Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: What Happened on the Airship (2)
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Special Lounge.
This was the hardest place to find on the entire airship.
It wasn't marked on the internal map of the airship, and there were no signs on the door, so most people just assumed it was a supply closet or storage room and walked right past.
Why go to such lengths to hide it?
Later on, when I visited the Magic Tower, I met the NPC who designed this airship, and he explained the reason.
Something about it being a special gift for true users who enjoy every nook and cranny of their airship.
Anyway.
‘Finally found it.’
Even I, with all my game knowledge, got a little turned around, but I managed to locate it in the end.
I opened the door and stepped inside.
The interior was just as cozy as I'd expected.
A luxurious yet simple lounge.
The perfect spot for a nap.
But.
‘Hm?’
Someone was already there.
“……?”
It was Saintess Justina, frozen in surprise.
She had been clutching a book titled *Theory of Holy Magic* to her chest, and it looked like she'd hastily closed it when I walked in.
‘Ah, right. This easter egg.’
That's when I remembered the hidden event on this airship map.
If you head straight to this special lounge within a certain time after arriving on the airship, you can trigger an encounter with Saintess Justina.
She's reading a book, and when the player approaches, she reacts like someone caught with a guilty secret.
On your first playthrough, you think, *Wow, studying holy magic even in a place like this? She's so devout.*
But actually, this was a little gag event meant for players on their second playthrough or beyond.
Later, once you've built up enough affinity with Justina and her mask starts to slip, you learn the true nature of that book.
‘A romance novel with a swapped cover, if I remember right?’
Not much of a reward beyond seeing her cute reaction.
Just a minor easter egg, really.
If it weren't for the quest, I probably wouldn't have bothered coming all the way here.
“Ahem… We meet again here, Brother Jeron. I hope you've been well.”
Justina subtly hid the book behind her back and greeted me first with her usual benevolent saintess smile.
“Hello, Saintess. I'm always doing fine.”
“But how did you find this place…? Have you ridden this airship before, Brother Jeron?”
“Mm. Not exactly.”
I tried to come up with a decent excuse but got lazy and just blurted out something vague.
It wouldn't matter much anyway—this event had no real consequences.
“I was looking for a place to rest, and somehow my feet just led me here….”
“I-Is that even possible…?”
[The Saintess is amazed by your slothful sense of direction!]
[Sloth +5!]
Surprisingly, I even picked up a bit of Sloth from it.
After that, a slightly awkward atmosphere hung between us.
But I didn't really care.
If I tried to keep the conversation going here, she'd just make some excuse about urgent business and bolt.
I had no intention of interrupting her secret happy time.
So.
“Then I'll just…”
Following the quest objective, I lay down on the plush sofa.
And right as I was about to close my eyes.
Ding!
[A sudden quest has occurred!]
[With the Saintess]
Goal: Experience the airship together with Saintess Justina! (0/3)
Reward: Additional Sloth +300
Another new quest had popped up.
‘Hm…?’
This one, right now.
[With the Saintess]
This was a linked quest that had a low chance of triggering if you ran into the Saintess during another quest.
As the name implied, you did the quest together.
In my case, it would mean tackling [Fun Airship Experience!] with her.
‘But is this even doable?’
In *Stella Academia*, clearing this quest required three tricky conditions.
First, your affinity with Justina had to be at a certain level or higher.
Second, the quest you were doing together had to appeal to her.
And the hardest one: third, you needed a disguise skill or item to avoid prying eyes.
The Saintess was far too famous for it to be seemly for her to be wandering around alone with a male protagonist.
That's why this quest usually only became feasible early on if you were playing as an Assassination Department cadet who could acquire disguise items.
‘…Well, I'm a special case.’
I could just buy a disguise item from the Sloth Shop on the spot.
Plus, luckily, my current quest list—lounging around, eating ice cream, playing the claw machine—seemed roughly to her tastes.
The problem was affinity.
Aside from surrendering during the placement exam, we had no real interactions….
‘Eh. I'll give it a shot. If it doesn't work, whatever.’
I set aside my thoughts and closed my eyes for now.
The first quest objective was to lounge around here anyway.
So just staying here with her should count as experiencing it together.
Of course, in the original game, if your affinity with her wasn't high enough, she'd get awkward and leave partway through….
‘But what if I just fall asleep?’
There was no explicit "sleep" option in the game.
But if I just quietly dozed off, maybe she wouldn't bother leaving?
And.
Maybe because I always slept at this time….
‘Sleepy.’
I quickly drifted off to sleep.
***
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***
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Glance.
Justina stole a peek at Jeron sleeping on the sofa.
‘Is he really asleep…?’
Normal cadets were always desperate to exchange even one more word with her, to get just a little closer.
Even if they didn't initiate conversation, their fidgeting awareness of her was obvious.
Especially the male cadets.
But.
Jeron.
He truly seemed to have zero interest in her.
Because he was just sleeping right in front of her.
Curled up into a little ball, snoozing like a shrimp!
‘The vibe is totally different from back then.’
Justina recalled the Jeron she'd met during the practical combat placement match.
Up on the arena, he'd been incredibly intimidating and scary.
He'd blocked her full-power strike so effortlessly.
Then surrendered without a second thought—an utterly inscrutable guy.
But the Jeron now looked harmless, even a bit sloppy somehow.
Watching him like that, she couldn't help feeling like she was seeing her true self.
She felt the same way when she was alone in her dorm bed.
But there was one clear difference between Jeron and her.
Jeron showed his true self like that without a care for anyone else's gaze.
‘Somehow, it's enviable….’
Justina thought.
And.
‘Then… maybe I can read a little more?’
Her gaze drifted to the novel she'd closed earlier.
At first, she'd assumed Jeron would naturally strike up a conversation.
She'd planned to chat just enough, then excuse herself with some urgent business.
Reading a romance novel in front of someone else would be insane.
But that had been her total miscalculation—Jeron had just conked out.
Deeply.
So… reading should be fine, right?
She cautiously reopened the novel from earlier.
Peeking now and then to make sure Jeron didn't wake.
A little while later.
‘……Gasp.’
Before she knew it, she'd forgotten all about Jeron and become completely immersed in the story.
A tale of love between a northern grand duke obsessed with his maid and the poor maid desperately trying to escape him.
‘H-He really does that…?’
Especially the scenes where the grand duke locked the maid in her room and visited her every night—her face burned so hot she had to fan herself.
She was lost in the story like that for quite some time.
“Mm.”
The sound from beside her made Justina jump in surprise. She slammed the novel shut and straightened her posture.
Jeron had apparently woken up and was shifting around as he sat up.
But as usual, he paid her no attention.
He rubbed his eyes and rummaged in his Subspace Pocket for something.
It was… a novel.
Jeron opened the book, sprawled comfortably on the sofa, and began reading it idly.
‘…….’
At that sight, she ended up being the one peeking at him repeatedly.
Without realizing it, Justina snuck a glance at the title of his book.
‘Huh? That's…?’
The moment she saw it, Justina's eyes went wide.
It was a novel she'd absolutely loved.
A super niche one that no one around her knew about—a hidden masterpiece she thought only she knew of.
And Jeron was reading it.
She wondered if he might be someone well-versed in literature after all.
*It'd be nice to chat about it together… but no, that won't work.*
She couldn't risk anyone finding out she read such worldly novels, so she swallowed her regret.
But then.
“Boring.”
“Huh? What do you…!”
Jeron casually tossed the book into the corner of the sofa, and Justina snapped before she knew it.
“……Ah.”
She hurriedly covered her mouth, but it was too late.
Jeron was staring right at her.