Volume 2 Chapter 1.3
The Fraudsters' Everyday Life, Surely
the Ceasefire Agreement Will Not Be Upheld Part 3
Translator : PolterGlast
In front of the heavy
wooden door, which reminded her of its age, Nina took a deep breath.
─There are monsters lurking behind this door.
The information Jin
had obtained was correct. After <Hide and Seek> was over, Nina was
summoned to this conference room by Isabella.
Although she had not
met any of the students who had been exempted from the entrance exam except for
Bennett since the welcome party on the first day of school, Nina, who was not
as sharp-eared as Jin, had still heard a lot of bad rumors about them.
"...... Don't
worry. There is no need to be scared."
Nina chanted in a
voice that no one could hear.
If anything, perhaps
she is the one who is feared the most.
As a dangerous person
who has been infamous throughout the empire since childhood and who defeated
Bennett after only one month of enrollment, she will have to behave in a manner
befitting a truly dangerous person.
As soon as she stepped
into the conference room, Nina gave a fearless smile to the four monsters
around the round table.
"It's been a
while, everyone. How have you been?"
They looked at her as
if they wanted to shoot her dead.
Nina desperately held
back her desire to scream and run away, and put on the act of a monster that
could unleash its murderous intent at any moment.
Sweat on the face is
strictly forbidden.
A monster without a
human heart must always observe its surroundings with a calm gaze.
"...... You're pretty
good at pretending to be a decent person, huh?"
The person who
suddenly hurled a sarcastic remark at her was a girl who was sitting arrogantly
with her legs up on the table.
She has short,
jet-blue colored hair that is trimmed at the base of her neck. Her healthy
tanned skin is free of makeup, and her slender but supple limbs fully reveal
her physical prowess. Her eyes, which were a fiery red, were staring straight
at her.
"Karen Ashby, am
I right? I heard you're earning points at an amazing pace."
"Hee, it's nice
to be recognized by a celebrity like you."
"You don't have
to be so modest. You're probably the most prominent person in our grade right
now."
According to the chart
posted in front of the classroom building the other day, Karen currently holds
the most points in the school year. This not only shows her ability but also
her aggressive nature in that she is willing to challenge students to a
<duel> without regard to their feelings.
According to
information provided by Jin, she has an ability called <Jolly
Underwriter>, which specializes in destruction.
"I've always
wanted to talk to you."
"I'd be honored,
but I'm not in the mood for that right now."
─Ugh, your eyes scare me! Why are you getting so
involved with me!?
Normally, this is
someone one should never make an enemy of. Nina was doing her best to suppress
the feeling of wanting to start crying.
"Now, now. You
two, please don't fight-"
A male student sitting
in the back of the room interceded in a gentle voice.
"Nina-chan, this
seat is empty. Here, have a seat."
"......Thank
you."
Nina searched for
information in her brain again.
Casper Crawford. His
distinctive red hair and round eyes give him the impression of a half-breed
somehow. Since the details of his abilities had not been revealed, she had
imagined him to be a shy and secretive person, so she felt as though she had
been betrayed.
─Thank God, there is someone who seems to be kind as
well .......
Her relief was
short-lived, and her expectations were shattered the moment she sat down next
to him.
"Wow, you're
really cute up close....... What do you think? Would you like to go out with
me?"
"Pardon......!?"
Nina brushed off the
hand that was about to wrap around her shoulder and glared at Casper.
If one were to look
closely, silver jewelry shone on his wrists and fingers, and a T-shirt with a
flamboyant design made an impact on his blazer.
In short, he looked
exactly like a frivolous womanizer.
"Huh? What's the
matter? You've gone quiet. Do you have a low tolerance for romance?"
"Please stop
messing with me."
"Whoa, you
startled me! If you stare at me with such an intense gaze, you'll make me go
nuts......"
"I'll kill you, I
swear."
"Uhyoo! Hey, say
it again! This time look at me like I'm a piece of trash!"
Nina had never wished
that she had a psychic ability as much as she does now.
If the psychokinesis
known as the <Queen of Calamity> were real, she would tear this man's
limbs apart right now, and then .......
After a round of cruel
imaginations, Nina huffed.
─I have to suspect everyone who approaches me.
Just as Jin had said
before.
The boy beside her
might actually be the <shepherd's dog>. He might be trying to catch her
off guard by making her think that he is just a helpless womanizer, but behind
the scenes, he might be calmly probing her.
"So, Nina-chan.
When do you plan to respond to my confession?"
"You see,
Casper-san. I'm......."
"Oh! Are you
flustered because it's so sudden? All right, I'll wait until you realize how
you really feel."
"You lascivious
bastard!" a voice that made no attempt to hide its anger could be heard
from the other side of the round table. "Could you cut the crap, you
a*shole!?"
