Chapter 44

<043. The Banner of Rebellion>

The long day was finally over.

Feeling light-footed after a fulfilling day of work, I headed back to the convenience store.

“Well, I’ll be off then.”

“You’ve worked hard. Aila.”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

With that, Aila gracefully retreated.

I let out a sigh as I arrived at the convenience store.

“Phew.”

I was really exhausted to the point of death.

However, there was still work to be done.

While making sure not to overeat, I consumed the cake with the Half Berserk effect.

Swish. My mana decreased.

Wolfram’s mana was reduced by 3.

My stamina and strength increased by half the amount of mana consumed, and an incredible vitality surged through my body.

“This is the 3.5 domain.”

I had a rough idea.

The duration of the buff was, as expected, 20 minutes.

“The most dangerous time. Is there a gap for a single move?”

I am weak now. I need to use all the cards I have, and this Half Berserk cake, which can boost my stamina by 1.5, might be unexpectedly useful.

I forced myself to get up. There was no time. What I needed to do now was prepare for tomorrow.

I cleaned up and finished preparing for business. I put the doughnuts in the freezer and pushed the cream in as well. I adjusted the freezer to a lower setting to function as a refrigerator and finished cleaning. I did everything quickly, within 20 minutes.

“Just because I won today’s battle doesn’t mean I can rest tomorrow.”

That’s what it means to be self-employed.

The sun will rise tomorrow, and I’ll have to do business again.

That’s how I live.

When everything was done, I felt satisfied and lay down on the mat.

Tomorrow, another day will begin.

***

The next day, I rested due to muscle pain.

***

“......”

My head throbbed. My body felt as limp as a water-soaked sponge. On second thought, it was only natural.

In D/Z SAGA, the official Berserk skill always has a ‘feedback.’ In other words, if you boost your stamina by consuming mana, you will later suffer the damage equivalent to that amount.

In my case, I had boosted my stamina by 75% from 2 to 3.5, so I received the full feedback.

Somehow, I managed to pull myself together and get up. I wondered if I was taking too many days off, but the midterm exams were still a bit away.

“More importantly, 1-3 comes first.”

The opening ceremony. Aila’s defeat in the tutorial.

The ghost incident in the dormitory.

The midnight escape from the dormitory.

And the end of Act 1 approaching.

Each act is mostly composed of boss battles, so naturally, there’s a boss battle in 1-3.

“Quite an important turning point.”

While I was organizing my thoughts, I heard a knock. Turning my head, I saw a pink chick standing outside the door, looking at me cautiously.

“Milttayo”

“...Hello, senpai.”

“Hello?”

“Thank you very much, senpai.”

The chick, with a bandage shaped like a chick on her face, looked extremely tired but smiled brightly.

***

I brought out two smoothies and sat down.

“What’s with the fidgeting?”

“Huh?”

“Drink up.”

“Yes, yes.”

The chick, who had been looking around nervously, squeaked in surprise at my call.

After taking a sip of the smoothie, the chick let out a few deep breaths and soon nodded, looking more relaxed.

“Senpai, I don’t know where to start...”

“Tell me the result of the battle first.”

“Oh, right. Yes. Um, hmm. So... I won. ...Hehe.”

“Is that so.”

Although I said that, I was quite surprised.

Milttayo, the failing student, had defeated the hero Kelthers.

“Can you explain how you won?”

“I did as you taught me, senpai.”

Did I teach her something?

Ah.

“Bang.”

“Bang.”

We both spoke at the same time.

It was just one syllable, but I understood everything.

I see. Bang.

It’s a technique that can be used in the game.

When facing a water and fire composite character.

If you successfully defend or immunize against a few close-range attacks, the AI opponent will step back to prepare a spell.

If you ambush or assassinate during the casting time, you have a high chance of success.

However, that’s just a story in the game.

How many times did this girl roll to make Kelthers cast a spell? How many attacks did she allow to get Kelthers to use magic?

Kelthers is different. His existence is a cheat.

She overcame it with only her unwavering will and landed a blow.

In a sense, it was no exaggeration to say she created a miracle.

“How many times did you fall?”

“...Huh?”

“How many times did you fall while fighting Kelthers?”

“I don’t remember how many times I rolled... but I think I got hit about a hundred times.”

“...”

Milttayo laughed, “Hehe.”

A hundred times.

When the Half Berserk effect wears off after twenty minutes, Milttayo’s victory would have been impossible. So, she allowed over a hundred attacks within twenty minutes.

Still, she got up and landed a blow on Kelthers.

“Your knees must be scraped and your palms torn. It must have hurt a lot.”

“...Yes, it hurt a lot.”

“Still, you did it. Good job. You tried hard.”

“...Yes!”

Milttayo raised her gloved left hand, making a V sign, and replied with a radiant smile I had never seen before.

Ah, the gloves.

“Those gloves must have helped, right?”

“Yes, yes...? ...Ah, yes! They helped a lot... but not that much. Well, they did help a lot.”

