After returning from the sea, I went straight to find Eve.
For one reason only.
Because Eve von Lohengrin is trying to kill me.
Faced with that 【precise】, 【cold】, and 【absolute】 reality, my entire body trembled.
What happens to Stamina 2 Wolfram if he goes on an expedition once every two weeks?
I went to the student council president’s office and had a private audience with Eve.
Are you serious?
Are you really trying to kill me?
Answer me, Eve von Lohengrin!
“Your death doesn’t really matter to me.”
“……”
Ah.
Don’t you think that’s a bit harsh?
We exchanged middle fingers, and Eve scowled before letting out a sigh.
“Well, half of that was a joke.”
“Only half was a joke?”
“Half of it *was* a joke, you know?”
Is that so. Our Eve is such a positive child. I’m sorry, but I’m negative, so you should be grateful that my stats are low—if they weren’t, one of us would be dead today.
“What’s with that dissatisfied look?”
“…No, it’s nothing.”
“Wolfram von Lohengrin. I don’t know what you’re aiming for, but right now I’m quite—no, incredibly—evaluating your spirit of adventure highly.”
“Someone like that would…”
“Wolfram. This is no lie, it’s my sincere feeling. I learned a lot from this sea trip.”
“…Go on.”
What did you learn?
I’m currently learning about humanity’s endless malice.
“The fact that we truly know nothing about Zefflin.”
“……”
“To put it simply, I don’t know what’s in the eastern forest, nor the sleeping mountain range, nor the scorching desert, nor the snowy plains. Especially the sea we went to this time… I really couldn’t have imagined it. Do you know how shocked I was back then?”
If you were shocked enough to drown your older sibling, you should never go to the sea again.
“I have no choice but to admit it. Right now, you’re on equal footing with me. No, maybe more—well, not quite, but.”
“Ah, hm.”
Yes. I see.
“But right now I’m busy with student council work, so I have no choice. Do you understand my position?”
“No, I don’t.”
“So! It’s rare and surprising, but I’m acknowledging you!”
“Hm. So?”
“Ugh, really!”
Eve’s face turned bright red as she pounded the desk. Doesn’t your palm hurt?
As I tilted my head, Eve answered my question with a deep sigh.
“Your faction has pretty good balance. Nefty holds the front line solidly. Ayla Tri-Star can cover front, middle, and rear. Rudika can deliver surprise strikes. That’s why I acknowledged you and ‘officially commissioned your faction to explore Zefflin.’”
“I see.”
“But you need to understand that this is also a big burden on me. You’re not Intelligence 2—you’re Stamina 2!”
Oh my, saying such harsh things!
Aside from that, I fully understood Eve’s point.
“I see. So if rumors spread that you gave me special treatment…”
“Yes. Please think about my position too.”
“And the overwhelming persuasiveness to prevent that is—”
“Precisely the diligence of the reports you submit. Their speed. Ideally…”
“Two weeks is reasonable. So what’s the promotional method?”
“I’ll instruct the school newspaper to create a corner for you, review the content, and post it as articles…”
“Ha. I see. Then we become cheerful adventurers.”
“…Do you understand now?”
I understand.
Now that I know the truth, I’m honestly a bit surprised.
Eve grasped this situation, judged it, and reached a conclusion in an instant.
And, although it’s truly, truly astonishing—
As Eve said, it’s a measure filled with sufficient consideration.
“So, for my own sake… and for yours too—from now on, you’ll regularly explore, adventure, and submit reports! That way I’ll have something to say to the other executives. And besides… your reputation will change too!”
Right.
Eve, you’re right.
This upper Bloodline is so happy I have nothing to say.
But.
Don’t you have a bit of a loose tongue?
“However, don’t you think you’re imposing excessive duties on me?”
“…Excuse me?”
“Think about it, Eve von Lohengrin.”
“What do you mean?”
