Awards Ceremony (1)
TL/ED: Lolz
Silvia’s fuss seemed to be not in vain.
“Wow.”
Returning to the dormitory and checking the Kirtos terminal, Ian unintentionally exclaimed.
【 Prophecy Reading (Free prophecy event has ended)】
Before entering the scenario, he had an online fortune-telling shop set up.
There was tremendous interest in the place prepared on Kirtos’ anonymous bulletin board.
Not only numerous requests in the posts,
— Prophet, when will you return?
— Why are kids these days so easily incited to scam?
—Trying to figure out the identity of the popular prophet these days.
Remnants overflowed to the regular bulletin board as well.
The reason could be found quickly.
A student named Mercy who was treated badly by Lina Roswell this time.
She must have been the ‘Mercy Aniston’ who he gave a free prophecy.
Thanks to her mentioning these posts here and there, people flocked.
Well, it’s natural for people to be curious since he wrote specific details about the place and time of the events that would happen that day.
“Hmm.”
Before checking the accumulated posts.
Ian clenched his fist and immersed himself in thought.
“Let’s come up with a name.”
As Ian succeeded in attracting attention, there might be follow-up competitors.
Ian, who was contemplating for a moment, changed the post title.
【 Kirtos Fortune Teller 】
“This should be enough.”
Basically, the more shabby a fortune teller’s name looks, the more professional it is.
Ian nodded and checked the requests that had arrived.
Dozens of piled-up requests.
Considering that they had to deposit a guarantee to ask a question, a lot of people left requests.
“Even though I set the conditions tight, there are so many.”
___
- The client’s name, residence, age, date of birth, family relationships, and friendship relationships must be included.
- Questions should be as specific and misunderstanding-free as possible.
- Inquiries regarding gratuity will be politely declined. Present an example that the client believes is appropriate.
* We only respond to inquiries that can be answered. Please ask sincere questions.
___
In a word, Ian himself was the super ace.
The clients were just.
Originally, it was a post made sporadically for pocket money purposes without affecting the story.
“I didn’t expect it to explode like this.”
Swipe, swipe.
Ian swept away the terminal.
___
Name: Morris Mano
Question: I’m too scared of the upcoming grade evaluation. If I don’t break through to 3 stars this time, I feel like I’ll be kicked out of my house. What should I do to get a good grade?
Consultation fee: 10 silver.
___
With 10 silver, you could have 10 bowls of authentic handmade Lichten stew.
“Ugh.”
To write only a few lines and get paid this much.
It’s worth getting into this taste.
“Hmm… I can answer this question satisfactorily. It’s better to phrase it a bit differently.”
— Tap, tap.
He selected a few good requests and answered them.
Silver accumulated in an instant after an hour.
“There are a lot of rich kids.”
As expected, It was truly the prestigious Lichten Academy.
Despite the debt Pongpong had piled up, a month’s interest was paid, and spare funds were accumulated.
Of course, with the influx of customers due to a special event, profits might decrease, but even though he selected and answered carefully, it seems there won’t be any worries about interest for a while.
“Good, good.”
The financial situation began to improve.
Ian leaned back on the backrest of the chair with satisfaction.
Moreover.
— The investigation results of the recent dormitory Bloodstone Cult incident show that Ian Blackangers’ achievements are partially recognized. Although the commendation ceremony is scheduled for later, what reward would you prefer to receive together? Temporary access to the mid-level library reading room, appointment as Professor Violet’s assistant, or one of the monthly scholarship.
After the investigation committee completed the incident investigation, the Student Affairs Office asked him that.
Of course, Ian’s choice was the scholarship.
— However, can’t it be received as a lump sum?
— Well, that’s a bit…
To be honest, there weren’t high expectations for rewards from the academy.
Even if Lina Rosewell was the final boss, all the visible damage was caused by the Bloodstone Cultists.
Ian just managed to stop the final boss Lina Rosewell right before she exploded.
‘If it had exploded, the four heroines should have stuck together to stop it.’
Prevention was the best.
There was no need to expect much from the academy’s rewards for spreading such things; Ian was satisfied with this.
“Real rewards are actually separate.”
His power had grown by one level.
But that’s not all.
Mana Heart. The amount of Earth Mana stored in the heart had significantly increased.
If he had a mana as small as a grain of rice before, now there is about a spoonful of mana stored in the mana heart.
In terms of absolute quantity, it’s not much.
However, the mana stored was endlessly pure and purified, carefully filtered and refined.
Its value was incomparable to ordinary mana.
Choosing the path of growth to maximize potential.
Thanks to solid foundations being laid more than anyone else, it felt like acceleration was picking up.
“This should be enough to try learning other skills.”
Extraction and Transformation.
Skills utilized to efficiently use the ant-sized mana for various purposes.
Although there was a disadvantage of having to engage in close combat, it was optimized for the use of Earth elemental powers. Moreover, minerals like Lunari could also be utilized.
Ian had thought that the value of these skills was endless, depending on his growth.
Therefore, he had planned to approach it by compensating for weaknesses.
