Ch.364364 – Giselle’s Check

<364 – Giselle’s Interference>

I had found countless reasons to harbor hatred toward the Foundation.

I had seriously contemplated methods for revenge.

And the moment Jona Wiheomhae, the man who would be the beginning, was appointed as a professor at the Academy, Giselle instinctively knew it was time to act.

‘If I can’t stop Jona Wiheomhae’s teaching activities here, even Oknodie’s academy life will fall under the Foundation’s control.’

What follows is obvious.

Oknodie, whose psychological dependence on her butler is apparent.

All her interests would return to the Foundation rather than her friends.

And gradually she would abandon everything.

All relationships that couldn’t compare to her relationship with the Foundation.

‘Don’t be ridiculous. Before you take Oknodie away from us, I’ll take her away from you first.’

How to drive Jona Wiheomhae out of the Academy?

Giselle already knew the answer.

“First, we need to minimize the number of students attending the ‘Basics of Mana Alchemy’ lecture.”

“You think that’s possible? Besides, everyone has experienced the effects of this rare alchemy method firsthand. No one’s foolish enough to miss a growth opportunity, regardless of how big or small.”

“Son Ocheon is right. Even as a chef, I felt my stamina improve when standing in front of the wok. Upper combat classes would be even more eager to attend, wouldn’t they?”

Son Ocheon and Isabelle’s opinions were valid.

Students seek out lectures that benefit them.

They wouldn’t attend harmful lectures even if forced to, but they wouldn’t skip beneficial ones even if told not to.

“Rumors. We’ll spread rumors.”

“What kind of rumors?”

“For instance… that the Foundation’s mana alchemy contains dark mana that makes you unknowingly dependent on dark mana.”

Isabelle flinched in surprise.

Son Ocheon was equally shocked.

“Giselle… I’ve thought this occasionally, but I’m truly glad you’re on our side. To think of spreading such frightening rumors.”

“I agree. If someone like her had been at Rocky Mountain, the beastkin would have been extinct long ago.”

If forced to choose between the Foundation and the Dark Association, the choice was clear.

Lower-class students who weren’t Isabelle or Son Ocheon reacted exactly as expected.

“Did you hear? If you attend the Foundation professor’s lecture, you’ll develop dark mana without realizing it.”

“That’s crazy. Isn’t that dangerous?”

“Of course it’s dangerous. You’ll be forced to obey someone with more dark mana. It’s way more dangerous than Camella’s pet contract.”

“It’s not like we’ll suffer much if the Foundation professor disappears anyway.”

“I heard that lecture doesn’t even help weaker students much.”

The effectiveness difference proportional to physical ability stats was clearly evident from the first week’s “Health Measurement”!

For lower-class students, while it might be a rare experience, the lecture wasn’t particularly helpful.

Some students still insisted on attending, but mob psychology wouldn’t allow it.

“Are you consuming the Foundation professor’s lecture? Will you still attend even if the credits you consume return as bombs that burn down your homeland?”

The gaslighting about being traitors, cleverly spread under Giselle’s direction, created an atmosphere where even students who wanted to attend were afraid to step in.

“What does attending a lecture have to do with being a traitor? Does attending an Imperial professor’s lecture make you an imperialist, or a Frontier lecture make you a frontier-ist? Come on.”

“Rozini… that’s not entirely wrong. Actually, imperialists and frontier-ists do choose lectures based on professors’ origins and affiliations.”

“Ha. Don’t talk nonsense, Sandcooker. Mages are followers of shining intellect. We don’t narrow our knowledge due to absurd prejudices, biases, or slander.”

Of course, a small number of strong-minded students still insisted on attending.

Giselle felt the need to spread even more cunning rumors.

“Did you hear, Rozini? Starting next week, the professor will be assigning an insane amount of homework.”

“What? Ugh, really. I finally found a lecture I wanted to attend, but I can’t handle that much.”

Mages with weak stamina couldn’t muster the energy to attend Jona’s lecture while struggling with assignments, so they gave up on the second week.

Not just Rozini and Sandcooker, but practically most lower-class students, and even some from upper classes, dropped out at this point.

Those remaining were a tiny handful of solid individuals with tremendous grit and skill.

Black Knight Morb.

Apprentice Forester Dorothy.

Swiftblade Rockpell.

Berserker Hestia.

Eastern Swordsman Sing.

Imperial Second Princess Massgakki.

Hero Ishtar.

Giselle decided to personally approach those she could persuade among the remaining students.

“Morb. It’s been a while since we’ve met face to face.”

“Ms. Giselle. I’m indebted to you for the information about the Hook Ghost. Thanks to that, Oknodie was able to rescue us when she came.”

“I’m glad it was helpful. It might be a bit early, but may I ask you to repay that debt now?”

“I, I don’t have enough points yet…”

“Don’t worry. I’m asking for repayment in a different form. It won’t cost you money or time. Rather, it will save you both.”

Giselle spoke firmly.

“Drop the ‘Basics of Mana Alchemy’ lecture taught by Professor Jona from the Wiheomhae Foundation.”

