HTACS 12

Chapter 12

In D/Z SAGA, the ending changes dramatically depending on what choices the protagonist, Kelter, makes.

Kelter studies common subjects during his first year, builds friendships, and raises flags. Then, as he moves to his second year, he chooses his major.

Swordsmanship. Or magic.

Each department has two heroines, and including the hidden heroine, there are five main heroines in total. Depending on what kind of relationship Kelter forms with which heroine and what choices he makes, the ending changes completely.

For example—suppose he chooses the Magic Department and sets Eve as his heroine. Even though he’s in the Magic Department, if he focuses on building Strength and Endurance, he’ll eventually obtain the Magic Knight class. As a result, he becomes a single sword guarding Eve’s side. If he goes all the way to the choice of graduating from the student council together, he’ll stay by her side in the future too, protecting her both openly and secretly—the most ordinary happy ending, “The Princess’s Knight.”

And within those routes, there are also destruction endings. If you die midway, it’s always game over. In particular, one heroine—who is the culmination of all bad endings—makes my blood run cold just thinking about her.

So—which path Kelter walks is also quite important to me. Because I’m attached to the protagonist of the game I played? No—that’s not it at all. The problem is that there’ll be no one to resolve the threats that come upon the entire Academy.

But even if that’s the case—what can I do?

I’m Wolfram with Endurance 2.

I could support him by making items, but I don’t really plan to. I’ve got my own problems to worry about—I can barely take care of myself, let alone help others.

Kelter is a talent monster and the embodiment of light. He’ll make it work no matter what he does.

“So—hang in there, Kelter.”

I’ll watch over you from afar.

You guys handle the story among yourselves.

I’ll just run my convenience store.

Today I’ll do five push-ups and go to sleep.

Hopefully I won’t get muscle soreness.

—

The next day, Aila came by.

She looked displeased, so I quietly made her a shake. She’s one of the hellish bosses even as a joke—if I mess up, I could get a Dark Crystal Spear through the gut. Come to think of it, there are a lot of people around me who use spear-type magic. I should be careful.

Anyway—once I taught her how to chill and drink it, her expression finally softened.

“What brings you here?”

“I’ve been assigned as this year’s ‘demonstration’ representative.”

“Demonstration representative… Ah, right.”

“Hoo. Don’t you think it’s a terrible custom? If I succeed in my rebellion, I’ll have to abolish this first. Don’t you agree?”

Demonstration.

If you specify the word “demonstration” in this context, it takes on a slightly different meaning. Not the professor teaching the student—but the senior performing for the junior.

It means “giving the top-ranked freshman a lesson”—the vice-president of the entire 3rd year holds a mock spar in front of the entire student body.

“Look—in just two years, they’ve grown this much. Learn from us.” That’s the senior’s way of teaching the juniors the greatness of Zeppelin.

Why the 3rd-year vice-president? For an overwhelming victory.

Why not the 3rd-year president? Just in case the freshman wins—it would damage Zeppelin’s honor.

It’s a splendid policy in many ways.

This year’s top freshman is “Kelter.”

And this year’s 3rd-year vice-president is “Aila Trista.”

In the original work, in front of the entire student body, Kelter lands a hit on Aila, saving face for the freshmen—and many, including Eve, begin to take note of the commoner Kelter who landed a hit on “that vice-president Aila Trista.”

Originally, it’s an event where he’s supposed to lose—but as always, by using bug-like play, you could actually beat Aila. Though the story didn’t change from that.

“Wolfram.”

As I was deep in thought about the original event, Aila was calling me.

“Wolfram. Wolfram, are you listening?”

“Hmm? …Yeah, I’m listening.”

“So—the rent Phil prepaid is covered until next month. From the month after that, you’ll have to pay rent—don’t forget.”

How did we jump to such a menacing topic?

“…I see.”

“One million rin per month. You know that, right?”

“…………”

Running a business in this location—deposit 80 million and monthly 1 million? Isn’t this a scam? Should I relocate?

No—even if I leave, no one would take me in. Think about how much trouble I went through just to get in here. 1 million rin a month is cheap.

“Not a problem.”

“Honestly, it’s on the expensive side.”

“Then—”

“But I’ll take it. Hehe.”

Are you messing with me?

