NOVEL NEXT Chapter 85
<85 - Snowball>
The total number of flags collected by the students in the flag competition is 498.
Of those, 300 are fake, leaving only 198 real ones.
Most students aimed for the flag from the Oknodie team, which had already been verified as safe.
A whopping 63 real flags.
It was likely to be high odds of picking up a real flag just by grabbing one nearby.
“Let’s just grab ours and hurry to catch the Oknodie flags!”
“We’ll take care of our team’s real flags, so you guys go ahead and pick up the Oknodie team flags.”
Most teams had the same strategy.
While one or two people quickly gathered our team’s marked real flags and kept watch over the basket, the rest would try to grab as many Oknodie flags as possible.
“Oknodie. Jigoku has no bullets and Lotto has lost his hair. It’s embarrassing, but I’m also running low on strength. I can’t protect the flags.”
“It’s okay. We can afford to lose all our flags.”
“All of our 63 flags? You want to throw them all away?”
“No! Don’t you see how hard I fought to avoid losing my hair? Don’t give up on the mission!”
Lotto cried out, looking all puffy-eyed.
Whether it was because he thought his team would give up the flags or the pain from losing his hair, he seemed like he was hurting quite a bit.
“Don’t worry. I have a way.”
“Really?”
“Actually, I can distinguish between the real flags.”
“What?!”
“Shh! Everyone gather around. I’ll teach you how to identify the real flags.”
How to tell the real flags apart.
It was very simple.
“Real flags have a light transmittance of 10%. It may be slight, but you can see light shining through underneath the flag!”
“And fake flags?”
“Fake flags have light transmittance that’s all over the place, ranging from 20% to 90%. No matter how they got their flagpoles, they couldn’t find the fabric needed for the flags!”
Light transmittance, huh!
“Where did you learn that?”
“Huh?”
“Light transmittance. The degree to which light shines through the fabric.”
“Um, from early education?”
“That’s amazing. A family that teaches such things, and you learned it and are using it in practice.”
From Lotto’s perspective, who had only learned a bit of martial arts and still couldn’t match Oknodie, he thought real geniuses were kids like that.
“But how do you distinguish between 10% and 20% transmittance? They look the same to me.”
“Huh? How could you confuse them? It’s the difference between really thick stockings and slightly thick stockings!”
“Eh? Saying it like that makes me think I might get it, or maybe not…”
As they bumbled through their confusion, the time they had agreed upon arrived.
The Oknodie team dashed in amongst the students who were hastily searching for flags.
Once again, the person who swiftly snagged the flags was, of course, me, the ace.
[You have successfully retrieved 10 real flags in a row with your keen insight.]
[Observation Experience +10]
[Visual Experience +1]
[You have successfully retrieved 20 real flags in a row with your keen insight.]
[Observation Experience +10]
[Visual Experience +2]
[You have successfully retrieved 30 real flags in a row with your keen insight.]
[Observation Experience +10]
[Visual Experience +3]
Experience points piled up rapidly.
The reason I risked resetting the flags I gathered to pick them up again was right here.
As long as I knew how to choose the real flags, this method was the most efficient!
“Ugh… the same transmittance as stockings, the same transmittance as stockings…”
Lotto, comparing the flag to the stockings while taking off the ones he was wearing.
“Lotto, can you take off the other stocking too?”
“Why should I give you mine?”
“Can’t you see? I can’t wear stockings because my legs are thick.”
“…With those thick legs, there wouldn’t even be stockings that fit you.”
Lotto readily took off the other stocking too.
But neither he nor I had any idea that this would start an unexpected ripple effect.
*
The students who saw Lotto taking off his stockings were thrown into shock.
“Lotto, do you have no sense of dignity as a noble girl?!”
“You’re taking off your stockings because you were threatened by a strong thug from the border?!”
“Oh my goodness! This is too horrific!”
Bullying, intimidation, a scene of sexual harassment!
“Wait. Didn’t that gorilla girl named Hestia move at Oknodie’s command?”
“Oknodie, that scary kid! She must have intentionally left her team to bully Lotto, who had tried to take her on before the entrance ceremony!”
“Whoa, honestly, that bursts my bubble… Are border kids that vicious? Even worse than the imperial nobles!”
Amidst the students condemning Oknodie’s actions, Masugaki shouted.
“Are you all idiots?! Comparing stockings with flags! That’s the strategy! You should take yours off too! Hurry!”
“Indeed, you can tell if you wear stockings!”
“Ah, the warrior has already taken off their stockings!”
As Masugaki urged their followers, Warrior Ishtar had already removed her stockings and started comparing them with the flags for light transmittance.
“Ugh. This method isn’t working. I’m not picking up speed.”
“No, for us, it’s good. After all, only you, Ishtar, can feel the weight difference and choose the real flags.”
As Saintess Yufi followed Ishtar in taking off her stockings, other female students began to realize the method one by one, rolling their stockings down to their thighs, catching them with their fingers as they slowly pulled them down.
