The Academy’s Doomed Young Lord Dies Ten Thousand Times

Chapter 29 - After the Gargoyle Subjugation (2)

"...??"

I couldn't help but make a face full of doubt at her words. No, why was she giving this to me?

Was she a pushover?

"Well, you know... honestly, I felt like I was carried too much this time. I caused some trouble too..."

Ah.

"...It feels a bit off, you know."

"You're quite sincere."

Regina was one thing, but this girl was something else too. In the complete opposite sense of Regina.

Should I say she's the type who can't look out for her own interests, or the type who lives at a loss?

"Damn it, take it when I'm giving it!!"

To Yuna, who was holding out the box to me with her eyes squeezed shut, I replied with a single, calm word.

"No, thank you."

"Quickly... huh?"

"That belongs to you, Ms. Yuna."

I said with a shrug, looking at Yuna's completely dazed face.

"If it were you alone, Ms. Yuna, you might have been able to land a fatal blow on the Gargoyle somehow, but with my lack of firepower, it would have been impossible no matter what method I used. If you think about it, I'm the one who benefited from you."

"No, but still, I almost ruined things..."

"We didn't fail, did we? In the end."

"Ugh..."

Well, to be honest, Yuna's words weren't wrong. No, rather, Yuna was more correct.

Yuna had the potential to defeat the Gargoyle, but manifesting that potential was another story.

If I hadn't guided her, she probably would have lost a hundred times out of a hundred.

But, nevertheless, I decided not to accept the Mandragora Extract.

‘There was a moral reason as I said... but to be honest, the practical reason is bigger.’

And that was due to the specific characteristics of the elixirs in .

Generally, items and skills in that 'temporarily' increase stats usually grant that increase as a fixed value.

My favorite skill, 『Moment of Decisive Battle』, was a prime example.

If you have a stat of 100, it would be easy to think of it as adding another fixed 100 to make it 200.

As you can see from this, items and skills that grant a fixed stat increase are a godsend in the beginning, but become a nuisance as you go into the late game.

That was a natural course of events since stats grow from 100 to 200, and from 200 to 400, while the stat increase amount was fixed.

‘『Moment of Decisive Battle』 was fine since there were no restrictions on its activation.’

But elixir-type items in , that is, items that permanently increase stats, were in the opposite position.

Elixir-type items had the characteristic of increasing stats by a percentage, not a fixed value.

So, it multiplies the growth accumulated until a stat becomes B by a percentage. It felt like that.

If you used an elixir that increased a stat by 30%, if you had about 100 growth, it would grant 30 growth, and if you had 200 growth, it would grant 60.

In other words, the efficiency of elixirs gets better towards the late game.

‘When I played the game, I wondered why it was set up like this, but now I think I get it.’

If elixirs had increased stats by a fixed value, the person who chugged elixirs would have become stronger, regardless of their innate talent.

Well, the strong would have been strong regardless of elixirs. The hurdle to gaining strength would have been lower for those with money.

‘Of course, the nobility and the wealthy would monopolize them... If they monopolized power on top of this already corrupt aristocracy, it would have been even more terrible.’

Well anyway, my current stats, except for agility and dexterity, are complete trash, so eating it now would be inefficient.

Especially since Mandragora Extract had the effect of increasing all stats by 15%.

‘Me eating it raw now is a loss in the grand scheme of things, so it's better to just give it to Yuna.’

Yuna's stats were already quite evenly high, so it was a better judgment to have her eat it now to promote her growth.

"You should drink it, Ms. Yuna."

Through that thought process, I answered curtly. I really had no lingering attachment to it.

"...Are you sure I'm drinking it? No taking it back later, okay? Don't regret it."

Yuna, as if she also had some lingering attachment, asked back like that.

"I get it, so just take it."

"Aigh...!"

After putting up a few more shows of reluctance, Yuna suddenly flung open the box. And she roughly brought the bottle inside to her mouth.

"Uh, wait a minu..."

"Gulp, gulp... Too late!!"

And as she chugged down the contents of the bottle, Yuna seemed to say "too late," and seeing that, I added another word.

"...I've heard that Mandragora Extract is incredibly bitter. You should have mixed it with some honey."

"Gulp... huh?"

After that, well... what do you think happened?

"Kuaaaargh-!!"

It was the expected outcome.

***

After that commotion, Yuna ran off to find water to rinse her mouth. I had business, so I stayed put.

"My my, she must have heard how much that thing costs..."

Just like I saw in , Yuna was upright. To the point of trying to hand over a treasure that had come right before her eyes... no, that was already in her hands, for the reason of it 'feeling off'.

"She's not a fool, is she."

I muttered to myself, but a small smile was on my lips.

Part of the reason I liked Yuna in was because of that foolishly stubborn and upright side of hers.

Thinking about it, it was strange. I've lived my life thinking of myself as a realist, yet here I was, smiling at such a hopeless idealist.

And while I was lost in such thoughts…

*Creek-.

The door to Professor Paige's office opened. Along with a gentle, yet deeply sinister voice.

"Oh my, Young Lord. It's rare to see you smiling."

"Your Highness."

This was why I hadn't left Professor Paige's office.

Regina had told me to wait, as she had something to talk about. She said she had something to discuss with Professor Paige separately.

"Ah~ How fresh and cute, Ms. Yuna is. Plus, she's pretty and kind, isn't she? Ah, you're blessed, Young Lord."

