Entering the Game with a Cheat Physique

Episode 39 Monster Festival

Episode 39 Monster Festival

Olympia’s Vice-Director Chiron was currently entertaining a very special guest.

The first group Olympia had ever invited into the academy, which had never allowed any outside force before.

The Monster Circus Troupe, ‘Monsties.’

Facing their leader, Borisov, Chiron secretly sighed.

‘How did it come to this?’

As Vice-Director, he had no intention of breaking the principles Olympia had always upheld.

But sadly, what could he do about the Central Tower’s magic stone deteriorating during his term?

If there wasn’t a magic stone to promote the growth of Olympia’s students, that would be an even worse situation, so the cooperation of another group was unavoidable.

So, these were the ones Chairman Athena had brought in, the Monsteers.

They were going to do their circus on the academy grounds in exchange for receiving mana stones.

I still didn’t like it, but there was nothing I could do.

“Then I assume the negotiations are concluded.”

Borisov grinned slyly as he collected the contract.

The document detailed the agreements made between Olympia and the Monsteers,

but every single point was a cause for concern, and Chiron was exhausted.

‘They’re going to release monsters all over the academy…’

They were supposed to be strictly controlled by the circus performers, but they were still monsters.

How could anyone know what kind of emergency might occur?

“Don’t worry. Our performers are all top-notch, so there’s no chance we’ll lose control.”

“I see.”

Even though Borisov, sensing Chiron’s unease, made these reassuring remarks, he still felt uneasy.

He just wished none of his beloved students would get hurt.

“Besides, didn’t we send all your instructors on vacation? Your excessive anxiety is somewhat uncomfortable.”

“That’s true. Sigh… I’ll restrain myself.”

In fact, he hadn’t particularly wanted that vacation either.

They had only offered it as a special deal in exchange for the mana stones, and he didn’t have a good enough reason to refuse.

But their real intention was clear as day.

‘They’re trying to improve their reputation.’

The Monsteers weren’t exactly a well-regarded circus troupe.

It wasn’t difficult to join, and there weren’t many young people who eagerly wanted to do so.

Therefore, they’d come up with a clever plan.

─Make Olympia’s students interested in them!

That was why they were going to such lengths to come and put on a circus inside the academy.

No, actually, what they’d agreed to do this time wasn’t exactly a circus.

Deciding that a milder and more wholesome event would be better for creating pleasant memories for the students.

They agreed to hold a festival with monsters at the end of the semester.

That way, they could leave a good impression.

The same went for the instructors who taught the students.

If they leave a good impression on them, they might recommend Monsties during career counseling.

In the end, it’s all just a strategy to get ahead.

“But is this really okay? This ‘Nemean Lion’ viewing show they’re holding on the last day.”

“Ah, that?”

At Chiron’s question, Borsoff gave a confident smile.

‘The Nemean Lion.’

This monster, painstakingly captured by Monsties, is unimaginably powerful.

To show the students a performance of being able to control even a fraction of such a monster, Monsties added it to the schedule on the last day.

Especially since they limited the target to first-year students, who are still not good at distinguishing right from wrong.

But for Chiron, it wasn’t a matter he could easily brush off.

“I’ve heard that even fairly skilled knights and mages have trouble subduing it. Are you really sure you can control it?”

“Don’t worry. We’ll control it for sure. If you’re so worried, then we’ll just take the mana stone.”

“…Alright. I misspoke. Proceed as planned.”

“Hehe, you should’ve said so from the start.”

But still, with his mana stone held hostage, there was nothing Chiron could do.

In the end, he allowed the Nemean Lion viewing show on the final day, though his mind remained unsettled.

‘Nothing bad better happen.’

Hopefully, it will conclude safely as part of the festival.

*

The first day of the Monster Festival.

I woke up in the dorm, only to find it already noisy outside.

From beyond the window, I could hear students shouting with excitement, and a spirited air permeated my skin.

—Wow! This is fucking amazing. What is this?

—Look at that. It’s a Zephyrus! The way it flies is insane.

—Want to go to the Wind Gun shooting range? Let’s have a bet on who can hit the hardest.

Already so rowdy.

Act 1 Finale, the Monster Festival hosted by the circus troupe, Monsties.

Just hearing the name makes it sound like it’ll be some kind of show where monsters breathe fire or something.

But surprisingly, it’s an event more reminiscent of a Japanese summer festival than what the word ‘circus’ would suggest.

‘After all, this is a coming-of-age story.’

＜Sword and Magic Song＞ might be a fantasy game, but it’s still fundamentally a coming-of-age school story about two protagonists.

So, an event like this summer festival isn’t out of place at all, you know?

Not that I’m hyped up about the festival or anything.

It’s just that I have things to ask of the people I’ve gotten close to.

‘When the boss fight starts, the whole academy’s gonna be a mess.’

The Act 1 boss.

The Nemean Lion.

This monster, reminiscent of Greek and Roman mythology from my past life, is one of the strongest monsters, stat-wise.

Its forced CC on the entire party is a pain, and its base stats are rock-solid, but…

The power that’ll throw Olympia into the most chaos is its control over other monsters.

