54 Group Work (2)

"I see you didn't like my response, huh?"

The smiling auburn-haired girl's eyes sparkle blue.

Eleanor was still in plain clothes, having not yet received her uniform, but she was wearing a gorgeous, warm-toned, heavily embellished dress.

To the untrained eye, it looked like it had hundreds of thousands of embellishments.

But he couldn't afford to focus on that.

'In return... you've brought up another messy subject.'

I don't even know what Eleanor was trying to convey through Rick in the first place. I dismissed it without even checking.

'If you look at it, you might want it...….'

I'm not deeply interested in possessions, but I'm also not without them. Honestly, I think it's hard to say no to a precious artifact when it's right in front of you.

That's why I rejected Rick's item without even looking at it.

However, this is a different story. If Eleanor continues to take an interest in me, it could be dangerous.

What if her hatred for me wanes? It's just one more twist in the web of things. It's best to stay out of it.

But is it really best to reject her here?

I honestly don't know. In fact, in all fairness, it was probably not a good idea to team up with a cadet of her caliber.

'Haa....'

"What do you want from me?"

I decided to check out Eleanor's motives first.

Why on earth would she approach me?

The answer I got back was very Eleanor, or rather, very merchant.

"I don't accrue debts. It's a tradesman's business."

"I told you before, you don't owe me anything."

"Yes, because you 'accidentally' killed a Night Walker that stepped out of my shadow, and you did it while controlling your power."

"...."

Damn. {1}

I guess that wasn't my line after all.

'No matter how good I am at acting, the Eleanor in front of me is a heroine with the [Genius] trait. There's no way I can fake it.'

I have to admit it.

My past self killed a Night Walker to save her, and….

that I didn't do a good job with the character of Knox.

"...Good. I'll allow you to repay your debt, but the idea of teaming up with you…."

"Whoa, did you already get a team of three besides me? I'm only looking for you because you seem to be all alone… Do you happen to have their names? I'm very curious."

"...."

Silence, with its natural virtuousness, settled heavily.

But even I was helpless. There was nothing else I could say.

I have no friends. Or, to be more precise, Nox, the Underworld scoundrel.

That's when my mind was racing.

"No, Nox, you're with me… on that... team!"

I heard a mysteriously familiar voice say. To add insult to injury, Eleanor's fine brow crinkled for a moment, and she turned to look in one direction.

I followed her gaze, and there stood another girl who would make me dizzy.

The girl in the catch-all. It was Talia.

"…Huh? Let's do this!"

As if finalizing her decision, Talia shouted for others to hear.

"I'm surprised to see that you have friends too...."

Eleanor bit her lip lightly as she muttered that.

With a small sigh, she turned to look at Professor Flitchell in front of her. For some reason, the sight of his hunched back and graying hair suddenly made him look unpleasant.

With no answer, Eleanor regained her expression and spoke.

"Anyway, that leaves us with two spots, doesn't it, and we only have to get one more person, don't you think?"

No. Why do you get to decide that.

What about my will?

But I couldn't say anything.

At Eldain Academy, messing with your grade point average can be no fun.

There's an event in the main story where you have to be in the top 10 percent of your class.

'That's already in the first chapter of the story. I guess I don't have a choice here. F*ck.'

Eh, I don't know.

"…Whatever."

I decided to team up with two people. The other spot was taken by a very unexpected cadet. I knew him well.

He was one of the extras, and my first impression of him was very clear.

'This is the guy who first told Noah that he was so mature and charming.'

He was the one who taught me the art of the deal.

He was a quick study and seemed like a good fit for my team.

"Hi, I'm Fel."

Fel.

It was a foreign name, so it was easy to memorize.

I immediately opened the status window to take a closer look at Fel. The basic stats weren't very good for a non-main character.

As I was casually scrolling through the status bar. Suddenly, my gaze lingered on one spot.

__________________

[Basic Info]

Name: Fel

Gender: Male

Age: 15

Race: Human

Primary Element: Nothing

Achievements: -.

[Traits].

Positives: [Handling] / [Obedient] / [Readiness] / [Faithful].

Neutral: -.

Negative: [Dull Personality]

[Stats].

Physique: 4

MP: 3

Luck: 3

Will: 2

Charm: 10

[Skills].

Passive Skills: -.

Active Skills: [Blessing Power (Single-Use)]

__________________

I felt my eyes widen involuntarily.