“Gasp.”
“Hey, look over there.”
“What’s going on here?”
The male students, caught up in searching for flags, paused to blink at the scene.
Female students around them were laying back on the floor, struggling to take off their stockings while revealing their elegant lower bodies.
In a spectacle that made the phrase “a feast for the eyes” come to life, not only the heirs of the Three Great Meritorious Families of the Empire but also Duke Andersen from the border and the monkey humanoid Son Ohchun, who had wicked intentions, were all entranced.
“I don’t know who figured out this method, but thank you so much!”
“I don’t want to look like a pervert, but I agree this time.”
“Stop with the nonsense and come help me, Jezel.”
Isabel gestured, and Jezel’s narrowed eyes widened considerably.
“Y-You need help? With what?”
“What do you think? I need to take off my stockings, but they won’t come off. Mine are leggings, so stockings are difficult.”
Receiving a request to take off stockings from a colleague she normally didn’t think about made Jezel’s heart race, even though she understood it was for a competitive edge in the task.
‘Is it common for someone to make such a request?’
As Lotto sent subtle glances my way, Dorothy narrowed her eyes and shot back.
“Don’t even think about it. I will never allow you to touch my legs.”
“I haven’t said anything yet.”
“Just looking is sexual harassment!”
Her annoyed yet cute reaction made it clear that such requests to take off stockings weren’t something anyone could comfortably receive.
‘Wow, adventurer legs are surprisingly soft.’
From the hefty thighs to the tightly wrapped calf muscles, a strange sweet scent lingered around the soft legs of a woman.
Even after taking off the stockings, the lingering sensation left on my hands made me genuinely thankful to Oknodie.
‘Oknodie. Thanks to you, I had a delightful experience.’
Not only Jezel but many others were also sending heartfelt thanks towards Oknodie from all directions for the eye candy!
*
<1 minute left.>
Under the Dragon Principal’s indifference, the male students who had been distracted finally came to their senses.
But taking advantage of their relaxed guard, a figure surged ahead.
It was the dangerous Eastern Swordsman Sing, who had been waiting to intervene all along.
“The insight of a swordsman is used to choose whom to kill.”
While Eastern Swordsman Sing was resetting the flags, he ignored the unspoken truce of not fighting and charged at me.
“Humph. Who would let that happen?”
[You have anticipated the enemy’s ambush in advance and laid out a plan.]
[Action Prediction Experience +8]
[Operation Planning Experience +4]
Thanks to having warned Hestia in advance of the potential ambush, she blocked Sing’s movements.
“Oknodie is off-limits!”
“Get lost, girl!”
“Ugh! Why is my arm weak at this timing…!”
Hestia had accumulated fatigue in her arms from the earlier battle.
Her axe flew out of her hands in a split second of confusion.
The moment she lost her weapon.
Taking advantage of the opening, Sing charged in, sweeping one of Hestia’s legs and throwing her off balance, before striking her chin with the hilt of his sword, knocking her down.
As Hestia fell, Sing dashed past her faster than she was falling.
Like lightning, his strike aimed for my flag.
‘If I don’t let go of the flag, he intends to take my arm with it!’
Yet I couldn’t drop the flag or draw my sword, or else I couldn’t match the pace of the warrior picking up flags.
There was no way I could count on shaking him off with a fleeing motion—Sing’s strides were anything but ordinary.
I had to find another way.
In this critical moment.
I blinked furiously.
As a 133cm petite smiley girl, not a 230cm muscular male character, I could only pull off this desperate measure.
The operation nicknamed [You think you can cut this cute girl?]!
Sing looked at my frantic wink and said,
“Die.”
The wink had zero effect.
…This guy just told me to “die.”
He truly lacked both blood and tears.
He was about to cut not just my arm but my neck!
“Protect Oknodie!”
“You ungrateful bastard! How can you still call yourself a man?!”
“The creatures of the East have no sense of gratitude!”
But instead of Sing, who pretended to be caring, three heirs from the Imperial Three Great Meritorious Families unexpectedly dashed in front of me to block him.
Kacha-kacha-kacha!!
In an instant, terrifying clangs rang out, cracking Leff’s iron charcoal barbecue armor, and breaking the large gauntlet enclosing the Cheddar Potato Pizza’s hand.
Finally, after three clashes with the spear of Honor Fried Chicken that burst into my view, I managed to push Sing back a bit.
“You bastard! You cut through my armor with your sword?!”
“If it had gone a bit deeper, my hand would have been severed!”
“I thought my spear was going to break!”
The heirs of the Three Great Meritorious Families of the Empire were horrified.
Sing clicked his tongue at them.
“I let a golden opportunity slip away because of you calf-brats.”
“What did you say?!”
Just as the furious trio began to protest, the principal’s voice echoed throughout the classroom.
<30 minutes have passed.>
[Everyone submit your baskets.]
Sing was formidable, but thanks to the Three Calf Brothers, he was thwarted.
Thank you, Three Calf Brothers!