Chapter 144: The Airheaded Assassin—Frey
In a quiet alley, the master and servant were taking a leisurely stroll.
After Shouko Karyuusai had declared, "I will definitely create the best Eve's Heart in the world! I will not admit defeat!", she had left the academy that very night. After all, even if the academy had machinart workshops, the basic facilities couldn't be used to process precise, top-tier items. She had to return to her own workshop.
At first, Kobayashi had planned to go with her. It would have been best if he could take the opportunity to learn some advanced knowledge. But she had refused on the grounds that it was her main base. On top of that, her identity was extremely sensitive. After consideration, he had to give up.
He had thought that he would finally have some free time, but he had been thinking too simply.
"So tired... what is with this academy? Everyone is working way too hard. Is there any need to be this competitive?" he couldn't help but sigh and complain in a low voice.
The Royal Academy of Machinart was one of the top academies. The competitiveness among the students was extremely strong. This could be seen from the constantly changing rankings.
Especially with the Night Party about to begin, it was unknown if it was because of this, but the students were working even harder and were even more competitive.
Even he, who didn't care, was affected.
A small test every three days, a big test every five.
His head was full of exam questions, with no free time at all.
It seemed it was the same in any world. The days leading up to a major exam were always a torment. And it was even more obvious when you were with top students.
"What an unpromising sigh, Master Kobayashi. Since your brain is still somewhat flexible, how about you use it a little? If you become like that reckless savage (Raishin Akabane) who only knows how to swing his fists and is stuck in the mire of remedial classes, it will lower my reputation." RyuZU's tongue was as sharp as ever.
What she didn't know was that her extremely vicious sharp tongue had already lowered her reputation quite a bit. Oh no, among certain people with special hobbies, her score might have gone up.
"What is it, Master Kobayashi? Why are you looking at me with that expression?" she asked, not understanding.
"...No, it's nothing," he said, shaking his head. "Let's go. Let's go back to the dorm, get our books, and then go to the cafeteria to meet up with Charlotte and Raishin."
With the Night Party approaching, the three of them often gathered to discuss things. Although most of the time, it was Charlotte talking while he and Raishin listened.
Returning to the dormitory.
As soon as he entered, he saw a mysterious object swaying in the center of the room.
—It was a net.
Something like a fishing net was hanging from the ceiling, and inside it was a girl, sprawled out with her arms and legs raised high, completely exposing the cloth of privacy that only she should see.
The girl, wearing the academy uniform, was hanging in mid-air in a posture that was harmful to adolescents. It was very tempting.
And the girl herself was very young and beautiful.
Her hair, coiled on the right side of her head, was a fantastical pearl color, different from RyuZU's bright silver. A strangely long scarf, garter stockings, and a fluffy lace bow—she looked very cute.
Most importantly, her uniform seemed to be one size too small. The buttons on her chest were not fastened, revealing a sliver of fair, eye-catching light under the sun.
In addition, a black-furred wolf-dog, which was almost being crushed by her butt, was also happily in the net with her. From the armor on its shoulders and its camera-like eyes, it was probably an automaton.
At this moment, the girl was looking at him with an expectant expression.
"Master Kobayashi..."
"Ignore it."
The two girls' inquiries were decisively ignored by him. He quickly walked into the room, picked up a textbook from the desk, and said one thing to the girl in the air.
"—Enjoy."
Then he turned to leave.
The suspended girl was extremely disappointed.
Seeing this, RyuZU asked again in a low voice, "Master Kobayashi, is it really okay to ignore her?"
"RyuZU, I have enough on my plate already. If I get into any more trouble, I'll be exhausted to death," he replied wearily.
He recognized the girl hanging in the net.
—Frey.
Raishin's opponent in the first round.
She must have mistaken him for Raishin. After all, they both had Eastern faces, and it was normal for Westerners not to be able to tell the difference.
Furthermore, with the springs, pulleys, and rubber bands scattered around the room—childish toys with no killing power at all—no matter how you looked at it, it seemed she had been trying to set a trap but had ended up getting caught herself.
Although she hadn't succeeded, the fact that she had tried to use a trap on him was true. Even if she was really cute, he had to teach her a lesson.
"So just ignore her. Leave her hanging here as a punishment."
"Master Kobayashi... is it really okay for you to do this? She looks like a complete klutz, and she's tied up in the air, unable to move. If some bad guy were to accidentally break in here and make a move on a girl in such an indecent posture, then you would be an accomplice to the crime. Is that okay with you?"
...The story of Xiaolongnü?
He frowned slightly.
