CH 82

[The Usual!]

I guess everyone’s current status and condition from their intimations, and decide to rent out equipment that suits them.

I didn’t expect the equipment from the Netherworld that I brought just in case would see some use this way.

I brought them in case I might use them myself someday, but in the end, I was so busy training in the sword and thread that I couldn’t do anything else.

It’s better to put them to good use than let them collecting dust, I guess. I’ll definitely have them returned later, though.

“‘Aight, I’ll lend you out some items, so make sure you do your best to beat that princess, Amanai. No worries, you can do it, I’m sure of it. If you awaken during the fight and rise to about level 50, you’ll definitely be able to defeat her.” (Sakurai)

“Don’t ask for the impossible… To begin with, there’s no way I can gain experience points without defeating an enemy.” (Amanai)

“Pull it off with the protagonist’s correction or something. If you realistically don’t have enough time, you can only count on miracles, that’s a protagonist’s forte, ain’t it?” (Sakurai)

I have an impression that Amanai underestimates his body and qualities.

In the game settings and promotional interviews, ‘Amanai Hayato’, the protagonist, was clearly stated to be a bug-like mass of talent, so he should challenge himself thinking that he’s capable of anything.

If he put some time into it, he can learn all kinds of skills and magic.

And to add to that, he can even bring all his skills to the max level.

He has compatibility with every kind of weapons from the beginning, he can wield magic swords with ridiculously dangerous sounding description, and he can even equip cursed equipment without dispelling the curse.

Compared to a mob character like me, he has countless possibilities. So, I’d like him to pull off one or two miracles to grow rapidly and make a super awakening in the battle.

“Our current basic objective is to have you participate normally, get excellent results, and earn points. Even if you ask me to cooperate, we don’t know each other too much to act as a party all of a sudden, and I’m not good at team play, in the first place.” (Sakurai)

“Do we not need to sabotage the opponents or something?” (Amanai)

“Yeah, we need you to defeat Julia under the condition that you’re recognized by the surroundings. Doing things like that would only get you farther away from that, right?” (Sakurai)

“You mean, you’re going to do it alone?” (Amanai)

“I’ll of course sabotage them within the scope allowed in the competitions, but as for the off-board battles, it would be rather troublesome if public evaluation of me getting lower in case I get exposed, so I’m still considering it.” (Sakurai)

If possible, I would like to mix abnormal condition granting items created with Compounding skill into what the opponents consume, or surprise attack them in the dead of night.

However, given that the people of the military academy have been lodging nearby since days before the academy festival, they definitely have a night watch, so it would be difficult.

Moreover, if I were to try to do something to Julia who is guarded by royal guards, the result should be easy to guess.

“Incidentally, we’ve been making this for quite a while now, but what is this?” (Amanai)

“Un? Slime firecracker.” (Sakurai)

I answer the question of Amanai, who stirs the alchemy pot that have been taken out of the log house, while kneading the material made from it.

This guy, he caught up with my level of Alchemy (Item Creation) that I’ve been raising – even though it’s not that high – in a dozen of minutes.

Hey, isn’t your growth rate surpass that of a mob’s by quite a bit too much? This is why you’re called a bug.

“So what are you going to do with it?” (Amanai)

“Make as many as possible, set them around the inn where the people of the military academy are staying, and lit them up at night.” (Sakurai)

Night watch has to properly stay awake, so I figured I should pay respect to them and help them get rid of their drowsiness.

If I use the firecrackers together with a fuse, they can ignite automatically in different timings, so with the right set up, I’ll be able to make them keep ringing for the night.

“If it’s just at the level of mischief and small tricks, I can easily get away with it. Next… I’ll try to ask Higaki if she can manipulate the order of participation in tomorrow’s race. Depending on that, what we’ll do is——” (Sakurai)

“You sure don’t hesitate at all, do you…” (Amanai)

If you hesitate and can still win, the word sabotage wouldn’t have been born in this world.

Well, I’ll actually only set the firecrackers the day before the capture the flag, after tomorrow’s competition is over.

The competition hasn’t started yet, so they must be still nervous and cautious, and if they win the chariot race, which they have advantage in, they’ll probably loosen their mental strain, so tomorrow night is the best time to set the firecrackers.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m throwing away tomorrow’s competition.

I’ve made some…… suddenly, something inside me, some sort of energy, drops to dangerous level and violent palpitation assaults my body.

“Ugh, guh! Guuuuuuh!!” (Sakurai)

“W-what’s wrong, Sakurai!? Does your chest hurt!? Hold on, I’ll go call Ethel right away.” (Amanai)

“Wait, Amanai…! You don’t have to, I’m fine…” (Sakurai)

Seeing me suddenly grab my chest and let out a pained voice, Amanai seems to get the wrong idea and tries to call Ethel, an expert in healing magic.

