Chapter 80
By the time Noah had finished explaining all the key figures in Melbrit to me, Bella’s squats had ended without my even noticing.
We went out to the elves’ shelter and discussed our plans for the future over a meal.
“I ended up enrolling by following Karen, but I plan to at least make an effort to keep up with the minimum curriculum.
But my goal is always the same. To have fun. To fuck the hero.”
I said it with the utmost seriousness.
To some people, it might sound like bullshit, but it was an important goal to me.
Hypnosis and women were inseparable, like alcohol and cigarettes.
Yes, that was how it had always been.
Even if I were reborn, I would have chased after pretty women and tried to hypnotize them.
It was probably because my true nature was that of a pervert.
Karen spoke first.
“I know you can’t be stopped, Oppa. I’ll do my best to achieve my own dreams, too.
But I’m your cock-sheath, after all. So whenever you need me…… You know, right?”
Perhaps she was embarrassed to declare it in front of everyone, because she trailed off at the end.
There was something wonderful about the shyness of a pretty woman.
“Yeah. No matter what anyone says, Karen is Cock-Sheath Number One.”
“I’m proud.”
Isti, who had been peacefully drinking tea, set down her cup.
“I’m going to become a teacher at Melbrit. It’s a little strange that I’ll have to leave Darling in order to stay by Darling’s side…….
But I think many people will gather around Darling. I believe that’s a problem I need to overcome.”
“When can we meet again?”
“It might take a little while. I have to go through the procedures.
And I’ll have to take a test to see whether I have enough combat power to teach the students. They’re all just formalities, though…….”
A combat-power test, huh? Melbrit really was different.
Since it wasn’t some sort of desk-bound academic test, it would be a laughably easy exam for Isti.
She would pass with flying colors, wearing that refreshing expression of hers.
“For the time being, I will leave my position of tracking down and judging criminals from outside and instead take up a position that keeps Melbrit’s enforcers in check.
In other words, I am Lord Decal’s restraint.”
“……Restraint?”
“Yes. There may be some misunderstanding, so allow me to elaborate. For Lord Decal to smoothly accomplish what he wishes at Melbrit, his contact with the hero must be conducted privately, and the god of this world must not notice Lord Decal’s existence beforehand.”
“That’s right.”
If I compared my school life to a game, it would be a stealth game.
If I drew the god’s attention gauge too high, it would be game over.
Those restrictions only made me burn even more fiercely, but as I got carried away, there would surely be times when I went too far.
The restraint Noah spoke of was meant to prevent precisely that.
“I will take care of the parts that Lord Decal’s abilities cannot cover.”
“And stop me if I go berserk?”
“It would be best if you thought of me as an invisible cleanup crew.
I will cut off every clue from the middle and blind and deafen Melbrit.”
“Hmm. Sounds cool.”
It felt almost like plotting a coup.
Karen shuddered as if she had felt a chill.
“Ugh……. We sound like a terrorist organization.”
“In a way, we are terrorists.”
Karen glanced nervously at Isti and Noah before speaking.
“Oppa. Do you really have to go after the candidates? If you’re targeting the hero, wouldn’t it be better to wait…… No, that’s plenty dangerous, too.”
“It’s already too late. The game has begun.”
The first candidate I would target was Diana.
Stia, who was on my list. Tilia of the Crimson Flame, ranked fifth at Melbrit. And even Elin, the owner of this very inn.
No, perhaps it had begun long before that.
“The reason all of you are by my side is the same.”
If I had hesitated to fuck Isti that night, she would have left for the kingdom by spatial jump, and the opportunity would have been lost forever or postponed for a very long time.
Even then, knowing it was dangerous, I made Isti, a Diamond-ranked hunter, my girlfriend.
All for my own pleasure.
Nothing has changed, except that the scale has grown.
Let’s just enjoy ourselves.
Isn’t that why I came to this comfortable otherworld?
“I was being foolish. You were going to do it anyway, Oppa. Even knowing that, I chose to stay by your side because I liked it. Yes, that’s right. This is how it should be.”
Karen’s expression brightened completely.
“Let’s go.”
We went to Melbrit.
Karen was a diligent candidate, Isti a teacher, and Noah an enforcer responsible for maintaining law and order at Melbrit.
Our respective roles were different, but we would all gather at Melbrit.
Isti and Noah were planning to enter first.
“Darling. You have to stay healthy.”
“We’ll see each other soon.”
I shared a farewell kiss with Isti.
