Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Fates Changing Like Meringue Cookies☆ (2)
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When we weren't busy with our own tasks, we would all gather in the student council room.
It looked like any ordinary meeting room.
A large table in the center, chairs, a bookshelf, and small lockers for our belongings. Unlike other schools' student council rooms, there was no designated seat for the president.
It was one of the cleanest and most spacious rooms among the shabby classrooms of Central Prism Academy, and opening the windows offered the best view of the academy city. It had naturally become our assembly and waiting area.
Around the time a warm, sunset-tinged breeze blew through the open window of the student council room.
I was sitting with Lotha, listening to Kara's story.
With the faint broadcast from the United Student Council's press department as background noise, Kara was talking about the flag she had made.
“…Thus! I arrived at a new idea! Why must a summon and its user attack separately? A method to conveniently combine my usual ‘spear’ with my summoning skill, [Revolutionary Comrades]! That method is—!”
Twitch, twitch—
Lotha’s two cat ears moved with an air of displeasure.
In truth, I already knew what Kara was talking about from the game, so I was letting it go in one ear and out the other. I was just staring at Lotha's vividly twitching cat ears.
Twitch, twitch—
Each time they twitched, the fluffy-looking orange fur would flutter, and the soft-looking pink insides would quiver resiliently. Their slightly glossy surface looked like a high-end cushion made of silk.
A soft, cozy texture that couldn't be confirmed through the game's illustrations.
I wanted to enjoy the softness of the outside with one hand and the squishiness of the inside with the other, all while rubbing my face against them to feel the texture of cat fur.
Burying my face between those two ears, inhaling the cat-like scent of an old blanket left out in the sun—the sight would surely be paradise.
Twitch, twitch—
“…”
My hand rose unconsciously.
Lotha was still listening to Kara's explanation with a sullen look.
‘Honestly, we're close enough now.’
I was about to secretly try and grab those cat ears, but I gave up.
Flinch—
Because Lotha, perhaps sensing my presence unconsciously, glanced my way.
“…?”
Blink, blink.
A question filled her large, orange eyes. Her gem-like, transparent pupils, unique to feline beastkin, dilated rapidly as she studied my expression.
“…”
“Ahaha—☆”
“…”
I tried to laugh it off, but Lotha, with her beastkin's sensitivity, must have sensed something amiss. Still in her chair, she scooted slightly away from me.
Screech—
And glancing at me, she let out a low, wary sound.
Grrrrrr...!
‘Damn. My affection level must still be too low.’
Completely oblivious to the subtle atmosphere between us.
“…Thus, recalling the moments I struggled to give timely orders to my dear summons, the [Revolutionary Comrades], I have steeled myself with the resolve of a lifetime—!”
Kara was still, with exaggerated gestures, describing the awkward moments of using her main weapon, the spear, along with her summoning skill. And she was boasting about the ingenuity of her new idea.
I wanted to keep listening to my dear junior's bragging... but honestly, I was starting to get bored.
‘…Is just sticking a spearhead on a flag and using it really that ingenious an idea?’
In the game, the major character Kara used a polearm from the very beginning, and her earliest exclusive weapon design was a flag, so hearing her explanation about a new weapon felt natural enough.
But since it might be a genuinely innovative idea in this world, I subtly checked the reactions of the other two juniors sitting nearby.
‘Ah, this is a flag. It can be used to signal allies.’
‘Whoa! Amazing—! Tying a cloth to a spear to use it as a flag!’
I felt like I should probably play along if that was the general mood.
Thinking this, I glanced around.
A quick look...
“Huu…”
Lotha still had an expression that said, "Why are you stating the obvious?" But perhaps because she felt my unusual gaze, her orange cat ears weren't twitching as intensely as before.
After that, the sound of a pencil.
Scritch, scritch…
Alvitt, ignoring our noise, was looking at the United Student Council general education textbook Vel had handed out and taking notes.
She occasionally referenced the history books available in the student council room, adding annotations.
Alvitt's mumbling voice.
“Hmm… the history of the Aesir warlords…”
Flutter—
Alvitt had glanced at Kara only at the beginning, but had since completely lost interest and was engrossed in her studies.
