NOVEL NEXT Chapter 329
Chapter 329 – The Good that Kills People
Butterflies flutter down onto the flower garden.
The sun is warm and the breeze is cool.
The snacks are soft and the coffee is bitter.
“Isn’t it a really nice day?”
Oknodie, who was munching on cookies in my arms, smiled brightly.
“You liar.”
Oknodie’s smiling face suddenly turned into a cold expressionless one.
No! I’m not a liar!
“Gasp…!”
Arcadia jerked up, her upper body drenched in sweat.
I didn’t think it was a relief that it was a nightmare.
This dream stems from reality.
For her, reality is an ongoing nightmare.
Even as the shower sprays across her, while the sticky sweat washes away, her sticky feelings aren’t so easily cleaned.
– Arcadia’s favorability isn’t 100.
– It’s not 100.
– Liar.
Echoing voices ring like a chime.
She knows the reason.
It’s because of Oknodie, who had given so much.
Being unable to accept that pure heart completely, she harbored a tinge of fear and anxiety which Oknodie pierced through.
Isn’t it said that children are sensitive to emotions?
There was nothing more embarrassing and torturous than having her shameful bare face exposed.
“Get a grip, Arcadia…”
She had already apologized at the spot where she had heard that shocking comment from Oknodie.
Still, Oknodie’s distrust did not vanish.
It meant that her distrust wasn’t light enough to disappear with just one apology.
“It’s not too late.”
Oknodie merely said that she couldn’t fully trust her, but she hadn’t completely rejected her either.
– If it’s not 100, what do you think it is?
– It’s 80!
To be honest, she thought that wasn’t a wrong statement.
No matter how much she tried not to be conscious of it, a hesitant feeling still lingered within her.
The connection between Oknodie and the Foundation.
The danger that the Foundation’s director, Oknodie’s Papa, possessed.
The often twisted common sense Oknodie displayed.
If her feelings of fear and aversion toward Oknodie were at 20, her feelings of cherishing and liking her were at 80.
“Trust can disappear with long effort. At least you have to trust me.”
That’s the duty of a human.
Even if Oknodie were to walk a twisted path, she would correct it herself.
Just as hard training leads to calluses, Arcadia’s resolve solidified in her heart.
*
“Miss Oknodie, please choose the lectures you will take this semester during the first period homeroom today. I will allow you to register for classes if there are open spots. However, please be aware that you cannot change your selection due to your own negligence in missing the observation period.”
Monday first period.
Professor Mahabharata’s homeroom time.
Recently, Oknodie had been using this time, which was often known as [Weekly Event Announcement Time], for unexpectedly beneficial purposes, and many students poured out information to her.
“Don’t take [Shield Techniques with a Pot Lid].”
“Gasp. Why not?”
“Because I’m taking that class. Hahaha, I don’t want to drop a rank!”
“Oknodie, how about trying the [How to Become a Forest Tracker] lecture?”
“Are you saying we should take it together since Dorothy is taking that lecture?”
“Nope. I’ve already mastered the basics, so I don’t need it. Go and bother the newbies taking that class!”
“Aww, that’s just mean!”
She would usually criticize others for not taking the class she was enrolled in, or slyly promote classes that people she disliked were taking.
“Also, don’t take [Healing through Picnicking].”
“Wow… How did you choose another landmine lecture?”
“…”
There was even one advisor whose sincerity could be felt.
Seeing Oknodie’s reaction, Duke Andersen realized that second semester was opening a path of hardship for her.
“Everyone, stand back. Do you really want to bother someone who has come back after a long, hard journey?”
Arcadia decided to be the only sense of conscience among these troublemakers.
“Di. I’ll help you with all the popular to beneficial lectures. Just tell me what you want!”
“I’ve already got five decided!”
She understood the two required classes for second semester.
━━━
[Upper Class Mana Enhancement Lecture]
-Tuesday, Thursday, First Period 9 AM–11 AM
-Professor: Diogenes
-Required for Upper Class
━━━
━━━
[Upper Class Mahabharata’s Teachings]
-Tuesday, Thursday, Third Period 2 PM–4 PM
-Professor: Mahabharata
-Required for Upper Class
━━━
Just as Professor Plato had trained them physically and Dragon Principal Omoshiroi had taught them in the previous semester, this time it would be a new professor, Diogenes, along with the homeroom-only Professor Mahabharata who would replace the Principal’s lectures.
While the Principal’s lectures might be eccentric, students believed they were fun, but Oknodie showed no particular reaction, as if she knew this would happen.
But what about the remaining three lectures? Where did they come from?
━━━
[All About Disassembly]
-Monday, Wednesday, Second Period 11 AM–1 PM
-Professor: Bronze de Estrada
-Adventure Department, Major
━━━
━━━
[Adventurer’s Terrain Adaptation]
-Monday, Wednesday, Fifth Period 7 PM–9 PM
-Professor: Sadako
-Adventure Department, Major
━━━
━━━
[Retired Hero and the World’s Evils]
-Tuesday, Thursday, Fourth Period 4 PM–6 PM
-Professor: Destroyer
-Adventure Department, Major
━━━
Looking at the list Oknodie had chosen, it was clear.
