Ch.2727 – We Should Avoid That 0.1% Landmine

# <27 – Avoiding the 0.1% Landmine>

The Western Nobles Union.

A supporting cast that often appeared in the game.

While there are nobles in other regions too, these nobles have a particularly strong presence.

“You’re wearing such expensive magic armor, yet you don’t know how to start a fire?”

“Huh? Why would I know such a thing? Servants are supposed to light fires for us.”

“……”

“What are you planning to do with those extravagant weapons?”

“I caught some prey! Though it ended up like this…”

A noble in lavish aristocratic attire holds up a mongoose that’s been reduced to rags.

The needlessly expensive outfit and gleaming weapons make the mangled mongoose carcass look all the more pitiful by contrast.

“D-don’t look at me like that! I am Anthony, ranked third in the Western Nobles Union, known as Swiftblade!”

Anthony.

Whatever his fancy nickname might be, his surname is more famous than his first name.

His surname is Soboro.

Among users, comparing him to how Soboro bread crumbles easily, they call someone with weak mental fortitude “Soboro-level mental.”

In short, he’s a supporting character famous for all the wrong reasons.

“Don’t ignore me! The only things I cannot cut are mosquitoes, fatigue, drowsiness, hunger, and thirst!”

“……”

I’m not sure if someone who can belittle himself to that extent should be considered mentally weak or strong.

“I’ve heard about you. The heir of the Soboro family, famous for their swordsmanship, was challenging the entrance exam this year. So you’re Anthony Soboro.”

“You’re a good fellow! Indeed, there are no bad men among those who grow beards on their chins.”

They say that when you’re feeling down, even a small comfort can greatly move your heart. His favorability toward Giselle has skyrocketed. He looks ready to become sworn brothers with him.

“Anyway, please help us!”

“We’ll reward you with whatever you want!”

“You lowly commoners must be used to this kind of thing!”

“……”

I was thinking of helping them just this once since they offered a reward and looked so pitiful… but that thought came crashing down.

“Hmph, let’s just leave.”

“I agree. There’s no reason to show kindness to someone who insults even a child.”

“Wahaha, the little mouse is finally saying something I like.”

“That being the case, we cannot offer you any assistance. We’ll be on our way.”

Son Ocheon took a deep breath and extinguished the campfire with a shout.

“Aaaah…!”

“The fire we could have used to grill meat!”

“The precious fire that could have warmed our bodies frozen from the cold!”

“I thought using a fire made by lowly commoners might hurt your pride? You should thank me for saving your dignity. Wahaha!”

“Who was the one spouting nonsense earlier?”

“That’s the heir of Baron Yutao’s family.”

“I need to write a letter to his family. Let’s not invite Baron Yutao’s house to this year’s harvest festival.”

“What were you thinking using words like ‘lowly commoners’ when you’re just a minor noble yourself?”

“What a fool.”

“Wuu, wuuueng…! I’m sorry. Please forgive me just this once…!”

Seeing him cry makes my heart soften.

He may be unpleasant, but he’s still just an immature child.

Not beyond redemption.

“Enough.”

“Young Master Andersen…”

“A noble must take responsibility for their words before they earn the right to wield power. Child of House Yutao, I’ll give you a chance to make amends for your mistake.”

Perhaps he noticed our softening hearts.

The number one ranked member of the Western Nobles Union.

The second son of the Grand Duke Pretzel family, founding contributors to the nation.

Andersen Pretzel, a character with considerable importance, created an opportunity.

“I’m sorry… *sniff*. I hurt your feelings because of my shortsightedness…”

“Harsh words are bad. Everyone is equal at the Academy, so please be more careful in the future.”

By now, the malicious groups should be actively causing trouble.

If they run into a nasty strong opponent, the Western Nobles Union might be cut in half by the end of the exam.

“I’ll forgive you in exchange for one of your saved snacks.”

“R-really?”

The Yutao heir excitedly took out four neatly paper-wrapped breads from his pocket.

“These are our family’s emergency rations stored in a small magic backpack. They’re deep-fried bread with high calories and pretty good taste.”

For reference, Yutao is an actual food.

The nobles of this world have a tradition of taking real-world dish names as their family names.

Among players, the prevailing theory was that the developers were inspired by the anecdote of a noble who was called Earl Sandwich because he created the sandwich.

‘I wonder what kind of food my papa’s family made?’

It’s somewhat frightening to imagine what family name my unknown papa might have.

Oknodie Sticky Rice Donut.

Oknodie Fresh Kimchi.

Just imagining it makes me dizzy…

Of course, such traditional names wouldn’t appear even randomly.

Considering that Jona, Leaf, and all the servants assigned to my family were Westerners, I probably won’t get a surname based on Korean food.

[Common Recipe <Yutao> has been added to your Cooking Collection.]

Whatever my family name candidates might be.

Earning the favor of noble heirs allows me to add food to my collection.

High noble families even provide rare recipes.

“Our little lady has such a kind heart, doesn’t she?”

“Just like a mouse, she’s too soft.”

“If you don’t want an apology, you can give that bread to me.”

“Hahaha, you wish!”

Heheh. What fools.

They think I’m a kind child, not realizing my evil plan to fill my food collection.

