HTACS 20

Chapter 20

After the heartwarming meal, Rudika extended her hand to me.

“Wolfram. Rudika expresses her gratitude. It was excellent and truly satisfying—a meal without equal.”

Was it that spicy? The kalguksu made with Red Pepper Herb was certainly spicy, but compared to fire chicken stir-fried noodles, I’d say it was debatable.

“I don’t think it was that spicy, though.”

At my response, Rudika quietly shook her head.

“It wasn’t just about the spiciness. The meal made me warm and filled my heart. Rudika expresses deep gratitude.”

“Yeah. I see.”

“I also enjoyed it very much.”

“Nephti—wasn’t it too spicy for you? Or are you also good with spicy food?”

At my question—since most people in this world seem weak to spice—Nephti answered with a smile.

“It’s spicy, but in the end, it’s just pain. Using [Guard Formation: Endure] made it more bearable than I expected.”

“You use skills while eating?”

“It helps raise skill proficiency too. Plus, I made a separate batch of dough that was less spicy.”

“Logical.”

I nodded at Nephti’s words.

She might be dumb—but maybe she’s smart.

“Wolfram. Rudika wants to ask something.”

“Granted.”

“Does Wolfram plan to become Student Council President again? To take the throne from your sister and do bad things?”

It was a sudden question—but the answer came naturally.

“Eve will handle the Student Council. I’m not interested in that anymore.”

“Good. Rudika is satisfied.”

He speaks like a platoon leader.

“Since Rudika is satisfied, Rudika will make a promise.”

“What do you mean?”

“Wolfram is Rudika’s benefactor—Rudika intends to repay her debt. From now on, if anyone bothers Wolfram, Rudika will punish them.”

An unexpected offer.

Her skill—[Hassan Style]—is ranked in the lower-mid tier of Tier 1 on certain stages.

Lower-mid tier is by no means ignorable. Tier 1 is a realm you can only enter after a naturally gifted individual trains to their limit and takes the right skill path. All Tier 1 characters possess a secondary title—”Battle Maker.”

That’s the official term from the developer. What it means is: “Build the battlefield around the Battle Maker.” In other words—use all Tier 2 and below companions as chess pieces for the Battle Maker. That’s how great and powerful Tier 1 is.

Right now, Rudika is Tier 3—but with proper development, she’ll definitely reach Tier 1. And on maps where an assassin is needed, a Tier 1 Rudika would be stealthy, swift, and lethal like no other.

And she’ll protect me?

At least that means I won’t be assassinated right in front of her.

“I’ll leave it to you, then.”

“Leave it to Rudika! To celebrate our new friendship, tonight is an all-night festival!”

“I, Nephti, shall join as well!”

“…No—I have a business to run—”

“Good! Rudika will eat with the momentum of buying everything in this store! Rudika will pay! Wolfram—bring out all the food you have!”

“…Hah. Fine. Let’s see you try.”

Thank you for helping me clear out stock.

Truly, thank you.

—

The next day, I was down with muscle soreness.

Rudika—I will not forgive you.

Nephti—I will not forgive you.

—

And the day after that.

“Ugh… ughh.”

I mixed beans good for fatigue recovery, ate, and slept all day to barely drag my endurance back up—enough to attend class.

I found a seat in the corner and listened to the lecture—”Mages and the Battlefield,” one of the required major courses.

“On the modern battlefield, mages are high-value personnel. The loss of a single archmage risks disrupting the entire battle, so they are usually assigned a battalion-level escort.”

The professor’s lecture was more worthwhile than I’d expected.

The perspective gap from when I played D/Z was quite significant.

First—the absence of resurrection magic.

In the game, even if a mage died, you could revive them with resurrection magic—but sadly, in real Zeppelin, there is no resurrection magic. I don’t know if it never existed or was deliberately erased, but it’s genuinely gone.

In the game, you get your first resurrection scroll in the middle of Act 3—but if resurrection magic existed in reality, even famous noble houses or the Imperial Family itself wouldn’t have succession. Who would want to share power? The first Emperor would have enjoyed eternal life.

Another factor is the enormous investment required to raise a single mage. Artifacts are expensive, mana-infused items are even more expensive, and those with high magic power are harder to find.

