BXBX NOVEL Chapter 17 – Busy Freshman (1)
Chapter 17 – Busy Freshman (1)
Chapter 17 – Busy Freshman (1)
From the day after the friendly match, the teachers of the Cradle had to go into emergency mode.
“What the hell is going on…”
“Thanks to this, we get extra overtime pay. Think positive.”
“That’s a good thing. But it’s the first time this has happened, so I’m a little flustered.”
The teachers gathered in one place, looking at something with worried eyes. There was a very large magic stone.
To be precise, a magic stone with a large crack on its surface. It was a Seal stone, which prevents the appearance of Gates.
“This is the first time I’ve ever seen a Seal stone damaged by a friendly match.”
“Well. I guess you can think of it as witnessing a historic moment.”
“Isn’t this the first time since Senior Saber did that?”
The teachers talked for a while, then sighed again.
Seal Stone. A special magic stone was made through a special magic process. If that huge thing takes its place, it interferes with the creation of Gates.
Therefore, it was natural that stones were placed in important facilities.
The Imperial Palace, the capital, the castles of each noble family, important cities, and even the Cradle.
“The cost of repairing this will not be insignificant…”
“Cost is not the only problem. What about the materials? We can’t just get them.”
As effective as it had been, it took a lot of effort to make.
Of course, it costs a lot of money. There were a lot of additional things that came with it. Especially, the main ingredients of Seal Stone were all made from byproducts of monsters. They were extremely rare, so even the Empire had not yet been able to mass-produce this Seal stone.
For that reason, there were a total of eight Seal stones in this Cradle. Except for the Imperial Palace and the capital, where twelve Seal stones are placed, this was the place with the most stones placed in the Empire.
It was proof of how important the Cradle was perceived to be in the Empire.
Anyway, one of the eight Seal stones was broken. And it was not at a minor level, but serious enough to stop working.
“What about the spare Seal stones?” Are there none at all?”
“As a result of the inspection last winter, two Seal stones were found to be worn out. They were replaced with the spare ones we had at the time, and those two are still being adjusted in the repair room.”
“So, in the end, there are no stones in the Cradle that can replace this one.”
The Empire’s territory was vast, and there were an abundance of places that needed Seal stones. On the other hand, only about a hundred Seal stones had been produced so far and they were all in use.
The Cradle had been allocated a total of ten Seal stones, which was 10 percent of the total. Even for the Cradle, it was impossible to get more stones than this. That was the situation. The only option left was to wait until the spares in the repair room were ready.
“There’s no other way. The teachers will have to take turns on emergency duty.”
“It’s possible that a Gate could appear in the Cradle. Should we try to think of this positively?”
“You mean give the students some practical experience? Well, I’m against it.”
With one Seal stone missing, there was a chance that a Gate could appear in that area.
The good news was that there were no civilian or public residential areas nearby. The only thing was that this area was teeming with people with special abilities.
“What are the main culprits of this absurd incident doing now?”
“Luciel Marg…ahem. Student Luciel is still in the infirmary bed. She has regained consciousness, but she will have to undergo various tests, so her discharge will be delayed.”
Then, what about student Deus? They both collided so why was only one hospitalized? Tiamat, who had been silent until now, burst out laughing at the question of some teachers.
“Hehehe! That guy! Hahaha! Seriously. I can’t believe it. They examined him and said he was perfectly fine! In fact, he was so fine that the infirmary said, ‘What the hell is this? It’s scary!'”
“…No joke, I’m really scared too.”
At one teacher’s words, the other teachers nodded in agreement.
Luciel Margretel was the disciple of Saber, the most talented individual they greatly admired. It was said that Luciel had become almost at the level of their teacher.
That student had barely regained consciousness and was still in the hospital room. She even had a huge fight that damaged the sturdy Seal stone!
‘The other one is walking around the Cradle just fine…’
‘Is this really what a freshman should look like?’
‘Hehehe! Student Deus! He’s the best! Ah, if only he had entered a little earlier!!!!’
Each with their own thoughts, the teachers decided to draw up a personnel schedule.
Since they had to stand guard around the area until the Seal stone was operational again.
****
“…You know when I look at you. I think you’re just a man after all.”
What was this all of a sudden? Telling a man he’s like a man. As Deus tilted his head, Neferti sighed.
“Junior. You haven’t been to Senior Luciel’s hospital room once, have you?”
“Yes.”