“Suppose I conquer outside Zefflin and bring back a report within two weeks. The student council edits it and puts it in the newspaper. What would the general students’ reaction be?”
“…Well, they’d look at you differently, right?”
“No. No, that’s not it. The correct answer is: the current student council has reformed that delinquent Wolfram von Lohengrin through guidance, and he has turned over a new leaf.”
“……”
“With the student council’s full support behind him, he is uncovering Zefflin’s secrets. Isn’t that it?”
“Tch.”
Did you just click your tongue?
Hey.
Why are you turning your head away?
Why are you frowning and looking like you missed a good opportunity?
Hey.
Look at me.
Hey!
—
Eve finally let out a deep sigh and confessed the truth.
“You’re right. Just as you used me, I was trying to use you too. What’s wrong with that!”
“……”
“You’ve used me a ton too! Recently you even used me as a sacrifice for Sister Filtia!”
“……”
Ah.
If you bring that up, I have nothing to say.
I’m truly sorry about that. Haha.
“Your recognition has risen so much lately that even within the student council, there’s talk! And in the middle of all that, the Black Flag is running wild, and some unknown thing called a curse comes looking for me! So I tried to use you to at least raise the student council’s visibility! When I think about it, I gave you plenty of consideration, so isn’t it fair to use you a little!?”
“……”
It seems I pressed Eve’s freak-out button.
“So. What are you going to do? If you won’t do it, I can’t issue the official permit either.”
“……”
“Don’t think I’m being petty. If you don’t cooperate with the student council, it’s the same as handing out multiple permits to forbidden zones of Zefflin to a group centered around subversive elements.”
Hm.
Hearing it that way, Eve has a point.
“What will you do, Wolfram? This is a deal I’m offering.”
“If it’s a deal, I need to benefit too. Eve von Lohengrin.”
“…What do you want?”
“Well.”
What are you asking for?
I looked at Eve and grinned.
—
Seated, Eve recalled the conversation she’d just had with Wolfram.
**[First. I want the permits not just for the five of us—me, Ayla, Nefty, Rudika, Millefeuille—but a bit more generously. It’s not just those five; we might have more joining. Millefeuille’s two friends, or Emily Heimmellody. …It’s hard to imagine, but Regina Siela might also be considered. Sister Filtia is currently attending the academy under the name Tia as well. It’s hard to imagine, but if connections allow, Sylvia Evergreen Grove could also join.]**
**[Second. Once a week is too much. We’ll decide the schedule on our side. We’ll let you know after sufficient internal discussion.]**
**[Third. The student council’s full support. Literally, if I need something, for dungeon conquests only, I’ll explain the intention and borrow items from the student council’s treasury. …Of course, this will be done through sufficient consultation. If items from the treasury are broken or consumed during an expedition, we’ll prioritize distributing compensation to the student council after the expedition.]**
**[Fourth, since you evaluated us so highly—we are mutually friendly and equal groups. Understood?]**
To summarize—
Wolfram’s words were: give us autonomy. Don’t interfere. But let’s act amicably. Let’s support each other fully.
“…Hm. I see. I see.”
Eve accepted all of Wolfram’s conditions, and Wolfram’s so-called 【Wolfram Crew】 and the 【Current Zefflin Student Council】 formed a mutual agreement.
Afterward, Eve remained alone in the student council office, writing something in her notebook while nodding.
“Hm. So… Fiancée Ayla Tri-Star. Royal Guard Neferian. Abyssal Dagger Rudika. Iron Fist Millefeuille. …And Blue Dragon Filtia Bluebreeze, Sister, and Merchant Mage Regina Siela. Princess Emily Heimmellody. Fairy Queen El Pirana. Ariel, daughter of the Southern Dragon King. And… Millefeuille’s two friends, and even Sylvia…?”
Eve wrote down each name one by one and clutched her throbbing head.
“How did all these people end up here…? No, before that, why is the gender ratio like this? Zefflin is co-ed…? How did it turn out like this?”
