Crackdown Crisis
Ares
Title: This shit ain't right!!
Why the hell are they showing up outside school and docking points;;;
This is fucking bullshit.
School rules shouldn't apply off campus, right???
'Shit…!'
Now that I thought about it, that was right.
One of Wonder Academy's rules.
Once you leave Wonder Academy, you can never return.
Even back at the start of the semester, I'd been shocked by the sheer size of this city-scale academy.
In other words, every place I set foot in was effectively inside Wonder Academy.
The academy's regulations applied everywhere.
Normally, school rules only kicked in if a teacher caught you breaking them.
Until now, I hadn't run into any teachers while outside, so it hadn't mattered.
…But during this intensive crackdown period?
No matter where I was, I had to follow the rules.
"Ares…"
"Ah, Lana."
"Sorry… because of me, you got points deducted again…"
At that moment, Lana apologized, looking genuinely sorry.
She also quietly put some distance between us.
Apparently, even Lana hadn't expected things to turn out like this.
…Wait, a supernatural entity is apologizing to me right now?
"…You okay? How many points did you lose?"
"……About 30 points. Just today."
"In one day…?"
"……"
Lana's expression turned genuinely shocked when she heard my score.
Honestly, I couldn't believe it either.
…I never thought my remaining points would drop to 23 in a single day.
"By the way, Ares."
"Yeah?"
Lana, who had been watching me with a gloomy look, spoke up softly.
"Earlier, at the school gate. When we held hands, the teacher didn't deduct points, right?"
"Ah, that's true…"
She gently placed her hand over mine.
Just like when we'd been eating the stick snacks earlier, she held my hand.
Our fingers intertwined, gripping each other sensually.
"So holding hands is fine, right?"
"……"
"It's a shame, but let's just date like this today."
"……"
Date…
When our eyes met and she smiled shyly yet playfully, my heart started pounding.
She was obviously a supernatural being.
…So why did my heart keep wavering around Lana?
Just then, my gaze drifted to her lips.
Those lips that might have overlapped with mine just moments ago.
And then—
Clink…
—The shop door opened and Teacher Bell poked her head out.
Her doll-like smile stared straight at me.
"Aaaaaah…!! I didn't see anything!! I didn't see anything!!"
"……"
Clink…
At my desperate plea, Teacher Bell pulled her head back inside and disappeared.
"That fucking bitch…!"
"Pfft! Ahahahaha!"
I clutched my chest in shock while Lana burst out laughing at the sight.
This girl… she almost got me killed and she's laughing?
"Pffhehe…!"
"Stop laughing…"
Soon after, Lana wiped away her tears and leaned her face toward me.
"Hey, Ares. Hehe. So… where exactly were you looking when the teacher showed up?"
"Ah, I said I didn't see anything…!"
"Really? But the teacher definitely came just now."
"I didn't see anything…!"
"Come on~, tell me. You just have to say it, right? Hmm? Where were you looking? …My chest? My neck? Or… my legs?"
"Ugh…"
"Is it because we held hands? Did holding hands make you conscious of it…?"
"No…!"
"Come on~, tell me~. If you tell me, I'll do something nice for you in return…"
I couldn't bring myself to say "your lips."
More than that, this girl…
I thought she was worried about me…
But now I saw she was naturally trying to kill me.
Pretending otherwise while tempting me into breaking the rules…!
I almost fell for it.
As expected, Lana really was a supernatural entity.
"Ares~, hey, Ares~. Hmm? Where were you looking? Tell meee~."
"I told you I didn't see anything…!"
Of course.
Even so, I didn't let go of her hand.
Ares
Title: Emergency Meeting
'Only 23 points left… but like NightRat said, the only option is to follow the rules no matter what…'
The next day.
From the morning onward, I decided to stare straight ahead and stay away from girls.
"Ares, can you help me with this problem?"
"Hey, girl."
"H-huh?"
"Get away from me. Scram. I feel like beating up any girl I see."
