Surviving as a Con Artist at the Academy

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96th Chapter. You Look Great Together!

No wonder there was something hard on my back.

As if it wasn’t enough that the floor of the shrine where I was sleeping was hard, it was also uneven, making for an uncomfortable sleeping arrangement.

It was the weekend, but I had only managed to sleep for two hours, and my body felt sore.

Even if I had another chance to fall asleep, I didn’t think I would be able to drift into a comfortable slumber since I was already awake.

I was about to lose my mind. Just when I wanted to get some rest, why wouldn’t this damn world just leave me alone?

“What’s with this sudden disaster?”

“That’s what I want to say! I just woke up a moment ago, and I have no idea what’s going on.”

Luska was just as confused, grumbling in a similar fashion.

She probably had completely collapsed into bed like me but seemed to have woken up faster.

She must have sensed something strange with her characteristic intuition of the Yaho tribe, prompting her body to rise instinctively.

Truly, there were hardly any students who could compete with her physical abilities.

“For now, it doesn’t seem like it’s Aligieri’s doing. I broke the window and took a look outside, and the scenery is completely different.”

Where we were was a small room with several kinds of weaponry and plate armor organized within it.

The view outside the window that Luska broke revealed a landscape of coniferous forests, and beneath the shrine, a small village where a different race might reside was visible.

“Right, this was Great Sage Dantia’s hometown 300 years ago.”

It likely felt deserted because it represented a recreated Void Space of records.

If this were the main story, the protagonist, Lyman, would probably have glanced at this scenery and felt dizzy for a moment.

This was blatant foreshadowing that the protagonist was also tied to this location.

“Let’s go out for now. There’s no guarantee that just staying here will let us return automatically.”

“Right.”

Without hesitation, Luska accepted my opinion and opened the weapon storage door.

At that moment, we unexpectedly faced someone standing at the door, causing us to instinctively tense up.

“Eek! No, you guys…”

“Crona?”

Luska relaxed her guard like she was sheathing her sword as she met the unexpected blonde girl.

Crona Delaware. She too noticed our existence and let out a sigh of relief.

It was only natural for her to be on edge since she had suddenly found herself in a strange place.

“Radon Crawler, Luska Mad Eye…”

“It was you. Your voice was loud enough to make my heart drop.”

“Hmph, I only made a slight sound. But it’s been a week since we last met. Have you been using the ring I provided, the one from Igrit?”

Speaking of which, I had forgotten.

I shouldn’t have forgotten the fact that we managed to cross the snowy field thanks to the ring that Crona gave us.

“I used it well. Thank you so much for lending it.”

“But you didn’t come straight to me as soon as you returned. I hoped you’d at least come to return it.”

“Sorry. I completely forgot.”

“Hah… To forget about me is really rude.”

Crona slumped her shoulders like a dying mosquito.

It seemed she felt a sense of loss to have almost been forgotten.

“By the way, did you all wake up and come here?”

“(Nod nod)”

“I was suddenly awakened by Sun Red, so I was able to open my eyes. I feel like I’ve only slept for an hour and a half… yawn~”

Crona continued to yawn, not fully shaking off her drowsiness.

Indeed, an intermediate-level spirit with a strong sense of self was useful in times like this, and it seemed she hardly needed a night watch.

On the other side, Sun Red had waked up their master, but what was Muto doing when all this was happening?

‘Pretending to be a superior spirit, huh.’

『I thought about waking you up, but that black-haired girl was just too fast.』

‘Thinking? Did you just say thinking? Is that even something to say…’

『You should be grateful that I even considered whether or not to help you. Heh heh.』

He seemed to enjoy that.

As Cardinal Belion said, dealing with spirits was no ordinary matter.

Just like curses that typically come from the shadows, if not handled well, they often run rampant. So that wasn’t an empty threat.

“I see… so that’s why everyone’s dressed like that. Of course, I’m no different.”

All three of us—myself, Luska, and Crona—were wearing pajamas. It was only natural since we had flown here while sleeping, but in the main story, the events occurred in broad daylight, allowing us to wear proper clothing like ‘school uniforms.’

But now we were in fluffy garments, moving barefoot. Particularly, Crona’s nightgown looked so fragile that it seemed it could tear at the touch of water.

“Did other people fly here too?”

“Yes, there were quite a few people in the shrine besides me. I found you all while looking around.”

“Where are the other students now?”

