I’m the Slit-Eyed Character at the Academy, but I’m not the Mastermind

What greeted me when I opened my eyes in the morning was the sight of Luna still lying on the bed with her eyes closed.

“Oh, no. It can’t be. That, that can’t beee…”

Rezé was crouched in the corner of the room, mumbling unintelligible words to herself.

She shivered intermittently as if she were a rabbit that had eaten something it shouldn’t have.

It wasn’t hard to figure out why Rezé was in that state.

It was the aftermath of opening Pandora’s box early this morning.

Caron had come to give Luna her elixir.

I had a long conversation with him, and Rezé, who was asleep hidden in a box, unwittingly overheard our conversation.

‘Rather than eavesdropping… it was more like we talked where Rezé was.’

I couldn’t tell exactly when she woke up, but it was likely she woke up the moment Caron appeared.

‘She’s a sensitive kid.’

Even the fact that Caron and I were in cahoots was shocking enough, but to find out that her friend Luna was the last survivor of the Lester family…

Our conversations, the One Flash training, and Caron appearing regularly.

‘She might have had some vague guesses while being with us…’

The weight of suspicion and certainty is entirely different.

‘Maybe this is as far as Rezé will go with us.’

In this world, staying with someone from a traitor’s family means risking your life.

Even someone with strong convictions would have to leave in such a situation. Let alone the timid Rezé?

There’s no need to mention it. It’s almost a miracle she didn’t leave in the middle of the night.

‘Rezé played an important role in this battle. But if I had to choose between Luna and Rezé…’

It would definitely be Luna.

Not only is her loyalty to me high, but she also doesn’t “run away” in any situation.

She is someone who would even die in my place.

In a situation like this, where I only have one life, she is an invaluable ally. That’s Luna.

‘No matter how powerful Rezé’s firepower is, it’s not worth more than my life.’

So choosing Luna was the obvious outcome for me.

Shake, shake, shake-.

Maybe she realized the situation she was in. Rezé’s trembling intensified.

I had no intention of comforting her. I certainly didn’t plan to force her to stay.

‘Leaving now would be less costly than leaving after the party is fully assembled in the late game.’

Losing a character you’ve raised with various items, experience points, mystery, and elixirs in the late game?

That’s a severe blow. It could make all the effort you put in feel like a waste.

Thus, this time I decided to respect Rezé’s decision.

“It’s, it’s a lie, isn’t it?”

“Yes?”

“You, you lied to get rid of me, didn’t you? I, I know it all!”

“….”

“L, Luna isn’t from the Lester… A, anyway, there’s no way she’s from that family!”

Rezé shouted out loud.

She didn’t want to leave her only friend’s side, but she also couldn’t stay with Luna, who’s a survivor of a traitor family.

It seemed she chose to deny reality.

It was a choice fitting for a pufferfish rabbit.

“Ah, I’ll listen to whatever you say from now on. So, please don’t tell such scary lies ever again.”

With those words, Rezé approached Luna and held her hand tightly.

It was extreme denial of reality. No matter how she behaved, the fact that Luna was the last survivor of the Lester family wouldn’t change.

‘Well… think whatever you like.’

In any case, I planned to tell Luna the truth when she woke up. This wasn’t something that could be resolved by hiding it.

Everything would be decided the day Luna wakes up.

Sniffle…

…

A room specially prepared by Caron.

Besides Luna’s breathing and Rezé’s sniffles, the room was nearly silent.

Despite there being three people.

It wasn’t just because the room was large.

‘If Luna were here, she would be chattering away.’

If not that, she’d be interrupting and tackling my words, wouldn’t she?

It seems Luna also played the role of the party’s mood maker.

…

…Sniffle.

This won’t do. At this rate, I might fall into depression and lie down next to Luna.

A change of mood was needed, a shift to a cheerful atmosphere.

So cheerful that when Luna wakes up, she would say, ‘Let me join you!’.

“Rezé.”

“Y, yes?”

“I’m bored.”

“P, play by yourself.”

That’s a skill only a shy person like you can manage. Someone outgoing like me can’t play alone!

But that’s okay. I’ve long mastered how to handle this rabbit.

“Ah, I forgot to mention that this is all for Luna.”

“For, for Luna?”

“Yes. If we play fun games, Luna might wake up wanting to join us, don’t you think?”

Perhaps thinking that was a plausible reason, Rezé nodded her head.

“T, then… w, what should we play?”

“What about a game where Rezé imitates Luna?”

“Huh…?”

“Just as I said, Rezé acts like Luna. What do you think? Isn’t it a fun game?”

“I, it’s not fun at all!”

Rezé shouted out loud.

Oops, I thought I could fool a naïve rabbit, but she’s smarter than I thought.

Well, I have no intention of giving up yet.

“It’s only been 3 minutes since you said you’d listen to anything I say.”

“U, ugh…”

“You can’t do it? I’m disappointed. Luna might take longer to wake up now.”

“T, that’s not…!”

“Oh dear~ poor Luna. She might have to stay in bed forever. This is all because of Rezé.”

Did she want to wake Luna up no matter what?

Rezé trembled for a while and then opened her mouth.

“N, no.”

“Yes?”

“It’s not my fault, y, you idiot!”

Then she lightly punched my chest with her small fist.

Hoho, evolving from a pufferfish rabbit to a violent rabbit.

It’s not as intense as Luna’s kicks, but it’s an interesting(?) change.

