Weekly Assignment
“Morning.”
“Yeah, morning.”
In the morning, after I finished changing and opened the door to my room at the inn to get breakfast, standing right in front of me was a beautiful cat-eared girl with red hair—Ragna, arms crossed, striking a defiant pose.
As we headed down to the dining hall for breakfast, Ragna lightly pinched the cuff of my sleeve.
After breakfast, we headed to school.
Yesterday was the entrance ceremony, so today was our first proper day of attending school. Ragna held my hand as we walked to school. However, she was silent the entire time.
Ragna kept groaning with an “uuumm” sound, or she’d look like she was about to say something, then stop.
…It must be related to how I kissed Reina in front of Ragna yesterday, and then just went back to my room at the inn.
I love Reina the most in the world, but Ragna is my second favorite.
And since Reina gave her permission yesterday, I plan on making Ragna my second wife.
So,
“Ragna.”
“Wh-what is it…”
Chu… I kissed Ragna on the forehead.
Ragna’s face turned bright red, and her mouth opened and closed wordlessly.
“It’s true that Ragna might not be number one for me. But… I like you, Ragna, and I’ll cherish you.”
“Wh-wha… A-are you an idiot, nya?!”
Huh? Wait. I thought Ragna was groaning about the kiss, but was I mistaken?
If so, that’s embarrassing. I’d just be some overly self-conscious kissing fiend!
“Kyaa!”s, “Fwooo~↑”s, whistles. All the ambient sounds seemed to be mocking my mistake. …And then, looking around, I realized.
They are teasing. Not so much my mistake, but the kiss with Ragna.
…Indeed, perhaps I was a fool for casually kissing her in a classroom full of people.
Well, but if I kiss her in public like this, it’ll probably reduce the number of people who try to hit on Ragna even if they say she’s cute. More importantly, I wanted to do it, so I guess it’s fine.
By that logic, it might be better to do it with Reina, but there’s a difference in our social standing right now. I really want to get our engagement reinstated quickly so I can be openly affectionate with Reina without worrying about prying eyes.
While thinking about such things, I patted the head of Ragna, whose face was bright red with embarrassment and anger, her hair practically standing on end.
She looked a little miffed, so when I scratched under her chin, she narrowed her eyes pleasantly. A cat. That’s completely cat-like behavior.
Apparently, cats have a habit of feeling uncomfortable due to the pressure when petted from above, so I should be careful.
“Hey, peasant. You look like you’re having a lot of fun for a mere peasant.”
“…Um, what is it?”
With a portly build and an ugly face unbecoming of a Hero Academy student, the guy walked towards us, speaking in a raspy, intimidating voice. He then plopped his heavy hand on my head and brought his face close, trying to threaten me.
“I’m the top dog in this trashy Class E. Therefore, that peasant, that woman, everyone in this class is basically my slave. Woman, come over here.”
“Huh?”
At his words, Ragna furrowed her brows, looking thoroughly displeased.
It seems feeling uncomfortable from pressure from above isn’t just a cat thing. In fact, as a human, I’m also quite uncomfortable.
I wonder if he doesn’t brush his teeth; his breath stinks, and I feel absolutely terrible.
“Hah. Top dog in Class E, huh… What’s your ‘Profession’?”
“Hah! It’s an ultra-noble profession, not even comparable to a peasant’s. Prepare to be amazed! My profession is ‘Holy Priest’!”
“Ugh…”
‘Holy Priest’… In JRO, it’s such a terrible profession that it’s recommended to reroll the instant you get it.
What makes this profession so weak is that it has a significant downward adjustment to attack power, can barely equip any weapons, and to top it off, the only magic it can use is healing and buffs.
…In other words, it’s a profession that can’t attack enemies at all.
In ‘JRO’, where the basic principle is “kill before you’re killed,” not being able to attack is extremely detrimental. Above all, healing and buffs can often be substituted with items or skills from other professions, making it genuinely inconvenient to use.
However, that’s in JRO. In this world, healer professions are treated quite well.
Something about receiving divine protection, or some other rather vague reason, makes it a profession that, despite lacking actual strength, tends to receive unusually good treatment.
And yet, for him to be in Class E means…
“A Holy Priest in Class E… You must have bombed both the ‘written’ and ‘practical’ exams, huh?”
“Wh-what?!”
For the practical exam, it might be unavoidable due to the downward adjustment to attack power… but this guy didn’t even study? Well, his low intelligence level was already apparent from his words, actions, and face.
The Holy Priest looked as if I’d hit the nail on the head.
“Wh-what did you say? If I wanted to, I could tell my ‘Holy Bishop’ father and have you excommunicated, you know?”
“Oh, how cool. At your age, threatening to tell your daddy when you lose an argument. I’d be too embarrassed to say something like that.”
“Gnnn… Get outside! I’ll tear you to shreds!!”
“Alright, alright, stop it, you bottom-feeders. Don’t engage in such ugly squabbling.”
As I was getting fed up with the Holy Priest, who was red-faced and spitting with rage, the teacher who looked down on Class E so much yesterday walked into the classroom, clapping his hands.
“Tch, you got lucky.”
It’s not like my life was in any danger, though.
“What’s with that guy? He’s seriously pissing me off!”
Ragna expressed anger on my behalf, so I soothed her by scratching under her chin, saying, “There, there.”
“Damn peasant. This is a classroom, so stop fooling around.”
“…”
“Tch.”
I gave a noncommittal nod, and Ragna clicked her tongue before turning to face the teacher.
The teacher let out an obviously loud sigh before starting to write something on the blackboard.
“This was explained during the entrance orientation, but you bottom-feeders probably weren’t listening to every little detail, so I’ll explain it again. This academy has something called a Weekly Assignment.
If you fail to complete it, you’ll get points deducted. Conversely, your performance will be ranked from E to S, and if you achieve a high rank, even bottom-feeders like you might be able to move up to Class D.”
The teacher was being annoying with every word, but I had heard at the entrance orientation that such a system actually existed. For now, I want to do my best on these Weekly Assignments to move up to Class S, where Reina is, by the next semester, but…
“Now then, this week’s Weekly Assignment is to collect monster materials. For trash like you in Class E, there are tasks starting from the difficulty of collecting Slime Cores.
Incidentally, third-year Class S students get to collect things like A-rank Salamander Claws… but well, that’s irrelevant to you dregs at the very bottom!”
Saying only that, he added, “I’ve definitely told you now, so at least make sure you submit something,” and left, laughing “Wahahaha.”
And as if taking his place, the Holy Priest from before came up to my desk.
“Hey.”
“…”
“Hey, peasant. How about we compete on this week’s Weekly Assignment?”
The Holy Priest recklessly challenged me to a score attack showdown on the Weekly Assignment.