The Academy’s Guide to Useless Students – Chapter 45

The reincarnator was disappointed in the villain.

I thought he would at least bring some amusing tricks. Instead, he only intended to use Joseph as a sacrificial pawn to gauge the situation.

‘So cliché, it’s kind of boring.’

So, I decided to up the ante myself. I pulled out the item I had brought along just in case, the [Hunter’s Honey Jar]. Although it was only known as a trophy of some unremarkable spices, I knew the proper way to use it.

The [Hunter’s Honey Jar] was a trophy from a flying monster beyond the continent, and it had the characteristic of spreading the pheromones of a female.

This thing, colloquially known as ‘Bombykol’ in the game director’s setting guide, was closely related to the plans for aphrodisiacs and research on the rich scoundrels that would be revealed in the middle of the story, but let’s skip that for now.

Anyway, I was the only one who knew how to use [Bombykol], and I was stimulating the mating season of the males lurking in the Emerald Forest.

‘Why, you ask?’

Because that ignites excitement.

Arthur Floyd’s antics weren’t stimulating enough. Naturally, to maintain a stickier relationship with Joseph, a heart-pounding crisis was necessary.

Boom!━━

The plan was successful. A deafening sound resonated, shaking the ground.

“Yuto, something is approaching from this direction.”

Sorry, that was my fault.

Joseph, being the assassin he is, had excellent reflexes. He detected the threat of the ‘male’ that had yet to show itself and got into a combat stance.

But only according to his standards.

Joseph was doing his best to just try and stay sane, recalling the time he had been interrogated.

“Please stay back for a moment.”

“Wha-!… What are you planning to do, Yuto?!”

“I’m just going to observe its movements. I don’t know what kind it is yet.”

In truth, I didn’t care which one it was.

Saying that, I drew my sword.

What kind of monster would be the sacrificial pawn?

Thud! Thud!

The valiant beast that appeared was a ‘Man-Eating Grizzly’. The only slight difference was that it was carrying something?

The beast had a person dangling from its horns stretched out across its shoulders.

Swinging. A small girl was fluttering about like a piece of paper.

“Ugh… I think I’m going to throw up.”

Cletta?

“Oof… I-I feel like I’m going to spill it.”

There was another one next to her, a girl with an eye patch covering her eyes, covering her mouth with her delicate arms. The appearing grizzly had transformed into an epic monster equipped with two heroines.

It was absurd.

I contemplated whether to take them down altogether, but I decided to sort the situation first.

The Man-Eating Grizzly could serve as material for a dramatic turnaround, so I stepped forward without hesitation.

Snap!

But there was one more uninvited guest. From the bushes opposite the grizzly, a girl with blue eyes and the same black hair as mine appeared, holding a mace.

‘What the hell, is this a meeting of the gang?’

Everyone’s here.

Why doesn’t the true mastermind show up?

Suddenly, I felt sympathy for the ‘Man-Eating Grizzly’?

“If only you had brought a friend, maybe we could’ve slipped away in the chaos.”

‘Hmm?’

Was it because I brought Cletta along? The habitat of the Man-Eating Grizzly isn’t at the forest’s entrance. It was likely drawn here by the influence of the [Hunter’s Honey Jar], and in the process, it had been lured by Cletta’s aggro.

Though I had begun to somewhat control the aggro with my mental barriers, Cletta’s current condition was probably inadequate. That meant there were likely more guests around.

Thud! Thud!

“Grrr!”

The Man-Eating Grizzly greeted its companions with enthusiasm. When two or three more jumped out, they were beginning to form a battle line.

“Grrr!”

The grizzly shook off its shoulders and flung the two heroines to the ground. Thud, and the two girls tumbled to my feet.

“Hey… you came to rescue me?”

“No, you came over here on your own accord.”

“Ugh… Yuto, is it?”

“Ellie, don’t stick to me.”

I shook off the two girls who were clinging to me and stood beside Laura.

“I can handle this by myself.”

“Is that so? You’d know if it were Laura you were talking to.”

“Hmm? What about?”

“The traits of the Man-Eating Grizzly.”

Crackle!

The spikes on the grizzly’s shoulders acted as a lightning rod, emitting electric charges. The bright yellow lightning increased their ferocity tenfold.

“Yikes!━━”

On the other hand, Laura’s morale plummeted, and she was starting to suffer an outburst debuff from [Trauma]. What the heck are they doing?

“Everyone back away. I will take it on.”

