<110 - Deal with a Senior>
Everyone was gripped by fear.
The difference in level was clear, even compared to the annoying second-year student who must be having some strange experiences.
The third-year senior in front of them made a fundamental sense of dread bubble up like an eek eek from a city serial killer or a mass murderer in the woods.
“First year.”
The senior opened his mouth with a rough, raspy voice.
“Upper class.”
Just like Jezel figured out the year by looking at his uniform, the senior also deduced the year from Isabel and Jezel’s uniforms.
“Three corpses.”
As he counted the three Red Fanged Mushrooms slung over the shoulders of Isabel, Jezel, and Son Ohchun, the three of them except Oknodie tensed up like gulp.
“If it’s reduced, it needs to be replenished.”
The brutal imagination of first-years with no fear being trapped in the third-year’s secret facility vividly unfurled in their minds.
Oknodie quickly grabbed Isabel’s hand as she reached for her dagger.
“Does it have to be large?”
“That much can be overlooked.”
“Oknodie! What on earth are you saying right now!!”
Isabel’s heart sank more at Oknodie’s words than the ominous aura of the third-year senior.
“Why are you entering there?”
“Huh?? Why would I go in there?”
“You were going to go in for one of us instead, right!!”
The third-year senior said with a dumbfounded look.
“Who are you treating like some shabby necromancer?”
“Weren’t you telling us to go in…?”
“Red Fanged Mushrooms.”
“Ah…”
You mean to refill what we took.
As the senior nodded, a sigh of relief escaped them.
They thought they were genuinely going to be kidnapped, confined, and murdered.
“How long are we supposed to take them?”
“Until the last day my patience permits.”
Jezel finally exhaled in relief and awkwardly smiled.
“What a generous senior. Thank you for being so lenient. I sincerely apologize for trying to sneak into your facility and steal mushrooms.”
“Haha! Senior, aren’t you too scary? I thought you were some cultist sacrificing people.”
Son Ohchun chimed in.
But one must listen until the end.
“If the deadline passes… you will take their place.”
“Haha. That’s quite a chilling joke.”
The senior spoke in a surprisingly serious tone.
“I have never made a joke in my life.”
“…”
In a rather tense atmosphere, we quietly walked down the stairs.
“Oknodie, you said it! Why’d you bring us to such a sinister place!?”
“Ughhh. My eyes hurt!”
“It was meant to hurt. Do you know how startled I was? My heart is still pounding like thump thump.”
I was a bit surprised too.
What a coincidence that this would happen on site!
[Equivalent Exchange Event]
You all were caught on the spot while sneaking into the third-year senior’s secret breeding ground and carrying three Red Fanged Mushroom corpses!
The generous senior said he would forgive you if you brought three living Red Fanged Mushrooms, but if the last day of his patience passes, you might take their empty spots instead.
Should we inform the Student Council about this terrifying incident, seek help from a professor, or keep our promise?
An intense event unfolded as a surprise event.
It’s only natural that a bit of a challenging event arises since art museums aren’t typical hangouts for first-years.
Generally, unless you take related classes, you wouldn’t even consider visiting this place until you became a second-year.
“Thank you, Oknodie. Regardless of the circumstances, thanks to you we survived that breeding ground.”
“Hehe. I’m embarrassed to be praised like that.”
“While I’m a little upset you enjoy it so much, I really am thankful. By the way, you seemed quite adept at negotiation earlier. Are you experienced in those?”
“Not to the extent of being experienced, just industry standard. If you won’t get caught, you can quietly steal, but if you’re caught, then you should put back what you’ve taken, as it will only cause harm to your property.”
As I spoke, I suddenly remembered.
“Did you perhaps want to fight?”
“Why would I want that? We aren’t as brave as our little lady.”
“Hey! What are you saying? Don’t treat me like a weird person! I was scared too!”
Jezel flinched.
Regret briefly flickered in his eyes.
“I’m sorry. I was inconsiderate towards our little lady.”
“You got that right. Someone said to charge double, so I was tense, but thankfully you’re calculating at the original price. I would’ve genuinely been creeped out if you asked for the plastic fee to be paid in points.”
“…I take back what I just said. I suppose sometimes it’s okay to be insensitive.”
“Jezel, that’s too much!”
I hoped Son Ohchun and Isabel would take my side, but their icy glares made me truly hurt.
“Such a thing happened. Isn’t it just too much?”
“Yeah. People lack sensitivity toward assassins.”
I was unsure how close Zhuang and I were, so I tread cautiously in my complaining, but unexpectedly, he responded well, making me feel good.
What had we done together back then?
Every Monday and Wednesday in the fifth period, we attended the [Night-time Activities for Adventurers] lectures, hung out in the [Room of Double-sided Strips] at dawn, and met in the [Secret Training Ground].
‘We’ve gotten pretty close, haven’t we!’
Even the most difficult character to befriend, the Eastern Swordsman Sing, would find their favor rising when spending time with Zhuang.
“So how will Zhuang practice?”
“I teamed up with Irene.”
“The Northern Grand Duchess Irene??”
“With her since we did group assignments with Arcadia. It’s pretty convenient.”
