Surviving as a Con Artist at the Academy

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65th Chapter: I Swear on All My Hair

There exists a mental anchor that anyone aims for.

Gerard Chain Silver was an ordinary mercenary and adventurer until he took on the title of Duke.

The family he belonged to was merely a feeble shell, maintained by the achievements of ancestors.

If he did not accomplish things on his own, survival was impossible. With that resolve, Gerard lived each day, staining his sword with monster blood.

He found some fulfillment in helping others, but it was far from smooth sailing. Those who despised his family wouldn’t simply stand by.

It was during one of those usual hunts when suddenly envy and slander against his family spread, reducing him to a state chased by mercenaries thirsty for gold.

However, since he too was a mercenary, he hesitated to strike back. In the end, due to poor judgment, Gerard was captured by them.

It was a moment when his once vibrant life as a hunter teetered on the brink of collapse.

A shadow of a man fell across him.

The man, who extended his hand to the teenage Gerard, had striking black hair and blue eyes. He took down all the mercenaries and lifted Gerard, saying:

– “Why are you so hesitant to exert your strength?”

Though it was just a single line… even now, as an adult, it still lingered in his mind.

Gerard had wielded his sword without mercy against monsters, yet when it came to humans, he had always been pitifully weak.

Wasn’t he afraid of hurting others with his sword again? Because of that fear, he hadn’t awakened his hidden power.

But after repeatedly meeting that man, everything changed. He would come to Gerard, provide mentoring, and eventually forge a brotherhood as they formed a party together.

He became a pillar of support in Gerard’s dark life. Without him, he wouldn’t have survived the great catastrophe from thirty years ago.

He always called him “brother” and followed him, but amidst the chaos, the man vanished.

Although it’s just wishful thinking, since no body was found, he could not be confirmed dead.

“If you’re alive, I will definitely….”

Thud!—

The sound that pulled Gerard back from his memories came from behind the mansion.

It startled him slightly, but he soon maintained his composure and placed the picture frame onto the shelf.

As if it were just another everyday occurrence, he couldn’t help but act nonchalantly.

*

“Why are you holding back so much?”

Ray Chain Silver, clutching a wooden sword, panted as he spoke.

After swinging his sword repeatedly, beads of sweat soaked his hair, and his hands trembled.

Thanks to his efforts, the opponent looked quite tired as well, but compared to Ray, they were still in relatively better shape.

“There’s no way your strength is only this much. Fight properly already!”

“Ugh….”

Ray, forgetting he was tired, shot back sharply. Seeing that made me smile bitterly.

Thirty minutes had passed since we began exchanging moves. Such things were quite common in the Chain Silver Family.

Though it was a wooden sword, the clashes were damaging the garden, yet passing maids paid no mind.

Inside the mansion, there was a training hall available for anyone to test their strength at any time.

Despite having such excellent facilities… here we were, swinging swords in the mansion’s backyard.

It was because Ray had ambushed me without inviting me to the training hall.

Even if she was the child of a couple of scammers, she chose her sister’s friends wisely. No matter how much camaraderie was built, her sister would never carelessly give a silver badge to a guy.

Ray hadn’t heard about the Academy from her sister yet, so she had no knowledge about Radon.

But that man was extraordinary. Hadn’t he effortlessly countered his strongest skill, ‘Hail,’ by summoning a spirit?

Such facts ignited Ray’s competitive spirit.

Could that man truly be suited for her older sister? Judging that a direct confrontation wouldn’t bring out his capacity, she opted for a sneak attack.

Ray waited until he stepped into the garden alone. Then, she shot out from the grass and attacked like a beast.

Astonishingly, that man seemed to have eyes on his back, effortlessly dodging her attack. That made me even more curious.

Even while scolding her for what she did, Ray quietly threw the wooden sword to him.

Thus, their collaboration continued, becoming rougher as time passed and damaging many flowers and trees.

I wondered if the gardeners were going to hurt their backs soon. Looking at the chaotic garden, I spoke.

“We really made a mess of the garden, didn’t we?”

“Hey, friend. How long do we have to keep this up? You look pretty tired.”

From my perspective, the situation was quite absurd.

I merely came out because Jenny called… and suddenly her sister ambushed me, leading to this sparring match.

“I told you not to hold back!”

What a ridiculous kid.

She wouldn’t stop until she saw it through, afraid someone might say she’s not Jenny’s sister.

It reminded me of the first time I sparred with Jenny during the practical exam.

In the beginning, I only followed her reluctantly, having no idea such a trap awaited me. I wondered if Jenny had more talent for fishing than I thought.

‘I’d like to take a break.’

I had already asked multiple times, but that kid didn’t seem to hear it at all. She kept insisting I don’t hold back… what does she want me to do?

But summoning Muto isn’t something I was yet comfortable with. That snake didn’t know how to control its strength, and I feared that using it recklessly would put Ray in danger.

“Hah… Hah… It’s not over yet… Ugh!”

“There you go.”

Ultimately, Ray, reaching her physical limit, finally knelt down. I too was out of breath, but thanks to my improved stamina stats, I was still standing strong.

It was tough holding a wooden sword instead of a fishing rod, but Ray’s skill was notably higher than her peers.

Yet she continued to gaze at me intently.

Despite our parents pulling off a scam with sleeping medication, I’m sure she had heard that the family head made allowances.

Thanks to that, we could stay at her place over the break, but for Ray, that may not be pleasing. She was the victim after all.

“How did you charm my sister?”

“What?”

“I was watching quietly. Th-That… lips… Ugh!!”

“Lips?”

As she spoke heatedly, she stammered over a particular word, and I was struck with shock.

It was as if she had witnessed me bringing my face close to Jenny.

