Chapter 13

“Senior, that’s a bit harsh…”

Annette couldn’t hold back and interjected, but Camian stopped her with his hand. He wanted to hear what kind of nonsense the person was spouting.

“Go on, let’s hear it.”

“You’re broke, aren’t you?”

What kind of person lacks even basic manners? Camian was boiling inside but endured it with extreme patience.

“You’re working part time because you’re broke. But think about it. What happens to a person without talent who wastes time on part time jobs? Will their grades improve, or will they plummet? Obviously, the latter.”

“Such nonsense…”

“No, no, you already know it. That’s why you’re anxious.”

Camian’s fist clenched tightly.

He was angry at himself for not being able to deny it immediately. But he couldn’t show such feelings in front of this person.

“Let’s stop with the nonsense.”

Camian turned away, indicating he didn’t need to hear any more.

“Annette, let’s go.”

Annette, who had been watching, quickly followed Camian.

Max didn’t bother to stop them.

However, he threw one last remark.

“It’s good to have pride, but think about your friend too.”

That should be enough for a start. Watching their retreating figures, I thought to myself.

Right now, the relationship between the protagonist and me is at zero favorability. No, it’s probably in the negatives.

In such a relationship, would the protagonist understand anything I say?

Absolutely not.

So, what should I do?

I’ll make the protagonist aware of me, even if it means being harsh. But that doesn’t mean I can say just anything. Otherwise, it would be dismissed as nonsense.

So, I only touched on points that would elicit a reaction.

Was it effective?

Judging by the protagonist’s reaction, it seemed sufficient.

Especially…

‘he couldn’t stand the last remark.’

I laughed happily.

Annette Laiel. I know her well. The protagonist’s childhood friend and the eldest daughter of the neighboring Laiel barony.

Although from the same barony, her situation was different from the protagonist’s.

The Croycher territory, mostly mountainous and isolated.

On the other hand, the Laiel territory had some usable plains. Therefore, the output of their territory was more than double. Unlike the protagonist, she had no worries about tuition fees.

Yet, she’s working unnecessary part time jobs with the protagonist?

There’s only one reason.

Because she likes the protagonist.

‘The traditional heroine.’

The childhood friend heroine.

Full favorability from the start. (Although not visible in numbers, it was a fact.

Difficulty of conquest: zero.

Anyway, that’s from the user’s perspective. The protagonist, who is commonly dense in such matters, is unaware of Annette’s feelings. It’s a one sided affection.

Even so, it’s undeniable that the protagonist considers Annette a precious friend. After openly saying that you’re bothering your friend, you can’t help but be conscious of it.

“I’ll wait, and the reaction will come naturally.”

I smiled and boarded the carriage waiting for me. The return journey was silent.

Camian was lost in thought and didn’t speak, and Annette, watching him, kept quiet as well.

How long did that awkward silence last?

Annette gathered her courage and spoke first.

“Don’t worry about what was said.”

“…Worry, huh.”

Camian muttered and turned his gaze to Annette.

“It’s just unbelievable. That person said such things to me.”

A delinquent senior I barely know. That person suddenly came up to me and spouted nonsense about me having no talent, being a night owl, and being broke.

It was naturally unbelievable.

“Right? I think so too.”

Annette agreed.

Camian has no talent? That’s ridiculous.

Since childhood, Camian has always been a shining child. And it’s still the same now.

It’s true he’s recently faced some difficulties in his studies, but that’s just a slump everyone experiences,

not due to a lack of talent or effort. Once he overcomes the slump, he’ll return to a high position…

“But you know.”

Camian’s words cut off Annette’s thoughts.

“Hmm?”

“The new semester is starting soon.”

Precisely, tomorrow was the opening day of the second semester.

“Yeah.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to quit the part time job once the semester starts?”

It wasn’t the first time Camian had suggested this. The reason is that Annette’s situation is different from his.

She has money, and he doesn’t.

There’s no need for her to sacrifice her time for a part time job. That’s why he had discouraged her from working part time several times. But each time, she waved it off, saying it was fine.

