Chapter 10: After the Raid, the After-Party
Translated and Proofread by Vine
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Name: Chrono (Class B)
Rank: —
Strength: 11 (+2)
Stamina: 13 (-1)
Agility: 15 (+1)
Intelligence: 35 (+3)
Divinity: 20
[Apostle of Chronos][Rank:E(EX)]
-Controls Time[Limit:30s/30s]
-Can increase rank through missions [46/50]
“……?”
A familiar ceiling.
I sat up and looked around──or tried to, but my arms, wai, guh, ah, agh!
“It hurts like hell….!”
“Well, of course it hurts.
You broke your arms, didn’t you?”
“….School nurse…?”
I must be in the infirmary.
I forced myself up with my core strength and checked my body.
“Both arms… no, both hands too…”
“Burns, fractures…
your condition is worse than when you were in the ranged combat class.”
I’ve fixed them, but there will probably be some lingering pain.
The nurse approached me and handed me two small pills and a glass of water.
“Painkillers.
Take these and lie down for a while.”
“…Thank you.”
I obediently took the pills and lay back down.
The pain subsided a bit, probably due to the placebo effect.
Well, any improvement is welcome. Whether it’s real or not doesn’t matter if I feel better.
“Ugh… I’m dying…..”
“….Sorry.”
“Oh my.”
Surprise.
I turned my head at the voice next to me, and Mars was lying on the bed with me.
“You got hurt because of me, didn’t you…?”
“…Well…”
Strictly speaking, that’s true, but it’s also not entirely true.
If she had been rampaging mindlessly, it would be different, but she’s clearly apologetic.
How can I scold her when she’s saying she’s sorry?
It was my fault for not being more careful, knowing her personality.
I waved my hand dismissively, accepting her apology.
“Just don’t do it again.
And I’m not the only one who got hurt.”
“Still….”
Mars also didn’t look well, with bandages all over her body.
As the vanguard, she must have taken quite a beating.
I didn’t want to make her feel worse, so I changed the subject.
“It’s called a ‘practicum’ for a reason.”
“….Thank you, Chrono.”
No, don’t thank me.
I will never, ever, *ever* team up with you again after today.
‘And’
She’s apologizing to the wrong person.
“You should be apologizing to Juno, not me.”
“……………”
My injuries were unavoidable during the raid, but Juno’s injuries were entirely Mars’s fault.
“Where did you learn the manners of grabbing someone by the collar and shaking them when they’re trying to help?”
“At that time!
…I was so flustered…
but I reacted immediately after hearing your voice, didn’t I?”
“Are you seriously using that as an excuse?”
“Ugh…”
Mars hung her head.
But come to think of it, it didn’t make sense.
‘Why did she ignore Juno but listen to me?’
Was our affinity rank that high?
It didn’t seem like it could have increased, yet Mars was unusually friendly towards me.
It’s burdensome, but I’m curious, so
“Why are you acting so friendly towards me?”
“…What?”
Mars’s face hardened.
Sorry, I phrased it strangely.
“I was wondering if we were that close.”
“…Weren’t we close?”
“Were we?”
“We were on the same team!”
“That’s because I lost a bet.”
“……….”
She looked like she realized that.
Then, hesitantly, she said to me,
“Because you’re… stronger than me.”
“…….?”
Me? Stronger than you?
Is that greatsword on your back just for show?
Just comparing our stats makes it clear who’s stronger.
Seemingly noticing my narrowed eyes, Mars yelled,
“You blew me away during our first spar!
And this time, you did everything alone!”
You’re strong!
Why are you denying it?!
Seeing her outburst, I thought about how to show her my weakness.
‘…Will this work?’
The method was quite simple.
“Information sharing, target: Mars.”
“Huh….?!”
The bracelet on my right wrist.
The status screen that displays a person’s physical information as numbers. It’s usually blurred for others.
But if the other person allows it, you can share your status window. This is a reward based on affinity rank. At around rank 3, you can share information.
It was shared automatically in the game, but it’s interesting to do it like this.
“This is… your status….?”
“Pathetic, right?
I told you, I’m really weak.”
“…………”
She didn’t deny it.
It seems my status looks hopeless even to Mars.
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“Now you know, right?
If we fight fair and square, you’ll definitely win, so stop your delusions about me being strong or whatever.
And, what was it?
Didn’t Jupiter also beat you?
It would be easier to stick with him.”
He’s the protagonist, after all.
I turned off the bracelet, blocked the information sharing, and lay back down on the bed.
I don’t want to do anything. I just want to lie here and sleep.
I curled up under the blanket, waiting for sleep to come.
“…Chrono.”
“………..”
But the lady next to me didn’t seem to want me to sleep.
Mars asked me,
“With stats like these….
you’d be critically injured even with a graze, wouldn’t you?”
“That’s right.”
That’s why I was so scared.
