Chapter 97
Chapter 97
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: Hydra's Egg (5)
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"Cadet Jeron, good day."
As I met Leonhardt's shining golden eyes, one thought flashed through my mind.
'Ah, so that event has triggered.'
One of the gimmicks in [Stella Academy].
If the player defeats the crown prince in any way, an event pops up later when encountering him.
It was the event where Leonhardt asks the player to become his master.
Usually, crown princes in subculture are arrogant, or friendly on the surface but rotten inside.
But this guy is an incredibly passionate person with excellent mental health. Instead of despairing or getting jealous over defeat, he has a 'this is actually great' mindset...
'But what should I do?'
I was troubled.
Accepting it would skyrocket Leonhardt's favorability, but it was hard for me to say yes.
Becoming his master meant training together and sparring...
His level was already too high; I couldn't train him with Kerr's click like I did with Artel.
So it was tough to accept, but because of the mythic quest, I needed to raise his favorability and didn't want to blow it off.
'A real pickle.'
As I spaced out with those thoughts, Leonhardt spoke up.
"You must have been resting."
"Ah. Yeah, sort of..."
"Did I interrupt? You were squinting like the sunlight was too bright..."
He asked cautiously.
Oh.
I had unconsciously furrowed my brow while thinking.
I quickly smoothed my expression and responded politely for now.
"No, it's fine. What is it?"
Leonhardt grinned and plopped down beside me.
"Nothing much. I just came to get to know you."
"...Pardon?"
"Going through the comprehensive evaluation, I was deeply impressed by your combat prowess and intellect. So..."
Leonhardt suddenly extended his hand.
"How about we become friends?"
"Friends...?"
It was unexpected.
Normally at this point, he should be sparkling-eyed saying, "Will you be my master?!"
"Yes. I did briefly think of asking you to be my master, but..."
He smiled brightly.
"Begging you to teach me combat or forcing spars didn't seem like your style. It would probably be rude."
Oh.
This crown prince had more flexibility than I thought.
He passionately approaches the player—the protagonist in the game—but comes at me like this.
"And honestly... I'm also interested in your way of life beyond that."
"?"
"I have a precious little sister, but her personality is quite different from mine, which has been troubling me."
'Ah, Princess Adelheit.'
The crown prince's younger sister and the empire's princess.
She didn't appear often in the game, but I remembered her as gentle and serene whenever she did.
"But watching you, Cadet Jeron, she seems similar."
He looked at me with serious eyes.
"I thought learning your languid ways might help me understand my sister and build familial bonds!"
'......'
Wanting to enthusiastically learn sloth isn't slothful to begin with?!
Leonhardt seemed destined never to master sloth.
"So I just want to be friends. I'll learn your lifestyle, but I won't bother you, so no worries."
Regardless, the situation looked good.
Favorability goes up, no hassle?
Perfect event.
So I gladly accepted.
"Sure... no reason not to. Call me Jeron casually."
"Great! Jeron!"
Leonhardt looked thrilled.
"Then carry on as usual."
"Yeah."
I leaned against the wall like before and settled in.
Nod. Nod.
I immediately started dozing off.
I felt Leonhardt's gaze from the side but decided to ignore it.
"Hmm..."
But the muttering from beside me was unusual.
"This languid atmosphere. Just like Adel."
He was seriously observing me.
"Gaze tilted 15 degrees downward, arms and legs completely relaxed..."
Leonhardt stroked his chin in deep focus.
"Breathing shallow and regular, about every 3 seconds. Impressive...!"
'......'
Building favor with the crown prince was going in an unexpected direction, but it seemed like a good start anyway.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
A few days later, in the first-year Magic Department classroom.
"Jeron, it's lunchtime. Let's go eat!"
Yuria woke me up.
But I just shook my head slightly, face planted on the desk.
"Mmm... Can I skip lunch today?"
"No way? You skipped yesterday too!"
"Just a bit more sleep..."
Lately, I'd been sleeping more.
It wasn't just to farm sloth.
I was genuinely tired.
No increase in physical activity, but it seemed because I was doing Sloth Infusion on the hydra egg every night.
"All you do is sleep these days, and skip meals. Jeron, what if you lose more weight? Sigh. Should I pack you lunches too..."
