Ch.147147 – Scheduled Event

<147 – Scheduled Event>

The plan to use the princess completely failed.

The first person to give me, a veteran player, a sense of defeat!

I fear you, Massgakki Second Imperial Princess!

“Fuhuhu. It’s nice to get some exercise at night♡ It’s been a while since I’ve felt so stress-free♡ If you want to make another bet anytime, just let me know♡”

“Hmph. After killing someone else’s collection like that. I’ll never call you again!”

While a hunting collection log would be fine with killing targets, an insect collection log only counts live specimens captured for a certain period of time.

If you collect dead bodies or if what you catch suddenly dies, the count either disappears or becomes invalid.

[You spent the night having an energetic and fun time competing with the princess in collecting.]

[Observation Experience +15]

[Crying Sound Experience +15]

[Dark Vision Experience +15]

[Blocking Experience +10]

[Collection Experience +10]

[Throwing Experience +10]

[Hidden Weapon Experience +5]

[Running Experience +5]

[Dark Electricity Generation Experience +3]

[Pitch-Black Coating Experience +3]

[Sensory Focus Experience +3]

[Reflex Experience +3]

[Psychological Prediction Experience +3]

[Action Prediction Experience +3]

[The princess thinks of you as an ‘interesting child.’]

[The probability that Massgakki Second Imperial Princess will block aggressive actions from Imperial faction students has slightly increased.]

The intense battle resulted in tremendous functional experience points, but I didn’t even have the energy left to be happy about it.

Completely exhausted, I trudged along until a large hand grabbed me by the scruff of my neck.

“What kind of game were you playing so viciously?”

“I just really wanted to save them…”

The next title after Baby Fabre, I wanted it so badly…

For some reason, Hestia seemed pleased to see me genuinely dejected.

What’s this?

Huh?

Is she angry?

“Hestia. Why are you happy that I’m depressed?”

“Just because.”

“That’s mean.”

Making me angry, this is unforgivable.

Even for Hestia, this crosses the line.

I won’t let this slide…!

I’ll do this to Hestia…!

I activated my special <Side-Eye> by puffing my cheeks full of air and glaring sideways!

Hestia became even happier at the expression I made to stimulate her guilt.

As her walking pace quickened, my body, held in her hand, swung from side to side even faster.

“Aaaah- I’m getting dizzy-!”

After returning to the dormitory, I gained [Balance Experience +3].

I only suffered more by trying to be clever.

* *

It was a battle on a completely different level than just play.

Judging by Zhang’s serious expression, I wasn’t the only one who thought so.

‘I can’t even see properly.’

The princess’s hidden weapons piercing sharply through the darkness.

Her skill at blocking the flying weapons that cut through the stinging air with rocks, detecting them by sound alone, was no less impressive than a professional mercenary’s shield defense technique.

“You’re quite good at running away♡”

“Just give up already! As long as you can’t kill all the insects I have, I’ll definitely win!”

Despite the plea for surrender, the princess coldly sneered in response.

“The word ‘defeat’ doesn’t exist in the dictionary of an Imperial princess. Don’t you know such common sense~?”

As the princess snapped her fingers, the hidden weapons she had thrown until now emitted an ominous magical power.

<Imperial Family Mana Cultivation Method>

<Dormant – Property Change>

<Metallization>

The cold, sharp metal energy could be felt from trees, rocks, and all over the ground.

In the torchlight raised for safety, the forest tinged with metallic color and the princess’s ominous smirking expression became visible.

“Be careful, Oknodie!”

No sooner had the warning been given than the princess’s hidden weapons came rushing in.

Since stealing Oknodie’s collection tweezers, the princess had been throwing them continuously, making one wonder if she had stolen a pouch that produced infinite tweezers!

Unable to contain her suspicion any longer, Hestia approached a tree where one of the tweezers had embedded itself and discovered the secret of the tweezers.

“This is… a replica?”

“It’s the princess’s talent.”

Zhang peeked out from behind and examined the tweezers before speaking.

“Touch it with your hand.”

“The tweezers… are crumbling?”

“Materials formed with mana naturally change like that when they get far from the sorcerer. As the mana inside depletes, they return to their original form.”

“For something like that, it’s quite solid.”

“She infused enough mana into the projectile to maintain its form for a certain period. Some have even more mana stored in them.”

Zhang caught a tweezers that bounced nearby with her bare hand.

When she handed the tweezers held between her middle and index fingers to Hestia, Hestia felt its firmness, unlike the previous tweezers that didn’t crumble at all when rubbed with her fingers.

It was extraordinarily solid, not bending even when applying enough force that would bend a real tweezers.

“You should put that down quickly.”

“Why?”

“Do you want a nice metal hand?”

Realizing what that meant, Hestia threw the tweezers away in horror, and shortly after, the princess snapped her fingers again.

The mana packed inside the tweezers burst out from its tip, turning the grass on the ground into metal, a sight that even frightened Hestia.

“If it hits a person, that’s the end.”

“If they receive a metallization cancellation spell, they can regain their organic structure. Assuming the skin tissue hasn’t necrotized or the metallization hasn’t penetrated the blood vessels.”

“Is it okay to let such a terrifying attack be unleashed on a child?!”

