Ch.183183 – Bound by Fate

<183 – Fate Community>

“…So you want me to wear this bikini armor?”

Morb couldn’t hide his bewilderment.

Armor where the uncovered area exceeded the covered area.

Even the chest area was covered with a provocative design.

It would be embarrassing for a woman to wear such armor.

And they want a man to wear this?

“Yep!”

“Why me?!”

“If you wear this for 100 days, your evasion will increase a lot. You want to get stronger, right?”

“Even so, this is a bit…”

“It’s fine. Normally you can’t wear any equipment over cursed items except cloaks, but you can stack the same type of cursed items. No one will know Morb is wearing this!”

“…Really?”

“Yeah. You’re already wearing training armor all the time, right? How would anyone know whether you’re wearing bikini armor underneath or nothing at all?”

“What if the armor gets damaged?”

“Then don’t let it get damaged!”

That made sense.

“Ugh. Why does it have to be evasion that increases…”

The function is too excellent.

I understand why Oknodie would personally recommend it.

Outside the academy, there would be plenty of people willing to bear the stigma of being a pervert for 100 days if there was an item that permanently increased evasion rate.

Couldn’t he just hide in some training ground for 100 days and focus on personal training without taking on quests?

“Plus, just wearing the bikini armor gives you an evasion bonus. It’ll be super helpful for the midterms too. Are you really going to give up without even trying it on?”

“Hmm. Midterms…”

“I bought this for 1000 points.”

“It was that expensive?!”

That was the decisive blow.

In the end, even Morb’s firm resolve crumbled.

From experience, I knew that if necessary, even a 230cm muscular macho man would wear cat ears, maid outfits, and cover himself with tribal fluorescent paint.

Men will use anything regardless of appearance as long as the performance is good.

I was sure Morb would like it too.

Next time I find another good cursed item, I’ll introduce it to him!

* * *

-A man who doesn’t understand human hearts.

-Your blood is as cold as a snake’s.

-Get out. Never return to the family again.

These were the words he heard after personally reporting a family member who had violated a taboo.

This was why a promising Imperial Mage had abandoned his official position and fled to the academy.

‘I wanted to know what that damn snake was all about.’

Professor Layve discovered a lizard being raised for experiments in the laboratory.

That was the beginning of a 5-year relationship with a pet lizard.

“Shh-shh.”

With eyes that revealed nothing of its thoughts, it would just flick its tongue.

As it grew bigger, flies weren’t enough, so it would shake the cage bars with its front legs and bang on its food bowl, making me wonder if there was actually a person inside.

Rustle rustle.

Still, watching it climb onto his hand and scurry up and down his arm, he sometimes thought:

Despite what others said, perhaps this lizard was actually quite affectionate.

“Just found it.”

Saying nonsensical things, he would bring lab-cultured mice that the lizard would enjoy and toss them to it as food.

“Wow, Professor. What’s its name?”

“So cool. Look at that shine.”

“It’s scary like you, Professor, but it looks cool?”

His distance from students shortened.

Person to person.

Human relationships became possible.

“That guy did well getting a pet. He didn’t seem human before, did he?”

“Ah, I also keep reptiles, though not lizards. If you need it, take this feed. My pet doesn’t like it, but who knows, yours might.”

For the first time, he began having non-work-related conversations with Imperial professors in the department.

To him, the lizard wasn’t just an ordinary pet.

It was a friendly animal that thawed his frozen humanity and a small window that made him want to communicate with the world.

“It would be good for everyone. This student is the child of an important person, so please take care of them, Professor Layve.”

“Those frontier people are studying too hard these days, making the important people uncomfortable. Would you join us in pushing them out?”

Sometimes he was asked to give special treatment to certain students through that small window, but he thought such things could happen between friends.

He didn’t mind only informing Imperial students about exam scope changes that “accidentally” weren’t delivered to frontier students.

He wasn’t the type of man who lacked loyalty to professors and students who appreciated reptiles.

“Poison Cure, Arc Healing!”

