NOVEL WEB Chapter 196
<196 - Protection and Discipline>
Skola steeled himself internally. He was about to step into the first-year restricted area, where all kinds of dark rumors swirled.
gulp “If things go wrong, I might die. Betting my life for 500 points is a bit much, huh? I feel like I fell for Yufi’s trick.”
What he heard directly from Yufi was scarier than the rumors, but as long as he diligently followed the safety precautions, he was lucky enough to reach his destination alive.
As he tried to reassure himself that it wasn’t as hard as he thought, something unusual caught his attention inside the storage room.
creak “Are the animals on edge?”
With a strange feeling creeping in, Skola walked cautiously, muffling his footsteps, scanning the area.
“!!”
He finally discovered it.
In a dark corner.
A trembling golem’s feed bowl, shaking in fear.
Amidst the pile of rocks, he spotted a tiny stone being picked up and swallowed by Oknodie, who was babbling something like “Lucky~!”
facepalm “Oh my gosh!”
He didn’t feel particularly sorry for the golem.
After all, he was the one who planned to frame the golem for bullying other animals, carrying a paint bucket to provoke it into punching them.
But to think there was a crazy kid stealing golem food, he never expected that.
grin “Actually, this is great! If I expose this, it could hit Oknodie hard!”
He didn’t even care what Oknodie was trying to do.
Whether the stones were simply delicious or he was threatening the golem didn’t matter.
Either way, that kid had trespassed in the restricted area and stolen the boarding supplies’ food.
And it wasn’t just the stones; he was swiping the cheetah’s food too, slapping its forehead as it desperately pleaded not to touch their food.
This wasn’t a rookie’s move; he was clearly guilty.
snicker “What a foolish kid. He dug his own grave!”
Hastily, Skola sought out Professor Plato and brought him along with instructors to the Upper Class Boarding Storage Room.
“Are you sure about this tip? A false report that makes the Academy staff walk in vain is a reason for points deduction.”
“Don’t worry. I saw it with my own eyes.”
clatter The professors and instructors, led by Skola, barged into the storage room without hesitation.
But where was the organism-feeding thief Oknodie? Instead, they found Oknodie’s companions, who had come all the way with chef hats piled high with food for the animals.
“What are you doing?”
Dumbfounded, Isabel watched as a donkey stole the onigiri from her hand with its tongue.
“We were giving food to the boarding animals.”
“Where did the perfectly good feed go?”
“Well, actually…”
In this moment of crisis, Jezel showcased her quick thinking.
“Oknodie had lived on feed alone during his training at the Foundation, so he thought about how sad it would be for animals to grow up eating such tasteless food and proposed to give them human food instead, which is why we sneaked into the boarding storage without permission.”
“Seriously?”
“They eat feed?”
“What a poor thing…”
Even the instructors couldn’t help but sigh at the story!
Isabel, holding the food, quickly took a peek at the adventurers and seamlessly followed Jezel’s clever line.
“I’m sorry. In the Border Region, we have a culture of taking care of livestock and treating them like family, and we just couldn’t help but feel guilty for not being able to do that for our animal friends while preparing for the tests. It wasn’t just because of Oknodie.”
An appeal for voluntary service!
“That sounds exemplary.”
“The attitude of considering bonds with the boarding animals is wonderful.”
“These kids are commendable. Should we give them extra points, Professor?”
Professor Plato, seeing the boarding animals happily munching away, scratched his head and remarked.
“Give them the extra points.”
The outcome was the complete opposite of what Skola had intended.
*
Suddenly, Jezel and Isabel appeared.
The background story was as follows.
Oknodie, caught red-handed for stealing feed during Skola’s infiltration, was already known to Jezel.
“Breaking news! A first-year student Skola followed Oknodie into the restricted area.”
While watching the infiltration route with a Dark Trading Company secret agent, Jezel sensed through her information network that Skola’s presence indicated Oknodie was being followed.
“Impressive. Immediately summon Arcadia and Isabel here. They must come right away, no matter what they’re doing. This is a priority.”
Successfully deceiving Oknodie, who had a keener sense than wild animals, from a distance was a feat.
Skola’s skills were remarkable, but in the midst of Oknodie’s crisis, they couldn’t just stand by.
“Why the priority? Is there a third-year senior who escaped from the professors’ lab lurking in the first-year area?”
“Isabel, please cook a large dish immediately. We must save Oknodie.”
“Oknodie? Did he get lost on a mountain trip?”
“He was spotted by an imperial student stealing feed from the Upper Class Boarding Storage.”
The news was far more shocking than he prepared for.
“No… How do you know that?”
“I had someone planted to monitor the area.”
“And you didn’t stop him?”
