Ch.139139 – Unwavering Camaraderie

# 139 – Unwavering Camaraderie

It was practice time for the triathlon competition.

Everyone coveted the inanimate golems that conserved energy and could stride forward with long steps, but the golems didn’t easily permit access to their mounting platforms.

“You inferior golem! You may bow your head in honor. I, Honer FriedChicken of the FriedChicken family, one of the three great meritorious families of the Empire, shall become your master!”

A giant rock fist smashed down on Honer FriedChicken’s head as he proclaimed proudly.

Seeing Honer FriedChicken crawling out of the fist-shaped crater in the ground with blood dripping from his forehead, other students changed their approach strategy.

“O great Golem! I, Skola, descendant of the divine archer and renowned marksman, request to become your companion. Please grant me permission to mount your platform!”

The golem responded to this flattering strategy by kicking the ground with a thud.

Boom-boom-boom!

Through the rising cloud of dust, Skola could be seen spitting out dirt, crying, and running toward the stream.

Neither threats nor submission worked.

These were the violent heavyweights of the mount world.

The absolute dominant party in the power relationship.

Next to these golems exercising unlimited authority, Oknodie and Hestia were already mounted on golems, blankly watching the scene unfolding below.

The Massgakki princess discovered them and burst with indignation.

“Pathetic♡ No taste♡ Don’t even know how to choose a superior master♡ Why are they being violent to us but easily allowing those two to mount?”

Hestia readily provided an answer to her question, which sounded cute even when angry.

“I raise mini-golems. So the golems consider me a friend.”

Hestia showed off her connection by taking out a mini-golem from her pocket and tapping it.

The mini-golem that had been wriggling out of the pocket staggered as if it had hit a pillar, then fell onto her palm.

“Muuuuuu”

“Muuu”

Judging by the full-sized golems’ anxious behavior, it wasn’t clear if they recognized her as a friend or were just being submissive out of fear of a child abductor.

“Then what about that little one over there~?”

“I’m not little. Call me Oknodie!”

“Little Oknodie.”

“Hmph. If you’re going to mock me like that, don’t expect an answer.”

The Massgakki princess’s mouth protruded three feet as she whined from below, but Oknodie paid no attention.

The golem she was riding swept the ground with its hand and flung the Massgakki princess far away.

“…Is she dead?”

“She’ll be fine. The Massgakki princess has quite impressive base stats!”

“Stats?”

“The Imperial Family can eat a lot of food!”

Hestia might not know as an NPC, but people from ducal families, royal families, or imperial families never need to worry about their health.

Having grown up eating various foods, their food encyclopedia collection rate is naturally high, and they receive significant health stat bonuses accordingly.

In the early stages, it’s impossible for players to become healthier than those people no matter how hard they try.

Hestia would probably be shocked to learn that the Massgakki princess is actually healthier than her!

While the upper class students were causing a commotion over the golems, the real chaos was happening in front of the horses.

“Heheh. Got a horse.”

“Dorothy! Such a horse is too good for a provincial bumpkin like you. Hand over the reins now!”

“Are you stupid? Let’s go, Rudolf. Ignore these idiots and take a lap!”

“How dare that girl? This won’t do. Come here. You stupid bull, if you don’t want to be whipped, chase after that one right now! I’ll beat you severely if you don’t chase!”

“Muuuuuu!”

Horse owners fleeing, students pursuing.

Complete and utter chaos broke out.

“Haha. Those kids. I was planning to do escape and pursuit training in the next lecture. They’re getting ahead of the curriculum on their own. How diligent. The principal was right about the 981st class being special.”

Only Professor Platton watched the scene with satisfaction.

* *

The lecture period ended safely.

Most students couldn’t properly handle the mounts they had reluctantly chosen, and they hadn’t completed the taming process, either being dragged around by their crazed horses or wrestling with cheetahs.

“Whoa, Isabelle. What happened to you?”

Isabelle was among the students who had suffered quite badly, with her clothes soaked in saliva as if she’d been hit by a jelly bomb.

“I caught a large dog, but it kept licking me like crazy.”

“You could ride dogs too? Isn’t that the creature handler’s job?”

“It seemed like a smart one that could be useful. I didn’t expect this side effect.”

“I’m glad I didn’t choose that one.”

Son Ocheon expressed his disgust, true to the saying about cats and dogs being natural enemies.

But he too had what looked like bite marks on his shoulder.

“What did you choose, Son Ocheon?”

“A giraffe.”

“…Does a giraffe perhaps see monkeys as food?”

“I don’t know. Don’t ask anything.”

Having experienced their mounts, everyone already had the inescapable feeling that a difficult road lay ahead.

If the principal’s flag mission was the first thing that made them nervous after entering the Academy, the approaching danger was Professor Platton’s triathlon.

It was essentially the upper class equivalent of the <Mana Verification Test> that the lower class feared.

“Little lady, does the golem obey you well?”