This was an academy! How could that kind of thing happen?! ...He really wanted to refute with that, but the academy had long since become a public toilet that anyone could enter and exit as they pleased. He couldn't guarantee that it would absolutely not happen. No, perhaps he was just being soft-hearted.
It couldn't be helped. Who told him to be a sunny young man?
After thinking for a moment, he let the net down.
After the girl landed on the floor, she struggled to get up, but the net only got tighter, and the position she was bound in was extremely compromising.
The corner of his mouth twitched. He looked at the girl, whose hands and feet were bound, unable to move, flopping around like a fish.
If it were a certain red-faced, perverted female knight, she would surely be doing this on purpose. But Frey, he was certain, was absolutely not doing it on purpose.
Her level of clumsiness was on another level.
He gave a look, and the scythe from under RyuZU's skirt extended. After a dark shadow passed, the net binding the girl was cut open.
"Ngh... thank you."
Frey trembled like a little white mouse and thanked the two of them softly.
The girl's upturned face had ruby-like eyes. Her pretty little face clearly showed the makings of a beauty who had not yet fully blossomed. And in contrast to her weak expression, a certain part of her body was making a strangely strong assertion of its own. An ordinary person would surely blush upon seeing it.
It seems I know why I saved her.
But that was all.
After giving the girl's strong self-assertion a deep look, he turned to leave, not saying any unnecessary words during the process.
But when he and RyuZU got downstairs.
He saw a strong, pearlescent light reflecting in the sun from between the bushes, as well as a constantly wagging dog's tail.
N-no way.
He turned to look at the dormitory, then at the bushes.
The dormitory was three stories high. Even if he hadn't been walking particularly fast, for her to get down first and block his path was still very surprising.
As expected of the type who is clumsy at doing things, but an expert at running away.
He sighed.
The other party was clearly a grinder's little goblin. Although she was only causing small troubles, it was enough to give one a headache. Before the trouble escalated, he had to make things clear.
He walked up and said, "I say, what do you need from me?"
"This..."
Frey came out from behind the bushes, trembling, and handed over a basket, like a newborn fawn.
"What's this?"
"I wanted to apologize for what happened just now, so I made a bento..."
That's too perfunctory an excuse!
It hadn't even been three minutes since what had just happened. For her to be able to intercept him here in advance and make an apology bento... don't tell me your automaton also has the ability to hand-rubbing time stop?!
Even if you want to lie, find a suitable reason! You've exposed yourself in an instant, hey!
"I... am very... good at... cooking..."
Frey was still timid.
No, no, no, does this have anything to do with being good at cooking or not?
She opened the basket with trembling hands.
Inside, it was neatly packed with sandwiches that looked delicious and appetizing. It seemed she really was good at cooking.
...That being said.
An ordinary person wouldn't eat it, right?
Even if you knew it was a delicacy, no one would eat something that had been poisoned.
"Sorry. We're about to go to the cafeteria. I appreciate the thought. If there's a chance, I will... wait, don't cry!"
Frey's eyes filled with tears.
Fortunately, there was no one else around. If some gossip had seen this and made a sarcastic remark like, "Look, there's a man who's refusing a girl's food. How unreasonable," he would have been really angry.
He took out a sandwich.
He opened his mouth wide, and under her expectant gaze, slowly brought it to his mouth... CRUNCH! He bit down on the air.
"Idiot! How could I eat it!"
He flicked her on the forehead.
"Ngh..." she let out a whimper. It was unknown if it was from the pain or from disappointment.
This is no good.
Seeing her, he had the illusion that he was raising a problem child. Her level was the same as Aqua and the others.
While she was dejected, he said, "There's one thing I must state beforehand. You seem to have mistaken me for someone else. I am not your opponent in the first round."
His current rank was 100. Raishin was 99.
In other words, the two of them would fight in the first round, and then the winner, Raishin, would face the 98th-ranked (originally 99th) Frey in the second round.
That's right. He had already decided to withdraw from the Night Party.
Now that he had received the guidance of a top-class master and would soon get an Eve's Heart specially made for RyuZU, he really couldn't think of a reason to continue participating in the Night Party. So, clearing his name as soon as possible was the best way.
But—
Frey suddenly said this: "No. Kobayashi... Mr. Kobayashi... is... my first-round... opponent."
"...Eh?"
He froze.
He subconsciously took a bite of the sandwich in his hand, then immediately spat it out.
As I thought, it's so salty!
The Student Cafeteria in the Central Courtyard.
Every day at noon, he and the others would gather here to exchange information from the morning and arrange their plans for the afternoon.
"In other words, you were late today because you were assassinated?" Charlotte looked at the tired Kobayashi with some concern.
