Episode 28 – Weekend (2)

Weekend (2)

The smell of meat grilling on the hot plate, the laughter of families, the clatter of dishes – this is [The Wayward Meat].

“Shion! The grills are here!”

Even on weekend evenings, I’m working part-time in the kitchen.

I plan to do this for at least another one to two months. It takes up a lot of time, but there’s no risk of getting hurt or dying on the job, and not only do I get a weekly wage of 600 Ren, they also give me meat to fill my bottomless stomach. Why would I quit?

“The grills and dishes are here!”

My immediate goal is to pass the College Board exams with high scores. I could make more money doing deliveries, cleaning, and organizing like before, but if I get injured and it affects my College Board exams, it’s all for nothing.

“Ah, but this is so fucking hard to clean.”

Splash—! I angrily tossed the grill into the sink.

I’m getting irritated. The grease on the scrubber won’t come off, and the detergent isn’t working. After cleaning about 200 of them, I’ve hit the limit of what my usual tricks can do.

“I need to bring about ten more scrubbers……”

Then, suddenly, an idea pierced through my temples.

What if I use 「Perion」 on the detergent?

I’ve never used it on consumables before, so I’m curious.

“……”

I looked around. Everyone was too busy to notice me.

Swipe- I put my hand on the detergent bottle.

“Load.”

I muttered the spell and activated the magic. I drew the magic to my fingertips. I summoned the memory of 「Perion」, letting it seep into the liquid in the detergent bottle.

Swoosh……

A dull current arose from my palm. The colorless magic. It flowed like smoke into the detergent bottle.

“……Did it work?”

I only used about 20% of my mana, but what about the effect?

I soaked the scrubber in the detergent. I scrubbed the grill with it.

Squeaky clean-

“Wow?”

The scrubber swept away all the grease and burnt meat residues from the grill. Like magic, in an instant.

“……That’s strange.”

The effect is more excellent than I imagined, but that makes it even more suspicious.

No, let’s think about it for a moment.

What does it mean that the performance of the detergent has been amplified? Does it mean the acidity has increased? Or the alkalinity?

This isn’t about confusion or doubt, it’s a matter of cause and effect.

‘Enhancement of ingredients’ doesn’t necessarily lead to ‘amplification of performance’.

If that were the principle, then hydrochloric acid would be the best detergent in the world.

“The grills are here!”

In the midst of the dishwashing where water, grills, and detergent are intertwined, a clear thought arises.

——What is the essential function that the future artifact 「Perion」 seeks?

It’s the amplification of magic and the body. It involves not only organs such as the mana circuit and the heart but also the entire human body including muscles and blood. Its mechanism is both magical and chemical.

——However, is the Perion invented by Libra and the Perion ‘remembered’ by my 「Notepad」 really the same substance?

I think I need to think more deeply about this.

“Dishes are here… What? You’ve already finished the grills? Anyway, dishes are here!”

Looking at the tower of dishes piling up in the sink again, I come up with a hypothesis.

First of all, the 「Notepad」 operates according to my will. It’s my spectrum, so it’s natural.

So.

Perhaps the Perion remembered by the 「Notepad」 also operates according to my will.

In other words, it might amplify the target I choose according to the ‘purpose’ I envision.

The basis is this detergent right now.

I thought of the detergent as a ‘cleansing substance’, and it was amplified as such.

“……Edit.”

Suddenly, that word comes to mind.

If, like the 「Notepad」 writes and erases, I can also freely edit and modify the effects of Perion……

“The grills are here!”

The grills came pouring in again.

I pressed the Perion detergent hard and poured it into the sink. Bubbles frothed on the surface. They looked somehow different from before, and indeed they were.

______________________________________________________________________

“……Finished! Everyone worked hard!”

Closing time, 11:20 PM.

“You did well today. You’re indeed the ace. Thanks to you, Shion, I think we served more tables.”

The boss handed me my weekly wage and a bag of meat.

“Take care of your family.”

“……”

Family.

It’s not a joke, this guy has been under the illusion for a while that I have a large family to support. Maybe because I take home meat by the kilogram every day.

I eat it all by myself.

“Thank you.”

It’s not too bad. Thanks to him, the things I receive are increasing every time I come to work.

I left the meat shop and walked to Endex. The curfew had already passed, so the main gate was of course closed.

I climbed over the wall nonchalantly.

Whiiiiing-

As soon as I crossed into the Endex grounds, my smartphone vibrated.

[College Board Score Notice]

It seems the scores for this mining assignment have come out.

Honestly, I’m confident about the score.

Of course, I only submitted exactly 23 magic stones from the mine. If you only consider quantity, I’m obviously last.

But it’s not all about quantity.

Chedric clearly stated that the grading criteria were ‘quantity’ and ‘quality’.

I focused on quality.

“Let’s see……”

Identifying magic stones is quite a difficult task to begin with. You can’t distinguish the ‘grade’ by size or appearance, so even if it looks like an ordinary pebble to the naked eye, it could be an A-grade magic stone.

