Ch.265265 – Let’s Jump Off the Carriage Right Now

<265 – Let’s Jump Off the Cart Right Now>

Just like the daily quest <Professor Bronze’s Underground Treasure Vault> increases in difficulty from the stairs to the outer gate, inner gate, and secret gate of the treasure vault, the ingredient gathering dungeon also has varying difficulty levels.

For example, the difficulty of collecting greasy fur from Bomb Sheep is <Professor Gordon’s Monster Farm Beginner> level 3.

The difficulty of milking Minotaurs is beginner level 5.

I was originally going to do it myself, but since you really want to do it, I guess I have no choice!

“Come here, Miss Spider!”

The ingredient I’m collecting is the Sweet Spider that spits out sweet thread.

Thanks to these spiders that improve the sweetness, aroma, and flavor of their silk to hunt insects that get tangled in their sticky webs while eating the delicious threads, humans can now enjoy tasty silk too.

When I cautiously extended the spool, the Sweet Spider rolled its eight simple eyes carefully with an expression that seemed to ask, “What’s this?”

There are mainly two ways to collect spider silk here.

One is to threaten the monster by saying, “If you don’t produce silk, I’ll kill you!”

Or create an irresistible spot that makes the spider want to produce silk.

Of these, I chose the latter.

“Look at this?”

When I showed a familiar glass bottle containing mosquitoes, the Sweet Spider stretched its legs frantically and jumped to cling to the bottle.

But no way.

Zap!

Surprised by the electric formula I had prepared in advance, the spider jumped back in shock.

Like a pie in the sky.

Like a chicken on the roof.

Like answer sheets in a professor’s office.

Just as things that can be seen but not possessed make one more desperate, the spider tapped the glass bottle with its legs for a while before pulling away from the rising electricity.

The spider looked up at me as if begging me to do something about this.

In front of the spider, I ostentatiously wound the thread on the spool.

“?”

The Sweet Spider stared in confusion as I wound the thread around the spool.

“!”

The creature’s eyes finally lit up with the joy of realization.

If I wrap thread around it, I won’t get electrocuted!

Hop hop

The Sweet Spider jumped with joy and carefully wrapped thread around the glass bottle.

Whenever our eyes met, its round black eyeballs looked up at me as if being coquettish.

The mosquitoes inside the bottle poked the glass wall with their proboscises, complaining about how hard they worked at the sports festival only to be treated like this, but they too would get shocked if they touched the inside.

Truly a Dark Princess’s devilish trap!

“Yah!”

“!!!”

Just as the spider, having diligently produced honey thread, finally climbed onto the bottle cap and danced with joy, I snatched the bottle away with my gloved hand.

“Kyaaak!”

“Heheh. Stupid spider!”

[You have over 30 Boldness experience points. You do not feel fear from the Sweet Spider’s “Kyaaak.”]

[You have over 10 Dark Electricity Generation experience points. The electricity generation formula is not consumed.]

[The poor Sweet Spider feels fear, despair, and frustration.]

[Deception experience +10]

[Fear Inducement experience +3]

[Bad Kid experience +3]

[Warning! Your Bad Kid experience is too high. If you fail to manage your experience to prevent Bad Kid from increasing further, Bad Kid will evolve into Scary Kid!]

I gave the poor spider a candy to cheer it up before leaving.

It looked pitiful as it hugged the candy with all its legs, determined not to let this one be taken away.

“Young Master, April. Are we still far away~?”

No answer.

I came out of the spider breeding area and peeked at the two people gathering ingredients.

Tick-tock tick-tick-tock-tock

Boom-bang-crash-bang-boom-boom

The Bomb Sheep pen was like a fireworks display with colorful magic being shot by Bomb Sheep.

When their colored wool was hit by magic, the Bomb Sheep’s eyes turned triangular and they shot magic at other Bomb Sheep.

As the magic repeatedly hit surrounding Bomb Sheep, it seems the place has turned into chaos.

[Save the idiots!]

[April is trembling in fear in the corner of the Bomb Sheep pen with a food bowl turned upside down on her head like a helmet. Please save that stupid maid quickly!]

On the opposite side, there was an even bigger commotion.

“Aaaagh! Please, Oknodie! Please help meee!”

A Minotaur that had torn off its restraints was now trying to put Andersen Pretzel in the same restraints it had been in!

[Save the idiots 2!]

[Andersen Pretzel was deceived by the Minotaur’s sorrowful cries and loosened its restraints, only to be turned on. If you don’t save that stupid freshman, he might get milked in reverse!]

Maybe I should have come alone…?

I’m starting to regret this a little.

* *

In the end, April and Andersen failed to gather ingredients as instructed and only gained Good Kid experience points.

The two defeated soldiers ended up serving as Oknodie’s assistants, handing over equipment or keeping watch, shifting to simple labor.

“Maid. You’ve had a hard time too.”

