Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Genius Cosplay (1)
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[…Hoh.]
Ker stared at the note for a long while before letting out a sigh of admiration.
[It looks like two different people wrote this, but both show some decent talent.]
Ker's "some decent" was basically the highest praise possible.
It was the kind of reaction you'd only get after showing a legendary-grade skill.
Sure, I'd seen her acting cute and fawning a bit… but that was separate.
Ciel and Lily really were geniuses, after all.
…But if that was the case, did it mean the content was hard to understand?
I asked again, a little tense.
"So, can you make sense of it?"
[Of course.]
"Oh… really?!"
[Pfft, is it that surprising? This isn't some overly complex concept.]
Well, this was just tutoring on black magic from the basics.
But while the concepts were basic, the level of instruction exchanged between two geniuses was anything but low.
The fact that she could grasp it easily anyway was proof that Ker's knowledge was on par with theirs.
"Kер, you're amazing."
I marveled.
[…Heh heh, finally realizing my greatness, are you, human?]
"So you can handle questions and answers like this too? Matching the feel?"
[Indeed.]
"Great. Mind doing me a favor, then?"
[A favor? Ah, have you finally decided you want to learn from me?]
Ker's shoulder area shrugged up boastfully.
[Very well. If you address me as Master from now on with proper respect…]
"No, not my master."
I pointed at the note.
"Be their master."
[…What?]
For a moment, Ker's movements froze solid.
After a pause, a voice full of disbelief rang out.
[…You're telling this great one to tutor someone else—not even you?]
I nodded.
"Yeah. Normally, I'd learn black magic from this one and teach the other. That's why they wrote these notes."
I pointed at Lily's note, then Ciel's, explaining.
[And?]
"But learning's a hassle, and teaching's even more of one. So you do it instead. Oh, and while you're at it, write the notes in my handwriting."
[…….]
At my shameless request, Ker seemed at a loss for words.
[…So you're asking me—simply because you're too lazy—to impersonate a master for two others in your place? And handle the menial task of writing, too?]
"Yep."
[You insolent, utterly lazy master! Do you think I'd agree to something like that?]
Ker exploded in anger.
I scratched my cheek, looking awkward.
'Ah… Was that too much to ask?'
Proxy tutoring via proxy.
It was such an exciting idea just thinking about it that I'd blurted it out.
On second thought, Ker might refuse.
Tch, weird.
Why hadn't I considered she might say no?
[Such a brazen request is obviously…!]
It was flowing right into an obvious rejection when—
[…Fine♥]
Suddenly, her form poofed into a heart shape.
'…?'
[…?]
I froze, and so did Ker.
"Ah, no! That was a mistake!"
Ker hurriedly erased the heart shape and rapid-fired her words.
She seemed utterly confused.
[Wh-what is this? It should be an absurd request… So why do I feel like granting it when you ask…?]
Huh…?
Keep pushing, and she'll do it?
I seized the moment, grabbing the tip of Ker and pleading.
"Just this once, please."
[E-even with those eyes, no means no…!]
"Please, Ker. Come on?"
I begged even more desperately.
Then—
[Agh, fine… Fine, just let go!]
Ker reluctantly agreed.
'Nice!'
Now I was free from the tedious, sloth-draining copying work.
And no risk of either side catching on.
A perfectly legitimate proxy tutoring setup…!
A moment later—
[Haa… Why must this great one do such things?]
Ker grumbled as she picked up the quill and started writing the notes.
I lounged back comfortably, reading a novel while motivating her.
"Thanks, Ker. Do a good job, and I'll pet you."
[Urk…! I don't need that!]
After she finished, I petted her thoroughly.
***
That tumultuous weekend ended, and Monday rolled around again.
"Jeron—! Got the note today too?"
"Here."
"Yay—"
I handed the note to Ciel as usual.
But unlike usual, I was super tense inside.
Because this wasn't Lily's lecture—it was Ker's.
I'd asked her to replicate Lily's feel… but would Ciel buy it?
"Hmm—."
Ciel skimmed the note, then tilted her head slightly.
"Jeron— Something feels a bit off today—? Kinda subtle—."
'Gah.'
Busted?
This is why sharp geniuses suck…!
