06. Mars is a Real One, but Has No Friends.
06. Mars is a Real One, but Has No Friends.
NTR Academy Prologue
Week 1 - Controls and Tutorial, Character Introductions, etc.
Week 2 - Skill Point Allocation and Basic Skill Learning, Combat Tutorial
Week 3 - External Activities and Free Time
Week 4 - Reassignment Evaluation
With all this, Chapter 0 itself was essentially a one-month tutorial, so it was simple enough.
Later, the story would begin after being assigned to a class through the reassignment evaluation, but for now...
"They said we're doing dungeon practice next Friday. You and me, let's form a two-person team."
Anyway, they said the close-combat and ranged-combat students had to form teams with each other, so it was nice if we were in the same class.
Plus, since we'd already clashed once, we'd be able to sync up well together.
Mars nodded, speaking quickly as if the matter was already settled.
"...Did I ever say I was doing it?"
"What?"
But I wasn't so keen on it.
No matter how much you were one of the official heroines, and no matter how certain it was that your 'Berserker' job made you an incredibly suitable talent for the early game...
'You're a heroine.'
If I got entangled with the Protagonist, I'd be clutching the back of my neck in frustration.
I shook my head and gestured to the dagger strapped to my waist as I spoke.
"I can go as close-combat too."
"Ah, come on. Your close combat is trash. Instead of that, wouldn't it be great if you just stood firmly behind my back, huh? We sit together as the strongest in Class B, how nice would that be?"
"I'd absolutely hate it."
".........."
I just didn't want to draw aggro.
I already felt like I was drawing more than enough aggro, but anyway, I hated it.
Because you were scary. And also scary. And incredibly scary besides.
'I'm confident the wind pressure alone from you swinging that greatsword would send me flying.'
A person who wouldn't seem strange at all if she accidentally committed a team kill.
That was Mars.
"No... ha, fine. Whatever. Let's say that's the case. Then, conversely speaking, is there anyone who would team up with trash like you? Among the ranged-combat students?"
"I think there'd be plenty."
And why wouldn't there be? I was the first A-rank in our cohort, after all.
With just my name value, I figured I could recruit at least some of the side heroines who were holding their own with average hits.
I didn't really want to get fired up over something like a dungeon experience either.
'There's nothing much to it anyway.'
It was no big deal.
Since it was a tutorial, there were no particularly big rewards, just treasure chests occasionally hidden in the corners of the map. Even those only contained slight cash items; there were no hidden weapons like Easter eggs.
On top of that, the enemies that appeared were tutorial monsters, to the point that I could clear them even if I went alone right now?
Of course, the boss monster was strong enough to be called a guaranteed-loss monster, and unless you had a decent party composition, you'd just collapse—but since it was a tutorial, I had no intention of winning anyway.
'The reward for clearing the boss was probably...'
Bonus points for the reassignment exam, wasn't it?
If I was aiming for Class A, it wouldn't be a bad idea, but since I planned to just coast along, I wasn't particularly tempted.
"I'm fine, so go find someone else."
".....There isn't anyone."
"Huh?"
There isn't anyone?
What wasn't there?
"I said there's no one who'll team up with me!"
"Geugh—!"
Ah, don't suddenly shout like that.
You're hurting my eardrums.
At some point, Mars jumped to her feet, came right up beside me, and grabbed my hand tightly.
"Did you think I'm doing this because I like you?! I've decided I'm going to beat you, to crush you! So I tried joining hands with others to defeat you—but they're all rejecting me, so what do you want me to do?!"
"Um......"
Mars was shrieking.
As she badgered me, saying I was the only one left who had been knocked flat, I raised my hand and spoke.
"Yuno! What about Yuno?"
"She said she's doing it with her boyfriend...."
"No, but wasn't the dungeon experience supposed to be a team of three?"
"She said the spot was already filled...."
"............"
Suddenly, Mars looked utterly pitiful.
I wanted to tell her to just leave it to the teacher, since they'd pair her up at random when the time came anyway.
And to begin with, there was still a whole week left until the dungeon experience, so I wondered why she was in such a hurry.
I waved my hand dismissively and spoke toward Mars.
"There's still a whole week left. You'll figure something out by then."
"And if I can't find someone by then....."
"Won't the teacher pair you up then?"
"That won't do!"
"Why not?"
"Because it's embarrassing!"
"........"
Was that a bit of...
A mix of the outsider's temperament and the true loner's temperament,
Combined with the bully's temperament to birth an indescribable hybrid.
'Come to think of it, her character setting was like that, wasn't it...'
Her personality was too rough, so she had trouble making friends.
Especially since her trait was Berserker, she often injured her teammates, so her reputation among others was the worst.
It was said that later on, her trait developed and she no longer harmed others, but Ultimately, her human relationships remained the worst ever...
'If the Protagonist didn't intervene, it was probably the worst until the very end.'
And yet, despite demanding so much attention, by the mid-game her performance became ambiguous, and she wasn't often used except in dungeons where you just turned off your brain and charged straight ahead.
To that extent, Mars's human relationships were catastrophically screwed, except for a few specific figures...
"Then why are you acting like this with me?"
"What?"
"Everyone else rejected you too, so did you think I wouldn't reject you?"
".....You.."
You, at least, talk back to me.
At Mars's reasoning, I was left dumbfounded.
'So the reason she kept clinging was because I at least responded by talking back?'
I thought if I kept pushing her away, she'd be pushed away. I never imagined that pushing her away would be seen as attention and make her approach.
No. Whatever. It was good that I figured it out now.
From this moment on, I resolved to never answer Mars again.
"Anyway, you've teamed up with me, got it? Know that from now on!"
"No, why me?!"
"Because I said so."
"Ah... agh, agghk...!"
And that resolution shattered before even 5 seconds had passed.
