NOVEL NEXT Chapter 81
<81 - Did it sound a bit strange?>
[In the lecture of the retired hero, Destroyer, I figured out the true intention behind the troll’s dilemma.]
[Situational Understanding Experience +15]
[Analytical Thinking Experience +10]
[Willpower Experience +5]
[You have obtained 500 points as a bonus for completing the challenge.]
This hidden lecture’s reward was lesser than last time.
Honestly, the first lecture was tougher!
The shepherd who skins sheep and stuffs them with human corpses.
The human-troll who drugs the monster-troll to do his bidding.
The context is similar, but the difficulty is easier.
Doubt towards humans.
Distrust was already planted in the first lecture.
Finding the crime of someone you didn’t suspect at all is a lot harder than spotting the misdeeds of someone you’ve suspected from the start, right?
‘But something feels off.’
If the incidents at the academy arise from “difficulty,” the adventure stories by Professor Destroyer stem from fundamental “desire” and “malice” of humans.
Though there are many evil-aligned characters at the academy, finding someone as wicked as that is truly rare.
‘What kind of adventures has Professor Destroyer been on since 15 years ago?’
I can’t shake off this uneasy feeling.
If I don’t graduate from the academy with good grades, doesn’t that mean I will have to live in such a harsh world?
Listening to just two adventure stories has shattered my romanticized view of a countryside village.
If I move down to become a farmer, wouldn’t I have to worry about being captured by locals and used as fertilizer?
It’s not just a matter of being careful of the villagers.
One day, I could be obliterated along with the village by a passing dark sorcerer.
To enjoy a comfortable life in this isekai world, I need to accumulate wealth, honor, and power to withstand the harsh living costs of the big city, even after graduating from the academy.
‘To do that, I must diligently gather points.’
The result of that will be all the flags spread out in the principal’s classroom.
“I’m selling flags!”
The upper-class students stared gloomily at the flags, licking their lips.
“What the hell? How many are these?!”
“Living life alone.”
“Reality hit hard.”
It’s nice that they all came to watch, but…
How about buying something?
“Buy a flag!”
“Wow, there’s a purple flag too.”
“Buy a flag!”
“Ugh, I really want that.”
“Buy a flag!”
“Remember the accordion pork belly from lunch today? It was delicious! It was irritating how they charged 10 points for an extra portion of meat.”
No one is buying anything.
As tears welled up out of sadness, the chatting students panicked.
“Ah, don’t get me wrong. I’m not teasing you.”
“But why isn’t anyone buying?”
“It’s because we spent all our points.”
“Really? Is the accordion pork belly that good?”
“It was good, but, we didn’t spend everything on that. We used our points to buy flags too.”
“Others don’t have as many flags as us!”
“There is one person.”
Just then, a person entered the classroom.
He had such a bright smile that you’d think it represented sunshine itself, revealing him to be Jezel, with his bundle empty.
“Oknodie, you were a bit late.”
“Eek, Uncle Jezel. Everyone says they have no points. How many flags did you sell?”
“I sold out completely. I sold even the last fake flag meticulously.”
If I had known this would happen, I would have sold all the remaining flags to Jezel!
Thanks to this, our team’s flag count has significantly increased.
===
□ Oknodie Team – Total 63 flags
-Oknodie: 30 flags
-Jigoku: 14 flags
-Hestia: 11 flags
-Lotto: 8 flags
===
But now, the situation has become dire.
The fake flags that Jezel released.
How many have they sold? The upper-class teams are all likely starting with a base of thirty or forty flags.
“Our team has 112 flags?!”
“Ha ha, don’t underestimate the maritime power of Florence. For a team led by Arcadia, getting 100 flags is nothing!”
“Don’t underestimate the empire’s wealth. Our fried chicken faction has managed to secure a whopping 122 flags!”
“112 flags wasn’t even that many?!”
Indeed.
Overall, the flag count has increased.
It’s almost inflation-level.
“What are we going to do about the aftermath of selling so many?”
“Well, I simply sold the items as per the odds I communicated beforehand.”
Gazing at the benevolent smile of Jezel makes me realize he is indeed a merchant.
More than half of the flags other teams possess are fake.
The chances of collecting only the genuine flags are almost nonexistent.
“Hey, Oknodie. You just mentioned you were selling flags, right?”
“Oh? You want to buy?”
“If possible, I would like to buy just 3.”
“Then that’s 300 points at 100 points each… Oof!”
“Oh dear, Oknodie misspoke. It’s 1,000 points each. That totals to 3,000 points.”
Jezel, who was by my side, covered his mouth and recited the ridiculous number.
The student who had expressed interest in purchasing revealed their blatant dissatisfaction.
“I’m negotiating with Oknodie, not you, Jezel! Don’t dictate the price arbitrarily, okay?”
“Vanilla, the value of items naturally changes depending on the circumstances. Especially here, having a 100% chance winning flag naturally raises its value.”
“Please don’t address me so casually. I have no patience for that lecture. Who exactly are you to meddle here?”
Well, I’m obviously her comrade!
Just as I was about to respond energetically, Jezel covered my mouth once more.
