Chapter 75

75. Changing Daily Life (4)

"It seems to be a laboratory."

"Ugh... What's that smell...?"

A few of the rats began to feel nauseous.

These were people who had been trained to the point where they could sleep while smelling the stench of decaying bodies.

If even they were vomiting, one could imagine how severe the smell was.

"..."

"..."

The rats were at a loss for words.

The scene before their eyes was too horrific.

Too unrealistic.

They didn't know what to say.

"Is this a dream?"

That's what they thought.

The ceiling, which must have been at least 5 meters high.

A giant mountain reaching the top.

A mountain made of piled-up corpses greeted them.

And such a mountain.

'Three of them.'

There were three in total.

One side was human, one side was demons, and the other side was failures.

"Good heavens..."

Not only the number of humans, but the number of demons was shocking.

There must have been at least 50.

The sacrifices for the summoning of demons usually started from a hundred.

To see so many demons piled up like this.

'How many humans have you killed!'

The rats began to tremble.

Some even collapsed from fear.

At that moment.

"Please... save me."

A faint voice came from the pile of failures.

A survivor. Everyone rushed over and soon saw.

A small child, struggling to breathe, attached to a demon's body.

"..."

The child looked to be no more than 5 years old.

The child looked at Charon.

Did the child sense something? The child closed their eyes and whispered.

"Please... kill me."

"I'm sorry."

"No... thank you."

Swoosh!

By chance.

A drop of water clung to Charon's dagger.

It was a tear from the child.

"Where are the necromancers?"

Necromancers are not just the creators of madness.

While chasing him, they caught his subordinates along the way.

Each of them had parts of their bodies damaged and were so insane that interrogation was difficult.

"We have caught five more. We plan to detain and interrogate them."

"I will interrogate them myself."

"Sir Charon, yourself?"

"Yes."

Difficult to interrogate because they are insane?

I'll show you.

Who the real madman is.

'Lucius, right? You should be prepared.'

You, at least, I will tear apart with my own hands.

* * *

"Therefore, muscles don't just grow by themselves. You need to build muscles that match your weapon and sword technique. This is the foundation and the method to advance your sword skills."

Mr. Leang was teaching passionately as usual.

The basics of swordsmanship.

A perfect class for me, who knows nothing about swordsmanship.

"Zero, what should you build muscles for?"

"Hehe, for weapons and sword techniques that suit you well."

"Correct. I'll give you 1 point."

Not a penalty, but a reward.

It wasn't even a difficult question.

The children's eyes sparkled.

They must have felt something was different from usual.

'Terion has changed his strategy.'

From suppression to persuasion.

Or perhaps to maintain a good relationship rather than a bad one.

'Terion knows I don't want to belong to any organization.'

I also prefer this level of relationship.

Indeed, Terion has excellent empathy.

The problem is.

"Zero, hello? Want to have dinner together today? We've hired a top chef. Oh, of course, Luna will join us too."

Empathy? Not really. The ISTJ Yuridia.

She's the problem.

Well, who would fall for the obvious trap of a top chef?

"Zero! What are you doing? Top chef! Let's go quickly!"

"..."

Yes, that's right. We have Luna.

She just charges in, regardless of whether it's a trap or not.

"Hehe, let's go to the cafeteria."

"Huh? Why?"

"Eating such fancy food will make us sick. The student cafeteria suits us best."

"Are you stupid? Just eat and get sick."

Yes, that's true. There is such a method.

But it won't work.

I lifted Luna and carried her under my arm.

This made Luna's buttocks face Yuridia.

"I'm sorry, Yuridia. I like having a quiet meal with Zero."

I raised my tone to mimic Luna's voice.

I didn't forget the detail of slightly shaking Luna's body.

From Yuridia's perspective, it would seem like Luna's buttocks were talking.

Well, who cares.

"What! When did I say that! I don't like it! Let me go!"

Our Luna is quite good at talking with her buttocks.

I firmly held Luna's waist as she struggled.

"Hehe, no, hoho! Then we'll be on our way."

"No! My top chef!"

I left the classroom with Luna under my arm, who was still screaming.

* * *

"Tch, I wanted to eat the top chef's food, but what's this?"

Luna poked at her omurice.

Puff.

Her cheeks were puffed up.

She was full of complaints. She wanted me to quickly make her feel better.

'She's cute.'

But I couldn't focus on Luna.

Something had been bothering me since earlier.

'What is it? Why is my extrasensory perception activated?'

But no matter how I looked around, there was nothing unusual.

'It's near the trash can... but why do I feel something there?'

After some thought, I realized.

'Rats.'

That's right. The one there is most likely a rat.

Charon must have ordered them to keep an eye on me, and this is the right time.

'Usually, I can't feel them from a distance.'

In the game, the range of [Extrasensory Perception] is about 10 squares.

They must have entered that range.

'Well, I do have something to talk about with Charon.'

