I’m the Slit-Eyed Character at the Academy, but I’m not the Mastermind
Chapter 348

“Oh, right. I almost forgot.”

One of the knights approached Dolores and loosened her gag.

Ptoo!

Dolores spat at him, but with a slight tilt of his head, the knight easily dodged it.

“Good to see you’re still in good health. I was worried since I couldn’t check on you for two days.”

“Bickerd…! Untie me this instant!”

“You think I’d do that? Just shut up and eat.”

Bickerd pulled a small sack from his coat and tossed it to the ground. The impact sent a few pieces of bread rolling out.

“This is the generosity of your ‘knight.’ Enjoy it.”

Dolores suddenly burst into laughter.

Her laugh was so loud and unrestrained that the cavern walls trembled slightly.

“You lot? Knights? You’re nothing but thugs who kidnap people.”

“…Say whatever you want. We are knights.”

“Really? Knights who can’t even handle one little girl like me?”

“You little—”

Bickerd raised his hand. His intention was clear to anyone watching.

Dolores shut her eyes tight.

“That bastard…!”

Luna shot up, ready to pounce, but she didn’t get far. I had grabbed her wrist, holding her in place.

‘Hold back.’

I silently mouthed the words.

Fortunately, Luna didn’t rush in.

Because just as I had grabbed her wrist, someone else had grabbed Bickerd’s.

“Enough.”

“…Pjol. Let go.”

“Have you forgotten? He ordered us not to harm the sacrifice.”

“Cheh! I know that! That’s why I told you to let go!”

Bickerd shook off Pjol’s hand roughly.

But his frustration hadn’t subsided. With an angry scowl, he stomped on the bread on the ground, grinding it into the dirt with the tip of his boot.

The bread quickly became one with the soil.

Pjol let out a deep sigh.

“Dolores, you understand the situation now, don’t you?”

“Not really. Other than the fact that so-called knights are about to sacrifice an innocent citizen.”

“Seems you understand perfectly. Now that you know, stop resisting and accept your fate. I’ll make sure your last letter reaches your family.”

“Pjol! Get a grip! You’re not like these scumbags!”

“…Your parents were worried about you. Let them think you left for a new life. Don’t drag others into this with reckless actions.”

Dolores’ eyes widened in shock.

It was a blatant threat—If you don’t cooperate, your parents will meet the same fate.

“…Don’t make me laugh. You think I’ll just give up?”

Bound tightly with thick ropes, Dolores wriggled forward until she reached the trampled bread.

Then, without hesitation, she shoved the dirt-covered pieces into her mouth and chewed.

“What are you looking at? Never seen someone eat dirt before?”

“…Foolish girl.”

“Oh, great and noble knight, would you mind fetching some water for this foolish girl?”

With an even deeper sigh than before, Pjol handed her a canteen.

Meanwhile, the knight who had been lying down grabbed his stomach and laughed.

“Ku-haha! That kid’s got potential. I swear, she’d make a fine knight.”

“In what way?”

“She’s got an unbreakable spirit. Reminds you of the old days, doesn’t it?”

“I was never that reckless. You, Redington, maybe.”

“And yet, who kept losing to this reckless bastard?”

“You—!”

Bickerd’s eyes burned with fury, but a fight didn’t break out.

Pjol had stepped in.

“Redington, give me a status report.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to fix this guy’s anger issues first?”

“Redington!”

Pjol’s sharp tone made Redington shrug.

“Not much to report. The village is practically in festival mode. A few kids seem curious about the disappearances, but most of them are too distracted by that ‘miracle.’”

“Ah, that glowing twig? Yeah, I guess that’d do it. Even though it’s nothing special.”

As Bickerd naturally joined the conversation, Redington gave him an incredulous look.

So that “anger issue” comment wasn’t just a joke.

This Bickerd guy really did seem to have a problem controlling his emotions.

“So we’re also spreading false rumors. It’ll only get harder for anyone to dig up the truth.”

“I didn’t expect them to be so clueless. They call him the Empire’s ‘rat,’ but maybe he’s not as sharp as we thought.”

“He’s only struggling because He is keeping him in check. But it doesn’t change the fact that he’s the biggest threat. If he starts acting differently…”

The knights glanced at Dolores.

If things went south, they would dispose of her immediately.

“Well, it looks like there won’t be any problems. Who would’ve thought a bunch of students would come here for a vacation at the worst possible time? Life’s full of surprises.”

“That’s life. Just like how we, once the warriors of the northern frontier, ended up like this.”

“I miss those days—riding freely across the grasslands. Remember that time?”

“You mean when you got thrown off a hill, and your horse kept running with you on its back?”

Bickerd and Redington, who had been bickering just moments ago, suddenly burst into laughter as they reminisced.

To me, their conversation was nothing more than pointless drivel.

But to them, it was a trip down memory lane.

Their chatter, which seemed like it would last all night, finally came to an end.

Pjol put a stop to it.

“You must be tired if you’re talking this much. Get some rest. And stop wasting time with useless chatter.”

“Acting all dignified… when no one misses those days more than you. Isn’t that why you joined us in the first place?”

“…”

“Honestly, I was surprised when you decided to join. Who would’ve thought the most honorable among us would be leading the charge? Am I wrong?”

“…Go to sleep.”