Karen Ashby, who had
previously confronted Nina, slammed the round table.
"Casper, your
disease is going to pollute the atmosphere. It would be better for the world if
you were butchered right now."
"Wha, that's a
terrible thing to say! I'm just excited about my new love!"
"It's not even
love. It's just a fit of emotion."
"O-Of course
not......!"
"Besides, you
flirted with my best friend the other day, remember? What the hell are you up
to?"
"I love
Satia-chan too, of course. And I want to go out with her."
"Haa......?"
Nina couldn't help but raise her voice as well.
"It's alright, I
can love everyone equally. You can surrender yourself to me with no
worries......"
*Crackle*.
The sound of crackling
ice echoed through the room.
All eyes were on the
object that appeared at the tip of Karen's outstretched palm. A translucent
mass no bigger than the tip of a pinky finger, glistening in the light of the
room.
With a small sigh,
Casper raised both hands in surrender.
"Haha,
Karen-chan...... don't tell me, you're going to use that in such a small
room?"
"It's your fault
for making me angry."
"I'm just
kidding, calm down. Some of us are going to die, you know?"
Under the round table,
Nina was trying hard to hide the trembling in her knees.
For ordinary people
like Nina, people with psychic abilities who can twist the laws of physics with
impunity are objects of terror.
Especially the four
people here were beyond even her comprehension.
All of them have
powers equal to or greater than the fearsome Bennett.
It is not just Karen,
who is about to go berserk, or Casper, who is smiling despite the murderous
intent directed at him. Alice Pearson, who maintains her fingernails without
worrying about such a perilous situation, and Gilrein Bloodnote, who wears a
tiger-patterned eye mask and is sleeping soundly, are also incomprehensible
monsters.
─Ugh, I want to go home ....... I can't wait to take a
bath and go to bed early ......
As she cried behind
her fearless smile, a rescue party finally showed up.
Instructor Isabella,
who entered the conference room with several armed subordinates in tow, said in
a cold voice.
"Don't play
around without my permission, you monsters. Do you want to be expelled right
now?"
After having her
subordinates lined up behind her, the instructor got straight to the main topic
without much of a prologue.
"You know why I
gathered you guys here, right, you bastards?"
Nina clearly felt that
Isabella was glaring at her, but she had no idea specifically why.
Could it be that she
has found out that Nina and Jin are not psychics?
No, if that were the
case, there would be no need to gather the other students.
"You know that
Bennett Rohr, who was exempted from the same entrance exam as you, was expelled
from school, right? After only one month of school at that. This is
unprecedented.
You hear me? Think
about why you are being given special treatment. The reason we exempted you
from the entrance exam and gave you an initial 1000 points, which is far above
the average, is because you were supposed to help us weed out the pigs from the
pack. It would be fine if you were to drop out in a year or two, when there are
only the best and strongest left in your grade, but to be dropped at a time
like this is outrageous."
Instructor Isabella
was clearly meeting Nina's eyes as she spoke. Although she thought about
refuting her, it seemed unlikely that she would give her any room to interject.
"Listen, you must
be aware that you are carrying the future of the empire on your shoulders. It
is unforgivable that, as a result of your careless actions, people who would
not normally have the ability to join the <White Knights> will survive
until the graduation ceremony."
Nina understood what
she meant.
Although Instructor
Isabella said a lot of things in a roundabout way, in essence, the reason why
they were gathered here was to put a nail in their head.
The reason for this is
to make sure that the students who are exempted from the entrance examination
don't crush each other any further.
"I understand~",
Casper replied with a goofy smile.
The others kept their
mouths shut, expressing indifference with their whole gestures. Everyone
present here was naturally aware of Instructor Isabella's true intentions.
But...
─No one would ever follow this kind of advice.......
What kind of attitude
should Nina take now, as she was being criticized?
How can she protect
her image of an unstable monster?
Nina constructs the
best course of action in her head.
As a conclusion, Nina
has to quietly leave the room, apparently.
"...... Where are
you going, Nina Stingray?"
"To the student
dormitory. I feel like taking a quick shower."
"We're not done
talking yet, though, are we?"
"If it's advice
worth heeding, I'm sure the rest of us will gladly heed it."
"Your Insensitivity
has gone so far as to be a felony. I meant it as advice for you."
"When I was a
child, I learned about this in history class. Thirty years ago, at the end of
the war, the Empire was trying to reach a cease-fire agreement with the rival
Republic. And yet the skies over the capital were suddenly filled with the
white light of a new type of bomb."
"What are you
implying?"
"Cease-fire
agreements are nonsense. I will not hesitate to fight whoever my opponent
is."
After taking one look
at all the people filling the round table, Nina continued.
"That's how it
is, everyone. Let's have a wonderful school life together from now on, shall
we?"
◇
"Uuuuu .......
