Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: The Necromancer
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"What happened!?"
As I shouted, the female professor came running over in a hurry.
"He went into the dungeon and came out just a moment later. When I saw that and tried to help, he said he didn't need an adventurer's help and slapped my hand away..."
"D-don't lie! You're the one who attacked me!"
Nope~ Nobody saw anything~ And there's no proof~
The pain in his balls seemed to have shot up to his stomach, as he clutched his abdomen, seething.
"You all saw it! That bastard kicked me, my... right there!"
"That's right, professor! That adventurer attacked first!"
"I saw it too!"
The group members who had been laughing behind him began to chime in one by one, siding with him.
So you're trying to win with numbers, huh?
But I'm not alone, you know?
"Luna, Yui. I'm right, aren't I?"
"...Yes."
"Y-yes..."
Hey, don't give me those guilty looks.
They're the ones who started it, okay?
So we should be acting confident, if anything.
Three versus four.
Though they had a slight advantage in numbers, the professor was in a position where she couldn't rashly believe either side.
First, we were the ones who had come to help, so there was no reason for us to lie. Second, the students' feelings of being wronged were plain to see.
In that case, I have my own methods.
There's a surefire way to win when someone is wavering like this.
"Sob, sob. I'm sorry. It seems the students disliked me because I'm an adventurer."
"N-no, that's not it!"
The one who cries first wins.
I just had to make myself the victim.
Where I'm from, there's this ridiculous logic that a victim's tears are proof.
And there were plenty of idiots who believed it.
So, I'll squeeze out some tears too!
Man or woman, whoever cries first, wins.
Given the plausible friction between adventurers and the academy, the professor would have no choice but to believe me.
"I don't know which class you're from, but didn't the professor of Class A tell you to maintain at least a minimum of courtesy?"
"N-no, really, that guy was the one who..."
"Even if you are paying for this service, please realize that treating someone who came to help you in such a manner degrades the dignity of the academy."
The female professor's stern expression was so intense that the students couldn't say a word in rebuttal.
From behind the professor, I silently made a ridiculous face at them, taunting them.
The students' faces twisted when they saw my expression.
'What are you gonna do about it?'
I mouthed the words to them.
All you can do is grit your teeth and clench your fists, can't you?
You should've picked your fights more carefully.
In any case, the first group was forcibly ejected due to injury right after entering.
They'll probably get a zero or something close to it for this practical.
Now *this* is how you taunt someone.
Not just by running your mouth and being a pain.
Afterward, I sent in the second and third groups.
The students at the other entrances might not have known, but the ones on my side had seen what happened to the first group with their own two eyes, so they cautiously avoided me as they went in.
It seemed the monsters inside weren't actually that strong, as there were no injuries.
The worst of it was just a scratch here or there.
The funniest part was one group where a student, startled by a monster, spammed magic and ended up team-killing. But since the other students just fled the dungeon, it didn't even count as an injury.
And so, finally, the last one.
It was his turn.
"What are you looking at?"
Arthur.
The punk was staring at me with a prim expression.
Tia and Stella, who were behind Arthur, had witnessed the last incident, so their opinion of me had probably already hit rock bottom.
'Like I care.'
I let out a long yawn.
Guess getting paid to do nothing isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Standing around all the time is just plain boring.
I'd been hugging Yui and stroking her hair to pass the time, but even that was getting old.
I was just thinking it'd be better if a demon suddenly showed up or something.
But right on cue, the incident generator arrived!
Now something is 100% going to happen.
Besides, from the moment I heard the word "dungeon," I already knew what kind of event was in store.
"...Why are you here?"
"I'm here to work. What are you gonna do about it?"
It wouldn't have mattered if I hadn't come, but the Guild Master was abusing his authority to promise me a promotion to B-rank.
How could I pass up an offer to get a leg up like that?
"I won't let you interfere this time."
"Ah, for fuck's sake! You talk too damn much! Just get lost!"
"Gah!?"
I grabbed Arthur by the collar and hurled him into the dungeon.
When did I ever get in his way? Why's he treating me like a nuisance?
He's just running his mouth and taking it out on me because things didn't go his way.
"A-Arthur!"
"Mr. Arthur!"
Seeing Arthur fly into the dungeon, Tia and Stella immediately followed him.
And then there was Liche, left standing awkwardly in front of me.
She always did this whenever she saw me.
Just staring blankly, as if she had something she wanted to ask.
From Liche's perspective, she probably had a lot to dig out of me, but I had no intention of answering, so I just wished she'd go away.
"You want me to throw you in like Arthur?"
"The... information about Hex..."
"Sex."
With that one word, I threw Liche into the dungeon too.
"So talkative. Right?"
""...""
***
-Crash!
Arthur tumbled across the dungeon floor several times before finally coming to a stop.