"...Could you hear it all the way inside the professor's office?"

"Fufu, she was screaming so loudly, wouldn't it be strange not to hear it?"

It would be better not to tell Yuna this fact. She'd just kick her blankets in embarrassment if she knew.

Though, even if I didn't say anything, Regina might use it to tease Yuna.

"Really, a model knight, as if drawn from a picture. The world would be a brighter place if there were a few more kind people like her~."

"..."

I looked at Regina's face as she continued to speak with a smile.

She seemed to be smiling refreshingly... but at least the Regina I knew was definitely not someone who would like an idealist type like Yuna.

"...I'll take that as a joke."

The words that came out after hearing Regina's empty praise were spoken inadvertently.

Perhaps it was an unconscious reaction to Regina's negation of the value I had viewed positively.

However, that didn't seem to be a very good choice.

"Young Lord?"

Because, for some reason, Regina's expression sank upon hearing those words.

The smile, etched on her lips like an irremovable brand, remained the same, but the meaning of the expression etched around the princess' eyes was clear.

A warning.

Was it 'don't pretend to see through me,' or 'don't see through me'?

There was no way to know, but one thing was certain. It did not hold a positive meaning for her.

"...I apologize for my rudeness. I am sorry, Your Highness."

The action I had to take was clear, so I immediately apologized.

"..."

And after a brief silence.

"Fufu, why are you apologizing so seriously? I wasn't thinking anything of it."

As if there was no meaning to her previous expression, Regina smiled brightly again and continued the conversation.

"More importantly, I was surprised to see the results of this test. I knew about the plan, but the ability to achieve it is a separate matter, isn't it?"

"...I am merely humbled."

"Such a stiff response~."

That slyness was also the same.

"In any case, Young Lord, you have sufficiently proven your own value. The entrance examination alone was enough, but this incident has proven it even more firmly."

"Does that mean..."

"Yes, then I shall also support you with a more at-ease heart. Including the magic stone processing facility you mentioned earlier."

At those words, I could breathe a sigh of relief. I had expected it, but she was such an unpredictable person that I couldn't be at ease until I got a definite answer.

"By the way, are you going to use that magic stone for enchanting?"

"Ah. No, I'm going to make a pistol with magic engineering."

"Hmm... I heard that among knights, firearms are not a very popular type of weapon. How unexpected."

That was certainly true. What kind of race were knights? Weren't they monsters who moved almost as fast as a bullet, some even faster, and cut down monsters?

And those monsters were the real monsters that overwhelmed those monstrous individuals.

Firearms were often used among common people, but that was the reason why knights looked down on them.

Why would they use a gun when they could produce the same speed as a gun, and even greater destructive power, with just a single swing of a sword?

Of course, a good quality gun could have more destructive power than a knight's attack, but a firearm that combined both stability and destructive power required an astronomical price, and that was inefficiency.

With that price, it would bring greater destructive power to buy a higher-grade weapon instead.

But for me, a gun was a rational choice. First, because of my cursed strength and stamina, I couldn't produce destructive power beyond that of a firearm like knights usually do.

And most importantly, I knew a way to improve the fundamental problem of firearms, their destructive power.

‘Well, it's a method that throws stability to the dogs, but...’

I had a way to cover the only drawback, stability.

The method of regression.

"I will prove it with results."

Rather than explaining such details to Regina at length, I chose to summarize it in one sentence.

And that one sentence seemed to work better than I thought, as Regina made a satisfied expression.

"I like that."

And following that answer, Regina opened her mouth again.

"As you said, Young Lord, I will continue to demand proof. No, to be precise, the world will demand it."

"The world..."

"You've shown amazing results so far, but compared to the Prince's faction, we are in a position of weakness. To turn that situation around... we can't afford to waver even a little. Especially you, who has just been revealed to be in my faction and is starting to receive attention."

It was somewhat harsh, but it wasn't wrong. In the end, the competition for the throne was a battle of factions, and what attracted the neutral forces, besides the firmly established allies, was achievements and popularity.

They say the Prince's faction has such a talent, they say a person from the Princess' faction achieved such results, they say the Prince is so excellent, they say the Princess uses people so well.

The more excellent results the members of each faction produce, the higher the prestige of their affiliated faction rises.

Well, I've written it out grandly as if I know something, but in the end, this was also just reciting what was described in the game.

"The things I will give you from now on are a sign of praise, but at the same time, a sign of encouragement. You understand what I mean, right?"

"I will make sure not to disappoint you."

The Prince's faction was quite solid. They had that much of an advantage in the competition for the throne.

Therefore, I could not fail. For Regina's sake? It was closer to 'to stop Claudio,' though.

And, I will not fail.

***

A grand story had passed, but it wasn't like I could do anything big right away. The timing wasn't right yet, and in the first place, my own military power wasn't that strong.

...Well. Of course, at the student level, I was strong. At my current level, I would be in the upper ranks.

However, was a work where the power level was crazy high on the upper end, so this was insufficient to cause a crack in the main story.

That's why I am here now.

Knock, knock.

I knocked politely on the door. And after a moment, an answer came.

"Come in."

As a middle-aged man's voice came from inside the door, I opened it without hesitation. And there...

"Yo, young Rain Enlight. Sit comfortably! Don't be shy."

The masked knight and my supervising professor, Acaite, was sitting with his feet on the table. No, it might be closer to lying down, but anyway.