Black Consumer
Actually, I had no intention of betraying Abel. Helping him had been genuine, and I hadn't wanted to miss the chance to earn goodwill from a Hero who was otherwise difficult to approach. Besides, even if winning the exam required such measures, there was nothing particularly worthwhile to gain. It wasn't like the usual game clichés where some grand reward awaited; it simply ended with your score being recorded as first place. So I used Observation to locate the orbs, retrieved the fallen Hero with My Own Little Fortune Teller Shop…… In my own way, I had done my best.
"……………."
"Uh, um. Hero? Why are you looking at me instead of Aileen……."
So please stop staring at me with those eyes full of betrayal. More importantly, I was eliminated too, wasn't I? Aileen was the one who won.
"……The orb earlier………was a lie……."
"Ah, that was………."
It had been a lie, hadn't it? That was why Abel had let his guard down, believing no survivors remained. If only the last survivor hadn't been Aileen, I would have simply let Abel win.
"Don't misunderstand, unbeliever."
"………?"
"I was the one who threatened Namgung Min. I told him to lie to you."
"……!"
At Aileen's amused words, Abel turned his head toward her. Well……she wasn't wrong. When I explained the situation to Aileen, who had been dazed after meeting me, she said she had a plan and asked for my help. It had been a request, technically, but refusing had been difficult given how she had been holding onto me……ahem. In the end, I lost. I already owed Aileen quite a lot.
"………Why."
"Are you seriously asking because you don't know? After attacking and threatening Namgung Min on your own? Of course you have to face the consequences."
"…………."
Well, the attack part was true, but there hadn't been any threats……or had there? When I offered to help him win if he spared me, had pointing my knife at him counted as a threat? After receiving every kind of threat imaginable from Liu, my sense of these things had dulled.
"………Aileen, Teddybear."
"Remember my name clearly. I'm the one who eliminated you."
It seemed Aileen was trying to direct Abel's betrayed anger solely toward herself. By making it look as though she had threatened me and I was merely a victim, she was attempting to preserve my relationship with Abel.
Honestly……I still don't understand why Aileen is going this far.
It was something I had wondered about many times, but Aileen's goodwill toward me was clearly abnormal. If her affection level hadn't been locked beyond romantic interest, she would have confessed long ago. Receiving favor from such a beauty was certainly pleasant, but not knowing its source made it rather suspicious.
"Hero, this actually isn't a bad thing for you."
"Namgung Min……?"
"………?"
So I decided not to stay silent. Staying quiet might have let the situation pass, but why should I? More importantly, Abel wouldn't be so consumed by betrayal that Aileen needed to worry. I would handle it.
"I know what you want, Hero. Overall first place."
"…………."
"And I also know that the student who ranks first in the final year-end tally receives special privileges."
Special privileges. The academy handing out money and artifacts, things like that. Of course, it wasn't given only to first place—anyone within the top thirty received them, though the quality varied—but there was one privilege granted exclusively to the top student.
"The right to challenge."
"…………."
"That's your goal, isn't it."
The right to challenge an academy instructor. A student who achieved first place in their year might have already surpassed student level. Based on that logic, Romance Academy granted the top student the right to challenge one instructor of their choice. Victory in that challenge conferred the privilege of immediately becoming an instructor upon graduation.
However, becoming an instructor wasn't the Hero's objective. He simply needed the right to challenge itself.
"…………That's also……a fortune."
"Yes."
"………Hah."
The Hero let out a small, wry laugh. Throughout the day, I had moved alongside him and demonstrated my abilities: the judgment to quickly secure a central position, the skill to find hidden orbs, the fortune-telling that seemed to know everything, and the ever-composed demeanor. All of it was built on sand, but as long as no one discovered the truth, it didn't matter. Because I had acted in a way that earned his trust in my abilities, he seemed to accept even the absurd explanation that I had read his inner thoughts through fortune-telling.
"So………?"
"I'll help you. Just like today, and from now on as well."
"…………."
"As I promised today, I'll make sure you achieve overall first place."
"………."
"What do you say?"
Unlike the others, he hadn't formed a large group, nor had he simply hidden away. Frankly, the only reason the Hero had even reached second place was thanks to me. In the game, the Hero's grades had never been high, to put it mildly.
Of course, since he always acted alone.
Hero Abel Legion. Until his character event triggered, he couldn't be recruited as a companion or act together with others. His combat ability was monstrous, but everything else was disastrous, making it impossible for him to aim for first place—or even the upper ranks. He probably knew that himself. Throughout the special class curriculum, whether practical or theoretical, Abel had never once taken first place.
But this time was different. Simply by being with me, he had come within reach of victory. I was fanning the flames of that possibility and hope.
"………Why?"
"Because, of course, I want to become friends with you, Hero."
"……………."
Truly, well. Honestly, even if I ignored the other characters, I absolutely had to get involved with and clear the Hero's character event, you know?
And……I lack combat strength.
I was weak. Objectively speaking, I was at the very bottom of the academy. I had been covering it up with game knowledge and connections, but once the major events began, that wouldn't be enough. Since combat was important in Romance Academy, there would come a time when I couldn't avoid fighting either. At that point, I would need someone to fight in my place.
"Let's work together. What do you think, Hero?"
"…………."
Aileen would probably fight for me if I asked, but ultimately she was in a different class. Even within the special class, I needed an ally who would support me wholeheartedly.
Liu is out of the question in combat. Lane can't be trusted, and while the Saint might cooperate from behind the scenes, we have to maintain a hostile front publicly. As for the Princess, that's impossible to even consider.
