The remnants of stone briars and the carcasses of Medusa Snakes and Stone Eaters littered the area as far as the eye could see. The phrase “a sea of corpses” had never been more appropriate.

[Fear and the Petrification Trap! Save the People! cleared. You gained 15,000 EXP.]

[No casualties. You gained an additional 5,000 EXP.]

Lanpeach glanced at the log and chuckled to himself. A minor villain smirking like that might easily be mistaken for the culprit even after saving people.

[It went better than expected. A new world of Psychic Blade has opened up. Side quests like these are easy and right up my alley. I love them.] (Lanpeach)

[Yeah, I’m impressed you came up with a neat trick by enchanting beer with Psychic Blade.] (Libra)

Libra crunched on a crispy piece of bacon in her mouth while praising Lanpeach. Though she might have been half-baffled, Lanpeach didn’t care.

Indeed, Lanpeach had enchanted his beer with Psychic Blade when the monsters appeared. It was a gamble, but it worked.

The cutting power was as weak as a razor, but he managed to form the blades into rings using telekinesis, spinning them at high speeds, thus greatly enhancing their power. This success made him realize that other “tricks” with psychic powers might also be possible.

[Well, I can’t afford to stand out too much here. It’s just a part-time job after all. Better keep a low profile.] (Lanpeach)

[We cleared quite a lot of the stone briars. Things went pretty well overall.] (Libra)

[Yeah, most of the monsters are down. Magic should be safe to use now, and we can clear the remaining plants in no time.] (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach let out a cool smile, handed his mug to one of his underlings for a refill, and then stretched out on his lounge chair. To anyone passing by, he would look like nothing more than a regular part-timer.

He’d also set up a scapegoat. Using Telekinesis, he controlled the unconscious Hitoshi, while Libra altered her voice, controlled him like a marionette, and played the hero role.

“Uh… What was I doing again? I can’t remember anything after the monsters showed up…”

Hitoshi woke up right on cue, scratching his head and glancing around.

“You were hiding your strength, weren’t you? Thanks, Hitoshi.”

“Um… I think I was sleeping though?”

“You must be something else, beating enemies in your sleep. From now on, we’ll call you ‘Sleeping Hitoshi’!”

“Yeah! All hail Sleeping Hitoshi, the amazing mage!”

“Let’s hoist up our new hero! Hooray! Hooray!”

“He’ll be perfect for a parade float. Way to go, Sleeping Hitoshi!”

The Mofumofu Brigade lifted Hitoshi onto their shoulders, showering him with praise. Hitoshi, always humble, squirmed awkwardly, not taking credit for his grand achievement.

“A toast to our new hero!”

[Cheers!] (Libra)

Lanpeach watched the scene unfold as he clinked his glass with Libra and chuckled like the minor villain he is. People might suspect Hitoshi was being controlled, but rumors tend to spread on their own. Since most didn’t actually see the control themselves, the story would probably just turn into a tale of Hitoshi’s heroic actions. Congratulations, Hitoshi.

And so, with the world of the botanical garden turned into a sea of corpses, Lanpeach glanced at his watch. About one more hour until the end of his shift. He yawned and thought: “Maybe I’ll take a nap.”

Meanwhile, the students were busily collecting the corpses of the monsters. Level 3 monsters apparently fetched a good price, and the students were eagerly gathering spirit stones from their bodies.

Lanpeach, on the other hand, had lost interest in Ele already and he had no need for level 3 monster loot, so he sipped his beer and began to nod off.

But his nap was interrupted by the sound of a boy shouting.

“Hey! I killed this one! Stop trying to steal it, you hyena!”

It was a voice full of disdain, showing off a sense of superiority.

“Liar! We’re the ones who killed it! Look, there’s a mark here where we punched it!”

“A dent? That could’ve been made anytime. It’s not a fatal wound! My Wind Blade clearly sliced it in half!”

“That’s because you used magic on the corpse afterward! I saw you doing that with the other corpses too, you sneaky bastard!”

A male and a female student were yelling at each other in front of a Stone Eater’s corpse. It was larger than the others, and the spirit stone in it was especially large.

There were both fist marks and cuts from wind blades, making it difficult to determine who had actually dealt the killing blow.

[Well, that’s a pointless argument. Ugh, this is what makes reality so different from games.] (Lanpeach)

[If it were me, I’d just settle it with a hunter’s discussion. That guy’s spirit armor looks like it’d sell for a nice price.] (Mira)

[Mira-san, why do you keep eyeing the male student like he is prey?] (Lanpeach)

The two arguing students showed no sign of backing down. Neither seemed willing to compromise. Meanwhile, Mira was a hunter to the core.

[What’s Krishna doing? Players usually love stepping in to settle conflicts like this.] (Lanpeach)

While there were differences from the beta version, conflicts like this are a feast for players. If a child was pickpocketed, they would beat up the local crime boss. If a monster kidnapped a child, they’d blow up the lair and take the treasure. 

You could say it is the correct action for players. That’s why Lanpeach found Krishna’s inaction strange…

“Toko, didn’t you show up at way too perfect of a time? Were you waiting for the right moment? Seems suspicious to me.” 

“Krishna, you always seem to be picking a fight with me. I rushed here because I heard an argument.” (Toko)

“All geared up, huh? You just want to play the hero, don’t you?” (Krishna)

“Isn’t that more your thing? You’re always the one stirring up trouble.” (Toko)

“Yeah, yeah, always accusing Toko-sama of something!”

“Jealous much? You just hate that you’re not as popular.”

“I’ve heard rumors that you dragged naked girls through town! You pervert!”

“That was different! They were already naked when I saved them!” (Krishna)

Krishna was getting into an argument with a rich-looking man who was bringing around a harem party. He seems to be on the verge of tears against the harem party, looking like he is gonna lose the argument.

