Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Academy Support
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Upon entering the Guild Master's office, we sat on the sofa and helped ourselves to the refreshments we'd brought from the marquis's domain.
"Where did you get those...?"
"From the place we went for our last request."
You have to look out for yourself.
If you wait for others to provide, you'll starve first.
"Come to think of it... wasn't the place you went the Lodion Marquisate?"
"No clue."
"Don't try to play dumb. All requests have to get my approval before they go out."
What the. I thought he didn't do any work, but I guess I was wrong.
Usually, the standard procedure is to dump all this on your subordinates and go have fun. Why is he working so hard?
"I'm just asking, but do you know anything about the marquis's demonic transformation? The timing lines up perfectly with when you were in his domain."
"Hmm~ I don't really know much."
"Is that so... a shame."
"All I know is that the marquis lured us in, teamed up with demons to try and kill us, and I turned the tables and killed him instead. Nothing special, right?"
"..."
Argo ran a hand down his face.
As if he'd heard something he shouldn't have.
*He's the one who asked, so why is he reacting like that?*
"Sigh... Do you know that the imperial family is currently searching for the person who stopped that incident?"
"Of course~ I know all about it~ That's why I made sure to leave early this morning."
"But why? The reward from the imperial family would be enough to live comfortably for months."
"It's a hassle. Besides, I can already live comfortably for months with what I took from the marquis's vault. Why bother with the imperial family?"
"Took from the... vault?"
"Ah, was I not supposed to say that?"
I glanced to the side. Luna and Yui looked guilty and were busy avoiding my gaze.
"What would you do if I told them?"
What would I do if he told the imperial family?
Isn't it obvious?
"I'd kill the emperor, and we'd all go down together, I guess."
*Pfft*. Go on, try me~
If I die, I can just look forward to the next life, right?
If things get hairy, crashing into the World Tree and escaping to another world is always an option.
"Do you have any idea what you're saying...?"
"Do you think I have early-onset dementia?"
And forget what I just said?
"You're probably the only person in the entire Empire who could say something like that with a straight face."
"Doesn't that just prove how amazing I am?"
While everyone else was saying, "He Who Must Not Be Named!" I was the one shouting "Voldemort" hundreds of times.
That's me, Luke, a real man.
"Still, given the gravity of the incident, the Empire will launch an investigation."
"Let them."
This isn't Earth with its advanced science. What are they going to find?
Lift fingerprints left at the scene?
As if something like that exists in this era.
The most they can do in a fantasy world is probably check for residual mana.
Yeah~ Try for a hundred years, you won't find any mana~ I'm mana-impotent~
"You... you might not know this, but you're actually quite famous now."
"How so?"
"Do you want the polite version or the blunt one?"
"What's the polite version, and what's the blunt one?"
"Polite version: a talented individual with incredible skills at a young age. Blunt version: a damn two-timing bastard who parades around with two beauties."
Argo said, glancing back and forth between Luna and Yui.
"I guess exceptional people attract attention wherever they go."
"Doesn't that bother you?"
"Why would it? I feel sorry for them, actually. Their whole lives revolve around sucking their thumbs in jealousy. Might as well let them gossip all they want."
It's the fate of the talented and handsome to be envied and resented everywhere.
It was bound to happen eventually; it just came a little earlier this life.
As an alpha male, I must also be considerate of the feelings of the ignorant masses.
"Haa... Still, if it weren't for you, Luke, we would have been in big trouble."
"If you're so grateful, buy me a house."
"..."
"Just kidding~ Just kidding~"
But seriously, do you think the Empire would still be standing without me?
The fate of humanity rests in my hands.
Without me, Arthur would've died during his first event.
By now, the Demon God would've appeared, monsters would be invading, and the academy would be flailing against them. I stopped all that, extending everyone's lives.
Compared to the price of their lives, a single house is chump change, isn't it?
"I never thought we'd have so few people for the academy support mission. The Adventurer's Guild's reputation was almost dragged through the mud."
Right, we came here for the academy support mission.
After all that nonsense, we can finally get to the real topic.
"Was it really necessary to go as far as abusing your authority? If no one wanted to go, you could have just not sent anyone."
"It's not that simple. If we don't go, strange rumors will start spreading, calling us cowards or tax-sucking parasites."
"They'll talk crap even if we go."
"My point exactly..."
So it's "damned if you do, damned if you don't," huh?
Reminds me of the annoying brats from my past life.
"Since I'm going anyway, should I make an example out of a few of them?"
"...Please don't. It may not seem like it, but the academy and we have a symbiotic relationship."
"Symbiotic? Not mortal enemies?"
"The academy's headmaster is the former S-rank adventurer, Lady Lucia. We help her out like this sometimes, and she helps us when we need it."
So that's how it is.
So this has been going on for a while. They managed to send support just fine until now.
