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〈 Episode 196 〉 Episode 193 – The Festival.
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As you’ve already seen in the previous chapter, the academy’s classes are definitely useful in many ways.
Not only for problems at parties, but they also teach you how to win in human interactions.
[“Is using ‘Hunter Sensitivity’ in the worst case a proper education? What the f*ck!”]
‘It’s an Auto K-Hunter response method. Its effectiveness is well-known historically.’
However, even if it’s helpful, it doesn’t mean it’s not boring.
No matter how delicious the food is, if you eat it every day for months, you’re going to get bored.
The academy’s classes were no exception to this rule.
Of course, when you look at it objectively, it was a pretty relaxed second-year class.
In the first year, classes were packed tight up until dinner time.
Comparing that with the second year, classes held only in the morning felt like a fairy tale.
But they say there’s no end to human greed.
Not satisfied with the ease of the afternoon, we were yearning to quit classes altogether.
We felt bored with our monotonous routine.
We needed a new thrill.
Fortunately.
That kind of thrill exists in the second semester.
The festival.
The best word with a beautiful resonance in just two words.
Last time we just passed it by, but this time we could fully enjoy the festival.
[“What’s blowing the wind here? Was the writer not a loner?”]
‘At festival time, what about the flashy shows? That guy must’ve gone to the PC room shouting ‘Chikshow!’ instead.’
– Thud! “Stop hitting me, you dog bastards.”
Anyway, what comes to mind when you think of a festival?
The most intuitive thing is the various stalls that always appear at festivals.
With their variety comes many things you can do.
Whether it’s playing special games, eating food, or buying something to remember as a souvenir.
The academy was no different in this regard.
Numerous stalls lined up in the academy for the festival season.
And right now.
We were walking through the stalls that spread out immediately after class ended.
It truly felt like the festival had begun.
In the midst of it all.
“Husband! These dog bastards are so cocky!”
“What now?”
Elcia suddenly started to grind her teeth.
Looking at the stalls around us, Elcia’s face was filled with complaints.
Soon, a torrent of rage burst from her mouth.
“How dare students get cocky and try to earn money easily!”
It was hard to find a similar sight among the various appearances of the stalls.
However, there was a clear common point as Elcia said.
They were all run by students.
[“Have they all realized that being a hunter is futile already?”]
‘Honestly, it’s way easier to grill skewers than die while roasting a monster.’
In a way, it’s understandable.
Due to the academy’s closed-off policies, external businesses cannot engage in profit-making activities inside during the festival.
Only students can engage in profit-making activities at this time.
The academy does not allow market intervention from external businesses.
But.
[“With that being said, the quality of what’s made by students is quite high.”]
‘Of course, because those bastards didn’t make it themselves.’
It wasn’t entirely impossible.
To break through this, external businesses rent stalls to students.
Promising a share of the profits from it.
Perhaps she found that unsatisfactory, as Elcia stomped her feet and spewed out her anger again.
“I can’t accept this cowardly behavior of accumulating wealth!”
“We also earned a good amount of money, but some bastard put it all into coins.”
Last time during the tournament qualifiers, we also ran a stall and made some decent cash.
However, the problem was that Elcia poured all that money into coins.
“……Who did that?”
“You dog b*tch.”
Elcia turned to me to deflect blame.
Naturally, Hyeji and Ayeon wouldn’t let it slide.
– Thwack!!! “It hurts!!!!!!!”
“Die, you b*tch.”
“I’m suddenly in a sh*tty mood.”
Hyeji and Ayeon delivered a clean low kick.
Two fierce strikes landed simultaneously on both of Elcia’s legs, creating a thud.
Naturally, Elcia grabbed her legs and sank down, while Caressy made a look of pity and proposed to us.
“Why don’t you all just earn money this time?”
However, Caressy’s suggestion was impossible.
Previously, when we ran a stall, we got reported and caught by the tax office, getting fined for tax evasion.
After that, the academy imposed additional sanctions, permanently banning us from official profit-making activities.
Until graduation, no less.
“I can’t do it.”
“What a shame, huh? You guys were the rising stars of the food industry.”
