I Became the Daughter of the Academy’s Villain

<13 - Collector's Paradise>

There are two options for boarding: carriages and ships.

So, of course, what I thought of was one of those two.

But the butler’s competence was off the charts.

“What is this?”

“This is a Non-fair Flight.”

A boarding method I didn’t know appeared out of nowhere.

“I heard you’re going to take the Entrance Exam with the Young Lady.”

“The Maid is quite diligent. That’s right.”

“Unfortunately, the tickets for the Non-fair Flights are limited. The ones I managed to get are the last ones.”

With a proud flourish, Jonnas pulled out three tickets from his pocket.

A mocking glint flickered in his fierce gaze.

“If you don’t want to be late, you should still try to find a carriage or a ship now.”

The butler was pleased to shake off the man he didn’t like.

However, when they arrived at the airport, an elderly gentleman approached and made his way over to Jezel.

“Here’s your boarding ticket.”

“Thank you. I’ll pay for it immediately as promised.”

With the price of two tickets, Jezel bought one.

Seeing the sour expression on the butler Jonnas, this time he couldn’t help but smirk.

“I won’t interfere with the fellow examinees enjoying a trip on the same Non-fair Flight, right?”

“I have no such intention. As your butler, I’m just ensuring the Young Lady’s acquaintances have a smooth travel arrangement.”

“Your acting is quite poor, isn’t it? You should practice more.”

Jonnas’s expression crumpled.

Roe, who was trailing behind with a snack basket, chimed in to help.

“Don’t get too comfortable. Non-fair Flights have their share of accidents. We’re here to protect the Young Lady, but Jezel, you sent all your escorts back, didn’t you?”

“How kind. Both butler and maid really care for the Young Lady’s friends.”

“Don’t get cocky for someone with no strength.”

“If you want help, act a bit more humble.”

I wonder if you’d pick up on that.

With a chilly demeanor, Roe spoke, but Jezel’s relaxed face remained unchanged.

“Oh, was an introduction not made yet?”

“…?”

“Since the path changed, I found a new escort to keep watch.”

As Jezel waved at someone, a familiar face approached.

“Oh. Isn’t that the little rat from earlier?”

“Ugh. And there’s that hairy giant.”

Monkey Humanoid.

The man who had succeeded in the Material Collection Request on the fourth level came up.

He pulled out a ticket from his pocket, speaking as if to hammer in a point to the anxious Maid.

“They say they’ll cover the Non-fair Flight price just for the escorting, so this employer must be quite generous.”

Just to reach the Entrance Examination Hall, a one-way ticket costs ten gold coins.

This single coin is the price of an Entrance Exam Silver Ticket.

Poor players who are scraping by wouldn’t even think of such a transportation option.

NPCs are in a similar bind.

Those heading to the examination hall with dreams of opportunity find it tough to scrape together the ticket fees.

So, having a Monkey Humanoid who gladly takes on the escort mission by covering that ticket cost makes sense.

“…….”

“…….”

Thanks to that, only Jonnas and Roe, who disliked Jezel, looked particularly glum.

“That can’t happen!”

I placed my hands on my hips, scolding Jonnas and Roe.

“Just like with the Bard, you two often treat those trying to get closer to me too rudely.”

“It’s a misunderstanding. We’re only concerned about ensuring the Young Lady’s safe journey by addressing potential threats…”

Pulling at Jonnas’s sleeve made him stop mid-sentence, giving me a puzzled look.

As he bent his knee, I put a finger to his lips in a ‘shh’ motion.

“Shh!”

Jonnas froze in surprise.

I pressed my finger against his cold lips playfully.

“Jezel isn’t a danger. She’s a mature student who refuses to give up on her dreams of education, despite her late start!”

“…Excuse me, little lady. Saying that makes me sound too old.”

“Are you embarrassed to sound like an adult using some fancy talk like ‘ginseng candy’?! Jezel, you’re old! Don’t be shy about it!”

Life should be lived boldly!

“Embracing shame to become stronger is not something to be embarrassed about. It’s a brave act!”

Jonnas’s earlier tense atmosphere relaxed.

A small smile appeared on Roe’s otherwise icy face.

Hearing about Jezel’s dedication to her studies at a late age must have softened their hearts.

“I really wanna give you a light smack on the head.”

“Haha! You’ve got quite the wit for a kid!”

I inadvertently ended up in an embarrassing situation.

Until we boarded the Non-fair Flight, Jezel became the butt of Monkey Humanoid’s jokes.

*

[Boarding Event]

The long training ends with actual combat!

You’ve honed your skills for the entrance exam to the Academy.

Now it’s time to reap the rewards.

Choose your mode of transportation to head towards the examination hall!

After the Random Papa Event and Ticket Exam comes the main event.

The Boarding Event.

Jonnas secured Non-fair Flight tickets by chance, so now I’m unexpectedly reaping the benefits, but that’s definitely not a common occurrence.

“Jonnas, the Non-fair Flight is way too expensive.”

“Don’t worry. The master has received reports about your performance, and he is very pleased. You can consider this Non-fair Flight a reward from him.”

