<129 - Motivation>
The friend is young but their skills surpass their own.
Many love and also envy the top student.
Regardless of personal opinions, one thing was certain.
Oknodie is popular.
Not just any popular, but a popular figure whose every move is under scrutiny.
So, they wander around looking for food together with Oknodie.
‘Huh? Isn’t this totally a date?’
There was a time when Mob thought so too.
“Save me…”
“Where do you think you’re running off to? You haven’t emptied your plate yet, Mob!”
“I feel like my stomach is going to burst…”
On Mob’s table, remnants of [Potato Salad], [Spiral Potatoes], [Potato Pancakes], [Braised Potatoes], and [Stir-Fried Potatoes] lay scattered.
“You haven’t even eaten all the ‘potato’ dishes yet! You can’t be acting this melodramatic!”
“Who goes on a date like this!”
“A date?”
“Ah, no. Not a date—educational mentoring!”
“Hmm.”
Oknodie, who had been chasing with a plate in hand, placed her chin on her hand and gave a look akin to a security guard watching a suspect.
After enduring so much culinary torture, it was no surprise a slip of the tongue occurred.
Mob felt guilty.
How could he be thinking about a date while helping this child!
Thoughts might be free, but once they come out of his mouth, he must take responsibility for his words.
“Hehe. So Mob was following along thinking it was a date.”
“I-I’m sorry, Oknodie.”
With ten mouths, he had nothing to say.
After all, Oknodie was just about ten years old.
Talking about a date with someone so young could easily have him branded as a pedophile or a pervert.
Mob’s eyes trembled with distress.
What if Oknodie cried?
Would he be dragged to the student council labeled as a sex offender?
Could he really get expelled over this?
As he shook, Oknodie casually threw out her words.
“It’s okay.”
“…What is?”
“You can think of it as a date!”
──His brain momentarily short-circuited.
What was going through her mind to say that?
A girl saying that to a guy?
The age gap wasn’t small.
There’s a significant difference between early teens and late teens.
Did she know what she was saying?
Mob’s heart thumped in a different way than before.
He felt a poke at his side.
“Yah!”
The shocking strength brought his senses back.
“But make sure to exercise first before bulking up!”
The excitement was short-lived.
Mob ended up running around like a headless chicken.
After feeling completely exhausted, all he could think of was wanting to end this date nonsense.
If someone dared to call it a date one more time, he’d collapse.
He vowed never to speak of it again.
[Trained Mob from the Lower Class.]
[Running Experience Points +2]
[Good Child Experience Points +1]
Eating and running, eating and running.
As they collected and ate various dishes together, completing the cooking handbook became easier.
[You have acquired the title [Potato Dish Enthusiast].]
Potato Dish Enthusiast: You have eaten 25 kinds of potato dishes, qualifying you as a self-proclaimed potato dish enthusiast.
-Title Equip Effect: Slight increase in potato detection ability
-Title Retention Effect: Very slight increase in potato detection ability
It’s a title that allows you to unconsciously sense the presence of nearby potatoes.
Don’t underestimate a title that doesn’t give stats.
Being able to find wild potatoes during a voluntary starvation experience when there’s no point to splurge at the cafeteria is akin to gaining an extra life.
Moreover, the fantasy mountains are filled with potatoes found everywhere.
During outdoor activities where food supplies are crucial, it’s a plant you’ll always want to find—if it’s there, you don’t touch it, but if it’s absent, you desperately want it.
Despite its sad state of treatment, obtaining it is a pretty good title that can help find sustenance amidst food shortages.
Collecting many similar enthusiast titles can sometimes consolidate into one, and that’s the long-term goal.
‘If titles that increase detection ability combine, it’ll lead to a comprehensive increase in detection!’
This high-performance function obtainable through cookbook creation is something newcomers often overlook!
In this world, it’s not just the strong or upper class who relish the gourmet experience by trying various dishes.
“How was it, Mob? Did today’s training help at all?”
“I don’t want to do it twice…”
“Don’t worry!”
“Are you serious…?”
She definitely wouldn’t let him off that easy.
“I’ll have you doing it three times a week!”
“Is that for real…?”
Three times a week, the torment of newbs simply cannot be resisted!
Hehe.
Welcome to the world of veterans!
After thoroughly tormenting Mob, a week had passed in a flash.
‘Oops, it’s the fourth week.’
The academy, into which I could enter comfortably, now requires caution in the fourth week.
Every month, it’s almost a guarantee that negative incidents occur.
This isn’t talking about the weekly event.
It refers to “incidents” that affect not only main characters but also supporting roles of the academy.
During the fourth week of the first month, it’s a preview for newcomers.
These incidents generally arise from the lower class students.
‘Usually, it’s hard to get information as lower class students have no connections, but this time it’s unique.’
Having Mob as a friend, though there’s a gap between upper and lower classes and the reputation tasks are tangled, he can garner information through Mob.
“Is that the one?”
“Poor them.”
“Don’t make eye contact carelessly. They say assassins can kill their targets just by locking eyes for three seconds.”
As he waited for Mob, students passing by were gossiping.
Not as overtly hostile as when he crossed paths with the Central Noble Young Ladies, but a shadowy, whispered rumor-mill was expanding.
Hmph. How trivial.
Newbies have no sense of fear.
Not even worth devoting time to think about, he merely twirled his chopsticks with his fingers as he passed the time.
Today was taking forever.
Did the last lecture run late or something?
He stood against a pillar in the shade, tracking a butterfly flitting outside the window, when he heard snickers from somewhere.
‘Should I just throw them away?’
