Scouter
Scouter
'Because you're so thoughtless, you don't even know that your woman was sucking another man's flesh rod right behind you, and she swallowed his semen three times, Su-bin-ah.'
Frustrated, I sighed inwardly.
But what could I do?
He was just stupid enough to be taken advantage of and used.
It wouldn't be easy to find another idiot like him, so I forced a smile and asked Su-bin.
"Su-bin-ah, why? Is something wrong?"
"No, it's not that. I'm just curious. Why are we walking from here?"
"Well, obviously, it's to hide the Lalacar, or more precisely, Lala."
The Lalacar, which made no noise, required no fuel, and had no risk of breaking down, was an excellent means of transportation, carrying, and attack in this Zombie Apocalypse.
Riding such a Lalacar openly all the way to school?
Teacher Choi, for one, would immediately pester us to borrow the Lalacar, claiming it was useful for various tasks.
Some ill-intentioned individuals would try to seize or steal the Lalacar.
'That much is fine. But...'
There would certainly be people who would grow suspicious of the Lalacar's incomprehensible performance and try to uncover its true identity.
And before long, they would reveal that my true Special Ability was Summoning, not Physical Enhancement, and that the Lalacar was Lala, my summoned slime.
I wanted to avoid that at all costs.
"Why? I've been thinking about it for a while, but why can't we just reveal Lala's existence to people?"
"Didn't you hear last time? Seul-bi said it. If you don't want to be pushed around by people, it's better to hide your strength."
"Hyung, do you like it? Lala living in hiding?"
"What do you mean, living in hiding? She's right here, in plain sight. If people don't acknowledge her, does that mean she's living in hiding? Lala doesn't need other people's attention anyway."
The only attention Lala needed was the attention I gave her.
She didn't even need the attention of Seul-bi, Ye-rin, or Su-bin, who were part of the same group.
"Su-bin-ah, let's be a little honest. The real reason you want to reveal Lala's existence is because you want to show off to people, right? To say, 'I have such a capable companion.'"
"Ah, no! It's really not that at all!"
"Oh, come on. Your face tells me the answer. Anyway, think about it. What would happen if people found out about Lala's existence and abilities? Would you still be wearing the Full-body Suit you have on now?"
Adding strength to the wearer, assisting movement, and preventing zombie attacks and infection through blood, etc.
Lala's Full-body Suit was an item anyone would covet.
"Would people just let us monopolize such an item? I guarantee they'd tell us to share it with those who have good Special Abilities or fight well, for the greater good. Then, who would be the first to take off their Full-body Suit? For your information, I have no intention of increasing the number of Full-body Suits right now. I've already increased the symbiotes to their limit for automatic hunting, so it's impossible to increase them any further."
"D-does that mean I'd be the first to take off my Full-body Suit?"
"Most likely. Lala and I can't be separated by much distance, so they wouldn't take mine for protection. And Seul-bi and Ye-rin also have very powerful psychic abilities, so they'd keep theirs on for protection and Point acquisition."
But Su-bin, who had little to do with Lala and whose Special Ability was just ordinary Physical Enhancement, didn't necessarily need to wear a Full-body Suit.
The moment Lala's existence was revealed, Su-bin would, in all likelihood, have his Full-body Suit taken away.
"Do you still want to reveal Lala's existence, even after this?"
"...No."
Perhaps thinking my words made sense, Su-bin hugged his body—or more precisely, his Full-body Suit—tightly with a pale face.
Just by looking at him, I could tell that Su-bin's dependence and obsession with Lala had grown even larger.
Explaining and persuading was bothersome, but it didn't seem entirely fruitless.
"Honey, let's hurry before the sun completely sets."
"Su-bin-ah, from now on, ask questions like that after we've completed the mission and arrived at a safe place. Understood?"
Perhaps disliking any further delay, Seul-bi linked her arm through mine, quickening her pace, and at the same time, cast a cold, subdued gaze at Su-bin, the culprit for the delay.
True to her background as a former soldier who lived and died by orders, Ye-rin, this time, lightly reprimanded Su-bin for his actions instead of defending him.
If I were to take Su-bin's side here, his favorability towards me would skyrocket, but was there really a need to specifically raise his favorability, especially when it wasn't Seul-bi or Ye-rin?
