Oh Yeah! Total Points 149
Thanks to suddenly getting a full 100 points in one go, the scale had literally changed.
'With this many points, I should prepare that after all.'
Judging by the fact that this was the first class, the moment I’d transmigrated was the morning right after the entrance ceremony. That meant the event coming up soon was the mock duel class—a subculture-game-style lesson where students fought each other one-on-one.
And there was one thing I knew for certain: if I didn’t earn enough Praise Points to prepare items or weapons in advance, I was going to suffer a humiliating defeat in that class.
Which meant I couldn’t afford to miss Professor Kadisha, who was generously handing out 100 points at a time.
“Professor Kadisha.”
Time to go all in. With complete sincerity.
“I have long felt regretful about the reality that someone of your caliber has not been allowed to shine.”
“…!”
“You are flawless not only as a mage, but as a researcher and educator as well.”
“…!!!”
Professor Kadisha’s body flushed crimson and began to tremble violently.
The target feels extreme joy.
Wow, just how many points is this woman willing to give? As expected of a true educator. A god-tier teacher. The tree that gives without holding back.
“I believe that you, Professor—”
“Quiet!! Be quiiiiiiiet!!”
Professor Kadisha roared.
“...?”
Wait, why? You were clearly enjoying it.
Still huffing, Professor Kadisha shouted again.
“Class! We will continue the class!!”
She spun toward the blackboard as if to write something in a hurry, then suddenly whipped around and bellowed at the rest of the classroom.
“All of you, stop chattering and focus!!”
The students who received the full force of her roar flinched, then immediately shot glares in my direction.
Hey, why are you looking at me?
'Hmm.'
In the forcibly imposed silence, I pondered.
'The points I earned earlier didn’t get deducted, though?'
If Professor Kadisha had genuinely become upset, the points would have been subtracted.
'The fact that they weren’t means that even though she’s saying all that, she isn’t actually angry, right?'
I nodded to myself.
'This is complicated.'
My friends back on Earth used to tell me I wasn’t a bad person, just a little dense and completely oblivious.
“G-Gilliam.”
Marong whispered beside me.
“What on earth are you thinking…!?”
“About what?”
“You can’t possibly not know! Saying something like that publicly on the very first day…!”
Marong’s eyes shifted to a dull gray.
“It ends up screwing someone over!”
“....”
But I genuinely don’t know. Who exactly am I screwing over?
“You there!! I told you not to chat during class!!”
I found out exactly who I was screwing over the moment Professor Kadisha’s class ended.
“Then I will continue in the next session!”
Professor Kadisha fled the classroom as though escaping.
And immediately afterward, the entire group that had been whispering earlier and gotten scolded came straight at me.
At the front stood a male student who glared at me with open hostility.
“Gilliam Everchess, correct?”
——————
Gilliam Everchess. A worthless slacker who had nothing but his family name. All he ever did was make vulgar jokes at women and cackle, or laze around drinking. If he had at least been competent enough at being a parasite to become the kept boytoy of some rich young widow, he probably wouldn’t have been despised quite this much.
But Gilliam couldn’t even slack off properly. He would flirt with women, then mutter and complain to himself the moment they showed disgust. He drank in secret corners, constantly checking if anyone was watching. A pathetic, creepy loser. The shameful idiot of the prestigious Everchess family. That was Gilliam.
Even the new academy students, being nobles, had heard the rumors and knew his reputation.
Yet that pathetic Gilliam had suddenly changed. On the very first day of the academy.
“Professor Kadisha.”
In a serious, articulate voice no one had ever heard from him before.
“This may sound sudden, but there is something I wish to praise you for.”
Then came the bomb. Lavish praise for Professor Kadisha, who never tolerated grade manipulation. The gap between his past behavior and current actions sent shockwaves through the noble students.
‘Was he hiding his true nature all this time?’
‘He was deliberately acting like an idiot…?’
‘If he was hiding his claws until now, why reveal them at this exact moment?’
One of the male students muttered.
“Grade manipulation… He’s striking right at an unpleasant spot for our crown prince faction.”
The moment class ended, that student walked straight up to Gilliam.
