Subjugating Grillish (2)
I explained the bracelet's abilities before any unnecessary misunderstandings could arise. Only then did they nod with expressions of understanding.
“I see. Well, no matter how you look at it, even someone like Baran wouldn't do something that crazy.”
Wait, what exactly counts as crazy here?
While I was left speechless by Risa's remark, Lillia tilted her head curiously.
“Hmm. But is there a particular reason you're giving this to us now?”
The others stared at me intently, clearly in agreement. Well, from their perspective, this situation must have seemed incredibly abrupt. Suddenly calling everyone together just to hand out mysterious bracelets would naturally raise suspicions.
Fortunately, I had already prepared an excuse.
“During the previous practical evaluation, Sherry nearly fell under mind control, didn't she? There's no guarantee something similar won't happen during this final exam, so I'm giving these to you just in case.”
“Ah, I didn't realize you had that kind of intention.”
Risa scratched the back of her head, looking embarrassed by my answer. It seemed she felt quite awkward now that my true purpose was so different from what she'd imagined.
Anyway, with that, all preparations were complete. All that remained was to deal with Grillish.
Just then—
— Attention, first-year students. Please gather in front of the auditorium immediately.
The assistant instructor's voice echoed from the crystal orb located in the training grounds. We immediately headed toward the auditorium.
This final exam wasn't taking place on the uninhabited island we'd visited before. Due to the demon army's previous terrorist attack, that location was unfortunately still under construction. As a result, the decision was made to hold the exam in an artificial dungeon located within the Clifford territory.
Because of this change, unlike the previous practical evaluation, the academy was conducting much stricter inspections this time.
“Assistant instructors, check once more to ensure there are no suspicious individuals!”
“Yes! Understood!”
The assistants scrambled about at the professors' commands. We waited quietly in front of the artificial dungeon for further instructions.
At that moment—
“So, who’s going to hang out with Baran after the exam?”
“Since I didn’t get to spend any time with him separately during the school trip, I’ll go with him.”
“I haven’t spent any time alone with him either.”
Sherry, Lillia, and Luden were now arguing over who would get to accompany me. Why are you all fighting over me like this?
It seemed I wasn’t the only one who found this ridiculous. Miroel, standing beside me, let out a derisive snort.
—Hmph! I get to be alone with my disciple every single day!
It appeared our master wasn’t so much dumbfounded as she was feeling rather pitiful toward them.
“Why don’t we just ask Baran directly? Wouldn’t it be better to let the person in question decide?”
Risa, who had slipped between the three, offered that suggestion. Why are you pushing this onto me?
It was such a logical argument that I had no rebuttal, though it somehow felt like they had all coordinated this in advance. I let out a small sigh and asked,
“So, you’re saying we need to choose one person to explore the city with after the final exam ends?”
“Yeah. Just pick one of us.”
Luden nodded slowly in response to my question. For some reason, I had a bad feeling that making the wrong choice here would lead to something unpleasant.
I thought it over carefully. Soon, a decent idea came to mind.
“How about this? The person with the highest score in this final exam gets to accompany me. That seems fair.”
They narrowed their eyes at my suggestion, then slowly nodded.
“That does seem like the fairest option.”
“Our skills are all pretty evenly matched anyway.”
“Not a bad idea.”
Apparently quite pleased with the proposal, the corners of their lips curled upward. It looked like each of them was confident they would come in first.
Ugh, now I feel kind of bad.
In truth, this bet would never come to fruition. Because Grillish was supposed to appear during the final exam. Of course, he wouldn’t be the one causing a terrorist attack, but his presence alone would completely ruin any sense of fairness.
Therefore, once the exam ended, this suggestion would naturally become invalid.
That’s just how life works.
It was right as I was thinking that when—
— Before we begin the final exam, I will explain the rules of this test once more.
One of the assistant instructors stepped forward and spoke into the voice-amplifying crystal orb. He then proceeded to explain the rules for this final exam.
— For this final exam, you must defeat monsters within the artificial dungeon within the given time limit. Points will vary depending on the type of monster defeated. If any of you are eliminated, the assistants will come to retrieve you immediately, so please remain where you are.
