NOVEL NEXT Chapter 82
<82 - Fake Flag>
Vanilla ultimately failed to purchase the flags.
“I’m sorry, Warrior!”
“No, it’s fine. It was my request anyway.”
“I’ll return the points I received as a deposit.”
“10 points is the deposit I gave you. Whether you succeed or not, just accept it and treat yourself to dinner tonight.”
“Thanks!”
Ishtar couldn’t hide her disappointment.
She had tried to use someone else to purchase the flags, fearing that stepping in directly would raise suspicions, but the sharp Oknodie saw through the proxy purchase.
However, she felt less disappointed since she gained equally significant information.
“I can’t believe Vanilla knew about all the lectures she attended. Oknodie’s information network is impressive.”
“I thought I was going to die of fear! Please pat Vanilla’s shoulder to comfort her, Warrior!”
“That’s a bit much.”
Ishtar calmly removed Vanilla’s shoulder from her grip, which was trying to cling onto her. She maintained a blank face, pretending to be unaffected, but as Vanilla left with a sullen face, the corners of her mouth subtly lifted.
“Ishtar, what do you like?”
“Yufi. Did you hear? It seems Oknodie is interested in me.”
“…That girl is an assassin, isn’t she?”
“She’s my top candidate for a water-type comrade.”
“Generally, assassins gather prior information for only one reason, you know?”
While her comrade was happily celebrating the fact that the assassin researched the lectures she attended and the list of classmates, the Saintess felt tense.
“In my opinion… Oknodie is definitely an assassin sent by some organization. And she received an assassination order for the current Warrior.”
“Yufi, aren’t you worrying too much? Oknodie is just a little 10-year-old kid.”
“Don’t underestimate the top student of Group A just because of her age. Ishtar. She’s someone who could rival you, the Warrior.”
In their conversation, Skola, part of their group, chimed in to support Yufi’s opinion.
“That girl’s archery skills were exceptional. I’d say she’s easily ranked 2nd in Class 981. Of course, I’m the one holding the 1st spot as the descendant of a master archer.”
“Did you hear? If she’s skilled in archery, she might also be capable of
The formal party member for Warrior Ishtar was Saintess Yufi.
Confident of claiming Ishtar’s comrade spot because she was the top-ranked archer in Class 981, Skola was overly enthusiastic, but…
gulp.
In reality, when looking at Skola, Ishtar seemed far more interested in the 2nd-ranked Oknodie.
“Really? How was Oknodie’s archery?”
Skola recalled her archery performance.
“It was a moving shot trial, and she was quick on her feet and light on her body. Her core muscles were well developed, allowing her to effectively power her shots even in an unstable stance.”
“She was strong enough to execute power shots skillfully… um, her other notable trait was her wide field of vision.”
“But she did seem a bit clumsy, tending to fall behind her classmates and even running against the track during the race to keep pace with them. She was just a kid after all.”
Hoping to conclude with a hint of Oknodie’s flaws, despite having praised her, Skola’s intention was to emphasize her own superiority as an archer, but contrary to her expectation, Ishtar’s expression remained cold.
“I’m disappointed, Skola.”
“…Warrior? That’s a misunderstanding! I didn’t mean to belittle that girl…!”
“If it wasn’t belittling, then you consider it common sense that seeing someone with a righteous and kind heart is like treating them as a child. So, do I look like a kid in your eyes, you, who worship justice?”
“Not at all!”
“You don’t need to make excuses. If that’s how you want to live your life, I don’t want to deny that fact. It just doesn’t align with me.”
As the thought that her comrade position flew away from her grasp, Skola felt bitter.
‘After all, comrades need to have strength.’
On the other hand, Ishtar felt good.
With the weighted distribution system, the archer assignment, and the strength bonus criteria, there were numerous reasons to choose Oknodie.
At this point, she was more than a first choice; she was a zero-priority candidate!
She probably conducted social relationship research as well.
How tsundere of her!
If I show my competence as a Warrior in today’s lecture, Oknodie will no longer hold back and will honestly become my comrade… alas, what a shame.
Today wouldn’t be the only opportunity.
The Warrior resolved to look forward to the future.
*
“I have arrived!”
In the end, Ishtar failed to turn the tide and reverse the number of flags before the principal appeared.
“Get into groups of five and put the flags you gathered into your baskets. I’ll rank you based on the total number of flags.”
The Dragon Principal expected only ten to twenty flags per team.
That was how it was last year, and the year before that.
He never imagined seeing baskets overflowing with flags, piled high like a tower.
