Ch.259259 – A Desirable Outcome

<259 – A Desirable Outcome>

Third-year Velvet Ballette.

Class 979 of the Western Nobles Association.

Current top student of the Western Nobles Association.

Senior to the Class 981 Western Nobles Association.

A prominent figure in the Western Nobles Association.

Someone who might become the future of the Andersen Duke’s family.

A noble lady with both strength and beauty.

The nobles of Andersen and the Western Nobles Association were captivated by her name, beauty, and gentle treatment.

‘Wow. How can such a terrifying character exist?’

To my experienced eyes, only the most important keywords are visible.

Class 979.

And third year.

Moreover, the top upperclassman of the current Western Nobles Association.

“You’re a child Arcadia cherishes. I’ve only had good impressions of you, so why are you so wary of me?”

“Senior, you advanced to third year without ever delaying your promotion, right?”

“I was fortunate enough to do so.”

“In an academy where some students take leaves of absence and collect points for years just to become second or third years, is promotion possible through luck alone?”

“I don’t understand what you’re trying to say. Are you suggesting my luck should have been worse?”

“It’s not normal to advance among seniors who take years off to collect points for promotion!”

Indeed, even the Andersen heir and Western Nobles Association nobles who had been relaxed until now seemed to feel uncomfortable at those words.

“If Oknodie is saying this much, is it really impossible for normal people?”

“What’s wrong with you? Velvet senior might just be that talented. She’s such an impressive senior.”

“Don’t be fooled by appearances, idiot. Do you know how many professors use their looks to distract students while leading them to ruin?”

Suddenly, several people recalled someone with guilty expressions.

“At the beginning of the semester, I thought there couldn’t be a better class than ‘Sleeping Well Anywhere’ with Professor Coco…”

“I should have remembered my older brother’s advice—the one who’s married and ten years older—who complained that someone might seem nice based on looks but turn out to be the worst when living together…”

“So is she pretty?”

“Her face is.”

“But looking at her face would make you feel better, right?”

“You should never get married. I think you’ll end up regretting it just like my older brother.”

…These people really have no sense of tension.

This is why they end up taking only difficult classes, being so careless.

There’s a difference in tension between them and those of us who came to rescue them.

Perhaps it’s because they’re from the same Western Nobles Association, which makes them let their guard down.

Even when they try to be cautious, there’s still that “no way” attitude of carelessness remaining.

“It seems our juniors have grown quite wary of their seniors. Let’s do this then. If I tell you in advance what I’ll have you do, you’ll feel at ease, right?”

“As expected of a model senior of the Western Nobles Association. If you do that, we would feel reassured.”

“Here, this is a mine entry permit with my signature authorizing your identities under my authority.”

“Student council…?”

“Yes. I didn’t mention it because it might seem like bragging, but I hold a position in the student council at their request. Specifically, I serve as the director of the Resource Management Bureau.”

This is bad.

The eyes of Andersen and the Western Nobles Association nobles began to sparkle.

Unknowingly, they’ve been captivated by an impressive-sounding title, just like people falling for the fancy job titles of a black company.

“That’s unfair! Using connections violates the principles of a fair society!”

“Be quiet, Zenya. If you make enemies of the nobles, academy life becomes three times harder.”

Even envious voices from outside the court make the Western Nobles Association group’s shoulders rise with pride!

“I could give you these mine entry permits if you want. Of course, you’d have to do some minor labor in exchange, and that fact would be recorded, but administrative procedures are always like that. You know? The meticulousness of those who aren’t nobles.”

“Haha. That’s right.”

“Wow, Senior Velvet. Can we also enter the mines to steal miners’ profits or plunder rare metals? Are you bestowing such amazing benefits on us!”

“Huh? Oh, well. Various fun things await you. Yes, yes.”

This person is definitely being evasive!

“Stop being so gullible, you fools! You’ll be the ones working in the mines!”

“What? Oknodie, don’t get too arrogant just because Arcadia treats you well and we’re being nice to you.”

“That’s right. Senior Velvet is being so considerate of us, so stop interfering from the sidelines.”

These jerks are annoying.

I’m starting to dislike them even more than Princess Massgakki.

Come to think of it, they’ve been like this since our first meeting.

It just wasn’t obvious because their circumstances were poor.

Once they got some confidence, they mostly acted arrogant because they were nobles.

I temporarily forgot because Arcadia was too kind.

“Don’t be so rude to Oknodie. She may have made a mistake about Senior Velvet, but she’s still a kind-hearted child, isn’t she?”