“Must I really do that?”

“This is the repayment condition I’m proposing. If you don’t accept, you’ll have to repay the information fee with points, and you should be prepared for forced point borrowing for any shortfall.”

“…Wasn’t that professor Oknodie’s butler? Why are you, who’s close to that child, interfering with lectures taught by her person?”

Morb’s strong declaration that he wouldn’t back down without a convincing reason.

Giselle sensed Morb’s courage in his willingness to potentially antagonize the Dark Association.

It’s easy to ride along with power, but difficult to go against it.

Giselle had a weakness for those who accomplished difficult tasks.

Those who live in darkness may verbally avoid and despise light, but a part of their hearts always yearns for it.

“For Oknodie’s sake, we must sever the connection with the Foundation. You’ve attended the lecture, haven’t you? You must know about the harsh education that breaks bones and causes unbearable pain.”

Honestly, anyone would frown seeing that.

Giselle sincerely thought so.

However, the person who had received direct training from Oknodie had a slightly different perspective.

“Bones can break during training, aren’t you being too dramatic?”

“Huh?”

“We jump into burning rings, dunk our heads in washbasins for cardiopulmonary endurance training, and swim up from river bottoms in heavy armor, so honestly, bones can break sometimes.”

“What are you…”

Giselle was about to retort that this was crazy, but realized Morb was simply mentioning his own training regimen.

From Morb’s perspective, having undergone the same training Oknodie would have received from the Foundation, it was just normal training!

The comparison was flawed from the start.

“…If that’s how you feel, continue attending. Just remember, you must repay the points to the Dark Association.”

This way, he’d give up just to save money.

Contrary to her intention, Morb transferred the points right there through his magic watch.

“How does a lower-class student have such a large amount of points!?”

“Professors appreciate students who work hard to attend lectures. Especially the Knight Department professors gave me many bonuses.”

Morb’s enthusiasm for attending physical lectures while wearing heavy armor was highly valued!

It was a benefit that came from unintentionally following the growth route of a “Strength-All-In One-Shot Character I Love Marine” build.

In the end, Giselle completely lost control over Morb.

‘It’s fine. One Morb doesn’t matter.’

While Morb was tenacious and capable for a lower-class student, there were still plenty of students following the Dark Association, including second-year seniors.

She just needed to persuade people like Forester Dorothy, Swiftblade Rockpell, or Berserker Hestia.

“No!”

“If Dorothy wants to attend, I will too.”

“If the Foundation is dangerous, I should stay by Oknodie’s side even more.”

Unlike with Morb, the upper-class students had strong self-determination.

But unlike her loss of influence over Morb, she still had means to bind these students.

“I can use the Dark Association’s information network to find news about Ms. Dorothy’s home forest. Would this make negotiation possible?”

“Really!? I’m worried about Poppy I left in the forest, can you check on her?”

“A pet? That’s not difficult.”

With Dorothy giving in, her childhood friend Rockpell, who followed her around like an appendage, gave up as well.

“For Lady Hestia, I’ll provide several new foods that Oknodie hasn’t tried yet. With these, you can spend private time with Oknodie.”

“I can be with her during lecture time too, right? We’re in the same club as well.”

“But lecture time or club activities aren’t times you spend alone together.”

Since Hestia was already receiving mana cultivation techniques from Oknodie rather than mana alchemy, she had no reason to push herself.

With this, Hestia also withdrew.

“If you wish to die by my blade, I’ll grant your wish.”

“…”

Negotiations with Sing failed from the start, but the number of students attending was greatly reduced.

Morb, Sing, Massgakki, Ishtar, Oknodie.

Only five students attending the lecture.

Rumors say that only three students attend Destroyer’s lecture, a member of the previous hero party, but Destroyer was a member of the hero party.

Jona’s position was completely different.

Besides, this lecture starts at 2 PM on Saturday.

It’s not easy for students to attend a lecture during what should be their rest time while overexerting their bodies.

‘To continue such a difficult lecture, you’d need many students. Unlike Professor Destroyer, Professor Jona has become a target of the Imperial professors.’

If he can’t maintain sufficient student numbers, Professor Jona’s lecture might naturally be closed due to political conflicts among professors.

“Giselle! I’ve heard about what you’ve been doing lately.”

The problem is that Oknodie heard the rumors and came looking.

But this child always exceeded expectations, and today was no exception.

Though Giselle had prepared more than ten excuses to isolate her from the Foundation, she couldn’t use any of them due to the unexpected situation.

“Well done!”

“…Pardon?”

“I was annoyed at having to share something so good, but thanks to your work, now only we can enjoy it!”

“…I’ve also dropped that lecture.”

“Wow. You set an example to make other students give up!”

She’s happy that people can’t attend the lecture.

Beyond the relief of not being hated was an even greater troubled feeling.

This was an expression of trust.

A firm belief that Jona’s professorship wouldn’t be affected even with few students.

It contained deep trust in Jona as much as trust in her actions.

Have I betrayed such pure faith?

Giselle somehow felt ashamed.