NOVEL NEXT Chapter 94
<94 - Weekly Event>
“Dude, where the hell did Sunday go?”
“Why the heck is it Monday when I open my eyes?”
With the cries of students filled with injustice, Monday began.
From the first-period homeroom lecture, the morale of the upperclassmen plummeted.
Of course, even the veteran players who enjoyed a fulfilling weekend could do nothing about Monday’s unique mood, so I sat there with a slightly gloomy face.
“Good morning, Oknodie.”
“Good morning, Hestia.”
“Did you go to the mountains over the weekend, Oknodie?”
“Nope. Didn’t have any sunscreen.”
“Make sure to go later. It was suddenly fun when a rock came to life and attacked.”
“Oh.”
We decided to call that a golem.
“Wow, you made it back alive.”
“Right? It was a struggle to keep it alive.”
Hestia rummaged in her pocket and pulled out a palm-sized rock.
“Hey, wake up.”
“…?”
“If you don’t wake up, I’ll smash you.”
As Hestia released a murderous aura, the rock twitched, then transformed like a superhero, stretching its limbs and standing on her palm.
“Mini-Golem!”
“I made it the smallest size without breaking the core.”
Normally, humans would be worried about how to survive against golems, but Hestia was pondering how to keep a golem alive.
The Chapter Boss definitely had something different about them.
“I’ll give it to you.”
“To me? This thing?”
“Oknodie likes rocks, right?”
Well, sort of.
This mini-golem has been eyeing my stone pouch since earlier.
What’s inside the pouch is of course stat stones.
“I don’t like moving rocks.”
“Oh? Should I smash it so it can’t move?”
The mini-golem shivered like a puppy being abused by its owner.
“Why don’t you just raise it, Hestia?”
“Me? This weak thing?”
“It’s weak because it eats random rocks from the roadside. If you feed a golem expensive and sturdy stones, it gets stronger.”
Most monsters evolve like Pokémon and can’t de-evolve, but golems are more like Digimon pals.
As long as the core is intact, you can turn it back into a Goo Mini-Golem and raise it from scratch.
“Then I guess I’ll smash useless rocks and see if I can find some solid iron to feed it.”
The mini-golem trembled again like an abused puppy.
“I heard a golem’s core becomes fragile if there are no minerals attached to it.”
“Really? Lucky you. I’ll take you to the mountains thanks to Oknodie.”
“……”
“Hey. Change back to a rock since I need to put you in my pocket.”
The mini-golem nodded weakly in gratitude, folding its limbs and turning back into a proper rock.
The rock returned to Hestia’s pocket in her school uniform jacket.
I can only hope that poor thing is male.
If it’s a male golem, maybe at least it could consider it luck to live in a girl’s breast pocket, right?
But golems have no gender.
‘Did Hestia’s favorability go up quite a bit?’
If she’s willing to gift a pet this early in the morning, I suspect it’s not just a normal level of affection.
[Your understanding of the character [Hestia] has increased.]
━━━
Hestia’s Understanding
No Friends (Understanding 10) – Hestia, who has advanced to the Berserker class, has lived a life without friends.
Monsters are Toys (Understanding 20) – The warrior, who gained power in proportion to her lacking social ties, treats monsters that others find daunting as merely post-work exercise.
Strong Person Favoritism (Understanding 30) – Having grown up watching weaklings envy, resent, and sabotage her, Hestia despises the weak and prefers the strong.
━━━
[Your understanding of the character [Hestia] has surpassed 20.]
[You already enjoy the 1st Privilege [Hestia's Monster Friend].]
[The speed at which [Hestia]’s favorability increases has risen.]
[Your understanding of the character [Hestia] has surpassed 25.]
[You gain the connection function [Empathy - Hestia].]
[You become sensitive to Hestia’s emotional changes.]
All good, but having too few friends is a bit of a concern…
I need to help her make lots of new friends moving forward.
“Gahaha! Hey, have you guys ever tried the meat of a Giant King Crab? It’s a hit, a hit!”
Except for the pirate who plopped a stinky Giant King Crab leg on the desk from early morning!
“Jigoku-san, did you go to the beach?”
“They were delicious. It’s hard to find a 3-meter crab in the southern seas, but a 5-meter crab came up to the beaches of the academy. Isn’t it a total paradise?”
“You managed to hunt it down? Breaking the shell of a 5-meter Giant King Crab with a revolver wouldn’t have been easy.”
“Oh, that?”
Jigoku pulled a rock the size of a bag from his backpack.