“Even I could kill you with a single punch.”
“I know.”
That’s why I yelled at her not to mess around when I first saw the mission.
“But still, you….
how could you stand in front of me, in front of the Champion?”
“….Are you delusional?”
“Answer me properly.”
“…Ugh.”
Blocking, winning, and all that.
I confessed honestly to Mars,
“It’s better to do something than to die doing nothing.”
“…….Is that so?”
Mars clenched her fist, then her face brightened.
“Hmm! As expected, you’re my friend!
I’ve decided!”
“No, but why?”
I’m really weak, you know?
Why hasn’t she changed her mind even after seeing my status window?
Mars jumped out of bed and opened the infirmary door, heading outside.
“…I don’t understand.”
Well, she was never meant to be understood. Who can understand the heart of a lone wolf?
You just have to accept it and move on.
I closed my eyes and finally found some peace.
“So, Chrono is paying today!”
“Waaaaah!”
“Waaaaah…..”
But I didn’t expect the price of peace to be this.
*************
Three lowest-grade magic stones sold for a total of 60,000 won.
It was enough for a reasonably priced buffet.
“But do they really go out to eat like this?”
After leaving the school dormitory and being tortured with the usual morning training, Mars kidnapped me as I lay panting on the ground.
The reason for the kidnapping was simple.
To fulfill the promise of eating meat.
Dragged to a buffet because of a slip of the tongue, I…
“Chrono, don’t stop eating.”
Pork, pork.
Beef, pork.
Eat tenderloin, sirloin, pork belly, and then intestines.
“You’re too skinny for a guy.
You need to eat meat and build muscle to increase your stats and get stronger!”
“…By that logic, why are elephants so strong?”
“That’s… a good point.”
Why are they so strong?
They’re herbivores who don’t eat meat.
Ignoring Mars, who was lost in thought, I picked up my chopsticks, and Juno placed some meat on my plate.
“Eat a lot!”
“….Thanks.”
The meat was just okay. You can’t expect much from buffet meat quality.
“Mmm… delicious!”
‘And why is she here?’
Juno was chewing with her mouth full, wrapping meat in lettuce.
It’s the third week, which is supposed to be free time for raising affinity ranks through dates and such, so why is she with us instead of with the protagonist?
I swallowed the meat in my mouth and asked Juno,
“Is it okay to hang out with us instead of your boyfriend?”
“Hmph!
I don’t care about Ter anymore!”
Juno turned her head away, raising her voice.
A voice mixed with playfulness and seriousness.
“…He doesn’t even acknowledge me when I approach him these days.”
The following words of frustration clearly showed a drop in their affinity rank.
Even so, it’ll probably go back to normal if the protagonist comes and wags his tail a few times, patting her back.
“Give me the tongs.
You should eat too.”
“Huh?
I’m eating.”
“Just give them to me.
I’ll grill.”
I took the tongs and placed the meat on the grill.
Sizzle. The sound of meat cooking. I adjusted the ventilation hood and grilled the meat, and Juno rested her chin on her hand, staring intently at me.
“…What are you looking at?”
“Hmm?
Nothing?”
“……….”
She seemed to be staring blankly.
Then I shouldn’t mind it.
I finished grilling the meat and placed it on Juno’s plate.
“Hey!
What about mine?!”
“You can get your own.”
“….You know it’s rude to mess with people’s food, right?”
“If you’re that upset, grill and serve yourself.”
“Ha!
You think I can’t grill?”
“Yeah.”
“…………”
I know because I’ve played your route.
Your cooking skill has a negative modifier.
You practically turn meat into charcoal. That says it all.
“You’re useless at everything except hunting monsters.”
“What are you talking about?
I’m good at sports!”
“Kicking soccer balls over fences and popping basketballs doesn’t exactly scream ‘good at sports.'”
“….How do you know that?”
I can’t say “because I know your story,” so
I shrugged and answered,
“It’s obvious from the way you use a greatsword.”
“Wow….
you’re really annoying.”
Annoying bastard.
Mars picked up some meat with her chopsticks and ate it angrily.
The way she’s enjoying the meat, is she just simple-minded, or is she good-natured?
Since she wasn’t known for being good-natured, I guess she’s just simple-minded.
“Phew….
that was good!”
“I’m full…..”
We stepped outside after finishing our meal.
I was planning to go straight back to the dormitory and relax, but
“What should we do now?”
“Karaoke!
Let’s go to karaoke!”
“Karaoke sounds good!”
“….Hieeeek….!”
Save me.
Are my opinions being ignored?
In the end, we were dragged to a karaoke place by Mars.
“Ter?”
“Juno…”
We ran into the protagonist.
…Please, someone, save me.
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He’s collecting losing heroines
I am going to assume Juno was hit by the training guy rather than the hypnosis guy. Its the only thing I can think of for why the game protagonist is ignoring her.