“I did receive a hint, but it wasn’t easy to figure out what kind of test it would be. The hint was difficult too. Well, it’s only natural since it’s Teacher Caron.”
“……”
“This time, we’ll make the name of the Yuridia faction resound! Together with us!”
Yuridia kept whispering.
As if it was some tremendous secret, as if I should be grateful to her.
Of course, I, who already knew all the information, could only be dumbfounded.
“And that’s not all! You’ll be able to show a cool side to Luna too!”
Yuridia’s eyes sparkled. The appearance of a girl deeply immersed in romance.
Seeing that sight, I don’t even want to jokingly ask.
“I don’t need it.”
“Wh-Why? You need to show a cool side to Luna so that love can…!”
“That’s why I’m saying I don’t need it.”
Luna and I are just friends.
There’s no need to show a cool side.
But why are Yuridia’s eyes sparkling even more?
“I see! Because you’re already cool enough in Luna’s eyes! That’s why you don’t need it, right?”
“……?”
“Ah, love is truly great after all! To find even this atrocious appearance cool!”
She’s really a crazy kid.
How on earth does she interpret it like that?
And what’s wrong with my face!
‘Honestly, I am curious about the hint Caron gave, but……’
In a situation where I know everything about the pop quiz through thousands of game plays.
I didn’t want to cause any more butterfly effects than this with unnecessary actions.
Lucia alone is enough of a variable.
‘In the first place, I doubt Yuridia even knows all the test subjects.’
That’s not the only thing that’s suspicious.
“Keke, what’s your reason for telling me the information?”
“Because we’re on the same side.”
“That’s the first I’m hearing of it.”
“Are you going to be like this? We bonded as comrades when the demon attacked. I’m even keeping Zero’s secret.”
Yuridia narrowed her eyes.
Secret.
She’s talking about me using the Yuridia family’s secret technique, [Demon Slave].
‘…… It’s true that Yuridia is keeping the secret.’
In exchange, what Yuridia wanted was ‘to treat Luna nicely once a day as she tells me to’.
Sometimes she made me do some awkward skinship, but it’s a small price to pay compared to the secret.
[One Flash], [Earth Flip], [Sky Splitter], etc.
Swordsmanship-type secret techniques are indeed difficult, but magic-type secret techniques are on a different level.
Incantation, character arrangement, casting.
No matter how talented you are, it’s impossible to imitate a magic you’ve seen only once.
‘Moreover, Demon Slave is not only the Yuridia family’s secret technique, but also a forbidden technique in the family.’
Not only did I imitate it, but I also exhibited a much stronger power than Yuridia’s [Demon Slave].
It wouldn’t be strange for Yuridia to report me, and my only countermeasure is to make up excuses.
‘It will be very troublesome. Yuridia knows this well too.’
Nevertheless, Yuridia thoroughly kept the secret.
‘Until now’, that is.
“Is this a threat?”
“I’d like to, but this isn’t my style. Anyway, I’ll tell you the information. Listen carefully. This pop quiz is……”
I covered Yuridia’s mouth with my hand.
“I refuse.”
“…… Why?”
“Because I don’t want to get involved in your fight.”
Yuridia’s plan was obvious.
She wants to use me, who ranked 3rd in the entrance exam, to bring down Teron.
Share Caron’s hint, and we take 1st and 2nd place in the pop quiz.
Push Teron to 3rd place, take his spot, and recruit the neutral kids to expand her forces.
This must be what Yuridia is thinking.
‘But that won’t do. Teron needs to take 1st place this time too.’
Because that’s the story of the game.
In this pop quiz, Yuridia will once again take 2nd place.
This result has never changed even after thousands of repetitions.
I also plan to get a score below 2nd place through a backroom deal with Caron, so it won’t cause a butterfly effect.
“Hmm~ You don’t want to get involved in the fight? What a righteous statement. So perfectly righteous that it makes me feel dirty.”
“Keke, I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Well, fine. If you don’t want it even if I give you a hint, what can I do. Wait, then did you deliberately rank 3rd in the entrance exam too? So we wouldn’t unnecessarily keep you in check?”
No, that was because the written test was too hard.
But Yuridia was only immersed in her own delusions.
“…… So that’s how it was. Zero, what are you scheming behind the scenes?”
“Scheming?”
“Yes. Conserving strength while the two major factions fight, taking advantage of the gap when both factions have exhausted their power to launch a surprise attack, defeating both factions and conquering the entire nation. It’s a common occurrence in history.”
Yuridia’s eyes sharpened.
Of course, from my standards, she was just a patient with delusion disorder.
“Do you think that’s possible?”
“Of course. Zero, you’re hiding your strength, right?”
It’s only natural for Yuridia to be suspicious.
Because she saw me defeat Daike with [One Flash], and even use [Demon Slave].
Fortunately, I have a ridiculously good excuse.
“Keke, if I had such intentions, I would have already recruited excellent comrades. Don’t you think?”
“You already have excellent comrades! Luna, and over there……”
Yuridia turned her head towards where the other kids were.
Where Alex, Raymon, Luna, and Rezé were.
And currently, Rezé was.
“Hii, hiiieek!”
…… Trembling with her head stuck in a box.
Because Luna and Raymon were fighting, but the kind Alex showed interest.
Perhaps sensing that attention was on her.
Alex waved his hand with an embarrassed smile.
“Umm, excellent……”
Yuridia couldn’t finish her sentence.
It was probably because she couldn’t bring herself to call Rezé an excellent comrade after seeing her.
Me, Luna, and Rezé.