These were the professors she had taken classes with in the first semester!
“Professor Sadako is rumored to be a really scary person, but is she actually a good person?”
“No.”
“Then why are you taking her course?”
“Because if Jiang and Titosso abandon me, I’ll cry!”
From afar, Jiang, who was watching with a sulky face, stealthily pulled out a dagger.
…Was he really planning to stab Oknodie if she refused to take the class?
Jiang approached and said.
“It’s too late.”
“Sorry! Hehe.”
“Last week, Titosso and I attended Professor Sadako’s lecture together.”
“…I’m really sorry!”
“If you’re sorry, join another class with me.”
“Which class?”
Jiang handed her the course list.
━━━
[Basics and Understanding of Disguise]
-Monday, Wednesday, Sixth Period 9 PM–11 PM
-Professor: Pinkberry
-Adventure Department, Major
━━━
“Let’s take it together.”
“Hmm… You’re right about the tech tree! I’ll try it.”
Only then did Jiang turn around, shaking her bobbed hair, with a satisfied smile.
Arcadia felt awkward looking at Oknodie’s class schedule, which was nearly full.
Without even needing to introduce herself, Oknodie was taking care of everything on her own.
As expected, my help for her…
“What’s your recommendation, Sister Arcadia?”
“You’ve already taken six classes.”
“Still, I want to know!”
A child more mature than the adults.
Appreciating Oknodie’s consideration, Arcadia observed her class schedule and pondered seriously.
Oknodie’s path had clearly tilted towards the Adventure Department.
What the Adventure Department values most is abundant experience.
Having classes in Disassembly, Terrain Adaptation, Disguise Techniques, and the tales of a hero’s adventure, her course schedule had a good balance.
However, if there were to be a flaw, it was that there were no classes that would provide practical combat experience.
“How about this one?”
Arcadia suggested a few classes, stemming from her good intentions.
━━━
[Combat Function Tech Tree]
-Monday 2 PM–5 PM
-Professor: Armstrong
-Knight Department, General
━━━
━━━
[Nature’s Wrath]
-Friday 9 AM–1 PM
-Professor: Weird
-Magic Department, General
━━━
━━━
[Surviving as a Commander on the Battlefield]
-Wednesday 2 PM–5 PM
-Professor: Raregrills
-Knight Department, General
━━━
━━━
[Shipboard Combat ①]
-Saturday 9 AM–1 PM
-Professor: El Draco
-Adventure Department, General
━━━
“There may be different fields, but they all have something worth taking a look at. Systematically building various combat functions, learning destructive magic using Nature Mana learned in the first semester, and functions necessary for a commander’s survival, like shipboard combat.”
“Wow. These are really good lectures!”
“Right?”
“I want to try them all!”
“…Huh?”
Sometimes, one’s good intentions can lead to someone else’s death.
Without fear, Oknodie was throwing every recommendation into her schedule.
“What about assignments?”
“It’s okay. I can just handle them with practice!”
“No, I was only recommending one of them, not all of them…”
Her schedule was alarming enough to raise suspicions of child abuse toward Arcadia!
But Oknodie’s rampage was just beginning.
“In second semester, with no worries about chapter bosses, I can take more classes. So, please recommend me just three more!”
A schedule with 10 classes in one semester, excluding homeroom.
Arcadia’s head spun at Oknodie’s confidence in wanting to add three more.
*
Looking at the vacant spaces in the class schedule, a sense of longing arose.
‘Originally, in the second semester, I couldn’t guess when a criminal organization would cause incidents so I needed to take as few lectures as possible, but this time I got lucky.’
The Wahyhiemhai Foundation had raided the Beastman Resurgence Society!
Unless you’re a massive organization on par with the Foundation, you’d dare not make a move due to fear of the Foundation.
In essence, an entire semester’s worth of lectures could be followed diligently without issues.
Such opportunities don’t come easily even after advancing to higher grades.
In the typical academy game, if you diligently attend lectures, chaos from chapter bosses appears every semester, and remarkable damages are confirmed to be rampant among the same year’s students.
At least within the same grade, extraordinary damage occurs without fail.
‘Now I have to make the most of my grades!’
Of course, being able to take many lectures isn’t something a normal student would do, as all professors assume that students will only enroll in their classes, piling on supplementary lectures and assignments like ticking time bombs.
However, if one already knows which assignments will come from which courses, completing a crazy load of 13 courses and 38 credits in one semester becomes possible.
In fact, there was enough leeway that even the vacant spots could potentially be filled with other classes, considering the veteran player’s perspective.
“Hmm~ It’s a bit boring to do it all alone. Should I ask Arcadia to join me?”
I could help with the assignments.
If I rack up grades, Arcadia would surely be happy too!
I should recommend it to my friends who just went on a boat trip to Papa’s house.
They’ll definitely be delighted.
Waving the course schedule in one hand, I ran towards everyone.