I’m the Slit-Eyed Character at the Academy, but I’m not the Mastermind

Chapter 170

After the unfortunate incident of Luna biting my ear.

While holding my throbbing ear, I realized something was off.

"But why are you still here?"

I'm in Team 13, Luna is in Team 14.

It's been a while since we were divided into teams. But Luna was still by my side.

And she was doing it very naturally at that.

"What does it matter. Judging by the atmosphere, it seems like five teams depart at a time."

Just as Luna said.

At first, Teams 1~5 went into the forest, and then Teams 6~10 departed.

But I couldn't help but be surprised. Because.

'Luna is thinking...?'

That's not the only surprising thing. She naturally asserted that there's no problem with her being by my side.

Not only is she logical and rational, but she even enforces her opinion.

Her intelligence suddenly increased. To a scary degree at that.

'Luna... A scary kid!'

Is it because her stalker tendencies that had weakened due to Rezé's appearance have revived?

Come to think of it, Rezé also served that role.

Luna's manic obsession with friends. The role of sharing that obsession.

'Perhaps I've become a body that can't live without Rezé...'

Huh? The phrasing sounds a bit off?

That's because your head is full of lewd thoughts.

Read the paragraph, not just the sentence, and grasp the overall context!

It's not that, but I'm the one who's strange?

No way. Anyone can see I'm normal!

"What are you thinking about again?"

"Keke, I was thinking that I've become a body that can't live without Rezé."

"...So you're the type to take words about wanting to die literally?"

Crunch!

Luna bit my ear hard.

Somehow, her aggressiveness seems to have intensified compared to before.

"If you lay eyes on my friend, you die. Got it?"

"Keke, I'll keep that in mind. In the first place, she's not my type, so you don't need to worry."

"What's wrong with a cute kid like Rezé!"

Luna bit my ear again.

Biting if I do this, biting if I do that. I don't know what she wants me to do.

Only then did I realize.

I had become a body that couldn't endure even a few hours, let alone a day, without Rezé.

'To think I would miss that damn rabbit...'

But it seemed like I wasn't the only one missing Rezé.

"Hmm... Hmmm."

Luna sighed while circling around me.

She seems to be worried about Rezé.

One bite, one worry about Rezé, one bite, one worry.

It's really driving me crazy.

"Calm down. Rezé will be fine."

"No, I can't help but worry. Didn't you come up with a strategy that's too unreasonable?"

On the day the pop quiz was announced, I devised strategies for Luna and Rezé.

Both were skeptical, but Rezé will realize as soon as she enters the labyrinth.

That she will have to carry out my strategy unconditionally.

Well, I admit the strategy I presented to Rezé is the most difficult among us.

"She has to do that much. Because it's the advanced class. Didn't we also get in with skills, not connections?"

"That's true, but..."

"Worrying won't change anything. They left a long time ago, and the 3rd test should be in progress by now."

If you regret, you should regret the past when you didn't train hard.

It means no matter how much we worry now, nothing will change.

"You're right. It's no use worrying. I don't even look like I can take care of myself."

"Take care of yourself? Isn't Luna's skill sufficient?"

"...I'm not sure. Not only you, but other kids are also much stronger than me."

Alex, Raymon, Yuridia, Teron, Daike, and even other kids.

They might feel like a high wall to Luna, who entered Annwood Academy with revenge as her only motivation.

But.

"Luna is a sufficiently strong person. And you will become even stronger in the future."

"Huh?"

Because that's the you I've been seeing so far.

Because you're the one who cherishes friends and never neglects efforts even for a moment.

Because you're the one who will be with me until the final boss.

"You just need to keep moving forward, one step at a time, like you've been doing. I'll be by your side to help."

In the name of a friend.

It was when I was staring intently at Luna.

"G-Giving a serious answer to a joke!"

Saying that, Luna swiftly turned around.

I can't tell if she's crying or laughing.

All I could see from my angle were her reddened ears.

"Oh my, oh my!"

"How cute."

The kids from the Yuridia faction on the opposite side became noisy.

They were talking while covering their mouths, so I couldn't tell exactly what they were saying.

Could she possibly be angry?

I was about to talk to Luna.

"Next! Teams 11 to 14. Everyone enter the forest!"

Under the guidance of the instructors, the kids headed into the forest.

When the previous Team 12 headed into the forest.

Luna, who had approached at some point, lightly tapped my back.

"Ahem! Good luck on the test. Don't overdo it and get hurt."

"Keke, I'll see you after it's over. Next time, the three of us will be together. I'll see you there."

"Huh? Where?"

Of course.

"In the advanced class."

With Luna's smile on her lips as the last thing I saw.

My Team 13 headed into the forest.

*

"Team 11, enter! Team 12 will enter in 15 minutes!"

Then my Team 13 will be in about 30 minutes. Luna's Team 14 will be in 45 minutes.

Luna's team, about 100m away.

Luna had her eyes closed, entering a state of concentration.

'Actually, Luna doesn't need to worry that much.'

Although there's the variable called Daike, Luna doesn't need to worry.

Not only has she become quite strong through bloody training.