What?

A sub-unit with [Blessing Power] comes out of here?

'Insane.'

I let out a small gasp as I thought that.

The active skill, [Blessing Power], is one of the most deceptive skills in the game.

A skill that is only passed down to saints and saints from monasteries.

Although it is a one-time skill, it can be used to force a player's immature talent to blossom.

What if you can use it well?

I can make my helpful units grow faster.

I barely managed to keep the corners of my mouth from turning up.

Yeah.

If I'm going to go to all this trouble, shouldn't it be easy once?

'If I play my cards right, I can get one more unit on my side. If I persuade them, they'll see my sincerity. …but I'll have to do it the Nox way.

Special units are valuable.

Naturally, whoever can get them first will be the one to take advantage of them.

As I gather my thoughts. Professor Flitchell spoke again.

"'So... It looks like you've assembled your teams well… I'd like you to spend the next week getting to know each other. And… the teams you've assembled will last for the semester, so that's all you need to know. So… good luck."

Excuse me?

I'm supposed to survive on this crazy team for a semester?

In that moment, I realized.

... I guess I don't get anything easily.

* * *

"Well, I'll give you each a transfer sheet, and we'll use that to contact each other from now on, everyone, I'm sure that's okay?"

After the class orientation, Eleanor made an unusual offer.

She's going to give away transfer sheets. They're worth at least 50 gold each… What a tycoon. She's willing to invest such a large sum of money.

I realize the weight of money in this world. At least it's more insane than reality?

"Ugh… But isn't this too expensive…?"

"Ma, you're right, it's not even affordable for a commoner like me!"

Naturally, Talia and Fel expressed their disapproval.

Fel, a commoner, would have never even touched an artifact worth that much. Talia, too, despite her ducal birth, was not financially stable.

She was certainly educated from a young age.

No matter how stupid Rover is, he's strict when it comes to education.

"…Have it your way."

I replied casually.

Sure, it's expensive, but it's not something I can afford right now.

I have a family to feed, and after the development of the Chasers area, this kind of money will be nothing to me.

…Well, it will be nothing compared to the Rivalin family.

Anyway.

After organizing our shitty team, we briefly greeted each other and cleaned up.

[Joint Martial Arts] is basically a class where you team up and compete against each other's martial arts.

It's actually a subject that I didn't pay much attention to when I was playing the game....

It's not a game, it's real life.

In order to get a good grade, you have to pay attention to everything.

"Then let's just say we'll meet once a week near the Sidious Pavilion, and since there are two duke nobles there, we'll go there."

"Well… you don't have to do that…."

Talia said, puzzled.

But Fel just shook his head as if it was obvious.

I shook my head in denial, wanting nothing more than to disagree.

"Forget it. I'll meet you at the fountain in the center of the Sidious and Pavus Halls."

I didn't really have a reason.

I just wanted to be able to relax in my dormitory for as long as possible, but having ... Eleanor visit me once a week?

That was the last thing I wanted.

But Eleanor seemed to interpret my answer a little differently, and her fox-like lips lifted.

"You've changed."

"…What?"

"No. Well, I'd better head off, I've got another class."

At Eleanor's words, the others rose from their seats in unison.

"Well, I'll see you next time, Nox-nim!"

"No need for honorifics, aren't we students here anyways?"

"That can't be right, how dare I…!"

"You're being a nuisance."

After a few moments of sitting alone with a furrowed brow, Talia stopped walking and glanced at me.

Then she blurted out a question.

"I… Nox, do you happen to have a schedule…? Oh, it's… it's not like there's any other reason… I'm just curious, yeah, I'm just curious!"

'I can't believe you're asking me this… you're showing your true colors.'

I saw right through her.

Standing up, I coldly reply.

"You're trying to get the easiest credits you can get out of me, and you think I'm going to teach it to you for free?"

"Uh… huh? That's not...."

Where did this information come from?

I shook my head, a cold smile on my face.

No way.

* * *

The evening I returned from orientation. I visited the Academy's fourth wing. Zitri was with me, of course.

'It's better to buy things in advance.'

We were there to buy things for the Academy classes.

'Each class has its own materials that must be used or teaching tools that must be prepared. It's just a matter of making sure you have them.'

This is where the challenge of academy life begins.

An eye for the good stuff. That's where the real work begins.

