Stepping into the old wooden shack at the corner of the school grounds where they always hung out, Muto flopped onto the bed inside.
"Muto! It's not too late! Let's go take those guys down right now!"
A bucktoothed male student bared his canines, aggressively demanding action.
"It's pointless. His movements had zero wasted motion. That guy is strong. He's probably the one from the rumors—Her Highness Rose's Royal Guard, Kai Heinemann. Taking him head-on will only get us beaten."
One of the hulking boys among his cronies crossed his arms and instantly shot down the proposal.
"So you're saying we just sit back and take it quietly?! From those pieces of trash who could only get into Ouboro Academy in the first place?!"
"There's no need to go out of our way to fight a monster like that. The only reason he moved this time was because Her Highness Rose was about to be put in danger. As long as we don't mess with them, they're not going to pick a fight with us."
"In other words, you're just chicken, aren't you, Bill?!"
"I'm not denying it. Either way, I'm washing my hands of this."
Having said his piece, the hulking student, Bill, walked away on the spot.
"Don't tell me you're thinking the same thing, Muto?!"
The bucktoothed student narrowed one eye, trying to intimidate Muto.
"I'll deal with him myself. The rest of you, stay out of it!"
Muto barked bluntly, springing up from the bed and storming out of the shack.
"Hey, you guys, are you seriously fine with getting looked down on by someone like that?! He's that incompetent, you know?!"
The bucktoothed boy cast his gaze around the group, questioning them in a sharp tone.
"Damn right! That bastard Bill! Getting scared of an incompetent rumored to be the weakest in the kingdom—he's a disgrace to the nobility of the Holy Amelia Kingdom!"
"Someone that incompetent, I could take him on all by myself!"
Amidst the vigorous shouts of agreement,
"Still, his movements were definitely abnormal. It didn't even look like he was moving that fast, yet he reached Muto faster than that Lumine girl who was sprinting full-tilt."
An Elf boy muttered with an uneasy expression.
"That's gotta be because of some special magic item. I heard he made it pretty far in the Sacred Martial Arts Tournament using items like that, too!"
"So he's just relying on items after all. How pathetic."
"Even if his insane speed is thanks to an item, it won't matter unless we can neutralize it, right?"
"Don't worry. I have a plan."
The bucktoothed boy flashed a wicked grin.
"Padde, don't hold out on us. Tell us what you're thinking."
"Well, I recently met a useful guy at a tavern in town."
"A useful guy?"
"Yeah. A broker for odd-job fixers who'll take on any job as long as you pay them. We'll hire them to steal that magic item from the incompetent."
"So once we strip him of that item, we can beat the crap out of him no problem!"
"But didn't Muto tell us to back off because he'd handle it himself?"
The Elf boy hesitantly tried to get them to reconsider, but—
"Like I give a damn! It's his own fault for getting cold feet in the first place!"
"Yeah. We're proud nobles of the Holy Amelia Kingdom. There's no way in hell we're letting some godforsaken incompetent look down on us any longer!"
With one insult after another hurled at Kai Heinemann,
"Alright, then let's get in touch with those fixers right away! Got it?!"
When the bucktoothed boy, Padde, confirmed with the others, they all nodded in agreement.
Thus, with gathering storm clouds threatening turmoil and dragging various forces into the fray, Padde and his crew swung into action to provoke the most terrifying monster in the world. Utterly unaware that they were nothing more than a pitiful pack of lemmings...