“Gilliam Everchess, correct?”
Of course he knew who I was. He was asking again on purpose.
Interpretation: You are completely different from before. What is your intention?
I frowned, then spoke as if I had only just remembered.
“Roy Edgers, right?”
Even though we clearly knew each other, I acted like I’d only just recalled his name.
‘He’s insulting not only the entire crown prince faction but me personally as well.’
But showing that you felt insulted was something only commoners did. Nobles hid blades in their words, needles in their blades, poison in their needles, and ciphers in their poison. That was the language of nobility. Every gesture, every movement had to carry meaning.
“Gilliam, if you’re going to act like this, I assume you’re prepared for the consequences?”
“?”
I gave him the blankest look I could manage.
Roy’s insides boiled.
“In this afternoon’s mock duel, I will name you as my opponent.”
“You?”
I frowned, then let out a sigh of relief.
“Thank goodness.”
Crack.
Roy nearly lost his composure. To be so openly disregarded—
If it were up to him, he would have punched that face right then and there.
“…Tsk.”
But Roy clicked his tongue with refined restraint and turned to return to his seat among the other crown prince faction students.
“Roy Edgers.”
“Hm?”
“You definitely use ice-attribute magic, correct?”
What an obvious question. Everyone knew the Edgers family were masters of ice magic.
“That is correct. What of it?”
“No, nothing.”
My eyes were staring into empty space.
Roy felt another surge of anger. After asking something so obvious, the bastard was now pretending not to care.
‘Does he think my ice magic isn’t even worth considering?’
Absurd. ‘I’ll thoroughly humiliate him during the mock duel.’
Even after Roy returned to his seat, I continued staring into space and muttering.
“449… I’m still 51 points short…”
“G-Gilliam! What are you going to do?”
Marong asked urgently, clearly worried by my apparent lack of tension.
“Roy is the legitimate heir of the Edgers family, a prestigious house of ice magic… Whereas you, Gilliam…!”
Marong was genuinely concerned.
“You can’t use magic or swordsmanship at all!”
A worthless slacker who had nothing but his family name. Gilliam’s personal abilities were also part of what he lacked. In short, he wasn’t just a pathetic creep—he was completely incompetent.
He couldn’t use magic. His swordsmanship was equally nonexistent. He had no other talents to speak of. Naming someone like that as your mock-duel opponent was essentially a public declaration that you would toy with and humiliate them.
It was only natural for Marong to react this way.
‘But this time it won’t go that way.’
Ice Resistance Scroll: 300 points
Lower Shockwave: 200 points
The problem was that I was still short on points.
‘Should I chase after Professor Kadisha?’
Showering her with praise in her private office? ‘…No.’
Doing that might be interpreted as voluntarily declaring myself her slave—“Please take me as your graduate student!” Even someone as dense as me could guess that much.
Then should I start praising other students from now on? ‘It’s possible, but the chance I’ll have to clear up more misunderstandings is high.’
When I had zero points it was fine, but I already had 449 accumulated. I had no idea how long it would take to recover if I lost them.
That left only one option.
‘Marong.’
I would pour praise on her, who had already accepted my sincerity, and fill the remaining 51 points.
‘Besides, Marong was originally a favorable character.’
The reason she treated Gilliam well wasn’t because of any special connection between them. It was simply because Marong Clearias was a kind and gentle person.
“Even though Gilliam is a good-for-nothing… if I treat him well, maybe he’ll show his good side.”
That was the kind of person she was. In the novel-within-the-novel Astra Radius, she was a five-star deployable character. A sensible choice. If I were the game developer, I would have made the early-game guide character someone like Marong.
‘Is that why her appearance is like this?’
Her outfit was pure subculture-game style—cleavage and sideboob fully on display. When I first transmigrated I was too confused to notice, but looking properly now, it was quite bold.
Anyway, someone like Marong would surely accept my request.
“Marong, I’m sorry, but I have one favor to ask.”
“What is it…?”
“From now until the mock duel begins, during every break, I want you to go somewhere without people and spend time alone with me.”
“.........Huh?”
Marong’s face turned bright red.