“Yeah, yeah. Gotta obey the noble knight’s orders, huh? What else can a guy like me do? Wake me up in four hours.”

Bickerd settled into his spot and, before long, began snoring.

Redington lay down as well, but he didn’t seem to be sleeping. Still, he had set his sword aside, far from reach.

The only one still armed was Pjol.

“This is our chance.”

Luna whispered.

She was right. This was the perfect opportunity for an ambush.

But—

“We can’t.”

“Why not!?”

There were three major reasons why attacking now was a terrible idea.

First, there was no guarantee we’d win.

According to the game’s settings, these knights were broken remnants of their former selves, meaning their stats were lower than they used to be. But still, a knight was a knight.

Could we really take all three of them down? That was uncertain.

Second, I had no idea how this Hidden Piece was supposed to play out.

Winning the fight and escaping would be ideal, but what if the noise attracted Baron Kelven or other knights?

We’d be dead.

And most importantly, third—

‘If we rescue Dolores here… the entire story changes.’

My biggest advantage was knowing the story.

And now I was going to ruin that with my own hands? That would be beyond foolish.

Dolores’ life versus the safe path. Anyone would choose the latter.

Even if that made me the villain.

Ethics, morality, ideals—none of that mattered in this game.

Neither I nor the other players had always been this way.

At first, we tried to hold onto our values. But the longer we played, the more we had to let go.

‘Because no one wants to throw away a character they’ve spent months, even years, building.’

And right now, my actual life was at stake. Choosing the safest route was only logical.

Yes. Right now, that girl—Dolores—was just another one of the sacrifices we had to make.

That’s all.

‘Unless I see a guaranteed path to victory…’

This was uncharted territory. The lack of information was staggering.

But one thing was clear—drawing our swords here and now…

‘Would be the worst possible choice.’

“We can’t do it alone. Let’s fall back.”

“But…”

“They’re knights. And not just any knights—ones with extensive real combat experience.”

“Let’s wait a little longer. Maybe all three of them will fall asleep.”

Our conversation made one thing painfully obvious.

We were standing at a crossroads.

— Escape.

— Wait.

If this were a game, those choices would’ve popped up on the screen.

Meaning that if we missed this chance to escape, we might lose it forever.

“If they realize three students are missing, they’ll abandon subtlety and switch to an aggressive search.”

And in that process, Caron would undoubtedly interrogate the most suspicious person—Baron Kelven.

No, it was certain.

‘Caron values Luna too much.’

Some might say that if Kelven was the mastermind, it didn’t matter—he’d be dealt with anyway.

But no, that wasn’t how this episode worked.

Because there was a trap hidden in this scenario.

Even if Baron Kelven was executed, the story still led to a bad ending.

Avoiding that required more time.

“There’s no guarantee we can even save Dolores. And if we fail, we lose track of the real villain. That would be the worst outcome.”

But despite my logic, Luna didn’t move.

Her eyes trembled as if she couldn’t accept reality.

I couldn’t help but smile slightly.

I was used to this by now.

If this had been the old me, I would’ve been completely thrown off by Luna’s reaction.

But not anymore.

I had figured out how to handle her.

“Trust me. I’m your friend.”

Just like that, Luna’s trembling stopped.

Even her shaking eyes stilled.

“…Will she be able to hold out?”

“Keke, we have enough time. And we’ve confirmed they can’t lay a finger on her.”

Luna stared at me before letting out a soft chuckle. Then, looking at Dolores, she made a quiet vow.

“We’ll come back for you. Just hang in there a little longer. I… No, we will save you.”

“H-hurry! I can hear people outsideee!”

With Rezé bounding ahead on all fours, we quickly climbed the stairs.

According to the story, Dolores was supposed to die in about three days.

That meant I had time to find a way to save her without breaking the storyline too much.

But if no solution presented itself—

‘I’ll abandon her.’

And with that decision made, we safely returned to the village.

“I-I’m never going back to a place like that againnn!”

Each of us carried different thoughts as we left.

“…Good morning.”

Luna greeted us, her eyes slightly sunken with fatigue.

With nothing to do until morning, she had forced herself to rest, but she clearly hadn’t been able to sleep.

Before Ron arrived, we held a brief meeting.

“We should report this to Instructor Caron, right?”

“That’s our last resort. It feels like someone is keeping an eye on him.”

Getting Caron involved could be an option, but I’d rather avoid it if possible.

In this game, the easiest path always hid a trap.

For the same reason, Adonis was out of the question. A Nine-Star Knight in a place full of children?

That would definitely lead to a bad ending, no matter how it played out.

‘If I could do multiple playthroughs, I would’ve told Adonis immediately.’

What we needed was someone with mediocre skill—not too strong, not too weak.

“So that means we have to do it ourselves… We need someone strong but discreet.”

A mediocre warrior. The first name that came to mind was Ron.

But—

“Yahoo! Good morning, everyone! Let’s just wing it and have a great day!”

“…Yeah, not him.”

“Keke, I couldn’t agree more.”

And just like that, Ron was eliminated from the list of candidates.

–TL Notes–

Tired of seeing Ads? Then please support me on Patreon! Any tier of subscription will make it so you won’t get any ads!

If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at /InsanityTheGame

Join my Discord! .gg/BWaP3AHHpt