<349 - Organization Struggle 2>
Camela felt really wronged.
If she had at least succeeded in stealing Oknodie’s assignment, it wouldn’t have been so unfair.
But in reality, she didn’t manage to steal anything.
–Goo aa aa aa aa!
–Aaaahh! It feels like my head is going to crack!!!
–Someone stop that Goo!
–F-fire magic… Urgh, my head hurts too much to gather mana!
–Ouch! This guy has thorns on the vines!
As soon as someone entered, the Howling Mandragora screamed madly, tearing at their eardrums.
While trying to sneak a peek with earplugs on, thick vines started whipping their arms and legs, causing everyone to scream and rush towards the exit.
In their desperation, they even rummaged through other students’ rooms belonging to the Organization that Plays with Oknodie.
In Hestia’s room, they found a mini golem crawling on the desk; in Isabel’s room, they snatched a golden ladle hanging on the wall; and in Dorothy’s room, they obtained a shimmering white mushroom.
[Auto Defense Protocol Activated]
[Damage Rate 89%]
“Eek!”
In Jiang’s room, they got their hands on a memorization spell just as it was about to hit their head.
Chiiing!
“Ahh! My hand got stuck on the door!”
“It’s an ice trap. Increase your body temperature with fire magic to melt the ice! If you stay like that, you’ll get frostbite, and we’ll have to take your hand to the infirmary!”
Even though Irene’s room exposed them to the spicy taste of cold magic that sticks the intruder’s body, the overall result wasn’t bad.
“Make sure to carry what’s in the bag…”
“A thief?”
“A Y-young Warrior!?”
Just as they were trying to escape after completing their crime, they bumped into Ishtar in the hallway.
“You didn’t touch my kids, did you?”
“Absolutely not.”
“If it’s that room… it must be Oknodie’s.”
Ishtar clicked her tongue and passed by.
“Keep the night play to a minimum. You’ll get beaten up anyway.”
“…”
Just as one oblivious member of the organization was trying to boast about their success in accomplishing something even the warrior couldn’t do, Camela’s contract seal gleamed brightly.
[Don’t even think about it]
As the shout engraved itself in their minds, the Young Warrior returned to their room.
“Hey, Camela? I think I just heard your voice in my head…”
“It must be your imagination. Let’s go back. If the Oknodie crowd finds out their dorm room has been raided, they’ll come back for revenge. We need to request personal protection from the dorm supervisor and instructors, and tonight we should switch rooms with our roommates to huddle in a few common rooms.”
They would have to pay a fine if caught breaking the rule of one student per four-person room, but the value of the items they had stolen today would allow them to profit immensely even after paying for protection services and the fine.
Not only was it a party based on the upper class student room raid that she led, but there was also a lower class student room raid led by the action leader, which meant ample results obtained from raiding lower class student dorms.
They would use what could be used from today’s loot and dispose of any troublesome items by giving them to their seniors.
“Just need to survive one night.”
A third-year senior that Camela met in the club showed interest after hearing the planned scheme.
Once tonight passes, they could become rich in points.
Filled with hope, they were mercilessly thwarted by Oknodie and Hestia, who came crashing through the main entrance instead of the window in the dark of night.
“Let’s pounce! We’re eight strong!”
“Wait, these fools…!”
Before they could even warn them, a bunch of female students charged at them.
Camela watched.
The sight of people flying all over the place.
Startled by the sudden loud noise, students peeked out into the hallway, only to see a student thrown outside the common room.
With a cheerful smile, Oknodie walked out into the hallway, dragging the fallen student’s legs as they said,
“It’s a pillow fight! You’ll just ignore it, right?”
“With a noise that sounds like a bomb going off, how can that be a pillow fight…?”
“You’ll just ignore it, right?”
The sound of lower class students in the common room hurriedly closing the door and locking it was heard.
It’s over.
Oknodie returned to the closed door.
In that brief moment, all the female students were left knocked down by an angry Hestia.
“Give me back my Goo Golem.”
The Goo Golem taken out from the bag rolled on the floor and landed at Hestia’s feet.
With a huge hand, Hestia carefully grabbed the golem, looking relieved as she tucked it into her pocket.
“Please return all the stolen items too!”
“Okay…”
“Even the ones stolen from the lower class!”
“…Fine.”
“Did you steal from the boys’ dormitory, too?”
“I’ll give everything back. Just let me give everything back…”
“I’ll be sending a reimbursement receipt for damages, including dorm repair costs, supervisor and instructor bribery fees, and compensation for mental distress!”