“For someone who’s spread the wings of rebellion like you, a mere million rin is nothing, I’m sure. Honestly, I could forgo it—but this will become one of the black feathers that will someday adorn your wings.”

What the hell does that even mean?

“Hmph. I can’t wait to see—how secretly, how grandly, how splendidly, how beautifully you’ll sound the horn of rebellion.”

I’m not sounding anything.

“This—Strawberry Shake, was it? The dark shadow hidden within such a sweet drink. But everyone will be intoxicated by its taste and fragrance. Hehe.”

You already seem intoxicated.

“Come to think of it—the new student welcome festival is soon, Wolfram.”

“Didn’t we just talk about that?”

“Did we? Anyway. Hmm-hmm. Wolfram?”

“What.”

“What do you plan to do at the festival?”

“I’ll open a stall.”

“You know stalls are limited to eight hours a day due to anti-monopoly rules, right? What about after that?”

“Who knows.”

The new student welcome festival…

Should I tell her this isn’t the time to be worrying about me? I hesitated for a moment. Is this the real Aila who will come to hate Kelter? Or should she win completely?

Here, it’s not about the main story—I need to think centered on Wolfram.

What benefits me. For me alone.

Let’s see—Aila, who gets hit by Kelter, wins but is deeply wounded in pride, leading her to constantly harass Kelter every chance she gets. And when that doesn’t work, she completely flips and causes all that rebellion chaos in Act 3…

Hmm…

Then wouldn’t it be more beneficial for Aila to win perfectly? If she loses to Kelter and goes off the rails, the probability of a spear ending up in my gut increases.

Let’s see—suppose I advise her to win perfectly against Kelter…

How should I give that advice without it sounding strange? I started thinking. Information and thought are my weapons.

“Aila Trista.”

“Yes?”

“You said you wanted to see my wings.”

“I did. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Well—I wonder if you’ll actually be able to see them.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m asking—do you have the qualifications?”

“You’re questioning my qualifications? I’m the 3rd-year vice-president. I’m Aila Trista, the Black Crystal of the Magic Department.”

“In Zeppelin’s three-hundred-year history, there have been three hundred 3rd-year vice-presidents.”

“Ugh.”

“Mass-produced premium candy. Cream black bread. This Strawberry Shake. These are luxury goods that have never existed in Zeppelin before. Now—I’ve proven uniqueness once in three hundred years. Haven’t I?”

“Ugh…!”

She has no choice but to admit it. Aila has strong pride—if you poke her just right, she’ll take the bait immediately.

“What are you trying to say?”

“Before you go on about my wings—clean up what’s right in front of you first.”

“Right in front of me?”

“This year’s top freshman—I heard he’s quite unique. A commoner, yet displaying tremendous talent.”

“…So? Do you think I’ll lose?”

“No, of course not. But if you don’t win perfectly, that too will be recorded as Trista’s shame.”

At my words, Aila gritted her teeth.

Then—*BAM!* She slammed the table, and a small ticket was left within her fist.

【Zeppelin Academy New Student Welcome Festival—Two-Day Pass (2-person)】

As I stared blankly at it, Aila crossed her arms and let out a mocking “Hmph.”

“Fine. Watch from afar as I blow away that commoner in one strike. Got it?”

I silently nodded.

Then Aila slurped down the rest of her shake, let out a loud “Hmph!” and left the store.

Are you not paying for the shake?

And—that.

“…Why is the pass for two people?”

So many things I don’t understand.

—

After Aila left, I moved quickly.

The new student welcome festival is one of the few year-round festivals in all of Zeppelin. If you apply, you can freely run a stall—and quite a few shops build their regular customer base here.

“Snacks are scarce in Zeppelin, you say? Then look no further than Wolfram! The prepared convenience store owner! Come find me anytime!”—to say that, I needed preparation.

“…Bean shakes. Cream bread. Candy. They’re all fine, but something feels lacking as a flagship product.”

Don’t I need something like a finishing move?

Our convenience store has a monthly rent of 1 million and a deposit of 80 million, and it’s tucked away in some corner—so to make customers come, I definitely need a finishing move.

An icon. An identity. A signature.

A menu that lets me say “This is the place that makes this!” or “You can only taste this here!”—or even if it’s not food, some killer crafts or stationery.

