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Monaka was giving a house tour, leading the girls from her class.
“Please take a look, everyone! At this entrance! The doors open on both sides, so it’s wide and very easy to go in and out! As expected of Leo-kun! It’s a truly wonderful home!”
She praised every single feature of the house, and each time she did, she spoke my name with admiration.
It was a bit embarrassing, but if she was that happy, I supposed it was worth it.
Before I knew it, Onesuko and Shinobuko—Monaka’s attendants—were standing on either side of me.
“I thought a house made by you would be completely out of the question.”
“Nin. I expected something like a hellish doghouse, de gozaru.”
“In most other classes, everyone gets one tiny shack. In lower-ranked classes, it’s one shack for two people, you know? And yet the house you built is so big and splendid it can fit all ten of us in our class……”
“Oh, that. Since Monaka’s class is all girls, I figured this would be safer. You two are her attendants, so you’d feel more at ease too, right?”
The black-and-white duo ground their teeth.
“To think you were capable of such consideration…! How frustrating…!”
“Nin. An admirable move, even from an enemy, de gozaru.”
“But don’t get carried away! I’ll admit I’ve reevaluated you a little, but that just means you’ve gone from a nobody to a horse, that’s all!”
“Nin. And even then, a lame horse, de gozaru.”
“I’ll at least thank you! But don’t get any closer to Monaka-sama than this! Got it!?”
“Nin. Next time we meet, it will be a fight to the death, de gozaru.”
“Come along, Shinobuko-san! We have to check that house to make sure nothing strange has been planted in it!”
After throwing those words at me one-sidedly, Onesuko and Shinobuko turned their backs on me with a huff.
Yet the moment they stepped inside the house I had built, the two of them fell into a blissful daze.
“Wowww, such a lovely smell…!”
“It’s incredibly soothing, de gozaruuu…!”
I didn’t know whether it had anything to do with enchanting girls who openly hated me, but—
At that very moment, I had reached Level 4.
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!”
A sudden scream rang out, making me jump in surprise.
Time rewound just a little.
Weiss, the leader of Class 1-20, was calmly analyzing the situation.
‘—In pioneer-type academies, it’s normal to start out with ramshackle huts. That’s because there are no materials or tools, and everyone is Level 1. That’s what we were taught in middle school, so there’s nothing to worry about… nothing at all…’
However, every time a two-story house was reflected in the right lens of his glasses, that composure peeled away like cheap plating.
‘—Then what the hell is that…!? That’s no shack—that’s a real house…! Buildings of that class shouldn’t be possible until everyone is at least Level 10…!?’
And every time a shabby hut was reflected in the left lens of his glasses, his body trembled.
‘—Compared to that, what is my shack…!? I designed it myself, and I’m one of the most elite advanced classes—a Sage…! And yet, and yet…! Why does it look so much worse than something built by Leopin, who’s unemployed…!?’
Suddenly, the sound of many footsteps approached from behind.
The group stopped right behind Weiss and cried out in surprise.
“Whoa, what is that house!?”
“That’s amazing! It’s a legit house! Who built it!?”
“The one standing near it is Leopin! Don’t tell me… Leopin built that thing!?”
“No way!? Why would unemployed Leopin have a house that incredible!?”
“Oh yeah, I heard something like that! Apparently Leopin used to help out with carpentry!”
“Hey, Weiss! What is going on here!? We gathered materials and built our house exactly like you told us to!”
“So why did we end up with such a crappy shack!? It’s nothing like Leopin’s house!”
“Maybe… expelling Leopin was a mistake after all…!”
“Sh-shut up! I’m a Sage! My decisions are always correct! The shack being pathetic isn’t my fault—it’s because the way you built it is wrong!”
“What did you say!? So now it’s our fault!?”
“That’s awful! Blaming others like that!”
Class 1-20 stood on the brink of open conflict.
At times like this, the person who always stopped them—
Was already gone.
Yet he intervened in this quarrel in an utterly unexpected way.
…CRASH-BANG-GASHAAAAAAAN!
The ramshackle huts of Class 1-20 collapsed one after another, like dominos.
“Ah… aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!?!”
Their homes vanished in an instant, and darkness swallowed the vision of his former classmates.
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