“Who are those kids?”
“They’re the Pure-Love Warriors.”
Whisper, whisper.
Yuridia leaned in and whispered into Victoria’s ear.
“Oh… so that’s what this is. Pure love couples. And in matching pairs, no less… They look absolutely delicious.”
Both of their eyes narrowed.
“I-I just got a chill all of a sudden.”
“Was that magic? Everyone, be careful!”
The kids who’d just been targeted shuddered.
For now, let’s pray for them.
Once those two had set their sights on them, forget dating. They’d probably end up getting married first.
As we approached, everyone gathered around a single girl.
A blatantly defensive stance.
The girl let out a small sigh, brushed her hair back, and stepped forward.
She was the group’s leader, and the one acting as its brains: Fran.
“What are you planning to do to us?”
“Keke, what a thing to say. Someone might think I’m here to harm you.”
“With you, that wouldn’t be surprising.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
The kids watching my reaction muttered one by one.
“Pervert?”
“Cockroach?”
“Demon’s child?”
“Something vaguely human-shaped?”
…I see. So that’s my image now?
Back in Korea, I was known as a gentleman among gentlemen, and now I wasn’t even being treated like a person.
This was all because of these damn slit eyes.
“It’s not just your image. Your whole attitude right now is what makes you creepy.”
“Keke, I’m a man who loves peace.”
“Oh, really? Then why did a peace-loving man beat us all flat yesterday?”
Ah, right. I did do that yesterday.
It was partly the headbands, sure, but I also got mad seeing them all lovey-dovey like that…
Still, in that situation, anyone would’ve done the same thing I did.
Right?
“Anyway, there are plenty of people here besides you now. This is way more stacked in your favor than yesterday, but you’re trying to talk? Doesn’t that mean you’ve got something up your sleeve?”
To see straight through me that easily.
Just what you’d expect from a character with pretty solid stats for an extra.
Unfortunately for me, though, I couldn’t let sandbags that rolled right up to me get away.
“What do you mean, up my sleeve? I merely wanted to offer all of you a very good proposal.”
“Isn’t that basically the same thing?”
“No. What I’m offering is a good proposal.”
“Oh yeah? Fine… let’s hear it.”
“Join hands with us, and let’s take down Teron and Daike together.”
Apparently that was the last thing she expected to hear. One of Fran’s eyebrows shot up.
“Why bother? Your group should be enough on its own.”
“The situation has changed a little. Daike intends to fight us seriously.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means one of us could die.”
A brief silence fell.
All four of them failed to hide their shock.
“I don’t get it. There’s an instructor here, isn’t there? No matter how strong that monster is, he’s not instructor level.”
“Teron took care of that with the power of money. There are other complications too.”
Benumael, the top-tier Grade 2 Demon Teron had contracted with.
Teron’s scheming had triggered a mistake, causing Benumael to leak demonic energy, and now the instructors were in pursuit.
‘He’s planning to use the power he gained from the contract to deal with us, while also having Caron eliminate the demon that now knows his weakness.’
Bold plan. Fast execution.
Very much like Teron.
“What the hell? So we really could die? There’s no way we’d agree to that. Are you stupid?”
Or maybe…
“Are you saying you’ll offer us something good enough to make the risk worth it?”
As expected of Fran.
At least this wouldn’t turn into another exhausting conversation like when I dealt with Luna.
“If you cooperate, we’ll split the headbands with you. All four of you will be able to place within the top twenty.”
“What, so you’re saying your side gets all the best rewards? Isn’t that unfair? You just said this is life-threatening.”
“That’s because our side is far more likely to succeed. You’re only playing a support role. You won’t be handling anything dangerous.”
“Probability. Scary territory, isn’t it? Even a 0.1% chance… no, something even lower than that can still hit. That’s what probability is, right?”
“Keke, you’re not as easy as Luna.”
“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means Luna is smart.”
“You only realized that now? Took you long enough. Seriously, you’re way too dense.”
“…”
If Fran had Luna-level intelligence, I could’ve gotten free sandbags out of this.
While I was wondering how to persuade them, Yuridia stepped in.
“We’ll give you two spots in the top ten.”
“There are four of us.”
“There are even more of us. And just so you know, when the four of you lost consciousness yesterday, I was the one who gave you those headbands.”
“So it was you after all…”
Fran smacked her lips in regret.
The kindness Yuridia had shown them.
It was a card that worked in our favor and against theirs at the same time.
And that wasn’t their only disadvantage.
“Keke, of course, if you don’t want to cooperate, you’re free to end up tied for last along with the other eliminated students.”
If we took their headbands by force here, all four of them would drop to zero points.
Joint last place.
Fran’s eyes narrowed.
“So now you’re finally showing your true colors?”
“Keke, if you’d accepted when I asked nicely, it never would’ve come to this.”
“So we don’t actually have a choice… Ah, damn it. This is so annoying.”
Being the leader meant carrying the responsibility too.
Maybe the stress was getting to her, because Fran started raking both hands through her hair.
“Don’t worry about us. Just do what you think is right. So what if we get zero points? There’ll probably be a ton of zeroes this time around anyway. The rankings will practically come down to the written exam, and we can score high there.”
“Exactly. Well, except for you, Steve.”
“Urk! Anyway, if I’m the only one taking the loss, that’s not so bad. If you think it’s too dangerous, then we shouldn’t do it.”
“Right. We trust your judgment.”
Fran’s hair had gone completely wild.
