Sorry, But I'm Not Teaming Up with the Heroine
Sorry, But I'm Not Teaming Up with the Heroine
Magic, Knighthood, Priesthood, and Reconnaissance.
Lichten Academy divided its curriculum into these four core disciplines.
In keeping with the academy's emphasis on practical application, this structure mirrored the basic composition of a standard field party.
In other words, disciplines that clashed in the real world clashed just as fiercely within these halls.
The most notorious example was the feud between Reconnaissance and Magic.
From a mage's perspective, scouts were less educated (by mage standards, anyway) and therefore untrustworthy compared to knights or priests.
From a scout's perspective, mages did similar work but did it from the rear, acting superior while comfortably slinging spells from a safe distance.
That dynamic was thoroughly baked into the academy's atmosphere.
< Fundamentals of Reconnaissance and Search >
That was why Professor Rowen of the Reconnaissance Faculty had called their class out to the western edge of the woods.
'Little baby mages who know nothing but their own greatness need a proper education.'
The Shadow Forest teemed with monsters and powerful beasts.
Nothing lethal, but formidable enough to knock the arrogance right out of the Magic Faculty students.
That was why this Fundamentals of Reconnaissance and Search class had been summoned, rather abruptly, to the clearing at the academy's western boundary right before class began.
And in Ian's case...
"Wait, where did everyone go?"
He had no idea.
◆
The classroom was empty.
The old Pongpongi would have assumed he was being ostracized and spent the period despairing in a corner, hollowed out.
But this Ian was different.
He swiftly asked around among students from neighboring classes and the faculty.
That intel brought him to the clearing on the academy's western outskirts.
"He's coming!"
The moment he spotted the distant crowd of students and the professor, someone shouted.
It was probably the professor.
'Good eyes. I can't even make out facial features from here.'
As he drew closer, the professor's appearance sharpened.
Pale skin and short blonde hair.
A lean but angular physique stood out.
But the most striking detail was the pointed ears.
'An elf!'
No wonder they were holding class near the forest. The professor's racial traits probably made him a natural fit.
"My apologies."
Ian approached the professor and bowed his head.
Wait, was this person—this elf—a man?
Up close, the impression was strongly androgynous.
His voice fit that mold too.
"Ian, you are late. Why? Because of you, everyone has been forced to stand and wait out here under the scorching sun."
The professor's question came in an icy tone.
He seemed genuinely, seriously angry.
Now that Ian thought about it, the atmosphere around him was pretty hostile too.
'Terrifying.'
As if the professor's words were a signal, the students' contemptuous gazes stabbed into him.
- We've been standing in this sun because of you, asshole.
- Figures that Pongpongi would pull this shit.
That was the sentiment those gazes conveyed.
'... What did you little shits just say?'
Naturally, Ian felt wronged.
If a classmate was summoned by their homeroom professor, someone could have at least given him a heads-up. Or told the professor why he'd be late.
Out of sheer indignation, part of him considered laying out the facts to the professor right here.
But Ian shook his head.
Pongpongi's karmic debt couldn't be dismissed.
His reputation in class was so abysmal that something like this was bound to happen sooner or later.
So Ian chose a different approach.
"I apologize. Professor Violet required my presence urgently, so I had to leave immediately without informing my peers."
Sure, feeling a little unfairly treated was only human.
But there was no reason to turn his classmates into active enemies.
Handling it this way, he figured, would be a debt to collect on later.
Sure enough, it worked.
The sharp glares instantly softened.
Some of them even dropped their gaze to the ground.
A hint of guilt, probably.
'In the end, school is just a microcosm of society.'
Ian had already lived through the grind of adult social life before the possession.
He had the composure to handle minor incidents like this with ease.
And who knew?
'If I gradually improve my classroom image like this...'
Maybe later, when he was under attack from the non-virgin heroines, some of these kids might actually step in to help.
Anyway.
"Hmm. Covering for your comrades. I've never seen a mage do that before, let alone a student like you. Very well. I'll let it slide this time. See that it doesn't happen again."
"I will be more careful. Thank you."
Luckily, the elf professor seemed to buy it.
His sharp edge had blunted slightly.
'He really is handsome. Or is he just pretty?'
Ian slid smoothly over to the far edge of the assembled students.
'Huh?'
He felt eyes on him.
Scanning his surroundings, he spotted Rina toward the front.
She was peeking back at him. The moment their eyes met, she gave a visible start! and whipped her head forward.
'... What's her deal?'
He brushed it off.
The professor's address resumed immediately.
"Now, since everyone has arrived, let's begin the class! I trust you have all sufficiently grasped the concepts of Fundamentals of Reconnaissance and Search through the theoretical coursework."
