I’m the Slit-Eyed Character at the Academy, but I’m not the Mastermind – Chapter 480

After taking care of lunch with a quick meal, we headed straight for where Daike was.

Maybe it was because there were more of us now, but the atmosphere felt surprisingly lively.

“The more I think about it, the funnier it gets. If talking doesn’t work, we’ll beat him down with force? Even my two-year-old cousin could come up with a plan like that.”

“I’d say it only proves that Zero is human after all. It actually puts my mind at ease.”

I see.

So the reason the mood was so lively was because they’d all decided I was an idiot?

This was all Raymon’s fault.

“N-no, that’s not it…! This is part of the strategy! If you want to deceive the enemy, you have to deceive your allies first!”

“No, it’s not. You just don’t know Zero that well. He has sloppy moments all the time. Honestly, he looks dumb more often than not.”

“T-that can’t be! My Zero couldn’t possibly be stupid!”

“Tsk, tsk. If you still don’t know Zero that well… don’t you think you’re nowhere near worthy of being called a ‘friend’?”

“U-uuuuuuuh!!”

Raymon looked like he was about to cry from frustration.

Luna looked at me with a smile that said, I scolded Raymon for insulting you. I did good, right?

But weren’t you calling me stupid too?

“Come on, don’t be like that. There’s something nice about how simple it is. Talk first, then charge in. It’s a great plan because there’s no way anyone could forget it.”

“I’ve been saying this for a while now. Alex, what you really need to fix is that endless positivity of yours.”

“Huh? Didn’t you say last time that you liked my positive attitude?”

“…You’re seriously so annoying.”

Yuridia started grumbling and lecturing him under her breath.

The conversation drifted to Teron and Daike here and there, but I didn’t need to pay much attention.

It was exactly the same dialogue as in the game.

Which meant the story had returned to the original episode flow, and—

‘I need to create variables.’

Puzzle pieces to save Teron and Daike.

That was what I needed to make.

I’d already managed to secure one of them: sandbags.

Four of them, no less.

“Ugh… maybe I shouldn’t have agreed to this. I’ve got a bad feeling about it. Like we got played.”

“Don’t overthink it. We didn’t have any other choice.”

“Exactly. Just trust me. Daike’s attacks? I’ll block them as many times as it takes!”

“Shouldn’t you fix that dented shield of yours before anything else?”

Since each of them could block once, I wasn’t too worried about the fight with Daike, the mid-boss.

Which meant the only thing left now was—

‘Teron alone.’

The problem was that fitting Teron’s puzzle together wouldn’t be easy.

If I broke down the hidden piece into simple parts, it came down to three things: the story, the battle, and preparing for what came after.

Right now, the story was about 70% covered, and the battle around 90%.

Once we met Daike and Teron, the hidden piece would trigger, so I could follow it from there.

As for the battle, I was basically fully prepared, aside from the 10% chance of some variable popping up because of the hidden piece.

The real problem was—

‘What happens after the story progresses. That’s the real issue.’

Even if we managed to save Teron and Daike cleanly, properly, and dramatically, everything would still be ruined if Duke Zeppelin killed Daike.

But there was an even bigger problem than that.

‘Teron made a contract with a Demon.’

A conditional contract that let him borrow demonic power only when fighting Alex.

It was already hard enough to find proof that someone had made a contract with a Demon.

Finding someone who had gone a step further and restricted the use of that power was even harder.

If he got lucky, he could even slip past the [Inquisition] skill.

But that only applied to ordinary priests.

‘Bishop-level clergy can sense traces of Demons.’

There were only ten bishops on the entire continent.

Given that number, you’d almost never run into one in your life.

But this time was an exception.

Because near the end of the episode, a bishop makes a surprise visit to the academy.

And so Teron ends up branded as a wicked being who made a pact with a Demon, and Duke Zeppelin…

‘…makes the worst possible choice.’

That was also why I’d originally given up on trying to clear Teron’s route.

There was no way to erase the traces of a contract with a Demon.

There were a few possible methods, sure, but they all required rare materials, a huge amount of time, or some absurd stroke of fortune.

Not something you could casually attempt.

Especially not this early in the game.

The one bit of good news was that I’d found a clue to solving it.

The problem was—

‘The odds are way too low.’

And that wasn’t all. If this went wrong, there was also a real chance that everything between us would be completely ruined.

A situation where the risk was far greater than the reward.

Normally, I wouldn’t have even tried it.

