Ch.403403 – Imminent Clash

# 403 – Confrontation Imminent

Currently, there are seven great pirates in the sea.

And one of them was the man called <El Draco>, the professor in charge of the <Naval Combat①> lecture.

“The Zigoku Pirates, huh. I thought it was just kids playing house… but they’re pretty good?”

El Draco had kidnapped a fairly powerful pirate crew, taking into account the excellence of the 981st class.

The great pirate Jormungand, positioned along the trade route connecting the Southern City-State Alliance and the Western Kingdom of Florence.

The pirate crew he kidnapped was the One-Eyed Pirate Crew of Morso, the left arm of Jormungand and a subordinate pirate group that had captured over a hundred merchant ships and grown in power.

“If I’d known it would be like this, maybe I should have kidnapped the right arm instead?”

The true value of Morso’s pirate crew lies in the magic eye implanted after removing one eye.

They are beings who can read wind directions, detect mana flow, or calculate firing distances just by ‘seeing’ without a magician’s excellent calculation abilities.

The Morso pirate crew consists entirely of members of a special class commonly known as <Magic Eye Holders>.

“Cannon fire at a speed even faster than reading with the eye. This level of skill is impossible without experience firing cannons like water.”

“I should give them extra points.”

El Draco’s adjutant and dedicated instructor quickly recorded the score on a mana panel.

The adjutant observed every move of all students throughout the ship as naturally as breathing, maintaining a special sense that even Magic Eye Holders cannot use for extended periods due to rapid eye fatigue.

His competence also proved the strength of El Draco, who commanded such a talented subordinate.

“A great subordinate raises the captain’s status. It’s rare for subordinates to bow to someone inferior to themselves.”

“Are you asking me to flatter you during the exam? Captain, you really don’t care what others think.”

“You’re one to talk? With your insane audacity to brazenly refuse when a notorious great pirate demands flattery.”

“Hmph. Even such brazenness means nothing in the face of overwhelming force. That Oknodie first-year. What’s the spec of the instructors that little monster defeated?”

“They’re skilled enough to be considered <Advanced Combat Personnel> even on the captain’s ship. By the standards of Morso’s pirate crew we just captured, they would be at the level of deck master or helmsman.”

Talents who could make their way in the world right now with such skills had fallen at the hands of a first-year.

And that’s not even the limit of Oknodie’s abilities.

“The Wiheomhae Foundation is truly remarkable. Creating such a secret weapon without anyone knowing.”

“His eyes are completely different from ordinary students. Who would have thought he’d stage a shipboard rebellion, seize officer positions, and aim to acquire massive bonuses by completing <Challenge Tasks>.”

“Still, his thinking was shallow. No matter how excellent the Zigoku Pirates are, he rushed too much. Now he must pay the price.”

“Is it time for the fearless stowaways to make their move?”

“Yes. As my adjutant who has already claimed a ship as your <Domain>, you already know.”

The adjutant nodded.

“I’ve identified all the upperclassmen who stowed away with ill intentions toward Oknodie.”

Captain El Draco, the fact that your domain could cover an entire fleet beyond just one ship.

And that there’s one upperclassman you’re watching just as carefully as Oknodie.

* * *

Cease all hostile actions against Oknodie.

Mandela Castella had made such a declaration early on.

Unity and solidarity.

The second-years, tightly united under Mandela’s charisma, carried out her instructions thoroughly.

At least until it resulted in the complete disappearance of all the herbs they were growing during the <Let’s Try Growing Medicinal Herbs> lecture.

“Ahahaha~!”

“Ugh, what an incredible volume that hurts my ears.”

“Is she starting again?”

“How many times has Mandela laughed now?”

“It’s a new record. She’s exceeded 7 consecutive times in one spot.”

Fortunately for the students attending Professor Red Mountain’s lecture, they avoided failing as a group thanks to Mandela officially filing a complaint with the student council.

But that didn’t erase the resentment of being one-sidedly beaten by Oknodie.

“Mandela must be furious too.”

“She’s probably trying to calm her anger with laughter.”

“Me? This Mandela Castella? Angry? Not at all! Rather, I’m excited!”

“Gah!”

“W-when did you get here?!”

Mandela Castella, who had been standing on the windowsill laughing like a madwoman until just a moment ago, suddenly poked her head out beside the students whispering in the hallway.

Of course, her proud peaks preceded her head, but no second-year dared to give an inappropriate glance to the strongest girl in their year.

“I requested a ceasefire for the sake of our cute junior, but after being so openly beaten, we can’t just let this end without doing anything!”

“Are you finally getting revenge?”

“Grr, I believed in you, Mandela!”

“But how are you planning to get revenge?”

They wanted revenge but lacked confidence.

That was the honest feeling of the second-years.

“That guy was incredibly strong in the inter-year competition at the sports festival. Of course, Mandela wasn’t going all out either, but even the Four Kings of our year were overwhelmed.”

“The justification and opportunity are all on our side! Disciplining a junior who stole a senior’s assignment falls within the range of private sanctions permitted by the student council!”

“Oh, is that really true?”

“Moreover, we’re not the only seniors who had things stolen by Oknodie!”

“Seniors other than us means… third-years, right?!”

He did it without fear.

Rarely does such a phrase fit a situation so perfectly.

“Yes… we are the seniors who had our summons stolen by that fearless brat.”

“Gasp! That badge on their clothes is exclusive to third-years!”

“Wait a minute. That department is… the Production Department?”

Not the Knight Department or Magic Department, but the Production Department.

The second-years couldn’t hide their disappointment.

