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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Vine
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Deep night.
The flickering campfire gently pushed back the darkness.
The faint warmth brought comfort and drowsiness.
A warm bed.
Trusted companions.
And…
Tap, tap, tap!
“…”
White noise.
I hit the last note and waited for the result.
[B Chord – Expert]
[Full Combo]
[All Perfect]
[71,660 (SS+)]
[Stress Reduction and Resistance Up (Large)]
“…Phew.”
Almost messed up there. I shook my right hand and glanced at the tent.
*Snore*
“…”
“…Sleeping soundly.”
Juno was completely out, while Minerva was frowning slightly. Still not asleep, it seemed. I added more wood to the fire and selected another song.
‘Let’s minimize her stress.’
I didn’t need to worry about damage or HP right now. My main concern was Juno’s mental state.
“She seems out of it.”
If an NTR flag triggered while I wasn’t around, I wouldn’t be able to do anything, especially if Juno was willing. I had to reduce her stress somehow.
I massaged my aching wrist and resumed playing—
“Chrono.”
“Oh, shit.”
—Time out.
[B Chord – Expert]
[Miss!]
[Fail…]
“Ah.”
“…”
“Oh… I-I’m sorry.”
Minerva apologized profusely.
“It’s okay. I can just play again.”
“But… I’m sorry.”
If you’re sorry, then don’t do things that make you apologize… No, let’s stop. I was getting flashbacks. Probably because of the campfire.
I put away the harp and turned to Minerva.
“Did I wake you?”
“I wasn’t asleep. I was just resting my eyes.”
“Aren’t you tired?”
“I am. But there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Talk about?”
What was there to talk about? I decided to listen.
“You used [Skills] when you defeated the King Slime, right?”
“Yeah. Anyone can use skills if they study hard enough.”
“Yes. Even I can use skills.”
“But…”
“I can’t use them consecutively without delay.”
“Ah…”
A chill ran down my spine. ‘Skill delay.’ The inherent problem of turn-based combat. You could only perform one action per turn, and then you had to wait until your next turn.
Minerva was asking how I bypassed this system and performed multiple actions.
“Well, you see…”
Actually, I couldn’t completely escape the skill delay either. Using multiple skills at once sounded easy, but each skill required concentration.
If I used one skill, the monster’s fangs would be at my throat before I could use the next. So how did I manage to unleash a barrage of skills?
The answer was simple.
‘I can’t tell her I sped up time.’
If there was a delay between skills, I just had to minimize it. When I fought the King Slime, I accelerated time for myself, reducing the delay to almost zero. It cost me some time, but it was worth it for the one-shot kill.
Of course, the gun’s power was a factor, but being able to stack buffs instantly made me as strong as a named NTR boss…
‘…That’s how I was able to stack buffs so quickly!’
A sudden realization. With enough power, I could become a one-man army. For now, I was a glass cannon with only one shot, but still.
“Chrono?”
“Ah! Uh…”
Right, I was talking to Minerva.
I took a deep breath and answered honestly,
“I’m afraid I can’t tell you.”
“I see.”
“…Huh?”
She accepted it surprisingly easily. She looked at me and said,
“It’s because of your Lord’s blessing, right?”
“…”
Not just easy acceptance, but prior knowledge? If she already knew, then could she possibly know…?
‘…that I’m Chronos’s Apostle?’
No way. I’d been so careful. But there was a chance, so I probed her without revealing anything.
“Which god do you think I serve?”
“I’ll keep that a secret, too.”
“…”
“…You’re looking at me strangely. It’s taboo to reveal the god you serve unless you’re close.”
And making assumptions is rude.
Minerva took a step closer.
“Don’t worry. I mean you no harm. I’m just… a little envious of how strong you’ve become.”
You’re completely different from the beginning of the semester.
She placed her hand on my right wrist. A soft, green light enveloped my wrist, soothing the aching pain.
“Can I… become like you, Chrono?”
“…Minerva.”
What should I say? How should I comfort her? I didn’t know what to do or say.
I didn’t understand why she suddenly approached me like this, why she came to me at night. There were no clues, no understanding.
“Don’t be so impatient.”
“Huh…?”
…If I were a first-time player, that is.
I placed my left hand over hers.
“You’re always praising me, but you’re just as diligent.”
“No, I’m not. I left all the burdens to you today.”
“That’s just you being considerate, not you being lazy.”
“Ugh… C-Considerate… T-Thank you!”
“It’s fine. I deserved to be ignored, to be honest.
If a scrawny newbie suddenly acted like the leader, taking all the request forms and declaring, ‘I’ll do them all!’, I’d be suspicious, too.”
“Ahh! I didn’t mean it like that… but if that’s how you felt… then…!”
“It’s fine, just sit down. How many times have I said it’s fine today?”
At least five times, I think? I chuckled and made her sit down. She immediately bowed her head.
“I’m sorry. I judged you based on my own biases and didn’t consider that you might feel ignored.”
“…Hmm.”
How many times was she going to apologize? I knew why she was doing this, but…
‘I need to see the story to understand.’
It was connected to her family situation, so I couldn’t delve into it right now. Well, I shouldn’t anyway. I said to Minerva,
“If you’ve done something wrong, you have to pay the price.”
“…What should I do?”
Her eyes were filled with anxiety. I said,
“Listen to what I say, and do as I say.”
“…Huh?”
“If I say it’s okay, it’s okay. If I say no, it’s no.”
“O-Okay…”
She seemed confused. I put it bluntly,
“When someone who hasn’t done anything wrong keeps apologizing, it makes me uncomfortable. And you keep saying, ‘I apologize’!”
“I apologize—ah!”
“See? A habitual apologizer.”
“Ugh… I’m sorry… uh…”
She didn’t know what to do. How long had she been bowing her head like this? At least at home, she always did.
‘The crying CG was a masterpiece.’
The NTR Academy developers were evil, adding tear-jerking CGs for every heroine. But they were also incredibly beautiful and arousing. They made you fall for them, and then—the NTR drift. Ugh, my heart ached.
“Anyway, Minerva, you’re doing well, and you’ll continue to do well. I think you’re doing great.”
“B-But—”
“—What did I just say?”
“…To accept what you say.”
“Exactly.”
As it is.
No misinterpretations, no overthinking.
“You’re doing great. As Class B’s president, as a cadet, and as the vanguard of our party.”
“…Sniff! …Ugh…!”
“Hey, I told you not to apologize. Now you’re trying to squeeze out apology juice.”
“I-I’m not…!”
“Good. Don’t be salty, be bland.”
“…Was that…”
“…a joke?”
“Laugh.”
*Forced laughter*
Minerva let out a mechanical laugh.
“…I’m going back inside.”
“Ah! I’m sorry! I’ll laugh sincerely!”
“No, it’s your turn to keep watch.”
“Oh…”
But to end it like this…! Minerva’s hand brushed past mine, and I tossed her my phone.
“Use this to keep track of time. Wake Juno up when it’s her turn.”
“…Okay.”
She seemed to have given up, as she didn’t try to stop me again. I opened the tent and went inside.
“…Thank you, Chrono.”
I think this is a misupload of academy ankle biter…?
Guess she is next but I want Juno to be next
I am going to just assume his name is Kurono instead of Chrono, because otherwise his alias is brain dead, might as well keep the original name if he wanted to hide the his patron being Chronos