Chapter 3

There’s no time as leisurely as vacation. Especially for him, who is in charge of the dormitory,

Since most of the vigorous students return home, there’s no need to be on edge and manage them.

But even that vacation is now coming to an end.

Not a few students have already returned to the dormitory.He, the manager, was also busy ensuring that there were no issues with the students moving in.

“Royal is all clear. Noble side has no particular issues, and Common’s Building A, Room 501 ceiling work was completed today…”

He was checking the documents when there was a stir at the door.

“Manager, excuse me.”

“Come in.”

An employee in charge of the dormitory administration entered.

“What’s the matter?”

“A second year student wants to move into the dormitory.”

“Move in?”

“Yes.”

A student’s dormitory move in wasn’t something that could be decided at the employee level.

It was the manager’s exclusive authority.That’s why he came to report.

“Who is the student?”

“A second year Common Class student named Max Celtrine.”

“Max Celtrine?”

The manager immediately remembered who the student was. Remembering every single student in the academy wasn’t easy, even for him with his not so bad memory.

But there are students who are very clearly remembered.They usually fall into two categories.

Either very exemplary or very problematic.Max Celtrine was the latter.

The manager’s eyes furrowed.

“Why all of a sudden?”

The words that came out weren’t nice. He, who was stricter than anyone else on school rules, disliked troublemakers.If it weren’t for the current chancellor’s leniency, there would be more than one or two guys who should have been sent to the disciplinary committee for punishment.

Max Celtrine was certainly one of those guys.

“Well, I don’t really…”

“Hmm.”

The manager, with a furrowed expression, spoke again.

“Let him in for now.”

‘Was there such a troublesome procedure?’

Sitting in the chair and waiting, I thought.In the game, the protagonist is already a dormitory student, so I didn’t know there was such a procedure.

Well, it must be a formal procedure. But anyway. For the first time in the game, I met a faculty member with some significance.

Manager Cophen.

He was a very simple character to understand. He showed a friendly attitude towards exemplary students and a cold attitude towards those who caused problems. So if you play as the protagonist and go off the rails, no quests related to Cophen would open.

Even more so if you cross the line, Cophen would report to the chancellor, and you’d be sent to the disciplinary committee and expelled, leading straight to a bad ending.

That means.

Cophen would undoubtedly hate this body I’ve possessed.

‘Even so, he wouldn’t mix personal feelings with official business.’

That’s what I was thinking when. The employee came out of the manager’s office.

“Student Max, please come in.”

“Understood.”

I walked in without hesitation into the manager’s office. An elderly man with deep wrinkles proving the passage of time was sitting there.

That old man was Cophen.

“Hello.”

I greeted him politely.

“Sit there.”

I sat opposite Cophen, looking straight at him without avoiding his eyes. I could immediately feel that he didn’t like my expression. It seemed like his dislike for troublemakers had already kicked in.

Cophen tilted his head and opened his mouth.

“You want to move into the dormitory?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I, too, as a student of the academy, would like to experience dormitory life at least once…”

“What?”

Cophen cut me off. To me, a little flustered, Cophen shot back.

“It was you who hated dormitory life and ran out!”

What?

The same words flowed in my mind as Cophen’s. This guy, it seems, couldn’t stand dormitory life and ran out on his own. I understood a little.

The Common dormitory, where the inferior student group, the Common Class, stays, isn’t a place fit for humans. It was deliberately made into a dump to stimulate the students desire to study.

No, but still, this isn’t right.

“I apologize. I misspoke.”

I quickly hid my fluster and spoke. To me, Cophen delivered a heavy blow.

“Misspoke or not, I can’t allow you to move in. It’s not a joke to be indecisive like this.”

“No, that’s too harsh…”

“I can’t allow it.”

I was genuinely flustered. This would be a disaster from the start. Sweat flowed from my forehead, and my mind was in turmoil. I kept recalling everything I knew about Cophen.

I had to figure it out. A way to persuade this old man.

And then…

‘Is this it?’

I finally thought of one way. Meanwhile, Cophen issued an order to leave.

“Why are you sitting there so restlessly? If you’re done, leave.”

Of course, I couldn’t just leave obediently.

I opened my mouth with a serious look.

“I admit it.”

“What are you talking about?”

“That until now, I have been a seriously inferior student. No, worse than that, a troublemaker.”

Cophen’s face turned into an expression as if to say, what nonsense is this guy spouting?

I continued without caring.

“But nothing is eternal in this world. I have decided to start anew and devote myself to my studies by moving into the dormitory. I hope you recognize that.”

“Huh, what nonsense.”

Cophen snorted as if it was ridiculous.

I understand.

If I were him, and the world’s troublemaker suddenly spouted nonsense about devoting himself to studies, I’d swear at him to his face…

Ahem…

Thinking about it, Cophen, who just snorted, seems to be a person of character.

“Anyone can spout words carelessly. But in my many years of experience, people don’t change, except for a very few exceptions.”

Words of weight flowed from his experience. Honestly, we’re the same age.

Just look at tardiness. Doesn’t the person who’s always late continue to be late? But I couldn’t just agree with him here.

