Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Club (3)
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"Ah, that thing from earlier...! Could you say it one more time...?!"
Lily's frantic reaction.
"What do you mean? Sorry for interrupting?"
In response, I answered innocently, as if I had no idea what she was talking about.
"No, before that...!"
"Overcoming poison with poison?"
"Y-Yes, that's it...!"
Lily nodded hurriedly, then started muttering to herself rapidly.
"Uwaaah, why didn't I think of that? I was stuck in the fixed idea that a deadly poison curse potion needed to be stabilized with non-toxic ingredients..."
I watched her quietly.
'As expected, she figures it out on her own.'
In the original story, the advice the protagonist gave Lily was specific—exactly which ingredients to use and in what ratios.
Of course, I knew that information too.
But as I said, I couldn't give her that kind of detailed advice.
So instead, I'd tossed her a simple but crucial hint.
The principle of using poison to conquer poison.
That was the key to breaking through her stalled research.
'For an ordinary student, this abstract concept alone wouldn't have been enough...'
What I was banking on was Lily's setting as a genius.
Sure enough, watching her mutter like she was possessed, it seemed like she'd gained an enormous revelation from just my one sentence.
Like Newton's apple.
I'd merely dropped an apple on the ground.
An ordinary person would have just thought, 'Oh, an apple fell.'
But Newton discovered the law of universal gravitation from seeing an apple fall.
"Yes! The Red-Tailed Scorpion's venom...! Using it in reverse as a catalyst...?!"
'Bingo.'
Just like how she'd already pinpointed one of the correct ingredients.
'Genius types are so convenient.'
Figuring out the rest of the ingredients and mixing ratios shouldn't be too hard for her now.
That meant mission cleared.
No quest window popped up, so no extra rewards—which was a shame—but preventing Lily's first corruption arc was satisfying enough.
'And her favorability should go up a bit too.'
Not as much as the protagonist who spoon-fed her all the answers, but since I'd given her the decisive hint, it should rise some.
As I thought that and turned my gaze back to my novel.
"Junior Jeron...! Thank you so much, really!"
Suddenly, Lily burst right in front of my eyes.
Whoa.
And seeing her this close up, her appearance was incredibly beautiful.
One eye peeked out slightly from between the bangs she always hid behind, a deep blue color.
If Artel's eyes were an icy cold blue,
Lily's eyes gave a mysterious yet warm feeling, like the deep sea.
'No, she's way too pretty to call a gloomy girl.'
Game gloomy character trait: still pretty.
If she actually looked creepy and gloomy, the game wouldn't sell.
"Thanks to you, junior, I think my stalled research is going to break through! How can I ever repay this kindness...!"
She was so thrilled that she panted as she expressed her gratitude to me.
But something felt off.
I felt a twinge of doubt.
'Her reaction seems even more intense than when the protagonist gave her advice?'
The protagonist basically fed her all the answers, while I only provided one tiny clue.
Shouldn't she be more grateful to him?
'Well, the favorability farming seems to be working well, so all good.'
Sigh...
Ever since entering the game world, there have been so many variables that I've started brushing off anything that fits the big picture.
With that in mind, I said to her.
The most important thing at this moment.
"Senior. Isn't the distance a bit too close...?"
"Eek?!"
***
Lily jumped in surprise at Jeron's words.
She'd finally realized just how close she'd gotten to him.
In her excitement, and since it had been so long since she'd interacted with someone, her sense of personal space had gone haywire.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!!"
She apologized repeatedly to Jeron, then hurried back to her desk.
'Ugh...! I'm crazy! What was I doing, clinging to a junior I've just met...! He must think I'm some weird girl...!'
Thud, thud.
She banged her head on the desk, regretting her idiotic behavior from moments ago.
But even so, she couldn't help feeling happy.
Because thanks to Jeron's one sentence, her stalled research was progressing smoothly.
'Haa... I'm so happy......'
The moment a blocked research breakthrough happens.
It's always so thrilling and enjoyable.
