Healing at the Academy convenience store

Chapter 13

Often, Nephti and I would meet and dedicate ourselves to developing ideas for the freshmen’s welcome party.

She never seemed to require any payment for her efforts, content with gorging on donuts and wearing a happy smile.

When Nephti would devour all kinds of donuts under the pretense of helping me, I felt we’d thought of just about everything, and before we knew it, the welcome party was only a week away.

She had her own responsibilities at the knight’s club and went back to them, while I was very busy with my own tasks.

Eve, the star of the upcoming welcome party, was bound to be incredibly busy, and even Aila had not shown up.

During this time, I made a significant breakthrough: I could do one push-up a day and still be perfectly fine the next.

“Good. If things keep going like this, achieving a level 3 fitness level is not a dream.”

Anyway, there’s a difference between 2 and 3.

Today, too, I finished one push-up and went to bed.

At any rate.

Ordering products in accordance with the date. Checking the place and time to open the booth.

Finding out the limit for the maximum number of prints, verifying the hygiene status, and checking the expiration dates of all products, the day before the freshman welcome party arrived.

“Starting tomorrow, my life as a third-year student begins.”

Up until now, it was the seasonal semester, so it was fine to skip classes, but not anymore.

I have to endure everything from the surrounding contempt, neglect, and even physical violence and sinister social lynching.

At the same time, I have to save the convenience store.

“I will save the convenience store. I will graduate. It’s a daunting task for a third-rate villain.”

I’m ready.

If I don’t make a fortune at tomorrow’s freshman welcome party, I’ll go bankrupt. But that won’t happen, right?

***

Jephryn has a total of 100,000 members, but this includes undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty. If we’re only counting undergraduates, the number varies between 10,000 and 20,000 per grade.

The average age at admission is sixteen.

Whether to finish the first four years of study and return to the world at twenty, or add another three years for a grander dream, or even stay here forever as a graduate student. There are three choices.

Therefore, welcoming new students, who will paint their future in Jephryn, is quite a joyful event.

A whopping 18,000 new students.

Jephryn is quite strict in managing grades.

The probability that an incoming student will graduate is about 60 percent, half of which will drop out.

This auditorium, capable of accommodating tens of thousands of people, was as magnificent as another Colosseum.

First-year students stood in the center of the stage, and second-year students looked down at them from the audience seats.

The surviving second-year students watched the first-year students as if they were assessing them and conversed.

“Newbies, huh?”

“I wonder how many of them will survive.”

“Hey, do you want to bet on who will be expelled first?”

Ignoring such idle talk, I scanned the crowd of 20,000.

In the main game, there are individuals in there that must be guarded against and, if possible, captured.

However, that’s a job for the protagonist, Kelters.

“…”

So Wolfram only seeks one person.

The one who could potentially become the greatest hero of light among the 20,000, a red-haired boy with a naive expression.

“I can’t see him.”

Of course, that’s to be expected. 20,000 is no small number.

More importantly…

“Hey, look there.”

“Why? Didn’t he get expelled? Why is he here?”

“Prince Wolfram is here?… This is insane.”

“Damn… I’m leaving. This makes me uncomfortable.”

“They say Dufel was expelled because of that guy.”

Thinking about it, being in a crowded square is like asking to get stabbed in a crowd. If you chop up the body and dump it in the eastern forest, the goblins will eat well.

I should get out of here. Thinking this, the moment I was about to quickly stand up from my seat…

“You’re here, Wolfram?”

“…”

A girl, reminding me of black obsidian, approached with a faint smile.

***

My fiancee and the second in the overall ranking, the icon of rebellion and black obsidian, was smiling at me.

“Aila.”

“You said you’re doing business during the freshman welcome party, right? Did you come to see me?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’m on my way to prepare now.”

“Oh… I see.”

Why does she seem upset?

“Anyway, I’m about to leave soon. If you’re interested, come find me. It’s in the civilian area, Zone 3.”

“If I have time. Anyway, you’re coming to see the ‘training’ later, right?”

“If I can make it.”

Aila made a sulky face.

“You’re telling me you set everything up for a perfect win, and you might not even bother to watch? Do you think that makes any sense?”

“…”

“I want a reasonable answer, Wolfram.”

“…”

Here, it’s crucial to carefully craft my words to avoid getting on the wrong side of Aila. Work, my cerebral cortex.

How to ensure Aila’s mood isn’t spoiled and successfully complete the business deal…

Aha.

First, I raise the corner of my mouth in a natural smile, letting out a chuckle as if mocking a joke that wasn’t funny. Then I shrug my shoulders.

“Originally, you would have won effortlessly with your skills, and yet you even trained. Do I really need to watch the outcome?”

“······Huh?”

“I simply told you to be thoroughly prepared. If Aila Tristar ever faltered against a mere commoner, wouldn’t you be unable to forgive yourself?”

“Hu, huhum.”

“Your rebellion is the most discreet, most meticulous, and most perfect. Isn’t it?”

“·········Hu, haha, you know it well. That’s right. Yes.”

“Then the result is already determined. Whether anyone watches or not, nothing changes.”

“Is, is that so? Hehe. You’re really something, Wolfram. The wings of my rebellion, acknowledged by you.”

What’s this ‘wings of rebellion’ now?

Anyway, seeing her smiling happily, it seems I survived yet another day.

Speaking of which, there was something I needed to ask Aila when she’s in a good mood.

