265 – Let’s Jump Off the Carriage Right Now
The daily quest [Professor Bronze’s Underground Treasure Vault] starts with a gradual increase in difficulty at each step, just like how the difficulty of ingredient collection dungeons varies at their outer gates, inner gates, and secret doors.
For instance, collecting the fluffy fur of Bomb Sheep is equivalent to the 3rd stage of [Professor Gordon’s Monster Breeding Ground].
Milking the Minotaur is rated as a beginner’s 5th stage.
I originally wanted to do it, but if she insists on doing it herself, what can I do!
“Alright, Spider! Come here!”
The ingredient I need to collect is Sweet Spider, which oozes sweet threads.
Thanks to the spider, which enhances the sweetness, aroma, and flavor of the threads while preying on insects that get stuck in its sticky webs, delicious threads were born for humans too.
When I slowly extended a spool of thread towards the Sweet Spider, it rolled its eight single eyes cautiously, looking puzzled.
There are mainly two methods to collect spider silk.
One is to threaten the monster by saying, “If you don’t give it up, I’ll kill you!”
The other involves enticing the spider to give up its silk by creating an irresistible bait position without having to threaten it.
I opted for the latter.
“Look, see this?”
Upon showing the jar with the familiar mosquito inside, the Sweet Spider flailed its legs, trying to stick to the jar.
But that was wishful thinking.
Snap!
The spider, startled by the shock from the pre-prepared electric spell, leaped away in shock.
“Delicious and unsatisfying!”
Like a rice cake in a picture.
A chicken on the roof.
An answer sheet in the Principal’s office.
The spider had been tapping its legs on the jar for quite a while, hesitating due to the electric shocks, as if yearning for help.
Like pleading, it looked up at me.
In front of that spider, I turned the spool of thread as if to taunt it.
“?”
The Sweet Spider, confused by the spinning thread, stared wide-eyed.
“!”
Its eyes finally twinkled with the joy of realization.
If it wraps the thread, it won’t get shocked!
Hop! Hop!
In a joyful jumping fit, the Sweet Spider danced around the jar carefully wrapping the thread.
Every time our eyes met, its round black eyes looked up adorably.
The mosquitoes inside the jar complained, tapping futilely against the glass, but they wouldn’t escape the electric shock either.
Truly the devil’s trap like the Dark Princess!
“Gotcha!”
“!!!”
As the spider finally climbed onto the jar’s lid, dancing with joy after extracting enough honey threads, I swiftly snatched the jar with gloved hands.
“Ahhh!”
“Ha ha, what a silly spider!”
[Bravery Experience Points +30. You are not frightened by Sweet Spider’s “Ahhh.”]
[Dark Electricity Generation Experience Points +10. The electric generation spell is not consumed.]
[Pitiful Sweet Spider feels fear, despair, and frustration.]
[Trick Experience Points +10]
[Inducing Fear Experience Points +3]
[Bad Child Experience Points +3]
[Warning! Bad Child Experience Points are too high. If you fail to manage them, the Bad Child may evolve into a Scary Child!]
I gave a piece of candy to the pitiful spider to cheer it up.
It sat there with its legs curled around the candy like it was guarding an egg, which was somewhat endearing.
“Grand Duke, April, are we there yet~?”
No response.
I peeked out after exiting the spider breeding ground, observing the two collecting ingredients.
Tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock
Thud bang thud thud thud
Colors of magic danced in a dazzling display, as Bomb Sheep filled the air with magic spells like fireworks.
When hit by a spell, the color-coated sheep’s eyes turned triangular, retaliating with their own spells towards other Bomb Sheep.
The scene spiraled into chaos, almost like a battlefield.
[Save the Idiots!]
[April is trembling in fear, wearing a food bowl like a helmet in the corner of the Bomb Sheep enclosure. Hurry and save that foolish Maid!]
On the opposite side, things were even worse.
“Ahhh! Please, Oknodie! Help me!”
A Minotaur who had torn off its restraints was now forcing Grand Duke Andersen into the very spot it had been bound to!
[Save the Idiots 2!]
[Grand Duke Andersen has loosened his restraints upon hearing the Minotaur’s mournful cries and is now being counter-captured. If you don’t save that foolish First Year, he might get captured instead!]
Should I have come alone…?
I began to regret it slightly.
*
In the end, April and Andersen were unable to accomplish the ingredient collection task and only ended up sacrificing Good Child Experience Points.
The two defeated cohorts were now serving as Oknodie’s assistants, either handing over equipment or keeping watch, doing menial labor.
“Maid. You must be having a tough time too.”
“You look incredibly exhausted, Grand Duke.”
“Today is the day I’ve felt the most accomplished with my strength training. Had I trained just a little less, I can only imagine what would have happened…”
“I agree. If I hadn’t learned Maid Stealth before employment, I would be… right now…”
The two shuddered at the thought of a bad ending.