I grab his shoulders and stop him, and then, while stabilizing my breath, I smile and raise my thumb,

“I just, used a bit too much reason. If I go leveling, I’ll recover immediately!” (Sakurai)

“Come again?” (Amanai)

Because I used my head too much for problems that have nothing to do with leveling up, my reasoning energy and levelnium that I’ve gained from leveling are depleted, and my body begins to show withdrawal symptoms.

At this rate, I might end up putting my hands on the protagonist in front of me to get the highest grade of experience points! It’s not like I hate the idea but, no, you obviously can’t, me! AAAHHHHHH, experience points, me need more experience pointssssss!

“L-lev-leveveveve…… gasp, shittt! Amanai! I need to go leveling right now! I’m sure I won’t be back for the rest of the day, so go train with Akano and co who are receiving guidance from Iris, and get ready for tomorrow!” (Sakurai)

“Ah, un. I also want to keep a distance from you right now, so you can go do whatever you like.” (Amanai)

“On that note, Higaki will come back soon, so ask her to get you guys, me, and Julia participate on the same turn! If she’s reluctant or refuse, there’s a hanging scroll with the handwriting of ‘Sword Saint’ hidden behind the shelf in my room, so just slap that on her face!” (Sakurai)

“Just what kind of relationship do you two have!?” (Amanai)

Ignoring the voice of the surprised Amanai, I just tell Iris, “The usual!”, and then I quickly prepare my equipment and set out for the academy dungeon.

I do remember Higaki telling me that the dungeon would be off limits during the academy festival, but I neither replied nor acknowledged it.

But even if it’s off-limits, with the loophole that no one else has discovered, wouldn’t I be able to monopolize the academy dungeon during the academy festival?

My exclusive dungeon— it sounds wonderful.

No, I feel like the academy dungeon should be mine in the first place.

In that case, in order to pay respect to the efforts of the disciplinary committee members who are still strictly guarding the entrance, I must work hard on leveling properly!

“I’ll be safe as long as I return by dinner…! I’ll be safe as long as I return by dinner~!” (Sakurai)

I break into the academy dungeon through the loophole while singing a reason that’s incomprehensible even to myself.

While advancing to the lower layer, I cut down any monsters that appear in front of me.

It’s forbidden to leave any experience points (monsters) that enter your sight, I learnt it from an aunt on an educational TV program. Her slogan is, “Don’t leave food on your plate!” [1]

“Gugee! Gugyaaa!”

“Don’t run, Red Goblin! No matter what, you are still a monster! Don’t you have pride as an exp bag!?” (Sakurai)

Chasing the Red Goblin who’re escaping due to the difference in ability, I pass through poison darts traps and pitfall traps.

It’s not like this monster give high exp, but due my lack of levelnium that’s necessary for producing reasoning energy, I follow my instinctive desires and let my body run loose as much as it wants.

More importantly, you’re pretty on your feet, aren’t you? Are you actually a unique enemy?

I have never heard that there’s such a system, but… fufu, thinking that its exp may be higher than the normal ones, I’m getting even more excited!

“So, die!!” (Sakurai)

“Gigyaaaaa!”

“Ain’t it no different from the usual Red Goblins!” (Sakurai)

Screaming, I pull out my thrown sword, and the 282nd Red Goblin dies.

It didn’t give different amount of exp even though its quick on its feet, so it could be said that I had uselessly waste my energy that could’ve been used to earn even more exp. How dare it rose my expectation for nothing…!

“Dammit, in that case, let’s push forward to the 44th layer non-stop!” (Sakurai)

While screaming, I renew my mood and then run through the dungeon while attacking any monsters that come into sight.

And by working hard at leveling until late at night, I replenish a large amount of exp (levelnium), safely late for dinner, and get scolded by Iris.

—

“Nn~slurp. That boy who ran past just now, thankfully, he didn’t notice us~slurp, but what do we do, Nanashino-san~slurp?” (Pygmalion)

“……Hm.” (Asanaga)

“Since he didn’t notice us, there’s no need to chase and kill him. Besides, it’s our fault for thinking that no one would come because of the academy festival.” (Nanashino)

“Nn~slurp! Well, if you say so, I’m okay with it, but it won’t be my fault if something happens down the line, okay~slurp?” (Pygmalion)

“Yes, yes. Come on, let’s quickly make our way to the lower level. We have 120 more magic swords to collect, so chop-chop.” (Nanashino)