Chapter 7

After a while, the priests brought several large boxes into the cathedral.

It seems that the distribution of equipment to us is about to begin.

As the boxes were piled up, the high-ranking classmates started to be called.

"Let's begin the distribution of equipment. First, Mr. Tanaka and Mr. Yoshida of A-rank, please come this way."

The two were led to separate rooms by the priests.

It seems that Yoshida-san had a female priest with her, and since she is A-rank, the priests will help her change.

It's like being treated like nobility or royalty.

"Next, the 22 B-rank students. We will hand you boxes containing your equipment, so please line up here."

Next are the B-rank heroes, the largest group.

Since there are quite a few B-rank students, it seems the priests won't help them change.

Each student is given a wooden box containing their equipment.

Equipment that didn't fit in the boxes peeked out.

It looks like holy silver equipment.

The equipment is white and has a clean appearance.

Holy silver equipment is used by elite units of the knight corps and mage corps.

Made from the precious metal holy silver, which repels evil, this equipment has excellent magic resistance, is lightweight, and is very expensive.

If I were to compare it to Japanese yen, I think one set would be worth about 100 million yen.

I'm impressed that they managed to gather 22 sets of this.

Of course, if they prepare such things, our meals as bottom-tier heroes will be affected.

After receiving the boxes, the students receive a brief lecture on how to use the equipment from the priests, and the male students start to change out of their blazers and trousers.

One after another, the girls let out high-pitched squeals.

They're not really crying out in earnest.

It looks like they're covering their eyes with their hands, but many of them are peeking through the gaps in their fingers at the boys in their underwear.

The girls seem to be very interested in the opposite sex's nudity.

Once the boys finish changing, they look like makeshift knights.

You guys look pretty good.

Pretty cool.

Some of them, wearing armor, are so hyped up that they start playing pretend sword fights.

But, that's real, so if you mess around, you'll die.

The girls, apparently concerned about the surrounding gazes, move to another room to change.

It's a bit disappointing that I can't see Kyoko, the class idol, changing.

While I was thinking about that, Tanaka and Yoshida, who had gone to change, came back.

They were wearing pure white equipment adorned with gold and silver jewels.

Tanaka was wearing plate armor, and Yoshida was wearing a cloth robe.

Both were faintly glowing.

The gasps of admiration from the crowd.

Wow, guys!

They're sparkling.

Heroic equipment!

This is high-performance equipment, almost at the level of legendary equipment, which is the highest grade.

A set must cost around 1 billion gold, right?

I've never worn anything like this.

In my case, since my base stats are high, equipment is just a minor adjustment, so I don't need to be particular about it.

But, seeing heroic equipment right in front of me, I kind of want to try it on.

Honestly, I'm a bit envious.

With high magic resistance, extremely light, and boosts to strength, magic power, accuracy, and experience points, it's an excellent piece of equipment.

Equipment that only royalty is allowed to wear.

To be given such things, how much are Tanaka and Yoshida expected to do?

"C-rank, 11 students, please gather."

I thought C-rank would get good stuff too, but the grade suddenly dropped.

It's pitch-black armor, black ore equipment.

It's a relatively high-grade equipment, but it can be bought at a weapon shop.

Even though it's relatively high-grade, it's something that adventurers can afford, so the performance is questionable.

It has about half the defense of holy silver equipment, but it's very heavy and has no stat boosts.

I noticed that Mr. Sago, the teacher, was also C-rank.

He looked resentful when he saw the equipment, which clearly looked inferior compared to B-rank.

The mood among the C-rank students was quite somber.

Soon, D-rank was called.

"D-rank, 3 students, and E-rank, 1 student, please gather."

The word "E-rank" drew a lot of attention from the high-ranking students in the cathedral.

It's a bit embarrassing.

I didn't want to be mistaken for a D-rank girl, so I spoke up loudly.

Standing up straight and proud.

"I'm E-rank, Takayama!"

Laughter erupted from the classmates behind me, but I ignored it.

What I received was a dirty copper dagger and a tattered traveler's outfit.

The traveler's outfit is a one-piece robe-like garment, like a poncho.

It looks very used and tattered, clearly a second-hand item.

When I wear it, it's short, so it exposes my thighs and calves, making me look quite ridiculous.

I'll definitely be laughed at.

I need to prepare some pants to cover my legs later.

For now, I'll keep wearing my uniform pants.

The dagger also looks second-hand, with a chipped blade, and it doesn't seem as sharp as my 10-yen knife.