At the main gate stood a bulletin board displaying the results of yesterday’s test.
We went over to check the names.
“Wow! Your name is at the very top, Oppa. You’re the top scorer!”
“Where?”
“It’s a tie for first? There’s one more person.”
List of Successful Candidates
Joint First··· Decal, Stia Harpe
Second··· Ekaterina
Third··· Vadek Roun
Fourth··· Karen
There were two top scorers.
To be honest, I had expected it. If anyone I knew was going to come in first, it would certainly be Stia Harpe.
I felt bad for Karen, but Stia’s ability clearly stood out. Based on what I had seen so far, the strongest candidate I had encountered was Tilia.
I thought Stia was several levels below her, but the fact that she had defeated the skeleton boss in the Bordeaux Dungeon stayed with me.
It must have been a boss that could speak like the orc boss and had an incredibly high level.
It had been influenced by the Red Soulstone, after all.
Unexpectedly, the two of them might be evenly matched.
“Oppa. It says the successful candidates should go over here.”
Karen was studying the map posted on the bulletin board.
“The timing is perfect, too. Shall we go?”
“Yeah.”
We wanted to enter proudly through the main gate as well,
but the map was guiding us to the same side path where we had taken the first test.
How long were we going to have to use the back door like thieves?
When we arrived, the bespectacled woman I had had rough sex with yesterday was there.
I could also see some of the faces from yesterday.
“Decal! I’ve been waiting for you.”
Stia approached with a bright smile. She was a beautiful girl with dazzling blond hair and red eyes.
She was also the woman who had developed a strange misunderstanding about me and openly shown her interest.
That was quite rare.
“You remember Karen, don’t you? The one we met in the Bordeaux Dungeon……”
“Ah! Yes!”
“My name is Stia Harpe. I am the eldest daughter of the Harpe family.”
“I’m Karen. I don’t have a family name, and I’m just a simple adventurer……”
“Straighten your shoulders, Karen. I’m just a fledgling who has only now become a candidate, too. You could say we’re friends.”
“Then I’ll call you Stia. It’s nice to see you again, Stia.”
Just as she had done with me, Stia held out her hand and shook Karen’s.
“I think it’s time for us to go in. We’ll be separated right away, but I hope to see you in class, Decal.”
“……Huh? Oh.”
Separated?
I soon understood what she meant.
When we followed the bespectacled woman’s directions, the men and women were sent in separate directions.
“Oppa! See you later!”
Karen waved goodbye to me.
The men swallowed hard as they watched her ample breasts sway.
These bastards. They were coveting my cock-sheath?
“The men’s dormitory is this way.”
Once the bespectacled woman had left, all that remained was a neatly dressed man with his hair slicked back.
I already missed women. I even missed the bespectacled woman.
Noah had said this was a place where romantic relationships between the sexes were strictly forbidden. In that case, separating the dormitories was only natural…… No, even without the ban, that was the norm.
For now, it seemed best to obey without a fuss.
The dormitory building was impressive enough not to be overshadowed by the main building.
The men were each assigned a room, and I could tell that the standard arrangement was two people to a room.
The person one shared a room with was called a roommate.
Karen and Stia, who were probably across the way, must have been in a similar situation.
Before entering our dormitory rooms, we received an orientation from the male guide in a spacious hall.
The contents were more or less what I had expected.
It was about how dating women at Melbrit would lead to an absolutely terrible future.
“……There are approximately fifty enforcers stationed at Melbrit. The enforcers are responsible for Melbrit’s security and order, and in emergencies, they are authorized to personally restrain and detain candidates at their own discretion. Melbrit does not provide separate instruction in character education.
Instead, if you display conduct unbecoming of Melbrit, immediate action will be taken.”
Someone raised a hand and asked,
“What sort of behavior is subject to punishment?”
“Minor offenses include improper attire, undignified behavior such as spitting on the floor, damaging Melbrit’s supplies, or stealing someone else’s belongings.
And the behavior most strictly prohibited of all is dating women.”
Despite the fact that this wasn’t a gathering of children, open complaints and jeers could be heard.
The male guide gave a derisive snort.
“If you intend to test your courage, I won’t stop you.
Many different kinds of people gather at Melbrit. Among them are those who try to sneak into the women’s dormitory.”
“Ooh!”
“What happened to them?”
“They died of head trauma.”
…….
I thought it was a joke too grim to laugh at, but the male guide was serious.
In other words, he hadn’t been trying to be funny. It was the truth.