But—

‘I’ve already decided to ram my way through.’

Hadn’t I made it this far by charging ahead like some headbutting dinosaur?

Maybe the key to this episode was charging in headfirst.

So this time too, I intended to stop thinking and just slam forward.

Using my brain would only be the same old method I’d always relied on, anyway(?)

“Keke, may I have a word with you?”

I stepped closer and whispered to Victoria.

At once, Victoria took up a mysterious defensive stance and cried out:

“So you’ve finally moved beyond Yuridia and set your wicked hands on me as well! But I, Victoria, am not so easily taken down!”

Victoria started wildly throwing punches.

The anti-NTR flailing punch!

It hurt. It hurt enough to draw blood.

I seriously didn’t understand why people from the Holy Kingdom always started by hitting someone first.

Was that some kind of racial trait or something?

“I heard the supply of potions has been disrupted lately.”

“Hmph~ That’s not the sort of information that should have reached the Empire yet. Zero, your information network is quite impressive.”

“The supply of holy water must be having problems. Isn’t that right?”

Victoria’s eyes narrowed.

Holy water.

Taken literally, it was just sacred water.

But in this world, it was also water infused with a special power called divine power.

Holy water was said to cure any illness with a single sip.

But that wasn’t the only thing that made it special.

“Holy water is the Goddess’s gift, something that can only be produced in the Holy Kingdom.”

The Holy Kingdom held barely more land than a fingernail on the map.

And yet the reason it wielded such power across the continent…

Was because it possessed a holy grail that endlessly poured forth holy water.

‘Potions are just cheap imitations made by diluting that holy water with ordinary water.’

Depending on how much water had been mixed in, they were graded from top-tier to low-tier.

A low-tier potion was 99% water.

And even then, it could close a torn wound in an instant.

If I had to compare it to something, it was basically oil in this world.

An indispensable resource.

And when something that valuable was monopolized?

Of course the Holy Kingdom was going to get arrogant.

The problem was—

“If word gets out that the holy water that only comes from the Holy Kingdom isn’t coming out anymore, the continent will be thrown into chaos.”

“The Saintess, caretaker of the grail, is merely a little fatigued at the moment. A few months of rest, and she will recover her strength.”

“But you know better than anyone that won’t happen.”

“What exactly are you implying?”

“Saintess Isabella… is a fake Saintess.”

“H-how do you know that…?!”

Victoria’s mouth fell open, then she bit down on her lip.

She’d realized she’d made a mistake.

“Keke, so the information was true after all. Thank you for confirming it.”

“Where in the world did you hear that? From Lord Adonis?”

“Perhaps. Perhaps not.”

“Eek! Stop teasing me!”

The fake Saintess Isabella.

She was also the reason Victoria had practically been driven out of the Holy Kingdom.

Maybe she saw the smile on my face, because after thinking for a moment, Victoria finally spoke.

“This is strange. Why bring that up now, of all times?”

To catch onto my intentions this quickly.

As expected of Victoria.

And it was proof that the path I was about to take was the right one.

“Because I now need holy water made not by a fake, but by the real thing.”

“Holy water made by the real one…?”

Victoria’s body flinched.

That’s right.

I knew about the real Saintess, and the holy water she had made.

And more than that—

“I even know that you’re the one who has it right now, Victoria.”

“…!!”

Victoria’s eyes widened.

Of course they did.

I was talking about a secret nobody else knew.

“R-real holy water? How could I possibly have something that precious?”

Until now, I’d been the one leaning in to whisper.

This time, it was the other way around.

Victoria stepped so close that I could feel her breath.

That was right.

Victoria had met the real Saintess.

She had tried to bring her along when escaping the Holy Kingdom, but for a number of reasons, that plan had ultimately failed.

“You… just what are you…”

Victoria couldn’t even finish her sentence anymore.

It was bad enough that I knew the current Saintess was a fake.

But I also knew the real Saintess existed, and that Victoria had received real holy water from her.

No wonder she couldn’t believe it.

Even Adonis didn’t know she’d been given that holy water as a gift.

‘I originally planned to pretend I didn’t know…’

Victoria was a main character.

This was going to derail the story completely.

But if I wanted to save Teron, there was no other way.

So forward I went.

Like a headbutting dinosaur.

“Please give it to me. I’m asking you.”

I couldn’t offer payment.

The value of real holy water was astronomical.

Nothing I possessed could possibly pay for it.