“Follow me.”

Following Crona’s lead, we exited the room, revealing the shrine’s corridor.

The swirling dust caught the sunlight filtering through the arched windows, creating a desolate atmosphere.

The shrine, as I had seen in the game, etched itself into my memory. While this aspect was no different from the main story, I wondered why the schedule had suddenly been moved up.

“I’m pretty sure the event was supposed to be a week later.”

I pondered as I walked down the corridor.

Having expected it to happen a week later, I happily spread my arms and drifted off to sleep, only to face this sudden disaster.

Now I was walking barefoot in such awkward clothing.

The change in schedule suggested that some variable must have occurred, leading me to hypothesize.

For now, the golems that had received tools from the academy staff likely triggered the artificial spirit Mosria to run wild, according to the main story.

The fact that this had happened so soon made me suspect that people had been overly harsh, accelerating the runaway event.

‘Still not certain… but it’s not something to worry too much about.’

As previously mentioned, this chapter is very simple compared to the main story. The summoned golems can’t attack, and we have our mana at our disposal.

Mosria intended to completely block mana in this space using the Yellow Stamp, but at that moment, I had the Yellow Stamp in my hand.

Right now, it couldn’t inflict damage through mana sealing or otherwise, and aside from the merit of creating a golem army, it was completely bound.

‘Looks like I’m about to have an easy success!’

What I had to do from here was simple.

Just find that Baimon guy and urge him to locate and neutralize Mosria’s core hidden somewhere in this Void Space.

Sure, a golem army would summon to block my path, but hey… what could they do when they couldn’t attack?

Hehe, I couldn’t help but laugh at the thought.

“Why are you suddenly laughing? You look super sinister.”

“Yeah. Doesn’t this situation seem far from funny?”

“Just a lot of thoughts crossed my mind.”

At that moment, I let out an audible laugh.

Perhaps because my goofy behavior felt too elevated, both of them seemed a bit irritated.

I felt somewhat embarrassed, but since this ominous situation wouldn’t last long, I still smiled inwardly.

Then Crona stopped walking and said, “We’re here. Right here.”

As we turned around the corner of the corridor, we saw… a number of students deeply asleep, clearly unaware of what was happening.

I thought they would wake up quickly if we poked them, but they were drooling and snoring loudly, as if they wouldn’t stir even if carried away.

As we got closer, the scent of alcohol flooded my senses.

“Have you tried waking them?”

“Yes. I pinched their cheeks and slapped their faces one by one, but not a single one had any intention of waking up. They probably snuck in alcohol while partying inside last night or something.”

It seemed the on-duty professor, Radian, was a bit of a party-loving ghost, so it appeared they enjoyed the party inside rather than outside.

Seeing them was reminiscent of a college friend who once found himself collapsed in a park, having consumed way too much during a party.

He would laugh about it now, but even then, I didn’t find it funny.

“How foolish to brag about almost catching a cold.”

“Are there no awake ones? At least someone from last night who didn’t enjoy themselves should be around, right?”

“You’re right next to me. And two of you, in fact.”

“Not me or him.”

“None.”

Crona hadn’t encountered any normal people besides myself yet.

It was then that…

“Wait! Did you just hear something?”

Reacting to something, Luska suddenly shushed us into silence.

Given Luska’s keen senses, I could trust her instincts.

“A sound?”

Just as I heightened my auditory senses, I heard a faint sound.

-!!

It was a woman’s voice—part scream, part cheer—faintly echoing.

We moved swiftly in the direction from where the sound came and found a room filled with various pristine tools.

As we opened the door, we discovered Jenny standing there, while Mary lay unconscious on the floor.

“Oh? Radon, Luska, Crona! You guys are here too.”

“What happened? Jenny Chain Silver.”

Putting aside how we found ourselves here, Crona hurriedly checked Mary’s condition.

Mary suddenly frothing at the mouth and collapsing looked quite serious, and Jenny explained the cause.

“We were investigating when we ended up in this strange place, and then Mary suddenly mistook that for a drink and swallowed it.”

The place Jenny pointed to had a small glass vial, which had a label depicting insects. I picked it up and took a whiff…

“This is pesticide!”

“Right. But Mary mistook it for something to drink.”

“What? There are things that shouldn’t be mistaken for drinks! What the hell?”

“When Mary looked at the label on the vial, she thought it was a drink made from ground insects. I turned away for just a moment…”

“….”