“And I don’t even want to do it.”
Caressy tilted her head, looking puzzled at my words.
But I truly had no intention of doing it whatsoever.
And understandably so.
“The academy, those sons of b*tches, took 50% as a fee.”
“……Those motherf*ckers.”
The academy had no conscience.
Later, I found out that the academy was the one who reported us.
Because we didn’t pay the fee.
[“Google and Apple take 30% with in-app purchases, you know.”]
‘Those bastards are just crazy.’
At that moment, Pie suddenly seemed to realize something.
[“Then platforms using in-app purchases could be hit hard, huh.”]
‘In the end, this contest is a declared victory for Nobelpia, who neglected the app!’
At this point, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a regressor among the Nobelpia staff.
Someone who clearly foresaw this whole situation and decided to neglect the app.
Anyway, since we were here to enjoy the festival, we were dragging the still-unmoving Elcia around, looking at everything.
Just then, we spotted a student who was dozing off with his chin resting at a stall in front of us.
We approached that spot.
There was no particular reason.
I just made an impulsive decision because something was sparkling.
As soon as the dozing student noticed our approach, he quickly sat up and began greeting us.
“Welcome!”
We examined the student’s appearance who was repeatedly greeting us.
Gold rings, gold bracelets, a gold watch, gold earrings, piercings, a gold necklace, and of course, shiny golden hair.
He was maxing out all the luxuries one could have in gold.
[“That sparkling must be because of those ornaments.”]
‘Looks like a golden goblin brat.’
It seemed like he had no customers and was dozing off.
The moment he saw us, his expression looked like he felt he struck gold.
“How many are you having?”
“Shinwoo, I want to try this.”
“It looks fun, so I’ll do it too!”
“I’ll try it as well.”
The shop was, of course, a shooting game stall.
One of those shops you find at every festival where you shoot items with a gun to win prizes.
However, the reviews among people weren’t that great.
It was understandable since if you didn’t knock down the targets, your shots were void, or they provided very poor quality guns.
Plus, even if you managed to win, the prizes were mostly junk or worthless decorations.
Anyway, among us, Hyeji, Elcia, and Ayeon decided to give it a try.
I was an idiot when it came to shooting from the start, and Caressy said she didn’t feel like moving, so she passed.
The participants of the shooting paid a significant sum to the blond student.
Watching the cash piling up in the payment machine, the blond student wore a happy expression and quickly started explaining.
The problem was.
“The rules are simple. Shoot the item to win the prize. That’s it.”
The explanation was so flimsy.
Now that he had collected the money, he had the attitude of not wanting to deal with us anymore.
“What gun do we use?”
“Just figure it out yourself. Come on, you’re not kids anymore.”
He didn’t even hand over the guns, trying to brush it off casually.
Upon closer inspection, it seemed the blond student had a hint of a smirk on his face.
[“That guy’s clearly a scammer.”]
‘What the f*ck is up with that?’
But he needed to explain properly.
– Click.
“If you don’t want to die, hand over everything you have.”
Hyeji suddenly pulled out a gun and pressed it against the blond student’s forehead.
The sudden threat made a cold sweat start to trickle down the side of the blond student’s face.
“This is a rule violation!”
“You told us to shoot to win a prize, right? Hand it over.”
But this definitely fell under rule violation.
Threatening the game stall to seize prizes.
That’s just what a robber would do.
“Hyeji, you have to hit to win it. You shouldn’t threaten him.”
“Really?”
“Y-yes! You need to hit the target to get something!”
The student added an explanation desperately.
He should’ve done that sooner.
– Bang!
Hearing the proper explanation, Hyeji immediately pulled the trigger.
With that, the gun spewed fire and shot towards the target.
The target was, of course.
The blond student’s mobile phone.
The bullet pierced right through the center of the phone, leaving an indelible mark.
Seeing the mark on the phone, Hyeji turned back to me.
“Shinwoo, this shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
“That’s no problem. Now we can take the phone.”
This time, Hyeji legitimately earned a prize without any rule violations.
Proud of Hyeji, I handed over the phone and patted her head, to which she replied with a beaming smile.
This is how a festival should be!
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