“No. I like the feeling of growing in various ways, gaining social experience, and learning about relationships.”

As expected, she refused again this time. It’s not wrong. Part time work certainly provides various experiences. But it doesn’t help with the most important thing: studies.

It only poses a risk of causing problems.

Yet she still wants to continue working part time. I know she won’t answer honestly if I ask.

So, I can only guess.

‘It’s because of me.’

Annette and I have been friends who supported each other during tough times since childhood. She knows better than anyone the difficulties I’m facing after failing to get a scholarship. She wants to be a support by my side.

I’m grateful for that feeling.

But this way…

‘…it’s only a nuisance.’

But it’s hard to change her stubborn mind.

Ultimately, the only way is to improve my grades and get a scholarship again. But is that really possible?

The confidence and certainty I had at the beginning of school are gone. Even when I try my hardest, the anxiety doesn’t go away.

‘No… I’m still just a freshman.’

I tried to reassure myself, but the words of that person echoed in my head.

‘Do you get it now? You have no talent.’

‘If you keep this up, you’ll fail…’

‘It’s good to have pride, but think about your friend too.’

Camian frowned and composed himself. There’s no need to even think about the nonsense spouted by that person. He must have done some background checks to find a junior he could manipulate. It’s entirely possible for that person, from what I’ve heard in rumors.

“Camian ?”

Annette looked at him worriedly.

Camian relaxed his expression.

“It’s nothing, let’s go.”

If that person shows up again, I’ll consistently ignore him from now on.

Camian made up his mind.

The opening day approached. It was the official start of the second semester, which could be called Chapter 2 of the game.

The second semester is a practical semester. Dungeon practice and mock battles are especially important practices that occupy a large part of the grades.

It was, of course, important to me as well. In this game, to build the most important connections, I had no choice but to become a person worth using. If I continued to be a good for nothing troublemaker, what kind of proper person would interact with me?

So, I had to rise up.

What I was aiming for was to be promoted from the Common Class, filled with small fry, to the Royal Class in one go. For that, I needed to prepare perfectly for those two practices.

‘No, it can’t be perfect.’

Above all, time was too tight. Becoming stronger isn’t something that happens easily. It seemed necessary to change the words. Let’s do the best preparation we can.

“By the way.”

There was one hidden event that absolutely couldn’t be missed. The dungeon emergence event that occurs in Harkin’s Mountain. It’s not some artificial dungeon created by the academy for student practice. It’s a natural dungeon, albeit a low level one,

So it was a very lucrative hidden event where you could acquire treasures and various items inside the dungeon. In short, it was a precious event that could give the protagonist a breather in the early stages of the game’s financial situation. But I might be the only one who knows about this hidden event. Because I’m probably the only crazy user who tirelessly climbs Harkin’s Mountain early in the game where you can’t get anything.

If I hadn’t thought of the novel method of learning archery by exploiting Hiresia’s weakness, I probably wouldn’t have looked at Harkin’s Mountain in the early stages either.

So, I might be able to monopolize it without any trouble but

“It’s foolish.”

I asserted.

First, unlike the protagonist, I’m too weak to conquer it alone.

Second, even if by some chance I could conquer it, it wouldn’t affect the protagonist’s growth and financial situation even a speck. If it’s about money, it’s already rotting away. But would the protagonist accept the money I give?

Considering the protagonist’s personality, absolutely not. He would probably explode in anger, accusing me of treating people like beggars with dirty money.

So, what should I do?

I have no choice but to make the protagonist acquire it with his own strength.

So.

“I have to draw them in.”

I’ll draw the protagonist and Annette to Harkin’s Mountain.

The reason I’m also drawing in Annette is that the current protagonist’s skills seem unreliable. It’s different from the protagonist I’ve raised according to my own formula.

I hate to admit it, but it seems like it’s not even at the level of an average user’s upbringing. What kind of pathetic death would it be if the protagonist, whom I trust, gets caught in a dungeon with just the two of them and screams to death?