She felt genuine gratitude toward Jeron for providing this miraculous experience.
By the way, that one line from Jeron earlier.
'Overcoming poison with poison.'
It was perfect advice that pierced right to the core.
Now that she'd heard it once, it sounded simple.
But she knew.
That kind of insight wasn't easy to come by.
It required overturning conventional wisdom.
Jeron had said he read it in a novel, but something felt off.
'That content definitely wasn't in that novel.'
Lily tilted her head.
She knew the novel Jeron was reading.
She liked it too and had read it many times, so she remembered it well.
There had never been anything about overcoming poison with poison.
So, was that hint he just gave her intentional?
She'd thought he was just a lazy slacker who slept and fooled around all the time...
But actually, had he been listening to her mutterings the whole time?
And for her sake, pretending it was from a novel to give advice...?
'Huh? Then even giving her just the clue was on purpose?'
If he'd told her all the answers, of course she'd have been thankful.
But it wouldn't have made her heart race like this.
Handing her the key but not opening the door for her.
It was exquisitely crafted advice that helped her hatch the egg herself.
Jeron was in the Magic Department too.
Not black magic, but as a fellow magic researcher, he had to know how valuable advice like this was.
'Why give such precious advice to me......?'
The Black Magic Department already had a bad reputation.
And within it, Lily had the worst image.
Her naturally gloomy personality and appearance.
Plus her magic that went berserk at the drop of a hat.
Everyone avoided her.
Even her fellow cadets in the department hated being in the same space as her.
That's why she'd spent all her free time holed up alone in this club room, doing research.
'It must be unpleasant... And I was rude earlier too...'
Worried, Lily glanced over at Jeron, who was lounging leisurely on the sofa.
But he didn't show any sign of displeasure.
He just looked extremely comfortable.
'...Jeron junior is somehow different from everyone else.'
That was the moment when interest toward Jeron blossomed in Lily Lowendel's heart.
***
After giving Lily that advice.
She dove headfirst into her research,
While I became one with the sofa and napped soundly.
How much time passed?
Before long, it grew dim outside the window.
-Ding dong ding!
The bell rang faintly—probably because we were underground—signaling the end of club time.
'Already over, huh.'
That meant the Sloth Burning event was finished.
Lazing around or reading novels was still fine,
But since it wasn't class time, no extra sloth points accumulated.
'Time to get up, then.'
I'd perfectly achieved my goal for the day.
I couldn't go hunting for the Shadow Cloak right away today.
But this was solid buildup.
As I stood up and started putting on my academy uniform that I'd taken off,
Lily looked my way.
"Jeron junior. Are you leaving?"
"Yeah. Time to head out."
"Oh... Yeah... Right."
Lily hesitated for a moment, then bowed deeply to me once more.
"Um... Thank you so much for today. I'll definitely repay this kindness."
"It wasn't intentional, haha."
I scratched my head with an awkward smile.
While hiding my shady intent of farming favorability...!
"Will you... come again next time?"
"Of course. I haven't finished the novel yet."
"Oh...."
Lily's expression brightened a little.
Probably because her research was going well?
"Well, see you."
I left the club room and walked through the academy's underground corridor.
By the way, I'd earned a decent amount of sloth points today too.
Adding up everything so far for a final tally...
I opened my status window for the first time in a while.
[Level: 28]
[Sloth: 2600]
'Whoa. It's only Wednesday, and I've already stacked this much?'
My level had gone up by 1 too.
I might not know my bank balance, but my sloth balance was looking fat.
With fixed daily sloth accumulation of about 200~400,
By tomorrow morning to the day after tomorrow afternoon, I could hit around 3000 sloth points.
'If things go well, I might buy that skill before Friday's practical combat placement exam?'
I was planning to purchase a new skill.
The legendary black magic skill I'd been eyeing lately.
'Reaction speed skill, magic reflection skill, attack skill, enhancement skill. Next up...'
[Skills]
[Dark Shadow Barrier (Legendary)]
Of course, a physical defense skill.