I need to tell him about setting a trap in the arena using [Illusion].

And I have something to receive.

'This month's contact code was "Desolation," right?'

I just need to include the word "Desolation" in my conversation.

Of course, once won't be enough.

It's a word that can be used in normal conversation, so the probability is low.

'At least three times.'

Then the rat nearby will report to Charon that the child named Zero knows the code.

Since Charon gave me the code, he will come to find me soon.

"Miss Luna."

"Why? I haven't cooled down yet, you know."

"Hehe, do you know the meaning of 'Desolation'?"

"Is this a quiz all of a sudden?"

"Hehe, yes. And of course, there's a prize for the quiz."

Luna's eyes sparkled.

A smile with one corner of her mouth raised.

"Hmm~ I see. I understand everything now."

"Really?"

"You've booked a high-end restaurant for the weekend, haven't you? That's why you stopped me from eating the top chef's food, right? You were worried I wouldn't be able to enjoy it."

I only asked about the meaning of "Desolation," so why did the restaurant come up?

How did she reach such a conclusion?

"Well, it's not as fancy as the top chef's food, but I did a favor. You should be satisfied with that."

"Miss... Luna?"

"Oh, sorry, sorry. It was supposed to be a surprise, right? I should have pretended not to notice, but I'm not good at that. Don't worry. I'll pretend not to notice from now on."

Does pretending not to notice work?

And I didn't book any restaurant!?

Why did "Desolation" turn into a restaurant?

"Hey! First, you need to answer the quiz. It means to destroy everything, right? To make the land where nothing can survive."

"Hehe, correct. You know the meaning of 'Desolation' well."

Now I've said it twice.

One more time, and I can make contact with Charon.

But that doesn't seem to be the problem now.

"And?"

"Excuse me?"

"Tell me the prize."

Luna's eyes sparkled.

She was eager to know what the prize was.

'Think!'

You're the guy who won the psychological battle with Charon!

You can overcome this situation!

I organized the information in my head.

Luna, who missed the chance to eat the top chef's food.

The word "Desolation" I need to say one more time.

The restaurant.

And Luna's omurice in front of me.

The puzzle pieces, named information, started to fit together.

Soon, all the pieces found their places, and the puzzle was complete.

Yes, the best move to get out of this situation is.

Swish! Clatter!

I messed with Luna's omurice.

I flipped it over, tore apart the beautiful omelet, and sprinkled ketchup everywhere.

"Hehe, the quiz prize. Desolation omurice."

"..."

Snap.

Luna's neck snapped.

Seeing this, I quietly closed my eyes.

Yes, as expected.

'It doesn't work, does it?'

That's how I.

Was completely "desolated" by Luna.

* * *

"Miss Luna, I'm sorry."

"Don't follow me! I'm really going to get angry!"

The incident of the "Desolation" omurice.

An hour has passed, but Luna's anger shows no sign of cooling down.

I know Luna well, and this level of anger can be resolved with time.

It means I should leave her alone for now and meet her later.

But.

"What! Why aren't you following me!"

"…I was on my way."

"Don't follow me! I'm really going to get angry!"

"…"

This unpredictable mood is the problem.

She gets angry when I'm out of sight and when I get close.

'She wants to be angry but doesn't know how to make up. Is that the situation?'

I didn't really have any complaints.

She is Luna, and it's cute to see her following me, thinking I'm doing well.

What? You think I shouldn't have complaints because I really did something wrong this time?

Is that it?

'How do I handle this?'

While chasing after Luna.

Luna suddenly turned her head.

An angry expression. But I could tell.

She had a good idea.

"The only way to cool my anger is one. Book a restaurant immediately! I have to eat this weekend!"

In front of the academy, in the square, there's a restaurant.

A 3.5-star restaurant, but it's always crowded with academy students.

"Miss Luna, you heard that the reservations are full, right?"

"I don't care! Find a way to book it!"

Luna started rolling on the ground.

I know her well. When she acts like this, there's no stopping her.

I have no choice but to agree.

"Hehe, I understand. I'll try to find a way."

"Really?"

"Yes. So, please cool down. Your cute face will be ruined."

"Then... I guess..."

Luna shook off the dirt and stood up.

"Can I help?"

"…Sure, if you want."

Luna, with a sullen expression.

I was removing the dirt from her hair.

Click.

Luna took out a camera and took a photo.

Now that I think about it, it was strange. Why did she start taking photos all of a sudden?

"This is a memory, so I need to take photos of everything."

"Memory?"

"Yes, it's normal to take photos with friends. We should have taken more when we were in the forest... I should have taken more then."

Now that I think about it, that happened too.

Most importantly, Luna, who almost drifted away from me.

Carrying a camera might be a natural thing for her.

'Well, I should try to control it a bit.'

A photo instantly developed by the power of a mana stone.

Luna, with a smile, put the photo in her pocket.

But Luna, don't take photos from under my face.

It makes me look like a pancake.