Chapter 999
<999 – Hi Hydra (4)>
After achieving the number one spot in the Bikini Armor Contest weekly best, Oknodie received various benefits within Bikini City, including a trophy, exemptions, free housing, and qualification to compete as the Best of Best Bikini Armor Girl.
Of course, the thing I liked the most was the charm stat experience points I earned as a reward for my achievement.
“That’s unfair.”
Jiang pouted.
“Those who are already attractive keep getting charm experience points just by winning competitions. It’s a cowardly league that only pretty people get prettier in!”
“Charm isn’t like that!”
“Then what is it?”
“Charm is about charisma experience points that affect others. You can raise yours too!”
“Me?”
Jiang’s gaze shifted to a newly made statue of a girl selling voting tickets.
The pitiful appearance of the frail girl revealed from beneath the cloak was also a reason why the Jigoku Pirate Group’s infamy was rising in real time.
Whoever wrote in the description that she was a poor girl exploited by the Jigoku Pirate Group was either going to get dragged off to have the truth beaten out of them or learn what a pirate experience was like, but Jiang easily lost interest.
“Wear that?”
“You’ll go up even if you don’t wear it!”
“How?”
“Show that you’re a strong person who can exert influence, and if people do what Jiang says, your charm experience points will shoot up!”
“Then it’s advantageous for those in power.”
“Didn’t you know? Charm is originally a stat exclusive to those in power!”
Beautiful people might seem like they can command others just by their appearance, but looks are just one of the many elements used to handle others.
“I didn’t create an assassin group.”
“Still, you have assassination skills!”
Jiang fell into confusion.
What use were assassination skills if there were no subordinates to follow commands?
No, wait a minute.
“Can you raise your charm stat by threatening someone’s actions through assassination?”
“Yep!”
That makes no sense.
Skeptical, Jiang poked the back of the person in front of her in line at the cafeteria with the handle of her dagger.
“Can you ‘give way’ a little?”
“Uh, I-I’ll do it…”
As a result of successfully cutting in line, Jiang noticed that her charm experience points hadn’t risen at all.
“Oknodie is a liar.”
“Jiang too. You can’t expect experience points from easy experiences or redundant experiences in your daily life. You have to force hard tasks that you don’t usually do!”
Winning a contest.
Unless it was a significant challenge like that, charm experience points don’t rise easily.
Even if Jiang wore a Fox Mask, her original cuteness means people would still treat her with kindness, and she also received various benefits due to her reputation as an active assassin.
It wouldn’t be easy to raise experience points without a challenging feat like Oknodie.
“How hard do you have to make someone else work? A backflip dagger throw?”
“Seems like you like the training instructor meta! That one works, too. You probably raised a lot while teaching Cooking Oknodie!”
“…!”
The kid looked so clumsy and pitiful that it actually contributed to raising her charm!
Jiang suddenly gained insight.
“Oknodie. All that teaching you did was to increase your charm experience points?”
“A little bit?”
Jiang’s cheeks puffed up adorably.
“That’s sneaky. You only benefit. If I had known, I would have raised a disciple too.”
“You’re more suited to the infamy meta anyway, so it’s fine. Just the thought of people hesitating to enter the same shop as Jiang because they’re scared could raise your charm experience points!”
“Oknodie is way more infamous.”
“That’s true!”
“Totally sneaky.”
Jiang sulked hard!
Oknodie was flustered.
“Hey, why are you pouting? I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I’ll forgive you if you give me a unique dish.”
“I’ll give it to you!”
As Jiang happily accepted the dish, a smile finally appeared on her face.
By forcing Oknodie’s actions, she got to eat a unique dish.
It was a challenging endeavor, so her experience points rose quite a bit.
An emotional reaction as charm experience points rose in real time, confirmed by the power of the magical item!
Though Oknodie puffed up their cheeks as if they had been wronged, Jiang merely smiled coyly and stuck out her tongue, lowering her mask.
