3 - Win.
"What, what did you say…? Dog…? Annoying…?!"
Kaiser's face twisted up like some vengeful demon.
"What's that? Do they raise dogs at the academy or something? I keep hearing barking."
I met Kaiser's gaze without flinching and gave a faint smile.
[Sloth +15!]
Because the angrier Kaiser got, the more Sloth I kept racking up!
I'd earned 30 Sloth in an instant.
What a freaking gold mine…!
My trait wasn't called the Sin of 'Sloth' for nothing.
The nastier the shit I pulled, the more Sloth piled up.
"What the hell are you saying to Kaiser, you punk!"
"Huh? You wanna get wrecked, you bottom-of-the-class loser?"
Bam!
Kaiser's lackeys flew into a rage, one of them slamming the table hard. They looked ready to jump me any second, their vibes downright savage.
But I stayed chill. I could see exactly how this would play out.
Tap.
Sure enough, Kaiser reached out and stopped his goon by the chest.
"Enough. Don't cause a scene for the other students."
Yeah, knew it. I'd clashed with you so many times while grinding [Stella Academia].
Your patterns? All right here in the palm of my hand.
Sure, Kaiser was a thug, but as the scion of a prestigious house, he couldn't just straight-up attack in a place like this.
"…I was gonna let you off with a little advice, but you provoke me? Guess I'll have to teach you a real lesson."
Advice my ass. That was just straight-up shit-talking, you wannabe bully.
I looked at him with utter pity, but he ignored it and bellowed his declaration in a booming voice.
"Jerron Airgia! This afternoon, during 'Practical Sparring.' That's when I'll give you a lesson you'll never forget."
A challenge to a duel, basically.
But then it happened.
[A sudden quest has appeared!]
[Show of Strength]
Goal: Defeat Kaiser in the duel using a 'slothful method.'
Reward: Sloth +500
'A quest?'
My eyes lit up at the popup.
In [Stella Academia], you could snag rewards like experience points through quests.
I figured I couldn't get quests since the Sin of Sloth blocked EXP, but nope—it was just twisted into this form instead.
Talk about unexpected candy from the gods…?
Oh man, Grandpa… just how far are you gonna spoil me!
'Hmm… a slothful method, huh.'
Of course, there was that 'slothful' qualifier.
Just winning a straight fight wouldn't cut it. It had to be a lazy-ass win, no fair play.
'Even better.'
With my current level and stats, I'd never beat Kaiser fair and square, dead or alive.
Time for some easy-mode cheese.
The reward was a whopping 500 Sloth. No way I was passing that up.
"Sure, bring it."
I gave a short reply. No dragging it out and risking a 'diligent behavior' flag.
I'd meant it casually, but it must've pissed Kaiser off even more.
"Urgh…!"
[Sloth +15]
Grandpa, stuffing my pockets with Sloth like a grandma at New Year's.
He stormed off, fuming, with his crew in tow.
Once Kaiser and his gang were gone.
An awkward silence hung over the cafeteria for a moment.
Then it filled right back up with murmurs.
And the star of the show? Yours truly.
'Whoa, debuting as the popularity kingpin, huh.'
Getting the full social butterfly high school experience here.
"Um, Jerron… you okay? That cadet Kaiser looked really pissed…."
Yuria's voice dripped with worry. But no need.
"Let's eat. I'm starving."
I'd kicked this off with a plan, not winging it.
Anyone else, maybe trouble. But Kaiser? I could handle him.
That thing I'd eyed in the Sloth Shop.
And Kaiser's 'habit' I knew about.
Combine those two….
My lips curled up without me realizing.
***
'Ah… what do I do…!'
Yuria's vision went dark.
Up until moments ago, she'd seen Jerron as just a bit lazy… no, pretty darn lazy, but with a good heart—someone kinda worrisome, her seatmate.
But then he calls Kaiser Fireheart—the heir everyone knew from a top noble house—a barking dog!
Her heart dropped like a stone.
Kaiser's face back then? Terrifying.
He looked ready to torch Jerron with fire magic on the spot.
Good thing he'd backed off for now….
But in the afternoon sparring eval, Jerron was gonna get wrecked. What if he got seriously hurt on the first day?
She'd tried talking to him out of worry, but he just shrugged.
"Let's eat. I'm starving."
He picked up his utensils like nothing happened.
