It’s an Academic Fact That Rankers Are Model Students – Chapter 161

Chapter 161: Don’t Let Them Push You Around (3)

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry for trying to die recklessly!”

Ceram apologized to Kyung-joon for trying to recklessly take his own life.

Thinking about it, it was a simple answer.

From the very beginning, Kyung-joon was angry at Ceram for trying to die without putting up a fight.

Not at the Silvas who were trying to kill Ceram.

“Yes.”

Swoosh.

As if this was indeed the right answer, Kyung-joon stopped Mana Plunder as soon as he heard Ceram’s apology.

Thump! Thud! Thud!

The Silvas who were drained of mana collapsed.

They weren’t dead.

They just passed out for a while due to mana exhaustion.

As fairies blessed with mana, this was probably their first time experiencing mana exhaustion, so it must have been even more painful for them.

“Shall we go back then?”

Kyung-joon, as if nothing had happened, brushed off the mana from his hands and started walking first.

Ceram looked back and forth between the collapsed Silvas and Kyung-joon who was walking ahead, seemingly lost in thought.

But soon, he followed after Kyung-joon.

“Don’t worry. I told the wolves beforehand. To protect them from other beasts by the waterway until they wake up.”

Even if they were residents of the forest, it was dangerous to be lying unconscious in the middle of the Whale Forest.

Because even monsters attack each other.

“Ah…… I see……”

At Kyung-joon’s words, Ceram just awkwardly nodded, seemingly embarrassed.

“Let’s go then.”

“……Yes.”

Thud. Thud.

And so, on their way back to the territory.

An awkward atmosphere hung in the air.

Although Kyung-joon had an expression that showed he didn’t care much, it made Ceram feel even more awkward.

Eventually, unable to bear the awkwardness any longer, Ceram was the first to break the silence.

“Um…… Aren’t you going to ask, Kyung-joon-nim?”

“Ask what?”

Kyung-joon asked back, pretending not to know.

“That……”

Ceram hesitated before speaking, then continued as if he had made up his mind.

“……About me being bullied by the other Silvas.”

“Well then, what should I ask?”

Kyung-joon continued walking forward, adding,

“Why were you being beaten up there? Why did they push you so far? What was it like in the past? What does having black skin have to do with the Demon’s curse? Before, they just avoided you, why did they try to kill you this time? What should I ask?”

“……”

Ceram couldn’t answer properly this time either.

Kyung-joon sighed deeply, stopped walking, and looked back.

His face was as expressionless as ever.

The fact that he wasn’t wearing his glasses, unlike in reality, made it even more so.

“Mr. Ceram. I’m not your school violence counselor. Whatever your story is, why you’re being ostracized by the group of Silvas you’re supposed to be with, frankly, it’s not my jurisdiction. And.”

Kyung-joon continued in a cold tone.

“I’m busy. The midterm exams are over, but the final exams are in less than two months, and this time, it overlaps with the 1st level Science Certification Exam.”

For reference, Kyung-joon easily passed both Physics and Chemistry for the 2nd level Science Certification.

“And the territory is getting bigger, there’s more work to do, the construction across the river in the Outer City is nearing completion, and once that’s done, we have to start the bakery again in earnest. Also, the monster counseling never stops. I have to keep learning languages from you, Mr. Ceram.”

In the end, Kyung-joon’s words meant that he wasn’t interested, didn’t care, and that Ceram shouldn’t bother him.

Kyung-joon turned his head and started walking again.

“……I understand.”

Ceram followed behind Kyung-joon.

But his steps were less confident than before.

Yes, what was he expecting?

Thinking back to when he first met Kyung-joon, their relationship was just a contractual one.

As Ceram came to that conclusion and tried to close the door to his heart that he had slightly opened,

Kyung-joon’s last words caught the handle of that door.

“So don’t be a nuisance and hesitate, if you need anything, if you want to ask for anything, if you want me to do anything, ask properly.”

Kyung-joon’s face was still expressionless, but his clear eyes pierced through Ceram.

“Our contract will be over in a few days, but not yet. At least until then, you, Ceram, are a resident of my Study territory, and I am the lord. Do you understand?”

[ Unique skill 『 Will Conveyance (Lv.1) 『 ]

Kyung-joon imbued his words with mana and spoke in fairy language.

It wasn’t just a simple pleasantry between humans.

They were words filled with will.

“Ah.”

It struck Ceram directly, making him feel like he had been hit on the head.

But it wasn’t an unpleasant dizziness.

[ Favorability with Ceram has exceeded 50. ]

[ A new sentence has been added to the first piece of Ceram’s quest. ]

[ You can obtain the second piece of the quest depending on your actions later on. ]

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

Back in Study Villa.

Kyung-joon, who had just logged into the game as always, was looking at his status window for a bit instead of studying right away in Study Villa.

[Quest Piece – Black Skin Silva, Ceram-]

▶It seems that Ceram has a big trauma about his skin color being black, unlike ordinary Silvas. It seems like he has a story behind it……

▶???

A quest piece obtained when he first met Ceram and signed a one-month contract as a language tutor for the territory.

A system in which a formal quest is triggered when necessary conditions such as items, conversations, and time are met, that is, when several more quest pieces are collected.

Just like when he obtained a quest piece for the mutated Orc Protein during the defense of Luxemb a long time ago, Kyung-joon, whose original purpose was to study, did not bother to collect quest pieces.

