The Protagonist Was a Clear-Eyed Madman (2)

"So... what's this pocket money thing actually about?"

I forced a smile and asked the question while doing my best to stay calm. The protagonist was walking the massacre route, of all things. I genuinely hadn't seen that coming. Strictly speaking, I should have considered the possibility, but I still couldn't figure out why Alex's level was so low. Was there a function that deliberately made his level appear lower? If not, it meant he was carrying out his plans with relatively low stats...

"Aw~ It's nothing special. Looks to me like you enjoy throwing punches too."

"..."

This bastard. The fact that he's acting like this only makes me more anxious.

Seeing my uneasy expression, the clear-eyed madman tilted his head with a bright, innocent smile. It was even scarier coming from a guy.

"They say this academy is so huge that no matter how much they manage it, monsters still pop out."

"Still, they're not the kind that'd actually be a threat, right? Around here it's all just small fry anyway."

"Small fry...? I don't know what that means, but yeah, they're perfect for our little money-making scheme."

We had classes to attend and training to do, but we also needed to earn money. The perfect trifecta that made me want to tear my hair out. Still, I couldn't let any of the worries weighing on me show in front of Alex. The guys who walked this route would really kill everyone if things went even slightly wrong. Right now he seemed lazy and harmless, but the fact that he'd robbed nobles with only that level of strength meant he'd been powering through on pure spite. The proof was right in front of me—even though it was spring, the guy was covering both arms with thick sleeves that looked way too warm. Through the gaps, I could see layers upon layers of bandages.

Did I clear the tutorial and rob him of his chance to level up?

"Slimes or goblins? That kind of thing?"

"Oh, exactly right! See, I knew I wasn't mistaken about you~"

Mistaken about what? This crazy Alex who kept happily overestimating me without knowing how badly my insides were burning.

For now, since he was technically the protagonist, I was conflicted about whether I should keep him alive. It seemed smarter to blast through the main story events before this guy fully committed to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the slaughterer route.

"Goblins have to come from outside, so there aren't any here. They just want us to take care of the naturally spawning slimes."

"Hmm... A request from the commercial district, I take it?"

The academy's commercial district. The souvenir shop where I'd bought Dorothy's doll was there too. It handled all sorts of goods, from forges to magic item shops. Whether intentionally or not, they posted requests on a regular basis—helping with work, exterminating monsters, that sort of thing. There was probably some kind of contract with the academy. The goal was likely to foster the students' economic independence while building their skills. That was why they bothered assigning requests to students instead of just using the academy guards.

When Alex heard my words, the parchment he pulled from his pocket without hesitation matched my expectations perfectly.

Proof would probably be slime mucus. While alive, the stuff was extremely acidic and insanely dangerous, but once the slime died it became excellent mana-conductive material for magic engineering. The academy got its resources, the students improved their skills, and everyone earned some spending money. Win-win.

"Slime requests are pretty popular, so it must've been hard to get one. How'd you manage?"

"Haha. Just show up a few minutes late to class and snatch the form."

Every time I listened to this guy talk, it felt like my common sense was crumbling. So he was boldly tearing down a request that should have been posted on the board and shoving it right in my face.

I was still trying to figure out how to handle this insane psychopath who tilted his head like he couldn't understand what the problem was after seeing my rotting expression, when a familiar person plopped down beside me without a word.

"Hello? Cain?"

"Eve? What are you doing here..."

"Oh, so you're that famous Vessel of God?"

Eve Abraham must have been watching for a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠while. She sat down next to me with an excited gleam in her eyes, completely ignoring Alex as she scanned the request form. She'd traded her usual nun's habit for a white dress. Humming cheerfully, she read through it slowly before setting it down on the table with a loud smack.

"This looks fun! Let me join too!"

"...?"

"What? Cain?"

Eve brushed off Alex's words like they were nothing and spoke while looking only at me. Just as one of Alex's eyebrows started to twitch upward—

"Ah! Y-yeah! Let's do it together, Eve! Alex, this is Eve Abraham. Eve, this is Alex. We got to know each other by chance recently."

"...I'm Eve Abraham."

"I'm Alex. Nice to meet you."