But candy and cream bread are both iffy. The smoothie is decent, but beans have limited harvesting.

“Then maybe I’ll bake some bread. I’ve worked part-time at a bakery before—I should be able to make something.”

If I put cream on good bread, it could be a signature item.

But—

“Ghh… ghghgh. You bastard! You—you—you!!”

Just kneading the dough was enough to give me cramps in my arms.

“Is this… my limit? I am… weak. Laughably so.”

Even tasting the menu a few times filled my stomach completely.

Despairing at my own incompetence, I holed up in the corner.

But I wasn’t even allowed to stay holed up.

“Ugh.”

My stomach was bloated—if I stayed like this, something bad would happen. I had to move somehow to digest.

Thinking that, I sprang up and walked out of the convenience store.

To survive—I had to digest.

And so, for the first time in a while, I strolled through the Academy grounds. Since I was walking to change my mood, I headed toward the Knight Department rather than the Magic Department for a change.

“…But—can I even sell it? With this endurance.”

If I cook and sell it myself, won’t I collapse from exhaustion? Can I even last two hours? I need to do something about this goddamn endurance, but there’s no immediate solution—it’s driving me crazy.

“…Hoo.”

Even now, just thirty minutes of walking around the Academy has worn me out—I sat down on a park bench.

“This isn’t activity—this is rehabilitation.”

Am I a patient who just got out of bed after years?

I leaned back on the bench and blankly gazed at the sky. The dazzling blue sky and sun felt oddly resentful.

“…Ugh… ughhhhh…”

As I was catching my breath, I heard a strangled cry from somewhere. I covered my mouth, thinking it might have been me—but it wasn’t. Flame-man Wolfram hasn’t fully burned out yet. Thank goodness.

Then where?

“Ugh… ughhh…”

Not too far away—in the center of the grass field, “it” had collapsed.

But what is that bastard doing?

“To eat something like that… to learn that nature’s combination is like that… grass… resin… I can’t eat it…”

Nepterian.

Nephti—head buried in the grass, writhing in pain and muttering something.

“What are you doing?”

At my question, she looked up with unfocused eyes. Her gaze was hazy and her face pale—she must have been starving for days.

“It’s—it’s another hallucination. The food I ate that day is so memorable that I’m seeing visions. The opponent is the one called the Academy’s worst villain. Is this also a trial given to me…”

“I asked what you’re doing, Nephti.”

“…I must have truly gone mad. Now I can even converse with hallucinations. Go away, wicked illusion of Wolfram. I will never yield to temptation.”

“I’m not an illusion.”

“…Huh?”

At that, Nephti’s eyes gradually began to focus. And then they fully registered my image.

“Is it really… Wolfram, Your Highness?”

“Yes. The wicked Wolfram himself.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“So—what were you doing?”

“…Meditation. I was meditating.”

“By burying your head in the ground and writhing in pain?”

“…Y-yes. Yes.”

“With a face that’s been starving for days?”

“Th-that’s right. It’s all to uphold justice and not fall into evil.”

“I see…”

I nodded. Well then, good luck with that.

With that, I turned to leave—but a small voice called me back.

“…U-um.”

“What.”

“That bread I ate before… I mean…”

“Hm?”

“If I were to get it, how much would it cost?”

“Not that expensive—but do you have money to buy it?”

“Ugh… It pains me to say, but you’re absolutely right. I spent everything I had remitting money home, so right now… grass and resin… ughh…”

Nephti writhed in agony, and I chuckled.

If I play this right, maybe we can both win.

“You never know—if you help me out again, that bread might show up.”

“What kind of work? …I will never lend my hand to evil.”

“Nothing special—support for developing and selling items at the new student welcome festival.”

“…You’re asking me to help you accumulate wealth? You—the Academy’s worst embezzler…?”

Nephti hesitated.

Right—because if I earn money again, who knows what evil deeds I might commit. She’s a 3rd-year—she knows all too well about Wolfram’s tyranny last year.

Hoo. Can’t be helped.

I made a big decision and extended my hand to her.

“Hourly wage—10,000 rin. Overtime at 1.5x. Meals include at least cream bread.”

“Self-sacrifice and devotion. I will give you my utmost loyalty.”

It was the moment the knight of justice fell from grace.