Chapter 6: Mars is a True Comrade. She Has No Friends.
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NTR Academy Prologue
Week 1 – Controls and Tutorial, Character Introductions, etc.
Week 2 – Skill Point Allocation and Basic Skill Learning, Combat Tutorial
Week 3 – External Activities and Free Time
Week 4 – Reassignment Evaluation
Simply put, the first month was a glorified tutorial, essentially Chapter 0. Afterward, we’d be assigned to our classes based on the reassignment evaluation, and the real story would begin.
“We’re having a dungeon practicum next Friday, right? Let’s team up. Just the two of us.”
Since close-range and ranged combatants had to form teams anyway, it made sense to stick together. Plus, we’d already sparred once, so we should have decent synergy.
Mars nodded, as if the matter were already settled. “…I never agreed to that.”
“What?”
I wasn’t keen on the idea. Even if she was one of the official heroines, and her class was ‘Berserker,’ making her a powerhouse in the early game…
‘She’s a heroine.’
If she got involved with the protagonist, I’d lose my mind. I shook my head and gestured to the dagger at my hip. “I can do close combat, too.”
“Oh, come on. You’re trash at close combat. Wouldn’t it be better if you stayed behind me, covering my back? Just imagine, the strongest duo in Class B!”
“I really don’t want that.”
I didn’t want to attract attention. I felt like I was already attracting enough as it was. Besides, she was terrifying. Absolutely terrifying.
‘I’m pretty sure I’d go flying just from the wind pressure of her greatsword swings.’
Someone who could accidentally team-kill me without even trying. That was Mars.
“No… ha, fine. Whatever. Then, conversely, do you think anyone would team up with a weakling like you? Among the ranged combat people, I mean?”
“I think there would be plenty.”
I was the first A-rank in our year, after all. My name alone should be enough to attract a few decent sub-heroines. To be honest, I wasn’t that interested in the dungeon practicum.
‘There’s nothing much to gain.’
It was a tutorial, so the rewards were minimal. A few measly treasure chests tucked away in corners of the map, containing small amounts of money. No hidden weapons, no Easter eggs. Plus, the enemies were just tutorial fodder, easily dispatched even solo. The boss, of course, was a guaranteed defeat, designed to knock out most teams, but I had no intention of winning. It was a tutorial, after all.
‘The reward for beating the boss is probably…’
Bonus points on the reassignment exam? It might be worth the effort if I was aiming for Class A, but I had no such ambitions.
“I’m good, so find someone else.”
“…There’s no one.”
“Huh?” No one? What?
“There’s no one who will team up with me!”
“Gah—!”
Hey, don’t yell! My eardrums throbbed. Mars suddenly sat up and grabbed my hand, her grip surprisingly tight.
“Do you think I’m doing this because I like you?! I’m trying to defeat you, to crush you! I tried to team up with others to beat you, but they all rejected me! What am I supposed to do?!”
“Um…”
Mars was practically yelling. Seeing her desperation, I suggested, “Juno! How about Juno?”
“She said she’s teaming up with her boyfriend…”
“But isn’t the dungeon practicum three-person teams?”
“She said they’re already a full team…”
Mars slumped, defeated. I wanted to tell her to just leave it to the teacher, who would randomly assign teams anyway. And why was she so stressed about this a week in advance?
I waved my hand dismissively. “There’s still a week left. You’ll find someone.”
“But what if I can’t…?”
“Then the teacher will assign the teams.”
“That’s no good!”
“Why?”
“It’s embarrassing!”
It was a strange mix of social awkwardness and genuine concern, combined with a hint of delinquency. A bizarre hybrid.
‘Come to think of it, that was her character setting…’
Her abrasive personality made it difficult for her to make friends. And her Berserker tendencies sometimes resulted in accidental injuries to teammates, giving her a less-than-stellar reputation. She eventually refined her control and stopped hurting others, but the damage to her social standing was already done…
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‘If the protagonist hadn’t intervened, it would have stayed that way.’
Ironically, despite craving camaraderie, by the mid-game, her abilities became somewhat average, relegating her to mostly mindless dungeon grinding. That’s how poor Mars’s relationships were, barring a few specific individuals.
“Then why are you doing this to me?”
“What?”
“Everyone else rejected you. Did you think I wouldn’t?”
“…You…” You, at least, talk back to me.
I was stunned by her logic. ‘She kept pestering me because I responded?’ I’d assumed she’d back off if I kept pushing her away. I hadn’t considered that even my rejections were a form of attention. Well, lesson learned. From this point on, I decided to give Mars the silent treatment.
“Anyway, we’re a team now, okay? Remember that!”
