A Ninja Who Only Wants to Freeload in Type-Moon

"You've worked hard." Higashino Kanade decisively took the box from her.

The wealthy Luvia paid no attention to his little move. With one hand pressed to her chest, she said proudly, "My life is worth far more than this trash. You saved my life, so naturally, I won't treat you poorly."

"Where did you put my equipment?"

"You mean your bag and clothes? They're here."

Luvia opened the cabinet beside the hospital bed. His ninja tool pouch and Red Cloud Robe were lying inside.

Higashino Kanade took out a blank scroll from his ninja tool pouch. Under Luvia's curious gaze, he placed the two boxes on it, then used a Fuinjutsu to pretend to seal the boxes into the scroll. In reality, he had already handed them over to the system.

Ding! Congratulations, Host, for completing the mission "World Information Gathering." The current Mission Reward is a Silver Treasure Chest. The more information you collect, the higher the reward tier. Keep up the good work.

"An interesting method. Is this your unique ability?"

"Yes."

Higashino Kanade put away the scroll, and his attitude toward Luvia changed as well.

"Um, rich... Luvia, do you have any other tasks for me? As long as you provide enough materials, it's not impossible for me to help you fight Servants." Higashino Kanade hurriedly swallowed the words "rich woman," then patted his chest with a tiny hand, making him look adorably earnest.

This time, Higashino Kanade was genuinely convinced. Luvia's money power was simply too terrifying. She had handed over such high-grade materials without even blinking. Whether he could upgrade the treasure chest to Diamond would depend on her.

Freeloading off Luvia really was delightful!

"Then hurry up and sign this contract. Stick with me, and I guarantee you won't lose out."

Luvia took the contract that the bodyguard had prepared long ago and handed it to Higashino Kanade. Her delighted expression seemed to say, "Get into my bowl already."

Higashino Kanade took it and saw that it was a contract to serve as a study companion at the Clock Tower.

62. Grea's Misery

In the early morning, warm sunlight streamed into the classroom, casting long slanting shadows from the windows. Looking closely, one could vaguely see dust motes floating in the sunlight.

Quite a few students were already scattered throughout the spacious classroom.

Some were heirs of prestigious families, while others came from humble backgrounds with only a few generations of magecraft inheritance. People who normally would never have crossed paths were now listening intently to the young man in a black suit lecturing from the podium.

"As everyone knows, the so-called Department of Modern Magecraft is..."

Waver kept writing one word after another on the blackboard with chalk, his expression exceptionally serious. His meticulous attitude was precisely the embodiment of his teaching style.

Waver Velvet was a second-rate Magus, but also a first-rate lecturer at the Clock Tower. He was extremely famous among the students.

Many students came specifically to hear him teach, but the Department of Modern Magecraft's classroom was only so large. Even if Waver taught five or six classes a day, many could only stand outside and listen in.

Yet during this class that countless outstanding Clock Tower students flocked to, two—no, three people were spacing out.

Luvia sat by the window. While listening to the lecture, she glanced at her study-companion pageboy.

Higashino Kanade was staring at the blackboard with a pen in hand, but his unfocused eyes and blank notes made it obvious that he had been daydreaming for quite some time.

Thinking of his slightly unwilling expression when he signed the contract a week ago, Luvia could not help laughing to herself.

Money power really was a powerful ability. Even Higashino Kanade, who was usually unruly and like an ill-mannered stray cat, had no choice but to obediently submit at her feet and become a study-companion pageboy who could only follow behind her. Being the master felt absolutely wonderful!

Although Higashino Kanade still did not show her much respect these days, Luvia believed she had already claimed this treasure trove for herself. As long as she kept him by her side, she refused to believe he could remain as unmoved as a block of wood. She was both a beautiful girl and a lady!

The inheritance of Mystic Eyes, the bloodline of Phantasmal Species... Thinking about how powerful her future children with Higashino Kanade would be, Luvia nearly revealed an unladylike, utterly improper grin.

"Stay calm, Luvia. This is only the first step toward success. In the future, you will lead the Edelfelt Family to the peak of the magecraft world."

Forcefully suppressing the joy in her heart, Luvia wrote a line in her notebook and pushed it toward Higashino Kanade, who was sitting beside her.

"What are you thinking about?"

Luvia's handwriting was elegant. Every stroke carried the refined grace of a Young Lady, making it pleasant to look at.

Higashino Kanade froze for a moment, then noticed Luvia's curious gaze and wrote a line in her notebook.

