Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: 0 Points
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[But what kind of mission is it?]
Truth be told... it didn't really matter what the mission was.
I was just curious, and if it meant I could legally skip class, I was all in.
Honestly, as long as it wasn't something like robbing a noble house... or the imperial palace, I figured I could handle anything.
...Of course, if the reward and safety were guaranteed, I wouldn't even mind something like "Steal from the imperial palace!"
"Just deliver this letter for me."
[Not an assassination contract?]
"...What do you take me for?"
Hmm... A wicked dragon straight out of a fairy tale?
Or maybe just the Demon King?
Honestly... both felt kinda right, so it was hard to pick one.
And Veronica, as if knowing that, shot me a look of exaggerated disbelief.
"It's just one letter."
Just one letter, huh.
If I opened it, there'd probably be a curse-etched magic circle inside.
"If you don't believe me, go ahead and read it."
She added flatly, as if reading my mind.
Flick.
I unrolled the scroll.
It started with a polite "Dear..." greeting.
I read about four words and immediately rolled it back up.
"...Why didn't you finish reading it?"
[This isn't written by the Dean, is it?]
"..."
No way that wicked Veronica wrote a "Dear" anything.
Someone like the vice dean or whoever probably penned it for her.
[Who's it addressed to?]
"It's written right there."
I suffer from a terminal illness called "text aversion"...
Whenever there's more than a couple sentences, my head starts spinning.
So let's just skip that.
"You'll regret it if you don't read it?"
Veronica kept trying to scare me.
But I wasn't falling for such an obvious trick.
[So I can head out now?]
"Hmm... hold on."
Flick.
Veronica vanished out the door in a flash.
"M-Me too..."
Neru clung to my leg, firing off pleading eyes that screamed, "Please take me with you, nyang!"
I placed a hand on her fluffy head.
[Sorry.]
Looks like this mission was solo-only, no cats allowed.
"Gasp..."
Shocked, Neru froze in place.
Truly a shame.
And then...
Flick!
Veronica returned, dangling something from her hand.
...And what hung there was none other than Carmel.
Thud.
Carmel landed lightly on the floor.
"You're gonna cause trouble if you go alone, so take the president with you."
"..."
I locked eyes with Carmel.
She nodded proudly over and over.
Her expression said it all: "No choice but to!"
[I can go alone.]
"You're gonna cause trouble again."
[I didn't cause that trouble.]
"Yeah... you'll say that and then come back all banged up."
[That's because the Dean keeps sending me to weird places.]
"...True, but coming back injured every single time means you're the problem, right?"
...Oh?
Somehow, I found myself nodding along.
***
The circled spot on the map was a familiar one.
Head down the street lined with stalls, slip into an alley, veer a bit, and you're there.
Nearby was the entrance I used for the gray district too.
Whoosh.
My shadow spread wide, rippling like waves...
And out popped Mukurebi.
Plop.
As usual, it slithered up my body and settled on my head.
Soon after, another shape emerged from my shadow.
"...Grng."
Bahamut, dripping pitch-black shadow, stuck close to my feet.
Even its imposing form reduced to a lizard, waddling along—now that was routine.
"..."
But Carmel looked a bit shocked watching the scene.
Her eyes went wide, lips parting slightly.
"...You've got a new one."
Carmel's gaze lingered at my feet.
There, the little lizard Bahamut clung to my shoe, tail wagging as it looked up at me.
[Call him Behi.]
"...Behi?"
[Yeah.]
"..."
I circled the "Behi" I'd written on the whiteboard.
Carmel's expression turned subtle.
[I have to take him on walks sometimes.]
"Walks...?"
Carmel's face grew even stranger.
Her eyes drifted up to my head...
Where Mukurebi stared down at her with a sullen pout.
"...The fish too?"
"..."
Lizard walks? Fine. But walking a fish? Her face screamed total incomprehension.
Still... wasn't that just rigid thinking?
I bet fish want walks sometimes too.
"...Incomprehensible. Zero points."
[Harsh.]
"That's animal abuse."
[Mukurebi isn't an animal.]
"...Then what is it?"
[A unicorn.]
"...You know unicorns are animals too, right?"
[Oh.]
...Whatever it was, walks were necessary now and then.
Watching it lounge in the dorm, scraping its belly and scarfing food—it'd make anyone drag it out just to spite the laziness.
[Why are you tagging along anyway?]
"To supervise."
[Afraid I'll cause trouble again?]
"Bingo!"
Way too harsh.
What did she even think of me?
Like I was some accident magnet.
"But don't worry. With me here, at least failure's off the table."
[I never said I'd fail.]
"That attitude alone is zero points."
When would I ever escape Carmel's zero-point curse?
Even one point would be nice.
...It was then.
"Hey, you students over there~"
A sweet, fragrant aroma wafted from the street...
Someone called out to us.
"Wanna come try one?"
"Oh...!"
Carmel's eyes lit up.
I sensed trouble and raised my whiteboard.
But... before my pen could touch it...
Flick!
I got dragged to the stall in an instant.
"Aww, you two siblings?"
I lifted the whiteboard again, but...
"This one's the little sibling!"
