HTACS 10

Chapter 10

Looking back on it now, the game D/Z SAGA had a lot of peculiar aspects.

Of course, it wasn’t a masterpiece. But it wasn’t a piece of trash either.

Just… a game, I guess? There was a lot to do. Recruiting companions, clearing quests, and reaching endings was especially enjoyable.

But aside from that, there were quite a few sub-quests and mini-games.

Among them—one I’d call “stupid crap” was the “Bean Collector” title.

It was genuinely ridiculous—by mixing various beans that exist in the game and creating results, you’d fill up a collector’s encyclopedia one by one, and completing it would give you a title.

The total number of combinations was probably around fifteen hundred? But the title’s performance was pretty decent—increasing the effectiveness of bean usage, and offering stat boosts too.

Anyway—back in the game days, I could just buy a ton of beans, but after inquiring at Yggdrasil, it turned out beans weren’t very popular and stock was scarce.

So I went directly to Bean’s Garden—and the moment I created “Whipped Beans,” a combination formula with health recovery effects, a system window appeared before my eyes.

【Great Success on Combination!】

【Whipped Beans】

【Title Acquired: ‘One Who Has Entered the Path of Beans.’】

【Effect: Learned Bean Combination Formula. Bean Collector’s Encyclopedia created. Can perceive the taste of beans more sensitively.】

No stat bonuses, no skills given. Honestly, all early titles are like this. As I said before—Zeppelin is a game that gives “rewards in proportion to effort.”

This hidden piece I was aiming for was exactly that. Though—if I collect all fifteen hundred, the title effect is genuinely good. Not quite endgame tier, but close to semi-final level.

Anyway—awaiting me are fifteen hundred varieties of endless grinding. And the fruit at the end of it.

“Honestly, that’s what I liked about it. The fun of putting in effort, and the fun of being rewarded for that effort.”

I shrugged. Something’s better than nothing, so let’s equip the title. Thinking that, I manipulated the panel—and another window appeared below.

【First-ever Mixed Beans combination performed.】

【The following reward is granted.】

【+1 Dexterity stat point granted.】

And—

【First-ever Great Success on Bean Combination.】

【One Tier 7 Bean awarded randomly.】

【Energy Bean awarded.】

“Uh?”

—

It was just the eastern forest—no reason for anything major to happen.

We didn’t even use up all the encounter counts. On the way back, we hunted one goblin and that was it. Naturally, I took the corpse.

In front of the mercenary office, Nephti and I finished settling up. We were five minutes past the start time, but I paid for a full hour—Nephti’s expression was strangely bright.

“Thank you.”

“Good work.”

“Y-yes! And thank you for the meal. It truly was, as you said, a satisfying meal.”

“Is that so.”

“By the way—that’s fascinating. Beans are a dangerous crop that can explode or cause poisoning if mishandled, aren’t they?”

“Right.”

“I had no idea beans could be combined. It was a technique I’ve never seen in my life.”

“Wait. What?”

“Huh? Ah—I said thank you for the meal.”

“…No, not that. Did you say ‘never seen’?”

“Yes. It was truly a mysterious technique.”

“Let me ask you one thing—haven’t beans been properly classified?”

“Who would classify them? There are hundreds of varieties, all looking similar—just beans that grow anywhere, right?”

“……”

Once again, the dissonance between the game and reality was gradually adjusting.

Beans are indeed beans that grow anywhere—but their species easily number in the hundreds. Without a clear classification system, the reality where they’re unimaginable as food versus the game where they come with names and descriptions the moment you obtain them—the gap is that wide.

I wondered why I had obtained the title of “first bean combiner,” and this was the reason.

“By the way—you ate what I gave you without hesitation?”

“……”

“You were that hungry?”

“……”

Nephti never answered. She just bowed her head and went on her way.

—

Back at the convenience store, I opened my status window.

【Wolfram von Lohengrin】

【?T】

【Status:

Strength: 4

Dexterity: 6 + (1)

Endurance: 2

Magic: 3

Willpower: 4】

【Acquired Skills:

Imperial Bloodline.】

“…So stats really do increase.”

A stat point that can be allocated to Dexterity. What’s even more pleasing is that this isn’t a stat that applies immediately—it’s one I can raise when I need it. Going from 6 to 7 is easier than you’d think. Going from 60 to 61 is on a whole different level. I’ll save this for later.

“Investing it now wouldn’t give me any immediate stat advantage anyway—so I’ll keep it in reserve.”

Next—the Tier 7 Energy Bean I received as a reward. It has a pretty good effect, but to make Mixed Beans with it requires fairly high dexterity and knowledge. Otherwise, instead of success, it could cause a major failure and even explode.

Neither is usable right now.

But they’re good rewards that let me dream of the future.

More important than those two rewards, though—was the information that I was the first.

“…That’s strange. No matter how I think about it, it’s strange.”

The fact that no one had ever thought to combine beans—that nagged at me heavily.

—

A few days later.

Aila visited the grocery store.

“Is the candy business going well?”

“Not bad.”

“I see. But you still have no customers. Why open a convenience store in a place like this?”

“…Isn’t this your building?”

“Ugh.”

The implication—if you bought it and it’s not doing business, isn’t that your own eyes being knot-holes?—made Aila’s hands tremble. Come to think of it, for all her ambition, she’s oddly dense in some places.

“I heard a rumor. You went on an outing with that famous commoner from the Knight Department, didn’t you?”

“That’s right.”

“Nepterian. A Knight Department student from the western region who’s gained trust among commoners, I heard.”

“Is that so?”

“Apparently she said this: ‘Wolfram is a decent person. We may be misunderstanding him.'”

“…Unnecessary praise.”