"Do you know about the Mystic Eyes Collection Train?"

Higashino Kanade passed the notebook back. Luvia froze upon reading it, her gaze seeming to ask, "How does a magecraft muggle like you know about something so high-class?"

With the mindset that rewarding a servant was a master's duty, Luvia wrote several lines in the notebook.

"I heard my father mention it. It is an annual event specifically for auctioning Mystic Eyes. It takes place aboard an alchemical train with extremely advanced magecraft, and only provides service to Magi with special invitations."

"How do you get an invitation?"

"Besides the invitations the Mystic Eyes Collection Train sends out every year, there are also several random invitations circulating in the magecraft world. Every time one appears, it is bid up to an astronomical price."

"How astronomical?"

"A few million US dollars, roughly."

Higashino Kanade spun the pen in his hand. The smooth, rapid motion resembled a street performer's act, but his contemplative gaze showed that he was thinking deeply about something.

A few million US dollars was no small sum for Higashino Kanade right now. The gems and gold he had brought from the Ryougi Family only amounted to tens of thousands of dollars after conversion. If he wanted to enter the Mystic Eyes Collection Train by buying an invitation, it would be extremely difficult.

Thinking about money, Higashino Kanade could not help glancing at Luvia. She was looking at him with a teasing smile, her proud expression seeming to say, "Beg me. If you serve me well enough, I might consider it."

Higashino Kanade's body shuddered involuntarily. He was only twelve years old. Why had a woman like this set her sights on his body?

Higashino Kanade shot back a stubborn look, as if saying, "Even if I jump out the classroom window, I won't take a single bite of your freeloading meal."

To be fair, Higashino Kanade had signed the contract with Luvia precisely because he wanted to borrow the rich woman's wealth and influence to help him complete World Information Gathering and enter the Mystic Eyes Collection Train.

But Higashino Kanade had no intention of becoming the kind of freeloader who came at a rich woman's beck and call, licking her boots. He would make the rich woman willingly give everything for him and become a real man who freeloaded with dignity!

Lowering his head? Not a chance.

Higashino Kanade ignored Luvia's resentful gaze and continued thinking of a solution. Luvia gave an unhappy huff and turned away, refusing to pay him any attention. Her aggrieved, dissatisfied expression seemed to say, "A beggar on his knees has the nerve to act so tough? Outrageous!"

"Junior disciple and Miss Luvia aren't listening properly to Master's lesson. If Master notices, they'll definitely be punished terribly."

Grea, seated on Higashino Kanade's other side, could not help showing a worried expression. Her two thumbs nervously wrestled with each other.

As a senior student who had studied in Waver's classroom for over two months, Grea knew her master's temper very well.

She had personally witnessed, more than once in a single day, Waver grabbing disruptive students by the head with one hand and throwing them straight out of the classroom. At one point, she had even suspected that being a Magus was merely his side job, while his true identity was an underground boxing champion.

If Master learned that her junior disciple and Miss Luvia were passing notes in class, junior disciple would likely be severely punished.

As Higashino Kanade's senior disciple, Grea felt that she needed to remind this mischievous junior disciple to listen carefully and study properly.

"Ju... Junior disciple..."

Grea gathered her courage and spoke. Perhaps because she was nervous, her voice came out slightly louder than intended.

At that exact moment, Waver had become so engrossed in lecturing that his throat had gone dry, and he picked up his cup for a drink.

With Waver's voice gone from the spacious classroom, Grea's soft voice became especially clear. Everyone involuntarily turned to look at her.

"...Grea, do you need something from Uchiha?"

After a moment of silence, Waver spoke. His tightly furrowed brows showed that he was in a very bad mood, and Grea could even feel a terrifying black aura surging around him.

"...No... I didn't... I was just..."

Grea began explaining in a panic. Her heart was so anxious that tears nearly spilled from her eyes, while her flustered hand movements revealed the chaos in her mind.

"...Grea, is my class so boring that you feel the need to chat with the student beside you?"

"...No... I wasn't..."

With a crisp crack, Waver snapped the chalk in half. Pointing at the classroom door, he shouted, "Get out and reflect on yourself properly!"

PS: Third update delivered. Hope the votes are okay, o(￣ヘ￣o＃).

Oh, right. Isekai Quartet is really good.

63. Quantum Butterfly Reading

The Clock Tower's library was the place with the strongest academic atmosphere. Many young Magi liked to pick up a Grimoire here and read all day, or spend an entire afternoon finishing their coursework.