“If I need a skill right now… It’s probably a movement skill.”
Currently, Ian’s mobility had been just enhancing his body through Transformation to jump around.
It had made him a bit faster, but…
“It hasn’t been explosive enough.”
Therefore, it had been challenging to bring unexpectedness into battles.
Ian had been getting away with it so far, but whether it would continue to work in the future had been uncertain.
For Ian, who had had to engage in close combat, slow movement had been the biggest weakness.
Moreover, there had been an ability evaluation – grade measurement soon, and he had needed to show something substantial.
“I need a more explosive movement skill.”
Ian had pondered with his fist clenched.
The biggest problem had been that the maximum weakness of Earth elemental magic is movement skills.
Thinking at a common-sense level, there had been no moment when a rock had sped up, except when it had rolled down a mountain slope.
However, it hadn’t been practical to actually roll around like that.
“Ah.”
Suddenly, there had been a person who passed through his mind.
A mad scientist locked up in one of the academy’s labs. Should he go and visit her?
While she was contemplating with her arms crossed, an alarm rang.
[Award Ceremony]
It had been a bit annoying, but it was time to go receive the scholarship.
◆
The grounds of Lichten Academy were quite spacious.
The main building, where key figures such as the principal resided, was quite a distance from the tram station.
Moreover, the main building itself was quite large in scale.
Walking around, one couldn’t help but sigh.
“I endure this all because of the scholarship, seriously.”
Arriving at the outdoor event area in front of the main building, Ian passed busy people to take his seat among the awardees.
There were no freshmen, but, including journalists, it seemed like the ceremony was being conducted with genuine sincerity.
Well.
Bloodstone Cultists had emerged from within the academy, even from the dorms. There were freshmen who had their blood sucked, and there were freshmen infected with the blue fungus.
It was an incident that would invite criticism for the academy’s failure in management and prevention.
However, the academy’s leadership was clever.
Creating a hero.
Instead of people getting angry, they created someone to admire and look up to.
The intention of the ceremony was clear.
‘… Feels like being used.’
Ian surprisingly didn’t feel bad.
The reason was simple.
‘They’re giving money.’
There was no reason to reject the scholarship of 50 silver coins that would be deposited every month.
Besides, the protagonist of this ceremony was Sharon Pierce anyway.
Even if they were ‘sold’, it would be only her face.
But more importantly.
“Why aren’t they coming?”
Alone, sitting among the three arranged chairs, when it was getting to the point of feeling awkward.
From beneath the podium, pointed ears were visible.
A small face gradually revealed itself while climbing up the stairs.
“… Danya?”
A flinch.
She momentarily flinched, then walked towards the seat of the awardees while looking at Ian.
“Why, why are you here?”
“Why, why not? Am I not allowed to receive an award? Don’t discriminate!”
Clearly, a tantrum to hide something. It was so boldly expressed that it became cute.
Anyway, the fact that Danya was here meant that she had played an active role in the Median House Bloodstone Cult incident.
Ian shook his head at that assertion.
It was only the beginning of the incident when protective barriers had been erected around.
“You don’t live in the Median House, right?”
“Nya!”
“Why were you there in the middle of the night?”
“Ah… that’s, well, you see…?”
Danya’s eyes rolled around. Glancing at Ian for a moment, she flinched and her shoulders were shaking.
“Uh, absolutely not?”
“What is it?”
“It’s not like I was following you or anything! I was just taking a night stroll, and suddenly I saw you, so I followed, worried and all!”
“… You take a stroll at night?”
“Yeah. I-I’m nocturnal.”
Hmm.
Come to think of it, beastmen and aquatic beings were nocturnal.
Still, the suspicious glances from her eyes were something.
Ian’s narrowed eyes.
“Come to think of it. Didn’t we happen to meet near my dorm last time?”
“Nya!”
Surprised, Danya flinched and stammered.
Her face was dyed pink.
“Because the grass there is pretty?”
“What kind of nonsense is that.”
Danya bowed her head vigorously.
There’s an instinct to feel comfortable when near someone you’re thinking about. The Catsnesia tribe was like that. Of course, Danya couldn’t honestly say that. Even more so if it was Ian.
So instead, she exploded with anger.
“But, but! You’re the problem! Why are you going to the girls’ dormitory in the middle of the night!”
“That’s.”
Without even listening to Ian’s words, Danya’s eyes were filled with shock. She had arbitrarily drawn a conclusion.
“Gasp. You’re not in a relationship with Lina, are you…?”
Her tail and ears drooping.
Looking at that appearance, Ian sighed.
‘What kind of delusion is she having?’
“Hey. Nonsense…”
Ian couldn’t continue his words.
His spine suddenly became chilly.
He turned his head to the source of that chill.
Long, blue hair.
Skin so white it seemed pale.
Sharon Pierce.
She opened her mouth with her infinitely cold voice.
“Okay. I wish you’d stop talking nonsense.”
She spoke as she looked down at Ian. Her sharp eyes were filled with fire.
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