Conquering the Academy with Just a Sashimi Knife (Novel) - Chapter 118 - People of the Sword Saint Family (1)

Chapter 118 – People of the Sword Saint Family (1)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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In cases like this, the line between whether one should call it good luck or not was ambiguous.

Our priorities were clearly different from each other’s. Abel was doing this to find the bodies of her missing parents, while I was doing it to secure mana stones.

Our intentions differ, but our destination was the same. That was enough.

‘The Undead Dungeon.’

Toward that shared destination, I actively voiced my agreement with Abel.

At that attitude, she wore a dazed expression for a moment, then nodded.

Even after finishing the meal, we talked for quite a while. The main content of the conversation was adjusting our schedule and exchanging information.

Abel dragged her chair right up beside me. The distance between us was about a handspan.

It was extremely close, but Abel paid it no mind and continued explaining. She pulled up a map on her smartphone.

“The Undead Dungeon is positioned right on the Swiss-French border. Normally the ownership issue would have been a headache because of that, but this place isn’t popular. So there shouldn’t be any procedural problems.”

Whenever an important point came up, Abel tapped the screen lightly with her fingernail.

Apparently she had prepared for a long time, because markers had been planted all over the GPS app.

“And because it’s such a deserted dungeon, there aren’t even separate checkpoint staff. But when we enter, we still have to make sure to write down the names of the minimum three people required for entry in the register. Otherwise, it violates international hero law.”

Her clean explanation, reduced down to only the key points, struck my ears sharply and clearly. I found myself inwardly impressed.

I was not originally from this world. That much makes my common sense and knowledge shallow.

Which was why, whenever I make any sort of plan, I investigate materials through various media. But simply skimming things with my eyes had obvious limits when it came to gathering information.

That was also the reason I had wanted to tackle dungeons together with the club members.

To speak frankly, I had been relying on the club members for broad knowledge in general.

I might be good at making my head work in crafty ways, but actually putting information into it still felt unfamiliar to me.

‘To be honest, without those guys, trying to tackle the Undead Dungeon would have been pretty awkward.’

On the surface, it was a lowest-tier D-rank dungeon. But sealed inside it was a highest-tier S-rank demonic beast.

And at that, it was Draugr, said to be the most troublesome of all to攻略. I had already thought up countermeasures, but the route toward them had been blocked.

Yet to think Abel understood it this thoroughly. With such an unexpected stroke of luck, the dungeon攻略 now looked likely to go smoothly.

“Did you understand everything I explained?”

When I sank briefly into thought, Abel asked as though confirming.

“Yeah, more or less. You really prepared a lot for this on your own.”

“…Yeah.”

An embarrassed answer came back. Only then did Abel seem to realize just how closely she had pressed herself against me, and her face turned red.

Academy life was now entering its fourth month.

By this point, the cliché should be that this was the moment she couldn’t hide her embarrassment anymore and quickly jerks away to make distance-

“Hup.”

-but instead, Abel merely swallowed a dry breath. Clearing her throat, she actually closed the distance a little more. A faint fruity fragrance brushed the tip of my nose.

“Pay attention. This is the important part from here on. First of all, I looked into the procedures, the geography, and the inside of the dungeon bit by bit……”

Sweeping back her hair, Abel continued explaining. Through a few strands, I could see the red flush floating on her cheeks.

‘She’s taking this incredibly seriously.’

Which was only natural. This concerned her family.

Natural enough that she could lightly ignore being pressed this close to me. The flush in her cheeks was probably just because she was warm.

Abel turned only her eyes and glanced at me.

“If there’s anything you’re curious about, ask. Shail will be here to pick us up in only about thirty minutes now. Once we go back to the castle, there won’t be any time for the two of us to talk again until the day we leave.”

“Couldn’t we just handle any extra details over messages?”

“…What, you didn’t know? Castle Sigurdr is outside coverage. It’s a communication dead zone.”

Ah, right. Their house was in a valley of the Alps.

There were so few people who might contact me that I hadn’t noticed.

When I looked at her with pity, one corner of Abel’s mouth twitched. Then she immediately protested.

“Geom-ma, you just thought it’s because our house is in the middle of the mountains, didn’t you! It’s not for the reason you’re thinking, it’s because of the security around Nibelung territory!”

Did all the women in this world come with telepathy as a passive skill?

Media was like that, and so was Ryozo, and now Abel too.

