Surviving as a Con Artist at the Academy

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89th Chapter: Heresy? Do You Want to Feel the Sidekick of Heresy?

After subduing all the criminals transformed into lycanthropes, no significant incidents occurred.

Perhaps thanks to the end of the main event, no calamities struck on the way to Kreuz.

Furthermore, the temperature gradually became milder as we moved further away from the snowy plains. I had been wrapped in all sorts of winter gear, but it was becoming unnecessary.

As the heavy coat shed, the journey felt completely unconfined. It was as if I were walking on flat ground, enjoying a smooth passage.

We now had about three days left to reach Kreuz.

Normally, we would arrive in just one day using the warp gate, but it was not available now.

The sect had conducted an investigation regarding the cause, and it was claimed that someone had intentionally destroyed it.

– It must be the handiwork of that Chandler and his cronies.

The warp gate isn’t infallible.

Maintaining it requires tremendous mana and costs, and it’s challenging to accommodate a large number of people at once.

Overload can happen quite easily, resulting in travel disruptions.

There was a story about a traveler who intended to go to the southern resort of Flandere but ended up in the desert area of Alahan.

To address these issues, the empire is pushing for a higher-level transport system.

It’s the Magical Locomotive project, the railway I saw recently during summer vacation in Silver Town. It is scheduled to be implemented starting from my second year.

‘Magical Train… I hope it’s completed soon.’

Since we still had some distance to cover, the procession leading the carriage briefly halted. The sky began to darken, and a sound reminiscent of vibrations occurred from the belly of the carriage.

This time, it wasn’t very cold, so there was no need to set up individual tents. Just laying out the sleeping bags and preparing dinner would be sufficient.

“I’ll gather the ingredients, so you all just set the tableware.”

“Then who will do the cooking?”

“Naturally, that will be me.”

I’ll handle everything—hunting and cooking! The group members seemed unable to comprehend Lyman’s declaration.

It felt like they were levying all the responsibility on one person.

“Don’t be too upset. I’ll help out a bit.”

“Help? From you?”

As Jenny cheerfully nudged Lyman, her expression turned pale.

“Yes! If we just sit here doing nothing, what will we become? We need to help out.”

“In that case, I have one request.”

“What is it? Say anything.”

Jenny shrugged her shoulders, exuding confidence. Lyman grabbed her shoulders and replied.

“Just sit still. That’s helping.”

“What?! How is that helpful?”

“Then reflect on this. Got it?”

“Ugh…!”

By now, cooking had been well underway. Unlike yesterday, this time Mary wasn’t involved, and Jenny took on the cooking alone.

It had improved somewhat compared to yesterday, but it was still poisonous, regardless. I had hoped it would be a bit more angelic, but that wasn’t the case either.

During these past few days of travel, Lyman felt it was impossible to trust the group with cooking.

He lamented that he was the only one skilled in cooking within this party.

If the others got involved, a similar disaster might occur.

It would be better to handle it alone than to produce a series of these poisons.

“And Radon! Do not release that little one until I’m done! Understood?”

“Yeah.”

Beside me was a tiny girl with pink hair tied up in thick ropes. Lyman had insisted so much that I bound this little brat with fishing line.

“Wooowww!! Woooow!!”

With cloth covering her mouth, Mary made pitiful noises.

It seemed she wanted to be released, but that was not an option. During our travels, Mary had given birth to several horrific hybrids.

How desperate had it become that I had to restrain her completely and gag her mouth?

“Alright, I’m off.”

“Safe travels.”

The group offered bittersweet farewells.

Lyman’s retreating figure resembled a college upperclassman who did 99% of the work while leading a group of freeloaders.

And the poison Jenny had prepared felt akin to a report copied from a research wiki.

She was essentially relying on Lyman solely for household chores.

And the dish she made ended up in the criminals’ stomachs. There are places where even poison can be put to use.

“Am I really hopeless at everything?”

With a haggard expression, Jenny sat hunched over, pulling her knees to her face.

She looked like a pitiful student deciding whether to go home with a test score that had flunked.