“Of course, that might be the case. There’s a high probability that I’ll continue to live a life like waste, not helping society at all. But I might also become a noble who uses his fortune to help countless poor people. No one knows the future.”

“Huh, really now.”

Cophen made a face as if to say, how dare you? And then I finally pulled out the card I had been preparing.

“Of course, I don’t intend to just talk. I must show it through my actions. From now on, I will make weekly donations.”

“Hmm? What did you just say?”

“I would like to show even a small sincerity with weekly offerings. I’ve heard that the order does a lot of good work. There could be nothing better than being even a small help to that.”

Offerings.

That was the card I had chosen. Cophen was a faculty member of the order. Moreover, he was a very devout believer. It meant that he would be very happy to do good for the order.

Of course, the rascal Max would never have made such offerings. He wasn’t even a believer to begin with. It meant an opportunity to grab a new benefactor (?). Could Cophen really pass up that opportunity?

“Hmm, offerings, you say?”

As expected, Cophen’s expression changed. He seemed a bit flushed.

“Yes. A modest 10 gold every week.”

I casually mentioned the amount. 10 gold a week means 40 gold a month. In this world, that’s several times the average monthly salary of a skilled knight, which is about 10 gold. It was a reckless spending spree, trusting in the wealth of the Celtrine family. But the effect was certain.

“Te ten gold every week?”

Cophen’s eyes spun around. At this point, it was almost as if he had fallen for it.

“Ha… Haha… I misjudged you. You have the will to repent. Yes, if you devote yourself to God, you will surely be able to repent.”

…But you said people don’t change earlier.

“I will take your words to heart.”

I moved back to the main topic.

“As for the dormitory issue…”

“Haha, of course, you should come in. The dormitory is wide open for students who are dedicated to their studies.”

…But it wasn’t open earlier.

“Good timing. The ceiling work in room 501 of the Common Hall A was just finished today. Go on, ask the staff below for the key to room 501 and settle in comfortably from today.”

“Phew, it was hard to get into the dormitory.”

A sigh naturally escaped me.

If I hadn’t known Cophen’s personality, I would have been stuck without being able to enter the dormitory. This was all because of the trashy behavior Max usually exhibited.

Thinking about the disadvantages that would continue due to the trashy behavior he had shown everywhere gave me a headache.…It can’t be helped.

If I can’t overcome even this level of difficulty, I don’t deserve to say I’ll clear this game.

And

‘When you think about it, it’s not the worst starting point?’

Max was just an extra. As an extra, he didn’t have any special abilities or talents. But even Max had two weapons.

Family and money.

Those were surprisingly great weapons. Especially money. Anyone who has played this game would agree. How much the protagonist was restricted from the beginning because he had no money, Expensive items were out of the question, and life was barely sustainable.

And that was only because he got a scholarship for the first semester for being the second best entrant, if he couldn’t maintain good grades, a truly miserable life would unfold from that moment.

He would have to throw himself into the part time job market to cover tuition and living expenses.

That’s when the vicious cycle begins. Part Time jobs slow down growth and grades start to drop.

That’s how the game goes to ruin. Of course, there’s not absolutely no way out.

If you clear a quest related to finances, you can breathe easier. So, the key to the early game was how quickly you could find and clear a quest related to finances.

‘Compared to that.’

I don’t have to worry about money at all. Because I’m a noble, and a wealthy one at that. The method I used on Cophen earlier. That’s something the early game protagonist could never use.

…Of course, there’s no need to use it either.

“Let’s just go in and sleep for today.”

Just as I was about to step into the dormitory. Something suddenly came to mind.

‘She told me not to waste money.’

The last words my sister said. I didn’t intend to waste money even when I was spending it, but an unexpected expense had arisen.

“Well, it’s much better than wasting money on hotel fees.”

Muttering to myself, I entered the dormitory.

Boom!

Whoosh!

Suddenly, the sky darkened, and a fierce rain poured down.

I was lucky.

If I had arrived just a little later, I would have been drenched in the rain. I sat on the creaking bed and looked up at the ceiling. The ceiling that was said to have been fixed today.

Honestly, looking at the shabby state, I couldn’t tell what had been fixed, but at least it wasn’t leaking.

“…This is the Common Hall.”

It was as old and unimpressive as I had seen in the game. It was the place where the Common Class, a group of inferior students, stayed, and the game’s setting was that it was deliberately made this way to encourage a desire for learning and self improvement. It seemed effective.

I would also study and train hard to get out of this miserable place.

“Now that I think about it, I should check my status.”

Since the possession and until I arrived at the dormitory, I had been too busy to have personal time. Now that I had time, there was something I had to do. Check the condition of this body.

“But how do I check? my status”

Before I could even say window, a familiar frame appeared before my eyes. It seemed to have responded to my will to see it. Anyway, that’s not important right now…

Gulp…

I swallowed nervously and slowly focused on the status window. Surely, even if it’s trash, there must be something I’m better at than others. No, maybe two things? Yes, it could be an unscratched lottery ticket. With increasingly baseless expectations, I checked the status window at that moment.

“Aaaaah

A deranged laughter spilled from my mouth.

“…Just die.”