"So, what's the support mission about?"
"It's to support a practical exercise in an artificial dungeon created by the professors."
That episode already?
Time sure flies.
But as far as I know, there wasn't any support from adventurers in that episode.
"What are the professors doing?"
"They apparently put a lot of effort into the artificial dungeon this time. I heard they made it much tougher than usual. This is to prepare for any potential accidents."
Ah, damn it.
Why couldn't they just slack off and collect their paychecks? Why work so hard?
People need to be lazy sometimes. Nothing good ever comes from passionate overwork.
"Tsk. So when do we have to go?"
"Now."
"What?"
"Now."
God damn it!
***
Meanwhile, at the academy.
A young man, resting his chin on his desk, was levitating a sphere of mana with one hand.
It was the most basic yet efficient training for expanding one's mana circuits and improving mana control.
The young man's name was Arthur.
He had recently suffered a serious injury, but he had already shed all his bandages and was completely healed.
*Thank goodness for healing magic... Otherwise, my entire schedule would have been messed up.*
It wasn't on par with the Saintess who would appear later, but the academy's healing magic was still quite decent.
Of course, with his bones shattered and his body covered in bruises, a normal person would have needed at least a month of rest even with healing magic.
The reason he could recover and move around in just a few days was likely due to a bit of protagonist buff.
*Hmm... what should I do today?*
For a protagonist, a single day is a significant amount of time.
Enough time to create some sort of cataclysmic change.
Having spent such a crucial period recuperating in bed, he had a mountain of things to do.
*Alright. First, I'll raise Liche's affection level. Then I'll train for the rest of the day.*
Liche's affection level was strangely low.
By now, the story should be moving past the early stages and into the mid-game. While all the other girls were showing at least some interest, Liche's affection seemed to be going in the opposite direction.
*Did I not pay enough attention to her?*
That can't be it.
Liche was his favorite character.
Even though he had been meeting with all the different girls to raise their affection levels, he was confident he had given Liche the most attention and affection.
But strangely, the more he tried to meet with her, the more she seemed to avoid and despise him.
"Haa..."
No. There's still plenty of time.
I just need to win her over slowly.
Deviations from the original story were to be expected. He just needed to try harder.
*Heh heh... And later, just like in the original story, Liche and I will...*
As he indulged in his happy fantasy, he was suddenly reminded of his current situation.
At this point, he had obtained nearly all the fortuitous encounters available.
Thanks to that, he had managed to climb from Class E to Class C in a short time, but he couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment.
*I know this is a growth story, but I've been separated from the heroines for too long.*
The heroines were all in Class A.
All of them were strong and beautiful, so they had been in Class A ever since the semester began. Having started in Class E, he was forced to be apart from them for a long time.
*We're supposed to be all together during class right now, having fun...*
The very idea of him being in the same class as a bunch of nameless extras was absurd.
*Sigh... If I was going to be reincarnated, I wish it had been into a romance fantasy.*
Then there wouldn't be any classes divided by skill, and I could have just built a harem with pretty heroines and spent my days happily.
I just had to write that comment on the final chapter and bring all this trouble on myself.
"No. At least I'm the protagonist. That other guy was reincarnated as an extra."
Arthur thought of Luke.
A fellow transmigrator.
But he was an extra... no, he was less than an extra, someone not even mentioned in the story.
He may have gotten the better of me back then, but ultimately, I am the protagonist of this world.
That was an immutable law, so the gap between him and Luke would only continue to widen.
-Creeak.
Just then, the classroom door opened, and the homeroom teacher for Class C walked in.
Since he had been bedridden until now, this was his first time seeing the Class C teacher.
She was a female teacher of average looks and height.
"Hello, everyone. Since we have a new student who moved up to Class C today, I'll introduce myself first. My name is Liana Lindsay. It's a pleasure to meet you."
She bowed her head in greeting.
Her way of speaking was completely different from the professors he had in Class E and D.
While those rigid, overbearing fossils had spoken down to them from the very first meeting, she gave off a strong sense of respect for her students.
"Now, let me tell you today's schedule. We will be having a practical exercise in an artificial dungeon that the professors worked hard to create."
Dungeon.
Dungeons do not exist in this world.
As she just said, the only dungeons here were the ones arbitrarily created by the teachers for student training.
*Ah. Is it that episode already?*
Naturally, in a world like this, the very word "dungeon" was ominous.
And as far as he knew, this was, of course, another event.
The Necromancer.
An important event where a demonic human appears in the dungeon, designed to strengthen the bond and teamwork between the heroines and the protagonist.
*Alright. This is my chance to raise Liche's affection level all at once!*
Usually, important practical exercises like this were conducted with all classes gathered together, regardless of rank.
Arthur had no doubt that he and the heroines would be in the same group.
Completely oblivious to what was about to happen.