“Be clear.”

“Well, when I thought you were beside me... I felt... I could attack faster...”

“Did you feel you could attack faster?”

“Yes, yes... when I thought you were beside me...”

“That’s right. You did attack faster.”

I nodded, and Milttayo’s face turned bright red.

“W-Well, that means... our hearts were connected... at that moment.”

“...”

“Gloves. I really appreciate them, senpai.”

Suddenly, she became very formal.

“I’ll return them.”

A bit cold, too?

“Well, I’m glad you found them useful.”

“Yes, thank you. Thanks to you, I won.”

No.

That’s not it.

“Nonsense.”

“Huh?”

“It’s all thanks to your effort. You achieved it on your own.”

“...Oh.”

The chick puffed out her cheeks and looked at me with a red face.

Why is she doing this?

***

After the chick left, I decided not to do business today.

I still had muscle pain, so I absentmindedly tidied up outside the convenience store and dragged a chair over to sit down.

Jefrin’s seasons are the same as Earth’s, and the date notation is the same. They don’t use names like ‘Sakuzuki’ or ‘Jougen’ for months; it’s just from January to December, and from the 1st to the 31st. It might seem bland, but that’s part of the charm of D/Z SAGA, where the settings are casually and loosely defined.

So, it’s early May now. The most pleasant time of spring.

As I dozed off, enjoying the gentle scent of flowers,

“Is Wolfram here?”

“...Hmm. Aila?”

“Oh, meditating in such a place? Were you thinking about rebellion again? Wolfram, really.”

Aila laughed as she said this.

How can she have such a convenient way of thinking?

“What’s up?”

“First, take this.”

Aila handed me a bundle of banknotes.

“Five hundred thousand rin, a hundred sheets. It’s the reward.”

“...Why are you bringing it?”

“I manage the distribution rights for all items that appear in Magical Pastry, right? After I declared that, the reward was transferred to me. They told me to pass it on.”

“Makes sense.”

They probably thought it was fine to give it to me since I had been monopolizing the distribution rights until now. What a bunch of incompetent professors.

“And on a different note, the professors asked me to request something from Wolfram.”

“Request? What kind of request?”

“They want to somehow get a pair of the wings of rebellion that Wolfram created. It’s disgusting. How dare they, a bunch of rejects. I refused them.”

“...I see. So that’s what it means.”

“Yeah, that’s what it means.”

Surprisingly, I had no idea.

What does that mean?

“An endless number of revolutions and innovations led by Magical Pastry. Under the artistic banner of rebellion, such rejects are unnecessary. Even if you gave them, only the truly selected ones would be worthy.”

“...”

Ah.

Let me interpret Aila’s words in normal human language. It seems the professors want my Magical Suite, but Aila refused them.

“Good job.”

“Yes, the heroes who can gather under the banner of rebellion are limited. Of course, I am the first.”

“...Hmm. Right.”

“Dirty professors. To think they would offer a few million rin or a Tier 7 magic tool to join this great endeavor.”

“...What?”

How much?

“But this is all part of Wolfram’s plan to appear as if he has no money. I almost fell for it, too. Talking about expensive rent or deliberately trying to provoke my emotions. Isn’t that a bit much?”

Aila smiled as she said this.

No.

That’s not it.

I really have no money. I’m really broke.

“This false information will make the second-rate people offer money. Then, you can weed them out and only let the truly first-rate join. It’s all a disguise by Wolfram to separate the wheat from the chaff.”

“...”

“Yes, I understand. Let’s end today’s meeting here. I’ll be going now.”

“Take care.”

Was this a meeting?

I didn’t know.

Aila walked out of the 8th district, facing the spring breeze head-on.

Before leaving, Aila left me with one last word.

“Oh, by the way, it’s that season again.”

“That season?”

“The agitation of the flowers. You know, right? I’m not worried that you might look shabby, Wolfram, but be careful. If you need anything, just let me know.”

“Hmm? ...Hmm. Got it.”

After Aila left, I fell into thought.

May. The agitation of the flowers?

What was that again?

“Based on the original, something happens in early May?”

After some thought, I recalled it.

May.

A state of abnormality covering all of Jefrin.

In a certain sense, a tragedy.

“At the end of the eastern forest, in the great emperor’s flower sanctuary, the flowers bloom, and the wind blows toward the residential area. And...”

The barrier, which judges that the pollen is not hostile to humans, does not activate, and Jefrin is covered in pollen.

That is the agitation of the flowers.

A time when the sound of sniffles and coughs from teary eyes covers the sky of Jefrin.

There was a side story where Eve, during this period, got hit by the pollen and became ineffective in battle.

Eve, with tears and snot, saying “Ah-choo, ah-choo.”

“...I don’t want to see that.”

That’s really something.

Why would I want to see such a thing?

“It’s something that can be resolved.”

I resolved the main story and the seasonal events.

Lightly resolving a couple of side stories would be enough.

***