NOVEL NEXT Chapter 99
<99 - The Old Guard is the Best Guard>
“Titosso.”
“Why?”
“I think someone might want that raincoat.”
Titosso tilted her head, her side ponytail swaying cutely.
“Who? It can’t be Jiang. She said she’d never attend such a scary lecture. You’re not suggesting we give the raincoat to Professor Sadako, are you?”
Jiang made a pouty face from around the corner, signaling for help with frantic gestures.
Hiding her body and subtly pointing to the corner with her finger, Titosso let out a giggle.
“A~ what should I do? I really don’t want to attend an outdoor lecture from Professor Sadako.”
Jiang’s face brightened up.
“But I also don’t want to give a raincoat to Jiang, who always calls me a coward for fainting all the time~”
Jiang’s face darkened.
“Should I give it? Or not? I might consider it if Jiang apologizes or something, right?”
“Tito, isn’t this getting a bit dangerous?”
“What’s dangerous?”
Jiang’s face turned icy as she realized something.
“The dangerous thing is Jiang’s grades! Nothing’s more dangerous than Jiang’s grades, who has no raincoat and is tragically returning to her room~!”
“I tried to stop you?”
“Hmph. You don’t need to stop me. I’m not the true coward anymore. Jiang is the biggest coward in the world, the super coward!”
Jiang leapt down from the ceiling and clung to Titosso’s back.
“Who are you calling a super coward?”
“Ahh!!”
In the end, Titosso fainted once before finally giving her raincoat to Jiang.
“Did you not say you wouldn’t listen?”
“Hmph. I just ate too much for dinner and wanted to move a bit. Just for a diet, you see.”
That’s one scary friend when it comes to dieting.
*
After the pouring rain, we halted our steps at the distinct clattering sound of the Giant King Crab, holding our breaths for about ten minutes until we reached the lecture hall.
Waiting for us was a skeleton that had become nothing but bones from extreme dieting.
“Gye-gye-gye. Are you the new students Sadako mentioned? You’ve got some guts to come here in this heavy rain.”
“Um… Mister Skeleton? Sir Skeleton?”
“Call me Skeleton Instructor.”
“Skeleton Instructor, where is Professor Sadako?”
“She’s out sick with a cold.”
Jiang clenched her fist behind her back, delighted.
Titosso was also surprisingly delighted, though could not vocalize it.
From my veteran player’s perspective… Regardless of the cold, the professor being absent is not a good sign.
“No one has the same level of malicious skills as a professor, but professors are professionals in their own right.”
Compared to this skeleton instructor standing in for her, though, he’s just a staff member.
He may have achieved some success in a few combat skills or knowledge areas, but he has no educational technique for how to unleash malice properly.
In other words, he might unleash the full extent of his malice without hesitation.
“Considering the malicious points, this might even be worse than what Professor Sadako would do!”
Anyway, Titosso appeared happy that it wasn’t Professor Sadako’s lecture, chuckling away.
“Skeleton Instructor, what are we doing today? Please let us finish early?”
“Oh dear. You must be very tired!”
“Yes! There’s too much homework!”
Seeing Titosso’s cutesy voice, Jiang and I both widened our eyes.
How can she make such a crafty-sounding voice?
I’m envious.
If I could even pull off something like that, I could charm all the professors and shake money out of them!
My past mistakes where my communication techniques heavily leaned on [Intimidation] left me incapable of speaking in a cutesy tone, a skill that even Jiang the assassin might envy.
“Gye-gye-gye. Anyway, I’ve thought of something for the poor new students who lack sleep.”
“Ending the lecture early?”
“Something even better. I actually got inspired from a lecture titled [Sleep Well Anywhere] on the way here.”
“…Why that specific lecture?”
“The Night-time Activities for Adventurers. While we’ve learned a lot about activities during waking hours, we’ve never learned about precautions for actions during sleep, right?”
The uneasy feelings I had from the start became reality as the skeleton instructor suddenly hit the gas.
“The disheartening feeling of being caught by enemies from your mumbling or movements during sleep can only be understood by adventurers who have experienced it.”
One would think of a supercar that goes from 0 to 60 in under three seconds.
“Instructor, Titosso goes to sleep quietly during every lecture, so she doesn’t need to practice that!”
“O. Then Titosso will just watch quietly next to the instructor today.”
Jiang was left in a dazed state, wondering what I had done.
Titosso ran behind the instructor.
Hiding behind the skeleton legs, she peeked out while sticking her tongue out, showcasing her playful skills, which seemed quite adept.
