Volume 2 Chapter 3.1
A Shady Business, Secret Training, and
a Glimmering Sense of Unrest Part 1
Translator : PolterGlast
A boring afternoon, a
boring class.
Even for Jin, who had
never lived a proper school life, the basic history lecture did not feel
refreshing.
More than 30 years
ago, our beloved country continued to expand its territory aimlessly through
imperialism, which was considered old-fashioned even at that time. Eventually,
as the war budget ran out and it became difficult to maintain the war's front
lines, which had spread thoughtlessly, the empire began to be overrun by the
Republic, which boasted the most advanced science and technology.
When a new bomb
dropped on the capital and killed a large number of innocent people, the upper
echelons of the empire finally signed a written declaration of surrender.
"A year later,
you psychics suddenly appeared in the devastated empire."
The instructor, Rudy,
concluded with a stifled yawn and turned to the next page of his textbook with
a somber expression on his face.
The Heiberg National
Academy for the Psychics is an extremely competition-oriented society with an
emphasis on real-world competition. It may not be a bad thing that they don't
put much effort into classroom learning, but being subjected to endless
lectures about common knowledge that everyone already knows is almost like
torture. In the first place, in the month and a half since they entered the
school, they have only learned a short history of psychics since they first
appeared.
Moreover, Rudy, who
delivers the lectures in a tedious manner, is a close collaborator of Jin and
Nina. Thanks to his help in falsifying the reports, they are able to pass the
<ability measurement>, in which they have to show the degree of growth of
their abilities in front of the instructor every month.
Therefore, Jin is
never criticized for not taking his classes seriously.
Jin plopped down on
his desk and pretended to be asleep while thinking back to the conversation he
eavesdropped on this morning.
In order to reply to
Karen about the alliance, Nina went to the woods behind the first girls'
dormitory. To get a better idea of the characteristics of the person he was
about to deceive, he had Nina carry a listening device.
[...... So you come,
Stingray. Can I hear your reply?]
Her tone was clear and
direct.
The fact that she
suddenly tried to get right to the point at the very first word showed how
intuitive and highly self-confident her personality was. And the fact that she
stubbornly referred to her negotiation partner by the family name indicated
that she was cautious and wanted to draw a line between her and the other
party. Although she never uttered a word until the very end, according to Nina,
Karen seemed to have brought along her maid, Satya, as well.
Normally, it would be
best not to target these types of people for fraud.
[Before we form an
alliance, there are a few things I want to make sure of.]
As instructed in
advance, Nina stated so.
[One is about how to
distribute the points after defeating Casper-san.]
[Since I'm the one who
actually fights him, 30% should be enough, right?]
Always trying to gain
an advantage over the other party is a trait closely tied to someone with a
high level of competitive spirit.
[How long do you want
the alliance to last?]
[Until we destroy that
idiot, of course. After that, the alliance will become invalid. The next person
I'm going to target might as well be you.]
[I like your
straightforwardness. I feel more at ease that way.]
Jin smiled wryly at
Karen's insistence on provoking the other party at every turn.
However, the fact that
she was so careful suggests that she has no intention of betraying Nina, at
least not until the alliance is broken.
[Now, one last thing.]
Here, Jin had Nina
plant a slow-acting poison.
[From now on, when we
are going to meet, I would like to specify a place. It should be indoors, with
no pedestrians around and preferably without windows, so that I don't have to
worry about being watched with a telescope from afar.]
[Of course, we must
not allow anyone to know about our alliance, but ...... do we have to go that
far?]
[I got influenced by
my brothers who are in the <White Knights>, I guess. Uninvited rats are
lurking everywhere, you know. ...... Well, it's just a precaution.]
[I see your point, but
I don't like the idea of using such a place you've designated. So I'll let
Satya find a suitable place for us, is that okay?]
[...... Yes, that's
fine.]
As if to say that her
business was finished, Karen quickly left the place along with her maid Satya.
It is somewhat
unusual for a spy who is required to act in secrecy to be so aggressive, but it
is possible that this is also calculated to keep her connection to the academy
from being known. As long as she is always seeking trouble and starting
<duel> on a regular basis, she would not be prone to any unnecessary
suspicion when it comes time to eliminate the academy's enemies.
