Chapter 8 - I Became the Daughter of the Academy’s Villain

Episode 8 8 - The One-Trick Butler The day before, I must have exerted myself because today no one came around for an easy arm wrestle. "Sigh. How long do I have to wait?" At least when you're training, there's a sense of time passing. Just standing and waiting is quite the hardship. "Oh, is the wealthy lady looking for some amusement?" "Ah, the challenger has... arr... ived... uh?" I keep looking up, but there seems to be no end. Craning my neck to look up, a giant bear of a man grins at me with a cheeky smirk. A huge hairy monkey beast-man, who seemed to be at least 2 meters and 30 centimeters tall, said. "Hey, why don't you try a round with me? No need to wager any money. But if you win against me, I'll give you a gold coin." "I can't hear you, nope, not listening." I darted behind the butler to hide, and other challengers who had been pushed back in queue due to yesterday's event jeered, "Boo," "Coward," "Accept the challenge, strong girl!" These people, really. What are they saying to a frail girl who even occasionally drops her cup and spoon? With a look of 'this is a bit much,' the butler said. "I'm sorry, but there is too great a difference in physique between you and the young lady." "I heard that lady over there overcame her opponents with her small stature." "What's your waiting number?" "Even if you're wagering money?" "If it's about money, we have plenty of it too. A young lady who has butlers and maids wouldn't be hard-pressed financially, right?" The monkey beast-man seemed disappointed and then approached the people in line in front of him. He started doing something, then he suddenly had a gold coin in his hand, swiftly shuffling it between his hands, left and right, up and down. The number one person in line with widened eyes nervously pointed to the left hand, but the gold coin was in the right. "You lack training, young friend. Haha." He rapped on the back of the person with a light palm laugh, causing the man to tumble out of line. Looks like someone had miserably failed at betting gold coins for a place in line. I watched the monkey beast-man enter the inn, thinking, this is it. "Hey, want to make a bet with me?" "The strong girl? I won't arm wrestle." "Not arm wrestling, how about coin-guessing? It's a 50% chance each time, sounds fair, doesn't it?" "Hmm..." "Afraid of losing to me?" The man with the sword at his waist shook his head. "Being blinded by a single gold coin and losing time could result in failing the examination. That's putting the cart before the horse." Surprisingly steadfast. Instead, a middle-aged man who was obviously in his twenties beckoned over. "I'm just here to collect a ticket to sell. How about you try with me, young lady?" Ticket scalpers. These people sell tickets to those trying to take entrance exams and make money off of it, much like scalpers at a concert. In the game, these are the types of people you resort to when there isn't enough time to take the ticket exam or your basic specs are just terrible, but it's a gamble. Sometimes you get turned away at the entrance to the exam hall because they suspect the ticket is counterfeit. "Ah, you picked wrong~" "Heh. Didn't match." A knight looking on at the bet clicked his tongue, glad he didn't join in. "Not only is she strong, but she's quick with her hands too. If I had challenged her without knowing, I would have been humiliated." "The big beast-man from earlier was slower." You can tell just by the amount of muscle mass. That guy, even at his worst, was a monster who had already exceeded a strength of 40. The question is, why have I never seen such a beast-man at the academy before? Had he been eliminated every time? Or maybe he was disqualified due to an age limit? Considering his brutish looks, it's likely he didn't know about the age limit and came to apply. "Group visitors, please enter! We will take five more. Come in." "Finally!" What I thought would take a week, I managed in just two days. * * The moment I stepped inside, the warm air and peaceful atmosphere automatically relaxed my body. "My, my, the strong young lady has arrived?" "Please, a room." "There are two four-person rooms and two singles. Which would you like?" "One four-person room." There's no need to save money when you have it. I immediately took a table on the first floor and grabbed the menu. "It looks like everyone is waiting for the advanced exam officer." "Forget that, I want to fill my stomach first." "It's so typical of you to care for food first," the butler quipped, but I didn't blink an eye. It is all for survival! On the menu, I ordered three bowls of a rare dish - Apple Walnut Oatmeal. "Do you have a reason for insisting on this menu?" "If not here, I