That was why he was cradling the foaming, limp lizard and repeatedly infusing it with magic.

“Wake up. Please wake up.”

The magic no longer settled in the lizard’s body.

It bounced off, exceeding the body’s magic capacity limit.

It was useless.

It was already too late.

His pet was dead.

Professor Layve had to accept it.

“That candy… was this your intention from the beginning?”

The poison candy that the stupid bikini warrior Poyee had received from Oknodie.

The one he had taken and fed to his pet, resulting in this tragedy.

Did she know when she gave it up, or was she unaware?

He had thought she was just a stupid girl, but now he thought differently.

Perhaps she had always intended to betray him, falling for Oknodie’s scheme.

“Your joke went too far, Poyee. Far, far too far.”

The indoor thermometer, which had been maintained at 20 degrees Celsius for the optimal temperature for the pet lizard, plummeted at a frightening speed.

The desk and floor froze with a crackling sound, and the windows and table glass formed a thin layer of ice despite the early summer.

“Pranksters need to be punished.”

Professor Layve’s eyes gleamed with cold fury.

First Poyee.

Then Oknodie.

The professor’s rage, having lost any reason to maintain boundaries, began targeting the two students.

* * *

“Here it is. What do you think? Don’t you want to wear it too?”

“Umm… later! I’ll wear it during summer vacation!”

“Hmph. More sales are good for me. If you know other friends who want to wear it, be sure to let me know.”

Poyee brought the AAA-cup bikini armor for Morb as promised.

Clang clang.

The breastplate protecting the chest area wouldn’t bend even when struck with a fist, so the durability was reassuring.

“Since you brought it, would you like to give it to Morb directly?”

“Sure, I’d love to.”

Poyee excitedly took the lead.

Her arms and legs poking out from her cloak and her ponytail swung vigorously.

“How’s the Bikini Warrior Squad? Fun?”

“There are lots of nice people! Everyone’s so cheerful.”

“With that outfit, you’d have to be cheerful whether you like it or not!”

“Do you want a beating?”

“Eep. Sorry.”

I tried imitating the pitiful expression Titosoga often made when he lost too overwhelmingly at cards with Zhang and got him angry.

Poyee quickly forgave me, saying she’d let it slide this time.

I understand why Titosoga makes this expression so often.

Next time I’ll try the “hingingging” expression too!

“We’re here!”

“Heh. Amazing. A girl working out in the co-ed training room where boys come and go. Are you seriously aiming for the Knight Department?”

“Huh? I’m not a girl.”

“What?”

“Huh?”

“What? Why aren’t you a girl?”

Poyee sputtered like a malfunctioning machine at the unexpected input.

“Ah~ I get it!”

Her eyes lit up again as if she had found and fixed the logical error.

“You’re a boy who looks like a cute girl, right? I’ve seen that sometimes. Boys who wear bikini armor. I heard from seniors that sometimes they make boys wear it because they look too much like girls and get confused!”

“Wow. That happens?”

“Yeah. The seniors were talking about ‘advanced courses’ or ‘refined tastes’ or something, but they said it was too early for kids and wouldn’t let me put bikini armor on boys.”

“That’s unfair~. It’s not like you can get evasion 100 just anywhere.”

“Huh?”

“What?”

“Huh?”

Poyee, who had malfunctioned again, shook her head vigorously and came to her senses.

“Tch. Talking to you makes me feel like I’m becoming stupid. Just tell me where this Morb kid is. No, I’ll find him myself.”

Hmm. Poyee put her finger in her mouth, pondering, then pointed with her saliva-glistening finger at a man doing shoulder presses on a machine.

“Is that him? The guy with long hair. Heh. He’s got quite the look. Blonde and handsome.”

“That’s not Morb, that’s Grand Duke Andersen!”

“What? He’s really a noble? Tch. Too big a fish. I was thinking of making him try it on even if he wasn’t Morb.”

Andersen, who had been doing shoulder presses, suddenly startled and got up from the machine, looking around warily.

