceremony when the results of the re-ranking were announced, Kain, with the utmost sincerity, suggested that he and Serena could share the Rank 1 room, a moment of stunned silence followed. Then chaos erupted.

A group of women from the audience gasped in unison, their faces twisting with a mix of outrage and disgust.

One of them, a fiery redhead, snapped, "Typical! Just trying to take advantage of her under the guise of practicality!"

"What?" Kain blinked, genuinely perplexed. "It's a big room. More than enough for two people. Considering that the Rank 1 room has the most powerful sigils to gather spiritual power, it would only be fair for us to share it!"

"Fair?" another woman hissed, crossing her arms. "We all know what that means, you pervert!"

'Yeah we do…it means to distribute the rewards impartially and without favoritism. My solution is the most fair. Is there some other definition I'm missing?' Kain couldn't help furrowing his brows at the women's strong reactions.

Kain's expression became even more confused as people echoed their support of the woman's statement. "It's not as if we are sharing a bed. What's the big deal?"

Meanwhile, a group of male students who were not-so-secretly infatuated with Serena glared daggers at Kain.

"That bastard!" one of them growled. "Does he think just because he's Rank 1—or Rank 2, whatever—he can make such a bold move?"

"He must've planned this all along," another muttered darkly, fists clenched.

At the same time, another contingent of students, mostly men, had a very different reaction.

"Did you hear that? He just suggested it to her face. No hesitation! In front of the Ice Princess!"

"That's legendary."

"What a move! Only someone with balls as big as my head could pull that off."

Kain overheard some of their whispers, but instead of understanding their awe, he tilted his head. "It's just logical…"

When Serena heard about his suggestion later, her piercing blue eyes narrowed slightly. "You can't be serious," she said in a deadpan tone.

Kain crossed his arms. "Why not? It's the most logical solution. I'm not asking you to move out or anything, and I wouldn't take up much space."

"Much space?" Serena echoed incredulously, her voice rising just a fraction. "You do realize how this sounds, right?"

"What sounds?" Kain frowned. "Everyone's making a big deal out of nothing. It's just a room!"

Serena sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Kain, you're completely oblivious, aren't you?"

"Oblivious to what? It's my Rank 1 room, too!" he shot back.

However, seeing how strong the surrounding reactions were, he chose to make a concession.

"Fine." Kain said and the surroundings finally calmed down since it appeared as though he'd finally found reason. "But, if I can't sleep in our Rank 1 room, I should at least get a key to it and be able to enter whenever I want. It's the principle of it."

Once again those surrounding him blew up in anger…

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To avoid further controversy, the school decided to compensate Kain in other ways.

For starters, he was given an increased allocation of resources compared to Serena. His credit allowance for the year was also higher than hers, allowing him more flexibility in buying custom gear and spiritual materials.

Additionally, Kain was given priority access to various training rooms, elemental rooms, and relic opportunities. Stay updated via empire

With all of these concessions, they just barely managed to shut him up.

"They gave me more credits than Serena," Kain grumbled later to Bridge, still fuming over the Rank 1 room issue. "Do they think I can just buy my way to feeling better about this injustice?!"

Kain still remembered when as a bright-eyed young lad (only one year ago…) he'd joyfully started his first day at College only to find out that he'd been unjustly bumped down a rank and his GP reward from the System greatly reduced out of thin air. That deep scar on his heart wouldn't be healed so easily with some credits!

Bridge, trying to suppress a laugh, shrugged. "Well, at least they acknowledged you tied."

"Tied!" Kain growled, pulling his hair. "Then why does everyone still call her Rank 1?!"

Bridge's mouth twitched. "Who knows…it couldn't possibly be because you keep trying to use the basis of the tie to share a room with her."

Kain's scowl deepened, clearly still missing the point.

As he stormed off, muttering about "principles" and "room politics," the campus buzzed with the story of his suggestion. The rumors grew wilder with each retelling, turning Kain into a mix of an audacious pervert and a clueless villain.

But for Kain, he was a victim. Not only once, but twice!