Collaborator Search (4)

The Green-haired girl, whining that she didn’t want to attend the meaningless Self-defense Techniques class, slumped down onto the floor.

And the Brown-haired girl, openly hitting her and disrupting the class atmosphere.

Watching the Collaborator who had truly begun their activities, I quietly solidified my conviction.

‘I thought their behavior was a bit strange from the first day, but seeing them cause such a ruckus, I could almost be certain.’

At first glance, it seemed like she was trying to participate in my dagger techniques class, but in reality, she was creating a bad atmosphere, preventing the women from learning means of self-defense.

This was a typical disruptive event caused by a Bandit’s Collaborator in the Humanities Exploration Class at 『Luminor Academy』, so at this point, she was as good as caught red-handed as a Collaborator.

‘As much as I’d like to, I want to kick both of them out of the Self-defense Techniques class.’

If I were to do that, there would undoubtedly be dropouts among the other women.

About half of the women gathered here were probably thinking similar thoughts to what this Green-haired girl just blurted out. If I handled things by kicking her out, an atmosphere of “if you don’t want to, you don’t have to” would form, and consequently, dropouts from the Self-defense Techniques class would naturally appear among the other women who still had some willingness to learn.

“Teaching Self-defense Techniques to the Village Women” was included in the professor’s class grade evaluation sheet, and if it wasn’t properly carried out, many casualties would inevitably occur in battles with Bandits. And since that was precisely the future this Collaborator woman desired, I couldn’t just stand by and watch it happen.

‘However, openly taking the Brown-haired girl’s side and scolding the Green-haired girl isn’t a good method either….’

About half of the women gathered here probably came with similar thoughts to what this Brown-haired girl was saying.

If I were to give weight to her words here for no reason, those women might also assimilate to her personality.

Like showing an overbearing attitude towards women who try their best to follow the class but are a bit slow to learn, or openly scolding other students who show even a little sign of difficulty.

This, too, would similarly prevent me from achieving my goal by ruining the class atmosphere.

“W-what are you doing?! A-and did I say anything wrong?! Why do I have to learn to swing a dagger for no reason here?!”

“So if the Bandits attack again, are we all just going to get dragged off and die? Didn’t you hear what Lis-ssi said yesterday? Do you want to sacrifice other people’s lives, get dragged away, and then live out your lives as those beastly bastards’ sexual outlets?”

“You d-didn’t have to hit me! If it’s hard, it’s hard, what am I supposed to do?! Besides, everyone’s busy with village restoration, so why waste energy on unnecessary things?!”

“It’s a class we’ll have to learn someday anyway. If that’s the case, it’s better to learn it while there’s an Academy-trained teacher here. Besides, these people are leaving in a few days, and if we don’t learn self-defense now, our village will be unable to respond at all next time, and this time, it’ll truly be over.”

“B-but you didn’t have to hit Mel-ssi! There’s no need to make the atmosphere so hostile….”

“I think Lisa did well, actually? Those damned bastards killed my dad. And he died trying to protect me. If I could have protected myself even a little back then, it wouldn’t have….”

The student groups were already applying their own circumstances and about to split into two factions.

Since the class atmosphere would naturally be ruined no matter which side I chose, the best course of action in this situation was to punish both Lisa and Mel.

“Stop! No more meaningless bickering, both of you.”

“B-but that woman started the violence…!”

“…That bitch ruined the class atmosphere first.”

“The Self-defense Techniques class will continue. And my class isn’t progressing because of the two of you. So both of you, cut it out and stop here.”

“That woman…!”

“…That bitch….”

-Tup, tup.

“…Hah, you fucking bitches. I get it, so both of you, just shut your fucking mouths.”

I couldn’t let this endless bickering continue indefinitely, so I just openly grabbed both women by the neck from the front, right in front of everyone.

…I needed to show such a firm stance to some extent to straighten out this chaotic atmosphere.

“Kuh, kuh-huh?!”

