Chapter 173

Chapter 173

“What are you doing! Block him quickly!”

When Hektor got angry, Eongeongi finally tried to use the power she had hidden.

Rumble—

“What a damn black mage!”

‘Black mages are already beggars anyway…’

Bang——!!!

However, when Hektor, who sensed black mana, flew in with a kick with all his might, Eongeongi rolled far away.

Bawl— uwaaaah—

Kicked by her master, Eongeongi cried even more sorrowfully than usual.

“Ugh! Eongeongi, I’m sorry! I just did it instinctively!”

Hektor apologized, but Eongeongi seemed slightly sulky.

Although the wound healed quickly when Silsil dripped fluid.

‘Anyway, heresy inquisitors are a lot you shouldn’t associate with.’

Watching that sight, Roan clicked his tongue.

Where in the world was there an owner who kicked his own divine beast just because it used some black mana?

At this rate, he might swing an axe if he found out that his friend was a black mage.

‘…As expected, I must be careful around Hektor.’

Meanwhile, Pluvang, who was watching that scene, stealthily retracted his arm that had been targeting Hektor.

“?”

When Roan looked questioningly, Pluvang clicked his tongue and told him the reason.

“No matter how heartless I am, I can’t touch him out of pity. To think one fellow would have a Purgatory Penitent Beast and a Thousand-eyed Hollow Python.”

“…”

“In a way, that can also be called a survival strategy.”

Roan was momentarily lost for words.

Pluvang giving up gathering out of pity was exactly the same as Uli refusing to accept money out of pity.

Roan quietly spoke up,

“Still, those guys are quite excellent spirit beasts, aren’t they?”

“Well, that is true, but… no, wait.”

Pluvang nodded his head, then suddenly turned back to Roan.

No, to be precise, he looked at the two divine beasts beside Roan.

“…You, a guy who has an Abyssal Dragon and a Thousand-sword Peacock King, are talking about your friends’…”

Honestly, although Pluvang also thought Roan’s friends possessed spirit beasts that were too good for freshmen,

wasn’t Roan himself on a completely different dimension!

As such, it was quite annoying how Roan had been continuously envying his friends’ spirit beasts since earlier.

[Somehow the atmosphere is strange?]

‘I think so too.’

Slide—

Roan, who noticed Pluvang’s thoughts just by looking at his eyes, slightly avoided his gaze.

“Come to think of it, I have something to do. I will head down first.”

“Y-Yes.”

With that, Roan bowed his waist and walked down the mountain!

Pluvang watched Roan’s back with a dumbfounded expression, and eventually tilted his head, feeling a strange sensation.

“But…”

Why does that fellow seem so familiar?

Does a typical freshman usually sit next to a professor they are meeting for the first time and chat so shamelessly in such detail?

Even the teaching assistant Dorin had worked together with him for years, yet he didn’t act like that.

‘Well, since he is of the Dark family…’

But Pluvang soon decided not to care too deeply about it, and returned to eagerly gathering the students’ belongings.

And Roan, who had left the spot,

Flutter—

suddenly discovered a 100-dalant bill falling before him like a fallen leaf.

“Hmm.”

Roan naturally ‘gathered’ the bill.

He thought to himself that it was a rare occurrence indeed to gather a whole 100 dalants in Pluvang’s class.

***

“Oh, Roan, you were waiting?”

The friends quickly finished their class and came down the mountain where Roan was.

“You finished early.”

“But why did you go down first?”

Rafia asked in a slightly disappointed tone.

At first, she had felt good for some reason because Roan was waiting, but she had seen him leave midway.

Roan was silent for a moment before answering,

“I felt like you would do well even if I wasn’t watching anymore.”

Tingle—

Roan had said it without much thought, but to the friends, it was quite different.

“Dark…”

“Roan…”

Just as they were all about to rush at Roan with expressions as if they would cry at any moment!

Rumble—

“Don’t cling to me.”

“Okay.”

Though they gave up immediately once Roan channeled his black mana.

Meanwhile, while they were chatting briefly, other students, including Trian’s gang and Jennifer, also began to come down one after another.

They were the ones who had realized the method of teaming up and responding together.

‘Ref, the named ones are doing their part.’

Roan nodded looking at them.

It was only because Roan had advanced so uniquely; actually, compared to a normal playthrough, they were also showing abilities above average.

…Though looking at their current state, he wondered what meaning ‘above average’ even had.

“Everyone is a mess.”

“Because we had our things taken so much by Professor Pluvang and Teaching Assistant Dorin…”

Rafia and Sion looked at the other students with pitying expressions.

It was basic for their uniforms to be torn in places; there were also guys covered in Pluvang’s slime, and some even had their entire bodies singed or frosted, showing what kind of treatment they had received.

Despite that, the students were not particularly in pain or angry.

Rather, it was the opposite.

—I feel like I’m beginning to understand something about gathering.

—Me too. I was got today, but I will succeed next time.

Students filled with a sense of purpose and confidence.

‘…Is that right?’

Judging by the atmosphere, it felt as though they had just come out of a group combat class rather than a gathering class.

Well, it was probably similar in reality anyway.

Trian and Garland even approached Roan and spoke like this:

“Thank you, Dark.”

“…For what?”

A bitter lesson that one must not take Akerandir students’ thanks at face value.

Roan asked, his gaze instinctively turning sharp.

The two replied, shrinking slightly at that ominous momentum,

“If not for you, we wouldn’t have even thought of resisting the professor and would have only been taken advantage of.”