“Why are there so many flags?”
The students secretly hoped.
If the fake flags were accepted as real, their rankings could skyrocket with this haul!
“Who let the fake flags loose?
“A whopping 300 of them!
“How audacious.”
If an individual like Jezel, who could be determined by their ability to sell fake flags, had the potential, she was indeed a worthy merchant.
===
□ Fried Young Master Team (B) – Total: 122 flags
□ Princess Arcadia Team (A) – Total: 112 flags
□ Yayoi Third Princess Team (B) – Total: 69 flags
□ Oknodie Top Team (A) – Total: 63 flags
□ Warrior Ishtar Team (B) – Total: 58 flags
□ Princess Masugaki Second Team (B) – Total: 55 flags
□ Jezel Team (A) – Total: 8 flags
□ Andersen Team (A) – Total: 6 flags
□ Kasia Team (C) – Total: 5 flags
===
Fake flags overflow everywhere!
The only teams that honestly competed were the two lowest that could hardly afford to waste points and Jezel’s team that sold all their fake flags, with only Oknodie’s team having many flags from the start.
Everyone thought so, but there was still one team that possessed no fake flags.
“Clearly, all fake flags are invalid!”
“Come forth now, if you confess, I’ll overlook the punishment due to your thoughtful determination.”
As the Dragon Principal showed leniency, the students began to shrug off the flags one by one, next to the baskets.
“Uh? Wait, was this fake or real?”
“I don’t know. They all look the same.”
“Principal! What happens if we put a real flag down next to the basket?”
“It naturally won’t count.”
“What if the fake flags remain in the basket?”
“You’ll have to prepare for punishment.”
The students glanced at Jezel with resentment. They had poured their points into a gacha that didn’t even have a guaranteed return and were met with cold punishment instead!
“We need to find a pattern. What did the real flags look like? Was this one real? Or was that one real?”
“Damn it, we’re all doomed! That Fried Young Master bought too many flags and ruined even the real ones!”
“You guys were eager to pitch in too! I’m the one who spent the most points, after all!”
“What does it matter? As the leader, it’s all your responsibility!”
“That I, the celebrated me, an inferior student with a penalty on my first week at the Academy…? I can’t write that in the letter home!!”
In chaos, students fumbled through flags, shrieked in denial, or grabbed each other by the collars.
In the midst of the turmoil, Masugaki slammed her desk with a bang.
“Attention!”
The imperial students, who were in disarray, turned to Masugaki. No student could ignore the Second Princess calling them.
“You all look foolish and utterly defeated. Isn’t that just sad? There’s still a chance for a last-minute reversal!”
Masugaki hatched a shocking plan.
“What if we mixed the fake flags into other team’s baskets? Then all teams would receive penalties, right?”
“!!!”
“What a brilliant idea!!”
“Truly the Princess!”
“The teams without fake flags are the Oknodie team, Jezel team, Andersen team, and C Group with five people!”
As the situation deteriorated, Jezel hurriedly raised her hand and spoke to the Dragon Principal.
“Wasn’t the submission already over?”
“I said bring flags by Thursday, but I never said it was over when the lecture starts.”
What Jezel overlooked is that the Principal’s personality was far worse than anyone could imagine!
*“In life, you can be blindsided by deadlines more than once.
– A sudden schedule change could push back a submission deadline from 1 PM to 2 PM, or an enigmatic assailant might attack the academy and incinerate your paper within that one hour!
– It’s a valuable experience you’ll all have to endure to survive not just the Academy, but the cold world as well.”*
Is anyone really listening? It felt oddly specific and plausible.
‘Did the principal change the time?’
‘Maybe they burned it!’
‘Did they burn a paper titled “Which State does a Dragon’s Reproductive Act Happen: Dragon Form or Human Form?” and are now pretending it never happened?’
While the students looked at the Principal with skeptical eyes, one notably short student looked back with a solid belief. The Principal announced the final submission deadline.
*“You now have 30 minutes left.
– In that time, feel free to sabotage the other teams by burning their flags, forcefully taking them, or mixing in fake flags!
– The review will happen in 30 minutes, based solely on the flags contained in each team’s basket.”*
In short, in the upcoming 30 minutes, teams that have gathered 100% genuine flags need to defend against fierce assaults from their upper-class classmates.
Naturally, the team that gathered the most attention was the Oknodie team, which had accumulated the most genuine flags.
‘Huh? This might be a chance to genuinely make Oknodie become my comrade!’
The Warrior Ishtar’s eyes gleamed with excitement.