“You look extremely exhausted as well, Young Master.”

“I’ve never felt the benefits of strength training more than today. If I had been a little less trained, who knows what would have happened to me by now…”

“I agree. If I hadn’t learned maid stealth techniques before employment, by now…”

The two shuddered as they imagined the bad endings.

Having gone through similar hardships, they felt a strange bond through their shared suffering.

“Was Oknodie always like this? Skillfully gathering ingredients from strange monsters?”

“I don’t know much about Oknodie’s past either. I’ve only been serving Oknodie for a few weeks since entering the Academy…”

“I see. But you must have heard rumors at least. After all, she’s the foundation’s top scholarship student.”

April did have some idea about the rumors.

“They say all the ‘young ladies’ raised by our foundation are extraordinary in their own way. While Oknodie stands out particularly, there might be young ladies among the female students who have risen to great heights without our knowledge.”

“Sounds like an urban legend. Does that apply to second and third-year students too?”

“It certainly does. Even just the scholarship students I managed alone…”

“Quite a number, I suppose?”

“…I’ve said too much.”

“Ah, sorry. I wasn’t trying to pry. If it’s uncomfortable, let’s pretend I didn’t hear it.”

The two maintained an awkward silence as they watched Oknodie at work.

Whoosh, pat!

A skillfully thrown ring pinned down a Wing Slime that was trying to escape by flapping its wings.

After collecting plenty of bouncy slime jelly cut to perfect sizes with a knife, Oknodie handed over the sack.

Andersen, carrying so many ingredients they barely fit in his magic backpack, loaded the sack onto the cart.

“The Wing Slime that was just caught is quite a rare monster. Would you like to know what infamous reputation it has outside the Academy?”

“I am curious.”

“Those creatures hang from trees in high places where human eyes can’t reach, and when a living being passes under the tree, they drop down with a splat and wrap around the head. When the prey suffocates while struggling inside the jelly, it becomes their catch.”

“…That’s quite a gruesome hunting method.”

“Look how she easily subdues even such rare monsters and collects the edible parts. That’s a level of skill that even I, a duke’s son, haven’t learned.”

“What are you trying to say?”

April glared somewhat hostilely, thinking he might be criticizing Oknodie.

Andersen waved his hands dismissively.

“Don’t misunderstand. It’s the opposite. I’m not criticizing Oknodie, I’m concerned.”

“…I don’t think she’s as weak as a male milk tank who faced a chastity crisis with a Minotaur would need to worry about.”

“Several years ago, during a year of severe typhoons, some Wing Slimes landed in the duke’s territory. Just three Wing Slimes wiped out seven villages and killed the knights who went to subjugate them.”

“!!”

“Can you say that the education your ‘young ladies’ receive, which enables them to skillfully handle such dangerous creatures, is normal?”

That seemed too excessive.

April hesitated a bit and then shuddered.

“What’s wrong?”

“Just a moment.”

April put her finger to her lips, asking for silence.

As she naturally approached and covered his mouth, Andersen caught her soft scent and blushed in embarrassment.

April spoke to him in a serious voice.

“Someone’s coming.”

“…!”

We need to hide.

The two looked around urgently and realized there was nowhere to hide except the cart.

“Oknodie, hide!”

After warning her, Andersen quickly hid himself between the sacks on the cart, while April stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

“You’re a maid, so you can just say you came to clean, right?”

“If I do that, my dedicated cleaning area will be changed to the monster farm.”

“…That’s truly a terrible punishment.”

Andersen grabbed April’s arm.

“!?”

“Stop talking and get in. We need to survive first.”

Cleaning in a place like this would cut her lifespan by more than half.

Even for a maid as vigilant as her stiff tail, becoming a monster farm cleaning maid would be too cruel.

“Oh. Who collected so many ingredients?”

Whoever entered the farm discovered the cart and expressed great admiration.

“With this much, I don’t need to collect anything else. I can just take this as is.”

“!?”

“Attached the auto-driving formula sticker, destination coordinate sticker, and safety driving function… well, I guess that’s not necessary? It’s not like first-years will be walking around here.”

Clunk. Rattle rattle.

As the cart started moving on its own, the two people making eye contact between the sacks realized something had gone wrong.

Who came and where are they taking us?

A young face suddenly popped up below the two surprised people.

It was Oknodie, who had also hidden in the cart.

“Don’t be too surprised, everyone.”

“Do you know where we’re going?”

“The teaching assistant for the <Understanding Monster Patterns> lecture is taking the ingredient cart to the lecture hall!”

“There’s no such lecture for first-years…”

“Of course not.”

Oknodie said calmly.

“It’s a third-year lecture!”

“Aren’t lectures suspended during Religion Week?”

“Officially, yes?”

“…And unofficially?”

“A mischievous professor who didn’t get the principal’s permission might hold a secret lecture!”

Andersen steeled himself.

Let’s jump off the cart right now.