It’s not for nothing that there’s a profession called magic stone appraiser.

However, I had the 「SZX-9500」, so I made full use of it and collected only the best ones to submit.

The result?

[Shion Askal: CP Completion List]

1. Prism Disassembly: [Pass (1CP)]

1. Paper Bird Observation: [0CP / 2.5CP], [3.5 CP / 3 CP]

1. Mine: [4.3 CP / 5 CP]

Total: 8.8 / 11.5 CP

Mine score 4.3CP.

Total so far 8.8 CP.

Satisfied with the decent score, I was walking when.

“……?”

My legs froze in place. My eyes were glued.

I was staring blankly at some part of the Endex park.

In the faint landscape, there was a man running on the track.

A man who looked like a statue, sweating and exercising. A man with such perfect looks and talent that it made me curse the world without realizing it.

Gerkhen Kal Doon.

There were many others watching him.

Especially from the girls’ dormitory side. They were stuck to the windows like barnacles. Wait a minute. Isn’t that a telescope?

“……He’s the same as ever.”

I had met Gerkhen before my regression.

Whether before or now, he was the alpha dog, and I was a hyena at the bottom.

He was the best swordsman on the continent, and I was a ghost with cancer.

He had ambitions that no one else could hold, and in the end, he became the first commoner congressman in Edsilla.

He received the support of all the commoners, but I hated him.

It wasn’t just a simple feeling of inferiority.

Perhaps, because our master was the same?

Because it seemed like our master favored him over me?

Or because he ended up betraying our master?

I’m not sure.

I can’t understand him, and he can’t understand me.

From the beginning, he had very little interest in me.

People who live to develop themselves and people who live to bring someone down are just too different.

“Keep up the good work.”

I said to his running back. But suddenly, he stopped. Then he turned around with his sweaty face. He looked directly at me. I didn’t avoid his blue pupils. Instead, I asked back.

“Huh. What.”

Then he withdrew his gaze and started running in the park again.

“……He has really sharp ears.”

Gerkhen Kal Doon.

I hate this guy too.

______________________________________________________________________

Monday came around again, at the Clemen Hall.

As usual, Elise, who came to school 30 minutes early, paused as she was about to sit down.

It was because of Soliette in the corner of the back row. A seat that was as good as her designated seat, shaded by a tree outside the window.

“Tsk.”

Elise, who clicked her tongue, took a step towards her.

“Hello.”

“Ah. Good afternoon.”

Soliette nodded nonchalantly. There was no awkwardness or hesitation that she had expected. Elise sat on her desk and asked quietly.

“Why did you ask about the expelled student yesterday?”

The reason, in fact, she already knew.

It’s because he mentioned ‘Knightmare’.

“Is the expulsion confirmed?”

Soliette asked. Elise crossed her legs.

“You saw it. He couldn’t even submit the paper bird, and he only gathered a handful in the mine.”

Two failures at the College Board means compulsory expulsion.

“If it’s expulsion, then it’s done.”

Soliette nodded sullenly. Elise didn’t say anything more.

Perhaps, this expulsion might be a blessing in disguise for Shion Ascal.

If he doesn’t disappear from sight, he might be killed by Soliette.

“Take care.”

“Yes.”

Elise returned to her seat. As it neared 9 o’clock, the seniors started to trickle in.

“Elly~ You’re early as usual~ Ugh!”

She pushed away Layla, who was trying to cling to her shoulder.

“I’m sleepy. Hey Asher. What did you do with him yesterday? I didn’t see you in the middle.”

“Hehehe. I’ll leave it to your imagination. Ah, my back hurts.”

As Kain and Asher sat down chattering nonsensically, it struck 9 o’clock.

Drrrr—

The front door opened, and Chedric appeared. Standing at the podium, he looked at his wristwatch and waited.

He was counting the ‘seconds’.

Elise also looked at her watch out of curiosity.

9:00:57. 58. 59—

——Trrrr!

Exactly one second before, the back door hurriedly opened.

Elise didn’t look back.

A senior who barely makes it to school on time? He’s just pathetic and lacking.

—…Huh?

—What’s with him?

But the other seniors were different. They looked back out of curiosity and each wore a shocked expression. Like they had seen a ghost.

“How, how did that bastard?”

Even Kain spat out a clichéd line.

“What’s this, no, uh—”

As if to replace the stuttering Kain, Chedric spoke.

“Shion Ascal. That was close.”

“……?”

Elise thought she had heard wrong. Therefore, she looked back a bit late.

At that moment, her pupils widened.

“I didn’t miss it, did I?”

The person who everyone was sure would be expelled.

The man who was fiddling with his slightly damp hair and sitting in the very back seat.

Shion Ascal.

Elise blankly followed him. All the gazes in Clemen Hall were similar.

Facing those numerous eyes, Shion Ascal twisted the corners of his mouth in a mocking smile.

“All 90 members are present. Since everyone is here, we will begin the first College Board course of the second week. Follow me.”