Defeating the Yuridia faction and Teron faction with these three and dominating the 1st years?
It’s absolutely impossible.
Did she finally realize that fact? Yuridia nodded.
“…… That’s true. What on earth is that kid? Emergency rations?”
Calling a person emergency rations.
She’s even worse than me who would use her as a shield in a crisis situation.
Huh? Not much different?
No way. Being used as a shield is treated much more humanely(?) than emergency rations.
But if I say that, Yuridia will frown.
Here, I decided to borrow Luna’s answer.
“A friend.”
“…… A friend?”
“Yes, a friend who makes the academy life enjoyable.”
“Making the academy life enjoyable……”
Yuridia muttered.
I don’t know what she’s thinking.
Because I’ve never encountered this situation in the game.
But was it not a bad answer?
Yuridia chuckled.
“Never mind. I don’t know what you’re scheming, but that’s also a problem I have to deal with. But remember one thing.”
Crack!
Yuridia shouted while making an unidentified pose.
“If you hurt Luna’s heart, I won’t stay still. Not only will I report your secret, I won’t let you set foot in the academy. Got it?”
“Keke, I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Hmph! Gently pat Luna’s head. That will be the price for today.”
A little later.
After Alex carried the unconscious Raymon on his back, he left the training ground with Yuridia who was bleeding from her nose.
The storm that swept through the training ground.
As soon as the storm subsided, I swung the wooden sword.
‘In the end, nothing has been resolved.’
I don’t see a way to deal with Lucia.
Nevertheless, I swung the wooden sword with determination.
Because in the first place, this is all I can do now.
D-4.
I tried to cut Rezé’s bangs but was bitten by Luna.
I was just trying to make it easier for her to see. It was unfair.
D-3.
I was bitten on the ear by Luna. Rodelin, who discovered that sight, gave me demerit points, saying “U-Unhealthy acts are grounds for demerit points!”
D-2.
Luna bit my shoulder, saying she was bored. Yuridia, who was spying from the window, collapsed while bleeding from her nose.
D-1.
“……”
Time flew by quickly. When I came to my senses, it was the day before the pop quiz.
If it were a novel, it would feel like 4 days passed in just one page.
It’s not like nothing happened during that time.
Rodelin’s visit, the grand fight between Lucia and Rodelin’s chests.
The incident of Yumo’s egg pancake being placed only at the bottom of my lunchbox, Yuridia’s voyeurism, etc.
There were various incidents and accidents, but let’s move on.
Because it was just a series of trivial(?) events that always happen.
‘Hmm, looking back, I only remember being bitten by Luna.’
The acts of affection are really too much.
No matter how much you like me, come on!
“What useless thoughts are you having again?”
“Keke, me? I was just having very wholesome thoughts.”
Aahng-!
The price for wholesome thoughts was Luna’s teething.
Luna smacked her lips and headed to where Rezé was.
She met her quota, so she’ll be quiet for a while.
‘Then shall I devise a strategy?’
First, my current stats are as follows.
[Zero]
Lv: 30
Strength: 49.3(+5)
Agility: 48.8(+5)
Intelligence: 44.9(+5)
Stamina: 67.7(+5)
Magic Power: 118(+5)
Divinity: 3
Potential: 5
Owned pt: 30
……
……
The Hidden Piece of [Fleur Family Style] that slightly increases stats every time I finish training while maintaining concentration.
With its help, my stats other than Magic Power have risen little by little.
The increase is about 3~5, but raising stats this much in a month is encouraging when thinking about the future.
‘It’s safe to say my physical condition is good.’
Next, I need to look at the subjects of the pop quiz.
As I said before, the pop quiz is an evolved version of the entrance exam.
Stage 1 is a labyrinth. The difference is.
‘It’s a labyrinth made of stone, not bushes.’
The material has changed, but it won’t be a problem.
Because I have perfectly memorized the labyrinth path of the pop quiz too.
I’m a little worried about Luna who has a poor sense of direction, but I told her to follow the other kids, so she’ll be able to overcome it sufficiently.
Rezé is a master of disguise, so there’s no need to worry about her either.
‘Stage 2, the illusion test, is the same.’
Last night, I received the artifacts I requested from Caron.
I plan to distribute them one by one as soon as we finish training today, so we’ll be able to pass Stage 2 without any issues.
Now all that’s left is……
‘Stage 3, group duels.’
Unlike the entrance exam, the duels this time will be with the remaining survivors forming a team.
About 10 people per team, and their opponent is.
‘Caron.’
Just like the entrance exam, the pass/fail decision is based on Caron’s subjective judgment.
There was a lot of talk among gamers about the passing criteria in this pop quiz too, but I know what the criteria are, so there won’t be a problem.
I’ve already told Luna and Rezé the strategy.
They’ll be able to sufficiently gain Caron’s recognition.
The problem is.
‘My opponent is Lucia, not Caron.’
I’ve been thinking about it every day since I found out about this fact, but I don’t see a way to gain Lucia’s recognition.
‘I did come up with a strategy, but……’
I don’t think it will work on that monster.
I swung the wooden sword in frustration.
It’s partly to raise my stats, but also because I felt like I would go crazy if I didn’t do something.
‘The only thing that has a possibility is creating variables by utilizing Divine Imitation, but……’
I was pondering which skill I should imitate while assuming the posture of [Fleur Family Style].
“Huh?”
I realized something was different from usual.
Perhaps.
I might be able to deal a blow to that monster.
–TL Notes–
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Hold on, what was that about a grand fight between Lucia and Rodelin’s chests?