[That’s hopeless. And he’s fighting with the lightning protagonist.] (Lanpeach)

[The lightning protagonist?] (Libra)

Libra tilted her head, puzzled, so Lanpeach explained.

[Yeah, he’s a black-hearted protagonist who works behind the scenes. Krishna knows the lore, so he most likely suspects him as the mastermind behind this incident…and he’s probably right.] (Lanpeach)

[But without evidence, he can’t do anything. I see, even with game knowledge, there are pitfalls like this. Pla-san must have insight in such things as his life is a pitfall itself.] (Mira)

Why does Mira-san always feel the need to throw in a jab? Does she need to be sarcastic to survive?

[Yeah, it’s frustrating when you know who’s responsible but can’t do anything about it. But I don’t think that’s the right approach.] (Libra) 

[We should just leave them to it. There’s no need for us to get involved right now.] (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach turned his attention back to the two students still bickering. He wanted them to keep that up so that it would turn into a foreshadow for the story.

The tension between them had reached a boiling point, and a fight seemed imminent. The friends of the female student looked worried but made no attempt to intervene.

“Hah, like the fallen Shukou family could ever take down a Stone Eater. Or what, you want to fight me? With your cheap knuckles and that bargain-bin spirit armor? You poor nobody!” 

“Kuh, mocking me like that! Fine! I’ll beat you senseless, and we’ll see who’s crying!” 

The male student readied a translucent short sword, summoning a spirit barrier around himself. He seemed to be wearing an inner-suit-type armor underneath his uniform.

In contrast, the girl didn’t even bother with a spirit barrier. She raised her gauntlets, but her magic seemed weak. The difference in power between them was obvious.

“Uhyahya, I’ll carve some nasty words into that smug face of yours!”

“That’s my line!”

The two students’ magic stirred the air, kicking up a dust cloud. The girl was clearly a fiery fighter, contrary to her calm appearance.

“I’ll smash you!”

[Strong Fist!]

She lunged forward, her fist cloaked in magic, aiming for the male student. He simply smirked.

“Too slow!”

[Wind Step!]

Skilled in wind magic, the male student easily dodged her attack, his body blurring out of the way just before her fist could land.

“Kuh, that’s nothing!”

[Rush!]

The girl quickly followed up with a series of punches. Her stance was solid, showing the fruits of her hard training.

“Hya hya hya, too slow, too slow!”

[Haste!]

But the male student was faster, sidestepping each blow just barely before it hit, mocking her efforts. His agility, enhanced by his expensive spirit armor, far outmatched the girl’s attacks.

Normal spirit armor grants people with physical specs surpassing body limitations. Due to this, you are stronger the more expensive your equipment is. 

“Spirit armor makes all the difference! You can’t land a hit on me! Now, let me scribble on that pretty little face of yours!”

He slid to her side and grinned maliciously as he swung his short sword at her face. He was tormenting her with overwhelming speed, his mouth warping with delight.

The blade approached and she was unable to evade it. Her face warped in frustration and…

The short sword stopped clean in front of her -pinched between two fingers. The one who had intervened was Lanpeach. He had moved between the two, protecting the girl.

“You’re pushing it, runt.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach shrugged casually, and the male student quickly leapt back, shouting in anger.

“W-Who the hell are you?! Don’t get in my way!”

“You were about to cut a girl’s face with a short sword. Anyone would step in. Are you stupid?” (Lanpeach)

“Damn it! You’re just some loser explorer! You’ll regret this! I’ll cut your arm off!” 

[Twin Wind Blades!]

The male student summoned two blades of wind and launched them without hesitation. The spell was strong enough to easily sever the arms of a Star 1 with no spirit armor.

“Kids these days are so terrifying. Is this what they call overachievers?” (Lanpeach)

But such an attack didn’t faze Lanpeach.. The wind blades dispersed into harmless breezes with a casual flick of his arm.

“Wa?! You’re not just some weakling after all!” 

[Haste!]

The male student, stunned but still determined, accelerated and closed the distance, thrusting his short sword at Lanpeach.

“I’m just a regular hunter.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach extended a single finger and lightly tapped the tip of the short sword, stopping it cold.

“You bastard!”

[Wind Rush!]

The male student enveloped his short sword in wind blades and unleashed a flurry of rapid attacks. He slashed diagonally, thrust forward, and swung upward in an attempt to cut Lanpeach to pieces.

But Lanpeach calmly blocked each strike with just his finger, as if predicting every move. Even though the short sword was sharp enough to cut through magic iron, it couldn’t even scratch Lanpeach’s index finger.

The male student’s face slowly twisted in fear as he saw this.

“Not even a scratch… Even a level 5 can’t do that. W-What the hell are you?!” 

“I’m just a part-time hunter today, Lanpeach Kouza.” (Lanpeach)

The male student staggered back from the futility of his attacks, and Lanpeach tapped the male student’s forehead with his finger, causing him to fall.

“Well, sometimes, these cliché events aren’t so bad.” (Lanpeach)

“Guhraaah!”

With another casual flick, Lanpeach broke through the male student’s spirit barrier and sent him flying. The male student passed out, his eyes rolling back as he hit the ground.

“Are you alright, young lad?” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach tried to act cool, but mistakenly called the girl “young lad” instead of “young lady”. He assumed she was blushing from admiration, but…instead, her eyes glared back at him with resentment.

“Stepbrother, where did you get that kind of power?”

Her unexpected words left Lanpeach speechless.

[Pla-san, why did you reveal your hidden power with that smug look? Are you an idiot?] (Mira) 

(Yeah, I expected this. Sorry, but a quest showed up.) (Lanpeach)

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