Watching her, I shuddered inwardly. Alvitt was the type of person I could never understand, even back in college.
‘The type to study without complaint even if the professor started a lesson during orientation...’
A hero isn't supposed to waste time studying...
Didn't Liu Bei himself spend his days carousing with friends in his village, nurturing grand dreams in his heart before setting out?
‘Liu Bei, since you're so engrossed in your studies and won't go out to recruit heroes... I, your senior Zhuge Liang, shall gather Gan, Sun, and Mi for you.’
I sighed internally and looked away.
The long-winded speech continued.
Lotha, apparently bored by the drawn-out story, cut in bluntly.
“So, in short, you're going to attach a command flag to a spear and use it. Your introductions are always too long.”
“Uh… um… That is correct.”
“If you want to express your thoughts, state your main point simply and clearly first.”
“Under… stood.”
“And in the end, you don't have the ether-conductive ore needed for the spearhead, so you've only made the basic form for now, right?”
“That is so.”
Kara seemed somewhat dejected. She stopped her explanation and placed the object she'd been about to boast about on the table.
Clack.
What she held was like a spear with the tip removed... in other words, a long pole with a flag attached. Its defining feature was a sturdy finish ensuring the command flag wouldn't fall off even with rough use.
I carefully examined the weapon, the first I'd seen from a polearm user since Hilde.
‘I did secretly send the ore I obtained during my first year over to Mimir Industrial High School...’
My second wish I asked of Maya.
『Process the ore I sent and make it into suitable weapons for my juniors.』
Unlike construction, which was the specialty of the Facilities Engineering Department—the architecture club Maya was president of—this was a request that required pulling several strings. That's why it came with the condition that I wait at least three weeks.
‘It's been about a week since I sent it.’
Just as I was thinking that,
I suddenly sensed someone running toward the school building.
‘But why is she here again?’
And then…
SLAM—!
A huge noise crashed into the student council room, where only quiet murmurs had been spreading. Someone had kicked the door open with extreme rudeness.
We all turned to look at the suddenly opened door of the student council room.
“…Huh?”
“…?”
“Oh?”
Standing there was the side-tailed pipsqueak, Vel, the second-year secretary of the United Student Council, who had run so hard she was sweating.
Vel had returned to Central Prism Academy just one day after going back to the Gjallarhorn garrison. Still without a new uniform, it seemed, she was wearing a red Central Prism Academy tracksuit.
She stormed into the student council room, stamping her foot with an aggrieved expression.
“You, you, you guys—!! After I helped you so much—!! Traitors—!!”
“…?”
“…?”
“…?”
“…?”
“Ah, ah, ah, ahh~!! Don't think I won't know just because you all tilt your heads! You guys tattled to my boss that I wrecked your school as soon as I left for the garrison—!! The boss said if one more complaint comes in, I'll be put in solitary confinement for a week in the Aesir Girls' High School disciplinary wing—!!”
Each time she said "ah," her little finger pointed at Kara, Lotha, me, and Alvitt in order. And her feet stomped as tears welled up in her eyes.
“How could you do this!! I might have wrecked the classroom a little, but I helped clean it up right away—!!”
“…Isn't it right to clean up your own mess…?”
“Nope~ nope~ your cute little secretary doesn't know about things like that! If you make a cute girl do such hard labor, a cuteness modifier is added, increasing her cuteness points! In other words! I did more labor than my mistake was worth!”
“Wh-what are you talking about?”
“Wow—☆ I'm all for it—♪ Let's introduce that at our school—♡”
“Please read the room, senior…”
This pipsqueak wasn't just randomly accusing us; she truly believed we had done something.
What was she even saying?
I couldn't understand a word this damn kid was saying.
We quietly exchanged glances.
*What is she talking about?*
*Lotha, was it you?*
*No. Wasn't it Kara?*
*No. I've been in my room all day since yesterday.*
*Then what about you, senior?*
*Nope—☆*
*That can't be right...*
*Hey now—☆ What's that supposed to mean?♪*
We conversed with our eyes, but none of us understood what she was talking about. So, we decided to take drastic measures.
