49 – 049 – Storming Club Fair # 4
049 – Storming Club Fair #4
“… Nike, aren’t you going too fast?”
“But Viktor, you must go and get the beaker!”
Nike rushed fearlessly through the dark campus of the old school.
I don’t know if it’s Victor with a heart of steel, but other guys would be overwhelmed by this dark and humid atmosphere.
Nike had none of that.
Indeed, he is worthy of being the former head of the Mokemoke occult department.
“Victor, here’s a spider’s web!”
“Since it’s an old, abandoned building, there must be spider webs.”
“Do you have any friends in Kyeongkong?”
Nike seemed excited at the thought of catching and taming another spider.
Then, as if he had found something, he shouted, “Look at that, Viktor!” While I was looking into the darkness to see what I was looking for, Nike ran into the darkness.
What Nike held in his hand was a lizard that glowed black like a salamander.
“Shadow Gecko! He’s hard to find, but he’s in a place like this!”
– Crab-nose.
It was a strange lizard.
It was the first animal I had ever seen.
Is this the guy added in the DLC?
said Nike.
“It’s black and shiny, doesn’t it resemble Miss Enio?”
“That’s right.”
Most of the shadow techniques Enio uses are those that hang down on the floor like lizards.
I suddenly became curious, what is Enio doing now?
Maybe they’re growling at each other over being paired up with Victoria.
I’m curious what the two of you will talk about.
I asked.
“So, what good does that gecko or something do?”
“There’s nothing special about it other than crying out loud! Still, they are the ones that cost 50,000 Renae apiece. Awesome!”
“Five.”
50,000 Renée for one dog.
What a wonderful animal.
I said to Nike, who was putting the lizard in the collection box.
“Let’s find some more.”
“great!”
Do you make money while playing?
If this is not healing, what is healing?
With that feeling, Nike and I wandered around looking for animals hiding here and there in the old school building. But other than the first gecko I found, there was nothing in sight.
Well, if I could make money easily by catching animals, other students would already be here.
The students of this Ludens are the ones who flock to any place that smells like money.
“weird. I think there may be at least one more… . Gecko-. Geck, Gecko-.”
“What are you doing?”
I asked Nike, who was making strange noises.
Nike then covers her lips with her index finger and gives a warning with a shh.
“It’s calling the lizards… ! Pretending to be the same people, calling them out and catching them… !”
It was a ruthless strategy, befitting a daughter who grew up in the forest.
If, at the sound of “Victor, come out here!”, I stepped out and a monster ten times my size grabbed me, I would absolutely despair!
“Crab-ko. Gecko-. . Point out-.”
… But I don’t think there are lizards that cry like that.
Of course, I didn’t pay that kind of attention.
it could actually be
“Victor, look over there!”
Then Nike touched something with his hand again.
Do you see something?
I couldn’t see anything in particular, but Nike liked it, his hair standing on end as if he had found a gold nugget.
“What is that? It’s the first time I’ve seen anything like that!”
And then it’s about to pop out like a spring.
I had no choice but to hold her hand.
“Nike, be careful.”
“oh… !”
There was a big pit right in front of where Nike was about to run. It would be more accurate to describe it as a hole drilled in the floor of the third floor and connected to the second floor.
oh oh oh-.
The worn-out floor was black and dark, like an open mouth from the jaws of hell.
“You have to look under your feet and right in front of you. It’s an old place, so there are a lot of holes and cracks like this.”
“Thank you, Victor. When was there a hole like this before… ?”
It was Nike laughing awkwardly.
Looking uncomfortable, I asked, “Where did you get hurt?” Nike shook his head and said.
“That’s not it, hands… .”
“Right.”
I let go of Nike’s palm.
Nike’s hand feels as fragile as a bud that blooms on a spring day, so you might be able to feel pain just by squeezing it into Victor’s tough, hard palm.
“By the way, your palms are too weak to think that you grew up in the forest. When you were in the forest, you didn’t suffer as much as you thought, did you?”
At my question, Nike opened her palms like stars in the dark and peered into them.
“yes? my hand? Compared to Miss Victoria or Miss Enio, my hands must be really rough… .”
If Nike’s hands are rough, my hands are sandpaper.
Although actually similar.
said Nike.
“But it’s true that I didn’t suffer much when I was in Rashguard Forest. I have a lot of friends there and my dad is there, so I didn’t feel uncomfortable!”
“I see.”
“When spring comes, I pick the flowers. In the summer, I fish in a nearby ditch or stream. In the fall, I picked up ripe and fallen fruits and ate them.”
Even in the dark, I could clearly see the longing shining like starlight in Nike’s emerald eyes.
To think that Nike, who grew up in the forest without any shortage, was hit with a cold wind to take ‘revenge’ in this heartless and ruthless Ludens.
“That revenge. Is it that important? To the extent that I chewed on it while going through the experience of starving and being homeless in this Ludens.”
“that’s… .”
The main episode of Nike.
As a deceased person, I could sense that the theme was some kind of ‘revenge’.
However, the Nike I’ve been through for the past few days is far from that bloody attribute no matter how you look at it.
So I kind of asked.
Do you really have to go that hard way?
Nike said to him.
“This is my heart’s debt. You have to pay the debt.”
“That’s right.”
Debts must be paid off
If you owe something, you must pay it back.
But it’s a debt of the heart.
I have never paid anything like that.
Nike continued.
“Of course, it is true that there was a lot of hard work. … I was almost ostracized in first grade. There is no money, grades keep dropping… .”
“Nike, have you been bullied?”
“… … .”
You don’t want to talk much?
I think of Nike, who was scruffy before meeting me.
I wouldn’t know it now, but it wouldn’t be strange to say that Nike at the time was being bullied. On the contrary, he did not know that he had become so groggy because he had been bullied.
