Chapter 23: Special Assignment I'm hanging around Akito's house again today.
Am I spying on him?
No. I don't have a hobby of stalking men.
The fact that he's on his second playthrough is a bit concerning, but as long as he doesn't do anything weird, I have no intention of getting recklessly involved with him.
Though I've already stirred the pot a bit because of that bitch Chika…
Anyway, I came to Akito's house, but not because of Akito.
Please, just show up already. Isn't it about time? I even acted all cute to that damn shrine cat just to get a 'Great Luck' fortune.
Just as I was getting annoyed at having wasted a whole month with no harvest, I saw a woman wearing a backpack larger than her own body heading toward his house.
There she is, my Pungyu-hwan.
You know that game, right? The one where you raise a girl, claiming you'll make her a princess, but then you end up marrying her yourself?
The merchant who sells Pungyu-hwan in that game—the traveling merchant—exists in this game too.
She sells a lot of good items, but since Akito is the protagonist, she only visits him. There's no way she'd come to an extra like me, so I have to seek her out.
I can't even count how many hours I've wasted every morning waiting for her.
After waiting a bit, the merchant emerged, seemingly finished with her business with Akito.
"Hey."
When I called out, the woman with the backpack turned around.
The short woman, her purple hair tied in a ponytail, scanned me from head to toe and let out a smirk.
"Wow—what a handsome guy."
"I know I'm good-looking."
"But I don't know where you heard rumors about me, but I don't trade with just anyone."
For a peddler, she sure has a lot of pride.
How arrogant.
To teach this cocky peddler a lesson, I showed her my smartphone screen and turned on my 'hypnosis app.'
"…Ten, a hundred, a million, a hundred million…"
A hypnosis app? What's so special about that? You open a banking app and show your balance—that's real hypnosis.
The merchant, fallen under the 'hypnosis,' stared blankly at the screen before snapping out of it and meeting my eyes.
"You're Seo Yeon-woo."
"You know me?"
"You're quite famous in this industry. You've been dumping rare materials at the Prestige Hotel like crazy. You really are as handsome as the rumors say."
"Am I not even more handsome than the rumors?"
"Why are you so obsessed with that? So, why did you come looking for me? To eliminate a competitor?"
It seems I've become a famous figure in the industry before I knew it.
Then again, even if I tried to stay hidden at the auction house, I'm already best friends with the auction house otakus. How could I stay hidden?
Anyway, if she knows who I am, this conversation will be easier.
"I'm not a seller."
"Heh—you expect me to believe that after all you've sold? Do you know what people in the industry call you?"
"The Gorgeous Guy?"
"Why do you keep steering it toward your looks? Because you keep pouring out rare items, they call you 'The One Who Spews Gold.'"
…That's not a particularly cool nickname.
Just call me a Golden Goblin instead. 'Spewing'? That sounds gross.
"I'll still put useless things up for auction occasionally, but I won't be selling like I used to. Like I said, I'm not a professional dealer. I came today because I want to buy your wares. I'd like to trade regularly if possible."
"Ho-ho—for someone so famous to seek me out, I guess I must be pretty famous too."
I don't care if you're famous or not, just show me the goods.
After contemplating for a moment while scanning me again, the merchant smiled and held out her hand.
"Fine. But you can't buy my items just to flip them at the auction house."
"Why would I do something that loses me money?"
"True. Just so you know, my—Rebecca Hall's—items are quite expensive."
Rebecca, introducing herself as we shook hands, pulled out a tablet and showed it to me.
Oh, it looks similar to the game UI. Since she can't unpack her whole backpack, she sells things this way.
True to her reputation as the Pungyu-hwan merchant, there were various elixirs and rare materials.
There was equipment too, but buying that here would be a waste of money… but man, it really is expensive.
"This one."
"Oh, you have a good eye. Drink one bottle during training, and your efficiency doubles. But the ingredients are expensive, and it's made with a secret formula, so the price is… not very friendly, right? It's a bit much to use as a consumable."
"Yeah. I'll take everything from here to here. All of your stock."
"…That would be in the hundreds of millions… and that one is 400 million per bottle…"
Rebecca fell silent, searching my face to see if I was serious, before her attitude shifted instantly.
"Ah! Yes! I'll get them out right away! Are they too heavy? Should I deliver them to your house?"