“You know full well that I won’t simply hand it over, don’t you?”

“Keke, that’s why I’m asking.”

“I can tell you mean it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look this serious before, Zero.”

But—

“No matter how soft-hearted I may be, some things are simply out of the question.”

I couldn’t change Victoria’s mind.

I could threaten her with the secret of her being a princess, but that would only worsen our relationship.

‘As I thought… trying to clear my first hidden piece like this was too much.’

That was when it happened.

Victoria’s pupils trembled violently.

Her gaze was fixed behind me.

What was she looking at?

I turned around, and there—

“Hohoho…”

—stood Yuridia, looking this way with a smile.

Her eyes clearly said she’d caught a juicy opening.

They curved into crescents as she linked arms with Luna and whispered something to her.

Luna’s eyes turned toward us.

Not a direct stare, but a sidelong glance.

“Hmph!”

Luna whipped her head away.

The moment she saw that, Victoria nearly had a fit.

“Th-that damned weasel! How dare she try to drive a wedge between us?!”

Victoria burst into flames.

She looked ready to charge over that instant.

And in that moment, my brain spun faster than it ever had before.

Click.

My body moved before my thoughts had even finished.

Victoria’s pupils shook like there was an earthquake in them.

Because my hand had just grabbed her wrist.

“W-what exactly do you think you’re doing…?!”

Boom!

The ground rumbled so hard it felt like an actual quake.

Luna had stomped her foot.

Seeing that, Victoria immediately started breaking out in a cold sweat.

“L-let go! Even for a thug, this is going way too far!”

“It doesn’t matter. If it means winning over holy water… no, winning over your heart, Victoria, then I’ll have to endure that much humiliation.”

I slid my hand lower from her wrist and caught her fingers instead.

Well, “caught” wasn’t quite the right word.

I was really just firmly holding onto the fingers she was desperately trying to pull away.

But from a distance, that probably wasn’t how it looked.

And then I dropped to one knee.

“Oh my, oh my!”

“A-a proposal?!”

Naturally, it looked exactly like a proposal pose.

Maybe because all eyes had turned our way, Victoria shouted in a panic.

“Z-Zero! Th-this joke has gone too far!”

“A joke? I’m completely serious.”

The value of holy water was astronomical.

If I had to propose to get it, then I’d propose as many times as needed.

That’s right.

I was the kind of man who could confess his love to holy water.

But apparently that wasn’t what it looked like to everyone else.

“Isn’t this kind of a weird time to confess?”

“No, it makes sense. Didn’t they say someone could die? Then doing it right before the fight is perfect timing.”

“So that’s what this is! Then maybe I should too—”

“I’m not interested in begging for feelings I didn’t earn. And don’t go raising flags. That’s how people really die. More importantly, wasn’t he dating Luna? What exactly is going on here?”

“M-my Zero!”

The conversation of the four sandbags, and Raymon’s scream of despair.

Victoria flinched at every single line.

And among all those words, one in particular dug right into her ear.

“Luna, haven’t I always told you? That girl is incredibly devious, so you need to be careful around her.”

“…”

“If that’s how it is, then the position of godmother will belong to me, the one who survives. Ohoho!”

Victoria rummaged through her clothes with her free hand and pulled something out.

A potion bottle.

Inside it sloshed a mysterious liquid that shimmered like it held the Milky Way.

“If you grant me the position of godmother, then I shall give you this.”

“Keke, that’s not exactly up to me… but I can at least put in a word with Luna for you.”

“You’d better keep your promise. We’ll discuss the details later. Right now, something more urgent requires my attention.”

Victoria thrust the bottle into my hands, then let out a shriek and charged toward Yuridia.

Kyaaaak!!

Kyaaaak!!

The bloody battle between the weasel and the sable had begun.

They grabbed each other by the hair and rolled across the ground in a vicious struggle so fierce that actual blood was flying.

The others watched the fight with fascinated eyes, but I had no real interest in it.

[You have obtained 100% pure holy water.]

“Kekekeke…”

To get something as valuable as holy water without paying any price at all.

As expected of our Luna.

I turned and smiled at her.

Maybe our hearts were in sync, because Luna came charging at me like a war chariot.

“What the hell are you grinning for?! Is now really the time to be fooling around with girls?!”

Luna jumped onto my shoulders and bit down hard on my ear.

And just like that, I paid the full price for obtaining the holy water.

–TL Notes–
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