“Grr? Hehe, grrr~”

The damn thing is laughing.

I was going to let it slide, but now it has to be the first to become a sacrifice.

Scrape!

Without using Ether, I swung my magically charged sword and struck its neck.

Thud!

The headless grizzly gushed a dark stream of blood and mingled with the ground.

One cut.

The remaining two kept their distance. Since they had roles to play, I deliberately left openings.

I could see the grizzly’s evil gaze scanning the corners. I knew from the start that one more was hiding. It surely intended to launch a surprise attack, but it would be wise to change tactics, realizing I wasn’t someone to mess with.

“Grr! Grrr!”

“This humiliation is being inflicted on me!…”

Just as I desired, the hidden grizzly took Joseph, who was left unattended, as a hostage. Joseph was on the grizzly’s shoulder, pouring out his frustrations.

“Grr? Grrr, grrrr.”

What the hell is it saying?

Well, it went as intended, so I decided to play along.

Thud.

I sheathed my sword.

And then I tried hard to make a pitiful expression.

“…A hostage? That’s a cowardly tactic.”

“Grr! Hehehe!”

“I have no choice. I will surrender.”

“Hehehe!”

As I raised the white flag, Joseph shouted with a raised voice. His fierce voice resonated tragically.

“Yuto, don’t do it! Are you really going to throw your life away for someone like me?!”

As if!

It’s all an act.

Seeing Joseph’s reaction made me realize how effective it was. However, it felt like the ‘resolution’ needed a bit more seasoning.

Should I try harder?

I trudged towards the grizzly holding Joseph hostage. The beast was also flustered by my approach.

“Now, please let him go. I have discarded my weapon. What more do you need?”

“Grr, grrr! Grrr!”

“You mean to say I should strip fully of my equipment?”

I wasn’t sure, but by the looks of it, it seemed like it wanted me to remove everything, including the [Universal Coat] and auxiliary gear.

Very well. Bring on a more dramatic stimulation.

━━Crackle!

As I took off the [Universal Coat], it launched a lightning attack at me.

Ka-Bam!

The ensuing bolt sent a shock through my body. Feeling somewhat lacking in its effect, I even lifted my body a bit.

“Grr?”

Even the grizzly tilted its head, surprised by its own destructive power as it looked down at its feet. I paid no mind and knelt on one knee.

“…I will not back down this easily.”

“Grr?”

“I’ll hold my ground until you release Joseph.”

Tears like chicken droppings were gathering at the corners of Joseph’s eyes.

That guy, he was feeling moved.

Shall I drive the nail in further?

“Come on… go ahead, if you can.”

I approached the grizzly.

One step. Another step. I pressed forward with weight in my stride.

“Grrr……”

The grizzlies stood frozen, unable to act. Everyone was cringing under my fighting spirit and resolve.

“Ugh! Grr!”

In the end, the grizzlies chose to flee, leaving Joseph behind. A wise decision. Given their wild instincts, it was only natural.

I lifted Joseph and laid him flat.

“Yuto, thank you so much. You are my lifesaver.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“No! You risked your life to surrender for me!…”

“Don’t push yourself so hard.”

Such exaggerated expressions were understandable.

He was merely trying to approach me to save face, and that weighed heavily on him, feeling he owed me this much.

As planned.

I activated [Understanding Orientation] on Joseph.

━━━━
▶ Joseph
▶ Loyal Dog · Obsessive · Hesitant · Confused
━━━━

He was indeed in conflict.

Now that it had come to a conclusion, there was something left to deal with.

Joseph seemed to notice that fact and let out a sigh of relief.

“Oh no. If we linger like this, I wonder how the rankings will turn out…”

“It’s fine. The penalty applies to just one person.”

“Is that so…”

Joseph’s complexion grew even darker.

If it took several tens of more minutes for the paralysis to wear off, he was sure to be the lowest rank among them.

To assure him that I had no such worries, I went over to Laura, who was still struggling with trauma.

“Excuse me, Laura.”

Clank. I took sturdy chains from my coat pocket and bound Laura.

This girl still hadn’t come to terms with her situation and was stuck in her seizure.

After wrapping the chains tightly around Laura’s body, I dusted off my hands.

“That’s done.”

It wasn’t born from malicious intent to choose her. It was with the intention of appealing our relationship to the mastermind who was probably watching everything from afar.

I picked up unconscious Joseph and nudged Cletta and Ellie awake.

“Let’s head out before Laura wakes up.”