Chapter 109
Chapter 109
Chapter 109
EP26 - Betting Table, "Dungeon of Escalating Competition" (3)
Her eyes began to tremble. Cracks formed on her previously calm face. Rebecca asked softly.
“…What?”
The words "Don't be rude" were likely something she had never heard in her life.
"Show respect before your professor."
I don't like fighting. But I'm not the type to avoid it when necessary.
“…Professor Dante Hiakapo. I think you're crossing the line. From the moment we made the contract, we haven't been in a student-professor relationship, have we?”
"Well. This is still the Academy. Our relationship hasn't changed."
"Professor."
"I will define our relationship once more. Before me, you must conform to my standards."
"Don't you understand the situation yet?"
It was an insolent yet interesting remark.
"Professor. Wake up. From now on, you must conform to my standards. Can you refuse? I hold your leash now, don't I?"
Rebecca held up the contract paper for "Eternity∞".
"How is that my leash?"
"Listen carefully, Professor. Stopping the faculty's opening isn't something you can achieve alone. It has reached a point where it's confirmed to open even without my effort. If your life is precious, cooperate with me, and you must beg for my efforts."
Rebecca growled, baring her fangs.
So that's why she's become so smug.
This is the kind of person she is.
This is why she intends to betray me.
I could have insisted on a verbal contract from the start. Yet, it was a Stigmata contract I formed with a degree of goodwill, but Rebecca immediately flipped her attitude as if turning over her palm.
One gazes at a fish with longing before catching it. How many people do you see in life who neglect the fish they've caught? She seemed to be that kind of person.
At this moment, I thought for a moment.
I had two choices.
1.
Grovel before Rebecca.
Since she'll be nice until she betrays me anyway, there's no harm in appeasing her.
2.
Discipline Rebecca.
Even if she betrays me, it's no fun being manipulated until then. I'll discipline her one more time now.
But are these really the only two choices?
After thinking a little more, I found myself laughing without realizing it.
"You're laughing?"
Rebecca's eyes twitched.
"Is this funny to you, now?"
"Because it's amusing."
"I don't think so. I know more about you than you think. You have a lot, and the more you have, the more precious your life must be."
"……."
"I'm different, Professor. I'm not that afraid of dying."
I'm not interested in that.
One thing is certain: there are many things she doesn't know.
Rebecca doesn't know how overwhelmingly high my understanding of this world is.
Rebecca doesn't know that I have a way to counter that contract, nor does she know how far I can go without any risk.
A couple of ways to discipline Rebecca came to mind.
Rebecca is a tyrant, a lioness. But I, who have decided to become an external pressure, am like a dinosaur. If I crush her, what can a mere lioness do?
But… suddenly.
Suddenly.
A more amusing method came to mind.
"Understood."
“…You understood?”
A surprised retort came back. Rebecca must have thought I would fight too.
Fighting is refreshing and good, but it's not always the best option.
"I will protect your standards. However, to do that, you must also concede something to me."
“…What is it?”
Rebecca asked back in a slightly subdued voice.
"If you become honest with me, I will protect your standards."
"……."
Sensing something strange in my words, Rebecca furrowed one eyebrow.
At this point, I was sitting opposite Rebecca, and I moved closer to her side.
"What do you mean by 'honest'?"
"Exactly as I said. For us to be in the same boat completely, you need to open your heart a little more to me."
As I approached, Rebecca's eyes began to subtly avoid mine.
"You're doing it again, Professor."
"Yes."
"I request that you don't come any closer."
"Regrettably. The moment we got into the same boat, you can't maintain just that distance if you wish."
I ended up sitting next to her. Her gaze, then her head, turned away. It was to avoid proximity. But I was a little more persistent.
Leaning my body forward, I asked again.
"Why, are you like this?"
"What do you mean."
"Why are you so angry today?"
"It's none of your business."
"If you tell me, then it becomes our business. Will you tell me? About your day today."
"Well."
"No. You must tell me your feelings. Our relationship isn't very fair right now. We've gotten into the same boat with difficulty, and now I'm even going to protect your standards, so you should show me your sincerity too, shouldn't you?"
Princess Rebecca had just said something she shouldn't have.
"I'm different, Professor. I'm not that afraid of dying." …She had.
She made a grave mistake.
“…Why should I be fair?”
"Because you're wrong. I'm not that afraid of dying either."
"……."
"We have similarly little to lose. If it's not fair, we can't do anything together. So tell me. What happened to our Princess today?"
"……."
Rebecca furrowed her brow.
But this was exactly my intention.
"……."
If she's not afraid of dying.
I intend to make her afraid from now on.
"Tell me. What happened. Who said what to you? And why are your pretty toes hurt again?"
The tone was kind, even by my own evaluation. It was the first voice I had spoken since entering this body.
"……."
Rebecca didn't meet my eyes. This was an extension of what I had figured out before. People with such backgrounds in this world are weak to human intimacy.
"If it's difficult, you can speak slowly. I'll be here."
"……."
Rebecca maintained her silence.
From now on, she might speak, or she might not.
But I have a Plan B. If this doesn't work, I'll discipline her as I thought of earlier. I'll crush her with force and correct her attitude.
Frankly, that would be more comfortable.
Because I truly dislike Rebecca.
"……."
A few seconds.
Perhaps a few dozen seconds.
A considerable amount of time passed, and.
"……."
Rebecca, who had only shown me her profile, let out a sigh that started from her toes.
“…Nothing much….”
Finally, she opened her mouth.
“…It’s nothing much.”
"It's nothing much, but something did happen."
“…It’s just that when I go around dressed as a Saintess… I tend to get pushed around a lot….”