"No need. I'll buy more when I run out, so make sure you have plenty of stock. Can I request rare materials too?"
"Mmm—I'll get what I can. But there will be a bit of a commission."
"Don't worry about it, tack on as much as you want."
"Kyah~ You're so cool, Boss! I'll bring you anything you need!"
After purchasing the items from Rebecca, who even gave me a salute to show her loyalty, we exchanged numbers.
"Contact me when you get the materials, and even if you don't, come find me if you get anything worth selling."
"Understood. I'll bring you something really sexy."
"Ah, and one more thing."
I hesitated for a moment before asking Rebecca.
"Akito. What did he buy?"
"Uh—I can't sell a customer's information… but~ it's different if it's you, Yeon-woo. You're not going to use it for anything bad, right? Like, you don't have a grudge against Mr. Akito?"
"I don't. I'm just curious."
"Hmm… nothing."
"Huh?"
"I couldn't sell him anything. He seemed interested in my goods, but he said he didn't have the money."
No matter how great the Akito family is, he wouldn't be able to buy items easily when the prices have been inflated 40 or 50 times.
It's not like your money carries over when you start a new playthrough.
"From now on, give Akito a 30% discount on everything he buys. I'll pay you the difference."
"Ho—I didn't know Mr. Akito had such a benefactor. Are you friends?"
"Not friends, and I'm not a benefactor."
"Ah, you're repaying a debt to the Daihara family. I understand."
Rebecca, coming to her own conclusion, nodded.
Akito's father is one of the twelve greatest mages in the world, and he's traveled all over, saving many people.
So, as the story progresses, Akito benefits greatly from his father's reputation.
'You're his son? I'll help you right away!'
'The grace I received from him… I can finally repay it now.'
'He saved my life, and I've lived until now because of him. Please use the life he saved however you wish.'
Whenever he hits a wall, someone shouts, "Oh! You're that guy's son? I'll do it for you!" It's used almost like a cheat code or a deus ex machina.
"Don't mention me; just make up some excuse to Akito."
"Don't let the left hand know what the right hand is doing. You're surprisingly cool."
"It's not 'surprisingly.' My face was always cool."
"The rumors about you being crazy are true too, I see."
After parting with Rebecca, I was a bit late for school because I had to drop the items off at home.
"Drink this."
"What is it?"
"Take one bottle before training. it'll help."
As soon as I arrived, I gave Yukina the potion I bought from Rebecca.
Mary and Jade, who were gathered and talking, whispered to each other with squinted eyes as I headed toward the Comedy Duo.
Since they're a group of natural socialites, the two of them started teasing Yukina loudly as soon as I left.
It's nice to see her getting along so well with her friends.
I pursued her partly because she's a heroine who disappears early on, but seeing Yukina enjoying a normal life away from the Geukryu Society gives me a sense of pride.
"Eating weird stuff again, I see. Nothing for me?"
"You just stick to your fattening soda."
Masayoshi clicked his tongue as he watched me consume health supplements and elixirs.
Among magic items, those with high efficacy are rarely released to the public, and most are handmade.
Naturally, since they aren't mass-produced, the packaging isn't great. The elixirs I bought from Rebecca looked like shabby medicine bottles from the outside, so no one could tell what they were.
"You and Rio both take so many vitamins, don't you? It's all useless."
"Why are you dragging me into this all of a sudden? Taking vitamins is good for you."
"The human body excretes any vitamins beyond its capacity through urine. You're just making expensive piss right now."
This guy Masayoshi… between the malicious apps and this, he surprisingly knows a lot.
Hearing his words, Rio thought deeply for a moment before muttering.
"Then it's good for women."
"What are you talking about… Huh? Are you a genius?"
"… …?"
I looked at them, wondering what they were talking about, and heard Rio and Masayoshi whispering about 'holy water' or something.
They started talking about how they'd definitely give vitamin supplements as gifts if they ever got girlfriends. My ears felt like they were rotting, so I wiped the conversation from my memory.
As I went back to studying, Derek walked in and told the practical training groups to gather.
Since we have to stay in a virtual space for a week, they were surprisingly thorough, having us train in the virtual space and undergo medical tests in preparation.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
"S-Sorry…"
"Do you even have a brain?! If you're going to do it like that, just quit!"