“You know that the little lady wouldn’t stop just because I asked. Next time, she’ll do her mischief even more secretly, avoiding my monitoring.”
“What a headache. We’ll talk about that later. Right now, we need to save the kid. How long will it take?”
“As soon as possible, within 30 minutes. I’ll use the fake Academy ghost story I spread to keep his feet tied so he can’t call for the professors or instructors.”
“It’s not enough time for just one person to make enough food.”
“Fortunately, Arcadia has arrived. She’ll provide the materials and necessary assistance. Feel free to direct them as needed.”
This person has adapted to the Academy too well, right?
Jezel’s means were downright terrifying, even though she was on the same side.
Isabel figured it wasn’t worth arguing since she wouldn’t listen anyway and focused on using Arcadia’s followers.
“Just sprinkle some salt and mix it well with clean hands to make salted meat, then mold onigiri; you guys can definitely manage that. Hurry up.”
“Um… Isabel? After washing my hands thoroughly, all the salt I had just disappeared. Is this magic?”
facepalm “Put down the ingredients and carry the bags right now.”
“Go die.”
Isabel, flustered and mixing up her words, found that the noble followers of Arcadia had surprisingly poor life skills.
Nonetheless, they managed to cook and infiltrate the Upper Class Boarding Storage and distribute meals to the boarding animals just in time.
thud
“Freeze! Intruders!”
“Uh? Professor. The scene here looks a bit different from what we were tipped off about?”
In less than three minutes, the professors and instructors startled into the room, Skola’s heart raced as if he would lose his life.
Yet, the outcome was smooth.
Thanks to Jezel’s quick thinking and Isabel’s keen sense.
Due to their clever excuses, Oknodie became the icon of sympathy!
Professor Plato wrapped things up with advice for the shop to formally request permission the next time they wanted to distribute food, while also giving points at the same time.
After the situation calmed, Isabel, who was carrying leftovers, found a quiet place to open the sack.
wriggle
pop!
Out popped a little blonde head from the sack!
Her flour-dusted hair and even paler cheeks only added to her cuteness instead of detracting from it.
Jezel, not fooled by that adorable face and eyes, grilled the trickster.
“Oknodie. Why would you do such a dangerous thing? If we hadn’t helped, it could’ve turned really serious.”
“I’m sorry…”
“Skip the apologies; let’s hear the reason.”
No matter how weak Jezel was against Oknodie, she was determined to address the gravity of the situation this time.
She sternly interrogated the little one.
As Oknodie let out a whimper, resembling something like Titosso, she glanced at Isabel and Arcadia, who weren’t buying into her cuteness this time.
“Sorry, Di. I did all this for you, so please understand.”
“You’re 11; you’re practically an adult. Speak like one.”
“whimper”
groans “Ugh, how annoying. Too cute.”
facepalm “For Oknodie’s discipline, I must endure.”
Jezel quickly fanned her face and bit her lip to stop from embracing her, while Isabel fought the urge to hug her as she clenched her fists behind her back!
Realizing she had no allies to assist her, Oknodie reluctantly confessed her true purpose for sneaking into the storage.
“I wanted to raise my collection rate a bit before the exam to get stronger.”
Collection rate.
Wanting to grow stronger.
What a nonsensical statement.
Kids indeed live in their own world, but even accounting for that, Oknodie’s words were bafflingly difficult to decipher.
Someone with a rotten personality might very well declare her a ‘little stupid,’ right?
But Jezel sympathized with Oknodie.
Even when she pressed hard for answers and pushed her, her heart was still inclined to understand and help Oknodie.
At the same time, there was sympathy for the poor child who was being abused by the Foundation.
That filled in the gaps of logic with bits of personal speculation.
“Experiences faced before major events can become a routine, acting as a sort of ritual over time.”
“?”
“Is this what our little lady went through? Did she have to eat anything edible before facing significant tests?”
nods vigorously
“Is Jezel really understanding me?”
“…Poor thing. It’s okay now.”
Oknodie hesitated, then dashed into Jezel’s arms.
As she gently brushed her head, wiping off the flour and cleaning her face with a handkerchief, Jezel’s heart ached.
grumbles ‘Those guys at the Foundation. They don’t even feed the children whose worth hasn’t been proven, making them eat animal feed instead, all to survive through grueling tests. It’s heartbreaking to think that these kids had to grit their teeth just to fill their caloric needs.’
Our little lady! How much longer will she flaunt such a miserable past?
Why was the Foundation so unreasonably harsh on the kids?
Do they even have a shred of humanity left?
determined “This is unacceptable. After this exam, then…”
Resolutely, she decided to use her connections in the dark alleys to thoroughly uncover the Foundation’s shadows.