Any time a thought popped into my head, they seemed to drag it right out.

If that ability really existed, it would be deeply creepy.

…Though if it did, then they would have realized long ago that my existence itself was alien. After all, it was a secret only I held entirely to myself, one I had never shared with anyone.

The possibility that someone might know I was not a person of this world… it was an unexpected hypothesis. If someone like that existed, what sort of effect would it have on me?

If they were an ally, that would be good, but if they were an enemy, things would become difficult.

‘Well, there’s no way that would happen.’

I gave a short laugh inwardly, then opened my mouth.

“It sounds like you’ve already figured out the route and all that. But isn’t the most important issue the remaining party member? It’s just you and me, so we’re one person short.”

“Eh? Why are we one person short?”

Abel asked back with a face that clearly said, What on earth were you talking about?

“We have Shail.”

“Huh?”

“Shail is also a graduate of Hoakin Academy. On top of that, she’s an association-affiliated Senior hero.”

…What in the world was she talking about now?

* * *

On the way back home toward Castle Sigurdr. We were climbing the steep mountain slope. Perhaps because Abel was tired, she had fallen asleep in the backseat almost as soon as she got into the vehicle.

‘Well, it makes sense she’d be tired after explaining all that so passionately.’

I took the passenger seat so Abel could sleep comfortably. Then I gripped my seatbelt firmly and checked whether it was doing its job properly.

For the next thirty minutes, this cord was no different from my lifeline.

Vroooooom.

Shail, gripping the steering wheel tightly. Staring straight ahead with sharp eyes, she slammed down on the accelerator.

Ahead of us appeared a curve that looked as though it bent a full 270 degrees.

The corner of Shail’s mouth twitched, and then she spun the steering wheel round and round with one hand.

My pupils followed the wheel in dizzy circles too. My life and death were in this maid’s hands, damn it.

Whiiiirl.

Violent yet skilled steering. With a satisfied smile, Shail pushed the speed even harder.

Watching the whole scene unfold before my eyes, a groan naturally slipped out of my mouth.

‘That reckless-driving maid is a Senior hero?’

Within the world setting of `Miracle’s Blessing M,` there was the Association, the organization that oversees heroes.

The Association classified heroes under the pretext of more efficient management.

Put simply, it was a system similar to the tier rankings in a certain famous game.

There was just one difference: only three categories existed.

From the bottom upward, they were `Junior,` `Senior,` and `Warrior.`

The Association itself evaluated each hero’s accomplishments and estimated their score.

Of course, academy cadets were excluded from that system. Because, supposedly, the essence of a cadet was study. In odd corners, this world really did care about human rights.

‘Maybe that isn’t such a bad thing?’

For reference, while the score itself was confidential, which bracket a hero belongs to was made public. It was called Hero Points, or `HP` for short.

If you hear `HP,` the green health bar probably came to mind at once. But in truth, the world of Miracle’s Blessing M never had a separate `Health Point` stat in the first place.

Well, to be honest, even for me after being dropped into this world, the concept of a `health bar` didn’t really feel all that real.

If anything, if there really were health bars and potions, I would have welcomed them.

But the world of Miracle’s Blessing M was a cruel reality to me.

When arms and legs could get chopped off in an instant and being hospitalized happened every other day, what else could you say?

‘Looking back on it, it’s kind of ridiculous……’

The most basic stat systems were missing.

Not just health, but mana, experience points, even levels were all absent from this mobile game……

Of course, there were many players who were drawn to that difference, but plenty of others complained it was inconvenient.

After all, in a gaming scene where numerical values were taken for granted, all it offers was a stark, minimal interface floating by itself.

And in that game, much criticized and much loved, there nevertheless existed something akin to a rating system, `Hero Points.` It was a strange world setting where alienness and familiarity coexist.

Anyway.

If you wanted a rough comparison, `Junior` would correspond from Bronze to Platinum, `Senior` from Diamond to Master, and `Warrior` from Grandmaster upward.

The difference in the number of people in each bracket was enormous too.

Ninety percent of heroes belonged to Junior, and the remaining top ten percent was divided eight-to-two between Senior and Warrior.

This was the point.

The beautiful maid driving recklessly beside me.

The shocking part was that Shail belonged to the top ten percent of all heroes.

I had thought she was an extraordinary maid, sure……

But to think she was a Senior hero, and on top of that a graduate of Hoakin Academy, the cradle of the next generation of heroes.

