Became an Academy Self-Inflicted Blackmailer

35 – Underground (4)

At the time of the group training in the forest the other day, I defeated Beatrice by decision.

In many ways, it was too much to say that it was a complete victory, but…….

Because it’s a part that the person involved meekly acknowledged.

So, considering only pure wins and losses, it was not wrong to say that I beat Beatrice.

But.

To-do-do-do-do-do!

If you ask me if I am definitely stronger than Beatrice, well.

Anyway, it was unreasonable to affirm that.

“An arrow is flying. Ignore the sound, just look to the left. After spreading the shield, the intensity is good, so keep it as wide as possible.”

I walked leisurely behind Beatrice and gave her instructions.

At the same time, various sounds were coming from all directions, but at this time, it was pointless to be overly vigilant about the surroundings in order to pay attention to the sounds. Arrows fly in one direction anyway.

As soon as Beatrice heard me, he stretched out his hand. Divine power shimmers, and it doesn’t take long before the shield spreads.

It was a barrier I had seen before when I blocked Arya’s sword skill.

With the sound of ‘tititing’, the arrows were blocked by the barrier of divine power and bounced aimlessly.

“Oh, I like that it responds so quickly.”

I clapped softly as a sign of praise.

Because after the first boulder was broken, Beatrice did not disregard my instructions and followed them well.

“Whoa… ….”

Of course, such applause did not seem to make Beatrice happy.

She let out a short sigh and narrowed her brow slightly.

“You’re pampering yourself, really.”

“You know very well that that way is more efficient.”

I smiled lightly, telling her to think rationally, but Beatrice still looked dissatisfied.

“That and being in a bad mood are two different things.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s right.”

Beatrice groaned and then started moving again.

Even though I know in my head that moving according to my instructions is easier to avoid and destroy traps, I wonder if I can’t help but feel like I’m moving as a chess piece.

It wasn’t difficult to understand, so I just nodded. Things like that happen, too.

“Ah.”

Then a catchy trap suddenly appeared, and I spoke to Beatrice once again.

“Be careful with the one sticking out in front of it, the floor will collapse if you step on it incorrectly.”

“…… !”

Beatrice, who had been walking away without thinking much about him, hurriedly broke his foot in surprise.

Perhaps her steps were twisted, but after staggering for a moment, she looked back at me with her slightly annoyed eyes.

“You should have said that beforehand! You almost stepped on it in an instant.”

I giggled and waved my hand.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. I won’t die.”

“Should you throw it under the floor first? Won’t you die?”

At the reply, I quickly turned my head as if I hadn’t heard. Dude, that’s brutal.

As for not dying, your physical ability is the criterion, so I’m saying a different story.

“…… Oh, there is another one.”

The next trap section appeared at just the right time. I hurriedly pointed to the front.

“That looks dangerous at first glance, doesn’t it?”

“What is ‘that’?”

Beatrice turned her head away, and it wasn’t until right after that the trap was activated.

Kuuu-!

A short but fairly large vibration shook the underground space.

“…… What, what.”

As if Beatrice was embarrassed, the moment she shrank her body a little, waves began to rush in from the area I pointed to.

Quaaa!

Like a rising tide. But very violently.

Beatrice’s expression was stained with astonishment.

“…… ?! What, what is that!”

“What is it, a trap?”

At my nonchalant answer, Beatrice raised her voice even more absurdly.

“No, some trap in the world is causing a tidal wave indoors!”

“Sure. Looking at it myself, I don’t think this is a bit too much for me.”

Is it because it became a reality? The scale is no joke.

I smiled and hid behind Beatrice’s back as I had always done. Very naturally.

As I said, I couldn’t say I was definitely stronger than Beatrice.

Even if the victory or defeat of the confrontation is decided by the temporary difference in strength, it cannot prove my overall strength.

On the contrary, when it comes to situations like this, that is to say, when you have to constantly use your strength, Beatrice has far superior coping skills than me.

In other words, yes.

“…… There’s nothing strange about me hiding behind you. No matter what, no matter what.”

While I was casting self-justification like that, Beatrice spread her energy wide with a feverish spirit.

“Really, what nonsense are you talking about out of the blue…… !”

She calmly deployed her defenses even while spitting out loud. It was a barrier of extremely basic divine power, no different from a moment ago.

Speaking of a slightly different part, it would be in the form of a shield.

Ugh!