‘Hmm?’

At the fairly normal reason, Roan twitched one eyebrow.

Indeed, with a unique existence like Roan present, it felt as though this batch of freshmen was making greater strides than usual.

At that moment, the other members of Trian’s gang snooped around and asked,

—Trian, what are you talking about with Dark?

—Did Dark pick a fight by any chance?

“What do you mean!”

“Yeah! They came over first!”

As that, Hektor and Demona also stepped forward immediately and growled.

A precarious situation right before a head-on collision between the two groups!

Trian, who wanted to avoid clashing with Roan but couldn’t afford to lose the popularity of his gang either, made a random excuse.

“That’s not it! I was trying to tell him to be careful because I will gather Dark’s belongings next time!”

—Wow! As expected of Trian!

—Trian is the only one who doesn’t lose ground to Dark!

—Garland is amazing too!

Trian’s gang swarmed in as if they were about to toss the two heavy fellows in the air.

—Ugh…

—Hey, this is humanly too heavy?

Of course, the hippopotamus beastman Trian and the equally robust Garland were not so easily lifted.

Instead, they put their arms around each other’s shoulders and disappeared while proudly humming a tune.

‘As expected, those guys are not trustworthy fellows.’

Roan glared fiercely at their departing backs.

Daring to try and gather his belongings.

There was no way it would happen, but if they ever gathered even his lucky pouch…

‘I must be even more careful in the future.’

Because there were many items inside that clergymen would find suspicious, he had to prevent it at all costs.

Meanwhile, the friends, noticing that Roan was displeased, patted him.

“Don’t pay attention to those kids, Roan.”

“Laphie is right. They are all fellows who have nothing left but pride without any real skill.”

Roan spoke slightly as if surprised to Rafia and Sion who spoke that way,

“Still, you should get along with everyone evenly.”

Of course, Roan’s meaning was, ‘It doesn’t matter to me since I’m a black mage, but will you guys be okay?’

“Roan…”

“Dark…”

To the two of them, it sounded like, ‘For the reconstruction of the family, I must build relationships even with fellows like that.’

An unfortunate friend who thought of his family before himself even when faced with unfair arguments, Roan Dark!

‘Doubtless, an obvious misunderstanding has arisen.’

Roan clicked his tongue and walked away, as if it was obvious without asking.

[Uh, I think they misunderstood, is it okay to just go?]

It was so apparent that even Bel noticed it.

‘You can leave them be. A moderate misunderstanding is helpful.’

Roan answered like this, and Bel realized something major.

[A moderate misunderstanding is helpful! That’s cool?]

…How he interpreted that, Roan did not bother to ask in his fatigue.

[Then now food! We are going to eat food, right?]

‘Yes.’

Meanwhile, watching Roan walk away so busily, Sion and Rafia exchanged meaningful glances.

‘It’s definitely because he is embarrassed about having his inner feelings discovered!’

Roan looked extremely dangerous and cold on the outside, but that was solely due to the wounds received during his childhood.

For his inner heart that thought of his friends was warmer than anyone else’s.

…Those two firmly believed so.

“Roan always goes off by himself like that~”

“I’m hungry. What should we eat today.”

Meanwhile, regardless of that, Demona and Hektor scratched their bellies behind him and spoke like this.

Sion and Rafia stared at the two of them with disdain.

“Pathetic.”

Even Riel joined in.

“W-What’s wrong?”

“I didn’t do anything this time!”

“Please, do something at least!”

“If only you were even half like Dark, sigh…”

Demona and Hektor were bewildered as they followed the female students who were leaving as if angry.

“What’s wrong with them, fanatic?”

“I don’t know, heresy. Girls are truly difficult.”

“…You haven’t mentioned political marriage to your family yet, right?”

“You crazy heretic bastard!”

***

A restaurant in the commercial district that allowed spirit beasts.

When everyone was soothing the fatigue of the gathering class with delicious food,

Hektor spoke up first,

“It’s the weekend now. What is everyone planning to do?”

The friends thought for a moment, but had no particular plans.

“Well, we should earn money through volunteer work, right?”

Around the end of the second week, the dalants they had brought from their families or villages were slowly running out.

The freshmen also had to work hard in volunteer activities and classes to earn living expenses now.

At that, Hektor said proudly,

“I plan to go because Professor Kaina strictly asked me to come back last week.”

This seemed to be the reason he brought up the weekend first.

Hektor snorted proudly.

The friends also praised him sincerely this time.

“Oh~ Hektor is useful too?”

“…Isn’t that a bit too harsh, Rafia.”

“Ah, s-sorry.”

…An praise after too long a time sometimes had side effects.

“Anyway, it’s connected to his career path, and Hektor looks good because he seems to be doing actual volunteer work.”

“Thank you, Sion.”

Like Sion said, most students often hoped for the rewards rather than the original meaning of volunteer work.

An activity coming from the heart like Hektor’s deserved praise.

Meanwhile, Roan spoke with a stiff expression as if he was displeased,

“There is a research result stating that being engrossed in heresy inquiry from too young an age is not good for one’s emotions.”

“C-Come to think of it, that might be true.”

At the too natural combination of Hektor and heresy inquiry, the friends, who hadn’t thought much of it, nodded.

Indeed, Roan, who knew exactly what went on in Professor Kaina’s volunteer work, had no choice but to think so.

‘No wonder they pack the heresy inquiry pack separately and sell it as an adult-only DLC.’

Of course, Roan had purchased all of them, not just that DLC.