Ch.9090 – The Professor’s Interest
by fnovelpia
<90 – Professor’s Interest>
Early in the morning, as I was getting up to go exercise, a note fell from my door.
===
<Professor Bronze’s Note>
The professor has sent you a note.
When a professor shows interest in a student, it’s a sign of ominous events.
What terrible thing is about to happen?
===
Plus an event notification.
My head started throbbing automatically.
When I opened the note, my headache got worse.
There’s a raccoon with bad habits in the garden.
If you’re interested, come to my research lab.
-Bronze De Estra
Bronze De Estra.
The professor with a large pocket of justice has noticed the theft I committed yesterday.
“Wow. How did I get caught in less than 24 hours?”
Considering I woke up early, I was essentially caught within 12 hours.
Does he know who the culprit is too?
This is terrifying.
I want to dig into the sand and bury my head to hide, but if I did that, the professor might sneak up behind me and say, “You’ve positioned yourself nicely for burial,” and start shoveling dirt on me.
Or he might misunderstand and find me crawling out a few hours later, putting my clothes on the laundry magic circle and heading for a shower.
I need to be brave.
I went to the professor’s research lab to check if my crime had been discovered.
[You have completed Professor Bronze’s note.]
[A follow-up event is waiting to be activated.]
[Open the event with appropriate communication.]
“Do you like cookies?”
“Yes!”
“Too bad.”
The professor flaunted a soft cookie before taking a bite and eating it all by himself.
There’s often a rumor among players that one cannot become a professor without losing their humanity, and it seems I should support that hypothesis now.
‘I need to stay calm.’
I’m a bit annoyed, but if I get emotionally rough, I might reveal my true feelings in a careless response.
I tried to hypnotize myself internally to suppress my desire for cookies and my frustration.
‘That must be a wasabi horseradish cookie. Or maybe a very sour vinegar cookie.’
The professor suddenly asked.
“Do you like tea?”
“…Can I have some too?”
“I was just asking out of courtesy.”
What a rude person.
The way he takes a sip to cleanse his palate is really annoying.
It makes me appreciate what a generous person Arcadia is for offering free snacks and tea.
“Are you enjoying academy life?”
“Very much.”
“Very much enjoyable?”
“Yes.”
“That’s good.”
The professor put down his teacup and said.
“Soon, unpleasant things will begin.”
“……”
Was this person always like this in the game?
I mostly only looked at his chest, so I don’t remember.
I knew he was weak for beautiful women, but I never expected to be caught like this.
From now on, I should remember people not just by their face or figure, but also properly consider their personality.
“I have three pieces of information.”
Professor Bronze, despite his unimposing name, exuded an imposing atmosphere.
“But a thief must obtain what they want with their own hands. I’ll give you information if you pay an appropriate price for each piece.”
===
<Three Pieces of Information>
The professor has presented three pieces of information.
Choose the information you want to purchase and offer an appropriate price.
If your payment is insufficient, the deal may fall through.
①Information about the Academy’s <Weekly Event>
②Information about <The Thief Who Stole the Treasure> from the Plant Club
③Information about how to receive skill training at the Academy
===
“Are you asking for points?”
“You can also pay with information. Don’t you have at least one? Some valuable information that would warrant gratitude if shared with others.”
“Hmm… I do have some.”
“Well then, tell me. What do you want?”
“I don’t want any of the information you’re selling!”
“…Oh?”
The professor’s face showed surprise.
“You must know that Gift Academy is no ordinary academy. You must be curious about the value of the treasure. And if you seek strength, you’d be interested in skills.”
Yet you don’t want anything?
Don’t lie.
The professor looked at me like he was soothing a wary child.
“If you’re afraid of not getting your money’s worth, don’t worry. I swear on the honor of the Empire’s greatest noble thief, I won’t shortchange you or deceive you. This offer itself is a favor to you.”
But I really already know all this information.
Weekly events appear in a fixed pattern rotation, I am the thief, and the way to receive skill training is to complete professors’ requests.
But a child who knows everything lacks a certain cuteness.
Efficiency freaks have no style.
A true veteran player should occasionally know how to follow inefficient routes with finesse!
“I’m curious about skill training.”
“The information fee is simple. Show me your skills. If your skill satisfies this noble thief, I’ll teach you a corresponding skill.”
This is the method where if you’ve trained a ‘basic skill’ with sufficient proficiency, they’ll teach you an advanced version or related skill.
It’s something more suited for a training instructor at some training ground, but professors are an extension of instructors.
Some professors mainly teach theory, but others teach practical knowledge, and some practical professors teach the skills themselves.
Skills taught by Professor Bronze, the noble thief.
His magnificent chest is certainly tempting, but the idea of my chest growing bigger causes some… psychological resistance.