Yuria muttered worriedly.
Then, Artel, who had been watching quietly from the side, spoke softly.
"......Want me to carry you?"
'??'
Did I mishear in my drowsiness?
Looking at Artel, her pale cheeks were slightly flushed.
No way. Now she's making jokes too.
As I marveled at Artel's growing social skills.
Then.
"Um, Jeron?"
A male Magic Department student approached cautiously.
He held a parchment scroll.
"Professor Kate asked me to deliver this."
"...What's this?"
I took the scroll and unrolled it.
S-Rank Promotion Match Notice
Yuria and Artel, peeking over, widened their eyes.
"Wow, Jeron! It's an S-Rank promotion notice!"
"Already S-Rank... Impressive, Jeron."
There was a lot of text, but I just checked the time and place.
[Date: In two weeks.]
[Location: First Arena.]
'Two weeks from now.'
Good timing.
Perfect to wrap up after clearing this and claiming Professor Kate's quest reward to end the semester neatly.
"Alright, let's go eat then."
I set down the notice and casually stood up.
"No, you should take this more seriously!!"
Yuria lightly smacked my back.
It didn't hurt at all.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Sloth Meter +10!]
Sloth points came in nicely.
So instead of me, who wasn't interested, Artel and Yuria picked up the notice and started reading it aloud.
"Your opponent is Cadet Dante."
[Opponent: S-Rank #10 — Dante Baskerville]
"Dante Baskerville... He's from the Special Department's beast tamer course."
Artel said, furrowing her brow.
"Beast tamer?"
"Yeah. Tricky opponent. His own combat ability isn't the issue; his summoned beasts are powerful. Especially the hellhound 'Cerberus' he recently tamed—it's said to be particularly threatening."
Artel explained seriously.
I listened without much thought.
'Well, just target the main body for a full combo click, and it's over...'
As a veteran, I'd already calculated it long ago.
Of course, game and reality differ.
Like how Kaiser and Artel's patterns changed due to my interference, variables could arise.
But this guy had no prior connection with me.
Even if slightly different, #10 rank was manageable.
I planned to one-shot him easily and go S-Rank again.
But then.
Ding!
📜 NEW QUEST 📜
<Summoner Showdown!>
📍 Goal: Win against beast tamer Dante using only your pet.
(Direct attacks from your main body result in failure. Support skills allowed.)
🎁 Reward: Weapon Enhancement Ticket
A system window appeared before my eyes.
'Hm? A Pokémon battle quest here of all places.'
A conditional sudden quest that rarely triggered, popping up right for the S-Rank promotion.
But the reward was tempting.
'Weapon Enhancement Ticket?'
Weapon Enhancement Ticket.
Any grade.
No questions asked, guaranteed enhancement for one weapon item. Cheat reward.
I had to take this.
However.
'My only pet is this guy...'
I recalled the unhatched egg in my subspace pouch.
It would hatch in a few days, so usable by promotion day.
The issue was whether a newborn hydra could beat an S-Rank's well-trained beast.
'Hope a good one comes out.'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Finally, day 10 of Sloth Infusion.
The purple aura grew denser with each infusion.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Sloth Infusion complete.] [Progress: 100%]
I completed the 10th infusion.
"Done."
"[Finally done? Took quite a while. Let's see what comes out.]"
Kerr climbed onto my shoulder, interested, and stared at the egg.
Crack—.
A crack formed on the egg's surface, purple light leaking from the gaps.
The shell broke.
And the baby hydra's head should pop out...
"......"
Silence.
No matter how long I waited, silence.
'What?'
Why isn't it coming out?
"[Why isn't it hatching? It didn't die inside, did it?]"
Kerr tilted her shadowy form questioningly.
Enhancement failure?
Then my 2000 sloth points gone?
But right then.
[Mmm...]
'?'
Telepathy like Kerr's rang out.
[Papa...?]
'Huh? Talking?'
Hydras normally couldn't speak.
But thanks to Sloth Infusion, it seemed highly intelligent.
Even telepathy...?
This felt huge.
'Yeah. Papa's here. Come on out.'
As I admired it and waited for it to emerge.
[Ugh... Papa... Egg too hard... Tired...]
'Ah.'
Seems like a gifted child hydra was born. A lazy genius one.