‘Yeah, you won’t make it no matter what. Especially in the kitchen.’

At that moment, Trisha patted Jenny’s back and said.

“Then I’ll tend to the fire, so Jenny, could you make some ice? I’m so thirsty from the long walk.”

“Yes.”

It was something only she could do. Maybe that was why a hint of vigor returned to Jenny’s face.

“And as for Mary…”

“Wooowwww!! Woooowooowoo!!”

Let’s just leave that one be. Sorry, but just hold on until dinner is done.

“Then I’ll go fetch water from the nearby river. Oh! I might as well catch some fish.”

“I’ll leave it to you.”

As we walked west from the carriage, the sound of water trickling reached our ears. Pushing through the branches, we entered a stream flow in the mountain valley.

Though it was fall and the water was starting to thin, the silhouettes of fish became visible. With Leviathan in hand, I waved my fishing rod, and someone emerged from the bushes.

“Huh? You are…”

It was Gamur Brutus, the head of our group.

After a day had passed, it seemed most of the aftereffects had healed, and he was moving around in good shape.

“Here to catch fish?”

“That’s right.”

“Hahaha. Just like me.”

He too was holding a fishing rod. He threw his line into the river just as I did.

Our hooks bobbed and clashed, and for a moment, the quiet became so loud it felt almost like a roar coming from the stream.

“I’ll say thank you once again.”

Gamur broke the silence.

“If you hadn’t noticed their plan, I would have spent my life under the control of that criminal. And I couldn’t have seen you fight either.”

“Anyone who uses a curse to create advantageous circumstances for themselves will never be welcomed on the path ahead.”

Gamur’s advice rang cold and clear.

For me, wielding curses and heading to Kreuz was akin to shouting “Hail Satan!” in the Vatican, where the Pope resides, so it wouldn’t be viewed positively.

“But you know, you used to have longer hair, didn’t you? Seeing it short now, it seems you must have undergone the Ceremony of Flash.”

“That’s right. I wanted to avoid friction during the mission.”

“I understand. But even so, undergoing the ceremony won’t be much use. That mere ceremony won’t let you avoid the gaze of the saints in Kreuz.”

As expected of the sect’s stronghold, detecting unclean substances would be a serious undertaking.

No matter how well-prepared one is for winter, once they arrive at the North or South Pole, it’s game over.

“So you’d best be cautious. Particularly because the extremist factions have been on the rise lately.”

As with large religious groups, there are always some rogues involved. Many of them are zealots who absolutely won’t tolerate the concept of ‘evil.’

The moment they catch even a whiff of a curse, they’ll scream ‘heretic!’ and chase me down with lethal intent.

“Of course, if you don’t go to Kreuz, returning to Aligieri might affect your evaluation.”

As long as I escort the criminals to Kreuz, the mission will be complete, but I need to receive acknowledgment for having participated in the escort to gain a proper evaluation.

My performance could probably earn me a decent score. I couldn’t let something so precious slip away like this.

“I’m not going back to Aligieri.”

“Then will you be wandering around as a saint marked with the seal of a curse?”

“Even with that seal, there’s a way to walk proudly.”

Gamur’s eyes widened in intrigue. This was something I couldn’t accomplish alone.

“Can I make one request?”

“If it’s your request, I’d be more than willing to hear it.”

“Then please send a letter to the chamber of the saintesses in Kreuz’s upper echelon. Is that possible?”

“It can be done, but…”

Given his position as the leader of a paladin regiment, he should be able to send letters to figures like a saint or archbishop.

He whistled, and a white eagle swooped down, perching on his shoulder. He tied my letter to its leg as I dictated.

[Bringing rice balls right away. If you want to eat, wait at the entrance of Kreuz.]

by – Radon Crawler

*

After dinner was settled, the journey ahead was very pleasant.

No monsters or suspicious groups attacked us. The temperature was just right, making it feel like we were walking on a flat road.

Finally reaching the two-week mark of our travel, the sight of Kreuz appeared before us.

Below the path was an expansive star-shaped wall, within which a large city stood.

That was Kreuz, the stronghold of the Holy Cross Sect.