"May I guess, Professor? You probably went somewhere like a convent or a religious order, right?"
"……."
At that moment, Rebecca turned her head and looked at me sharply.
With a very aggressive gaze.
Then, when our eyes met, she slightly averted her gaze again.
“…You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”
"Doing what."
"You're doing this on purpose, Professor… trying to find some kind of weakness, aren't you…?"
"I already know more than enough about your weaknesses. Isn't one of the reasons you keep wanting me my information network?"
"If it's not a weakness, then why are you doing this…?"
"If someone in the same boat isn't feeling well, I want to comfort them."
"……."
At that moment, Rebecca suddenly stood up from her chair. She moved to a spot a little further away and sat down, pulling her legs up onto the chair and hugging them.
"Princess Rebecca?"
"……."
The voice that finally came out was one I had never heard from Rebecca before.
“…I won’t talk.”
It was the first time. This witch felt her age.
But I decided to ask again.
Becoming honest is part of the progression of a relationship, and Rebecca was still not honest with me.
"Was it very difficult?"
In response to my question, Rebecca fell silent for a long time again.
Then, finally.
Her lips moved slightly.
"……."
But the movement didn't turn into words.
Rebecca quickly changed the subject.
“…Let’s talk about the Dungeon of Escalating Competition… Stop saying strange things…”
For now, that's it. That's the feeling. However, my objective was sufficiently achieved just by breaking Rebecca's spirit a little. It means she feels some goodwill towards me.
"I cannot accept your request not to send them to the dungeon. I have already applied to the Imperial Bureau, and I cannot cancel what was done in the faculty's name."
"But, you know, what the repercussions will be…."
"If you propose restrictions, I will listen and judge."
Rebecca, her spirit somewhat broken, did not argue. She could have insisted they not go, but she agreed to my words obediently.
"Then, I will propose them."
Rebecca stated three things.
1.
Register Dante's Assassination Squad anonymously.
2.
Do not provide information about the dungeon's interior.
3.
Enter the dungeon immediately, without separate training.
"This way, we can hide our students from the Empire's gaze…."
In the end, Rebecca was only half right.
She overlooked it unintentionally.
The genius of the Hidden Dragon Society.
* * *
< ↑ Team [Anonymous] is entering. >
< ↑ Entry Age: 10s Server >
< ↑ Dungeon Type: Maze Escape >
< ↑ Mission: Escape to the end of the maze. You will be recalled outside the dungeon's subspace upon death or failure to escape within the time limit. >
Before Balmung, a labyrinthine interior unfolded. Dark, dim stone floors and high walls, a pitch-black sky.
"No, but this is too much…?"
It was then. Gray grumbled from beside me.
"What is."
"To enter the world's first dungeon without training… without being told the dungeon's structure… what kind of place just throws you in…."
Is that so?
Balmung nodded. It was certainly disappointing. If it were Professor Dante, he would know the dungeon's structure, trials, and how to overcome them. He just insisted we enter.
"Hmm. Still, he's a professor. He must have his reasons."
“…Is that so?”
"It's okay. Don't worry too much. Here, here!"
Then Balmung stepped forward and raised his hand.
Gray and Kendrake turned.
"I know a little about the 10s Server dungeons. I studied it in my family before. So, you guys just trust me and follow me…"
It was then.
"Mmm!"
Elise, who had been sniffing the air, suddenly ran out.
"Hey, Elise! Where are you going!"
"Follow me, Balmung, everyone. I think it's this way."
So suddenly? Balmung was bewildered.
For now, the three of them began to follow Elise.
Elise ran like the wind, and the other three gritted their teeth and followed behind her.
After crossing about seven maze intersections, a large plaza was revealed.
- Kwoooaaargh!!
The mid-boss 'Troll Ogre' raised its massive club and brandished its arm.
It was a monster three times the height of a person.
- Kuwoooargh!!
The monster swung its club towards Elise, hitting empty ground.
BOOM!!
Space exploded. The roar bounced off the plaza walls and ceiling, deafening!
"Tch! We found it…! Hey! Elise! And everyone!"
Balmung shouted.
"Be careful!! As far as I know, that guy is huge, but his defense is even higher for his size. We need to draw its attention first and then attack its weak spot, the back of its head—"
At that moment, Elise closed her eyes and ducked.
⋮
『Dawn Prairie Promenade』
⋮
She shot out from the maze floor like a bullet.
Swoosh ———
As the "Intangible Sword ○" grazed past, the ogre's neck, as thick as a building pillar, fell diagonally and slid off, then plummeted to the ground.
CRASH!!
Following the immense impact, the Troll Ogre's 4-meter-tall body collapsed and slammed into the ground. And stopped.
"Oh, got it!"
Elise smiled brightly, holding her sword, and Gray and Kendrake cheered, "Ooh!" "Whoa!" Balmung was also happy that the enemy was defeated.
"Let's keep going. This way."
As they ran again towards another part of the maze.
The "Dungeon of Escalating Competition" status window appeared.
< ↑ You have cleared the first section. >
It was right then.
'Huh.'
Suddenly, Balmung felt something strange.
He hastily checked his crystal ball. What was the record for the fastest time to clear the 'first section' on the 10s Server? In Balmung's memory, it was around the early 4-minute range.
'Wait a minute.'
That was a record from about 100 years ago. Thinking further, he recalled. It was exactly 4 minutes and 12 seconds. And since no one had broken it for over 100 years, the leader of the mercenary group who set that record at the time was ranked number 1 in the world.
But. The number displayed on Balmung's crystal ball seemed strange.
< 00 hours 03 minutes 57 seconds 34 >
…Huh?