“No, why me?!”
“Because I said so.”
“Ah… ugh, ugh…”
That resolution lasted all of five seconds. ‘This is bad.’ This was a recipe for disaster. I hurriedly raised my hand. “Fine! I’ll team up with you!” I conceded. “But on one condition.”
“What condition?”
“Me, you, and one more person. It’s three-person teams, right? You find the third person.”
“Me?”
“If you can’t find someone, I’ll leave the team arrangements to the teacher.”
“…Fine. You think I can’t even do that?”
“Yeah, I do.”
If it was the Mars I knew…
“I don’t think you can.”
“You… bastard…!”
…she wouldn’t be able to find anyone and would end up being assigned a teammate by the teacher, making it a three-person team after all. Mars, understanding my implication, and realizing it was essentially a rejection, snorted and stood up abruptly. “You… keep your promise.”
“Sure. If you bring someone.”
But would it be that easy? Who would willingly team up with a lone wolf, a chaotic mix of social ineptitude, sincerity, and delinquency, capable of disrupting a group but not leading one?
What would she say? Would she argue that teachers counted as people, too? I was congratulating myself on maintaining the peace when…
“Chrono, keep your promise!”
“You… is that…? Behind you…?”
I hadn’t expected this.
“Looking forward to the dungeon practicum!”
“…Juno, huh.”
The protagonist abandoning the main heroine…?
***
Jupiter, the protagonist of NTR Academy. His team was as follows:
Zeus’s apostle, Jupiter
Athena’s apostle, Minerva
Hermes’s apostle, Merck
Warrior (Jupiter), Paladin (Minerva), and Thief (Merck). On the surface, it seemed like a close-combat focused composition, but it was actually quite standard. Jupiter provided high attack power, Minerva boasted strong defense, and Merck, as a thief, offered utility and ranged support with his arm-mounted crossbow. A seemingly perfect combination. A combination capable of defeating the tutorial boss, at least. But…
“…Are you okay?”
“Huh? What is it?”
“You look a little pale.”
“…”
…why had the protagonist abandoned the main heroine? Normally, he’d party with Juno. Ditching the main heroine at this stage resulted in a significant drop in likeability. And our regressor-nim had done just that.
“…Sorry.”
Was it that obvious? Juno made no attempt to hide her distress. The official, main heroine, was heartbroken. I could understand her feelings. It was a perfectly reasonable reaction.
“Are you comforting me? Sorry, but I’m taken, so it won’t work that easily!”
“Please stop talking nonsense…” Why was she directing this at me? I sighed internally, lamenting my fate, when Mars clapped Juno on the back with a boisterous laugh.
“Well, whatever! If we crush those bastards, your boyfriend will come crawling back! And I’ll prove I’m the strongest! So stop moping around! It’s bumming me out!”
“…Thanks, Mars. Are you comforting me, too?”
“Comforting… well, um, uh-huh!”
Mars beamed, clearly pleased by Juno’s gratitude. Her ponytail swayed back and forth. She must have been wiggling her whole body; there was no other explanation for her hair wagging like a dog’s tail. Even if “tail” in “ponytail” technically referred to a tail, this was a bit much.
“Mars, isn’t that thing on your back heavy? It looks really heavy.”
“Ha! This? It’s nothing! Doesn’t bother me at all!”
“Wow! Mars, you’re so strong!”
‘Ahem! Ahem!’ No, I was right. That was a tail. Definitely a tail.
“Hmm…”
Juno readily accepted Mars, and Mars, in turn, wagged her tail (ponytail) at Juno’s acceptance. Come to think of it, Juno was one of Mars’s few friends.
‘And even in the original myths…’
Since Ares was the child of Zeus and Hera, Mars and Juno had a relatively good relationship. I’d glossed over it in the game’s text files, but seeing it play out in person was different.
“Team 7, Mars’s team. To the front of the dungeon.”
“Ha…” The teacher’s voice. I stood up and moved forward.
“Now, before we begin!” Mars suddenly extended her hand. Juno, seemingly understanding without a word, placed her hand on top of Mars’s.
They looked at me expectantly.
“…Uh.”
No way. Just to be sure, I placed my hand on top of theirs. Mars grinned and shouted, “We’re definitely going to be number one!! Go, go, fighting!”
“Fighting!”
“Ugh… seriously…!” She was really doing this? Unbelievable. Grumbling under my breath, I followed Mars into the dungeon. ‘Well, it’s just a tutorial.’ I’d finish it quickly and get out—
—or so I thought. This was a pattern I was starting to get used to.
I imagine Mars actually has muscles instead of being another stick girl.