Chapter-05 · EP-078
Episode 78: Class C
The next day after school, I headed to the dungeon as usual.
I wanted to secretly explore alone to: ① mass-produce Rank 3 potions, ② further raise my Healing Magic level, and ③ figure out how to raise my Water Magic level.
But sure enough, the same three-man group was following me.
Yesterday, because of them, I couldn't make any progress in my exploration. Irritated, I still made my way to the slime room.
As if thinking I hadn't noticed them, the trio hid in the shadows at the entrance to the room.
They were clearly tailing me.
Now annoyed, I finally turned around and raised my voice.
"Hey, you! What's your goal?"
Then I heard muttering: "We've been spotted." "What do we do?" "We'll just have to bluff our way out."
I can hear everything, you idiots!
"We-we were just exploring here by chance."
"Huh? You just happened to follow me two days in a row?"
"Th-that's right. I was thinking of fighting slimes here…"
"Oh, is that so? Then I'll go somewhere else! Don't follow me."
Saying that, I walked past them and moved to another spot.
Behind me, I heard them whispering: "What now?" "What now? We'll just have to tail him without being noticed this time." "Don't make any noise this time."
Were these guys idiots? I could hear everything.
Instead, I walked without making a sound and hid behind a rock.
The trio, having lost sight of me, hurriedly walked past.
"Where'd he go?" "Hurry, he couldn't have gone far." "Damn!"
They were amateurs at tailing too.
I could just ignore them, but if they found me again, it'd be a pain. If they saw something I didn't want them to see, that would also be a problem. It seemed better to settle this properly.
"Hey! You guys!"
"Wah!" "He's out!" "Gweh!"
One made a strange noise, but I resisted the urge to comment on it and continued.
"Weren't you supposed to be fighting slimes back there?"
"W-well, we already defeated them, so we were heading to the next spot." "R-right, right."
"Then why were you in a hurry, saying 'he couldn't have gone far'?"
"I didn't say that!"
"…You probably know, but I'm Shirou Ichinose from Class 1-D. What are your names?"
"Wh-why do we have to give our names?"
"Why can't you? Got something to hide?"
"Th-that's not it! More importantly, what are you going to do with our names?"
"That's obvious, isn't it? I'll report to the academy that there are suspicious students tailing me in the dungeon."
"We're not tailing you!"
"Then you can just say that if a teacher asks. Anyway, your names?"
"I don't have a name to give you!"
"Fine. Then you definitely have something to hide. I've recorded your three faces on my dungeon recorder, so I'll submit this to the academy. See ya."
"W-wait!"
"Huh?"
I glared at the three. They flinched at my intensity. Honestly, even if they attacked me, with the level difference, I wasn't worried about losing. I wouldn't even mind teaching them a painful lesson. But if they reported me to the academy instead, I'd look like the bad guy. So I held back.
Sigh, it looked like today's exploration was also a bust.
Leaving the dungeon, I headed straight to the staff room.
To talk with our current homeroom teacher, Professor Jonouchi.
But her response, after watching my dungeon recorder footage together, was not reassuring.
"We can't really punish them based on just this."
"Why not? They were following me! Isn't that a violation of anti-stalking laws?"
"Anti-stalking laws, yes. Do you have any idea why they might hold a grudge?"
"No. Probably they were monitoring me to try to steal my exploration methods."
"That reason alone doesn't usually become a problem. It would be different if there was a possibility of them harming you."
"I could probably fight them off if they tried."
"Then I think it's a bit different from stalking. I suspect the police would say the same."
"Then what should I do?"
"Hmm… I think these kids are from Class C. How about talking to the Class C president and asking them to stop?"
"Class C? Who's the Class C president?"
"Takumi Gunjo. He's not a noble himself, but he's a noble supporter, so be careful not to get into a fight."
"Is there a guy named Gunjo here?"
The next morning, as soon as I arrived at school, I visited Class C.
The classroom buzzed at my sudden visit. I looked around. Sure enough, there was the trio from yesterday. But I wasn't here to see them today.
"I'm Gunjo. And you are?"
"I'm Ichinose from D-Class. Those three in C-Class have been following me for days. Can you tell them to stop?"
I stated bluntly.
Gunjo turned around and called one of the three I'd pointed out.
"Inoue-kun, is what he says true?"
"N-no, we just happened to run into him in the dungeon."
"Want me to show you the recorder footage?"
I threatened the student named Inoue, who was trying to play dumb. He flinched, "Ugh!" Seeing his reaction, Gunjo asked me.
"Let me ask you something. Even if they were following you, what crime would that be?"
"It's not a crime yet. But don't you think being followed is creepy? I'm asking you to stop because it's creepy."
"Hmm. I understand your point. Inoue-kun, why were you following him? It doesn't seem to be a crime, so at least tell me the reason."
This Gunjo kid was handling it surprisingly calmly. I was glad I came to talk to him.
And finally, Inoue revealed why he had followed me.
"It's… because Okumoto-san from Class A asked us to…"
"Okumoto?!"
Hearing that name, I remembered. The student who had been arguing with Hikaru.
Right, that guy had seen my Rank 3 potion. He probably wanted to know how I got it.
"You, just because you were asked, doesn't mean…"
As I was about to scold Inoue, Gunjo stopped me.
"Well, that can't be helped."
"…Huh?"
"Okumoto-san is from a Count's family. You can't refuse a request from him, can you? What did Okumoto-san want to know about him?"
"He told us to find out if he had any tricks for finding high-rank potions…"
Inoue spilled everything. Hearing that, Gunjo didn't scold Inoue; instead, he seemed satisfied with his excuse.
"Ichinose-kun, shouldn't you just tell Okumoto-san directly?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"Okumoto-san is a noble, right? We are commoners. How can we not respond to a noble's request?"
"Are you an idiot?"
"What are you saying? The idiot is you. Going against a noble is what an idiot would do, right?"
This was my first time dealing with Class C, and their bizarre values were making me feel like I was going crazy.