'This is no good.'
This was wrong.
This was a bad event itself that must never be crossed.
I hurriedly raised my hand and yelled at Mars.
"Fine, let's say it's good up to that point."
But there was a condition.
"Me, you, plus one more person. It was definitely a team of three, right?"
You bring that one person.
"Me?"
"If you can't bring someone, I'm leaving it all to the teacher. Team and everything."
"...Fine. You think I can't even do that?"
"Yeah."
"........."
Knowing the Mars I knew...
"I don't think you can."
"You... son of a...!"
She probably wouldn't be able to bring a single person. She'd flounder around, then get paired by the teacher, and wouldn't that make three people? That was likely how it'd go.
Having grasped my intent—which was essentially a rejection—Mars snorted roughly, then sprang up from her seat.
"You... keep your promise, for sure."
"Sure. If you bring someone, that is."
But would it be that easy?
That lone wolf, a mix of outsider, true loner, and bully.
A solitary general who could dismantle a pack but could never lead one. I was already starting to wonder who would possibly follow her.
Just what would she say?
Would she tell them the teacher was a person too?
Just as I was feeling satisfied that I had protected my peace, whatever the outcome...
"Chrono, keep your promise!"
"You... could it be that the one behind you is...?"
I never imagined things would turn out this way.
"I look forward to the dungeon experience!"
".....It's Yuno."
To think the Protagonist would abandon his main heroine...
************
Jupiter, the Protagonist of NTR Academy.
The team he formed was as follows:
Apostle of Zeus, Jupiter.
Apostle of Athena, Minerva.
Apostle of Hermes, Merk.
A Warrior (Jupiter), a Paladin (Minerva), and a Thief (Merk). On the surface, it looked like a close-combat-only composition, but in reality, this was a fairly standard composition.
Jupiter with his unique attack power,
Minerva with her unique defensive power,
And Merk, being a Thief, was utility-based and had a crossbow mounted on her arm, so she could also be used for ranged combat.
On the surface, it was a truly perfect composition.
At least, it was a composition that could clear a tutorial boss, but...
"...Are you okay?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"No, your complexion looks a bit off."
"..............."
...Why on earth did the Protagonist abandon his main heroine?
Normally, you would try to form a party with Yuno included.
Because if you abandoned the main heroine here, the affection drop was no joke.
And our Regressor had gone and done that crazy thing.
".......Sorry."
Was it that obvious?
Yuno displayed her dark feelings openly, without hiding them.
The official heroine and main heroine's state seemed far from ordinary.
'Come to think of it, she even said something like that to Mars.'
I'd heard that on the day she first proposed it to me, when I asked if she hadn't proposed to Yuno, she'd answered that Yuno was teaming up with her boyfriend.
But in reality, that boyfriend, the Protagonist, had abandoned her and was strutting around with two other girls by his side. As the main heroine, she was bound to feel choked up.
It wasn't that I couldn't understand that emotional flow at all.
It was something that could happen, a story that was plausible.
"Are you comforting me? Sorry, but I'm a taken woman, so I won't be swayed that easily!"
"Please, don't talk nonsense...."
But why were you doing this near me?
As I sighed and lamented my situation, Mars burst into hearty laughter and slapped Yuno on the back, thump thump.
"Hey, what does it matter! If we do it ourselves and crush those bastards, your boyfriend will come back to you, and I can prove I'm the strongest, right? So wipe that dying look off your face! It's making me all damp and droopy just watching you!"
"...Thanks, Mars. You're comforting me too, right?"
"Comforting? It's, uh... mm, mmhmhm!"
At Yuno's thanks, Mars visibly perked up.
The way her ponytail behind her head seemed to sway gently was probably because she was moving her body along with it.
If not, how else would her hair swish around like a puppy's?
Even though 'pony tail' had 'tail' meaning a tail, was that too much of a leap?
"Mars, isn't that thing on your back heavy? Every time I see it, it looks incredibly heavy..."
"Ha! With just this much, it's not heavy at all, not even a nuisance!"
"Wow! Mars, you're really incredibly strong, aren't you?"
"....Keuhmhmhm! Hmhm!"
No.
That seemed right.
That was just a tail. It was definitely a tail.
"Hueung...."
Yuno accepted Mars without any pretense, and Mars wagged her tail (ponytail) at Yuno's tolerance.
Come to think of it, Yuno was one of Mars's few human relationships.
'And besides, just looking at the myths right now.'
Since Ares was born between Zeus and Hera, Mars and Yuno's relationship was on the pretty good side.
Whenever I read that only through text files, I just thought 'Ah, I see' and passed over it, but seeing it in reality gave me a novel impression.
"Team 7, Mars Team. To the front of the dungeon."
"Haaaaa....."
The teacher's voice.
I got up from my spot and moved forward.
"Now, before we start!"
""......?""
Mars abruptly stretched out her hand.
As if she understood, Yuno placed her hand on top of Mars's hand.
"".........""
".....Uh."
No way?
Just in case, I also stacked my hand on top of Mars's hand. Mars then shouted in a loud voice,
"We're absolutely going to get 1st place!! Let’s go, let’s go!"
"Let’s go!"
"Urgh.... shit...!"
She was seriously doing this?
You really are something else.
I brushed off my hands grumpily and followed Mars into the dungeon.
'Whatever, it's the tutorial.'
If I just did it half-heartedly and came out—
[Emergency Mission]
[Clear the Tutorial Dungeon!]
-Surely you won't get your ankle caught in a mere tutorial, experience dungeon?
1. Clear the Tutorial Dungeon (0/1)
Reward: Cronus's Small Delight / Contribution 3
Upon Failure: Mild Disappointment
─You wouldn't do that, right?♪
This was a pattern I was gradually getting used to.