Perhaps his sense, honed through the “Sleeping Anywhere” course, detected the presence of a predator targeting him.

“Then is it that cold-looking handsome guy over there? He has long hair and a thin build with a dangerous aura… Hmm. It might be even more thrilling to corrupt someone like that with bikini armor!”

“That’s Sing! He’s an eastern swordsman with bad habits, so if you approach him wrongly, you might die!”

“Eek. Such a dangerous person is too much.”

Sing, whose name had been called, glared sharply in our direction while doing a one-finger push-up.

Unlike Grand Duke Andersen, his ability to precisely read the presence targeting him showed a clear difference in skill.

“Morb is over there!”

“…That’s the Black Knight. The weird person always inside that pitch-black tin can armor.”

“Pfft. Morb’s nickname is Black Knight?”

“You don’t even know your friend’s nickname?”

“I have too many friends to know them all!”

“…Hmph. This is annoying, so I’ll just give it to him and leave.”

“It would be a bit mean to give it to him here, so let’s go to the changing room!”

I was trying to be considerate in my own way.

While wearing bikini armor is embarrassing from the start, there’s no reason to show it off publicly in the training room in front of others.

“Morb! Come here for a second.”

“Huh? Why is the person next to you dressed like that?”

“I don’t want to hear that from you!”

“That’s right! Just come with us quickly.”

“Aaah, don’t drag me! I’ll go on my own, I’ll walk on my own feet!”

We dragged out Morb, who had been adapting to the armor’s weight and doing bench presses, and pulled him to the changing room.

Murmuring.

I could hear people talking behind us, but that’s probably because we were making a commotion during their workout.

* * *

Oknodie appeared.

Sing’s keen sense was directed not only at her but also at her younger sister who appeared above Oknodie’s head, holding her hair with both hands and playing with it to make twin tails.

Whether the child was bold or fearless because she was a ghost, she was doing something outrageous without any awareness that she might be exorcised if others saw her.

Fortunately, the girl in the incredibly perverted outfit of bikini armor with a cloak was drawing all the attention.

“Why are they here anyway?”

“Did they come to work out?”

“I don’t think so? They’re dragging away that Black Knight guy.”

The male students working out followed the three with their gaze.

<Men’s Changing Room>

Oknodie barging through the door with remarkable confidence.

The Black Knight Morb, whose shoulder got caught on the doorframe, crying out in pain.

Finally, the bikini armor warrior waving goodbye with an “annyong~” to those watching them before closing the door.

“…What is that guy doing in the men’s changing room with two girls!?”

“And one’s a child and the other’s in bikini armor!”

“Damn it. Lucky bastard. What do you have to do to be in a combination like that!?”

Sing snorted at the explosion of male jealousy.

That monster child doing such things with a man in broad daylight?

Nonsense.

She must be up to some ridiculous mischief.

Male students began gathering stealthily at the changing room door.

“That’s far enough.”

“Who are you to interfere… urk!”

“Ugh. Of all people, it had to be that bastard Sing standing guard.”

“Use of the changing room will be postponed for a while. You may enter when Oknodie comes out.”

“Who are you to block access to a public facility!”

“That’s right. It’s the women who entered the men’s changing room who are wrong! Whatever happens in there is their fault!”

The bloodshot-eyed guy shouting had clearly let his imagination run wild.

While he ignored the nonsense from these perverts, the question of what Oknodie was to him bothered him a bit.

What was she really?

His relationship with Oknodie was complex, difficult to define in a single word.

A relationship where he kept the secret that his younger sister Lin was a ghost.

Someone who would travel east with him after graduation to help with his revenge.

An ally who promised assistance for this purpose.

A swordsman has the logical ability to cleanly organize such complex relationships.

Sing revealed the relationship as defined by his logic.

“Oknodie is… my fate community.”

“Whaaaat?!”

Faced with the sudden “fate community” issue from Sing’s mouth, the students in the training room thought:

We’ve had enough exercise for today.