Surviving as a Con Artist at the Academy

88th Episode: Garbage Disposal

-KRAAAK!!

A scream echoed from somewhere.

It’s nothing unusual for someone to die or cry out in anguish from lethal wounds in the heat of battle.

From what I could tell, the commotion didn’t seem to stem from the battle at this carriage.

The only ones facing the enemy from a distance were Radon, Jenny, and Luska.

Since it was far from a girl’s scream, Jenny and Luska were out of the running. Moreover, there was a sound like a beast howling intertwined with it, so it wasn’t Radon’s cry either.

At least it should be something closer to a human voice.

‘Looks like everyone’s safe.’

Mary thought, relieved that her friends weren’t the ones in trouble.

However, they couldn’t prolong the fight any longer. No matter how things were elsewhere, the Clerics were starting to physically hit their limits.

The same went for the Lycanthropes, and maintaining a stalemate would mean a hollow victory, even if they won.

There was still a long way to go in subduing the criminals who had transformed into monsters.

The aftermath they’d face after the battle was beyond imagination.

Right now, the Vice-Captain, Crudy, was barely hanging on. Plus, he had to replenish the stamina needed to endure the cold in this snowy expanse.

Certainly, they hadn’t planned to linger in such a place during the long journey.

“Hey, come out, guys!~”

At Mary’s confident shout, a huge tempest erupted. The noticeably low temperature surged rapidly.

Behind Mary now stood a multitude formed as nature’s doctors, organized into troops.

High-level Fire Spirit, Megra.

Intermediate Wind Spirit, Dolgan.

High-level Lightning Spirit, Blitz.

Plus several spirits of various attributes, all roaring like a concert of horns.

“W-what’s that?!”

“Are those spirits? Why are there so many?!”

“No need to be scared! They’re just a bunch of pathetic little things controlled by a mere brat!”

The transformed criminals, now Lycanthropes, sweated coldly at the sudden eruption of spirits. It was already a tough situation combatting the Clerics.

Sure, calling them pathetic little things was just talk. In reality, they just hoped that this brat was clumsily summoning spirits.

Besides, being a little kid like that, it seemed odd that they would be chosen for such a dangerous situation.

But…

“Who just called me a brat?”

At that moment, an unusual aura that could swallow the cold itself was felt. A chill ran down both enemy and ally spines alike.

So much so that even the Knight and Lycanthrope, who had been fiercely at odds, briefly turned their gaze towards Mary.

“I’m asking! Which punk called me a brat?”

I didn’t understand why she was spouting nonsense in the midst of it all, but the amount of magical power she possessed could not be ignored.

It wasn’t just a coincidence that everyone’s attention suddenly focused on her. The magic emanating from that small body felt as if it were gazing into an unknown entity of limitless potential.

Moreover, there wasn’t even a hint of exhaustion in maintaining an army of spirits.

“Out in three seconds. One… two…”

At three, lightning struck down, obliterating the area. A whirlwind with mixed high heat formed a red tornado.

Numerous spirits surged forward, tearing at the Lycanthropes, while various mid-to-high-level elemental spells rained down everywhere.

At first glance, it seemed like indiscriminate bombardment, yet uniquely, it concentrated solely on the Lycanthropes.

Of course, the Clerics couldn’t guarantee their safety either, so they retreated far to avoid getting swept up in it.

“What in the world is that?”

“What are we even looking at right now?”

“What an amazing friend we have. Right, Senpai?”

“Yeah…”

The Clerics, who had been struggling against the criminals, were left dumbfounded.

They had always been well-mannered.

To demonstrate the kindness of the Sect, they always spoke lightly and never looked down on anyone.

They never belittled the students on missions for their lack of experience and certainly never treated Mary, who was only 16, with disdain.

The doctrine of the Sect was to provide equal treatment to everyone gathered in the same place.

“HAHAHA! Where are you! Come out! I’ll kill you all!”

The spirits burnt and scorched the sturdy fur of the Lycanthropes.

Mary’s high-level flame magic, which had forgotten about power control, turned the Lycanthrope into a roast.

There was no room for them to intervene.

Lightning struck from the sky or meteors wrapped in flames crashed down as the criminals were swept away effortlessly.

The one-sided slaughter was enough to make even the Clerics think, ‘This is a bit much.’

*

Before long, dawn broke.

The snow piled up in the snowy field sparkled brilliantly under the rising sunlight.

Though it was cold, the scenery was one that could be captured within a Magical Device.

But that precious sight was marred by craters and explosion marks, as if a disaster had struck.

‘That was too easily broken.’

The battle with the criminals who had turned into Lycanthropes was already over.

Most of them had been wiped out, leaving only a quarter alive.

If such an unexpected situation arose, the Clerics had the right to execute them on the spot.