“The enforcers always carry weapons to subdue criminals.
They are primarily blunt weapons. One strike can easily break a bone, no matter where it lands. If you take a bad hit to the head, you may never get back up. Whether you’re dead or alive.”
“Ah, no…. Isn’t it just some kind of act of youthful rebellion? Even so, isn’t killing someone going a little too far?”
“The enforcers do not hold back.
That is because Melbrit is also a place where one-man-army warriors gather to support the candidates for heroes.
If someone like that decided to commit a crime and infiltrated the dormitory, what do you think would happen?”
“Hmm……”
When the guide said that, everyone seemed to accept the explanation.
Right.
The people gathered here weren’t just ordinary students.
They were all relatively young, but their ages varied, and the things they had done before coming here must have differed as well. Besides, the purpose of this place was to train talented people to become members of the hero parties fighting on the front lines.
They called it a school, but in reality, it trained special forces with specialized individual abilities. It was unreasonable to view someone like that sneaking into the dormitory of the opposite sex at night with impure intentions as nothing more than an act of youthful rebellion.
“Also, most of the people working at Melbrit were originally students who decided to stay and work here after being hired by Melbrit.
They have more experience than you, and they are stronger and smarter. Do not treat anyone carelessly. Do not be alone with a woman. This is the most useful advice we can give those of you who are beginning your lives as candidates at Melbrit from this day forward.”
……This place was stricter than I’d expected.
Didn’t that mean the enforcers would step in even if you were caught holding hands or hugging someone?
Once again, I thought how incredibly fortunate it was that Noah was on my side.
If I had met her as an enemy here…… Whew. The thought sent chills down my spine.
She would have smashed my head open with that tonfa.
No more complaints could be heard. Wanting to do something with a woman was a male instinct, but anyone who had come as far as this place
probably hadn’t come with the intention of having sex in the first place. ……Except me.
Besides, even if that had been their purpose, they couldn’t say it out loud.
Not if they saw the hulking enforcers patrolling the corridors.
So those nun’s habits were unisex. The black fabric looked as though it might burst from the enforcer’s balloon-like muscles.
Could it be that she, like Noah, wasn’t wearing underwear underneath…… Ugh. I didn’t want to imagine it, but I did anyway.
“Now, please proceed to your assigned rooms.”
I received a key marked A5.
Was this my room? The fifth room on the right side of the first floor. Fortunately, it was close to the exit, which I liked.
The room was just so-so. Maybe my standards had risen too high because of the Eight-Colored Shell Castle. Compared to an inn, it was an excellent room, but it wasn’t impressive enough to make me gasp.
There were two single beds. A small table, a wardrobe, a bookshelf, and, naturally, no TV.
On my bed lay a uniform wrapped in something covered by a thin membrane—not plastic.
My clothes.
I had a roommate…… So there was one. Was he sleeping? The adjacent bed was bulging upward, but it wasn’t moving.
I immediately took off my clothes and changed into the uniform. To think I’d be putting on a school uniform again at an age when I should have been done with them…… You never know what life has in store.
There happened to be a full-length mirror, so I stood in front of it. The pants were gray, while the blazer and shirt were white. The Melbrit emblem embroidered in gold on the coat was the same as on the women’s uniform.
This was just so-so, too.
Among the outfits I had seen in this world, it was overwhelmingly sophisticated, but to my eyes—having just been wearing modern clothes—it also looked a little old-fashioned.
Well, what could I do about it?
“Hmm?”
There was something in the blazer pocket.
It appeared to be a student handbook. The rules of Melbrit had been written out in meticulous detail inside. My desire to read it vanished immediately, and I put it back into the pocket.
What was I supposed to do from now on?
At that moment, words like those in my status menu appeared on the wall behind the bed.
12:00–2:00 is lunchtime. The cafeteria is now open. All students in the dormitory are requested to proceed there and finish their meals.
“Oh, what’s this?”
Magic, right?
Like augmented reality, a graphic blueprint of the Melbrit building unfolded before my eyes, guiding me on where to go.
It felt as though I had suddenly been transported to the near future…… But the longer I looked at it, the more familiar it seemed.
I reached out and touched what I had thought was a graphic, and it gently spread out like a volatile substance.
This feeling……
“A soul……”
It felt similar to the texture I had sensed when a soul entered a soul stone.
Were they making use of that energy? It was a strange feeling.
Then, the bulge on the bed that had remained as still as a corpse until now began to squirm.