So when a decent mage appears, the kingdom they belong to celebrates.

Every nation scrapes together even commoners—the moment they show even a hint of talent, they’re pushed forward and sent to the Academy. After graduation, it’s apparently not even a rare contract to have them work a fixed number of years for their home country.

Magic is an advanced discipline requiring calculation—and at the same time, it’s wide-area artillery on the battlefield. In other words, it’s a talent desired by both the military and the administration.

In the game, archmages could grow with moderate investment and the right skill tree—they weren’t *that* precious. In reality, archmages are hard to come by, and the world thirsts for them.

This difference in perspective was quite interesting.

Of course—it’s not something a convenience store owner like me needs to worry about.

—

After class, on my way back to the convenience store—

A voice from behind called out to me.

“Did you have a good weekend, Wolfram?”

“…What is it?”

A voice crawling along the ground—utterly gloomy. The Black Crystal’s voice.

Aila Trista walked toward me with hollow eyes.

“Oh, nothing much happened. The new semester started, so I’ve been busy—keeping up with classes and all.”

“I see.”

“Yes. Especially the weight of everyone’s stares on my shoulders. I didn’t think I’d be the type to be bothered by such things, but…”

“What do you mean?”

“The demonstration at the welcome festival. The professor said it’s been years since a 3rd-year showed such overwhelming skill.”

“Is that so.”

From what I’d heard, Aila had completely crushed Kelter. Blocked with a crystal barrier, predicted the charge, reconnected the barrier to seal him, and finished with a single crystal spear.

And this is a completely different turn from the original. In the original, Aila can’t stop Kelter’s charge. She hastily fires a Maximum-Enhanced Black Crystal single shot—but even that is deflected, and Kelter grazes her waist.

It was only a slight touch—but Kelter succeeds in showing the potential of a first-year, and says this:

‘Hehe… I got… you.’

With that, Kelter collapses—and Aila takes it as humiliation, starting to pick fights with him at every turn.

But a perfect victory like this—maybe… just maybe, I might see Aila bloom as a villainess without being defeated. The thought felt strange.

“So what’s the problem?”

“So I was thinking—could it be that I, Aila Trista, who proved the Magic Department’s first perfect victory in years, have ridden the wave of rebellion?”

“What are you talking about?”

Sometimes—no, quite often—I can’t understand what she says.

“What else? The time has finally come for me, Aila Trista—the perpetual vice-president—to become the 3rd-year president this year! My Black Crystal wings are already preparing for flight!”

“……”

Saying that, she summoned several small Black Crystals, arranged them like a fan to cover her mouth, and laughed elegantly.

She looks like a textbook third-rate villainess no matter how you slice it. And considering who the 3rd-year president is, her dream probably won’t come true—but if she’s happy, that’s what matters, right?

“The first battle is the upcoming pop quiz. I’ll sound the first beacon of rebellion there, and from there—never descending from the top spot until the end of the year—the most perfect flight!”

That’s quite impressive.

“So—do you have a way to beat the president?”

“Hmph. What do you take me for? Of course I do!”

“That I’d like to hear.”

The 3rd-year president is one of the monsters of D/Z Saga. In my memory, Aila has never beaten that president even once.

“By studying hard! That’s all there is to it!”

“……”

It’s a very un-rebellious approach—but it’s also a straightforward one.

“But there’s a slight problem.”

“What kind?”

“This is a big secret—can you keep it?”

“I’ll keep it.”

“Good. I’ll trust my fiancé Wolfram and tell you my big secret.”

Honestly, I’m curious. How rare is it to hear a secret setting that’s not even in the setting book from the character’s own mouth?

Aila caught her breath, flushed slightly, and whispered lowly, as if resentful:

“I can’t stay up all night.”

“……”

“I fall asleep right after 10 PM.”

“……”

“A-hem. Even so, last year it was 8 PM—so I’ve extended it by a whole two hours this year. This too is rebellion!”

“……”

Ah—I see.

That’s quite a rebellion you’ve accomplished.

“Impressive, right? Compared to last year, I can now be active two more hours a day! In ten years, that means twenty more hours than everyone else!”