If the barrier that blocked the arrow literally took the form of a ‘wall’, should we say that this is rather more like a ‘membrane’?

The golden divine power flexibly stretched out and completely covered Beatrice’s body. It would be better to say that it was locked up altogether.

This was definitely the most effective way to deal with the tidal wave, which didn’t designate an exact target and didn’t give any room for evasion.

Even when controlling a playable character to attack the underground, unless you are a wizard, you had to have a wide range of defense system scrolls.

Well, you don’t have to do that for now, just hide behind a friend shield.

Kwaaang!!!

The waves hit the curtain of divine power.

Fortunately, it was a trap with no special power added except pure physical force, so there was no water leaking in as long as there were no gaps.

Still, the shock wasn’t small, so I was a little scared. Even the tsunami that covered the field of vision was not a good sight for the young heart.

So, without realizing it, I grabbed Beatrice by the shoulder and threw it away.

“Get your hands off me because I’m in the way.”

“Yes.”

Of course, I had no choice but to fall quickly.

I can’t help it because you say it interferes with concentration.

Shoot aaa…….

The water that seemed to flow incessantly came out sooner than expected.

It came in like the tide and disappeared like the ebb.

Beatrice confirmed safety at that point and lifted the curtain.

“It’s soggy.”

Except for where we were standing, the entire space was wet and slippery.

Well, since the tsunami swept through, it would have been natural if it was natural.

“…… That’s great.”

Looking around as if her vigilance had increased, Beatrice frowned slightly.

“Anyway, I really didn’t expect this type of trap. Isn’t the scale a bit too big?”

“I can’t help it.”

I didn’t think much of it and returned the answer.

“Institutions are originally like that. It has clear limits compared to magic, but instead boasts unrivaled power when it comes to ignorant attacks or traps.”

“It makes me curious about the principle and structure. They said it was a mechanical device, to be honest, I looked down on it a bit at first.”

As if slightly interested, Beatrice said that and began to peek at the floor and the surrounding walls.

I shed a smile on her face like that.

“If you look at the blueprints here, you won’t be able to recognize anything.”

Then Beatrice, who had been observing intently for a while, looked back at me and glared at her eyes.

Her pride was scratched in her eyes.

“What does that mean?”

At the slightly sharp question, I shrugged.

“Meaning as it is.”

“…… Are you being treated like an idiot? That.”

“Ah, no way.”

I calmly waved my hand and changed the subject.

“Now, let’s move faster than that. There is nothing good about being stuck in one place for too long.”

Let’s move forward first, and even though Beatrice put on a disapproving expression, she seemed to have no choice but to get ahead of me.

“What are you proudly leading? Also, if an arrow comes flying, you have no ability to deal with it.”

After saying that, she turned her head and moved on.

I followed him with a silent laugh.

“Still, there is no way to deal with it. When I think it’s really dangerous, I can use my strength.”

Then she brought out an opinion that she thought was right in her own way, but Beatrice only reacted with a cold face.

“Well, of course it is.”

Beatrice paused for a moment, then looked back at me and made a crooked expression.

She immediately added a word.

“I’m sure he’ll start whining right after he manages to block a trap.”

“Ah.”

I let out a short sigh.

Now that you think about it, is that so?

I couldn’t find anything to refute because it was too much of an argument.

Looking at me like that, Beatrice sneered openly.

“I am really, how can I be so confident with my worldly mediocre abilities? It’s okay, so find the trap right away.”

Drawing her faint smile, she leisurely raised her divine power.

“Because I will do the blocking.”

“Oops.”

But apart from the sneer, the words he said were also unnecessarily reassuring and trustworthy, so I had to reflexively exclaim.

Perhaps it was because she was truly a saint, it was as if a halo shone through it.

“…… ? What is that reaction?”

At that, Beatrice furrowed her brows as if slightly displeased, but I didn’t care and stuck closely behind her.

“Then I will only believe in the saintess. Please guide this frail brother.”

And at my few mischievous words that followed, Beatrice frowned and hated her expression.

“…… There’s no fun or emotion, so don’t use that kind of tone.”

“hahahaha, why are you doing this, saintess? The saintess must protect the helpless church members.”

“Oh, Mr. Don’t stick too close! Just touch it again, it will really slap you! …… And he’s not even your church member!”

I burst out laughing, and Beatrice touched her forehead with a sigh of irritation.