Even though she’s sobbing like a baby, her ability to aggravate others shines through in her underground charm.
Perhaps this tendency to dig her own grave is indicative of an aspiring Undead aligned with Professor Sadako.
“Skeleton Instructor, I actually have assassin training, so I don’t worry about mumbling in my sleep.”
“There’s no record of any professor evaluation proving that in your student file!”
“Then what about Titosso! She hasn’t done anything in particular either!”
“She fainted twice, playing dead as if a mouse was among us. It’s marked properly!”
“Ugh!”
Jiang, who tried to use Titosso against me to make a point about lecture theories, now looked enviously pained, as if someone else just inherited a lot of land.
“Jiang, let’s work hard even with just the two of us.”
“Oknodie… I’ll count on you…”
The only way to help us sleep better in a sleeping lecture is to knock us out.
If it gets too tough, I should just slap Jiang awake for a second.
“Alright, now go to sleep!”
“…Huh?”
With the pouring rain soaking the heavy raincoat and the ground, laying down would mean needing to swim.
Of course, it goes without saying that the Giant King Crab passing by wouldn’t think twice about charging in, excited over an unexpected buffet.
Jiang asked, “Is this really right? Are you sure?”
A lecture that makes even assassins question common sense.
However, the skeleton instructor’s intentions were resolute.
“If it’s too tough alone, I’ll put you to sleep.”
I thought he would cast a sleep spell to put someone under, but instead, the skeleton instructor pretended to swing a sword down on someone’s head.
Turns out, he’s more of a warrior than a magician; as a fellow fan of physical spells, I couldn’t help but accept that.
“You better fall asleep in ten minutes; unlike Professor Sadako, I’m quite kind, aren’t I? Gye-gye-gye.”
“I don’t know if they’re professors, assistants, or friends, but one day, I will definitely kill that thing with my own hands!”
“So, Jiang, where will you sleep?”
“I can’t sleep on the ground. I’ll climb up into a tree.”
“Should we climb the same tree?”
Jiang dashed up the tree with astounding speed.
When she turned to look at me, I proudly made a long jump towards a low hanging branch.
“Ha!”
I yanked the branch down to the ground and climbed up, making Jiang look at me as if she couldn’t comprehend such a foolhardy move.
“How can an assassin be so noisy?”
“I’m not an assassin! I’m a magic swordsman!”
“Sure. Dream big!”
Perched on a tree to avoid the rain, I could see Titosso below, anxiously fidgeting with the Skeleton Instructor.
“Um, Instructor. It’s raining too much, and it’s cold.”
“Oh dear. That’s unfortunate.”
“My body is shaking, and I feel scared. Can’t I just go indoors to watch?”
“Oh dear. That’s unfortunate.”
“…Is it not allowed?”
“Oh dear. That’s unfortunate.”
“…”
It seems even more pitiful seeing her all by herself like that.
“Look, look! The Giant King Crab!”
“Hm?”
“If the Giant King Crab comes, it’ll be dangerous, right? You’ll keep me safe, right, Instructor?”
“Oh dear. That’s unfortunate.”
“If even ‘oh dear’ comes from there, it’s a problem! I’m asking for at least a bit of protection for the exempt student!”
The Skeleton Instructor continued to smile, laughing loudly.
“Well, I guess I’ll climb up a tree too…”
Realizing the instructor had no intention of protecting her, Titosso hurried to climb the tree.
Of course, it wasn’t easy for a novice, so it was only painful, tearing her skin and exhausting her.
“Hold this and come on up!”
“Thank you, Oknodie…!”
Clutching the rope lowered from above, Titosso climbed up, appearing immensely fatigued.
“Do you see it? That light.”
Jiang pointed to a nearby open ground.
Listening closely, I could hear the screams of students and the sound of metal clanking.
“Gye-gye-gye. It seems they’ve already started over there.”
Those were the dismal screams of students undergoing extreme experiences, hiding from Giant King Crabs in iron cages.
I wished all the Giant King Crabs would be drawn away from here, but the skeleton instructor was far more psycho than we had imagined.
“Hey, King Crabs, it’s feeding time!”
The skeleton instructor opened a feed box and spilled shrimp and clams onto the ground with a crash.
Before we could even scream out in horror, the sound of clattering echoed from all around.
Titosso’s eyes even brimmed with tears.
“What will happen to us from now on…?”
“Can’t we just pretend to sleep?”
“I never thought I would say this, but I miss Professor Sadako too much.”
Jiang, who was just as afraid of Professor Sadako as Titosso, mumbled with a melancholic face.