“…Yeah. I see.”

I said nothing more.

I couldn’t say anything.

—

A semester full of mixed emotions.

I returned to the convenience store and immediately holed up in the office—though it might be more accurate to call it the Bean Lab rather than an office.

Anyway—you could say it’s a room for growing, cloning, and combining beans.

The reason I’d holed up here was simple—it was because of my conversation with Aila before I came.

‘I’m going to spread the wings of rebellion this time—what about you, Wolfram?’

‘What about me?’

‘You’re taking the same major as me, aren’t you? That means we’ll be taking the same mini-tests, right?’

‘…What?’

I desperately feigned calm—but my hands were trembling.

Right now, I’m just an ordinary student—and if I get on Eve’s bad side, I could get kicked out of school altogether. And on the way back to the Imperial family—stab-ending. Wow, what an ending I’ve always wanted to see. Thank you so much.

“Am I going to die like that?”

I refuse to die. Determination created the means—and I decided to use every card I currently had.

And fortunately—I now had a finishing move to get through this trial.

On the first day I harvested beans with Nephti in the eastern forest, I’d received two things.

I recalled them.

One was a Dexterity-dedicated stat point.

The other—a Tier 7 Bean, the Energy Bean.

This bean, which normally wouldn’t be obtainable until the middle of Act 2, has the following effects in-game:

[Inflicts status effect: Rage.]

[Activates [Archer’s Disposition: Concentration Improvement] at Level 1.]

It was one of the more useful beans—so even though I couldn’t use it, I started growing it immediately. Since then, I’d cultivated it steadily, and now it had multiplied considerably. As expected, the Good Word Music Box and potion growth method are top-tier.

Anyway—having expanded my supply of Energy Beans, I could now use them now that my Dexterity had reached 10.

“…Hoo. Let’s make it, then.”

My Dexterity is 10.

The success rate for a Tier 7 Mixed Bean is about 60%. Some will fail—so I’m glad I prepared plenty of materials.

I mixed Energy Beans with beans that boost status effect resistance, made Mixed Beans, and roasted them.

I don’t expect much. I don’t even think I’ll get exactly what I want. I’ll just do my best.

“…Hmm. Looks about right. Maybe.”

I strained the decently roasted beans in hot water.

A primitive drip coffee—just as I vaguely remembered.

Maybe because I made it with Cooking skill at Level 1, it was drinkable—but not what I’d call delicious.

“But with this, I can stay awake and hold out a little longer.”

Thinking that, I brewed several cups of drip coffee and waited for a customer.

The customer who needs this coffee the most—along with the current Wolfram.

“Wolfram—I’m here. So what did you call me for?”

“I called to introduce a new product.”

Aila’s expression stiffened awkwardly.

“…I appreciate it and I’m looking forward to it—but have you forgotten that I also have my own rebellion to carry out?”

“This will help with that rebellion. Try it.”

At my words, Aila’s eyes sparkled.

“I see. So it’s that kind of drink.”

“Yes.”

“If I drink this, will it help me study better? I’ve never even heard of a drink that forcibly injects knowledge! Such a beautiful and glorious rebellious holy water—as expected of Wolfram—the most dangerous and secretive wings.”

“No—it just keeps you awake.”

“Ah.”

Aila nodded.

Aila—you can’t sell drinks like that. They might contain dangerous substances.

Aila took a sip of the coffee and scowled.

“…It’s bitter.”

“There’s sugar cubes.”

“Thanks.”

After adding three sugar cubes and Milk Beans, she finally found it drinkable—and began to smile.

“So if I drink this, I can study longer tonight?”

“That’s the idea.”

“Good. Then I’ll report on the results tomorrow. Look forward to it!”

With that, she vanished like the wind toward the dormitory—and when we met the next day—

“Wolfram—that drink is amazing! I actually stayed awake until 10:30 last night!”

“…I see. I’m glad it worked.”

“Yes! Now the 3rd-year president is as good as mine. Now—let’s begin our splendid rebellion.”

Aila laughed with a proud *ahem*.

Is a girl like this really fit to be vice-president?

Zeppelin’s future is bleak.