Alex extended his hand with a grin, not seeming to mind the dismissal at all. Eve reached out cautiously, her entire body bristling like a wary cat. She pulled her hand back the instant their fingers touched. She kept glancing at him with clear distrust, but Alex simply laughed it off, saying that was plenty.

When I saw moments like this, I had to admit he really was the protagonist. Maybe he was just unnecessarily open-hearted, or maybe he had terrifying patience. Everything would have been perfect if he wasn't a psycho.

Eve seemed to have already finished eating. She was only looking at me, and I couldn't bear the pressure, so I scarfed down the rest of my food and stood up.

"Right. Then come to the commercial district after classes tomorrow."

"Got it. Cain. I knew you'd say yes."

Didn't he approach me first because he knew I was broke? What a cunning bastard.

When I nodded with a reluctant expression, Alex stood up chuckling like something was hilarious, paid for dinner, and left without another word. After the guy who had the nerve to say something stupid like "Get along well with the Saintess~" was gone, Eve and I headed back to the dormitory together.

Eve Abraham was taking supplementary lessons in E-class because she'd come in dead last in the written exams. Despite her overwhelming talent, she kept spouting nonsense about how a great saintess like herself shouldn't have to take remedial classes, or that true knowledge wasn't found in the academy or books but out in the real world.

"Yes, yes."

"Are you making fun of me right now?!"

"No way. If the G-G-Great Saintess says so."

Eve puffed out her cheeks in an adorably sulky expression. Well, this wasn't bad either. Teasing her was genuinely fun.

I grinned and patted her head a few times before we continued walking.

"Cain. Does it bother you when I keep approaching you like this?"

"Hm? Not at all?"

It's fucking great. When would I ever get another chance to talk with a beauty like this by my side? Are you crazy? If I had to pick a reason, it'd be curiosity. It's written all over her face—'I'm so fucking curious about you.'

"Aren't you the one following me around because I'm interesting?"

"Hm? Ah... um... yeah...?"

Eve Abraham waved her hands in obvious panic. The sun had already set and there were no streetlights, so I couldn't see her face, but I could definitely feel how vigorously she was denying it.

"When I'm with you, Cain... it feels like a lot of interesting things will happen."

"Interesting things, huh... Now that you mention it, life in the Holy Kingdom must have been incredibly boring, right?"

"It was. The cardinals only ever talked about the most boring things~"

"Hahaha. For real? So that's why you're always chasing after fun stuff?"

Eve told me how the cardinals had educated her with painfully dull lectures and how suffocating it had been to be protected so tightly. She said she felt comfortable when she was with me. Ever since we'd first met in that carriage.

To me, those actions had meant nothing. And since I was a possessor, there was no way for Eve to know how much I already understood about her. But to her, it felt like meeting someone she'd known for a very long time.

Whether it was the power of the spirits or because she'd confirmed through her holy power that I held no malice toward ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her, even she couldn't say for sure. Having lived with walls up against everyone, she simply couldn't dislike me—the guy who caused all sorts of incidents even before the semester had properly begun. I brought laughter into her boring life. There was no reason to hate that. It was a very simple, almost strange reason, but because it was so simple and primal, she didn't dislike me.

"Cain."

"Yeah?"

"Let's keep doing lots of fun things together from now on, okay?"

She smiled brightly as she spoke, relieved that the slight blush on her cheeks was hidden by the darkness.

I stayed quiet for a moment before agreeing with a smile of my own.

"Of course! There's no way anything boring would happen when I'm ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with a beauty like... a saintess like you."

"Hehe... I am pretty fun, aren't I~"

Interesting things, huh...

It was fortunate that she felt goodwill toward me. The problem was that the goodwill was based on curiosity. But well... what could I do about it? As long as I was enjoying myself, that was enough.

I promised Eve we'd meet at the entrance to the commercial district after tomorrow's classes, then returned to the dormitory, leaving behind a somewhat reluctant-looking Eve.

-Cain. You look happy.

-We can feel it too!

"Hmm... Well, it's because a way to earn money finally showed up."

Now that the most urgent problem was solved, of course I was happy. There might be other reasons too.

Thinking that, I pulled the spirits into my arms, feeling their warm energy, and closed my eyes.