But compared to the usual peaceful atmosphere of study, the library felt somewhat off today.

At a table in a remote corner, a man and a woman were surrounded by towering piles of books, like warriors inside a fortress.

Even though they were tucked away in an inconspicuous corner, they still drew the attention of many passing Magi.

Some watched the pair as though watching monkeys perform. Others wore astonished, disbelieving expressions. Some even suspected that the two had come deliberately to cause trouble and considered contacting the librarian to have them thrown out.

"Ugh..."

Grea shamefully hid her face behind a book. Like an ostrich hiding from danger, she concealed herself beneath the towering stacks of books. Already shy around strangers, she was beginning to find the surrounding stares unbearable.

"Ju... Junior disciple... I think I should go back..."

Grea tentatively made her request, carefully tugging at the corner of Higashino Kanade's Red Cloud Robe like a kitten begging to be fed.

Higashino Kanade spent twenty seconds finishing a thick Grimoire, casually set it aside, then looked at Grea with dissatisfaction.

"Senior disciple, Waver said you belong to me for the entire day. This is your punishment for spacing out in class."

"Ugh..."

It would have been better if he had not mentioned it. At his words, tears of grievance nearly spilled from Grea's eyes.

She had only wanted to kindly remind junior disciple to pay attention in class, yet she had been misunderstood as spacing out herself. After class, she was met with Waver's harsh reprimand and the punishment of helping Higashino Kanade for an entire day.

"That's too much... Who do you think caused this?"

Grea angrily punched Higashino Kanade, but her fist landed without any strength, soft as though she were giving him a massage.

"My fault, then?"

Higashino Kanade shrugged innocently like a heartless scumbag.

"Bad junior disciple."

Grea let out an aggrieved cry. Like a little deer caught in a hunter's trap, she looked heartbreakingly pitiful and could easily stir a man's protective instincts.

"Today, you're my helper. Stop complaining. Bring me books!"

Higashino Kanade waved his hand, and Grea picked up another stack of books and placed them before him.

After picking up a Grimoire, Higashino Kanade flipped through it at an astonishing speed, reading five or six pages per second on average. It was genuine Quantum Butterfly Reading!

Watching Higashino Kanade finish a Grimoire in under a minute, Grea became even more doubtful.

Although Higashino Kanade had said that his Mystic Eyes possessed a copying function and could remember anything after seeing it once, Grea was still shocked by his astonishing reading speed. The people around them were no different.

This was one of the reasons the library's academic atmosphere had changed today. Higashino Kanade bore two-thirds of the blame.

The reason Higashino Kanade was doing this was entirely to grind points for the World Information Gathering mission.

The World Information Gathering mission covered items such as Magi, Dead Apostles, Phantasmal Species, alchemical products, Grimoires, and more. Grimoires were precisely the mission items Higashino Kanade needed.

However, unlike at Stripped City, where he had packaged all of Gryphon Laboratory's Grimoires and handed them over to the system in one go, Higashino Kanade did not dare borrow the Clock Tower's books without returning them. After discussing it with the system, he could only collect Grimoires through this compromise.

Higashino Kanade would use the Sharingan to memorize the contents of every book he read, then the system would scan his memories to upload the books. This was Higashino Kanade's new way of grinding points.

A Grimoire with low-level research value.

A Grimoire with mid-level research value.

A Grimoire with low-level research value.

After finishing all the Grimoires on the table, Luvia returned with another towering stack of Grimoires.

Conservatively speaking, Luvia had brought over at least thirty Grimoires in this trip. Their total weight was at least two-thirds of Higashino Kanade's body weight, yet there was not the slightest tremble in her slender but pleasantly soft arms. Instead, the stack nearly fell several times because of the sway of her chest.

Such strength. What a waste that she was not hauling bricks at a construction site.

Higashino Kanade clicked his tongue twice, thinking that Luvia's title of "Lady Crane" truly was well deserved.

Luvia set down the newly delivered books, then picked up a stack that Higashino Kanade had finished reading to return them. She had already repeated this process for quite some time.

"I feel like you're thinking something very rude."

Luvia shot Higashino Kanade an unhappy glare. A few glistening beads of sweat could faintly be seen on her smooth forehead.

As the noble future head of the Edelfelt Family, Luvia had not wanted to do this kind of rough work meant for men. Elegantly enjoying a cup of afternoon tea was what she should have been doing instead.

"If you help me with this, I can consider going on a date with you," Higashino Kanade had said beforehand.