“A reward?”

The rural noble couldn’t even dream of such an enormous reward.

The father of the Oknodie character must not be your average noble, but an extraordinary wealthy person.

“What was your father’s name again?”

“You’ll find out in due time.”

Would he really assume I didn’t know my own father’s name? I tried to act like I forgot for a second, but instead, they reacted as if it was obvious.

What’s happening?

Is the Oknodie set up as a noble’s illegitimate child?

That would make sense.

That explains why, being apart from such a grand noble father, she only received letters and whistles.

“Wow! Look at this! The location written in the letter is the same as in the ticket!”

I remembered the letter and was pleasantly surprised.

Can nobles find out the entrance exam location ahead of time?

Even more than a month before the ticket exam?

“Shh.”

A gloved hand abruptly covered my excited mouth.

“Don’t make such a loud fuss.”

“Why? Isn’t it because it’s not in line with Non-fair Flight etiquette?”

“You might fail the entrance exam due to cheating.”

“!!”

What? Give me back my entrance exam!

Is there really someone who fails the entrance exam for graduating from this game due to cheating?

That’s absolutely unacceptable!

Panicking, I tightly shut my mouth, yet for some reason, that hand pressing against my lips wouldn’t relent.

…Could they really be taking that very seriously?

“Jonnas.”

“Oh dear.”

After Roe’s comment, Jonnas realized his rudeness and withdrew his hand.

Watching him sulk but apologize was quite typical of the butler.

It’s honestly surprising how gentle he is despite his appearance.

“Miss, since the Non-fair Flight journey doesn’t happen every day, why don’t we explore the facilities along the way so you won’t be bored?”

The butler seemed to want to change the mood and subtly suggested.

Of course, the only place I wanted to go was one.

“I want to go to the Cafeteria!”

“The Non-fair Flight features not only a cafeteria but also a viewing area to enjoy the scenery, an aerial garden reflecting nature’s beauty, a theater with a dedicated bard troupe, and tanning spots.”

“I want to go to the Cafeteria!”

“At night, some facilities switch to lounges or gambling dens.”

“I want to go to the Cafeteria!”

“…Very well then. Let’s go to the Cafeteria first.”

Yay, collection of cookbooks!

I’m so excited!

“You really love eating, don’t you?”

You guys who don’t understand the importance of the Cookbook are so pitiful.

The growth-to-cost-effectiveness of the Cookbook is the ultimate!

Thanks to about a month and a half of experience, the effects of the collection have drastically increased.

If I were to see the list, it would probably look something like this.

[Current Collected Recipes – 102 types]

[Collection Effect]
Collecting 10 Overall Recipes – 1% increase in item drop rate.
Collecting 20 Overall Recipes – 1% increase in item drop rate.
…
Collecting 50 Overall Recipes – 1% increase in item drop rate. 1 health increase.
Collecting 90 Overall Recipes – 1% increase in item drop rate.
Collecting 100 Overall Recipes – 1% increase in item drop rate. 1 health increase.
Collecting 10 Vegetarian Recipes – 1% increase in plant damage.
Collecting 20 Vegetarian Recipes – 1% increase in plant damage.
Collecting 10 Meat-based (land) Recipes – 1% increase in beast damage.
Collecting 10 Meat-based (air) Recipes – 1% increase in air damage.
Collecting 10 Seafood Recipes – 1% increase in underwater damage.
Collecting 10 Dessert Recipes – acquire the [Sweet Smile] ability.
Collecting 20 Dessert Recipes – acquire the [Sweet Breath] ability.
…
Collecting 10 Rare Recipes – 1% increase in rare item drop rate.
Collecting 20 Rare Recipes – 1% increase in rare item drop rate.
Collecting 30 Rare Recipes – 1% increase in rare item drop rate.
Collecting the Rare Recipe [Snowflake Shaved Ice] – 1% increase in ice affinity.
Collecting the Rare Recipe [Three Color Apple Juice] – 1% increase in nature affinity.
…
Collecting the Rare Recipe [Shinjung Mountain Fish Rice Bowl] – 1 minute increase in underwater breathing.

It’s too much information to remember all at once.

So, I begged Jonnas to buy me a notebook packed with all the food I’ve eaten and the expected effects written down.

And all of it is in Korean.

To the kids who write in the alphabet, Korean is a foreign language.

Even if I got caught, I wouldn’t have to worry about them reading the contents.

If I wrote something ridiculous like, “Eating shaved ice would probably increase my ice resistance by 1%,” they’d probably worry about me becoming a mental patient and send me to a monastery.

“Oh my gosh! This place is heaven!”

“Is it that good?”

Unlike the daughters of wealthy families I passed on my way, who were making their purposeful strides to the auction house, or the noble ladies gracefully heading to the theater.

My steps, mad with collecting cookbooks, led directly to the cafeteria, and my choice was proven right.

[Non-fair Flight Aerial Buffet]

[5-course, 20 types per course, totaling 100 types of dishes]

This is the ‘Yass’!

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