Hmm. In simple terms, it was exactly the same as what we did during the practical evaluation. The only real difference was that these monsters weren’t artificial constructs. Of course, since they were under control, there was no chance they would actually kill us. Once a student’s gauge suit reached zero, the monsters would simply turn away.
— Combat department students, please enter the artificial dungeon. Production department students, please wait at the shelter. Thank you.
With those final words, the final exam officially began.
The moment the final exam started, the students began moving frantically. Among them, three individuals were moving with particular fervor.
It was obviously—
“What the hell are those three doing?”
“Why are they going so hard?”
“That’s basically just a civilian massacre at this point.”
Lillia, Luden, and Sherry, all desperately fighting to secure first place. The other students were also doing their best to earn high scores, but those three were acting as if this were their last chance in life.
“First place is definitely out of reach now.”
“Haah, it’s going to be hard just to find any monsters left.”
“Agreed.”
After all, those three—along with Shannon and me—were already among the top five. If beings like them were going all out like this, how could any monsters possibly remain in the dungeon?
The other students ended up cleaning up the monsters that the three had missed. Watching this unfold from behind, I was at a complete loss for words.
Wait, this isn’t what I intended when I made that suggestion.
I knew they would try hard, but who could have predicted they would risk their lives like this? Because of my proposal, the competition among the remaining students had become even more intense.
“There’s one left over there!”
“First one there wins!!”
“Get lost! That one’s mine!”
The moment a monster was spotted, students swarmed it like a pack of hyenas. This was definitely not what the professors had envisioned. They had probably imagined students struggling to hunt monsters in the dungeon. Instead, the reality was a fierce competition over the scraps left behind by those three.
To think a single comment could create such a butterfly effect.
Is this why people say you should watch your words? One wrong sentence and I had completely ruined the final exam.
Hoo… I hope this doesn’t cause any real problems.
With that thought, I quietly kept an eye on Luden inside the dungeon, staying alert in case Grillish appeared.
About three hours later, the final exam finally came to an end.
I didn’t know how to process this situation. I had been certain Grillish would appear. In the original story, he definitely showed up. Yet for some reason, he never made an appearance.
What’s going on? Why didn’t he show up?
This sudden butterfly effect left me completely at a loss. I had gone through all that buildup beforehand, only for things to feel strangely anticlimactic.
I really can’t get a read on this.
Whenever the butterfly effect had occurred before, I could at least make some predictions. But this time, I couldn’t understand why things had diverged so drastically from the original story.
Is it because of the Holy Federation?
The thought crossed my mind for a moment, but I shook my head. It was true that I had intervened excessively in the Holy Federation. However, no matter how I thought about it, that shouldn’t have caused this kind of butterfly effect. The outcome was the same as the original; only the process had changed.
The Saintess enrolling did create a slight difference, though.
Even so, that alone shouldn’t have been enough reason for Grillish to skip the final exam entirely.
While I was stroking my chin in deep thought, Luden approached me, leaving behind a visibly frustrated Lillia and Sherry.
“Baran, I got first place.”
I turned to look at her. At that moment—
Wait a second.
A lightning bolt of realization flashed through my mind.
Come to think of it, the version I had played featured a male protagonist. But let’s take a look now. Waist-length golden hair, beautiful facial features, and a perfect figure with curves in all the right places. At a glance, it was clear that the current protagonist was female.
Therefore, there was no guarantee that the protagonist’s episodes would unfold exactly as they had in the original story I played.
I relied too much on my own memories.
When you think about it, this was an entirely different route from the one I had experienced.
“Baran?”
Luden tilted her head with a puzzled expression. It seemed I had been spacing out for too long. I cleared my throat and spoke.
“My apologies. I was lost in thought for a moment.”
“Hmph. Were you hoping someone else would get first place?”
At her pouty response, the other two perked up their ears. I shook my head in denial.
“Not at all. It’s just that Lady Luden is so beautiful.”
“You can’t even see, yet you’re saying such empty flattery…”
Her face flushed red as she abruptly turned her head away. Soon after, Luden continued,
“Anyway, since I got first place, let’s meet in front of the dormitory in one hour.”
She walked briskly toward the dormitory. Watching her retreating figure, I made a firm resolution.
Today, I would spend the entire day with her.