Gauging if there was a nearby instructor to deduct points, he coincidentally locked eyes with one.
“…”
“…”
The instructor silently stared at the chopsticks held in his hand.
More accurately, they focused on the pose of his hand grasping the chopsticks.
His expression clearly depicted, “You’re not about to throw them, are you?”
“Chop chop chopsticks~”
Imitating catching the butterfly outside with his chopsticks, the instructor snorted and narrowed his eyes.
It was evident he couldn’t fool his own eyes as those passing by might be deceived.
Tap, tap, tap.
When would Mob finally arrive, with the next class about to start.
As he contemplated his anxieties, Mob finally showed up.
He rushed through the hallway and grabbed his hand tightly.
“Are you an idiot? What are you doing all alone in a place like this?”
“Why am I the idiot? The one almost failing is you, Mob!”
“…Just being overly kind doesn’t do you any good.”
“Am I kind?”
“Enough! Just come with me.”
Mob pulled on his arm as he pretended to lead him away, and he relaxed his body, letting himself be dragged along.
He shouldn’t let a little kid have the upper hand; otherwise, his mentoring would drop his motivation.
Whew.
Look at how I’m even considering such minor details; I’m so proud!
I’m a total pro tutor!
Monday, during the third period, the lecture on [Learning Linked Skills] stretched longer than expected.
“Skills are about activating abilities within a set framework and are akin to magic. However, physical skills garnered attention after the emergence of magical skills. Defining physical skills as integrating the principles of spellcasting necessary for magic into the body, the downsides arise, like fixed casting motions and power limitations in exchange for convenience.”
“There are ways to overcome the disadvantages of physical skills. Who can tell me? You there, Mob-kun?”
He had wanted to meet Oknodie during the break before the ranged weapons mastery class, but…
Given he sat in the front row, the professor’s questioning just wouldn’t stop.
“Skills gain ease in casting motions or incantations with proficiency linked to specific actions leading to immediate activation, a phenomenon termed [Instant Link].”
“Correct. Mastering Instant Link allows immediate activation through [No Casting] and [Zero Motion] without preparatory actions. However, a person can hardly handle more than ten instant skills due to human perception and memory…”
He already knew all the theoretical parts.
He knew that skill proficiency can somehow be shortened with hard work.
He knew that those with talent would laugh at that effort and rapidly fill their proficiency while the same lecture flew by for them.
He knew he lacked such talent.
That’s why he spent the night in the secret training ground completing assignments and filling up his skill proficiency; he knew that if he slacked off for just a day, he’d fall behind.
He knew it all.
And that’s why he was listening to the lecture.
To catch any ‘tips’ that might bridge the gap of talent.
To tread the ‘right path’ towards skill accumulation with less effort through proper practice.
But this lecture felt too slow.
Slow was the pace of the lecture.
Slow was the professor’s voice.
Even the end time of the lecture felt slow.
“Today’s lecture ends now.”
The moment the lecture finished, he rushed out of the room.
He must apologize for being late.
What if Mob got angry and went off first?
He was taking time to teach a lower-class student like him and wasting the time of the top student.
Sweating with the guilt of wasting the top student’s time, he luckily spotted Oknodie leaning against a pillar en route to the lecture hall.
Today, she looked quite lovely.
Her profile quietly gazing out the window was even prettier.
This child, how many boys will she make cry when she grows up?
Embarrassment overcame his happiness.
He shouldn’t be conscious of it, but somehow he felt bashful and even more resolute to act sturdy and composed as he approached her.
As he neared, his foot slowed down, and his breath gradually calmed.
“Doesn’t Oknodie feel a bit unhappy? What’s with the sudden chop chop chopsticks?”
“I don’t know. Holding a strange stick, singing a song. Seems a bit slow. Reminds me of those kids in the magic tower.”
“Oh, that? I know. They can’t focus, their speech is awkward, and they look odd even as they age. At ten, they should be growing up, yet their behavior is identical.”
“They could just be trying to charm the boys. Such a young one already acting like a vixen. No wonder those kinds of rumors spread.”
“Didn’t they get such training?”
“Enough, stop talking. Don’t get caught; it’ll just end in embarrassment like Lotto. If you don’t like it, just hit them with your strength.”
Passing students overheard their conversation, made loud enough that they couldn’t possibly miss it.
At that very moment, Mob noticed Oknodie’s hands nervously revealing her anxious state.
Her grip on the chopsticks shook, unsure how to hold them properly.
She listened to it all.
As an adult, he should intervene.
Yet, no one came to her aid.
Not even the instructor.
Despite helping due to the weekend sacrifice for those failing, Oknodie was now alone.
Lonely.
Only gazing at butterflies outside.
“Are you an idiot? What are you doing all alone in a place like this?”
“Why am I the idiot? The one almost failing is you, Mob!”
“…Being overly kind doesn’t do you any good.”
“Am I kind?”
Oknodie tilted her head in confusion.
Feigning nonchalance, he seized her hand and pulled her along with him.
“Enough! Just come with me.”
He was angry.
He was upset.
He felt wronged.
‘This must be my fault.’
This poor child, who had to endure such humiliation just to keep her promise and wait silently at their meeting place.
‘I want to repay her somehow.’
The desire to be any help for this child flared up like a blazing fire.
He had looked down upon the eat-and-run mentality, but that mindset was shifted fundamentally now.
No more whining.
He had to trust Oknodie.
With his resolve solidified, Oknodie spoke.
“Don’t have dinner later!”
“What are you planning to have today?”
“I’ll eat stones!”
“…Alright.”
Oknodie was surprised by his quick affirmation.