“More or less!”

“That’s unusual. As far as I know, golems are extremely aggressive toward humans who don’t have ownership rights.”

While Hestia might have controlled the golem by taking a hostage, what trick did Oknodie use?

Curious, Giselle received a bright and cheerful answer from Oknodie.

“I don’t know why, but when I showed them my pocket, the golems started listening to me!”

Oknodie showed a pocket full of stones.

Giselle pondered this thoughtfully.

Why were the golems terrified?

Golems that grow by eating rocks.

The stones in the pocket.

Stones that are essentially parts of golems’ bodies.

A child proudly carrying and showing off what could be parts of their bodies or their kin as trophies.

‘…I think I understand the reason, but it’s better for our little lady if I don’t tell her.’

Oknodie’s reputation had been deteriorating recently.

She’s a child destined to become a demon lord.

Shouldn’t a hero eliminate her now?

The provincials who protect Oknodie must be in cahoots with her.

Giselle, you’re protecting Oknodie because your future class is ‘Dark’ merchant, right?

Birds of a feather flock together.

Those tainted by darkness get along well.

All sorts of slander and verbal abuse were circulating.

Recently, the effects had begun to reach Giselle, Son Ocheon, and Isabelle as well.

“Why don’t you just back down and get away from that evil little one? If you don’t want to suffer the same fate.”

“What are you trying to achieve by isolating our little lady?”

“It’s obvious. To prevent the birth of a demon lord who will be an enemy of the Empire and a calamity for humanity. We need to get her expelled from the Academy and have an imperial execution order issued immediately!”

In response to the imperial faction student’s confident statement, Giselle threw a pouch.

The imperial student reflexively swung his sword to cut the incoming pouch, but then screamed as he inhaled the powder that spread from the cut pouch.

“Argh! What did you throw at me? I can’t see. My eyes and nose are burning so much…!”

“It’s a spice used in making spicy dishes. I typically use it for people who need to taste some heat.”

“Y-you people. Do you think you’ll get away with this?!”

“You’re the ones who should be careful. We’ll consider any attack against Oknodie as an attack against us.”

“*cough* *cough* We’ll see about that…!”

The students fled awkwardly, shouting like villains.

Son Ocheon asked:

“What kind of dangerous school is this? It might be safer to just drop out and live buried in the countryside.”

“Meanwhile, those crazy people will continue to grow in this insane Academy. Have you imagined what will happen when these lunatics graduate as seniors and are released into the outside world?”

“Damn. I can already imagine my hometown’s rocky mountains being completely destroyed.”

If conflict was unavoidable, rather than fleeing, the right answer was to remain at the Academy until the end to gain more knowledge and stronger power.

“That student just now was Tataya ChickenMakhani from the Chicken Makhani baronial family, a renowned swordsmanship house. Behind him would be Honer FriedChicken and the Empire’s three great meritorious families, along with the Massgakki princess whom those three families follow.”

“So we’ve basically made an enemy of the entire Empire.”

“If you’re afraid, you can back out.”

“If even a one-hit wonder like you has the courage to fight the Empire, how could I, the great Son Ocheon, back down?”

“Same here.”

Son Ocheon and Isabelle demonstrated their strong camaraderie.

“Don’t forget about us.”

“We’ll help with whatever you need.”

Dorothy and Rockpell.

The two who had formed bonds during the entrance exam also approached and promised their assistance.

Though they weren’t directly part of the conversation, Hestia, Zigoku, and Lotta, who had been in the same group as Oknodie during the principal’s teaching lecture, would undoubtedly help when the time came.

Oknodie was not alone.

She had made as many friends as there were those who considered her an enemy.

“When Oknodie becomes a demon lord, I want to be the commander of the demon beast army!”

“……”

Dorothy’s motivation for helping seemed somewhat impure, but she was a capable apprentice forester nonetheless.

“Could you monitor Oknodie’s surroundings and alert us if anything unusual happens to her?”

“Of course!”

Giselle asked Dorothy to follow Oknodie and protect her when she couldn’t stay by Oknodie’s side due to lectures.

With Rockpell accompanying Dorothy—feeling indebted to her after having betrayed her once—there would be no lack of physical protection.

“Big trouble! You need to come here quickly!”

Dorothy proved her worth in the task.

She produced results within a day.

“What’s happening?”

“Oknodie is abusing a student!”

“…What?”

“She’s set up a ring of fire and making a lower class student jump through it!”

“…I don’t understand the situation, but I’ll come right away.”

Giselle ended the magic watch communication and quickly folded her mat.

“I have an urgent matter to attend to, so I’ll end business for today. I ask for everyone’s understanding.”

“No! I haven’t bought my doping potion yet!”

“I haven’t exchanged my item for the lottery ticket that gives a 20% chance of increasing strength!”

Whether the dark merchant rushing to help would make any meaningful change to her reputation among the lower class students facing imminent exams remained to be seen.