episode_0077

“Look, Gilbert is passing by.”

“Is he a new cadet like us?”

“At least now you can’t call me a bastard.”

The cadets whispered to each other as they watched Gilbert walking down the hallways of the academy. In the past, most people would have dismissed him as a bastard, but not now. Unlike before, when people made fun of him and called him an idiot, now there were favorable conversations about him.

However, this was not unnatural, but an extremely natural and natural phenomenon.

During the recent attack on the academy, the sight of him leading the giant soldiers alone to block the intruders left a deep impression on the cadets. The unprecedented attack on the academy by a total of 100 giant soldiers was a catastrophic event that would have resulted in great casualties if it had been done incorrectly.

The initial response was slow due to the belief that the sturdy Academy defense system could not be defeated, and the situation could not be controlled due to the panicked spectators.

Professors with extensive battlefield experience took the lead and evacuated as many people as possible, but it was by no means easy to safely evacuate from the giant soldiers who were engaged in sabotage.

There were professors who managed to lead the giant soldiers, but the situation was difficult due to the overwhelming numerical inferiority. If it weren’t for the hard work of Professor Brianna, the Empire’s greatest sword, it would have been difficult to maintain balance.

However, it was impossible for even Professor Brianna to fight while protecting all of the cadets, and in the end, she fell into a desperate crisis while protecting the cadets.

At that moment, Gilbert appeared.

Gilbert, who began dealing with dozens of giant soldiers alone, rescued Professor Brianna from danger and began sweeping through the enemy lines.

He was like a legendary knight that only appears in fairy tales, as he courageously changed his career without fear even when faced with numerous enemies. Repeatedly fighting desperately to defeat the attackers, he ultimately destroyed more than 20 giant warriors single-handedly.

If it weren’t for Gilbert, who risked his life to fight the giant god soldier alone, a terrible tragedy that I don’t even want to imagine could have happened. The cadets who experienced all the horrors on site had no choice but to look at Gilbert with different eyes than before.

However, Gilbert, the protagonist of the attack, simply ignored the noise of the cadets and headed to the training room. There were some things I got used to because I had been watching it continuously for the past few days, but I was the type of person who didn’t really care about that part.

I was just satisfied that the reputation of being an asshole, which I had always carried around like a label, was gone. This was because there was a high possibility that his reputation as a bastard would become an obstacle when proceeding with the main scenario in the future.

Thinking about the reactions of the cadets around him, Gilbert left the training room only after completing his physical training to the limit as usual, including mana exercises. Perhaps because he trained without missing a single day, significant changes were seen in his abilities. It was something worth celebrating that the body count, which had barely risen, rose by 1 point.

“Gilbert.”

“Hmm?”

While checking his abilities in the status window, he suddenly closed the status window when a brown-haired worker in a maid uniform called out to him. Previously, it was the number one object of avoidance by users due to its reputation as a bastard, but that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.

“This.”

The maid who called Gilbert handed him a note, bowed, and left. He walked so fast that before Gilbert could catch him, he passed down the hallway and disappeared from sight.

Does this mean that the Academy’s users are not ordinary?

Gilbert, who suddenly received the note, smiled and opened it.

There was nothing special written on the opened note. There was just a single black petal drawn in the center of the note.

However, upon seeing the note, Gilbert’s expression immediately hardened. He knew this was no ordinary note.

The jet-black petals painted black were a sign symbolizing the wild roses that were tightly entrenched in the back alley. When Wild Rose sends a sign like this, it is usually for the purpose of informing the requester that the requested information has been obtained.

Gilbert crumpled the note and put it in his pocket. I quickly thought about today’s schedule, but since normal lectures had not started yet, there was nothing else to do.

However, you have to visit the wild rose in person, but even though it was a wild rose that dominated the back alleys, there was no branch near the area under the jurisdiction of Demeia Academy. The closest place among them was Obitus, where I eventually saw the manager, but it wasn’t as far away as going out for a drink.

In the end, he had to get permission to stay out, but since he was already being used for propaganda as the Academy’s hero, there was a good chance that he would grant such a trivial request.

Gilbert quickly went to see his professor, Brianna, to get permission to stay out. Since the information was sent from Wild Rose, it may have meant that the main scenario in the border area would begin.

If the start of the main scenario is correct, the upcoming break will be a very busy time.

***

As he expected, permission to stay out was easily granted. Brianna, whose trust in Gilbert had increased significantly, only asked about the purpose of going to Obitus and did not specifically stop him from going.