“That’s sneaky. I want to take my revenge too!”
“Not happening. I won’t raise your charm.”
With a light and infuriating gait, Jiang dodged Oknodie’s hand and ran away evasively.
Unlike the two cheerful kids, the Jigoku Pirate group members felt like death.
“Why is everyone acting like that?”
“A decree has been issued from various nations. Powerful figures visiting the tourist spot have labeled us as a child abuse pirate group.”
“Oh no. Hang in there!”
“That’s your fault! Take responsibility for our pirate group!”
Honestly, even Oknodie thought it was a bit pitiful.
The bottom tier of the campus caste system had become the pirate group, and they were now being tracked by governments around the world.
At this point, even the Treasure Goblin should be returning their title and treating them as a leader.
Rumors about Professor Buzhaar being utterly ruined and the unleashed monsters seeking help from Buzhaar’s assistant, Velocasio, were as ridiculous as their infamy!
Jonnas casually suggested,
“If we keep going at this rate, it may be too late to clear up the misunderstanding, so we should either increase the pirate group’s prestige or come under a stronger organization’s banner to avoid being attacked.”
“Are you suggesting I declare Oknodie as my subordinate to the world?”
“People won’t believe that the lady is seen as a pitiful pirate slave.”
“Wouldn’t it be different if my identity is revealed? Daddy is the Chairman of the Foundation.”
“On the contrary, you’re the one who defeated that Chairman. You underwent the cruel task of killing your biological father to erase your family’s evil deeds, and with your entire organization and followers gone, there will be those who think you’ve been sold as a slave without any gratitude from anyone.”
Sounds like the Jigoku Pirate Group will end up being more hated, according to that very specific hypothesis!
Even they thought that possibility seemed higher, so the sighs among the Jigoku pirate members grew.
“There’s a method. Even without the lady, there are organizations with greater infamy than you.”
“Those vicious thugs, there’s no one left on the sea now. The empire has destroyed all the pirate groups.”
“You can ride the coattails of the great evil’s infamy that spans both land and sea. For example… newly risen Great Evil, Velocasio.”
That’s a plan!
The crew members eagerly dashed towards Jigoku.
Considering the conversation, it felt like the advice from a former Foundation butler had some weight.
That’s how people’s psychology works.
Instead of clarifying that we’re not bad guys, it’s way more exciting to reveal that we’re subordinates of even worse bastards!
When trying to clarify, rumors that wouldn’t even spread a measly amount could soar to the skies once attached to greater infamy.
“Velocasio. That senior took a lot of our kids’ money last year. Let’s treat it as paying those back.”
The break was almost over, and it was time to head back to the Academy.
The revelation from the Jigoku Pirate Group was widely known through Jezel’s Revolutionary Army, the Dark Trading Company, Jonnas’ former Foundation members and scholarship students, and Oknodie’s various connections.
*
Professor Buzhaar’s assistant, Tasha, harbored a grudge against Oknodie from early on.
-Real name, Tasha. When placed in the same party as Jigoku, the <Lady Boys> party effect increases mana attribute concealment by 200%, and she has a hobby of buying cheap clothes sold on the black market because new students are in need of points!
-How do you even know that?
-I have a mother who lives alone in my hometown, and after losing her husband, she expressed her longing for him and desire for a son, so I had to crossdress in front of her!
-How do you know all this?! Are you planning to intimidate Professor Buzhaar’s close associates with personal information?!
What Oknodie just wanted was to boast about what they knew, but Tasha received it as a threat as she grew furious!
<Hidden World Raid Boss – Buzhaar>
<Final Phase – Monster Gathering>
Later, Professor Buzhaar’s great monster avatar faced a crisis of losing its soul due to being tormented by the wicked temptation of absorbing all monsters as part of itself.
Just in time, Oknodie’s pet plant <UwU> helped save its life with the <Blessing of the World Tree>.