"If you can even call that an assassination," he rubbed his temples.
Raishin looked at him with schadenfreude and teased, "A beautiful girl's assassination. Could you handle it?"
"You..."
Kobayashi had been teasing him about being trapped in remedial hell for a while now. He hadn't expected to be the one being laughed at this time. It should have been you who had to deal with this kind of thing.
"...Wait, there's one problem."
"What?"
"Akabane-kun, shouldn't the first round be between you, ranked 99th, and me, ranked 100th? That girl... Frey said that her first-round opponent is me. What in the world is going on?"
"Ah, because I raised my Night Party rank."
Raishin looked quite smug.
Seeing that he was at a loss, Charlotte took the initiative to explain. "Didn't I explain it to you before? The first round is a battle between 99th and 100th... that is, you two. And Raishin, in order not to fight with you, so..."
"Hmph hmph hmph. Knowing your strength, how could I possibly meet you in the first round?" Raishin said, showing a rare moment of intelligence.
But it was purely an unnecessary move.
"I was thinking of just forfeiting if I met you in the first round."
"...Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"I thought you were deep in remedial hell and didn't have time to pay attention to these things. I was thinking of giving you a surprise."
"...Some surprise."
Raishin was also very depressed.
"By the way," he asked curiously, "How did you raise your Night Party rank so easily? There haven't been any battles in the academy recently. What's your rank now?"
"Rank 50."
He had said an incredible rank.
Charlotte also shrugged helplessly and sighed. "After all, he's the rookie who defeated Felix. Everyone below rank 50 is trembling in fear. On top of that, with the Night Party opening imminent, by just intimidating those who are afraid of being eliminated early, he easily raised his rank."
"...What an insidious and cunning strategy, Akabane-kun."
"Thank you for the compliment."
Raishin, who had been pricked, felt no shame at all. In fact, he had done this entirely because the forces behind him had demanded it. And since his original purpose was to get revenge on a certain someone, he had no reason to refuse.
"But, if you really run into danger, you must ask me... ahem, us for help."
"Oh, I will."
He agreed with a smile.
After a brief meeting, the three of them turned to leave.
Still on the quiet path, the master and servant were walking leisurely... it would be better if there wasn't an expectant gaze constantly fixed on him from the side.
"Master Kobayashi?"
"Ignore it."
Without stopping, he quickly passed the pitfall trap that couldn't be more obvious, ignoring the soft cry of the girl behind him, and quickly returned to the dormitory.
The next day, before dawn.
The sound of footsteps echoed in the quiet corridor.
Kobayashi opened his eyes and exchanged a look with RyuZU in his arms. After a tacit nod, she left the bed and disappeared, while he continued to lie in bed, acting completely defenseless.
After a while.
A sneaky figure picked the lock of the door and tiptoed in.
...If you're going to do something bad, why do you only quiet your footsteps when you get to the door? Isn't that a complete giveaway?
He held back the urge to retort and silently watched the sneaky assassin.
She moved carefully in the room, but the room was too dark, and she didn't see the clothes scattered on the floor. With a thud, she fell to the ground.
The girl covered her mouth, but a suppressed whimper could still be heard.
...
He was instantly speechless.
The girl struggled to get up. After a while, after a rustling sound, she climbed into his bed.
The moment they made contact, he instantly sprang up, grabbed her hands, and pressed her down on top of him, completely immobilizing her limbs.
"—Eh?!"
Frey had a dazed look on her face, completely not expecting that she had already been exposed.
"No, you were exposed long ago. What kind of clumsy assassination is this?" he asked, his forehead close to her face, his eyes rather dangerous.
Although it was very amateurish, she had indeed carried out an assassination. It wouldn't be right not to punish her.
His fingers traced her tender cheek, and his voice was low and threatening. "A failed assassination... you know what that means, right? Especially for a pretty girl like you. You could be broken."
"..."
She still looked at him with a dazed expression, as if she still hadn't reacted.
His fingers slid down, roaming over her collarbone, and he continued, "In my country, there's a saying, 'to throw a meat bun at a dog is a total loss'... you... have some unexpectedly nice meat buns."
His fingers continued to move downwards. The strong presence was squeezed, a tempting concave shape that only one person could see.
Just as it was about to turn into [Shame of a Woman, the Hell of a Captured Assassin.mp4], she suddenly said, "That's not right. If it was Rabi... my automaton... the meat bun wouldn't be a total loss."
"What did you say?"
"If it was Rabi, the meat bun wouldn't be a total loss."
"...Pfft!"
Hearing the girl's pure and innocent words, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.
(End of Chapter)