After explaining the reason for going to Obitus, he left straight for Obitus and was able to arrive at the back alley late at night. Perhaps because the status was different from when I visited a few months ago, I was able to meet the manager more quickly than before.

“Long time no see. I have watched your activities closely.”

“It’s nothing special. Did you get any information about the border area?”

The manager smiled faintly at the sight of Gilbert skipping the unnecessary greeting. Seeing that his appearance was not much different from before, I had a reasonable suspicion that his reputation as an asshole was some kind of device to cover up his current appearance.

“That’s right. Toward the western border area. To be exact, this is information obtained from Wiesbark.”

“…”

Is that so?

Without any change in his expression, Gilbert was able to realize that the starting point of the next main scenario was just around the corner. It was the main event that began during the break that began after the academy attack incident.

In terms of difficulty, it varies depending on the clear method, but it was not fundamentally difficult. Even though it was called the main scenario, it was also a scenario that could be cleared without taking any action.

The story changes that followed were inevitable, but it was also the only main scenario that did not result in a game over if you did not clear it.

In fact, many speedrun users often just skip this scenario. Since there was no problem with the game progress, one scenario that took up a lot of time was skipped.

After Gilbert also cleared all the achievements that could be obtained in the scenario, he moved on without bothering to clear the scenario. This was because it was much more fun to focus on achievements rather than clearing scenarios that had already been played countless times.

“What is the information usage fee?”

“10 gold.”

The 1 gold that was initially handed to him was just a down payment, and in order to actually obtain the information, he had to pay an information usage fee depending on the value of the information. It could be considered unfair in that it is the seller of the information that determines the value of the information, but if you do not want it, you just have to not use it.

In addition, the quality of information sold by Wild Rose had a high level of accuracy that was different from that of other information guilds. From the beginning, it was a structure that had no choice but to use it because there were no other options.

Gilbert also knew this well, so he paid the information fee without saying anything.

“Thank you for using.”

“Tell me everything you researched about the border area.”

“What we currently know is that the barbarian tribe has experienced a severe drought.”

A severe drought has struck the Scandina region, which is said to be mainly inhabited by barbarian tribes. The Scandina region originally had a steppe climate, or a subtropical high pressure region also called a grassland climate, and was originally an area where rain was very temporary. Because of this, it was difficult to find large trees, and it was a place where a lot of short grass grew and boasted wide grasslands, but a drought that would be recorded in the history books of this place came.

All the tribes living in Scandina thought that the first month or two was just a slightly longer dry season when there was no rain even when the rainy season arrived. Since the dry season was originally longer than the rainy season, I thought it was the same this time as well.

However, contrary to their expectations, the drought continued with no sign of ending. All the green grass dried up, and the herbivorous animals that ate the grass collapsed from thirst.

As time passed and half a year had passed since the drought began, they had no choice but to admit it. The dry season has no intention of ending, and the rainy season may never come.

And unfortunately, they were exactly right. In fact, the drought has continued to this day. As drinking water and food were gradually running out, they had to make a choice.

“Words are a choice, but the choices are fixed. If you don’t make that choice, there is only death. They say they recently hosted a tribal union meeting. There was probably some discussion about selecting the vacant position of warchief.”

“A great chief?”

Gilbert sighed after hearing all the information. For the barbarian tribe, or rather the Sigurdians, the position of warchief was the same as that of a warlord. They lived in a tribal society, but forming a union of tribes, electing a warchief, or king of all the tribes, meant going to war.

In the end, it seemed like the main scenario was starting just as he thought.

“Was the information helpful?”

“You look like you have a lot to ask.”

“Excuse me. I guess I can’t control my curiosity when it comes to customers.”

Gilbert glanced at the manager who was slightly bowing, and finished all his errands here. There was no information to be gained yet, and for now it was enough to know that the main scenario was about to begin.

After the manager asked him to visit again next time, Gilbert left the ‘back alley’. Perhaps because I went in late at night, the day was already getting brighter.

Although I stayed up all night, my strongly trained body did not complain of much fatigue. I was just concerned that the center of the upcoming main scenario was war.

I didn’t initially think about pretending not to know, like I did when playing games. He was the eldest son of the current Earl of Hart, and a member of a noble family with a duty to protect them.

No, there wasn’t even a need to give that reason. Even before entering Gilbert’s body, he was a soldier protecting the country and people with his comrades. He risked his life solely out of a sense of duty, and was the only one among his many comrades to survive.

He pretends not to know about the war and runs away?

The choice had already been made.

Gilbert drove his horse with a determined expression and headed toward Demeia Academy.

The rising sun of the morning began to follow him.