Though I was once a ‘child’ as a man, I was never a ‘woman.’
“May I borrow an empty cup?”
“If you wish.”
“One more please.”
The professor nodded.
“Just one more please!”
“Ask for one more and you’ll take tears home with you.”
Professor Bronze snapped his fingers in the air.
The chilling sound made me fear my skull would collapse and I’d die.
“Three is enough.”
Perhaps fascinated with Oriental pottery, each of the three cups had different patterns engraved on them.
“Please put a coin in one paper cup and mix the other two cups. I’ll turn around and not look.”
“You want to play the shell game? Against a noble thief?”
“How about it? Sounds fun, right?”
“You’ll guess without looking. Can you do it?”
“Hehe. Just because I turn around doesn’t mean I can’t see, right?”
When I confidently provoked him, the professor took out a coin.
“This is a 777th anniversary commemorative coin issued by the Central Holy Empire in the year 777. Only 777 were issued, and it’s known as a coin that brings luck.”
“Wow! That’s amazing.”
“If you really guess correctly, I’ll give you this coin.”
“Really?”
This isn’t an item you can just have because you want it.
Items related to luck are especially like that.
Most can only be obtained if you’re truly lucky!
‘I must have this!’
I turned around excitedly, and the professor casually said.
“Then I’ll begin.”
“Yes~”
The professor placed the coin in a cup with a clack.
Then he took the two cups without coins and mixed them together.
“Done.”
“Hmm~ Where could it be~”
I’m acting clueless, but I already know.
I heard everything through ‘sound’!
“You hid it here, right?”
[You’ve entertained Professor Bronze with your shell game coin-finding skills.]
[Finding experience +1]
[Synesthesia experience +1]
[Social life experience +1]
[Entertaining experience +1]
The professor smiled with satisfaction.
“You’re very good at this.”
“Hehe. Give me the coin!”
“Yes. If you guess correctly two more times, the coin will be yours.”
“What? That’s not fair!”
“It’s right there.”
The professor pointed to the corner of the table where [Round 1: Success][Round 2: ?][Round 3: ?] had appeared.
“It was there from the beginning. Didn’t you see it?”
“Ugh. After three correct guesses, you’re not going to say it’s best of 7, are you?”
“I won’t torment you that much.”
“Fine. Then it’s the second round.”
As soon as I turned my head, the professor immediately said.
“Done.”
“Huh?”
I didn’t hear any sound.
No sound of cups being lifted, no sound of the coin being placed, no sound of cups being put down, no sound of the two empty cups being mixed—complete silence.
A silent process that happened in an instant.
This professor, he unfairly used <Acceleration> with <Sound Barrier>!
I pouted resentfully as I turned my head, and the professor chuckled.
“Try to guess. If you can still get it right.”
“Hmph. Were you that tired of seeing a student’s entertainment?”
“If you were merely trying to locate the coin through sound, I’d be a little disappointed.”
It seems excessive to be so serious with a child, but I didn’t ask to be treated differently.
Saying “I’m a child, so go easy on me!” in a serious competition is something my veteran player ego won’t allow.
Besides, ‘hearing’ was never the only way to find the coin.
“It’s here, right?”
“You really are good at guessing.”
It’s a simple trick.
The cup hiding the coin stays in place, but the other two cups are mixed once.
If you memorize the specific ‘pattern’ on each cup, you can tell which cup stayed in place and which cups were mixed.
For example, if the coin is in cup 1:
If cups 2 and 3 are mixed, cup 1 stays in place, and cup 1’s pattern can be found in position 1.
If the coin is in cup 2 or 3:
Cup 1 is mixed with another cup, and its pattern can be found in a different position than before.
The fact that all three cups have different patterns was the first thing I confirmed when I received them!
[You’ve further entertained Professor Bronze with your shell game coin-finding skills.]
[Finding experience +2]
[Memorization experience +2]
[Visual experience +2]
[Social life experience +2]
[Entertaining experience +2]
The smile on the professor’s face deepened.
“Next time, you should learn how to hide your gaze.”
“…Did you notice?”
“Heh. Turn around now. We should start the final shell game.”
I turned around praying it wouldn’t be what I feared, but again he almost immediately said, “Done.”
Absurdly, the three cups were now covered by three even larger cups.
“Now. Find it. Which cup contains the cup with the coin?”
This evil professor used [Sound Barrier], [Swift], and [Cover-up] simultaneously in that short time.
“Surely you won’t claim that putting cups on top of cups is cheating? We never established such a rule.”
Is this the dirty, unfair way of a noble thief?
The cruelty of taking a child’s entertainment seriously.
I was appalled by the wicked capabilities of an academy professor.
0 Comments