Although she trembled with fear, Camela nodded vigorously.
The law was far, but the fist was close.
Now was the time to nod to anything that was said.
“But why isn’t my assignment in here?”
“What?”
“How could that Goo Mandragora defend an assignment? It doesn’t matter if you play dumb; just hurry up and hand it over!”
Camela felt tears welling in her eyes from her unfairness.
Now she understood.
Oknodie intended to shift her assignment onto them as revenge!
“Oknodie. I’ll say it once more; we didn’t touch your assignment. We’ll return all the stolen items and provide for damages. But the assignment is off-limits. That crosses the line.”
It’s not just an ordinary assignment but one from a student accumulating an impressive 38 credits.
Moreover, Oknodie was known for taking difficult courses, including one under Duke Andersen.
It was hard to guarantee they could even succeed in doing it with their own skills, let alone group efforts.
If they failed the assignment…
If they couldn’t produce satisfactory results…
Oknodie could use that as an excuse to continue demanding more, potentially ruining their academy life completely.
She was standing at a crossroads where tolerating such a thing was unacceptable, even if there was a knife to her neck.
“Step back, Oknodie. Negotiating with words won’t work. We need to handle this with strength.”
As Hestia slammed her fists together, the entire room shook.
It couldn’t be helped.
Now, she had to pull out her trump card.
A cornered rat bites the cat.
Camela had teeth that hurt more than a rat’s.
[Protect Me]
The most dazzling force of compulsion emanated from the seal on her hand.
As someone rushed in, a look of alarm spread across Oknodie’s face.
The keen awareness upon approach was surprising to Camela, but it was too late to realize.
Bang!
The figure that appeared through the opened door was none other than the dorm supervisor, who also retreated into the hallway.
It was the “Academy’s Student on Leave and an Instructor” controlled by Camela’s contract.
*
Camela’s contract had a gimmick.
Her pet contracts would increase in debt depending on the good will of the owner and decrease in debt based on the pet’s obedience.
However, completely apart from the relationship between the owner and pet, the total debts related to the contract would place a separate debt burden on the contract holder.
– I love the all-in strength character. Today is the time for your cruel antics to end.
– You deserved this even without Camela’s orders. You will face the consequences for lifting a stranger’s experiment bench only to cut it in half!
– You’ve completed the training and yet hurled a perfectly good student in the “horrifying antics,” I will not forgive you! Even though I cast a shock protection spell, I didn’t want that dreadful experience!!
While some students had grudges separate from Camela’s contract, there were also those who, despite having no grudges and not wanting to, had no choice but to follow orders.
– Jewel, I didn’t want to make you do this. Really. It’s all because of Camela…!
– Stop it. I’m tired now. I don’t even want to distinguish between what’s your wish or what Camela has ordered. I can’t trust you anymore.
Up until the second year, Camela had used the contract to subtly pressure pet contract users.
Those controlled by her outside of the original route ended up having to carry out risky tasks against their will through forced conditioning.
In a moment where doubts about whether love was just an emotion created for the effectiveness of the contract surfaced, the warmth of couples who played such games with the contract vanished.
With mutual distrust, the contract merely became a tool to bind their relationship, leading to both parties increasing the level and difficulty of required submission for the sake of maintaining their connection.
Of course, human patience has its limits.
Initially, even male students partially consented to the contract, but later, their minds became damaged in the abuse, or they lost interest, blossoming only humiliation and hatred.
– If I just kill that guy, I’ll move up a rank… So, Jewel, kill him for me. For my success, please!
The moment debts accumulated to the point of even requesting murder, relationships would reach a complete catastrophe.
Even if the player intervened to stop the incident, the couples would completely break apart.
If unable to intervene, it could escalate into a significant incident that prompted the student council to intervene, causing the lives of all related parties to spiral into darkness.
“Wow. This is amazing. There was a route to target not only classmates but even seniors!”
Just as there was an early oppression event with Chapter Boss Hestia, Camela also had one.
In this case, the original suppression event would involve controlling a senior student!
However, due to my interference as the player, there would be no chance to touch the senior students, leading to a bolder route opening up to target the instructor.
“Don’t touch Camela. If you go out like this, I’ll bury today’s events.”
“What if I refuse?”
“You’ll experience firsthand how strong a student on leave who achieved instructor qualifications is.”
In a regular round, it would have been a burden of a confrontation.
But after gaining substantial growth from Papa’s mansion, now it was…
‘I think I can do this?’
It didn’t feel like losing.