I was absolutely flabbergasted.

I had a lot I wanted to say, but the words wouldn’t come out.

Just now, an insect drink? I couldn’t help but feel flabbergasted by Mary’s logic, which even Native Americans wouldn’t think of.

Okay, so Mary eating insects indiscriminately is one thing; that’s not that surprising.

But how could she possibly think of downing something that was clearly an insect-related chemical as if it were a drink?

Is it me that’s lost my mind?

“So that sound earlier was her scream when she fainted?”

“Some things are just ridiculous.”

“Hah…”

The hearts of me, Luska, and Crona united as one.

It was a rare occasion for us to share the same feelings, making today somehow feel special.

“Cough! Damn… it was a trap…”

Returning to her senses, Mary opened her haggard eyes and muttered. She looked like a general feeling the grievance of being caught in an enemy’s plot.

“This grudge… I will have to settle it!”

Nobody here has any grudges against you.

After all, you brought this upon yourself, so what’s there to feel wronged about?

“Sorry about that. I feel really bad for not being able to save you.”

[Degradation Rate Decreased: -5%]

[+500 Credits]

Sorry? Yeah, right. Still, I should figure out how to resolve this.

“Cough!”

“What should we do? Can we fix this?”

Jenny looked deeply worried as she watched Mary continue to foam at the mouth.

But what was there to worry about? This girl wouldn’t die just from swallowing pesticide.

‘Look at her pajama get-up.’

I thought someone might have an insect fetish, but her outfit looked like it was made from crickets. If this were a children’s play, there wouldn’t be a better fit for the insect role.

“Your pajamas are truly wonderful.”

[Degradation Rate Decreased: -6%]

[+600 Credits]

I sarcastically remarked while hoisting Mary onto my back.

Since I didn’t know what she might eat once she regained consciousness, it’d be best to get out of this room.

“Let’s find somewhere useful, like a nurse’s station. It should be better than staying here.”

“Okay.”

Jenny nodded in agreement.

Thinking about it, I recalled that consuming insects meant resurrection, but there wasn’t a single bug crawling around here.

Just as I was about to head down to the first floor and into the forest…

“Is anyone there?”

Suddenly, someone entered the room.

We were all surprised to see that the person was Professor Stella.

“Professor, you flew here too? I thought you’d be off work.”

“Ah… Actually, I remained at the Academy today because I was on night duty.”

“Night duty, huh?”

“Recently, many staff members have been away from the school. So most of the staff decided to have night duty. Today just happened to be my turn.”

I hadn’t known such arrangements existed.

It was a setting that wasn’t even mentioned in the main story, so it wouldn’t have been conveyed to the users either.

“That’s a fortunate coincidence. Could you help Mary? She accidentally drank pesticide…”

“Tch. Just lay her down in front of me.”

I wasn’t sure about the sleeping arrangements, but at least there was a silver lining. Using Stella’s Sacred Magic, she would easily resolve the drug’s effects.

But the more I saw Stella, the more ridiculous it got.

“By the way, Professor…”

“What is it, Radon?”

“Is that… your pajamas?”

If Mary’s outfit represented an insect theme, then Professor Stella’s was rabbit-themed.

She had bunny ears sticking out of her head, and a fluffy tail attached to her backside.

But ridiculously, she had muscles that hardly matched the rabbit suit, and her clothing was smeared with the red of what seemed like battle.

It looked less like a bunny and more like a mutant rabbit that’d just been bombarded with radiation after eating a radioactive carrot.

I really began to think about where the manufacturer of this outfit could be.

“Why are you wearing something like that, Professor? You’re not a child or anything.”

Her taste was so unique that I couldn’t help but ask.

Even though it was an outfit in the style of an animal costume, the design was enough to make even little kids cringe.

Between Mary and Professor Stella, it felt like a fashion terrorist convention was underway.

“This outfit was made for me by my little sister.”

“…. ”

The atmosphere chilled drastically.

“My sister sewed this while injuring her hands several times in the process.”

An overwhelming glare was directed at me.

Sirens began blaring loudly in my head.

In this suffocating silence, there was only one way to survive.

“You look fantastic in it, even if you’re not a child! I mean…”

[Degradation Rate Decreased: -50%]

[+5000 Credits]

I immediately gave a thumbs-up and managed to force a smile.

I was losing my mind and about to jump up and down.

Surviving as an Academy Scammer.