“And one more thing—’Wolfram uses mysterious techniques, and his escort duty is worthwhile. His meals, in particular, are special,’ she said.”

“……”

Did she really have to spread that as a rumor?

“So—can you serve me that special meal too?”

“That’s not difficult.”

“I’ll look forward to it, chef.”

Watching Aila, her long black hair and dark crystal-like eyes gleaming as she pressed me, I placed the Whipped Beans I’d made yesterday in front of her.

“…This is?”

“Try it. The only thing to spread it on is black bread, though.”

“…Ha. Black bread—what do you take me, Aila Trista, for?”

“Anyway, just try it. It’s pretty palatable.”

With that, Aila slathered a generous amount of cream onto the black bread I’d prepared, hesitated for a moment, then took a big bite.

“U-umm?!?!!”

Watching Aila’s eyes go wide as she began to fluster, I nodded.

“That’s the next item I’ll sell. The bread itself is plain black bread, but the cream is handmade by me.”

Regardless of what I was saying, Aila devoured the bread entirely. *Nibble nibble. Munch munch.* With elegance—and at an astonishing speed—she finished it all.

“Not bad. It was quite tasty for black bread.”

She demurely wiped her mouth with a handkerchief.

“So where did you get this cream from, anyway? You really do surprise me.”

“That’s also a secret.”

“…If you can supply it in unlimited quantities, I’d consider buying through the Trista Trading Company. The taste isn’t bad—I think it’d sell fairly well. I’ll cover the cost.”

“I don’t have that much.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t.”

“That’s not an answer—why not?”

Why? Because I’d collapse from exhaustion making it, obviously.

“Anyway—it has marketability. I can start selling it to the graduate students starting tomorrow.”

“Waste it on them! Sell it all to me instead.”

“…Wasn’t it just a passably edible cream?”

“H-hmph. The unique flavor was somewhat impressive. So let me buy it all.”

“No.”

“Why not!”

And so—I bickered with Aila, who tried to squeeze the Whipped Beans out of me with an attitude of “It’s not that great, but I’ll buy it for you.” In the end, the one who got tired and left first was Aila.

“…Fine. I’ll back down for today. But I will—I absolutely will get my hands on it. I… I never give up.”

Classic third-rate villain dialogue.

“Is that so. Good luck.”

“…Grrr!”

Aila clenched her fist in frustration and glared at me. What are you gonna do about it?

“Anyway—that cream is quite expensive.”

“Fine. How much do I have to pay? A million rin?”

No—that’s too much.

Honestly, money isn’t that important. If things get tough, I can always strong-arm Eve into buying candy.

“I have a few things I want to ask. Let’s call it market trends—information cross-verification.”

“…Fine. I’ll answer everything to the best of my knowledge.”

“Do Zeppelin students go on adventures? Beyond the Academy District—across the entire artificial island of Zeppelin—the marshlands, deserts, plains, canyons?”

“To some extent? They do it to fulfill the curriculum. Zeppelin is practical-focused, after all.”

I see.

“Then let me rephrase—how many students go on adventures of their own volition?”

At my question, Aila’s eyes went wide—then she smiled brightly and answered.

“What a strange question. Do you want an obvious answer?”

“Obvious is fine.”

“There are none. They don’t willingly venture outside.”

“……”

“Wolfram—how many students would willingly risk their lives? Just attending classes in the Academy District and getting a diploma is enough to secure a position back home.”

—

After Aila left, I took out my notebook and began jotting down what I’d seen and felt since coming to Zeppelin—and a plausible deduction emerged.

“Potion prices are a hundred times what I knew. Good equipment is ten times. …Mixed Beans haven’t even been researched—and I got the title of first researcher.”

Why this imbalance? I formed several hypotheses—but Aila’s words turned one into truth.

“This world has become one that greatly fears adventure. …No—’they can’t adventure’ is more accurate. And the reason is probably that lives are too precious.”

Zeppelin is an honest world. A world where you get rewards exactly in proportion to your effort.

“Proportional reward for proportional effort… conversely means if you don’t take risks, you can’t obtain rewards. But here, it’s not a game—it’s reality.”

Take, for example, a hero party. They brave dangerous lands and eventually bring back something that benefits humanity’s prosperity.

In a game, that can be summed up in one line: “The hero faced a crisis but overcame it wisely, was healed by the priest’s recovery magic, and returned to the battlefield.” What a beautiful game description.

But reality isn’t like that. If your arm gets severed, the panic that strikes in that moment—it’s not about whether it can be reattached. Even with a perfectly fine arm, phantom pain can occur, and you could go mad or die of shock.

You only have one life. You don’t want to get hurt. Adventure is frightening.

The moment this world established a minimum infrastructure, it shifted toward preservation and maintenance rather than monster subjugation or adventure. Zeppelin, after all, is a place for students.

That’s why potions are a hundred times more expensive. Good equipment is ten times more expensive. Even Phil said his stock wasn’t lacking.

Of course—it’s also a world where “research hasn’t progressed as much.”

“Thanks to that, I’ve roughly decided on my future course.”

I began scribbling down my plans.

1. Run the convenience store and make a living.

2. Learn at least one skill before graduation.

3. As much as possible, avoid getting entangled in the main story and live my life.

“The most important is #3.”

Lack of research means lack of preparedness.

But the protagonist, Kelter, and his cheerful friends—how many times do they risk their lives? From Act 1, you have to play with your life on the line—and if you die once, it’s straight to a bad ending.

So, in other words—

I’ll hunker down as a coward as much as possible and quietly graduate!

“At least they have good stats and high tiers—I die in one hit.”

Kelter—you live your life to the fullest. I’ll live mine my way.

I swore to the night sky—I’ll do my best not to get tangled in the story.