Lance reached out, smoothed it down, then pulled out a rubber band and tied it back.
“…Thanks.”
Such a familiar act, and so much affection tucked into it.
The Yu & Vic duo secretly let out one impressed sound after another.
We’d given them enough time.
Now it was time for a decision.
“To begin with, didn’t Yuridia save your lives once already? I’d say helping her is only natural.”
“We owe her points, not our lives.”
“That won’t happen. I, Yuridia, will protect you.”
“Pure love is invincible by default, you know!”
“…?”
Maybe she didn’t understand what that was supposed to mean.
Fran stared at me, her face full of confusion.
Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t understand it either.
Pure love is invincible?
If this game had a mechanic like that, I wouldn’t have to have played it a hundred thousand times over.
“Fine. We’ll accept your offer. Two people in the top ten, two in the top twenty. That’s guaranteed, right?”
“An excellent choice.”
“Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not agreeing because I’m afraid of losing points. I just decided that fighting alongside you might actually be worth it.”
I shook Fran’s hand and sealed the deal.
And just like that, I successfully recruited four new sandbags.
“Hohoho! Zero, you’ll have to admit that a great deal of this is thanks to me, Yuridia.”
Yuridia laughed as she openly praised her own contribution.
That laughter stopped the moment our eyes met.
“What are you staring at?”
“I’m just surprised.”
Victoria was the Empire’s thirteenth princess.
Saving talented people would benefit her, and benefit the Empire. Saving Daike would also help Victoria.
But Yuridia was different. She was…
“Well… I’m in a situation not so different from Teron’s myself.”
A minor power. A neutral faction. A newly rising house that had grown by developing, commercializing, and selling magic.
The first child offered up, and the sacrificial lamb meant to spread the Rownter family’s name across the continent and expand its influence.
That was Yuridia.
Which meant she’d lived a life burdened almost as heavily as Teron’s.
“But at least… I wasn’t beaten while growing up. And no one ever ordered me to beat my subordinates either.”
“…”
“I-I’m only saying this just in case. It’s sympathy between people in similar situations. That’s all. I do not feel any sense of camaraderie whatsoever!”
Yuridia crossed her arms and lifted her chin.
She’d said a lot, but the point was simple.
She wanted to help.
Even though helping would cost her.
And people like that…
We call them kind.
“You’re kind.”
Without thinking, I reached out and patted Yuridia on the head.
Yuridia’s pupils went wide as she took the headpat. At the same time, her mouth fell open.
“I’ve been defiled! NTR! I’ve been tainted againnn!”
“Y-you pervert! Scoundrel! Golden hair! Enemy of the world!”
Yuridia began spinning in place in a panic, and Victoria hooked my leg and sent me crashing down.
Then she twisted both my arms behind my back and started grinding her heel into me.
Graaagh! Luna, Raymon! Help me!
“S-shouldn’t we save him?”
“Leave him. He enjoys getting beaten.”
“I-I see. How could I not know my friend’s preferences? I’m a terrible friend.”
“See? You can’t beat me after all.”
“S-so frustrating!”
…I really wish both of them would get lost.
It was right as I was getting beaten into the dirt.
“Sorry to interrupt your fun, but… could you explain the plan first? What exactly are we supposed to do?”
Fran had spoken.
Everyone’s eyes naturally turned toward me.
Thanks. You’ve made it possible for the story to move forward.
I didn’t know exactly how this hidden piece worked or what I was supposed to do with it, but the goal itself was clear.
Save Teron and Daike.
And the plan for that was…
The kids’ eyes sparkled.
Fran and her group were no different.
“They say you’re not just strong, but brilliant at strategy and tactics too.”
“I heard you’re a genius strategist. You’ve already taken down two high-ranking Demons, haven’t you? A student beating high-ranking Demons twice with such laughably limited resources… there’s no way that was just luck.”
“That’s part of why I accepted the deal, actually. I want to learn something from this chance. You’re a pervert, but your skills are the real deal.”
That was because I always used strategies that went beyond anyone’s imagination.
I struck a deliberately cool pose and opened my mouth.
“Daike will be waiting for us.”
“Obviously. I heard he’s blocking the only path forward.”
“We should try talking first.”
“And then?”
“Then we fight, right?”
“…?”
Silence.
Long silence.
“Surely… that’s not the end of it?”
“Oh, come on, no way. Zero, stop joking around and explain the plan already. Daike is absolutely not an easy opponent. That’s why you recruited more people, isn’t it?”
That was true, but this was nothing more than a precaution for the worst-case scenario.
‘Because I may have to proceed according to the route I know.’
I still had no idea how far this hidden piece would go, or how exactly it would affect things.
There were too many unknowns from the start.
Just look at the four people who’d joined us now.
If the hidden piece where Yuridia performed a good deed hadn’t triggered, this situation never would’ve happened in the first place.
‘So for now, I’m trying to talk and gather even one more fragment of the hidden piece before making a move…’
But from the others’ perspective, there was no way they could understand the situation.
“E-everyone, calm down!”
“Calm down? How is that supposed to happen? That’s basically the same as him trying to get us all killed!”
“M-my Zero can’t possibly be that stupid! He’s only keeping quiet because his strategy is too genius to explain! Someone as dumb as you could never understand it anyway!”
Fran looked at me, her face red with fury, as if asking whether that was actually true.
As expected, Raymon was the same as ever today.
Still very much your Raymon.
–TL Notes–
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Damn,Teron actually have peak plan! How would he be expose as Demon contractor though?