Titosso was so thrilled about having a new older sister that she buzzed around Sing all day long, chattering away.
“Was Sing always so quiet?”
“Is it true that when she was born, instead of crying ‘Goo Goo’, she shouted ‘Give me a sword!’?”
“Has Sing swung a sword more times than Uncle Jezel’s points combined?”
“If you want to turn off the lights at night, do you scream and then tell your surprised little sibling to turn off the lights? My sister did that too; she was so mean, right?”
“Have you tried black bread? I bet your sister’s only eaten super expensive foods!”
“Do you like reddish lights? It’s my favorite color, and I’ll make sure to put it on for you! It helps with sleeping at night!”
“But are you enrolled in the academy, or did you come as a parent observer? Did you get married? How do men meet?”
Amidst Titosso’s endless barrage of questions, Sing finally snapped and wrote on the floor with her sword.
[I can’t talk.]
“Ugh!! I’m sorry, older sister!! I’ll talk twice as much for you!!”
“…”
While Titosso generously showered unwanted kindness, Oknodie and friends rummaged through the campus looking for gimmicks.
“Professor Paimon is so short that she installed an automatic height-adjustable platform on her podium. If we take it, we can use it as a handy travel item to cross cliffs! It’s perfect for slow mobs wearing cursed armor!”
“That’s awfully mean… As if it’s not bad enough for the professor, what if the device breaks and she catches you?”
Rogini, the kind-hearted one, had a point, but it depended on the person.
“Professor Paimon hates any student taller than herself and really makes them suffer. She assigns more homework based on the height difference percentage!”
“…What a petty way to bully.”
“Totally cruel, right?”
“Well, it is bad. Oknodie’s also a student of the rogue Professor Bronze, so I get that he wants to educate others regardless of how it affects him.”
“Since when do I have nothing to do with you?”
“Is that something a campus shortest person should say?”
“Ahh.”
“You’ll probably have the least amount of homework, but your classmates suffering from unfair treatment will make you want to be a rogue, right? You’re such a nice kid.”
Oknodie was just angry recalling the unfairness from when he was 230cm tall, yet hearing Rogini calling him a good child made him feel somewhat good rather than bad.
Sorry to Professor Bronze, but he decided to be a rogue while he was at it.
“So, who’s the next nasty professor we’re gonna rob?”
“Professor Porneus has a loot orb in his lab that steals 10% of the students’ increased mana. You can reverse the spell to steal his mana!”
“How’s that even possible?”
“If the being he directly taught gains ‘power’ through ‘learning’, the god of training gives them power when a relationship is established!”
“Wow… It must be nice to be a professor, just having a god’s favor sitting in the lab.”
“Anyway, Rogini will benefit since we reversed the spell, so soon 10% of the increased mana from those who experience the Red Magic Tower’s magnificent fire show will go to Rogini!”
Rogini felt uneasy for some reason.
“But Professor Paimon’s a mean professor who deserves it, but isn’t Professor Porneus just taking a fair share of what he teaches?”
“He’s a professor who intentionally teaches incorrect growth formulas just to make people overflow with mana while leaving them stuck at a dead-end training method! Given how many have regretted becoming his student based on increased mana alone!”
“What a trash piece.”
Seeing Oknodie vent his frustration, swinging his arms wildly as if it was his own, Rogini couldn’t help but feel a warmth in her heart.
For a moment, she felt bad for thinking of Oknodie as not a good kid like everyone else claimed.
‘People talk so much about Oknodie that it creates a bias totally different from his true self. He must struggle a lot.’
Not recognizing his true self or good intentions and always being misunderstood, it’s no wonder people look through tinted glasses at the Foundation’s Dark Princess, but it’s just sad to see the child appear pitiful.
There are so many dangerous beings in this world, and a moment’s misjudgment or hesitation can snatch away lives.
Preconceived notions serve as arrogant measures to judge others, but in many situations, they can also become the materials needed for swift action.
‘If only we acknowledge the true self of this child, Oknodie, then he won’t go astray.’
A person can easily change depending on their environment.
The environment includes the people they encounter.
Family, friends, teachers.
Even just one acquaintance can make a difference.
As long as someone acknowledges another, that person doesn’t stray too much.
