Chapter 137
I smiled contentedly and spoke again.
“Using the terrain is a classic strategy. Look around, and tell me what features of the landscape we can use.”
“Um, how about the fallen leaves?”
An Esper ventured cautiously.
Oh, for once, an Esper with a useful idea.
“And what should we do with the fallen leaves?”
“…Throw them in the mutants’ eyes?”
I clenched my eyes shut.
“S-Sorry…”
“If the right answer doesn’t come out by the count of three, I won’t let it go. Three, two…”
“Should we, um, burn them?”
“…”
“Or not…”
An Esper hastily suggested an idea, then shrank back under my gaze.
“Everyone, raise your hands.”
“…”
“Applause for this Esper.”
To my first acknowledgment, that Esper looked relieved as if he had just been saved.
“Since it’s dry here and there are lots of leaves, burning them is a good idea. But if we just burn them willy-nilly, we’ll all end up burning together, right? So, how should we burn them?”
“Correct! Shall we herd the mutants into one place?”
“Finally, you blockheads are starting to think! Alright, Espers, protect the Guides and herd the mutants into one spot. Heard?!”
“Heard!!”
The Espers finally started to move more briskly.
Watching the scene, I was pleased.
Yes, work hard. Earn me those 10,000 Berks.
“…Just what you’d expect from the Guide of that hotheaded punk, Claude.”
I heard Oscar mutter from behind but pretended not to hear.
***
In the end, our team scored an A- and became the final winning team.
Just for participating in the training, I got 5,000 Berks, and the winning prize added another 10,000 Berks. Holding a total of 15,000 Berks in cash made my hands tremble.
Could money really be earned this easily? All I did was glare and scold my teammates.
Was I about to receive divine punishment for this? What if I got robbed on the way home?
“Wow, Miss Rose, thank you so much…!”
The junior staff, holding the 300 Berks she won as a prize, thanked me.
“Being imprinted with an S-Class Esper as a former staff member, I guessed you were no ordinary person… but I didn’t know you also had the charisma to command even the most arrogant Espers and Guides…!”
“Junior, can I give you some pocket money?”
“…Pardon?”
When I pulled out five 100 Berk bills and handed them over, the staff waved her hands in shock.
“Oh, no! I wouldn’t have received even these 300 Berks if it weren’t for you…!”
“I feel like I need to do some good deeds… It seems like something bad might happen after such sudden luck…”
“Pardon?”
Eventually, I forced the reluctant staff to take an extra 500 Berks and sent her on her way.
What a world. Still, I’m left with 14,500 Berks.
Just as I was about to leave, cherishing my earnings like buying fish-shaped buns on a winter street, someone blocked my path. It was Minon 1 and 2, Epine and Simeyez.
“Rose.”
…Could this be my divine retribution?
With the money still in my possession, I instinctively became wary.
What are they up to now, I wondered, narrowing my eyes at them.
Suddenly, the two of them bowed their heads in front of me.
“…What the. Why are you doing this?”
“Rose. We want to apologize for all the times we’ve troubled you.”
What were they up to now?
I couldn’t shake off my wariness as I scrutinized their faces.
It was inevitable to doubt their intentions. Being Shana’s lackeys and suddenly apologizing to me like this.
Simeyez spoke up as well.
“It wasn’t personal. Ah, but when you told us to use our heads if we had them, that was quite annoying…”
“…”
“But the main reason we bullied you was because Shana hated you. You might not feel it yet since you’ve just become a Guide, but being a Guide isn’t all that fun. Our whole role revolves around being there for Espers when they need guiding. So everything seems easy, but often, studying and effort feel meaningless.”
“Ah.”
“…So we just blindly followed Shana, who seemed like the coolest Guide. Well, technically, Oscar is an A-Class too, but… you saw him just now, right?”
Simeyez spared specific words about Oscar… but I got the gist. Oscar was too frivolous and trivial to follow loyally.
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