Regrettably, Ian had never grasped any such thing.
In Fanta X Aca, recon and search were just concepts that resolved with a single click.
'What's the worst that could happen? It's not like I'll die.'
That comforting expectation shattered at once.
"As you all know, the Shadow Forest we will be navigating today can be life-threatening. Uncontrolled monsters may appear. Should that happen, you are to immediately send a rescue request."
Ah. So this was that Shadow Forest.
In-game, it served as the backdrop for all manner of grim and sinister subplots.
Sitting right next to the school probably made it a conveniently atmospheric location.
'Disappearances, deaths by monsters... there were even murders there.'
Ian's eyes flickered as the grim lore associated with this place surfaced in his mind.
"The cut-off is 5 p.m., when the sun begins to set. By that time, you must locate either the mana objects I've hidden throughout the forest or specific mana markers. Any questions?"
Rina raised a hand and asked, bright-faced.
"Um... what about lunch?"
"Wahahaha!"
"Classic Rina!"
"The forest has plenty of edible things. But I'd advise against mushrooms. This time of year, a lot of them are poisonous."
With that answer concluded, the professor made his declaration.
"Right! Everyone, partner up into teams of two!"
... Wait.
He was springing teams-of-two on them now?
Ian, about to walk toward the forest, flinched.
'I'd honestly prefer going solo.'
A sudden childhood memory of gym class surfaced.
That raw, desperate tension of being the one kid left alone.
'Whenever this happens, the class headcount is always an odd number...'
Sure enough.
The only hope was the teacher announcing, "Ah, one team will have three members." Or, "Teams are assigned by roll number!"
But Ian shook his head.
He was too old to cling to that kind of false hope.
It'd just be a couple seconds of humiliation, right?
He'd flinched purely out of childhood trauma.
'Pongpongi's visceral hatred of this stuff must have lingered in the body.'
Kids his age were all like that anyway.
The outcome was predetermined.
'Let's just accept it with dignity.'
He was going to be solo anyway.
This wasn't his fault.
It was just the accumulated karma that came with the body.
As Ian was busy winning the mental victory in his head.
"......"
Rina kept stealing glances at him.
◆
"......"
A glance.
The moment the professor announced teams of two, Rina had started observing Ian.
Historically, any class that required partnering up sent Ian into a cold-sweat panic.
He'd try every trick in the book to angle his way into being Rina's partner.
Rolling his eyes around. Sneaking little steps in her direction.
But it always came to nothing, because Rina was perpetually surrounded by friends who rushed to her in an instant.
'Why isn't he doing that today?'
The question surfaced reflexively.
As things stood now, Rina couldn't help but be hyper-aware of Ian's every move.
Unconsciously, she bit her lip.
"Rina, are you sick?"
"Huh? Hm? No. I'm fine. Hehe."
Rina hurriedly restored her smile.
'... I thought he was gone for good.'
She had been surprised.
When Ian reappeared.
And she'd resolved.
To treat him as if he didn't exist.
'But I can't.'
He'd changed too drastically.
This was the boy who used to meet her eyes whenever she glanced back out of mild concern. Yet now, even though she was openly staring, he absolutely would not make eye contact.
If anything, he projected an air of relaxed indifference: Well, if I can't find a partner, I'll just go alone.
'... This can't go on.'
A person changing overnight was, after all, remarkably unsettling.
Rina swallowed.
'Every condition is perfect.'
A search and recon field exercise.
Location: the Shadow Forest.
And teams of two.
There was no more ideal setup for getting utterly, completely alone with him.
'If we go deep into the forest, no one will notice.'
Rina gave a small nod.
This could work.
"Rina, want to pair up with me?"
"Ahaha... sorry!"
She declined her friend's offer with a laugh.
Then she turned toward Ian.
The smile was gone from her face.
One step.
Two steps.
Rina advanced on Ian.
Her fist clenched until it turned red, as if sealing a resolution.
She was mere paces from his side.
— Ssshift
"...?"
Someone slipped right past Rina.
And planted herself directly in front of Ian.
"Ian! Be my team partner!"
Rina stopped dead.
No way.
Someone actually wanted to pair up with Ian?
It was unthinkable.
'And I was already walking over here...?'
Blink. Blink.
Rina stared at the scene before her, dazed.
This had never happened.
What was she supposed to do?
Her mind went blank.
In that moment, the professor's voice boomed.
"You there. The red-haired student standing alone."
Who was the red-haired student standing alone?
'... Ah. That's me.'
Rina's head creaked toward the professor.
"Were you unable to find a partner, Rina?"
She looked around.
Everyone else had paired off.
... What.
I'm the only one without a team?
Her eyes slowly filled with flustered confusion.