“Is it because he is from Rashgard Forest?”
It reminds me of what Enio said.
There is a saying that a terrifying monster lives in the Rash Guard Forest.
And Nike’s father… .
indeed.
That’s what rumors were going around.
Then Nike said.
“It’s fine now though! These days, every day is a series of unexpected events. I never thought my life could be this bright!”
“That’s good.”
“Victor, it was my great fortune to meet you!”
It was kind of cool.
Neither I nor Viktor were far from receiving this kind of disinterested praise, so I felt ashamed of breaking through the wariness of my steel heart.
That’s why I’m just pretending it’s nothing.
“The two have only increased their debt by 200 million each. But so far, we’re doing well with each other. Best of luck in the future, partner.”
Shuk, my hand reaching out.
Nike catches it.
“Yes, partner!”
* * *
“Nike, fill all the beakers there. I think we can use it.”
“Here are pots and ladles and things like that!”
We arrived at the laboratory on the 4th floor and packed all the utensils.
To be honest, I was a bit bored with this test of courage.
This ‘bowl farming’ was quite exciting.
“They are in strangely good condition.”
The condition of the laboratory was so pleasant and clean that it was hard to believe that it was an old school covered with spider webs. So the tools placed there were dustless, as if someone had just cleaned them.
I don’t know what it is, but it’s sweet anyway.
Nike asked when he was putting it in a sack like that.
“Rather than that, Viktor, can’t you hear something?”
Did Nike’s sensitive ears sense something?
I stopped what I was doing and listened quietly.
But nothing was heard.
“I can’t hear anything.”
“Is it because of my mood… , I think I heard a rumbling, rumbling sound… .”
isn’t it a rat?
There are so many rats in this old school.
Thanks to that, I was excited about the rat hunting game.
It made me really angry as I have to pay attention to hygiene because of the rats who might eat away at the stock.
Come to think of it, didn’t the unique item “Hamelin’s Trumpet” confiscated from the student council’s declaring Enrique arrive in the student council’s warehouse?
How can I borrow it well and drive away only the rats?
With the above thoughts in mind, we came out to the front door of the old school, our base camp, and Arnoy, who had lit a bonfire, greeted Nike with me.
“I’m sure you’ve returned safely… ! Then, the test of courage is now over… !”
“Isn’t it your turn next, Arnoi?”
“This Arnoy is a late eighth grader who has to be careful of falling leaves… ! If you take the courage test recklessly, you might not be able to graduate this year again… !”
No, you talked about the test of courage the most.
I’ll get a lot of bowls and look at it.
At that moment, Enio slowly came to my side and crossed his arms.
“Victor-kun, would you like to come with me? i’m so scared Miss Victoria isn’t very trustworthy.”
Then Victorica grabbed Enio’s arm and pulled him away from me.
“Enio, don’t you know that you shouldn’t make contact with students of the opposite sex after 10 o’clock? And you, who handles the shadows, can’t be afraid of this darkness!”
Apparently, it would be wrong for Enio and Victorica to test their courage by pairing up with each other.
But there’s no need for me to go back in with Enio. Because I brought all the things I needed to pack.
With that feeling, I decided to briefly conclude the schedule by saying, “Then, the courage test ends here.”
I have to wash the dishes I acquired quickly and practice cooking.
Moon angle, moon angle -.
Arnoy, who was playing in the water with soap and foam, asked as he was washing dishes in the old school sink.
“That’s why I’m curious… . Earlier, I heard a very loud scream from upstairs… ! What did you see that surprised you so much… ?”
“A scream?”
Nike and I looked at each other’s faces.
Wasn’t there anything that could be called a scream?
To say the least, when I caught Nike who was about to fall into the hole, Nike said “Ah… !” was a brief shout.
It didn’t seem like it reached the front door.
“Arnoi, you must have heard it wrong.”
“That can’t be… ! Surely, surely this Arnoi heard it clearly… ! Someone was screaming loudly… !”
However, unlike Arnoi’s story, neither Victorica nor Enio nor teacher Domina heard the scream.
“That, it can’t be… ! Why is everyone lying like that… ? This Arnoi alone couldn’t have heard the scream… !”
Arnoi shivering and sweating.
At that time, Nike revealed a wow look.
“Wow! Nymph sweat!”
Nike catches the sweat that rolled down Arnoi’s forehead with his fingers.
To watch what he was doing, Nike put Arnoi’s sweat drops into the graduated cylinder he had learned earlier in the lab.
When Enio asks, “What the hell are you doing?” Nike replies with a satisfied smile.
“I learned from my father that the sweat and tears of nymphs are valuable medicines… ! The bones and hair of nymphs are also used as materials for important magical tools… !”
“yes? Why?”
“They say that nymphs are errand runners elaborately created by the gods. That’s why nymphs are as valuable as the dungeons and rare treasures found in Ludens!”
Hearing those words, Arnoi began to tremble with a more terrifying feeling than when he protested earlier that he had heard a scream.
“Th-you shouldn’t believe such nymph-hating ghost stories… ! Everyone, you shouldn’t believe such stupid stories… ! It’s untrue… !”
but.
It seemed that everyone’s gaze toward Arnoi had changed little by little.
“I just needed a new weapon for the fortress… . Cut all over the place… .”
In particular, it was the eyes of a cold-hearted hunter looking at his prey, like Enio looking at Arnoi.
Enio might really commit it.
I’m interested in that nymph material, but I can’t lose the goose that lays the golden eggs here.
“Then, go back to the club room and practice cooking.”
Leaving behind the chaotic atmosphere in many ways, we left the old school building and returned to the club room.
Even in the midst of that, Arnoy continued to look back at the old school building and said, “I’ve definitely heard it… .” He seemed unable to hide his regret.