“If you want to argue that way, Oknodie is equally at fault, isn’t she?”

“How is it mutual fault when getting hit on this side requires urgent emergency treatment at the Academy infirmary!”

“Think about how Oknodie is fighting on equal terms despite facing such an onslaught.”

With Zhang’s words, Hestia finally regained her composure and observed the battlefield more carefully.

The tweezers flying fiercely.

Blocking the tweezers with rocks, countering by throwing stones to deflect them in mid-air, and deftly hooking the collection container’s ring with a finger to pull it back.

When the princess’s tweezers activated “ricochet” in the metallized field to target from behind, Oknodie now spun around to deflect and avoid the attacks.

“Ah!”

As if something wasn’t going well, she let out a short cry, and with a sharp sound, one side of the collection container turned to metal.

As the structure changed, the corner of the container was destroyed with a cracking sound.

A rhinoceros beetle that jumped out through the corner was pierced by a tweezers and died before Oknodie could protect it.

“You bad princess!”

Unable to contain her frustration any longer, Oknodie grabbed an uprooted tree nearby.

“Nnngh!”

Lifting the tree to waist height, she shouted “Yah!” and hurled it toward the princess!

Several trees fell with a crashing sound when hit by the flying tree, but the princess burst through the dust and extended a finger toward one of the collection containers.

“Take this!”

A golden streak of electricity shot out with a crackling sound!

“Ah, that’s unfair!”

Black electricity also shot out from Oknodie’s extended finger, driving the electricity into the ground.

The princess’s electric magic was cast so skillfully it required no incantation, and Oknodie matched it.

“You learn quickly~? Electric magic isn’t even on the syllabus yet. Hehe. But you’re still weak♡”

“That’s unfair! You’re just boosting your output with elixirs!”

“Kik kik. If you’re frustrated, you shouldn’t have challenged a member of the Imperial family~. Persistent weakling♡”

She was clearly being pushed back.

But Oknodie was responding.

To all of the princess’s attacks.

Physical, magical, applied, irregular, continuous assaults.

Out of ten attacks, she countered six, avoided three, and barely fell behind on one.

“How did the princess not become the top student of the year with those skills? She’s stronger than Oknodie.”

“She probably maintained her dignity. She clearly seems more self-centered than Oknodie. And…”

“And?”

“Oknodie isn’t attacking the princess, she’s just trying to protect her collection containers.”

“Ah, I see.”

This wasn’t a duel in the first place.

If anything, it was cargo protection.

A battle between Oknodie trying to protect the insects in her collection containers and the princess trying to destroy them.

Oknodie moved only with the purpose of protecting her collection containers, like holding the container rings in her mouth while running between trees to avoid continuous fire.

If she had directed her strength, magic, and wisdom against the princess herself, the situation might have been different.

“I’m getting sleepy♡ Let’s end this now♡”

In the end, the princess remotely controlled the metallization field she had spread everywhere, raising countless spikes and launching them to turn the collection containers into honeycombs, destroying them all.

“After seeing today, you should realize that Oknodie doesn’t really need your help. She’s stronger than you to begin with.”

“I can become stronger if I trigger light transformation.”

“The same goes for Oknodie. She just needs to trigger dark mana.”

Even in such an intense battle, Oknodie never once triggered her dark mana.

Although dark mana naturally manifested when she used magic, she never once used it as her main means of attack.

She was controlling herself not to use dangerous power recklessly against people.

“That’s how assassins are. We kill people professionally, not as a hobby.”

“…Is that so? Not much different from mercenaries then.”

Hestia spoke dismissively, as if being stubborn.

Zhang’s eyes, staring blankly at her, were indifferent, as if not believing such smooth talk.

“I don’t understand why there are so many kids in this academy who want to play at being friends. Everyone has experienced enough social life outside.”

“Maybe they’re just immature.”

“The Western Nobles Alliance that has crossed battlefields multiple times?”

“Zhang. You don’t seem to like the word ‘friend’ very much. The same goes for trusting others.”

“Because I’m an assassin.”

“I don’t know what you’ve been through, but Oknodie is different. I’m different too. And you can change.”

Zhang turned around, pushing the ground with her foot.

“It’s not that I don’t want to make friends. I just hate empty relationships that change depending on time and circumstances.”

Hoping that friends made by her daytime self would still be friends with her nighttime self was something she experienced at about the same age as Oknodie.

Zhang had made friends several times, and lost all those relationships.

The day when cowardly Titosoga or meddlesome Hestia reveal their true colors and drift away will surely come.

And that day might be much closer than they think.

“If you’re so confident, go ahead and try. Next week is the start of ‘Guardian Observation.'”

“Guardian…? W-wait. That means Oknodie’s…!”

Zhang made a gesture of slitting her throat with her hand in the moonlit shadow and smiled.

“Someone from Oknodie’s ‘Foundation’ will be coming to the academy.”

Everyone will finally know what the Foundation is, how it appears to others, and what kind of child Oknodie is supposed to be.

Could everyone still be the same as now, unlike during the first month when everyone’s heads were full of flowery thoughts?

Well.

Looking at that reaction, probably not.

Zhang slipped into the darkness at the corner of the dormitory, leaving behind Hestia who stood frozen with a stiffened face.