It’ll take control of all the monsters in the academy under the circus performers’ sway, and then it’ll all break loose.

Monsters will be running wild everywhere because of that, and we’ll need people to stop them.

The people I’ve befriended are the ones I trust the most, so I’ll have to rely on them, right?

So, thinking that I should go out and find my acquaintances first, I was about to head out when…

“Huh?”

There’s something in the mailbox.

I open it to see what it is.

A luxurious-looking envelope is inside.

The pink envelope has no seal imprinted on it.

They want to leave their impression but not reveal their identity.

Who would write a letter with such colorful and expensive-looking paper?

For sure, it’s a woman, and she’s a noble.

That alone gave me a rough idea who it was.

*Riiip.*

I tear open the envelope.

I take out the letter inside and quickly scan it.

Only one really simple sentence was written on the paper.

────────────────

I’ll be waiting at the Zephyros Platform on the second day of the festival.

Make sure you come with your heart ready that day, okay?

────────────────

The sender is still unlisted.

But just by the elegant handwriting and the tone, I know.

No, they probably wrote it expecting me to know.

“……”

I roughly get the vibe of what this means.

How I should accept this, though, that takes some serious thought.

“There’s no turning back, I guess.”

If the other person is hitting me with their sincerity, running away would be rude.

At the very least, I don’t want to ignore the sincerity of a girl in the prime of her youth.

Yeah.

Even if that person is me.

*

Anyway, it’s not the second day yet.

I step outside and look around.

The students are each participating in and enjoying the festival’s events.

─Kyaaah! It’s too high!

─Honey, calm down. You won’t fall.

Some are enjoying the scenery riding the flying-type monster, Zephyros, in the distance.

─Whoa! It’s so huge!

─How did they bring such a large monster?

Others are excited by the submersible-type monsters on display in specially prepared tanks.

─Aw, damn it, it won’t get caught!

─You scrub. I already caught one.

There are also students participating in a game where they use magic to catch fish monsters, bringing to mind my past life’s goldfish scooping.

Watching them, I found myself smiling.

‘They look good.’

I don’t really know any of those guys.

Even so, seeing these young students enjoying their youth makes me feel good.

It’s a professional hazard, too, I guess.

“Brings back memories.”

I’d seen similar sights in my past life, many times…

That thought flashed through my mind as I strolled down the street. Then,

“Sis. Can’t we take a break? Everyone else is having fun, do you really need to write an article right now?”

“What are you talking about, Sapphire? A reporter’s duty is to record the scenes others are enjoying. There’s no way we can rest.”

I spotted two women bickering amongst themselves as they wandered through the crowd.

Both had their hair done in twin side-up styles, but they had vastly different builds.

The elder sister was smaller, the younger one larger – the Duer sisters.

Ruby was clutching a pen and paper, probably still working on her article even now.

Sapphire seemed to be trying to stop her.

“Besides, we haven’t even got a single good story yet. There’s nothing that’ll really catch people’s eyes.”

“Ugh. Just write something passable and move on, okay?”

“I can’t. We need something that’ll grab people’s attention…”

“What are you doing?”

I spoke to them as they bickered.

Normally, I would’ve just let it go, but for some reason, I felt concerned.

“Oh? It’s senior Herak.”

“Hello.”

Ruby greeted me quite casually, while Sapphire was more polite.

I scratched the back of my head and asked them,

“Why are you writing an article in the middle of the day? Do you really enjoy working that much?”

“Ahem, senior, you really don’t understand.”

Ruby puffed out her chest at my question.

How much could that petite chest possibly stick out anyway?

“A reporter never rests, 365 days of the year. We work even when others are resting.”

“So you’re looking for article material even on a festival day?”

“Well, yeah, pretty much.”

There wasn’t a hint of hesitation in her reply.

She genuinely seemed to think that working on club activities was more important than enjoying the festival…

…That was kind of sad.

Ruby, seemingly oblivious to what I was thinking, slapped her palm like she’d just had a brilliant idea.

“Ah! How about we observe *sunbaenim* instead? Call it a scoop report. Like, documenting how a person of interest, *sunbaenim* Herak, enjoys the festival. That could be pretty good, too.”

“*Unnie*, there’s no way *sunbaenim* would allow that, right? They’d want to enjoy it on their own.”

“Heh, I don’t think it’ll be a guaranteed thing either, Sapphire. I’m not *that* clueless…”

“Okay.”

Huh? Ruby and Sapphire blinked in unison.

They stared at me, blankly, probably not expecting me to agree.

I gave my okay in a calm tone.

“Stick with me and write your report.”

“…W-wow, really?! No takesies-backsies?!”

Ruby jumped up and down, elated by my suggestion.

She probably never thought I’d actually cooperate with a story during a festival when everyone else is just having fun, which is understandable.

Of course, I didn’t just agree for no reason, either.

‘These two would be alright.’

It was the last day, when the monsters would run wild.

I felt close enough to ask them to be a little more on guard then.

And.

‘…You should enjoy yourself a bit too, you know.’

If everyone else is enjoying the festival, there’s no reason Ruby shouldn’t.

I’d be her guide in my own way, so she can have fun.