Just then, someone knocks on the door of the villa.

“Kyung-joon-nim. It’s Ceram.”

It was Ceram.

“Yes. What brings you here?”

“I’m going to do some cooking. If you haven’t had breakfast yet, how about we eat together?”

“Um, hold on a second.”

Kyung-joon checked his fullness window.

▶Fullness: 23%

As Ceram said, it seemed like he needed to eat something.

He didn’t think he’d be full with just unique bread.

“Okay. I shouldn’t skip breakfast.”

Kyung-joon said so and came out of the villa.

Unlike TikiTiki or other Silvas, Ceram prefers to walk on foot rather than wings.

Maybe it’s because he’s an earth-attribute fairy.

While walking to the kitchen building nearby.

“By the way, is it a human proverb that you shouldn’t skip breakfast?”

Ceram spoke up.

“Ah. My mother always says that. She often says that you should never skip breakfast, even if you skip all other meals.”

Thanks to this, Kyung-joon has never missed breakfast every day so far.

Breakfast gatekeeper.

It was his mother’s creed to eat breakfast even if he was late for school.

“Ah…… So your mother usually makes breakfast.”

“Hmm? Don’t fairies  like that?”

“Haha, I grew up alone without parents.”

“Oh, um, I’m…… sorry.”

“No, it’s okay.”

Creak.

Kyung-joon opened the door to the kitchen building, leaving behind the slightly awkward atmosphere.

It was a kitchen where Ceram had prepared to cook in advance.

“It’s best to eat food when it’s hot. Please wait a moment.”

Ceram started cooking.

Sizzle!

It was called cooking, but it was actually a simple recipe.

It’s just a process of baking pre-made dough in a frying pan with plenty of oil.

However, the savory smell that filled the air made Kyung-joon’s mouth water.

At least he really liked that it wasn’t slime cold soup.

Kyung-joon, who was curious about what kind of food it was, asked.

“What kind of food is this?”

“It’s a dish made by roughly mixing potatoes and cauliflower in a 7:3 ratio and frying it in oil. It’s easy to make, cheap, delicious, and has a great price-performance ratio. So it’s often used in war meals.”

It is also a representative food of Aegis Protectorate, which is attached to Whale Forest and often wages large and small wars with monsters.

Simply put, military food.

But Kyung-joon liked it very much.

“Oh. That’s amazing? Cost-effectiveness is always right.”

“Haha, I thought you’d say that.”

Soon, Ceram served the cooked food in front of Kyung-joon.

It seems that he only baked an appropriate amount so that it wouldn’t cool down and lose its taste if he baked it all at once.

“Actually, the original Aegis Protectorate one is too greasy, so I modified it a bit. That one is a lump of oil. But this will definitely suit your taste better.”

“After you put it that way……. “

Kyung-joon took a big bite with a fork.

Chew, chew.

“Hmm, hmm……?! T, This taste is……! It’s just okay?”

“Right?”

The dough baked by Ceram tasted similar to potato pancakes.

Since it also contains cauliflower, it seems like it could be called cauliflower potato pancakes.

“Yes. It tastes similar to the potato pancakes my mother used to make when I was young.”

“Huh. Is this what mother’s taste is like? I don’t know, but…… I see.”

“Ah.”

Kyung-joon once again unknowingly touched Ceram’s sore spot.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I’m not very thoughtful.”

“No, it’s okay. I don’t remember it in the first place.”

When Ceram put a few more deliciously baked cauliflower potato pancakes on the table.

He opened his mouth with a bitter smile.

“But it’s not like I don’t have anything related to my mother.”

What Ceram took out was the ordinary stone necklace he had been wearing since they first met.

Except for the fact that it was beautifully engraved with 『CERAM』 in fairy language.

‘Wait a minute. That stone……’

When Kyung-joon frowned at the familiar-looking stone, Ceram continued speaking.

“As you already know, it says ‘Ceram’ in fairy language. It’s not a particularly meaningful word, so I just thought it was a name. Since I guessed so, I’ve been introducing myself as Ceram.”

The carefully engraved letters seemed to be filled with affectionate emotions.

Perhaps Ceram felt the same way, as the stone was worn out in many places.

“I was abandoned by the Silva group. As you can see, because of my black skin, I was abandoned as a child cursed by the demon.”

Ceram, who was saying that, had a sarcastic expression on his face.

It wasn’t directed at Kyung-joon.

It was a mockery directed at himself, who was born with black skin, and at the entire Silva flock that rejected him.

Ding!

[If you listen to Ceram’s story afterwards, you will collect the second piece of the quest piece 『Silva with Black Skin, Ceram』.]

※Once you proceed with this story, you will not be able to quit the quest in the middle.

※If you force quit, the quest piece will disappear and you may receive a corresponding penalty.

“It’s a bit long, but would you like to hear it?”

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

Not the 10th Monitoring Division, but Kyung-joon’s Special Management Team.

Kim Bu-ha there quietly reported to Team Leader Jo.

“Team Leader. The second piece of Ceram’s Epic Quest, user Kyung-joon has just unlocked it.”

The team leader was silent at Kim Bu-ha’s words.

Instead, the team leader was reading a file that looked important.

At the very top of the file, it was written like this:

『File Name: Scenario Project File Z137』

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