“Keke, good. For today, Rezé, you will be Luna. You’ll appreciate Luna’s value, have fun, and wish for Luna’s recovery. It’ll be a delightful game that accomplishes three things.”

“A, all day…?”

“Ah… Luna might never wake up…”

“O, okay! I’ll do it! I’ll do it like you said!”

Hmm, today seems like it will be quite an enjoyable day.

I was pulling on Rezé’s eyes to make them look like Luna’s cat-like eyes when—

Knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

The door opened, and a girl in a priest’s robe entered.

It was Victoria, the head of the Holy Kingdom faction and the Empire’s thirteenth princess.

“Oh~ Hohoho! Hello. What a lovely morning it is.”

Right on time, the first victim had arrived.

I gently nudged Rezé, who was squirming back into the box, with my foot.

Rezé hesitated before standing in front of Victoria.

“Who, who…”

“Who?”

“W, we are honored to have such a distinguished guest in this humble place. W, we’re truly grateful…”

…That’s just plain old Rezé.

I told her to mimic Luna, and here she is doing a pitiful Death God imitation!

I stood behind Rezé and lifted her eyes upwards with both hands. Rezé stuttered out—

“G, greetings. Please, r, rest comfortably.”

“…What is this? Some kind of new bullying?”

“Keke, let’s just say it’s a gesture wishing for Luna’s recovery.”

“Hmph~ Do you believe in superstitions? I’d like to conduct an inquisition right now, but I’ll refrain. There are more pressing matters at hand.”

It’s not totemism but an imitation of Luna.

I grabbed Rezé, who was trying to crawl back into the box, and sat her on a chair.

Victoria, who was taking out various medicinal ingredients and potions from her bag, spoke up.

“What’s Luna’s condition?”

“Keke, as you can see, it’s the same.”

“Hmm… That’s not a good sign. It wouldn’t be strange if she briefly woke up from the pain…”

Holy power radiated from Victoria’s hands.

She touched several parts of Luna’s body and tilted her head in puzzlement.

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

“The unstable blood vessels are all healed. How did this happen…”

It must be the power of the elixir Caron gave her last night.

It’s only been a few hours, yet it’s this effective. As expected of an S-class elixir.

“Then she’s okay now?”

“Yes, it seems she’s too focused on recovery to wake up. But it’s strange. Even the blood vessels I thought would never heal have all mended… Could she have mastered some special recovery technique?”

“Keke, Luna is resilient. Despite appearances, she’s a little Killing Machine. Be careful, or you might die if you clash with her.”

“To think there exists such a cute Killing Machine. If it weren’t for Zero, I would’ve taken her under my wing.”

I wonder if she really thinks that. Victoria laughed as she tidied Luna’s hair.

“Where did Adonis go?”

“He left a while ago. Leaving behind his superior, me. Could he be going through puberty?”

Victoria doesn’t know that I’m aware of Adonis’s true identity. So she was putting on this act.

‘The story is progressing as expected.’

Currently, Adonis is searching for the hidden Black Mages with Caron.

After the Carpathia invasion, the player is given a week.

If you wander around the village, you’ll often encounter Adonis in the guise of a rat.

The story is proceeding as planned.

“Well… Anyway, it’s a tricky situation. What I prepared has become useless.”

“Something you prepared?”

“I brought a gift for the beloved Luna.”

Victoria took something out.

It was round in shape, but some unknown parts were protruding from it.

At the same time, it emitted a terrible smell. But I couldn’t help but light up with excitement.

It resembled what Caron had brought.

That’s right. That is—

[Victoria’s Elixir: C]

An elixir Victoria secretly made by stealing ingredients from the Holy Kingdom’s apothecary.

Due to her lack of skill, the effect is not as good compared to the ingredients used, but it has excellent efficacy in boosting holy power.

All stats +2

Holy Power stat +10

—an elixir. In the game, if you obtained three of these, you’d have considered yourself very fortunate.

I never imagined I’d see two in one day.

“It’s something I brought hoping it’d help Luna… but at this level, there’s no need to use it.”

“Still, wouldn’t it be better to use it since you’ve brought it?”

“Hmm~ Is there any reason to use it when there’s no immediate danger? Elixirs are hard to come by, and someone critical might need it in the next battle.”

Even though the elixir is much less effective than the one Caron brought, I couldn’t afford to miss it.

The reason elixirs are valuable is because they have a ‘permanent effect.’

The +2 to all stats is excellent, but +10 to Holy Power is astounding.

Considering that the Holy Power stat becomes immensely powerful as you progress to the later stages, it’s an item I absolutely cannot pass up.

‘Even if I don’t use it, it’s good.’

It would be fine if Luna used it. Luna is expected to be with me until the end of this game.

How could I possibly get my hands on that elixir?

I was racking my brains desperately when Victoria seemed to catch on.

“Hmph~ Do you really want this that much? Well, it’s not impossible.”

“…What do you want?”

“Zero… If Zero and his faction join me, I’ll give you this elixir. Oh~ Hohoho!”

Perhaps she thought she had the upper hand. Victoria even leaned back slightly as she let out an arrogant laugh.

My mind whirred rapidly.

‘Should I take the elixir first and then betray her?’

Even though my affinity would drop drastically, the elixir was worth it.

I was seriously considering a plan to stab Victoria in the back when—

There was a sound from outside the door.

“What’s this? The door’s open? Is anyone inside?”

A girl peeked through the crack in the door.

A scion of the Rownter family, a magical genius, and the leader of the Yuridia faction.

It was Yuridia.

–TL Notes–

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