“Oknodie is still a kind-hearted child. It’s hard for her to confidently claim she understands the importance of commerce. As her advisor, I’m just helping her take advantage of the situation.”
Even so, charging 1,000 points is outrageous.
Jezel wouldn’t be ignorant of the value of points, so what is he thinking?
“1,000 points is unreasonable.”
“Then, it seems there won’t be any owner of the flags.”
“Ugh…. I’ll buy them. I can just pay 3,000 points!”
But is she seriously going to buy?
The flags don’t even hold that much value!
“Ha! I figured Oknodie would react like that.”
Jezel said with a smile.
“Could we talk for a moment, just the two of us, before the sale?”
“I don’t know what it’s about, but please wrap it up quickly. Class time is almost over, and who knows when the Principal will arrive?”
As Vanilla grumbles, she waits patiently.
Keeping some distance, Jezel spoke softly.
“Oknodie, you said before that the value of a flag is 100 points.”
“Yup.”
“That value was probably determined by closely examining the profits you could gain from the flags and their quantity. In reality, the worth of a flag would be close to 100 points.”
“Exactly!”
“That’s the problem. Oknodie, for some reason, you know the worth of the item and are sure of it, but others do not.”
Finally, I realized what Jezel wanted to imply.
“Others don’t even grasp how expensive those items are, so even if the price is jacked up, they’ll still buy them!”
Gather the flags.
The Principal merely said that.
He said to gather many flags and mentioned the rewards you’d get; he didn’t say anything about how precious they would be.
The penalties for collecting fewer flags and how severe those penalties are remain completely unknown.
Contrary to the actual value of 100 points each.
The value of flags can vary wildly depending on the individual student’s imagination and sense of fear.
“Even considering that, 3,000 points is ridiculously expensive, right? It was Jezel’s doing that led to the flag count becoming a chaotic mess in the first place.”
“Three is a number that sounds strange to those who don’t know how many genuine flags someone has. But I’m sure Vanilla has her own calculations as well.”
The team Vanilla belongs to is considered a second-rate group among the Imperial upper-class students, dismissed as a bunch of misfits surrounding the Third Princess.
“It’s Yayoi’s group, you know?”
“…Did you just call the Third Princess by her first name?”
“What’s wrong with that? We’re peers at the academy.”
“I’m surprised that you have the courage to do so, even if she’s a powerless princess. Sometimes, I envy Oknodie’s bravery.”
“If you attend the Night-time Activities for Adventurers course, you may become braver. Would you like to join me?”
“I’m tempted but will pass. I’ve already chosen all the lectures I want to attend.”
Unlike the Second Princess Masugaki, who is followed by her entourage, the Third Princess Yayoi has no friends or supporting forces from the outside.
Even the students in her group half-heartedly support her, not because they admire her character or authority, but because they don’t want to associate with the border folks.
Of course, this character is also one of the playable characters and falls under the [Late Blooming] type.
Though it’s tough right now, if she hangs on, she may become a top-tier character eventually.
‘A group with such strong ties to pour 3,000 points into just to win a group project must not be that close-knit, right?’
===
□ Yayoi Team – Total 69 flags
□ Oknodie Team – Total 63 flags
□ Ishtar Team – Total 58 flags
===
If I were to consider which group might benefit from acquiring our team’s 3 flags, it’s closer to Ishtar Team, the one with the female warrior.
If our team loses 3 flags, that’ll make it 60, and if that team gains 3 flags, it’ll make 61.
The flag ranking would flip.
“……?”
But that only holds when there are no fake flags at all.
Is it even possible to gather that many without fake flags, like our team?
“Oknodie, can you hurry up and decide? Are you going to sell, or not? You just said you’d give me 3,000 points! Just to let you know, I won’t buy at a higher price!”
“I’m sorry. I’ve decided not to sell the flags.”
“Why?! I’m offering you 3,000 points!”
“3,000 points was probably a price I’d set because I really want to ensure I get genuine flags, right? If it’s not my team, any team could buy a fake flag, so that figure might have some discrepancies in it.”
“If you know that, just sell them!”
“But Vanilla isn’t buying the flags for her team; she’s thinking of passing them to the warrior. To gain the warrior’s favor.”
“…!”
“I’m not keen on letting the second-place team get the flags.”
Vanilla gasped, even hiccuping in surprise.
“How, how did you know? How were you going to pass the flags to the warrior?”
“Every lecture that Vanilla attends is the same as those attended by the warrior.”
The students of Class 981’s upper class are fundamentally all playable characters.
Each character has a goal during their time at the academy.
Vanilla’s goal is to surpass Saintess Yufi, who sticks by the warrior, and become the warrior’s closest best friend.
I can catch the slightest sign of what kind of character she is, what she’s thinking, and how she operates—all at will.
“……How did Oknodie know that Vanilla’s lectures are the same as the warrior’s?”
“Um… that’s a secret!”
In Jezel’s eyes were sparks of admiration and suspicion, while Vanilla’s eyes reflected fear and wariness.
Did that recent comment sound a bit strange to the NPCs……?