The Andersen heir showed his broad-mindedness and character by soothing the nobles… but with that statement, he took one step closer to signing the contract.

“Too bad, Oknodie. Our Western Nobles Association’s bond is stronger than you thought.”

“Ha. And I went out of my way to help… Just keep one promise. Stop taking advantage of this opportunity and withdraw now.”

“Why should I?”

“I can overlook you becoming mine slaves as your own doing, but I can’t let it slide if I see classmates being exploited beyond this.”

“I wondered what kind of child would be called by the impressive class name Dark Princess, but you’re surprisingly kind. Let’s do as you say then. I don’t like being hated either.”

In the end, the Western Nobles Association nobles signed the contract, stepped over the line one after another, and withdrew.

━━━

Remaining first-years – 2

━━━

The self-destruction of the Class 981 Western Nobles Association male students is pitiful, but they were satisfied.

Senior Velvet who completed the exploitative contract was satisfied, and I who achieved the goal of “Rescue First-Years in Crisis” was satisfied, so everyone was satisfied in the end.

Is this enough?

It was a contract they wanted to enter into.

They won’t be able to return home during vacation and will become slaves to point mining, but that’s what happens when you carelessly enter contracts.

There are also monsters that pour out of the mines, so they’ll gain practical experience as well.

They’ll gain experience faster than other first-years and learn the harsh lesson that school connections can’t be blindly trusted.

Be strong, Andersen heir!

* *

“We have branches all over the world. Even after graduating from the academy, you can interact with members from various regions and receive help anywhere in any country.”

“Heeh. The Dark Cult has surprisingly good connections. Amazing, senior♡ The cult’s vitality is so persistent♡”

Unlike the Andersen heir and his group who walked the path to their own destruction and exited, Princess Massgakki was engaged in a long discussion with a Dark Cult senior.

“What are you doing?”

“Ah, Oknodie. Perfect timing♡ Would you like to join too?”

“The Dark Cult?”

“It’s been a while, first-year.”

“Ah, Mushroom Farm senior!”

“You know each other~? That’s even better♡”

I thought she might be self-destructing like the Andersen heir, but listening to the conversation, the reality was completely different.

“There are several closed facilities in the Empire that could be used as secret meeting places for the cult. What will you give me if I rent them out~?”

“Among the cult’s seniors, many are proficient in curse magic. If you want, we can cast curses like making someone hate songs they frequently hear or making everything they eat feel overwhelming and tasteless.”

“Huh~? Isn’t that a diet magic~? It seems profitable, so cast it on my people instead♡”

Far from being dragged into a contract, they’re negotiating as equals.

Even discussing the activities of the Dark Cult’s main branch outside the academy!

This senior, whom I thought was just a mediocre cultist growing red mushrooms, turns out to be a big shot with enough authority within the cult to come out for negotiations.

“Is it okay for a princess to make such contracts?”

“Worried~? That a powerful rival is emerging?”

“I’m just curious! The Empire hates dark mana, right?”

Originally, the Holy Central Empire adopts Sophemia, the one true god, as its state religion.

In an empire that even drives out the 24 deities, including the 12 good gods and 12 evil gods, to the south, how can I not be curious about them allowing the influx of dark mana users, which is even worse?

“It’s because of you♡”

“Me?”

“You proved the effectiveness of dark mana, right~? After directly competing with you, I became even more convinced. It’s more useful than that pathetic holy power♡”

Ah… I get it now.

Where the princess’s love for dark mana came from.

Personality elements that make up an individual’s identity.

Core personalities remain fixed elements, but some change randomly as variable elements each playthrough.

For a healthy character, healthiness is a fixed element.

For instance, in the gimmick of “likes fruit,” which fruit they like is random.

Depending on the random selection, they could become a normal apple girl who likes apples, or a durian villain girl who likes durians.

Princess Massgakki also has such variable elements.

Her variable element is admiration for the strong.

Usually, she would feel strength from a certain senior or professor during academy life and suddenly become fixated on that element…

But because I unintentionally showed her dark mana usage several times, she became firmly fixated on dark mana.

“Why~? Afraid? Worried you’ll fall behind in dark mana, your specialty~?”

But this isn’t necessarily bad for me.

“I’m so scared!”

An experienced player like me would know methods to rapidly pump up mana quantity in a short time.

Moreover, if Princess Massgakki joins the Dark Cult and increases the number of followers using dark mana, that means more NPCs who will follow my commands.

Massgakki does the work, and the experienced player reaps the benefits.

Isn’t that a desirable outcome!