It's probably a makeshift item picked up from some junkyard.

The girls' equipment consists of a brown linen coat, a linen tunic, and a wooden staff.

It's a cheap set that can be bought for about 3,000 gold at a weapon shop.

It looked new, but it was quite poor quality.

Seeing this, Ishikawa barked.

"What the hell! Tanaka and Yoshida were always outcasts in class, but why do they get such beautiful equipment just because they're A-rank? Tanaka has a sparkling armor, and Yoshida has a beautiful white robe like a dress. Compared to that, ours look like something a homeless person would wear! The treatment is way too different just because we're D-rank!"

The priest tried to calm her down.

"Don't be so angry. If you perform well in training, your rank will improve. When that happens, your treatment will get better too."

"Really? I'll work hard!"

Ishikawa's mood improved with those simple words.

She's so gullible.

The three D-rank girls went back to their room to change.

Yeah, they look miserable!

They look really bad.

Kagawa, the cute little girl, lost her cute aura and now looks like a dirty street child.

Once everyone had received their equipment, Princess Aura appeared.

She held a transparent, volleyball-sized spherical covenant crystal.

We're going to make a blood covenant with this crystal.

This is going to be a bit troublesome.

"Next, we will perform a blood covenant using the covenant crystal. Please form groups of four and make the covenant. Since there are only two A-rank students, Mr. Tanaka and Ms. Yoshida, please make the covenant together."

Yoshida, wearing a white robe, raised her hand to ask a question.

"What kind of contract is a blood covenant?"

"I'll tell you the truth since there's no point in hiding it. Have you heard of the term 'fate-sharing group'?"

"Yes, it's a group that shares the same fate no matter what happens."

"Exactly. You understand well. It's exactly the same. When you make a blood covenant, if one person earns experience points, the others who made the covenant will also earn the same experience points simultaneously. So, if one member defeats an enemy, the others will also gain experience points. In simple terms, if four people make a covenant, the experience points will be quadrupled."

"Wow!""Really?""That's amazing!"

The classmates let out gasps of admiration. Yoshida raised her hand again to ask another question.

"Are there any disadvantages?"

"If you work hard normally, there are no disadvantages."

"I don't think there's such a good deal. Do you have any proof that there are no disadvantages?"

"The blue gem behind me is called the Judgement Gem. It can detect lies. If you lie in front of this gem, it will glow red, and if you tell the truth, it will glow blue. If it glows red, it means I'm not lying. If you think I'm lying, you can try lying in front of this gem."

"I'll try it!"

Yoshida stood in front of the gem. Princess Aura asked questions, and Yoshida answered.

"Yoshida, I'll ask you some questions, and you answer with 'yes.'"

"Understood."

"Let's start. Are you a girl?""Yes."

The gem glowed blue. It seems she wasn't lying.

"Do you have a boyfriend?""Yes."

The gem glowed red. It was a lie. She seems to be looking for a boyfriend. Yoshida looked a bit embarrassed.

"Do you have someone you like?""Yes."

The gem glowed blue, but Yoshida's face turned red instead.

Yoshida really likes Tanaka, it seems.

She's embarrassed and afraid of being rejected, so she hasn't confessed yet.

"Is that person Tanaka?"

Wow! What a question! Completely ignoring a girl's bashfulness! Hearing this, Yoshida didn't say "yes" but shouted in anger.

"Why do I have to say such a thing!?"

Yoshida ran out of the cathedral without answering.

Tanaka, whose face turned red instead of the gem, chased after her.

Yoshida really likes Tanaka, it seems.

Laughter erupted from the cathedral.

Still, Princess, don't ask questions that will make Yoshida cry.

Yoshida is the top hero, right?

If I were in her shoes, I might cry if asked such a thing in front of everyone.

Princess Aura, seemingly relieved that the troublesome person was gone, continued with a smile.

"Everyone, did you understand that I wasn't lying?"

I knew it.

Princess Aura wasn't lying.

But she wasn't telling the whole truth either.

The blood covenant, while sharing experience points, also binds the group together until the goal is achieved. It's a curse that prevents members from leaving the group or fleeing until the goal of "defeating the Demon King" is achieved.

The princess said, "If you work hard normally to defeat the Demon King, there are no disadvantages."

In other words, if you stop working hard to defeat the Demon King, there are disadvantages.

Furthermore, those disadvantages include the death of the fleeing member.

This princess is clearly suspicious, and my experience as an expert in other-world transfers warns me.