Even Isabelle seems to have been fooled, gently patting my head with her warm hand.

“I hope you continue to grow up this kind.”

“Hehehe.”

A nice fragrance emanated from Isabelle’s side.

Maybe I should keep being a good child for a few more days?

One week. No, two more weeks!

* *

With our food situation improved, we found a suitable spot, enjoyed a good night’s sleep, and woke up refreshed.

Remembering that the forest was quite long with an inefficient path to the exit, we could afford to take a leisurely night’s rest.

Examinees who didn’t know this fact would be getting most anxious by now.

Screams could be heard throughout the forest.

Mostly from people who had fallen victim to point hunters.

“Are you going to try the second task as well?”

“Looks fun, doesn’t it? Let’s do it.”

“It’s dangerous. Can’t you hear the endless screams?”

The second supplementary task was a competition.

It involved snatching a golden ball placed in the center of a large ball-shaped structure made of intertwined vines.

In front of the ball, an instructor in charge of judging was resting his chin on an outdoor table, checking the entrance capacity.

“This task allows six participants at once, and those who have already attempted cannot try again. The point value is 40. Stepping outside means disqualification.”

A task advantageous for groups and disadvantageous for individuals.

Examinees who had been operating individually either challenged it thinking they had nothing to lose or quickly gave up to find the next task.

Since we had already earned 10 points each, everyone seemed relaxed.

“What would you like to do, Miss Oknodie?”

“I get to decide?”

“From the ticket exam to the first gate and the previous supplementary task, Miss Oknodie has shown remarkable wit in every test she’s faced. I trust your judgment.”

“What are you measuring, employer? Trust or not, there are four of us here.”

“That’s the problem. We’ve caught the eye of every examinee, and no one will take the test with a 4 vs 2 setup.”

It’s impossible to gather exactly 6 people to earn points.

To take the test, we’d need to split up.

“Good to know. Just send one person.”

“Fortunately, we have five solo examinees gathered here.”

“Let’s make it fair with individual matches.”

Examinees trying to persuade us to take the test together.

“Oh, then shall I step up?”

I grabbed Son Ocheon’s arm as he confidently volunteered.

“No.”

“What? Do you want to go?”

“That’s not it. Let’s just go take the next task.”

“Really? Leaving such easy targets?”

“Have you ever lost by listening to me? Hmm?”

Son Ocheon looked at me and the waiting examinees with obvious reluctance, then turned his head sharply.

“Thinking back to the first exam, the mouse’s judgment was better than my instincts. Fine. I’ll specially tolerate it just this once.”

“Oh please, I was being considerate and now you’re acting like you’re doing me a favor? If you want to do it so badly, go ahead.”

When I snapped back at him, Son Ocheon made an annoying face and walked ahead.

“You think I’ll go just because you tell me to? Stupid mouse. I absolutely won’t go. Absolutely not.”

“…I’m never giving you hints again.”

“Hahaha! It was obvious anyway. Those five were probably in cahoots, right?”

The disguised solo strategy.

It’s one of the tactics for clearing the second supplementary task.

There were indeed four examinees employing that strategy.

A group that appears with roughly a 9.9% probability.

If that were all, I wouldn’t have stopped him.

I stopped him because there was also a 0.1% chance of encountering a landmine.

‘It’s a battle you absolutely cannot win.’

A grave for strength-based characters where larger size is a disadvantage.

With Oknodie’s small body, I might have a chance, but even considering that, the difficulty is too high.

A landmine encountered with a 0.1% probability.

Its identity: a malicious supporting character.

And an incredibly formidable one at that.

Getting greedy for points could potentially cost us our ticket watches.

* *

“Aaaagh! Let me go, let me gooo!”

“It won’t come off, it just won’t come off!”

“This bastard, did you figure out we were working together?!”

The examinees screamed as their bodies were stuck to the vine ball.

A girl wearing a mask with an expressionless face drawn on it giggled as she mocked them.

“I didn’t care how many were on the same team or who challenged me. I was planning to make all of you as helpless as mice caught in a trap anyway.”

“W-wait! Don’t touch the ticket. You don’t need to go that far!”

“Please let us off just this once!”

“Nope, you fail. Go down and join the other inferior examinees.”

Four tickets were torn off with a crisp ripping sound.

There must have been a winning ticket among them as her score increased by 10 points.

10 points from plundering plus 40 points for acquiring the golden ball.

She had collected all 50 points needed to pass.

“H-hey! I’m not part of their group. You must have all the points you need now, so can’t you let me go?”

“Should I?”

“Phew.”

“As if~ Why would I? The thought of having such boring opponents as classmates in the advanced class for the next few years makes my hands tremble with disgust.”

“Aaagh!”

Riiip.

The girl who had disqualified all five examinees tossed the five ruined ticket watches behind her back and walked away briskly.

She had long forgotten the pleas to at least help them get out.

She was thinking about the top scorer from the first gate, a child with good instincts.

‘She seemed to have noticed my skill. How did she know?’

It was the first time someone had seen through her before she could even demonstrate her technique.

‘I must ask her when I see her next.’

A technique passed down only among assassins.

Did you also recognize this technique because you’re an assassin too?

*scratch scratch*

“……”

And I should also remember to ask how she avoided getting bitten by mosquitoes.