"Ehh…"
Operation: Be an Asshole.
The reason girls kept clinging to me during this crackdown event was because the popularity buff turned me into a hot commodity, making it easy to break rules.
I wasn't sure if it was my scent or my aura, but right now, I was extremely popular with the female students.
Thanks to that, I was on the verge of dying.
'…In that case, I'll just tank my own popularity.'
Honestly, this strategy was suicidal if I thought about what would happen after the event ended.
But if I wanted to survive right now, I had no choice.
After all, shut-ins like Hikikomori and RedNightSky, who had zero popularity, had apparently cleared the event without issues.
"Women should only be stepped on once every three days…. If you don't want to get beaten, get lost."
So.
From now on, I had to disappoint every girl who approached me.
"I don't mind getting hit though…"
"Huh…?"
"Hey, Ares. What's your hobby?"
"Ah, I'm curious too! Tell me!"
But even with my asshole act, the girls still approached.
Apparently, even a trashy guy like this was within acceptable limits.
In that case…
"Ah, m-my hobby? Um… checking girls' breast sizes, maybe? Haha."
"Ehh…"
"Just imagining what's under their clothes as they walk by makes the day fly by."
"Ehhh…"
"Ah… just thinking about it gets me excited again."
I was going to become a repulsive man.
After all, most of them were supernatural beings anyway.
At the very least, even if the girls in my class started hating me, it wouldn't be a problem for finding real humans before graduation.
So even if it ruined my image, this much was acceptable…!
But then—
"Ehh…, th-then, Ares. What about my breast size?"
"Ah, me too, me too! Don't you think mine looks prettier? …What do you think?"
"……What? No, hey, …what's the point of looking at your mosquito bites?! It's just unpleasant, so get lost!!"
"Kyaa! That tough guy act is so cool!"
"Hey Ares, forget breasts—what about legs? I'm confident in my legs…"
"Aaaaaah!! Don't lift your skirt, you crazy bitch!!"
Even this wasn't enough.
The female students' mental states were far more twisted than I'd imagined.
And just then—
Creak.
Slide.
Teacher Bell poked her head out from the classroom door.
"Ares."
"I didn't see anything!! I didn't see anything!! Those girls showed it on their own, I didn't look!!"
Ares
Title: This difficulty is fucking insane
'This is too much…'
I never expected girls to lift their skirts for a guy whose hobby was staring at breasts.
I knew this place had brutal difficulty, but the other gallery members hadn't faced anything this hard.
Was there some reason?
'What's the difference between me and the other gallery members…?'
A cool guy.
It wasn't just about looks.
Girls also valued a guy's abilities.
So if there was one thing that set me apart from the others…
"Top of the entire school…! This is so fucking ridiculous…!!"
I was the only one among the gallery members who ranked first in the whole school.
That was probably the reason.
Combining my looks, my abilities, and the popularity buff from the event had created this situation.
All I'd wanted was 5 million Cocoon…
And because of those 5 million, I was once again on the brink of death.
"Haa…"
I sat crouched on the stairs again and let out a sigh.
I couldn't go back to the classroom like this.
No matter how much of a retard act I put on, girls still clung to me.
…If I lost those 23 points, it was a dead end.
I should probably hide in some corner of the school during breaks for a while.
"U-um, A-Ares…"
"Aaaaaah!!"
"Kyaaah! S-sorry…!"
A familiar voice called out.
It was Ellie.
Just like Lana yesterday, Ellie was looking up at me from the bottom of the stairs.
"Ellie…?"
"Ah, I, um…, I was worried about you…"
"Worried…?"
"You've been acting different since morning…, so I thought something else might've happened…"
"Ah, I see."
Ellie trusted me completely.
At least, that was what I'd concluded from everything we'd been through so far.
So even after seeing my idiotic behavior in the classroom earlier, her first reaction was worry that something had happened to me.
'Thanks…'
I felt a little moved by Ellie's trust.
Just then—
"U-um, Ares…!"