As I scrambled for an excuse, Ciel beamed brightly.
"But it's still fun, so I like it—! You're always fresh, Jeron— Thrilling—"
'Phew. Success.'
I finally let out a secret sigh of relief.
'Good job, Ker.'
[Heh, as expected.]
I praised Ker, who was tucked neatly inside my uniform's inner pocket.
[That girl must be the one learning black magic, huh?]
'Yeah.'
[A mage with this much aptitude for black magic too… Intriguing. Oh, that reminds me—a memory of my old master just surfaced. They seemed to master both magic and black magic.]
'Oh, really?'
One more bit of info on the presumed Sloth Demon, Ker's old master.
Oh, right.
There was that quest that screamed connection to the Sloth Demon.
The second objective of the Myth-grade skill quest had unlocked.
'Hydra's egg.'
It was to obtain a Hydra's egg.
And there was only one way.
'1st Year 1st Semester Comprehensive Evaluation. That's the time to go for it.'
Stella Academy had no midterms or finals.
Instead, they held a Comprehensive Evaluation once per semester.
Class evaluations, practical duel ranks, and the Comprehensive Evaluation.
Those three combined for the semester-end grade.
Anyway, the Comprehensive Evaluation was one of the academy's major events.
The first one was where you could get the Hydra's egg.
But—
'Definitely not an easy quest.'
Even for a veteran like me, succeeding in the game required luck.
Of course, thanks to skill and gear boosts, I was confident I was stronger than the well-progressed original protagonist in certain areas right now…
'But it's not an item I can solo.'
My friends.
In game terms, the 'NPC allies' I'd raised affinity with needed to reach a certain level too.
The ones I could call allies now were Yuria, Artel, Karen, Ciel, and Lily.
Lily was a 2nd Year, so she couldn't join the 1st Year Comprehensive Evaluation—useless there.
My strongest assets, Karen and Ciel, unfortunately couldn't join due to the structure.
So that left just Artel and Yuria.
'In the original, no way with just those two.'
Artel starts strong but has clear growth limits—a water rocket, no, ice rocket character.
Yuria has high potential but is a late bloomer, so she couldn't power up much by the 1st Semester Evaluation.
Purely from game knowledge, it was tough.
…But—
'This time might be different.'
Current Artel and Yuria were showing much clearer growth than in the original.
If I helped them more here? They could get plenty strong.
'Plus, I have the Sloth Shop.'
Some Sloth Shop items were useless to me but perfect for Yuria or Artel.
Up to now, I'd only used sloth on myself since it benefited me more.
But now the situation changed. To get the Myth-grade skill, I needed to invest in them too.
Problem was—
'It'll take a ton of sloth…'
Sure, I'd been raking in absurd amounts so far.
But to cover my growth plus theirs? I'd need even more, more sloth.
'Not easy.'
As I thought that, the class bell rang.
Kate, today's first class Magic Studies professor, entered.
'Hmm, for now… maybe sleep and think later.'
Not sleeping because thinking's hard…!
Class started, so sleeping to earn sloth!
***
"Ten minutes left."
I woke briefly to Professor Kate's voice after sleeping soundly.
'Hmm…?'
Class wasn't over yet—still a bit left.
Waking before it ended was rare.
Next to me, Yuria was intensely focused, pondering hard.
Looking around, other cadets were all racking their brains, scribbling furiously—working hard at something.
"No one's solved this problem yet, huh."
Professor Kate said.
Up front, some problem was on the blackboard.
'That's…?!'
Yeah. No clue what it said.
Me, who snaps fingers for magic—what would I know?
The kids were all tackling it, though.
No one solved it yet.
Even Artel and Luna, Magic Studies' brainiacs, were struggling.
'What about Ciel? Ciel couldn't solve it either?'
I glanced at Ciel—she was working on something.
Peeking, the note I'd given her was on her desk.
'Agh, she's studying black magic.'
Ditching magic studies for side stuff…!
The Magic Tower genius and top Magic Studies talent—fine like that?
She'd already surpassed academy cadet level, so maybe no issue?
Then, suddenly, Ker's voice via telepathy.
[Hmm… That looks kinda fun. What do you say, human? Want me to solve it for you?]
…Huh?