So, it’s three.

With three, it should be enough to conquer the dungeon.

Of course, Hiresia is out of the question. If she joined, conquering the dungeon would be a piece of cake, but growth would be impossible. It’s not a game where you level up while playing if you receive a carry. This is.

Dum dum dum!

The bell rang, signaling 10 minutes before class time.

The first semester had an entrance ceremony combined with the opening ceremony, but the second semester started with classes right from the first day.

“I should leave before it’s too late.”

I grabbed my bag and quickly left the dorm room.

The large building is located at the very center of Saint Lepheria Academy. That building was the main building of the academy. It housed lecture halls for all grades, as well as key facilities such as the chancellor’s office, vice chancellor’s office, academic affairs office, and administrative office. The place I was heading to was naturally the main building.

Students dressed in casual clothes were heading to the lecture halls of the main building in groups of three or five.

I naturally blended into the crowd. Most of them were walking in close knit groups, having cheerful conversations. Walking alone, separated from everyone else, I felt a sense of awkwardness.

…What’s this?

Is Max being ostracized? How come not a single person greets me first?

No, not even a greeting, but when our eyes meet, they quickly avert their gaze as if they’ve seen something dirty. At this rate, it’s almost like a relationship breakdown…? I thought it was a dump, but it turns out reality is more serious. What’s this? I clicked my tongue in disbelief when a hoarse voice came from behind.

“Hey, Max, how have you been?”

Huh?

The first person to greet me.

What a nice guy.

…As if.

When I turned around, there was a guy I disliked, reeking of thug vibes, standing there. The way he walked, with his hands deep in his pockets and swaggering, was the epitome of a thug.

Especially since his hair was blond, it was even more irritating… Ah, is that a prejudice?

I narrowed my eyes and stared hard at the blond thug.

Looking closely, I remembered seeing his face briefly. One of the trio who got beaten up like a dog by the protagonist next to Annette when they were hitting on her during the academy festival.

He seemed to be part of Max’s gang.

Naturally, they would be close friends. But that’s from Max’s perspective, and right now, do I have anything to gain from being friendly with this extra thug?

Of course not.

But since I’m not one to make enemies unnecessarily, I decided to return the greeting for now.

“Yeah. Sure.”

The blond thug grinned and stuck by my side.

“Heard you went into the dorm? What, did you run out of money?”

It seemed the rumor was about money. Well, it’s been a few days already.

“Well, let’s just say that’s the case.”

There was no reason to give a proper answer to such a guy, so I casually responded.

“Wow, Max, the great lord’s money has run out. Well, you did spend quite a bit of money. Plus, that hotel fee is too expensive. If it were me, I would never have stayed there. Sleeping while your money melts away, sh*t? Hahaha.”

“Hey, why are you so down? Don’t you know your father? Just hold on a little longer, and he’ll stuff you with bundles of money again. Just hold out until then.”

Ah, it’s annoying. So annoying. Since we’re probably in the same class, I can’t tell him to buzz off, so I waved my hand dismissively as if shooing away a fly.

“If you know I’m out of money, don’t call me anymore.”

“Man, that’s harsh, that’s harsh. After all we’ve been through, you talk like that. We should have a drink to celebrate the start of the semester.”

“I said I don’t have money.”

“Hey, if you don’t have money, is there no way? Just shake down a money tree. Riera, right?”

The blond thug smirked and said.

Huh? What, is this guy’s brain finished?

It’s irritating, should I get rid of him with school violence? …No, that’s not it.

sh*t, if he gets involved, does that mean I’m involved too?

My mind snapped to attention as I sensed something bad was about to happen. Violence would lead to severe punishment without fail. I could be directly hit with the Maximum penalty of expulsion. Then the game would be over, damn it.

‘That won’t do.’

I decided to clean up this mess first. Leaving a source of anxiety is not my hobby. While I’m at it, I thought of settling the annoying relationship with Max’s thug gang and starting the second semester fresh.

“Okay.”

“Huh?”

“Tell me more about that story.’