Ch.348348 – Organizational Struggle

<348 – Organizational Conflict>

Stories where you know the beginning and end from the start are boring.

The same goes for games.

-That stupid streamer. Says he came back after dealing with real-life schedules, but his reactions are so fake. Looking at how he doesn’t even check for spoilers, he must’ve been playing the game non-stop during his break.

Even if you pretend to play a game for the first time when you’ve already played it before, it somehow shows.

Just like that streamer who had already seen the early graduation ending of <Graduating from Academy with Luck>, the predictable tedium of everyday life can’t fool anyone.

A veteran player is someone who fights against such boredom while repeating the same game thousands or tens of thousands of times.

That’s why, conversely, unexpected events bring joy.

The 0.1% bad luck.

The unexpectedness of rare probability.

Zaku’s sudden action showed me that 0.1%.

“Bring the contract. This time, specially, I, Rozini, apprentice mage of the Red Tower, will burn it for you.”

“Ah, they’re running away!”

“Sandcooker.”

“I’ve already altered the lock mechanism on the door. Any place where the floor or walls connect is the domain of an earth mage.”

With their escape route cut off and the contract in danger of burning, the lower-class female students shouted fiercely.

“What did we ever do wrong to you guys?!”

“Jewel is my pet. He agreed to be my obedient pet in exchange for me filling in his lacking theory scores. We made a fair contract!”

“Woof woof.”

“Just because he’s barking like a dog doesn’t mean he looks happy.”

“Shut up! Jewel, I command you. Defeat those guys!”

As soon as the delicate-looking male student rushed in with his sword, Morb charged back in full body armor.

Jewel’s sword repeatedly parried Morb’s attacks as he aggressively pressed forward, trusting in his armor’s defense, but each time Jewel’s body shook violently.

The difference in trained physique created a difference in the weight behind each sword strike, and skilled swordsmanship prevented perfect deflection of blows, accumulating impact.

Tremble.

The moment he failed to parry due to the accumulated shock in his hands, Morb pinned Jewel’s sword to the ground and twisted his wrist to subdue him.

The female student struggled after losing her faithful dog and having the contract taken, but Zaku mercilessly slapped her to subdue her and pulled out the contract.

“Here, burn it.”

“You’ve become strangely proactive? There was still some reluctance left in you earlier.”

“I realized I could just make up the information to give.”

“Information?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Ah. You mean information to report to professors or the student council after this is over? Without an explanation, we’d just be a gang that meddled in others’ contracts and committed assault for no reason. You’ve thought about the aftermath before even getting involved. Zaku, you’re quite thorough.”

The more praise he receives, the more his expression becomes one of enlightenment, and the feeling that he’s going all out with a “whatever happens, happens” attitude is all amusing.

“Congratulations. You’re free now.”

After the contract burned, Morb thought there was no reason to fight anymore, so he released his hold and helped Jewel up. Jewel’s fist struck Morb’s helmet.

“What have you done!”

“Is the contract not fully burned yet, so the command is still working?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Even without that contract, I was helping her voluntarily!”

“What?? But why??”

“A pet isn’t human. So even if I show shameful behavior, it’s not embarrassing. The more May believed that, the more defenseless she became in front of me, and how happy that made me!”

“Wait… this guy is way too honest about his desires?”

“While May treated me as a pet and I accepted it, no point redemption occurred, but I was willing to accept such a sweet contract anyway. When she washed me saying pet hygiene is the owner’s responsibility, I thought I could live like this forever!”

Morb said in disbelief:

“This guy, shouldn’t we take him to the student council and report him for impure relationships?”

“Ahem. Well, we could.”

“What’s so strange about grown adults showering together?”

Rozini and Sandcooker’s lukewarm reactions are also amusing.

These two were always rivals in other playthroughs.

Both apprentice mages.

Rookies representing different towers.

With the support and pride of their towers on their backs, they would become enemies whenever they got close, saying things contrary to their true feelings and genuinely hurting each other.

If they formed a party with a player and went through dungeons, suffering enough, they might become somewhat friendly, reaching the level of “a reasonably skilled comrade.”

But seeing them become such an obvious couple after just one boat trip—even though I and Jona took care of the dangerous parts for them—really makes this feel like a special playthrough.

“If you like it that much, nothing has to change without the contract, right? I think it’s actually an opportunity to connect sincerely without using the contract as an excuse.”

Jewel and May’s eyes trembled roughly as they looked at each other.

“Jewel… aren’t you angry that I used the contract to make you do… things? I deliberately gave you tasks you couldn’t complete to increase your debt and made you work hard…”

“I knew. But I liked this relationship so much that sometimes I deliberately failed tasks I could have done to avoid redemption.”

“Jewel…!”

“May.”

Only Zaku and Morb’s expressions soured as they inadvertently made a couple honest with each other.

Contract holders of Camella’s faction were successively defeated by the aggressive solo actions of these two angry individuals!

“Are all of these people just couples or what?!”

“I feel good doing something nice. Thanks to us, many couples have become honest about their feelings.”