“Hitting the shell with a rock worked like a charm.”
“……”
Why does this guy carry rocks around?
“I get why Oknodie carries stones now. This is really convenient! If a monster can’t be caught with a rock, it means I might need to reconsider my weight, right? Gahaha!”
“Could it be that there’s such a method of using stones… It seems Oknodie had a reason for carrying stones around…”
I felt a tinge of guilt at the mutter from Northern Grand Duchess Irene in the corner.
Seeing me gather stones because of stat stones seems to have opened the eyes of some folks to rock-collection hobbies.
“What? Rocks are unexpectedly quite an impressive weapon?”
“It’s not like they’ll shatter easily like a sharp object.”
“Did you just see that? The mini-golem! It was cute.”
“Oh, should I pick up a pet rock too?”
“Dummy. It’s not a pet rock; it’s a pet golem.”
“Who knows, if I say it’s cute enough, its limbs might grow out? I’ve already decided to name it Elizavetastone.”
…I don’t know.
Not my responsibility.
“Yeah, you should carry just the right amount of stones.”
“I’m reflecting on my actions…”
I hung my head at Isabel’s scolding.
As I felt like an unintended criminal, a gigantic stone golem burst in for homeroom to save me.
“Welcome to the first-period homeroom of Monday! I hope you haven’t forgotten this familiar face, everyone? It’s your First Year Class Head, Professor Mahabharata!”
“…Professor. Why are you appearing as a stone golem today?”
“I thought it’d be fun since you all seemed to be enjoying stone talk. I was curious if kids these days liked that stuff.”
He didn’t come to help; he just made one more victim.
I really wanted to hide my face.
*
The Transfiguration Master Professor Mahabharata soon returned to his human size with a poof.
He’s a notorious professor who enjoys scaring students, yet aside from his mischievous personality, he’s one of the top 10 professors at the academy without any scandals or murderous assignment issues.
“Now, everyone, pay attention. I understand it’s Monday, and you might feel low, but there’s a critical announcement today. If you don’t hear it, you’ll regret it greatly.”
Upperclassmen who experienced an unusual first week at Gift Academy sharpened their focus, brimming with tension.
“The critical announcement is about a special event that happens at the academy every week—Weekly Event!”
Homeroom exists to hear this.
And the start of the weekly event can be considered the true beginning of the academy.
“In the absence of water disaster situations, Weekly Event – Drought occurs, and when the universe is unstable, Weekly Event – Meteor Warning is declared.”
The top student Seoguyeon, known for his questionable lectures, raised his hand.
“Why should an unreasonable weekly event exist at the academy?”
“Because it makes the principal happy.”
“…”
In the academy dominated by the dragon, where the influence of education departments from various countries or international educational leagues don’t reach, the principal’s desires are tantamount to law!
If the principal wants it, we have no choice.
“By the way, this week’s Weekly Event – Heavy Rain Week. Please pay extra attention to outdoor lectures and lowland activities.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of rain swoosh began pouring down outside the window.
When the students sitting by the window turned to look outside, it was a torrential rain that seemed to drown the world, making it hard even to see the trees right in front of the campus.
“Huh. Didn’t we have our second-period lecture on How to Cast Divine Art Without Faith outdoors today? What should we do?”
“Mr. Andersen, is there any chance the lecture will be canceled?”
“…It would be faster to pack a raincoat. Everyone, get ready to stop by the snack bar.”
The students became increasingly gloomy.
Among the students wearing depressed expressions, I was the only one smiling.
“It seems our little lady is in a good mood because of the rain.”
“Are you really happy, Oknodie?”
“When it rains, my clothes get wet!”
“What’s good about that? Your clothes stick, and your body becomes heavy when you get soaked…”
Isabel began to narrow her eyes sharply as she spoke.
With eyes nearly as slit as Jezel’s, she stared at me as if piercing through my insides.
“Oknodie, why do you keep worrying about things like that, like a pervert, even though you’re a girl?”
“Uhaha! What’s the big deal with having an interest? I, too, support this little one’s admirable tastes. Wet women’s clothes in the rain are worth a look.”
Like a booming voice coming out, Son Ohchun’s preferences were met with fierce glaring from all the girl students around, like he was trash.
Even Arcadia glanced at Son Ohchun in disbelief before turning her gaze to me.
“D-Do you also have such shameless thoughts?”
“Specifically? Not at all? Nope?”
“Rodent! Are you cutting ties with me now?!”
Good kids don’t know anything lewd.
I didn’t think at all.