The Prince and Lucas were merely acquaintances, nothing more. That left only the Hero.
The Hero is trustworthy.
I wasn't talking about his personality or loyalty. Abel had a clear goal: overall first place. And as long as I helped him achieve it, he wouldn't discard me first. To someone alone like him, a single collaborator was extremely valuable.
That was why I extended my hand to Abel without any worry.
"…………Alright."
"Good. Let's do our best from now on, Hero."
After all, Abel had no choice but to join hands with me. I had created a debt by letting Aileen win, and now I had formed a cooperative relationship with the Hero. It was a pleasant conclusion.
*
Or at least……it should have been?
"Uh……um. Liu?"
"What is it, you bastard."
"Why exactly am I tied to this chair?"
"Are you seriously asking that right now?"
"Princess, I am always sincere."
The day after the survival exam. While I had cheerfully shown up for class, I had been dragged away by a wicked group and tightly bound to a chair. Just how tightly had they tied me? It felt like the blood wasn't circulating.
"Ah, Lane. If you could please persuade these two……."
"………."
Wow, did he just pretend not to hear me? Wasn't this the touching moment where Lane overcame his weakness toward the strong? I shifted my gaze from the Saint to Lane, who passed by my side with his head lowered.
Do something……!
Since I couldn't say it outright, I sent him desperate looks, but—
"………Let us pray."
Ah, that bastard. He wasn't still holding a grudge about what happened during the exam, was he? Honestly, compared to nearly having his head smashed in by my mace, this was light revenge. T-bagging was standard procedure, wasn't it? All I did was send the Hero to eliminate him and juggle a bit with his broken orb. Was that really worth this?
"Hey, Namgung Min."
"Liu."
"I can hear your brain spinning from here. Just stay still."
"…………."
Lane and the Saint were ignoring me, Lucas had been eliminated early so he didn't know what was going on but was sharp enough not to look this way unnecessarily, and the Prince was even receiving popcorn from his attendant to watch the show. Meanwhile, Liu and the Princess stood with arms linked, pressuring me.
What the hell did I even do……!
"Namgung Min."
"Princess, I know very well that you are an intelligent person. Why would someone like you participate in something like this──"
"I haven't forgotten how you snuck up and stole the orb while the Hero and I were fighting."
"………Uh, um."
That had been the best option. Even if I hid the orb, I had to hide it right next to them so the Hero would draw aggro and I could retrieve it. I was the one who had struggled, moving secretly amid the fight between those two monsters who didn't seem human!
"And then you juggled it right in front of me, and even used it to deceive Abel?"
"……."
"Do you still have anything to say?"
……She wasn't wrong. The juggling had been real, and the orb I had claimed was Aileen's had actually belonged to the Princess. But I hadn't done it to t-bag like the Saint—I had just been bored…… Was that really enough to tie someone up like they were being tortured?
"Hey, fortune teller bastard. You haven't forgotten what you did to me, have you?"
"That………."
"In the crucial moment, you talked to me, found my orb, and handed it over to the Hero, didn't you?"
"Um……."
"Why don't you start spouting bullshit like before?"
Uh, so both of them. They were taking out their anger on me right now?
"Is……that wrong?"
"Then what is it?"
"A fair competition?"
"……………."
"………………."
Wasn't that correct? It was an exam, wasn't it? A survival test? Even if we were friends, it was still a competitive exam—there was no room for holding back. Or was there? Was it normal for friends to go easy on each other even in competition? How would I know? I'd never had friends before.
……Suddenly, I felt sad.
"………Fine. Let's call it a fair competition."
"Liu, I believed in you!"
"Then this is unjust retaliation."
"What?"
With a refreshing smile, Liu picked up two long wooden sticks that had been lying nearby. Handing one to the Princess, she spoke while still wearing her beautiful smile.
"Princess, I heard that the Korean Empire has a long-standing cultural practice."
"Oh my, what could it be?"
"A form of torture called juritgi……or rather, a scientific culture that makes the other party sincerely repent and instills proper etiquette."
"As expected of a great wealthy one, you're well-versed even in foreign cultures."
"……Liu? Princess?"
Click. They forced my legs apart and crossed the wooden sticks between them. Wait, this was something I'd only seen in historical dramas! This was just straight-up torture!
"Shall we start on the count of three?"
"Let's do that. Princess, shall we make a bet? How long will this fortune teller who engaged in fair competition endure unjust retaliation?"
"Indeed. Since he's supposedly a fair person, he'll probably be fine."
"I'll bet on him being fine too. On the great wealthy one's pride."
Creak. Contrary to their smiles, the wooden stick was slowly bending under the Princess's grip strength. Liu had apparently activated some artifact as well—thin muscles had risen on her slender arms.
……Life. Just as I resigned myself to the inevitable juritgi—
Creak.
"Hm?"
"Huh?"
"H-Hero! Abel!"
The only one who had been late, Abel, opened the door and entered!
Hey! What kind of relationship do we have now!
So help me out!
"…………."
With his usual expressionless face, the Hero glanced over the pitiful me about to be tortured, the two vicious torturers, the Prince watching the spectacle, and the three pretending not to see anything. Then he simply sat down quickly at his seat.
Hey!!!
To make matters worse, he even pretended to sleep by lying down!
……Uh, um.
"Gently……please."
"Bullshit."
"Don't talk nonsense."
What happened afterward……can be summed up in a single phrase.
It hurt like hell.
Really.