Deciding there wasn't, I left the dejected boy behind and headed for the school.
――――――
"Su-bin! Su-bin is here!"
"It's true! Su-bin is here!"
"Su-bin-ah, you came at just the right time! Hurry and go help Teacher Choi!"
A short while later, we arrived at the school.
As soon as we entered the main entrance, Su-bin's friends grabbed him and asked for help.
Their faces were all deathly pale, suggesting something quite dangerous had happened while we were gone.
"Why? What's going on?"
Su-bin, after briefly glancing at Seul-bi and Ye-rin, lowered his voice and asked his friend.
It seemed he intended to brilliantly fulfill his friends' request and restore his lost reputation.
But things in the world rarely go as one wishes.
"People who look like gangsters! They're threatening Teacher Choi, saying they'll take control of the school!"
"G-gangsters?"
At the mention that the perpetrators were gangsters, Su-bin, who had been exuding confidence, flinched as if he had never been confident at all.
No matter how much he wanted to restore his lost reputation, confronting gangsters still seemed terrifying.
"You can go, right? Su-bin, you're strong!"
"Hey! Why are you asking such an obvious question! He massacres zombies, so why wouldn't he be able to handle mere gangsters?!"
"That's right! If it's Su-bin, he'd defeat them in an instant even if a truckload of them came!"
Su-bin's friends, oblivious to his true feelings, chattered as if the problem was already solved.
It seemed he had acted quite tough in front of his friends while on guard duty.
At this rate, it seemed he couldn't back out by saying it was impossible.
"H-hyung. Nunas."
Su-bin, sensing he was in deep shit, trembled and asked for help.
Though I wanted to tell him it was his karma and he should deal with it himself,
"It would be good to help, wouldn't it?"
"I suppose so."
"Teacher Choi seemed like a decent person, and even if not, it would be better than having gangsters in control."
Just as Ye-rin said, we couldn't let gangsters control the school.
Because if those guys took control of the school, it was as clear as day that it would become a complete mess.
More importantly, there was no way those guys would leave Seul-bi and Ye-rin, who were more beautiful than most celebrities, alone.
It would be better to crush them first before that happened.
'Just in case, before that.'
—Ding! Consuming a Point, a new Skill, Survival Instinct, blossoms for the Slime (Lala).
Survival Instinct: Induces self-exclusion from dangerous things.
On the way to school, I created a survival Skill with the 1 Point earned from automatic hunting.
Although Lala was armed with 5 enhancements and several cheat-like Skills, there was no law saying others wouldn't be.
Moreover, the culprits who caused the commotion were gangsters, guys accustomed to violence.
Even so, they would be weaker than Lala with her automatic hunting and Ability Sharing, but I couldn't let my guard down.
If Skill-Survival Instinct indicated that those guys were dangerous, then I was prepared to leave the school, however sorry I might feel for the people there.
"Hyung, nunas. Thank you."
"Enough, let's go quickly. Kids, where is Teacher Choi?"
"Huh? Ah, the faculty office."
Su-bin's friends replied.
But their expressions all showed curiosity as to why the group revolved around me.
This Su-bin guy.
Not only did he act tough, but it seemed he also told them he was the leader.
"Ugh, you idiot. Cut it out."
"S-sorry!"
Unable to suppress my annoyance, I smacked Su-bin on the back of his head.
Still, knowing he was at fault, Su-bin apologized meekly.
"Huh? Who are you guys?"
Meanwhile, we arrived at the faculty office.
The brute standing like a gatekeeper in front of the faculty office entrance spotted us and his face twisted violently.
The guy, who already looked menacing, became truly terrifying when he scowled like that.
However,
'Lala-yah, how is it?'
Squishy Pong!
'Combat power is only 3, huh. What a piece of trash.'
He only looked that way on the outside; in reality, the combat power measured by the slime-made Scouter was less than that of a farmer with a gun.
Feeling relieved, I commanded Su-bin.
"Su-bin-ah, kick that guy."
"Y-yes? C-can I really do that?"
"Y-yes, hurry up and do it. In situations like this, the battle of wills is important."
"I-is that so? But why me, of all people?"
"...Sigh. Even when given a chance to redeem yourself, you mess it up like this."
It was a fresh reminder, but this Su-bin guy was truly a hopeless piece of trash.