And then, out of nowhere, he smiled.
So calm it bordered on excited—now Yuria's head was even more messed up.
'Why's he so cool about it…? Does he… have some ace up his sleeve?'
Lost in confused thoughts, Yuria stared at Jerron, oblivious to her cooling food.
***
"Hey, you see that just now?"
"Crazy bastard, right? Jerron or whatever. Bottom of the whole school, and his balls are hanging out."
"Calling Kaiser a dog… damn, I doubted my own ears."
"How's the afternoon spar gonna go?"
"Pfft, no contest. Over in 10 seconds. It's Fireheart, man."
"Still, fun. First day and we got this kinda show already."
Whispers spread like waves through the cafeteria.
To them, Jerron was just a dumbass loser due for a beatdown that afternoon—nothing more, nothing less. They were just thrilled at the drama.
But she was different.
'Idiots.'
Luna Kashamir.
The only daughter of House Kashamir—one of the great magic families, rivals to the Firehearts.
Sitting alone at a far table sipping tea, Luna sneered at them inwardly.
'…Now that's interesting.'
Her eyes sparkled with intrigue toward Jerron. Everyone else might think he was a suicidal moron, but not Luna.
'That's… no bluff.'
The look in Jerron's eyes she'd caught held zero fear or bravado.
At first, it was pure boredom, like everything was a hassle.
But the second Kaiser threw down the sparring challenge, it changed.
A flash of violet eyes.
It was the gaze of a predator finally spotting prey after a dull wait.
Having grown up around powerhouses, Luna sensed it on instinct.
Kaiser Fireheart.
Strong, sure. Top of their year. But for Jerron to stay that relaxed against him? Meant he didn't see Kaiser as a threat at all.
"Jerron Airgia…."
Luna set down her teacup and murmured his name softly.
"Ahh, so exciting—can't wait for afternoon."
To her, Jerron was the most intriguing guy she'd found on day one at the academy.
***
After lunch, heading back to class with Yuria, the vibe was chaotic.
Students' stares stabbed my way. Mostly pity.
Even locked eyes with Luna—one of the side NPCs—and she freaking winked outta nowhere.
…? What's her deal?
Guess the duel rumor with Kaiser spread like wildfire.
Took my seat slow.
Tap.
Someone gripped my desk and spoke up.
"Forget it."
I looked up at the icy voice. A cool blue-haired beauty stared down at me.
Artel.
'Oh, Ice Princess.'
Cold personality. Cold face.
Even her magic was ice—head-to-toe frozen concept babe.
But under that haughty exterior, as the story rolled on, she'd panic around the real monster geniuses, and that gap moe made her a community fave.
'Artel is cold.'
Cold foam, frozen combat meter, ice rocket—tons of frosty nicknames in that meme trend once.
Anyway, what brought her to me?
"Didn't you hear? Forfeit the duel. He's not someone you can beat."
Ah, here for the Kaiser duel. She'd heard too.
But under that snappy tone, wasn't she just worried I'd get hurt?
Total tsundere. Cold outside, warm inside—not a bad kid.
So I answered as warmly as I could.
"Thanks for worrying, Artel. But I'm good."
"W-What are you saying…! Who said I was worried…! And calling me by name on first meet, rude…!"
Artel's face flushed a bit as she snapped back.
But seeing my pleased dad-smile, she bit her lip, pissed. Figured she'd fallen into my pace.
"Haa…."
She let out a deep sigh.
"No idea what you're thinking. Kaiser's rank 13 in the entrance exam— a powerhouse. It'll be a one-sided hunt, not a duel. Drop the pride, apologize, and forfeit now."
"Told you, I'm good."
"Fine, then tell me. How? You got a strategy?"
Hmm. I did, but she'd never get it even if I explained.
Thought about laying it out nice anyway.
[Warning! Diligent behavior detected!]
System freaking out outta nowhere.
Damn this thing—even explaining strategy counts as diligent to it.
No choice. Gotta reply lazy.
I said:
"I'll win."
Explaining some long-winded strategy crap. = Boring and pretentious.
Win. = Short, sticks forever. Zero chance of debate loss.
"...."
"...."
Silence hit.
Artel was speechless, stunned. Yuria just shook her head like she was used to it.
[Sloth +10!]
Only the cluelessly hyped system popped a message.