Carmel grabbed my wrist and yanked it down.
She boldly signaled agreement, and just like that, I became her little sibling.
"Out playing with your sibling?"
"Yep!"
"Good, good. How many?"
"Two please!"
"Got it. Just two fairy tales."
Carmel waited eagerly, face beaming, for the rice cakes.
Two rice cakes for just two fairy tales...
Pretty cheap deal.
"Here ya go~ Eat up."
"Thank you!"
Thrilled, Carmel took the rice cakes and tossed one to me.
"Nyam."
She popped hers in her mouth, blissed out.
I bit into mine casually too.
The chewy texture and sweetness spread through my mouth... I nodded.
Gotta give credit where due.
It was good.
***
"This the right place?"
[Yep.]
"Doesn't look like it no matter how I see it..."
The alley grew darker the deeper we went.
I clutched Veronica's map and kept walking.
"Ugh... bugs in here probably."
[President, bug behind you.]
"Eek...!"
Carmel let out a weird shriek and plastered herself to my back.
...I quietly raised my whiteboard toward her.
[Just kidding.]
"I-I thought it was real...!"
She slaughtered gross magic beasts without flinching but freaked at bugs.
Classic gap moe, huh.
[We're here.]
Rustle.
I checked the map again.
Right in the center: a circle inside a circle.
The mouth of this narrow alley where we stood.
"But whose letter is it?"
No clue who the recipient was.
Maybe I should've read it once.
[One sec.]
I unrolled the scroll.
Reading the words one by one...
"Dear Emperor..."
Something...
Something felt off.
After "Dear," there was a weird word.
"Hmm..."
Lost in a daze as I walked, staring at the scroll...
Soon.
"Oh dear..."
A voice from ahead.
"Wasn't Veronica coming herself?"
"..."
Carmel dropped to her knees the instant she saw the owner.
I looked up too.
"To think you'd send students... Still as unpredictable as ever."
Beneath the lofty sun.
Another sun stood in its shadow.
The Emperor of the Empire, Taurus von Leonhardt.
"Hm...? You're not kneeling?"
Next to Carmel on her knees, I stood tall.
[Hello.]
"...Hello?"
Honestly... I'm not even from the Empire—why bother kneeling?
I came to deliver a letter, not bow.
Plus... the real reason I wasn't kneeling was...
"Carmel... you've grown so much. Can't you stand up already?"
The emperor in front of me didn't seem to want it either.
"..."
Rustle...
Carmel rose with a pout.
If I had to sum up the Emperor of the Empire in one phrase, no hesitation.
"Still sulking over that thing back then? It's been years already..."
Just... the neighborhood uncle.
"..."
"Over a few chocolates you snuck..."
"What's the business, Your Majesty?"
Carmel replied in a stiff, formal tone—worlds apart from how she talked to me.
The emperor scratched his head sheepishly.
"That... the letter."
He pointed to the scroll in my hand, so I handed it over casually.
His gaze shifted to my face—or rather, my mask.
"You..."
The emperor stared right through the mask.
And then...
"You're the top student, aren't you?"
[Hello.]
Rufus's words suddenly came to mind.
The emperor wanted to meet me.
Should've swapped appearances with [Mask of Illusion] if I'd known.
Felt like unnecessary hassle incoming.
"You—"
...Just as the emperor started to speak.
"Daddy! When'd you get here!? I want that one!"
A shrill voice echoed from afar.
The emperor's face drained to exhaustion in a flash. He carefully rolled up the scroll and muttered.
"This is awkward... I wanted to chat a bit..."
He looked a tad regretful.
Meanwhile, a festival erupted in my heart.
"See you next time."
[Sure.]
"And Carmel... those chocolates..."
"Take care, Your Majesty."
"...Right. Got it."
Whoosh.
The emperor's form shifted to someone else...
Thud, thud.
His imperial dignity gone, replaced by a father's back, dragged off by his daughter.
I shook my head watching him go.
"Hmm. So what now!"
With the emperor out of sight, Carmel's face lit up like she'd been waiting.
[What?]
"No more errands, right?"
[Not heading back to the dorm?]
"I don't have class today either?"
[?]
"...?"
Looks like... Veronica cleared Carmel's schedule too.
"This is basically a date...!"
Carmel's eyes widened...
Then she realized she'd said "date" out loud, slapping both hands over her mouth with a "Huh?!"
"...U-Uh! Forget that!"
I just tilted my head at her.
Flustered, Carmel started babbling excuses.
"I-I mean! Like, grab some food... walk around... y'know, that stuff!"
[Isn't that a date?]
"...Th-That's... different nuance!"
[How so?]
"...That's none of your business!"
She ground out the words, whipping her head away.
"Zero points...!"
I shrugged.
Same old zero, as always.
By her standards, my score never budged.
[Got it.]
Carmel's ears turned red to the tips again.
Silence settled softly in the alley.
Seizing the moment, I naturally picked our next stop.
[Grab food, walk around, whatever.]
The gray district had decent eats.
Should suit her tastes, and she'd be busy scoring it all anyway.
"...Not a date, okay."
[Yes ma'am.]
...It was all the same anyway, but I kept that to myself.