After engaging in a small-scale crusade, they sought to find a place to rest away from the snowy expanse as much as possible.

As the temperature rose, the crunching sounds of footsteps halted.

It was still a bit chilly, but the winter gear wrapped around them had sufficiently countered the cold.

The Clerics set up a temporary camping ground in an open space halfway up a rocky mountain.

Given the rough terrain and the appearance of monsters, they had struggled to find a proper resting place.

“Alright, all fixed!”

Jenny and Luska were mending my torn clothes.

Because of that damn sexual offender, Juster, my parka and school uniform got ripped, leaving me shivering in the cold.

If it weren’t for the Igreet ring that Crona had given me, I’d be in a frozen state.

“Let’s see… wow…”

What Jenny mended was the school uniform.

It must’ve been easier to fix than the parka… but it was so poorly sewn, one might suspect she stitched it with her foot.

The torn parts needed to be aligned carefully, but she stitched it far too tightly.

Just wearing it felt like it might rip right away.

Moreover, the stitches that should be connected were all gapped apart.

“What do you think? Do you like it?”

“Yeah, it’s amazing.”

[Degradation Rate Decreased: -2]

[+200 Credits]

“See! That shows how great my craftsmanship is, right?”

Wrong, you fool. Don’t you know what sarcasm is?

Jenny was beaming, thinking she was being complimented.

I wanted to smack her on the forehead.

“I’m done too.”

On the other hand, looking at the parka that Luska had restored eased my anger.

The parka, which had a more complex stitching structure than the school uniform, had been neatly re-sewn back to its original form.

It was a skill level that could only be described as artisan.

“You really did great.”

“I’m glad you liked it. I haven’t really done much like this before.”

“Not done much, huh? Are you kidding me?”

Seeing Luska’s creation in comparison, Jenny pouted, indicating her own work was inferior.

“It wouldn’t be so surprising if it were true.”

Luska had lived a harsh life, as one could see from her past.

Having wielded a knife instead of a doll and survived in the wild, her hands were undeniably skilled by nature.

“What about those criminals? Did you find the one you were looking for? The shaman you mentioned?”

When I quietly asked Jenny, she wore a serious expression.

“I met someone, but they seem completely different from the one who killed our mother. I thought I finally found them.”

Jenny looked quite disappointed, but Luska did not express this incident as meaningless.

“But it was a relief to meet them. They were targeting the Saint.”

Currently, her sister, Angela, had been selected as a candidate for the Saint in the shrine of Kreuz.

There was no way she could just leave the ones threatening her sister, who was now her lifeline and the most precious being she had to protect.

“That’s right! Their target was Angela! It’s good that we took care of them.”

Though Jenny wasn’t blood-related, she had secretly protected Angela at the Academy. The satisfaction of having protected someone dear to her felt immense.

“It was definitely headed toward Kreuz, right? So will we be able to meet Angela?”

“When I visited during break, I managed to meet her thanks to an invitation from the Academy Head. I’m not sure if I can meet her just by being a student.”

“What? That little girl who was just learning to walk is now a Saint?”

‘Life reversal.’

Once you’ve reached the status of a Saint, that phrase was unavoidable.

After having rolled around as a test subject since birth, she was finally given the chance to heal and claim recompense for her horrific past.

“What should I give her as a gift when we meet?”

“I don’t need anything else… just this one thing.”

“Huh?”

Luska pointed at me with her chin.

Why me?

“Right? Master Rice Ball Chef.”

Ah… that’s what it was.

Unlike the main story, the very first food Angela had eaten was the rice balls I had made.

I felt like I’d have to make at least 100 of them immediately upon meeting her, and I was already getting pains in my back.

Still, considering I had the solid backing of a Saint, it felt rewarding to make them.

Just as I thought of rice balls, it was time to prepare a meal.

By now, the bread and juice provided from the supplies had all run out. Each of us had to manage to fend for ourselves.

Given the environment, with animals and monsters adapted to it all around, we decided to go hunting.

Getting ingredients by hunting wild animals was an easy endeavor.

“Hey there, friends! This might be a bit shameless, but could you help us out?”

At that moment, a Priest came rushing over, panting. They were also in the midst of gathering food supplies but had suddenly encountered a powerful monster.

If they were in top condition, they could handle it without issue, but due to the many injuries among them, they needed help.

“Then please cook it well.”

“Don’t make it weird.”

With me, Luska, and Trisha stepping back, the cooking would be left to Jenny and Mary. I pushed aside my anxious thoughts and helped with defeating the monster.

It was a ‘Mad Cow’ that looked to be at least several dozen meters in size.

Once we took it down, we would surely fill the hungry bellies of the Clerics.

Furthermore, by regulating the juice from the Mad Cow with Divine Power, it could be turned into a tonic. It was precisely what Cruidy and Gamur desperately needed.

