Ch.8585 – Snowball

<85 – Snowball>

The students collected a total of 498 flags in the flag competition.

Of those, 300 were fake, leaving 198 real ones.

Most students targeted Oknodie’s team’s flags, which were already proven to be real.

A whopping 63 real flags.

Near them, even randomly grabbing would likely get you a real flag.

“Just quickly gather ours and rush to grab Oknodie’s flags!”

“We’ll take care of our team’s real flags, so you all go collect Oknodie’s flags.”

Most teams had the same strategy.

While one or two people collected a few marked real flags from their team and guarded the basket, the rest would try to grab as many of Oknodie’s flags as possible.

“Oknodie. Zigoku is out of bullets, and Lotta’s hair has been pulled out. Shamefully, I’ve lost quite a bit of strength too. It seems difficult to protect the flags.”

“It’s okay. We can abandon all our flags.”

“Abandon all our flags? All 63 of them?”

“No way! What do you think I resisted until my hair was pulled out for? Don’t give up on the assignment!”

Lotta cried out tearfully.

Whether it was because she thought the team was giving up on the flags, or because the pain from having her hair pulled out remained, or both, she certainly looked to be in a lot of pain.

“Don’t worry. I have a plan.”

“Really?”

“Actually, I can distinguish the real flags.”

“Whaaaat?!”

“Shh! Everyone gather around. I’ll teach you how to identify the real flags.”

The method to distinguish real flags.

It was quite simple.

“Real flags, if you look closely, have a light transmittance of 10%. A little light shines through beneath the flag!”

“And fake flags?”

“Fake flags have light transmittance ranging from 20% to 90%, all mixed up. They managed to get flagpoles somehow, but couldn’t get the right fabric for the flags!”

Light transmittance!

“Where did you learn that?”

“Huh?”

“Light transmittance. The degree to which light passes through fabric.”

“E-early education?”

“Amazing. Both the family that thought to teach such a thing, and the person who learned and applied it in practice.”

From Lotta’s perspective, who had only learned a bit of martial arts and wasn’t even as good as Oknodie, she wondered if this was what a true genius looked like.

“But how do you distinguish between 10% and 20% transmittance? They look the same to me.”

“What? How can you confuse them? It’s like the difference between very thick stockings and slightly thick stockings.”

“Uh, when you put it that way, I kind of get it, but also kind of don’t…”

While they were flustering about, the agreed-upon time arrived.

Amidst students frantically searching through flags, Oknodie’s team rushed in.

Of course, I, the ace, was the first to unhesitatingly pick out flags.

[You have picked out 10 real flags in a row with your excellent discernment.]

[Observation experience +10]

[Visual experience +1]

[You have picked out 20 real flags in a row with your excellent discernment.]

[Observation experience +10]

[Visual experience +2]

[You have picked out 30 real flags in a row with your excellent discernment.]

[Observation experience +10]

[Visual experience +3]

Experience points steadily increasing.

This is why I took the drastic measure of resetting the flags I had collected with my own hands to pick them up again.

If you know how to identify real flags, this method yields maximum efficiency!

“Nngh… same transmittance as stockings, same transmittance as stockings…”

Lotta took off her stockings and compared them with the flags to identify the real ones.

“Lotta. Could you take off your stocking on the other side too?”

“Why don’t you use your own and ask for mine?”

“As you can see, my legs are too thick to wear stockings.”

“…With that thickness, I guess there wouldn’t be stockings in your size.”

Lotta obediently took off her other stocking.

However, neither they nor I could have dreamed that this would cause unexpected ripple effects.

* *

Students who saw Lotta removing her stockings were greatly shocked.

“Lotta, have you no dignity as a noble lady?!”

“To think she would take off her stockings when threatened by a strong thug from the frontier!”

“My goodness! How dreadful!”

A scene of bullying, harassment, sexual harassment!

“Wait. Didn’t that gorilla woman Hestia move on Oknodie’s orders?”

“Oknodie, that scary child! She deliberately left her team to bully Lotta, who confronted her before the entrance ceremony!”

“Wow, honestly, that’s disappointing… Are frontier kids that vicious? They’re worse than imperial nobles.”

Amidst students denouncing Oknodie’s atrocities, Massgakki shouted loudly.

“Are you all stupid~? She’s comparing stockings with flags. That’s the strategy♥ Take yours off too♥ Quickly♥”

“I see, using stockings helps identify them!”

“Ah, the hero has already taken off her stockings!”

While Massgakki urged her followers, the hero Ishtar had already removed her stockings and begun comparing their light transmittance with the flags.

“Tch. This method isn’t working. It’s not fast enough.”

“No, it works well for us. Only you, Ishtar, could tell the difference by feeling the weight.”

When Saint Yufi followed Ishtar in removing her stockings, other female students also realized the method and began pulling down their thigh-high stockings by hooking their fingers into them.

“Gasp.”

“Hey, look over there.”