“Guh-huh, kek….”

“You bitches. Do you not understand when I speak nicely? Wouldn’t it be great if you just listened right away before I had to do this, huh?”

“Guh-huh, huh….”

“I’ve told you countless times that we need to prepare for when the Bandits attack again. If you want to die, just die by yourself, why do you keep dragging other people into it? Should I just kill you right here? Then you won’t have to listen to this fucking class anymore, will you? Huh?”

-Jeollejeolle, jeollejeolle.

“And you, too, fucking bitch. I understand your desire for revenge, but what does that have to do with my class? Do you think I was invited here as an Academy Swordsmanship professor? I came here to teach you how to save your lives in a pinch.”

“Eup, kuh-huh….”

“If you were so confident with a sword, you should have enrolled in the Academy long ago. If you’ve lived your whole life in a rural village, you should live according to your station. Just because you want to act like a crazy bitch and don’t care about your life, do you think power you didn’t have will suddenly well up? If you’re so confident, want to fight me one-on-one right now? I’ll fight you without using any stamina or mana. Go on, try to kill me.”

-Jeollejeolle, jeollejeolle.

“…….”

-Cheolpeodeok!

“Kuh, huh, kek-hek, kek…!!”

“Guh-heu-eup, huh…. Kuh-huh….”

Perhaps because I openly choked the two women and spewed harsh words, the atmosphere of the Self-defense Techniques class instantly chilled.

The two people whose necks I had grabbed were speechless, of course, and the rest of the students were subtly hesitant due to the atmosphere.

If I showed a half-hearted, wavering attitude here, there was a possibility of ruining today’s class and tomorrow’s, so I had to clearly demonstrate the consequences for these two. What kind of punishment they would receive if they ruined my class.

“Get into push-up position, both of you.”

“…….”

-Seueuk.

“…G-get into push-up position? H-how here….”

-Peoeok!

“Kya-heu-eup?!”

“Get into push-up position. Let’s understand right away when I speak nicely, okay? Like her.”

“Y-yes, yes-heph…!”

The Brown-haired girl immediately got down on all fours on the floor as soon as I spoke, and the Green-haired girl quickly lowered her posture only after finally taking a kick.

Now that the main culprits who ruined the atmosphere and the Collaborator hidden among the women had been sanctioned, it was time to refocus on the village women’s Self-defense Techniques class.

“Alright, there was a bit of a commotion, but we’ll continue the Self-defense Techniques class. Is there anyone else who wants to say something to me besides these two?”

“…….”

-Jeollejeolle.

“If anyone doesn’t like the content of the Self-defense Techniques class, please tell me anytime. I’ll personally instruct such individuals one-on-one, and if you win a one-on-one sparring match against me, I’ll gladly listen to whatever you have to say.”

“N-no…. There isn’t….”

“…….”

Through the sacrifice of two people-no, to be precise, the Bandit’s Collaborator and one person unluckily entangled with her-the class atmosphere was regained.

In that atmosphere, I continued the task of “Teaching Self-defense Techniques to the Village Women” somehow.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

What happened during today’s class made it a nearly 99% confirmed fact that a Bandit’s spy was hidden among the village women.

Since it almost perfectly matched the “village woman” pattern among the three patterns of traitors I had seen while playing 『Luminor Academy』, it became highly probable that the Collaborator was the young lady who disrupted today’s class.

Of course, that didn’t mean I could arbitrarily kill and condemn that Collaborator woman. If I were to do such a thing before proving that she was truly colluding with the Bandits, I would just become a murderer who killed an innocent person.

So, I had no choice but to convey my opinion to everyone in today’s meeting to be careful of that woman.

After dinner, everyone gathered in the men’s room, and I was waiting for the right moment to speak, preparing to announce that I had found the Collaborator, but then.

“I think I’ve found the Bandit’s collaborator.”

Seraphine spoke about “Collaborator Search” before me, and my suggestion was forcibly pushed back.