GRUUUURH!—

The Mad Cow bellowed menacingly.

However, the moment we participated, the situation shifted in our favor.

With a joint attack from me and Muto bringing it down, Luska and Trisha completely toppled it over. Then the Clerics moved in for the finish.

“Thank you so much. But… is that… a Spirit?!”

Oh, I had totally forgotten.

After beheading it, my Spirit power was revealed, and Muto regained its original color.

As was customary with religious matters, anything related to curses was considered blasphemous, and the spirit was far from being overlooked.

The wary gaze of the Cleric Knight shot toward me in that instant.

“Everyone, calm down.”

“Captain!”

The leader of the 1st Star Hall, Gamur Brutus, approached.

He was still not fully recovered and walked as though he was bearing a heavy load. He wasn’t possessed by Chandler; he was undeniably the Noble Knight Leader.

“Why’ve you come out here? You should head back to the carriage and rest…”

“Before that, hear me out. If it weren’t for that friend, I believe everyone knows how I would have ended up. You all must have heard of the circumstances too.”

Even while possessed by Chandler, the memories remained intact.

Especially since he had stabbed his subordinate, Crudy, from behind, guilt was simmering within.

“Being possessed by a lowly criminal was already a disgrace, but I cannot allow something trivial to ruin matters again in a place like this.”

“He is a Student of Aligieri, performing his duties as a noble student, and my benefactor. While I’m not fond of him using his Spirit power, we must stand firm to our doctrines during times like this.”

No one dared to criticize Gamur’s speech, which was bordering on a declaration.

The more lowly the individual, the more they would seek out a fault, and such actions contravened the doctrines of the Sect.

“Thank you for covering for me.”

“There’s no need to thank me. I merely acted according to doctrine.”

Just then, Gamur showed me a gentle expression.

“Hey, guys!~ It’s done, so hurry over!”

From a distance, Mary’s voice rang out.

“Go on ahead.”

“Yes.”

Seeing the Clerics have great faith in Gamur, it appeared there would be no squabbles during the journey.

However, the real issue would be upon our arrival at Kreuz. I didn’t expect many accommodating individuals like Gamur.

But that was something to discover once we arrived.

First, I decided to eat before thinking any further…

“Tada! It’s finished!”

“My special large meal made by me and Jenny! Clap, everyone!”

Um….

“Why does everyone’s face look like that? I made it with great care.”

They seemed oblivious to what the problem was. From just the visuals, it looked like a poison that could rot your body at first touch, let alone eat.

Absolutely a hellish dish that no human could create. Eating it would certainly result in a high-five with the king of hell.

“What in the world did you use to create this horrifying hybrid?”

“Nothing much! Just ground up all the bugs around!”

Yeah, I totally knew this was coming. I thought it was made exclusively by Mary, but it wasn’t.

It was a collaboration with Jenny. That meant Jenny’s dreadful cooking skills coupled with Mary’s terrible imagination had created a fantastic disaster.

Even more, they claimed it tasted delicious after just one bite… Luska looked at them with a gaze full of rejection.

“You guys are crazy? Are you actually going to swallow that?”

“Yeah! It’s super tasty! Totally sweet!”

“Luska, you should try a bite.”

Are they telling me to eat and die?

Were they thinking of teaming up to assassinate me?

I wasn’t alone in my thoughts.

Realizing how hopeless this was, Luska stood up, weapons in hand, and headed off somewhere.

“Where are you going?”

“Where do you think? I’m going to get more ingredients.”

“Why? After all this work, are you really going to waste it?”

“I’m not eating that kind of bug-infested stuff like you guys. And I got this, so no one follow me. It feels ominous.”

With that, Luska left, filled with complaints, to go hunt again.

Trisha curiously took a taste and fainted in just a second.

Therein lay the justification for Luska’s frustration.

“Hmm… I worked hard to make this. What’s wrong?”

“Is it tasting weird?”

“Then, isn’t that a problem? We should just throw it away.”

I picked up the dish of this cursed hybrid, preparing to dispose of it. Yet, they held me back.

“Why are you throwing it away? What a waste!”

“I can’t comprehend! Let’s feed it to others and see how they rate it.”

Are they really out of their minds? Were they trying to send Clerics to their doom? And they were considering this as a waste? That’s like saying they want some armpit hair waxing done.

Regardless of the field, I could not let them handle any household chores.

‘But doing cooking like this isn’t worth my natural disposition?’

Although surprisingly, there were individuals who would eat anything.

Inside the steel bars were starving criminals, and I compassionately decided to share the food with them, claiming it was quite delicious.

After that, I heard the desperate cries and saw a significant decrease in the degradation rate.

I gained credits and disposed of this nightmare dish all in one go, but the screams instead of a rating were unavoidable.

Surviving as an Academy Scammer.