Ah, bliss.
We're supposed to enter the deserted island in two days, but that bitch Chika is just throwing tantrums, and 90% of what the Comedy Duo has said so far is "I'm sorry."
As the group gathered in the virtual space to coordinate, Chika kept screaming about one thing or another.
But it can't be helped. The stat difference is just too large.
Since it's an eroge, naturally, there have to be many female characters, and since you fight alongside them, the female characters' stats are naturally better. These guys are the comic relief characters, so their stats are naturally low.
It's only natural that it's natural.
Shit—that damn 'natural order' of things.
I could feel Derek's gaze watching us from a distance, so I couldn't even get angry at Chika's tyranny.
"We're training to bridge the gap because there's a difference between us."
"There's a limit to how much of a difference there can be! Why should I have to suffer because of these guys? If they're bad, they should work to get better. Do you think it's right to hold others back?"
Look at the way she talks.
Why is she crushing our boys' spirits?
But honestly, Rio, Masayoshi, you guys need to reflect a bit too. Stop trying to peek at girls' panties and just train.
"You're a style focused on physical combat. Naturally, your physical abilities under reinforcement magic are going to be high. Is it right to expect them to keep up with that?"
"Akito does it! Shiori is a bit lacking, but she follows along without complaining!"
"And?"
"What?"
"So where is that great Akito of yours? Is Shiori here too? I don't see them. Wasn't this Group 4? Ah, there they are. Look at how happy Akito looks with those other girls. He looks even happier without a nagging bitch around."
"You little…!"
In the end, while arguing with Chika, we were both gracefully suppressed by Derek.
Even after being restrained, Chika kept screaming that she was going to kill me, so Akito eventually had to run over to calm her down, and I was dragged away by Derek.
Once we were far enough away that I couldn't hear Akito soothing Chika, Derek spoke to me.
"I'm giving you a special assignment for this exam."
"Sir, I don't think it's good to discriminate against students. I prefer a fair world."
As soon as I heard 'special assignment,' I had a bad feeling and immediately refused.
However, this teacher named Derek was a very rigid man.
"The world is not fair."
"I know that, but you're supposed to lie and say it is."
"That's a decent joke. Regardless, you must do the special assignment. And it's not just you; I'll be giving assignments to several students based on their respective situations."
"…Is it because they're special? Or because they're problems?"
"Think what you will."
Ugh—I hate this.
Akito didn't have a special assignment, so that means this is 100% for the problem children.
I'm telling you, I'm not the problem; Chika and the Comedy Duo are.
Why do you keep picking on me?
I suppressed what I wanted to say and waited, and Derek continued.
"Chika Fraser has no sense of cooperation with anyone except Akito."
"Everyone knows that."
"Yes. It's a glaring problem. You solve it."
"…Wait a minute, isn't that a teacher's job? Why are you trying to dump it on me? You want me to turn that brat into a human being? Shouldn't that be a job for a child specialist or something? I'm just a student, I don't know any magic that turns dogs into humans—"
"Enough."
At Derek's word, I shut my mouth.
Instead, I poured my frustration into my gaze. Meeting my eyes, Derek spoke calmly.
"Chika, Rio, Masayoshi. Make these three work together as a team and reach the top 20%. If you do, I'll give you extra points."
"Uh—what if we leave out the word 'cooperation'?"
"Then you get nothing. This isn't an assignment to evaluate individual performance. However, there will be no penalty even if you fail."
If it doesn't affect my grades, then it's fine.
Instead, it's a no-risk, high-return deal where I get extra points if I succeed.
Wait, is it? Considering the stress I'll get from trying to make Chika a human being, is it actually ultra-high risk?
"Types like Chika Fraser won't listen even if a teacher gives them advice."
"That's accurate. Yggdrasil's analytical skills are indeed 100%."
"Using you, who is in a position she can relate to—as a peer, a rival, and a teammate—is also part of education. I don't expect much in the way of cooperation. Just provide a small motivation. The rest is the teacher's responsibility."
"Hmm—so it's for Chika's sake."
"It's also for your evaluation."
Is he testing things like leadership?
Since he mentioned the Comedy Duo as well as Chika, that seems right.
A week of pure hell has been scheduled.
Offering a silent prayer for my future self, I decided to try my best.
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