“You haven’t been to the teachers who are guarding the damaged Seal stone either.”
“That’s correct.”
That was exactly the problem. Neferti put her hand on her forehead.
“Listen, junior. She hasn’t been discharged yet, so first take some flowers and visit her in the hospital. Then take some drinks to the teachers… ugh!!”
Having seen it several times, he knew that catching her before she fell didn’t really help. She was the type who had to fall down no matter what. He was used to this. Thus, Deus quietly looked at Neferti and held out his hand.
“No one is really blaming me, senior.”
“Of course. You didn’t do this on purpose. It happened during a friendly match, so everyone understands.”
And to be honest, who would dare blame you to your face? Their backs could be folded in half and they could die. She swallowed those words.
“But still you should do it.”
“Hmm…”
In fact, Deus didn’t feel completely unapologetic. It wasn’t intentional but he was the cause of everything, wasn’t he?
“Actually, I was planning to finish all my exercises for today before going.”
“Not before you go! You should exercise after you get back! Got it, junior?”
“Is it really not possible to finish it beforehand?”
“No, it’s not!”
That wouldn’t do. They decided to leave immediately. However, first, they needed to stop by the teachers’ place. They couldn’t go empty-handed. They thought it would be appropriate to purchase something like drinks.
Just as he was about to agree with her suggestion,
‘Oh. Now that I think about it.’
Deus suddenly remembered something and turned to Neferti.
“Thank you once again, President.”
“What?”
“For setting up that personal training space for me in the basement of the main building, I heard you had to pull some strings for that.”
Being the Student Council President of Cradle, he thought such a thing would be easy. But it wasn’t. Even as the President allocating a space intended for official use to an individual student was a clear overreach of authority.
“Well… It would be a lie to say it wasn’t troublesome. But!”
—Swish!
She unfurled her fan with force, letting out her characteristic ‘Ohohoho!’ laugh.
“As Student Council President, it’s my duty to fully support a talented junior! Besides that room needed to be used urgently before it got shut down! Ohohoho!”
So, it wasn’t entirely out of pure goodwill. No wonder the pact almost activated but didn’t.
“Thanks to you, I can train without worrying about anyone’s attention.”
Attention? You? Neferti was puzzled for a moment but decided to save her questions for later. Now was the time to guide this scary yet kind junior on the right path.
“Alright then. Let’s go as I said. Quickly, junior.”
“By the way, I’m a bit tight on money. Is there any way we can manage that?”
“Are you asking me to buy it for you?”
“Absolutely not.”
He won’t get any more help than that anyway. Look at this. The pact was practically glowing as if it was about to snap his wrist off. Money is as important as fighting, isn’t it?
“Then, how about getting a part-time job?”
“Students do part-time jobs here?”
“This is the Cradle. It’s not just an educational institution but a whole city… Anyway, that’s why when we’re short on manpower, we sometimes hire students for part-time jobs.”
Nerferti had a few places in her mind. Hmm, she wonders if they’ll hire him there… Neferti, who had been stroking her chin for a moment, falls over again with an ‘Ugh!’
“Ugh… Anyway, if you need money, it might be better to join a dispatch team.”
“Why’s that?”
“Dispatch teams can officially enter Gates. They get a share of the loot so they end up earning an income.”
They hadn’t even paid taxes! That was pretty impressive.
The two of them continued their conversation as they walked.
***
—Meow!
Ah! Finally! I’m free from that monstrous human!
Jojo walked around the Cradle with a happy step. The screams of the students who found her cute were a pleasure to hear.
Of course, she never allowed anyone to touch her. No one in the world deserves that right!
…Ah. No, wait. There might be one person.
—Woooow!!
As she turned into an alley, she heard a strange sound. Turning her head to see, she realized, Oh dear, it was another alley cat that had been bothering her before!
It had been an older cat, naturally much larger. From Jojo’s perspective, the correct action had always been to flee whenever she encountered that cat.
Well, that was the case until now.
—Haaack!!
However, this time Jojo didn’t back down. Instead, she boldly confronted the other cat.
There was one thing she’d learned from being around that monstrous human.
With her ‘meow meow punch,’ she can defeat a punk like this!
—Myaaaaa!!
—Weeoooong!!
An intense brawl between the two cats unfolded in just two seconds.
A moment later, one cat turned and disappeared between the buildings.
Of course, the winner was Jojo who had undergone special training(?).