‘Even if the Director of the Foundation ripped away their souls and weak humanity, Oknodie still is a good kid. Even if twisted and distorted, his kind nature doesn’t change.’
The human body can evolve.
With sufficient rest, one can regain a healthy body and mind.
The soul, nature, and essence of a good child are no different.
‘Even a bad child can become good if raised and treated well.’
Didn’t Oknodie do that?
He regarded us weaklings as his strong friends and had many grand adventures and experiences together.
While he may not have matched Duke Andersen, who climbed cliffs, crossed fire pits, and stormed the Foundation branch from exploding traps, news was trickling in, showing that each of us had gained considerable strength.
“Hestia is giving me a mana board with data from Professor Agareth’s special training ground! It’s a backup board with enemy data from the real training grounds that fourth years use; you can also use it for personal training!”
“What’s so great about that?”
“You can train at the training ground at any time without waiting in line, just take your mana board and practice!”
“Oh.”
“Professor Agareth has to be doing something bad again, right?”
With Rogini’s words, Titosso and the mob immediately showed interest and raised their hands.
“Let me guess! Professor Agareth makes students pass out from exhaustion before they can even walk to the cafeteria because he hates watching them eat?”
“That’s not it!”
“Growth happens after muscles tear, so he makes everyone a wreck so they can’t finish assignments after his lectures?”
“Not that either!”
“Tsk. What then?”
“He’s probably plotting evil plans to rob all the numbered artifacts from the academy’s treasure room to sacrifice to the god so he can be as strong as the Principal!”
Friends who had only thought of bizarre methods to bully students were totally shocked.
“Coup?!”
“Oh my god, shouldn’t we cheer for that?!”
“Honestly, I think anyone who becomes Principal would be better than the current one…”
A bitter smile surfaced on the face of the veteran player who had the same thought beforehand.
“I thought that too, but Professor Agareth is currently attacking holders of the outdoor-numbered magical tools to steal them! If you collaborate without knowing, you’re likely to end up being betrayed and die!”
Our academy is a total mess.
Rogini never had such a strong feeling that it was a disaster day compared to today.
“Aren’t we supposed to report him to the Principal?”
“If we report him, the treasure room’s security will become stricter, right? That would make it hard for us to get the numbered artifacts later, so we plan to keep it secret until more victims appear.”
They were in the midst of collecting hidden opportunities from various professors, instructors, or seniors.
Titosso, whose cheeks were puffed long ago, suddenly shouted.
“Oknodie!”
“Yeah?”
“Why is mine missing?!”
“Um… but Titosso isn’t a regular member, so there’s no special item for you.”
“Am I not a proper friend?!”
“Ah, that’s not what I meant! You’re too high-spec to just give anything like Mob!”
Oknodie’s vigorous defense left Mob feeling hurt after just receiving whatever scraps.
“I still want something!”
“Then how about this?”
Walking out of the art room, filled with a dozen magical circles wrapped around her, easily avoiding the advancing statues that were getting tired first, Oknodie whistled, holding up an item with a faint mana reaction.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a 120-color crayon set! It has even more colors than those sold in the Empire shop. Isn’t it awesome?”
“Wow, I’m excited!”
Is she really happy about that…?
Rogini couldn’t hide her pity, not knowing the existence of the soul canvas.
Poor Titosso, always being deceived.
“I’ll share a bit of ours.”
“No way! After working hard to figure out how to distribute the items, why would I share?!”
“Titosso is just too pitiful.”
“Titosso is happy even with a 120-color crayon!”
“Right. I really love it!”
“Our hearts are uneasy.”
In response to Rogini, other friends nodded in agreement.
The perceptive veteran realized the reason behind their discomfort.
“Is it because it seems like we’re belittling crayons?”
“Honestly, yes. What can be done with a crayon set that big? It’ll probably just be collecting dust in the warehouse after doodling around.”
“Ugh. This is why newbies are so hopeless. Oh well, today, I’ll allow everyone to join in. This was a secret hideout meant for just Titosso and me, but since I’m worried, I guess I’ll show you. Keep it a secret from everywhere else, okay?”
That moment birthed the new goblin-special artist types in the art realm.