Since they both had a similar ordeal, they felt a strange bond forming from their shared suffering.
“Has Oknodie always been like this? Collecting strange monster ingredients with such ease?”
“I don’t know much about Oknodie’s past. I have only been serving him for a few weeks since I came to the Academy…”
“I see. But you must have heard some rumors, being the Chief Scholarship Student of the Foundation.”
Speaking of rumors, April seemed to have a slight idea too.
“They say the ‘Agassi’ raised in our Foundation are anything but ordinary. Though Oknodie stands out, there might be other female students who have risen to considerable heights without us knowing.”
“That sounds like a city urban legend. Would that apply to Second or Third Years as well?”
“That applies to them too. Even the number of scholarship students I managed alone…”
“That sounds like quite a few.”
“…I’ve said too much already.”
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. If it’s troubling you, let’s just pretend I didn’t hear.”
They both maintained a brief silence, observing Oknodie’s actions.
Whoosh! Bang!
With expert aim, the ring thrown by Oknodie struck and slammed into the fleeing Wingslime.
After collecting a considerable amount of bouncy Slime Jelly suitable for eating, Oknodie tossed the bag aside.
Andersen loaded the bag onto the carriage, filled with ingredients that barely fit in his Magic Backpack.
“That Wingslime we just caught is a rather rare monster. Do you want to know its sordid reputation outside the Academy?”
“I’m curious.”
“They cling high up on trees, waiting for living beings to pass underneath before plummeting down to cover their heads. When their prey struggles in the jelly, they suffocate, turning into easy prey.”
“…That’s a pretty gruesome hunting method.”
“Even such a rare monster is subdued effortlessly, and I harvest the edible bits. That level of skill is something even I, a noble of the Duke House, have yet to attain.”
“What are you implying?”
April shot a slightly hostile glare at Andersen, suspecting he was criticizing Oknodie.
“No, that’s not it. It’s the opposite.” Andersen waved his hands in dismissal. “I’m concerned, not criticizing.”
“…I don’t think he’s the kind of person who would worry over a male milk tank who faced a moral dilemma with a Minotaur?”
“There was a time, during a fierce storm a few years back, that Wingslimes invaded the Duke’s territory. Just three of them annihilated seven villages, and the knights sent to hunt them lost their lives.”
“!!”
“Is that the kind of ‘ordinary education’ that your ‘Agassi’ receive? That they are trained to handle such dangerous creatures so skillfully?”
That seemed a bit much to swallow.
April hesitated, flinching slightly at the thought.
“What’s wrong?”
“Wait a moment.”
April demanded silence, placing her finger to her lips.
As Andersen instinctively leaned closer, he caught a hint of her delicate scent.
Feeling inexplicably embarrassed, he flushed as April spoke seriously.
“Someone’s coming.”
“…!”
“We need to hide.”
As they glanced around desperately, they realized there was nowhere to hide other than behind the carriage.
“Oknodie, get down!”
As Andersen called out warningly and ducked between the carriage’s shafts, he noticed April standing frozen, unsure of what to do.
“You can just pretend you’re cleaning since you’re a maid, can’t you?”
“If I do that, my designated cleaning area will be assigned to the monster breeding ground.”
“…That would be a truly horrific punishment.”
Andersen grabbed April’s arm.
“!?”
“Don’t ask questions, just get in. We have to survive first.”
Cleaning a place like this would probably take more than half your lifespan.
Even a maid with a cautious demeanor would find the monster breeding ground too harsh to endure.
“Oh. Who placed all these ingredients here like this?”
Someone who entered the breeding ground found the cart and gasped in admiration.
“With this much, I wouldn’t need to collect any separately. I can take this as is.”
“!?”
“It’s got an automatic driving spell sticker, destination coordinate sticker, and safety driving features… well, I suppose they aren’t necessary? It’s not like first-years are roaming about.”
Clunk. Clunk clunk.
As the silent carriage started to move on its own, both Andersen and April looked at each other, realizing something had gone terribly wrong.
Who is coming to take us away?
A young face poked out from under the bags.
It was Oknodie, who had also hidden in the carriage.
“Everyone, don’t panic.”
“Do you know where we’re going?”
“The teaching assistant for [Let’s Understand Monster Patterns] is pulling the ingredient cart to the lecture hall!”
“There’s no such lecture for First Years…”
“Of course there isn’t.”
Oknodie said matter-of-factly.
“It’s a Third Year lecture!”
“There shouldn’t be any lectures during the week of Religious Days, right?”
“Officially that’s correct.”
“…Unofficially?”
“Any naughty professors trying to sneak in lectures without the Principal’s permission might just hold classes on the down-low!”
Andersen steeled himself.
Let’s jump off the carriage right now.
