I Became the Academy’s Time-Stopping Villain – Chapter 40

—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Vine
—————————————————————–

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

We entered the dungeon, defeated monsters, reached the boss, engaged in a tense standoff, and emerged victorious.

And then…

“Now, I’ll dig, and you two gather these mushrooms.”

“…?”

Gotta grind somehow.

I pulled out the request forms and handed them to Minerva.

“They have descriptions and pictures of the mushrooms. You two can handle this, right?”

“Well… we can, but…”

They seemed hesitant. I picked up my pickaxe (Chronos’s Scythe) and stood up. Sometimes, actions speak louder than words.

‘Let’s see…’

I scanned the area with [Status] and spotted a mineral deposit. I swung the pickaxe.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

“Ha!”

I unearthed a fist-sized chunk of ore and examined it with [Status].

Name: Copper Ore
– Low copper content.

“One down.”

I put the ore in my bag. I needed two or four more, I think.

‘Usually, it’s in multiples of three or five.’

I checked the request forms again and turned to the girls.

“What are you doing? Get to work.”

“!!”

They snapped to attention. I took out a small pouch from my bag and handed it to Minerva.

“Put the mushrooms and herbs in here.”

“…Thorough. Did you calculate everything?”

“Not exactly.”

I’d done similar quests so many times that I knew what to bring by heart.

Minerva was impressed and went off to explore the cave with Juno.

“Guess I’ll keep going.”

I needed 18 copper ores. I’d accidentally taken three requests at once: 3, 5, and 10 ores. It was more work than intended, but it was my own fault. I had to suck it up.

“Thank goodness for my ‘eye.'”

My right wrist ached with each swing, but it was bearable.

“Sunset…”

“It’s already evening.”

We finished gathering and emerged from the cave as the sun began to set.

‘A bit slower than expected.’

According to my plan, we should have been descending the mountain by now. The difference between playing the game and actually doing it had slowed us down. Well, it wouldn’t be a problem if we woke up a bit earlier.

“Let’s set up camp here.”

I took off my backpack and asked for their opinions, even though I was going to camp here regardless of what they said.

“Sounds good.”

“I’ll do whatever Chrono says.”

They both agreed. I scanned the surroundings.

‘We don’t have to worry too much about surprise attacks.’

This was slime territory, so most animals wouldn’t intrude. Plus, being in a cave reduced the risk of ambush.

However, since this was where slimes lived,

“The ground is a bit damp… but it can’t be helped.”

“Will it be cold at night…?”

It wasn’t an ideal place to sleep. It was a perfect habitat for slimes, not humans.

“I brought a tarp, so let’s spread it out and sleep on that.”

“Huh? You brought that?”

“Just in case.”

“…I noticed during survival training, but you’re incredibly prepared, Chrono.”

“Ahem.”

It wasn’t about being prepared. Anyone who’d been in the military would know to bring these things.

‘If you’ve been in the military…’

…you’d learn these things, whether you wanted to or not. That was the annoying part.

“Well, at least it’s coming in handy.”

I spread out the tarp and set up the tent. It was a 2-3 person tent, but it looked like it would barely fit two. Squeezing in with them would be difficult.

‘But it’s big enough for them, right?’

It seemed suitable for taking turns keeping watch. The uneven ground was a problem, but—wait a minute.

“Hey, can you transform into a mattress?”

[…???]

The scythe vibrated. Was that even possible? A frying pan was already pushing it, but a mattress?

“A surprising number of people die in their beds, you know?”

[!!!]

What was the definition of a weapon?

Something that could harm or kill, right? And since so many people died in their beds, wouldn’t that make beds weapons, too?

[—…—!]

“Oh, oh!”

After much internal debate,

“Alright…!”

[Chronos’s Scythe] transformed into a mattress. It wasn’t very thick, but it was enough to sleep comfortably.

“You’re… surprisingly versatile, Chrono.”

“…Don’t look at me like that.”

Minerva’s expression turned slightly sour. I was a little too versatile, I guess.

Since it wasn’t bedtime yet, I retracted the scythe and went outside.

“You made a fire?”

“Minerva and I did while you were setting up the tent!”

A warm fire crackled merrily. I didn’t remember taking out my lighter, so Juno must have used magic.

“Let’s eat. We skipped lunch, so we should be hungry.”

“Oh, I’ll cook!”

Juno volunteered enthusiastically. Sadly, I had some bad news for her.

“I brought MREs…”

“…Minerva.”

“I didn’t lie! We cooked during survival training!”

Juno must have heard Minerva’s stories and gotten her hopes up. It was a shame, but we were only camping for one night, so MREs were more convenient than cooking. No dishes to wash, just add water and wait.

I took out the MREs and a water bottle.

“You don’t know how to eat these, do you, Juno? I’ll show you.”

“So this is an MRE…”

Juno followed my instructions, opening the MRE and activating the heating pack. She put the food pouches inside.

“There’s chocolate! And biscuits!”

“That’s not a biscuit, it’s hardtack. Just throw it away and eat the chocolate. The hardtack is… inedible.”

“Huh? It’s good.”

“…Seriously?”

She munched on the snacks while the food heated. Aside from the chocolate, there wasn’t much else to eat, but Juno seemed to enjoy the hardtack.

‘Is it actually good?’

It was possible. The MREs I ate in the military were always close to their expiration date. Freshly made civilian MREs might be different—

“Ugh…”

—Nope, hardtack was still hardtack. If a French person saw this, they’d probably call it an insult to bread and douse it in tomato sauce.

Wait, was that Italian? Anyway, it was an insult to bread.

“Give it to me if you can’t eat it!”

“…Yeah, go ahead.”

“Hmm…?”

It’s good, though…

Juno happily devoured the hardtack. I was so dumbfounded that I just stared at her. Minerva approached and said,

“There’s apple jam if you want some.”

“Really?”

Juno rummaged through the pouch and found the jam. She spread it on the hardtack and took a bite.

“Delicious…!”

“…Insane.”

I couldn’t watch anymore. It was like watching someone enjoy Hawaiian pizza. My brain felt polluted.

I shook my head and took out the heated MRE, pouring it into the included cardboard container.

“This is basically gruel.”

At least it smelled decent. I took a bite.

“Hmm… it’s MRE.”

Slightly better MRE. At least it didn’t have a plastic texture.

“This is good too!”

“…Ugh.”

Juno seemed to enjoy even this. I felt a pang of something in my chest. Was I the weird one?

“Chrono, thank you for the comfortable bedding and delicious food.”

“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing. Don’t mention it.”

As I was spacing out, watching Juno eat, Minerva suddenly thanked me. Juno followed suit.

“Thanks to you, Chrono, I think I’ll have a comfortable night. Thank you!”

“…It was nothing, really.”

The sudden praise made me feel awkward. I coughed and finished my MRE.

‘Ugh… so salty.’

The saltiness was what made MREs, well, MREs.

“I’m full…”

“Thank you for the meal.”

“…Hmm.”

They finished eating and started warming themselves by the fire, looking drowsy. Sorry to interrupt this cozy atmosphere, but…

“Time to take turns keeping watch.”

“…”

“And for the record, I believe in gender equality.”

Anyone who refused would get their head bashed in. I stared at them intently.

“I’ll take the second watch.”

“No, I haven’t done anything, so I should at least do this!”

“…Um.”

Surprisingly, neither of them objected to keeping watch.

…Why do I feel like the only jerk here?