Ellie took a step up the stairs and spoke.
"I…! I want to help you! Anything is fine…!"
At the same time—
Jiggle.
Because she was climbing the stairs, Ellie's chest swayed.
My eyes unconsciously drifted there.
And then—
Tap, tap.
"Ares?"
"Aaaaaaaaah!!"
Teacher Bell appeared on the stairs above where I was sitting.
"S-sorry, Ellie! I'm really fine!!"
"H-huh?"
"I'll explain properly next time! Thanks for worrying! I'm really happy! I mean it! But…, r-right now, I think we should keep some distance!"
"A-Ares…!"
"See you later!"
I quickly walked past Ellie and left.
Running would cost me points.
Fortunately, Ellie didn't follow.
That was a huge relief.
If she had chased after me, I wasn't confident I could resist staring at those swaying peaks.
'This can't go on…!'
How was Ellie feeling right now?
Of course, since she trusted me, she probably wouldn't misunderstand when I said we needed distance.
But it must have hurt her quite a bit.
…Ellie honestly liked me, after all.
So.
This couldn't continue.
Ares
Title: I'll take drastic measures
The reason I was having trouble dealing with Ellie was simple.
It was my gaze.
My eyes moved on instinct and were hard to control.
Especially with Ellie.
Those two massive mounds automatically drew my eyes.
'But… if I become a sage… I should be able to control this eye power to some extent…!'
If my mind was pure, tomorrow I could face Ellie.
I'd face her with a wholesome heart and explain the situation.
That way, Ellie's wounds would heal too.
And I could spend the remaining days in peace.
"Hoo…, then let's get ready…"
Drastic measures.
To do that, I generally needed some kind of visual medium.
Of course, imagination alone could work.
But for something more certain and powerful, video was best.
Of course, getting video media in this horror academy wasn't easy.
It cost a lot of money too.
But for me, who had the Gallery, that wasn't a problem.
'Let's see…'
First, I looked through my old posts.
Ah, this would work.
The post where I'd uploaded the video of the homeroom teacher being dragged away by Ellie-maman.
No one would check such an old post.
━━It was possible to upload any video freely.
"As expected… the best one is… Ellie, right?"
Right now, I had a strong desire for Ellie.
That's why I couldn't face her.
So if I wanted to face her, it would be better to look at Ellie.
And conveniently—
There was a perfect scene in my recent memories.
The night at school a few days ago.
The scene where we'd hidden together between the anatomy models in the science prep room.
I secretly uploaded the video of that scene to an old post.
Then I played it and took my drastic measures.
"Haa, Ellie…"
It was incredible.
Truly.
Magnificent.
"Ellie…"
This would work.
With this, I could face Ellie tomorrow with a pure heart.
Wait, hold on.
What if I kept taking these drastic measures throughout the entire crackdown period?
Then wouldn't I be able to go a whole week without wavering, no matter how much the girls tempted me?
"Ellie…!"
I could do this.
I would definitely—
Overcome this shitty rigged event…!!
"━━Ares, viewing illicit footage… 10 points deducted."
"E…, u-uaaaaaaaaah!!!"
At that moment—
Teacher Bell, who had appeared behind me at some point, looked down at me with her doll-like smile and marked the points on a paper.
"N-no, fuck, Teacher!! This is my room!!"
I hurriedly pulled up my pants and shouted at Teacher Bell in protest.
Her ghostly appearance no longer scared me—now I was just pissed.
"……"
But Teacher Bell only smiled her doll-like smile.
She turned around and left the room.
'I'm fucked… 10 points just now?'
But the teacher didn't leave right away.
She headed toward my bed.
Standing in front of it, she muttered something.
"…Miss Li, 10 points for unauthorized entry… 5 points for leering."
I couldn't hear it clearly.
More importantly—
That wasn't what mattered to me right now.
'Remaining points… 13…'
My life points were rapidly running out.
Facing death, my mind was filled with nothing but that thought.