Only now did I understand why public safety and guarding duties were included among Shail’s tasks. Because there probably weren’t many security systems better than her.

“Mr. Geom-ma, is there something you wished to say?”

Without taking her eyes off the glass ahead, Shail asked.

It seemed that even so, she had noticed my gaze on her.

I chose my words for a moment. My deliberation was brief.

In the end, we would be going to the Undead Dungeon with Shail.

And given her position, she would most likely be the one in charge of both Abel and me.

At this point, my mind leaned toward speaking frankly.

“I heard from Abel earlier. That Ms. Shail will be accompanying us to the `Undead Dungeon`……”

“Yes, though my skills are lacking, I will do my utmost not to become a burden to Miss or to Mr. Geom-ma.”

When modesty went too far, it started to sound like a joke.

For a Senior hero, someone on the level of an instructor or above, to say a line like `I’ll make sure not to drag you down.` Anyone hearing it would think it absurd.

“To be honest, I am deeply grateful to you, Mr. Geom-ma.”

“…Pardon?”

Shail looked at Abel reflected in the rear-view mirror. Abel slept soundly, breathing softly. At the sight, Shail smiled.

“Before entering the academy, Miss Abel was always lonely. There was no one her age within Nibelung territory aside from me, and because of her personality, she never actively built close relationships with anyone.”

I was a little surprised.

Shail, who usually only knocked and then vanished without a sound, was speaking smoothly now. Her pronunciation and voice were also crisp and clear, like an announcer’s.

“I don’t know whether Miss told you, but I graduated from Hoakin Academy.”

Shail turned the wheel half a rotation with one hand. With that skilled movement, the scenery beyond the window changed like film.

“The reason I was able to attend the academy in the first place, and the reason I am still alive now, are both thanks to Nibelung.”

Shail’s honest story continued. Her expression was calm, but the content was anything but dry.

“Ten years ago, I was taken in by Miss Abel’s parents, who are no longer with us now. Before that, I was in a center, or rather, an orphanage.”

“I see……”

At my response, Shail laughed softly.

As if trying to lighten the air that had started to hang heavily.

“Is there anyone in this world who doesn’t have some sort of story? In my case, I was one of the lucky ones. There are so many twisted nobles, after all, and yet I ended up employed by House Nibelung.”

It was a remark that made a certain amount of sense. In a noble society filled with scum, there could not be many houses as upright as Nibelung.

“And beyond that, I can only remain grateful to Miss Abel’s family for seeing potential even in a mere maid like me and sending me into the academy.”

“You’re amazing too, Ms. Shail. A Senior at twenty-one. You must have been no ordinary talent.”

“I owe many debts of gratitude to Nibelung. The only way I could repay them was by simply working hard. I cannot say I lack talent, but in front of Mr. Geom-ma, it would probably only seem ordinary.”

Inside the car racing at 200 kilometers per hour, there was a quiet trace of regret in Shail’s tone. The contrast produced a tremendous sense of dissonance.

“In any case, even my joining the dungeon is purely because I requested it.”

“You requested it, Ms. Shail?”

Shail nodded.

“Finding the parents of the young lady who gave value to my life. In fact, I was the one who brought it up to Miss first.”

“Ah.”

Shail turned her head just slightly toward me. A graceful crescent hung at the corners of her eyes. It was the smiling gaze of an older woman.

‘This is what an adult is like……?’

I cleared my throat and changed the subject.

“That aside, what exactly did you mean when you said you were grateful to me?”

“…Mmn.”

Suddenly, a sleepy sound came from the backseat where Abel was.

At that, Shail smiled faintly, and then moved only her lips as she said.

‘I was a special advancement student too. Maybe that’s why, every time I see another article about Mr. Geom-ma disciplining people, I find it so satisfying.’

“…Ah.”

‘That said-‘

Then her gaze settled on me. The car was still moving at a horrifying speed, and yet she was looking away from the road. A scream climbed to the edge of my throat.

With a quiet little giggle, Shail opened her mouth in a teasing tone.

‘-don’t you think a tracksuit was a bit much for a date outfit? Miss Abel must have been pretty upset~’

“……”

I was about to say something, then stopped. Because this street-racer maid was the one holding the wheel.

Before long, the silhouette of Castle Sigurdr appeared beyond the front window. Then came another dazzling snap of Shail’s gear shift.

Vroooooom.