Nod.
Nod.
A silent agreement was reached between us.
Alvitt stood up with a determined expression.
And strode right up to Vel.
A subtle tension arose between the two as they faced each other.
“…!”
Vel, perhaps thinking Alvitt was the culprit, narrowed her eyes and glared.
“It, it was you! You damn goody-two-shoes!”
“…”
“I knew it! You were always at the forefront, glaring at me like that—!”
But Alvitt quietly placed a hand on Vel's shoulder.
“…Let's talk after we eat.”
“…H-huh?”
Vel, bewildered by the sudden remark.
At the same time, a thunderous sound echoed from the stomachs of the entire student body of Central Prism Academy, gathered in the student council room.
Growl…
Growl—!
Growl♪
And then, a sound came from Alvitt's stomach, right in front of Vel.
Growl.
At the same time, a replying chorus echoed.
Growl…
Growl—!
Growl♪
Growl.
The harmony of hunger.
After witnessing that harmony, Vel could only break out in a cold sweat, her eyes darting around.
“Wh-what…? What in the world… is this?”
To her, who stood at the peak of the academy city's fearsome power, 'hunger' was an unknown entity. A place where a feast could be summoned with a wave of a hand, where eating snacks instead of meals was a conceivable notion. To them, 'hunger' was an unknown darkness, a terror.
That's right.
Vel was feeling terror at our hunger and our destitution.
To the rich, the daily life of the poor was a form of horror.
This was our secret technique.
The Beggar Girls' ultimate negotiation tactic.
[The Harmony of Hunger]
“Ugh…?”
Vel stood frozen, unable to comprehend the situation. Alvitt whispered into her ear in a small voice.
“Dried bread crusts… would you like to try some…?”
“Bread… bread crusts… why do you… dry them… to eat… them…?”
A smile formed on Alvitt's lips. Within that smile was a vile satisfaction, like one already sullied dragging a pure maiden into a dirty mud pit.
Alvitt answered quietly.
“…They're crunchy and delicious.”
“…Eek.”
Vel's face went completely pale.
***
Eventually, having calmed down amidst the absurd situation, Vel began to listen to us rationally.
Munch, munch.
“So, it really wasn't you guys?”
“How many times do I have to say it? We really didn't report you.”
“Ha, damn, then what was it?”
“Maybe the United Student Council president was just in a bad mood over something else?”
“What do you know about the boss!”
“Just that if I report you right now, Senior Vel, you'll be locked in the disciplinary wing for a week?”
“Eek! I'm sorry!”
Vel was walking through the shopping district with us, chewing on the piece of bread crust we'd given her.
The quiet shopping district.
A stillness had settled over it after the evening glow had faded.
I glanced sideways at Vel, who was gnawing on the bread crust.
‘She's eating it, now that we gave it to her.’
We found it hard to fill our stomachs with just dried bread crusts, so we ended up coming to the shopping district.
The young baker who always gave us the day's leftover bread as charity.
It was time for the kind dwarf's bakery to close and clear out its stock.
‘We've been getting food from the old doctor's place for a while, so we haven't been to the bakery.’
The time had come to score some leftover bread for the first time in a while.
However…
The moment the five of us reached the bakery.
We saw an unbelievable notice written on the door.
[Temporarily closed due to disruptions in the flour supply.]
“Huh?”
“Oh?”
“Oh dear.”
“Hmm♪ This is no good.”
“…”
Seeing the notice, Vel let out a deep sigh.
“Ahh… so the corruption has spread here too.”
“Huh?”
Alvitt tilted her head at the word she'd heard once more. Vel looked at her and answered, still gnawing on her bread crust.
“In places where ‘black ether’ appears in the ether cores of dungeon gates, Chaos Bugs sometimes spill out to the surface.”
“Chaos Bugs… out here…?!”
“Because of that, logistics and transport are being blocked all over the academy city. It's a total mess…”
Hearing that, I groaned internally.
‘Now I see why Hilde was so angry.’
The Apostles who serve the Dragon.
Those bastards from Ratatoskr have begun to corrupt the academy city in earnest.