But that couldn’t erase the fact that Oknodie had threatened her regarding her parents.
“Both Professor Buzhaar and Oknodie are my enemies. If I truly want to ensure my safety, those horrible geniuses will have to fall!”
Indeed, who in this world could perform such a bold act?
While Tasha was lost in thought, a memory came to her mind.
Velocasio had met with Tasha, Professor Buzhaar’s assistant, and had requested cooperation earlier.
“Bring me a single drop of Oknodie’s tears. If you can accomplish that, then I will accept this proposal.”
“Indeed, that’s a standard worthy of the Great Evils. Extracting tears instead of blood is no easy task. It’s a perfect opportunity to demonstrate our research center’s abilities.”
Velocasio.
He had founded the <Foundation Investigation Bureau>, countering Oknodie’s former organization, gaining support from national powers across the globe.
Recently, he’s been gaining infamy alongside <Golden Magical Girl Avalon>, <Dark Empress Masugaki>, and <Dark Princess Oknodie> as part of the Four Great Evils, known as <Foundation Investigation Bureau Director Velocasio>.
Someone who doesn’t even fear the Foundation would also not fear facing the hidden organization underneath the Foundation disguised as the Organization that Plays with Oknodie.
In short, it’s all a misunderstanding.
The unfair reputation arose from the members of the organization overusing the connection they had with the benefits enjoyed by the Foundation scholarship students to snatch away other nobles’ interests.
Of course, like all misunderstandings, the parties involved and the truth don’t really matter to the listeners—they don’t care a whit about the actual truth.
That’s why Tasha took her vacation time to bring the promised bottle containing Oknodie’s tears to Velocasio.
The tears she received for participating in the bizarre food fighter contest.
“I bring the promised tears. Can I receive your cooperation now?”
Velocasio, who had been procrastinating their meeting, found himself in a bind, unable to send Tasha away after she showed up at their hideout.
Being an academy graduate, he understood how pitiful it was to be both a professor’s assistant and respectable.
That’s why he realized it would be tricky if misunderstandings grew.
No cooperation.
It would be good if he didn’t end up beaten like a dog standing in front of Oknodie.
“I’m not that great of a person. I just got mixed up with Oknodie, I haven’t done anything…”
“Urgent report! The Jigoku Pirate Group, Oknodie’s affiliated organization, has been issued a decree by the secret members of our Foundation Investigation Bureau who were secretly trying to control Bikini City. The reason? Human trafficking and child abuse. I came to share that joyful news!!!”
The messenger burst in at the worst possible timing.
Tasha’s eyes sparkled with admiration.
Velocasio felt that it was the worst timing to clear up misunderstandings.
“I see you’ve already started taking revenge before I could even ask for help! Thank you for your cooperation!”
“Oh. I don’t know. Let it be.”
The infamy of the Four Great Evils, Velocasio, rose once again today.
Now, it was so common that he accepted it with the calmness of an enlightened monk.
Tasha admired that, which was yet another aspect of the monstrous power of evil!
However, today was particularly absurd.
Another messenger burst through the door in a hurry.
“High-quality information spread from the Dark Trading Company and the Thief Guild. A key associate of the Jigoku Pirate Group, who’s been captured by the Empire, confessed that the Jigoku Pirate Group is a subordinate organization of the Foundation Investigation Bureau!”
“What kind of nonsense is that?!”
“Questions are pouring in, suggesting that they committed human trafficking and child abuse for talent acquisition but were caught due to internal strife. What shall we do?”
“Deny it! That’s absolutely false!”
“Understood!”
It really is a baseless claim though.
“Is it true?”
“No.”
“Please just tell me secretly.”
“No.”
Seeing Tasha’s face, filled with disbelief, Velocasio sighed.
The mixed feelings of admiration and slight disgust in her starry-eyed gaze suggested an arising curiosity—should a great evil really have to commit human trafficking and child abuse? That made him feel even more deflated.