'Because Caron is there.'

The grader of this pop quiz is Caron.

Since he cherishes Luna, there's a high probability he will pull strings to keep her in the advanced class.

In the first place, Luna currently boasts the level of a main supporting character.

Even without Caron, she has the skills to remain in the advanced class.

In other words, there's no reason to worry about Luna.

What we really need to worry about is...

'I wonder if our rabbit is doing well?'

That's right. The pufferfish rabbit Rezé is the problem.

The worst case is she runs away before even fighting, but such a mishap won't occur.

'Because in the game, the pop quiz episode allows you to control each party member one by one.'

That's right. One of the reasons why "Hero of the Academy" was called a god-tier game.

The surprisingly high degree of freedom. This was no different in the pop quiz.

No, it boasted an even higher degree of freedom than ever before.

'Right before the pop quiz, you're given a month.'

Along with the number D-30, the academy map appears, and you can select various places on the map twice a day.

As a day passes like that, the next day begins with the number D-29.

There are events that occur at various places on the map on certain dates, and additional selection events occur besides the two choices.

And the final D-1.

On the day before the pop quiz, a message appears telling you to select party members, and at this time, all characters whose favorability you've raised can be selected.

The required favorability value is quite low, so with my current self, I could probably put characters like Alex, Raymon, Yuridia, and Teron in my party.

'Well, currently I only chose Luna and Rezé.'

I told Luna and Rezé what to do at each stage, so they will carry it out as instructed.

In summary, Rezé won't run away.

'Come to think of it...'

There was one thing many users were puzzled about in the pop quiz episode.

The fact that there are very few Hidden Pieces during this one month period.

Training, bonding, and occasional events in the evening.

That was it. So there were users who found this time boring.

It was only natural, since they had to spend 30 days just clicking.

But now I could understand.

That one-month period was a time for training and bonding with the main characters, but.

The reason a specific date of one month was set was precisely because...

'Lucia's Hidden Piece was hidden there.'

A Hidden Piece telling me to surprise Lucia and even gain her recognition.

Since the period Lucia decided to stay was one month, the pop quiz was also set to match that date.

If other veterans found out about this fact, I wonder what kind of reaction they would show.

I was already looking forward to it.

"Next, Team 13! Enter!"

Before I knew it, it was time for my team to enter.

Luna, who raised her left hand and silently sent a message of support.

I sent a slight smile towards her. Then.

"Kyaaaaah!"

...The girls from the Yuridia faction went wild.

They're really strange kids.

And so, amidst the cheers of the girls.

I set foot into the stone labyrinth, the 1st stage.

*

At that moment, the 3rd stage of the pop quiz.

The place where the group duel of Team 4 was unfolding.

On a hill with a good view of the dueling ground, a rabbit... no, Rezé was trembling.

'Hii, hiiieek! M-Monster! There's a monster...!'

Whenever Caron moved his hands and feet, kids collapsed one by one.

Before long, only Teron and Yuridia were left.

It was only natural for Rezé to call Caron a monster.

The problem was.

'I-I have to fight that monster too!'

She also had to fight that monster.

'I-Impossible! Absolutely impossible!'

While she was agonizing over how to properly express her intention to surrender.

-You can do it. Let's take classes together, eat together, and hang out together. We'll always stick together!

Suddenly, Luna's smile came to mind.

The sight of Luna dreaming of being in the same class and always being together.

'L-Luna...'

The agony was short. After taking out a magic gun from her dimensional pocket, she carefully assessed the situation.

'Z-Zero said I would have a 1:1 with Teacher Caron at the end, but...'

That won't happen.

Because Teron and Yuridia, who are fighting now, are on a different level from her.

Those two falling before her? Impossible.

With trembling hands, she aimed at Caron.

'I-It's okay. M-My position hasn't been exposed either.'

Above all, Zero told her the shocking fact(?) that a person dies when shot by a gun.

What if it's a problem if Caron dies?

Rezé didn't have the leisure to think that far right now.

Click!

After injecting mana into the magic gun and loading a mana bullet, she pulled the trigger.

Bang!!

The mana bullet fired at Caron while he was dealing the final blow to Teron.

"...!"

Caron sensed that he couldn't avoid it.

Not only was the speed of the mana bullet fast, but he was in the middle of an attack, making it difficult to dodge.

In the end, Caron.

Clang!

He chose to deflect the mana bullet by surrounding his arm with mana.

Boom!!

The deflected mana bullet knocked down two trees and oxidized in the air.

Even Teron stuttered at the unbelievable power.

"Wh-What?"

"Are you saying there was someone left besides us? Moreover, that attack was definitely..."

"..."

Teron, Yuridia, and Caron, who noticed Rezé's existence.

The confusion was short-lived. Teron and Yuridia immediately went on the offensive.

Because they realized that the moment they sent Caron to where Rezé was, they would be at a disadvantage.

Of course, Rezé was.

Tremble tremble-!

'Hii, hiiieek! H-he didn't die!'

Zero's words that a person dies when shot.

She was deeply regretting believing his words.

--TL Notes--

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at /MattReading