It was exactly as depicted on the game map; aside from its shape and color, it seemed like a city that would shine brilliantly even at night.

The caravan came down from the hill and finally passed through the wall, entering Kreuz. Cheers began to rise up from various parts of the town celebrating the return of the First Order.

“So this is Kreuz.”

“This is my first time here too.”

Jenny and Mary looked around curiously. For me, it was a place etched into my memory, and I could easily envision what lay ahead.

Upon passing the wall, a security identification device stood guard at the entrance to Kreuz. It was shaped like a small tunnel, adorned with red and blue lights like a traffic signal.

As one by one passed through the device, the blue light remained lit. However, when the carriage carrying the criminals passed through, the red light illuminated.

‘Suspicious individuals would provoke such a reaction.’

As Jenny, Lyman, Mary, and Trisha passed in turn, the blue light returned.

Finally, it was my turn.

“Suspicious character!”

As I passed, the red light lit up, and the nearby guards rushed in.

While the bound criminals were one thing, I was now viewed with suspicion since the red light went off for me among the procession.

“Radon, what’s going on all of a sudden?”

“It seems to be due to my spirit power. I guess we’re not passing through smoothly.”

As I voiced my concerns, the sound of many footsteps approached.

Thud thud thud thud!-

Equipped with fierce gazes, paladins and priests closed in on me in an instant. Moreover, the mage cannons installed atop the city wall began to aim at me.

To an observer, the maneuvering could easily be mistaken as futuristic technology.

“Calm down! Radon is part of our group!”

“Right! He’s not suspicious, so please just let him go.”

“My friend isn’t a weird person!”

My classmates protested one after another on my behalf, but nobody was backing down.

“Not suspicious? The identification device boldly lit up red; how can you claim that nonsense!”

From among the crowd of paladins, a man clad in blue priest robes stepped forward.

Considering that typical priests wore white, his presence seemed to symbolize a special status.

“Gamur! You said to conduct the criminals, but what are you doing mixing a criminal within the procession of the Sage Monarch!”

“He is not a criminal. Archbishop Delos! He helped us to secure the criminal…”

“Silence! With this aura of curses detectable, how can you say he isn’t? Are you saying one of the criminals has been purposefully freed and escapes?”

Gamur’s warning was indeed true.

The more problematic individual was the extremist zealot. I had seen him in action a few times while playing.

When I was playing as Lyman, resolving such matters was easy, but when faced directly, it felt stifling.

“Excuse me, but…”

“And you are?!”

Trisha stepped in between me and Archbishop Delos.

“I am Trisha Marelin from the Magic Department of Aligieri Academy. I’m the leader of the group this friend belongs to.”

“I see. I heard that the First Order was assigned a joint mission with yours. But is it reasonable for Aligieri, the empire’s top academy, to employ such a sacrilegious person as a student?”

“Excuse me, but could you refrain from calling my group sacrilegious? While this friend may be a troublemaker, he is not the kind of person who would deserve slander in a place like this.”

Seeing Trisha defend me filled me with emotion. However, the zealot, named Delos, appeared to be turning red with fury.

“Cough! This seems even more suspicious. Capture all of them! Then throw them into that iron cage and transport them!”

“Archbishop Delos! Please, listen to me…”

“Silence! Gamur, if you keep resisting, I’ll consider not just you but the entire First Order a heretic.”

Perhaps due to differences in status, even Gamur, the leader, had no means to counter.

“Take them immediately… cough!”

Suddenly, something slapped Delos across the face, causing him to propel forward to the zealots he led. Instead of catching him, they collapsed like dominos.

There was no one among them with the authority to strike a person who could hold such power over Delos.

“You said to wait at the entrance for a reason, huh? Now I see why.”

A girl adorned with nine tails had seamlessly joined the fray. It was one of her tails that had hit Delos.

And a glimpse of silver hair with beast ears was visible. Jenny and Mary exchanged bright smiles upon seeing her figure.

“Long time no see, everyone.”

Angela Greenwhite emerged with a grin toward them.

Surviving as the Academy Scammer!