"Gak!"
Rolling on the cold stone floor hurt more than he'd expected.
"Ugh... that bastard..."
Who in the world treats a protagonist like this?
If that guy wasn't a transmigrator like him, he would never have been treated this way.
Normally, even if the protagonist gets unfairly targeted at the beginning, they're the one who always wins.
As Arthur dusted off his backside and stood up, Tia and Stella came running up behind him.
"Arthur, are you okay?!"
"Mr. Arthur! Are you hurt anywhere?!"
His mood, which had just hit rock bottom, quickly improved with the heroines' concern.
To think that these top-tier women, whom he wouldn't have even been able to talk to in his past life, were rushing over to him like this.
Such a magical story was only possible in a novel.
And since this was, in fact, the world of a novel, it was possible.
"Yeah. I'm fine."
So he replied with a smile.
The back of his head was throbbing, making the corners of his mouth twitch as he tried to smile, but thankfully, they didn't seem to notice.
"What on earth is that person's relationship with you, Arthur, to be treating you like that all the time!"
"Th-that's right...! Last time and this time, too! It's too much!"
Tia glared back in the direction they came from, her expression furious and indignant.
Stella also clenched her fists, agreeing with Tia.
"It's okay. I plan on paying him back properly someday."
Arthur, the protagonist, was a frustratingly upright character who always sought the righteous path even when he was wronged.
The heroines liked that stuffy side of him, but...
Since the person inside Arthur was different, he was more than willing to get some revenge.
Besides, Luke's reputation was already in the gutter in their eyes, so they might even help him.
"By the way, where's Liche?"
The moment Arthur asked.
"Kyaa!"
Someone came flying through the air and fell to the ground.
Recognizing who it was, Arthur's eyes widened, and he rushed over to her in a single step.
"Liche, are you okay!? Are you hurt anywhere?!"
"Ugh..."
Seeing as she came flying in, it looked like that crazy bastard had thrown Liche in too.
Arthur reached out a hand to Liche.
"I'm fine, so could you move?"
But his offered hand was ignored as Liche simply pushed herself up from the floor.
Momentarily embarrassed, Arthur naturally raised his hand and scratched the back of his head.
Immediately after, he spoke casually, as if nothing had happened.
"Now that everyone's here, I guess we should get started."
Since they had entered the dungeon, their objective for the practical was to head to the end and defeat the monster.
However, he knew that an anomaly was about to occur.
-Thump...!
"...!"
Right on cue, he felt a heavy energy momentarily press down on his body.
The inside of the dungeon looked unchanged, but he was sure everyone else had felt it too.
That something was wrong.
In the novel, no support comes until this incident is over.
The novel briefly explained the reasons for this.
First, those outside have no idea what is happening inside. The necromancer would have used the magic from the artifact within, so from the outside, the dungeon would appear to be functioning normally.
Second, it's impossible to go from inside to outside to call for help because of a barrier.
To get out, they had to defeat the necromancer inside, which would cause the barrier to disappear.
"Did everyone feel that?"
"...Yes. I got this creepy feeling, like someone ran their hand over my body."
"Me too... It was a really, how should I put it... a terrifying feeling..."
The intensity of the feeling seemed to vary from person to person, but the common thread was that everyone felt uneasy.
The only way to escape this unpleasant feeling was to quickly defeat the necromancer at the end of the dungeon.
"I want to check what's going on, and I'd like you all to help. Can I ask that of you?"
"I'm against it."
Liche immediately refuted Arthur's words.
"We don't even know what's happened inside, and you want us to go in by ourselves? It would be better to go outside and inform the professor."
Liche's point was valid, but Arthur, knowing they couldn't get out anyway, couldn't just agree to leave.
"I might not be, but the rest of the group is from Class A, right? I'm confident that I have pretty decent skills, even if not on your level. I don't know what's inside, but if we work together, don't you think we can do it?"
At that, Liche's expression sank, now turning downright venomous.
Her eyes looked as if she'd already killed someone.
"Do you think you're some kind of hero? They may praise you as an elite out there, making you arrogant, but we're just students. You're not the only one here. Don't gamble your party members' lives on your recklessness."
"..."
"I have no intention of playing along with your pathetic bravado this time either. If you want to go, go by yourselves. I'm going back."
"W-wait a minute!"
"...Hut!"
As Liche turned to leave, she was thrown back, blocked by something.
There was nothing there when they came in, but now it was as if there was a wall in front of her.
"What is this...!"
"Looks like we have no choice but to go in."
Arthur approached her as she took a step back.
"Liche. Can't you help just this once? We can pull back right away if it gets dangerous."
*Do you even hear yourself right now?*
That's what Liche wanted to say.
But with no other viable option but to press forward, she ultimately couldn't say anything.
"...This is the last time I'm going along with you."