“That was….”

“….”

“I’ll apologize if you found it unpleasant.”

Originally, Jenny and she weren’t very close.

After their mother passed away, Jenny isolated herself, contemplating Silver Age’s rampage.

Despite wanting to play with her sister, she was often rejected.

Having somewhat grasped her sister’s intentions, I couldn’t say anything. As time went on, the unresolved regrets piled up in her heart.

I had no idea where she was secretly watching from, but witnessing that scene seemed to overcome her with the thought of losing her sister.

She wasn’t in a position to be angry, as she had no major issues interacting with others unlike her sister.

Though she hadn’t shown an interest in her sister, she felt the need to keep tabs on those approaching her.

Mary and Crona had likely been checked out long ago, so now it was my turn. The method was somewhat fierce though…

“I’ll stop. You’re completely flawless in skill… I admit defeat. Your family did scam, but there were circumstances behind it. I should be the one apologizing.”

Ray had already received an apology from my parents. After it was revealed that the curse was the cause, she likely felt somewhat bewildered, realizing their intentions weren’t malicious.

Yet her grudge against Crawler seemed to wane.

“And I have a question.”

“What is it?”

Seeing her expression return to a light-hearted one made me feel relieved.

“Is there another girl apart from our sister who has kissed you?”

“…!!”

The relief I felt disappeared in an instant.

I couldn’t maintain my poker face. Because there was indeed one other girl who had pressed her lips against my cheek!

“There isn’t.”

“Really?”

“There seriously isn’t.”

[Corruption Rate Decreased: -2%]

[+200 Credits]

For the first time in a while, my ‘Perception’ skill pinged into overdrive. After seeing it activate suddenly, I sensed danger.

And sure enough, a more dangerous question came next.

“Or… you didn’t bring any other girls into the dorm to live together, did you?”

“….”

Ray’s voice sank low. It seemed like she was serious about this questioning assault.

“Why are you asking something like that all of a sudden?”

“Why? I want to check if you’d cheat on my sister with another girl. I need to verify you are not the type to flirt with others.”

She was more trouble than her sister! To get through this, I had to pull out the ‘Acting’ skill and deceive her as much as possible.

“Listen, friend. I’m notoriously known as a scammer even in the Academy. What kind of girls would follow a loser like me around?”

[Corruption Rate Decreased: -2%]

[+200 Credits]

“Of course, it’s not completely impossible, but I haven’t done anything like that. I mean, did we exchange kisses? Live together in the same room? Let’s make some sense here.”

[Corruption Rate Decreased: -3%]

[+300 Credits]

“Are you sure you really didn’t?”

“Of course! I swear on all my hair.”

[Corruption Rate Decreased: -3%]

[+300 Credits]

I needed to stand tall like this to lower the chances of Ray suspecting me.

After seeing my confident demeanor, Ray said she would take my word for it and let it slide.

“Hahaha! The sound of the corruption rate dropping is music to my ears!”

However, there was an unwelcome guest gnawing at my insides. Muto, who crawled out from the shadows, laughed as if watching a comedic play.

He could sense the rate of the curse’s corruption.

“I’m so curious about what reaction you’d have if everything you just said were entirely true!”

‘Shut your trap.’

“Snicker, snicker…”

If I manifested this guy, he would almost certainly spill the beans.

This damned snake was fully capable of that.

“What a pity. If that little one’s ‘Spirit Sensitivity’ was any higher, my voice would have reached them. Hehe!”

Please…!

*

Before long, the start of the new semester was approaching.

I had already spent a week of vacation in the cabin, and the remainder of it was spent comfortably in Silver Town.

Having spent my break at Chain Silver Mansion, I began to appreciate the importance of swordsmanship using an actual sword rather than relying on the illusion sword techniques from the fishing rod.

Just as Jenny wouldn’t slack off even during break, she provided me various pointers. She asked what I would do if a situation arose requiring me to handle a sword instead of a fishing rod.

Of course, while I could summon Leviathan automatically, during training or exams, they usually required training weapons that I couldn’t bring.

That was because the rumors about my fishing rod being a real sword reached the professors’ ears.

As Jenny wished, I decided to aim for Class A.

Not just to appease her stubbornness, but because it was tied to graduation.

After touching Jenny’s mother’s diploma, I learned something. The other nine diplomas did not have blue flames, but that one had remnants left over.

The reason was excellent grades.

Her mother graduated as the top student in the Academy, and that’s why the Eternal Flame stamped on the diploma was so rich.

Thus, it stood to reason that I would have to at least enter Class A to receive a longer-lasting Eternal Flame.

Previously, I had distanced myself due to the relationships among characters like Jenny. But now, all those constraints had been lifted.

Now, whether I entered Class A or not was entirely up to me!

“Of course, the classes will be tougher… but that guarantees freedom!”

Fortunately, the knowledge I absorbed from Enviel included swordsmanship, so I picked it up quickly.

Jenny, who was teaching me swordsmanship, kindly remarked.

“Doesn’t it remind you of that time?”

“Huh?”

“When you were bragging about being a swordmaster’s descendant in front of the other kids.”

“Ah….”

It was such a long time ago I almost forgot.

There was a time when I helped Radon in the main story while he was being ostracized, and we trained together. Though shortly after that, Radon broke the promise and destroyed the pendant…

“This time… it won’t turn out like before, right?”

Seeing the wistful expression on Jenny’s face, I confidently said.

“Yes.”

Just that short phrase made her face light up brighter than anything else.

Overcome with emotion, she wrapped her arms around my neck, and I found myself gasping for air as dinner approached.

She was indeed surprisingly strong for a girl.

The next day.

Finally, the start of the new semester had come.

Surviving as an Academy Scammer!