“Not all of them connected, but it’s interesting. This Camella person seems to have linked potential couples through contracts, as if they all cared about each other quite a bit.”

To first-playthrough NPCs, it might look like divine harmony or the work of an amazing love expert, but knowing the truth, a future where you already know the answers isn’t that surprising.

Rather, what’s surprising is that Zaku cut them off before those couples became more accustomed to the domination and submission of their contractual form.

“How about you, Zaku?”

“I feel good. Breaking up all these couples. What about you, Oknodie?”

“I feel good too!”

“That’s unexpected. I thought someone like you, who’s loved by people, would like and support couples.”

“Me? No way.”

Even during my <ILoveAllStatPointsInStrengthMarineChar> days, until the mid-game intermediate player phase, I tore apart any hint of coupling between NPCs.

The reason is simple.

They spend less time training because they’re busy playing couple, getting weaker, and their synergy effects only work between themselves, forcing constraints on party formation and reducing efficiency.

Yet when couples twist themselves to form parties together, for some reason, fights suddenly break out.

If they get the <Breakup> debuff, the party atmosphere becomes like a funeral.

Sometimes they intentionally don’t cast buffs on ex-boyfriends, or while tanking, they subtly let mobs slip toward ex-girlfriends.

What a nuisance!

“Couples shouldn’t exist. They’re just a hindrance. Especially the weak ones!”

“Heh. That’s right. The weak ones shouldn’t be playing love games.”

Like finding a needle in a haystack, there are couples who grow stronger together through the power of love, but they’re truly rare.

That’s why even Sing is working hard to avoid bad luck!

Even a veteran like me puts in this much effort, so I can’t stand seeing newbies cuddling without knowing anything!

‘If I can’t have it, neither can you!’

* * *

After breaking up five couples, the remaining couples of Camella’s faction counterattacked.

“There was a fire at the Dark Guild’s warehouse. Fortunately, it was discovered early and the fire was successfully extinguished. The attackers are presumed to be members of Camella’s faction.”

“Hmph. With Arcadia here, such a small fire is nothing. Using know-how from protecting warehouses and ammunition depots from fire attacks in naval battles, fires are quickly extinguished.”

“They attacked our members who were returning after lectures! There were no casualties!”

“Who was there?”

“Titosoga’s lighting squad’s eye-blinding attack broke their formation, so we beat them up and chased them away!”

Camella’s faction makes many attempts but achieves little due to the difference in member quality!

But a gathering of small fry wouldn’t become dangerous enough to be chapter bosses even if given growth opportunities all the way through the second year’s first semester.

“This is terrible! My assignment was stolen!”

“Oh no… the dormitory door is open?”

“Kyaaah! My underwear is gone!”

“Want to borrow a bikini armor?”

“I don’t need it!!”

While everyone’s attention was focused on the power struggle, Camella’s faction had committed burglary.

Even Hestia returned to the dormitory after training and knocked on the door with a serious expression.

“My mini golem was stolen. How’s your plant friend, Oknodie? Is it okay?”

“Waaah.”

The baby mandrake sucked on its fine roots and tilted its head.

There’s a subtle smell of blood, suggesting that intruders came but were driven away after being taught a harsh lesson by the baby.

But… the place where the assignment should be is empty.

How did this happen?

“Baby, where did the assignment that was here go?”

“Waaah?”

The baby looks confused, saying it didn’t see anything.

This thing, true to being a plant, only fought within the range its roots could reach!

“As you can see, the baby is fine. But all the assignments were stolen…”

“I was just training and not bothering the weak ones, but now that I’ve been caught in the crossfire, I can’t just stand by. Your assignment too. Let me lend a hand.”

“Having a carefully raised pet stolen crosses a line. Touching assignments crosses an even bigger line. Let’s raid their dormitory together tonight without sleeping!”

As I was heading up to the lower-class students’ dormitory with Hestia, I saw a dormitory supervisor in the hallway.

“Ugh. They requested security service. This is going to be annoying.”

“That exists?”

“If you pay points, dormitory supervisors or instructors will guard your room. Since it’s a group room, if everyone chips in, it’s not an unaffordable price. There’s probably a special discount for first-years too.”

“Then what do we do? The dormitory supervisor isn’t just a supervisor for nothing.”

“A frontal confrontation is burdensome. But there’s a way.”

If you spend points, you get protection?

If you spend more points, the opposite is also possible.

“I’ll give you more points. Please step aside!”

“Only accepting immediate transfer.”

I placed my magic watch on the mana board the dormitory supervisor held out and paid the points.

After briefly looking surprised at the balance, the dormitory supervisor stepped aside.

When I opened the dormitory door from the front, Camella’s faction’s remaining gang members, who had been staying awake all night watching the window in preparation for an attack, were startled.

“Oknodie? Did you defeat the dormitory supervisor…?”

“Messing with baby fights, pets, and assignments crossed the line. Return them now! Otherwise, I’ll beat you up!”

“What are you talking about? We couldn’t steal anything from your room because of that demon-possessed crazy plant!”

These impudent newbies!

I was going to let them off easy if they confessed, but they’re really asking for a beating!