Eve’s worries remained unresolved.
It seemed they would never be resolved.
—
Huge win.
The student council’s treasury isn’t that high-tier, but you never know.
And more than anything, being recognized as an independent group is huge.
And…
**【Would you like to confirm the Act 3 clear reward?** **】**
Of course I would.
There’s no way I could hold back.
The Act 3 clear reward is different from Acts 1 and 2.
Act 2 was a stat reward you could acquire repeatedly, but Act 3 doesn’t allow that kind of exploit.
It’s a system upgrade and fixed skills.
**【Party system has been upgraded.** **】**
**【Party members can be organized according to the party leader’s will.** **】**
**【Receive stat bonuses from party members.** **】**
**【! Maximum number of party members increased by three!** **】**
**【! Party members’ equipment also affects the party leader!** **】**
Phew. Done.
And next…
**【Skill selection!** **】**
**【You can obtain one 6T skill!** **】**
**【Which skill will you choose?** **】**
Yes. This is it.
This is exactly what I wanted.
“From Tier 6 onward, I can center my build around this.”
In the Patissiel line, there’s no Patissiel above Tier 6. Instead, Patissiel and Cooking combine to become skills like 【Dining Master】.
And what I’m about to obtain is the following skill.
**【Magic Tailor** **】**
**【6T** **】**
**【Enables the creation of enchanted cloth garments and leather armor.** **】**
**【User has not learned armor crafting. Automatically acquired.** **】**
“…Acquire.”
In the distant past, when I first headed to the sleeping mountain range with Nefty and Rudika—
I had refused to acquire armor crafting even through skill capture, saying ‘there’s a higher-tier version of these skills.’
This is one of D/Z SAGA’s characteristics.
When you acquire a higher-tier skill, you naturally also learn the lower-tier skills required to activate it.
Like learning Shining Patissiel at 7T automatically gives you Magical Patissiel underneath.
There weren’t many such skills, but the 6T Magic Tailor is the direct higher-tier of armor crafting.
And there’s a reason I chose this skill without hesitation.
**【Acquired 6T Magic Tailor, 7T Shining Patissiel, 8T Handy Work, 9T Potion Crafting, Accessory Crafting, and Cooking.** **】**
**【Achievement unlocked!** **】**
**【You possess at least one crafting skill from each lower tier!** **】**
**【You are quite talented!** **】**
**【It’s modest, but it’s talent!** **】**
**【Talent increased by 1!** **】**
**【Talent reached 15. Reward obtained!** **】**
**【Magic Thimble** **】**
**【7T** **】**
**【Positively affects all crafting.** **】**
**【Once per day, you can guarantee a positive result on any crafted item of Tier 8 or below.** **】**
This is it.
This is what I wanted.
Now. Talent has risen to 15.
My range of options has truly widened.
I reached it only in Act 4.
Now I can fill the convenience store with more fun and exciting items!
—
The next day.
Until late at night, I had been thinking about combining accessory crafting, garment crafting, and Handy Work to create something fun.
As a result, I slept through the entire day, and when my body was still not fully recovered from fatigue—the convenience store door opened.
I had put up a sign saying we’re closed today.
Who is it…
“Excuse me.”
“Millefeuille?”
“Yes. Hehe. Hello, Senior.”
“What brings you here.”
“…?”
Millefeuille tilted her head. What is it? That expression says she doesn’t understand.
“Didn’t I write that today is a closed day?”
“Yes. That’s why I came. You promised we’d go out alone before the closing ceremony, remember?”
Ah.
“Surely you didn’t forget? No, right? Senior couldn’t possibly have forgotten? I mean, tomorrow is the closing ceremony! Today’s the only chance, isn’t it?”
“…There’s no way I could have forgotten.”
“Hehe. Yes. As expected of Senior.”
Millefeuille.
You’re wearing your usual beautiful smile…
But today, you look incredibly terrifying to me.