“By the way, did you meet your opponent? The commoner named Kelters.”

“Yes, I met him. A young boy with red hair. His expression was like a farmer’s, as if he didn’t know what was going on.”

“I see. Any peculiarities?”

“What do you mean by peculiarities?”

“Like the weapons or equipment he had.”

That’s crucial.

Jephryn has a concept of starting difficulty, and naturally, if the difficulty is low, good equipment is given at the beginning.

“Uh… I don’t remember well, but he had a straight sword with a pommel as red as blood. He carried it over his shoulder. It looked quite valuable, but I couldn’t tell what kind of sword it was.”

“A sword with a blood-red pommel.”

No starting difficulty level would provide such a weapon, but since this is Jephryn and reality is twisted in ways I can’t comprehend, I decided not to overthink it.

However, I have a rough idea of what that weapon could be.

“Was it a two-handed straight sword that reached down to his waist from his shoulder?”

“Yes.”

“I see. He had that weapon.”

“Do you know what weapon it is?”

“I’m not certain, but Aila. Be wary of his breakthrough.”

“······?”

It’s a weapon that would normally appear in the second act, but I have no clue why he would have it already.

After giving Aila a casual warning, I turned to leave.

“Aren’t you going to listen to the opening speech from Eve?”

“Do I really need to put myself through that here?”

“Guess you have a point. Wolfram.”

“Hm?”

“How does it feel to have your throne stolen?”

“Such a thing is no more than a fake.”

I put on a strong front in front of Aila, but in truth, I rate Eve quite highly.

Usually, the student council president of Jephryn is typically from the royal family, so one would normally ‘appoint’ a student council president upon enrolling at Jephryn.

And I enrolled as a first-year and was expelled in my second.

The one who expelled me was Eve, who was a first-year at the time.

Eve, who wanted to understand life in Jephryn, spent her free time conducting private inspections and, as a result, discovered my tyranny.

Eventually, Eve couldn’t stand it anymore and raised the flag of rebellion, declaring she would be the student council president the following year. She built connections with the current students, gathered data, and cross-verified it.

And then she wrote a letter to her father, the emperor, and got me kicked out of the presidency. That’s the record of her rebellion.

She’s one scary kid.

“I see. You’re looking at something bigger, something I can’t see.”

“That’s not it.”

“Hehe. Was setting up a stall in the commoner’s zone also for your rise?”

At her words, I said nothing. Aila nodded.

“Figures. I knew it. Deliberately antagonizing the nobles, making a fool of yourself, and then gaining support from the commoners to climb back on stage… An audacious rebellion.”

“·········.”

What is she talking about?

“So it’s a bit of a shame.”

“What are you talking about?”

“If we had conversed a bit more, if we had learned more about each other… Maybe I could have prevented your downfall.”

What’s she talking about now?

It seemed as if Aila was writing an incredible epic in her mind.

Regardless, I shook my head. I needed to stop her before she could act.

“Right now, I’m comfortable. Everything is going as planned.”

“I suppose so. But I wanted to witness your rebellion, even if it means ruin.”

“……”

I shook my head again, saying nothing.

Without uttering another word, I left the auditorium.

I felt that if I talked more, rebellion would be the only thing on my mind.

***

When I arrived at my stall in zone 3, intended for first-year commoners, there was already a customer.

Although to call her a customer seemed strange, as it was Nephti.

“You’re here. Everything’s ready.”

“Is it now?”

“Yes.”

The other stalls were buzzing with chatter.

Most of the students here belonged to the Maestro group, and while there were some from the Magic Department, there were also many from the Knight’s Department.

Thus, there were quite a few who recognized Nephti, famously known as the Sword of Belief from the Knight’s Department, and naturally, a considerable number knew of Wolfram, the most popular star of the school.

Seeing the two of us starting a business together was an oddity, and everyone was merely gawking.

Hm, I have this feeling I’m doing something terrible. I have nothing to lose, but she has a lot at stake.

“···You’re cheeky to say you’ll guide me. But I like it. That’s what a Knight’s Sword of Belief should be like.”

“Huh, what?”

“Hmm. But considering your enthusiasm, I’ll play along for today.”

As I yelled out loud, the surrounding attention faded instantly. This was enough to lay the groundwork, and anyone here who asks about Nephti would certainly spread rumors.

The story being – The Knight of Belief is guiding the lousy Student Council President by opening a shop together.

“······Thank you, Prince.”

“Hmph. Just get ready for business.”

“Yes!”

Recognizing my intent, Nephti sincerely bowed in respect.

“Everything is so subpar.”

“What do you mean?”

“Everything.”

Looking around, of course, there were plenty of food stalls since we’re vendors. Some were selling handcrafted items, cheap artifacts, or even swords and convenient tools.

However, to me, the master of convenience store shortcuts, the current World’s First convenience store owner, everything seemed tacky.

I plan to go all out, to an extent my competitors wouldn’t dare to match.

“Nephti. Let’s start with that.”

“That…are you serious? It’s…it’s incredibly risky.”

“You’re not going to do it?

“… All, all the other snack shops might go out of business.”

“I’ll give you a performance bonus.”

With that, Nephti froze.

“What did you just say?”

“It’s not an hourly wage. If sales are good, 20% of the net profit is yours. If the profit is a million Rin, then two hundred thousand Rin is yours.”

Nephti’s eyes were shaking endlessly.

“But what about our coexistence…?”