can't eat this dish anywhere else." In the game, this is the only place I have found that serves Apple Walnut Oatmeal. For some reason, Jonah starts looking like he would only feed me oatmeal for a week if he could, but that's a common occurrence now. I naturally ignore it. Collecting food regularly is the way to translate into a boost in stats. Of course, you don't get double the collection effect for eating two bowls, so one is for me, and the other two are for Jonah and Leaf. "You really love trying new foods for the first time, young lady." "I've had enough of the same foods." "But it's a dangerous habit." Leaf only says pleasant things, but Jonah does not spare the bitter truths. That's the difference between a maid and a butler, revealed in such places. "If you eat unfamiliar food abroad, it's hard to immediately tell if there are any foreign substances in the dish." "That kind of thing doesn’t happen often, does it?" What on earth is he talking about this being a game academy? You’d think we were trying to enter a ninja academy. 'Anyway, eating a bunch of the same food isn’t that efficient.' Even if you eat a different dish once, you get the collection effect, but you need to eat the same food a thousand times over to get it. Titles like Apple Pie Maniac or Strawberry Snow Cone Maniac work that way. Unlike other rewards that boost the collection rate by 10 or 20 for each, such maniac titles grant their effects even if you earn just one. 'Wasn’t the effect of being a Snow Cone Maniac a 1% increase in resistance to cold and prevention of frostbite?' At first, it might seem useless, but every title has its purpose somewhere, sometime. When snow cones are featured in the academy's summer festival eating contest, holding this title allows you to polish off a bowl without slowing down thanks to increased resistance to brain freeze and fullness. Although having cold-resistant teeth and a full belly are two different matters. Apart from acquiring titles for a specific purpose like this, it's mostly a waste of time. It's a hundred times more efficient to eat a thousand new dishes than to eat a thousand of the same. 'No wonder they came up with a gimmick that players always change what they eat.' While most people hesitate to try unfamiliar food, players tend to seek out the novel flavors. Although sometimes you suffer through bizarre dishes like fluorescent chicken or twisted dried pollack, Apple Walnut Oatmeal wasn’t that badly doomed. "Mmm, yummy." "The little one sure knows how to savor her food." "Hmm. Should we get a bowl too?" Guests filling the inn's restaurant and pub on the first floor buckled under the savory scent wafting from the oatmeal and began ordering the breakfast menu. Grateful for the increased sales, the innkeeper brought over three glasses of apple juice to our table on the house. "Why is the serving so small? Give me an amount to fill a helmet with." Although the monkey beast-man at the table over made a fuss, the innkeeper was pleased to take more money and went to fetch a helmet. Overlooking hygiene, he surely is a magnanimous fellow. "That won’t do." "...I didn't say anything?" "It's absolutely not going to happen." Butler Jonah's vigilance knows no limit today either. I've encountered an unexpected downside of playing the noble. The degree of freedom is just too low. Sip, sip. With the sweet apple juice softening my irritation, I was sucking the last drop when someone tapped our table lightly with the back of their hand. "Look who's here. If it isn't my travel companions!" "Bard uncle!" Truly, an unexpected face. He doesn’t look as strong as the monkey beast-man, so how did he manage to get into the inn so quickly? "Uncle, when did you get in?" "Ha ha. As soon as I knocked on the door of the inn, they let me in straight away. Not as a guest, but as a bard." So, that was a way. In the game, who would have thought to pursue such a crappy job, but in reality, I'm insanely envious of bards now. "Not going to happen." "Jeez. He keeps saying 'no' even without me asking." I'm a bit miffed at the butler. "You three came for the ticket exam, didn't you?" Bard uncle leaned in and spoke in a voice so low that other tables couldn't hear. "Every day from 6 in the morning to 6 in the evening, once every hour, an examiner comes down to the first floor. Be sure to pay attention then." "Why are you giving us this information?" "I felt bad because I upset your butler the last time and I thought the young lady was quite frightened, so consider it a bit of an apology." The butler's expression softened a bit. Could this be it? The moment for a bard career change? Casting a sly glance, a firm response came back. "Not going to happen." Can't seem to say anything now. Author's Note (Afterword) Sigh