I walked slowly, reviewing the settings in the game.

For reference, the Eldain Academy consists of eight zones. Four of them were commercial areas.

Zone 1 is a collection of education-related buildings for teaching students, while Zone 2 has facilities for self-study. Zone 3 is the research building for professors.

I decided to pass on the rest, as I'd have a chance to explain later.

"So, Zitri, how many things do we need?"

"Twenty-nine in all. It'll probably cost you at least forty gold."

That's a lot of money, but it doesn't matter to me.

If it was my family's money, I would have noticed a little bit, but I'm the actual landlord. Because there's Grine.

He's already changed sides of the line.

Perhaps he thinks it's better to push me up the ladder to the head of the family rather than compete with his eldest brother.

'But that's not possible. I'm not going to become House Head and die by Talia's sword, that's not possible.'

I plan to use Grine in moderation and discard him.

It's none of my business anyway.

'…This seems like I'm becoming a real villain....'

As I walk deeper and deeper into the commercial district, I start to notice the hanging signs and stacked luxury goods.

After all, the real good stuff is inside.

Gamers are all too familiar with this situation.

So am I.

'By the way… this is really an academy for geniuses from all over the world. The standards aren't even comparable to the Chasers I went to in the past.'

I was particularly impressed by the martial arts and books on the stalls. I don't know, I don't have any memories of the past, but here, I'm at least quite fond of reading books.

I also enjoy handling new things.

In that sense, the commercial district was almost like a department store.

Zitri seemed to catch my drift and said, with a slight wink.

"For some reason, you're looking a little bit cheerful."

"Did you really have to add ...a little bit?"

"Sorry."

This time, Zitri didn't look sorry at all.

I resented it, but what could I do?

In her family, she had no choice but to keep her eyes open. It's better here because I can move around somewhat freely.

'Besides… I heard that Zitri has already used the artifact I gave her and become an object of fear among the people… Is this my fault?'

Zitri said that it wasn't my fault, of course, but she said it without a smile in her eyes. Perhaps my solution was somewhat problematic.

'Next time, I'll do it in a more foolproof way.'

After thinking about that.

I took the plunge and purchased a few tools for the classes.

Most of them were books and the magical tools required for the magical systems class.

The rest were swords and other martial arts related equipment.

After shoving them all into my subspace pockets, I feel unnecessarily enriched.

Not bad.

After all, I'm doing pretty well right now, aren't I?

I've gotten the items I wanted, even if I had a little bit of trouble with the party organization, and I still have some time to go before I enter the main story.

There's still time, so there's no need to be impatient.

I feel my mind clearing a bit.

It was then.

"No, commoners can go to the shanty town over there and buy rolling pots. Do you understand? This is District 4, where the nobles come!"

I let out a small sigh at what was happening a few feet away.

"Another conflict between nobles and commoners."

"It seems so."

Zitri nodded with a dark expression.

To tell the truth.

This is the kind of world it is. In the Inner Lunatic, Arkheim preaches freedom and equality, but in reality it's nothing more than an aristocracy.

But there is no reason to interfere.

Nox von Reinhafer.

I, the ultimate villain, am here to help the commoners?

I'm sorry, but that's not how it should be.

That noble bastard will get his comeuppance.

I was just about to pass by when I realized that my thoughts were indifferent.

"This… seems a bit out of hand...."

"Uh… That sounds familiar… That sounds familiar…?

My danger sensor went off again.

It's quite loud this time. If it was a strong wind last time, maybe a typhoon this time…?

The familiar voice echoed low behind my frozen back.

Killing intent flashed in his eyes.

I wonder if it's different.

"Do you want to die here?"

Sh*t.

Paracelsus appeared in sector four.

That spineless asshole... trying to cause some kind of accident now!

"Zitri, wait a minute."

"Niet? Wait, hold on, Young Master!"

I give Zitri the subspace pouch and dashed to the scene.

Why?

Because if I don't take care of this now, the butterfly effect of my actions will kill a few people, and I'll lose a unit called Paracelsus!

Paracelsus.

According to the original story, he was touched by the protagonist's warmth during the entrance exam and is flexible in dealing with the incident here.

'But… there's no protagonist here. I've been an asshole to him, and I've even messed with his teacher, who is an asshole....'

But?

I mean, Paracelsus could kill everyone in front of him and still have nothing to say.

Sh*t. I have to stop him now.