That was definitely too much ......."
As soon as she reached
the hideout, Nina sat down on the concrete floor.
The huge gymnasium on
the outskirts of the school grounds where Bennett used to hold tournaments for
low-achieving students. It is a useless place in this school, where no proper
sports are played in class, and there are no passersby around it. This was one
of the few spoils of war they had seized from the previous battle.
Nina took a rain frog
doll, dressed in a sequined suit, out of her bag and began to talk about
something as if she were clinging to it.
"Gosh, no more
....... Of course everyone will target me if I declare war on them like that!
Why the hell did I do that!?"
She gripped it too
tightly, and the rain frog's face became greatly distorted. But Nina was in the
depths of despair, so there was no way she could notice such a thing.
"Ah, right! Let's
go apologize to everyone right now......"
"No, no, no, how
come you came to that conclusion?"
"Hyaaa~!?"
When she turned around
at the sudden voice, she saw Jin Kirihara, who was at the far end of the
warehouse, giving her a sarcastic look.
"H-How long have
you been there ......!?"
"I was sleeping
on a gymnastics mat, you see. ...... Or rather, have we had this kind of
exchange before?"
Nina came to her
senses and hastily hid the doll in her bag.
"It's not like I
have a habit of talking to myself! This is just, you know, an exercise for my
acting......"
"It looked so
genuine, though. It didn't look like an act at all."
"I-Is that so?
Looks like I was able to pull it off."
"Well, let's put
aside your mental condition for now and get to the point, shall we?"
"Ugh........."
Since any further
rebuttal would only make her miserable, Nina had no choice but to remain
silent.
After watching her
face contorted in frustration with satisfaction, Jin spoke up.
"So, how was it?
The meeting with the monsters?"
"It was ......
tough, very tough."
Nina switched her mind
and explained in detail what had just happened.
About the four members
of the entrance exam exemption group have a strong quirk. About Instructor
Isabella who clearly looked her in the eye and warned her. About her being had
no choice but to take a stubborn attitude against her own feelings.
"Well done. Full
marks for your performance."
"Really? I feel
like I just made more enemies unnecessarily, though."
"It's fine. If
the <shepherd's dog> was among the four, you would finally recognized as
a great danger to the academy."
"Eh, shouldn't it
be a bad thing, ......?"
"No, that's
fine", said Jin, his mouth twisted in a sly smile. "Let me tell you a
prediction. The <shepherd's dog> is going to ask you to form an alliance
with him/her."
"Eeeh?"
"I've told you
before, from now on you must be suspicious of everyone who approaches you.
Behind the smile on their face, they may be probing us. Therefore, we have to
clear their suspicions and at the same time extract useful information from
them. This is a very difficult mission."
"Wait a second,
Jin. Is it really going to be like what you predicted? When I left, everyone was in a very bad mood, you
know?"
"Then, wanna bet?
If one of the exempted students contacts you today, you have to do me a favor.
If my prediction were to fail, Nina can ask for something from me too."
"How is that even
a fair bet? ......"
Just as she was about
to agree, Nina realized that she was being deceived.
─This is how Jin always acts.
When this fraudster
offers such a proposal, he must already be fully prepared to win the bet.
"...... That was
close. Jin, you already figured something out, didn't you?"
"Tch, you caught
me. Even though it was so close."
"I'm not your
accomplice for nothing."
Nina felt proud for
some reason. Of course, she did not think it was a good thing for her to
develop such a liar's mindset.
Suddenly, Nina noticed
that Jin was staring at her with a satisfied expression.
"...... What is
it?"
"You see, my
impression of you has changed a lot since the first time we met. You're
starting to get the hang of it, just like a professional fraudster."
"What's up with
that?"
"I mean, you're a
lot better now."
"Well, umm ......
huh?"
When she was praised
like this, her eyes became unfocused.
Then she recalled the
faint feeling she had become aware of after the fight with Bennett.
Couldn't that
possibly be a momentary lapse of thought?
...... No, it
can't be.
Jin has been a
fraudster ever since I can remember, and he certainly knows how to get inside
people's heads. To be swayed like this, I'm still a failure as a scammer.
Nina somehow managed
to regain her composure.
"...... So, Jin.
Who is it that's trying to contact me?"
"Casper Crawford.
Last night, he suddenly sat down in front of me in the cafeteria."
─That man, huh .......
He regarded the
tension-filled conference room as nothing more than a hook-up spot, and it was
easy for her to imagine him approaching her with a nonchalant look on his face.
"Certainly, that
man is suspicious."
"Right?
Casper-kun is the first suspect I've identified."
"...... So, what
do you want me to do?"
"Well, for the
time being, I guess you'll just have to do what he wants."
Jin said so in a voice
that contained a hint of dismay.
"He wants an
alliance with you."
End of Chapter 1
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