In fact, party play doesn’t just happen when the protagonist brings an NPC and says, “You are now my comrade!” They’re humans too, and if they feel they can’t manage alone, they can wander together!
“If I bind the mushrooms with a binding spell, Irene will freeze them, and in between, I can dismantle them. Avoiding the Spore Sacs means it’s simple to secure parts for cooking.”
“Wow. Quite a good combo!”
“What about you? You agreed to supply the Red Fanged Mushrooms to the senior.”
“I’m about to go do that. Wanna see?”
“Really?”
Zhuang flashed a mysterious smile.
“In a different class, I might not care, but since we’re both assassins, I might read techniques by watching up close. Are you sure it’s okay to show me?”
“I’m indifferent to it!”
It’s not like it’s some amazing technique, just like Zhuang and Irene’s combo.
“First step: We look for another storage room where Red Fanged Mushrooms might be!”
It seems Zhuang and Irene went through a similar process as they didn’t express surprise at searching for storage.
“Ah, a smuggling storage!”
“A potion storage? Ugh, that’s not potions but illicit liquor stored in potion bottles.”
“Sniff sniff. There are a lot of blankets and a strange smell, but I don’t think there are any mushrooms!”
[You found the seniors’ smuggling storage.]
[Exploration Experience +3]
[You found the seniors’ illicit liquor storage.]
[Exploration Experience +3]
[You found the seniors’ secret hotspot.]
[Exploration Experience +3]
Zhuang, who had been quietly following, seemed entertained.
“What are you looking for so eagerly?”
“It’s because the hiding places or spells of second-year seniors are all similar!”
“Seriously? So when exactly do you plan on finding the Red Fanged Mushrooms?”
“Huh? It’s as good as found.”
“What?”
I called out to the second-year senior passing by with the illicit goods they obtained from the smuggling storage and liquor storage.
“Senior!”
“Hmm? That voice… Gasp. Oknodie.”
Faced with the most foolish and easy-going senior among Bigstone, Lizna, and Moss, who I see in the Developing Insight class, was Bigstone.
“Even if you ask for the past exam papers, it’s no use. If I give those exam papers for the Developing Insight class to someone as smart as you, I’ll lose in grade competition, so I can’t sell them at all.”
“I’m looking for the storage where you keep the Red Fanged Mushrooms, would you exchange information?”
“Hah. A brat so bold. Are you eying the mana feed already? If that gets found out by the Student Council, you’ll be hit with a point bomb and dragged to compulsory Student Council duties.”
Zhuang seemed to want to know about the compulsory duties, but I wasn’t interested in hearing something I already knew, especially not when it was to collect information fees.
“Look. I’ve brought items to trade too!”
“This is… a 2000ml beaker stolen from the [Let’s Learn Alchemy] class and a 1000ml distillation flask along with a filter. Is that liquor in the beaker?”
“Yup!”
“Oknodie. Be honest.”
Bigstone looked around carefully then leaned closer, lowering his voice cautiously.
“Did you come back after doing some thieving outside like Professor Bronze?”
“Nope!”
Why are you treating me like I’m some thief!
“Say it if you don’t want to sell.”
“No, who said I didn’t want to? I’m saying thank you. It’s just that the guys running that feed farm are annoying, but I’m scared it’ll expose my identity if I tell the Student Council. How about we barter with that place?”
“…Oknodie. Are you going to get caught there again and keep trading? Just get me the three Red Fanged Mushrooms.”
Their last time caught was due to all being together; if alone, I’d have total confidence to commit the perfect crime with [Conceal]!
“That’s what I’m saying.”
But with friends worrying, I couldn’t overdo it!
“Okay. I can get three right away.”
“But I’ll only reveal one among the smuggling storage and illicit liquor storage.”
“Then illicit liquor.”
“Didn’t you get a side effect that makes you unable to lie during the alchemy class, Bigstone? The professor would likely be pleased if you bring back stolen goods.”
“I’m scared of accidentally approaching the alchemy professor. The third-year seniors are awake, drinking mental awakening potions, and they rarely sleep, but when you lock eyes, it’s genuinely chilling, you know?”
“That can happen!”
“You have no idea what’s going on. Some people end up becoming hopeless wrecks, their eyes all weird and gleaming, even glowing in dark places!”
“Ah. The twinkling eyes… I plan to buy that later.”
Bigstone was at a loss for words.
In that silence, Zhuang commented.
“You seem pretty timid, senior. People like us typically only sleep for one hour a day and remain active.”
“What’s someone like you do?”
Zhuang pulled out a dagger from his sleeve, twirling it playfully before swiftly tossing it.
The swish of the moth passing by resulted in it wedging into the wall.
Bigstone’s complexion took a notable downturn.
“What are you, one of those people?”
Bigstone’s chatter diminished sharply.
He silently shot me a look, as if questioning where I brought another one of ‘his kind’.
“What’s wrong with Zhuang!”
While he comes from an assassin background, good at assassination, and has the bad habit of suddenly appearing behind you without a sound, he’s actually quite kind-hearted and scared of undead creatures.
Why did they look at him like that?