Without seniors from combat-related classes, there was no way a fight against the powerful Oknodie could be established.

“I understand your disappointment. You might think we’re weak because we’re not from the Knight or Adventure Departments. But that’s only when the Production Department isn’t prepared to fight.”

The third-years whose contracts with the <Gigatron> they had painstakingly tamed and various high-level summons were forcibly severed.

Moreover, now that even the <Baby Kraken> kept in isolation had been stolen, the third-years’ anger had reached its peak.

“Have you ever wondered how the weak Production Department continues to exist between the Knight Department that always tries to take our achievements by force and the Magic Department that tries to steal them with tricks?”

The second-years were honestly curious.

If there was no way to resist, wasn’t the Production Department just… a minor department where low-performing students reluctantly entered to get a diploma and suffered bullying from other departments?

However, there was no tendency among upperclassmen to look down on the Production Department.

“This is the secret.”

When the Production Department seniors lifted their cloaks and coats, a dazzling light burst forth.

“Gasp!”

“W-what an incredible mana light.”

“What are these absurd mana reactions?!”

A Production Department senior held one of the ‘numerous magical tools’ and said:

“These are the ‘Universal Artifact’ series possessed by all third-year students in our department.”

“All those magical tools are universal?!”

“The weak unite to survive. Each student in our small group possesses one magical tool developed in their respective fields.”

They don’t have outstanding swordsmanship or magical talent.

That’s why they dedicated their lives to production.

By fairly sharing their achievements within groups, they secured not just one, but dozens of magical tools.

“But your body’s mana wouldn’t be able to handle that many?!”

“Why do you think we couldn’t handle it?”

“There’s a clear limit to how much mana one person can increase through mana cultivation methods! Especially for the Production Department with inferior talent…”

“We certainly lag behind the Knight and Magic Departments in mana accumulation speed.”

However, that doesn’t mean the Production Department is weak.

“Instead, we possess artifacts forged with outstanding talent. And when we sell them, we can obtain an enormous amount of funds and points.”

“Don’t tell me with that wealth…!”

“Yes. We take <Elixirs> to forcibly increase our mana capacity. Until we can possess multiple magical tools.”

“!!”

“Students who fail to secure enough wealth to create such magical tools cannot survive as third-years. Understand? We’ve accomplished that.”

As an enormous amount of mana surged from the Production Department seniors, even more impressive than their vast array of magical tools, the second-years could barely breathe from the pressure.

“Ohohoho~! With seniors as skilled as you, we second-years feel very reassured!”

Only one person’s laughter, that of class valedictorian Mandela Castella, completely pushed back such pressure.

It was evidence that the depth of her mana was not at all inferior to the third-year elixir monsters—rather, it overwhelmed them.

“Now then, seniors. Are you all available this weekend morning?”

“Don’t tell me… you’re targeting the Naval Combat lecture time? Even upperclassmen would be…”

“There’s a bypass clause. If by chance a special supplementary lecture happens to overlap with a lower-year’s lecture location, the professor takes responsibility for accidents caused by student collisions. The distribution of responsibility costs is determined by agreement between the professors involved.”

“!”

“And it just so happens that Professor Red Mountain’s <Let’s Try Growing Medicinal Herbs> lecture has a special supplementary session called ‘Capturing Aquatic Medicinal Herbs’ at 9 AM on Saturday.”

Professor Red Mountain had made his decision. To confront Professor El Draco and crush Oknodie.

“Ohohohoho~~~! Oknodie, first-year. This Mandela Castella will personally test how much you’ve grown in the second semester!”

“By the way, it’s confirmed that an advanced class student named Zigoku is also taking the same lecture… what kind of person is he?”

“Zigoku? Ah. You mean that red-haired pirate with a pirate hat and coat who claims to be male but looks like a cross-dressing woman with bandages around her chest? There’s nothing particularly noteworthy about him.”

Those are extremely distinctive features!?

Unlike the bewildered second-years, Mandela’s assessment was cold.

“He upgrades expensive bullets to even more expensive attribute-enchanted magic bullets and fires them recklessly, causing opponents to collapse in one hit if they don’t deploy appropriate defensive magic. He’s also somewhat skilled in close combat, able to cut down about twenty lower-class students like autumn leaves, but besides that, he’s nothing. Don’t worry about him!”

…He sounds incredibly strong and concerning!?

The second-years memorized Zigoku’s name clearly.

“Then what do you think would happen if that Zigoku fought with Oknodie?”

The second-year asked, expecting that based on the previous assessment, Mandela would predict Oknodie’s overwhelming victory.

However, Mandela’s evaluation once again greatly surprised the second-years.

“I’m not sure. Barring any special variables, wouldn’t Zigoku win?”

“What?! After that assessment, why would Zigoku win?”

“Obviously. Zigoku is a first-year who knows Oknodie’s weakness. If they’re close enough to attend weekend lectures together, he must know it. I noticed it right away after starting my investigation.”

Mandela held a strong conviction.

“That child is weak against the honey trap.”

“Honey trap?!”

“Moreover, the impact of a honey trap is three times greater when a cross-dressing woman’s true identity is revealed!”

“Ooh!”

“So Oknodie absolutely cannot win if Zigoku deliberately deploys a honey trap.”

If his identity had been discovered, that would be a different story, but the possibility of penetrating Zigoku’s disguise—with chest bandages enchanted with figure correction and perception interference magic—seemed remote.

It was Mandela’s miscalculation, as she naturally couldn’t have thought that his identity had been exposed from the beginning.