“What’s going on?”

The male students stopped searching for flags and just blinked.

All around, female students were lying on their backs, placing their hands on their buttocks or thighs, grunting as they revealed their elegant lower bodies.

Everyone was captivated by the truly eye-pleasing sight—the heirs of the Empire’s three great meritorious families, the frontier’s Andersen duchy heir, and even the monkey beastkin Son Ocheon with his lecherous heart.

“I don’t know who came up with this method, but I’m truly grateful!”

“I don’t want to appear perverted, but I must agree this time.”

“Stop talking nonsense and come help me, Giselle.”

When Isabelle beckoned, Giselle’s narrow eyes doubled in size.

“H-help with what?”

“What else? I need to take off my stockings quickly, but they won’t come down. I usually wear leggings, so stockings are difficult.”

Even if you don’t usually think of your teammate that way, when asked to help remove stockings—even understanding it’s to gain an advantage in the assignment—your heart starts racing.

‘Is this a normal request?’

When Rockpell next to her gave a subtle glance, Dorothy narrowed her eyes into triangles and snapped:

“Don’t even dream of it. I will never allow anyone to touch my legs.”

“…I haven’t said anything yet.”

“Even looking is sexual harassment!”

Judging by that prim reaction, it seemed that not just anyone could be asked to help remove stockings.

‘An adventurer’s legs are surprisingly soft.’

From the fleshy thighs to the calf muscles that fit perfectly in his palm, and the inexplicably sweet scent of a woman’s soft legs.

After helping remove the stockings, Giselle felt genuinely grateful to Oknodie for the sensation that remained on his hands.

‘Oknodie. Thanks to you, I had a wonderful experience.’

Not just Giselle—from all around, male students’ sincere gazes of gratitude flew toward Oknodie for the good view they’d enjoyed!

* *

-One minute remaining.

At the Dragon Principal’s insensitive reminder, the distracted male students finally came to their senses.

But someone had already sprung into action during their lapse in vigilance.

It was the dangerous Eastern swordsman Sing, who had been waiting silently for the right moment to intervene.

“A swordsman’s discernment is used to choose who to kill.”

The Eastern swordsman Sing ignored the implicit truce—that everyone would just collect flags while the flags were being reset rather than fighting each other—and charged at me.

“Hmph. Who’s going to fall for that?”

[You have anticipated the enemy’s surprise attack and prepared a strategy.]

[Behavior Prediction experience +8]

[Strategy Development experience +4]

Thanks to having warned Hestia in advance about a possible surprise attack, she blocked Sing’s movement.

“You can’t touch Oknodie!”

“Out of my way, woman.”

“Ugh. My arms are losing strength at this timing…!”

Hestia’s arms had accumulated fatigue from the previous battle.

The axe flew from her hands.

A moment of confusion from losing her weapon.

Not missing that opening, Sing rushed in, kicked one of Hestia’s legs to break her stance, and struck her chin with his sword handle, knocking her down.

Faster than Hestia fell, Sing bypassed her.

His lightning-fast strike aimed for my flag.

‘If I don’t let go of the flag, he’ll cut off my arm with it!’

But if I let go of the flag or draw my sword, I won’t be able to keep up with the hero’s flag-collecting pace.

Sing’s stride was so extraordinary that I couldn’t believe I could shake him off by running away.

I needed another approach here.

In this moment of crisis.

I blinked my eyes frantically.

A coquettish response only possible for a 133cm petite cute girl character, not a 230cm muscular male character.

The so-called “Would you really cut down someone this cute?” strategy!

Sing looked at my desperate winking and said:

“Die.”

The winking had absolutely no effect.

…This guy just said “die.”

Truly heartless bastard.

He looks like he’s going to cut not just my arm but my neck too!

“Protect Oknodie!”

“Ungrateful bastard! And you call yourself a man!”

“The Eastern dog doesn’t even know how to repay kindness!”

But instead of Sing, who I had tried to charm with aegyo, the heirs of the Empire’s three great meritorious families suddenly rushed in front of me and blocked Sing.

CLAAANG!!

In an instant, a terrifying sound of metal rang out as Reph CharcoalBBQ’s armor split, and Cheddar PotatoPizza’s gauntlet covering his large hand shattered.

Finally, Honer FriedChicken’s spear, the last to rush in front of me, barely managed to push Sing back after three collisions.

“This bastard. Did he cut through armor with his sword?!”

“If the sword had gone a little deeper on my side, my hand would have been cut off!”

“I thought my spear was going to break too.”

The heirs of the Empire’s three great meritorious families were shocked.

Sing clicked his tongue as he looked at them.

“Lost a perfect opportunity because of you buffalo cubs.”

“What did you say?!”

As the angry trio was about to protest, the principal’s voice echoed throughout the classroom.

-Thirty minutes have passed.

-Everyone submit your baskets.

Sing was strong, but I survived thanks to the buffalo trio.

Thank you, buffalo trio!