In that sense,
this alliance is a very clever move of her. She would be able to eliminate
Casper, whose behavior is suspicious, and at the same time, investigate Nina.
However, there
is only so much information that can be gleaned from the muffled audio. With
the current cards I have, it is difficult to determine that Karen is the
<shepherd's dog>.
I guess this
big job will take a lot more time.
"Jin-kun. Good
morning~, class is over, you know?"
Emma tapped Jin on the
shoulder, and he gave her a blatantly sour look.
"I was not
sleeping. I was just thinking."
"Hee, what were
you thinking about?"
"I was thinking
about how wonderful love is, how precious life is, and stuff like that."
"I can't believe
it if you said it with such a straight face......"
"You too, Emma,
you were looking unusually gloomy today, you know that? Did something
happen?"
"Eh, I'm
surprised you noticed. Actually, my friend Kate has been expelled from school."
"No way, that's
terrible."
It was a half-hearted
response, even for Jin.
Nina, who was packing
her stuff next to Emma, was also looking at her with a dumbfounded gaze.
The girl named Kate is
actually Nina Stingray, disguised in a wig and contact lenses. It was just a
temporary face that she was using to manipulate information.
Her disguise and
acting skills are astonishing, at a level that even Emma, who is usually with
Nina, cannot recognize, but Kate cannot be allowed to exist indefinitely.
To begin with, Kate is
a student who does not exist on paper, and there is a limitation that she
cannot physically appear when Nina is present. Whenever the time came for
classmates' names and faces to be identified, Kate would be exposed, so the
only way was to spread the rumor that she had voluntarily dropped out of the
school.
Of course, they also
have prepared new units such as [Margot] and [Aria] as intelligence agents, but
just to be safe, they won't allow Emma to see them.
"This academy is
really a tough place, huh......"
"It doesn't
necessarily mean that all the students who dropped out of the school are
unhappy. Apparently, once we lose our memories of this place, we can transfer
to a private training school, and if we give up our dream of becoming a member
of the <White Knights>, we can get a good-paying job."
"I see, that's
true! I hope Kate-chan is doing well."
Even the stone-hearted
Jin is beginning to worry, wondering if this girl will really be all right.
Even though she has
the psychic ability to enhance her physical abilities, which is easy to use, it
may be difficult for her to succeed at the Heiberg Academy if she is this pure.
Suddenly, Jin recalled
the line he previously said to Nina.
─There is nothing more dangerous in this world than a
seemingly harmless fraudster.
If Emma is a
<shepherd's dog> and she is approaching us to find out how dangerous we
are, then she is a very skilled fraudster.
Not only Jin, who has
been distrustful of people since childhood, but also Nina, who is a first-rate
actress, could not pull it off.
How could it be
possible for someone to have been with Jin for such a long time and not show
the slightest error in their acting?
"......By the
way, Emma. Why are you wearing gym clothes all by yourself?"
"Ah, I mistook
the timetable for tomorrow...... You see, tomorrow is physical training from
the first period, right?"
"Unbelievable,
such a classic mistake!?"
"Jin-kun, please
don't tell anyone, it's embarrassing."
The character portrayed
by the task required of <shepherd's dog> is that of a perfectionist whose
character is meticulous and careful, and who never leaves any stone unturned.
Unless one is a monster like Nina, human nature will ooze out, even if one is
performing an act a little bit.
In all likelihood,
Emma does not fit that profile.
─Well, I should be cautious, just in case.
Jin let out a sigh and
waved at Emma as she ran out of the classroom.
-----
Thank you for my Patrons !!
[Platinum]
Aiden Elliott
Elite
Matthew Shuler
Swagaraga
[Gold]
-
[Silver]
Adrian Betancourt
ArUnInAcTiOn
CoolmanMTD
Creris
Glasses Kun
Pristia
Thiago Leite Denedai
Anton Lim
Ctdela
Curious Panda
Duncan Rodgers
Read Advanced Chapters only on my Patreon
-----
