SOMETHING SMELLS FISHY

ZIRKUS thought he actually had talent in writing fiction.

He originally planned to make a novel out of famous manga about a blond ninja. But his conscience couldn't handle it. So, he just used it as an "inspiration" to create a rip-off– er, a slightly original piece of work.

[It's called 'Garuto and the Hidden Soul Village.']

Was the story also inspired by a certain orange-haired death reaper?

[No comment.]

Anyway, he already finished the three chapters that Enzo Fenton demanded.

[Now I'm hungry.]

It was true that he didn't get tired, hungry, or sleepy while his <Trash Reporter Skill> was in use. However, as soon as he deactivated his skill, the fatigue caught up to him. He fell asleep and when he opened his eyes, it was already noon.

[I miss my morning classes.]

But he was so hungry when he woke up. So, instead of hurrying up to his afternoon classes, he leisurely went to the school dining hall to have brunch.

Much to his surprise, the 'Heavenly Trio' was there.

Argh.

[Their cheesy title gives me goosebumps.]

"But I wonder why they're only having lunch now?" Zirkus whispered to himself. After he pressed the 'steak' on the menu board displayed like a poster on the wall, he then tapped his silver bracelet on the magic device similar to a computer tablet next to it. "It's already an hour past lunch."

"The academy gave the Heavenly Trio a special schedule," the lunch lady who was busy putting a juicy steak on Zirkus' plate said. "Whenever the Heavenly Trio is in the dining hall, the students go crazy…" The lunch lady raised her head to look at him, then she suddenly turned pale as if she had seen a ghost. "I-I apologize, Young Master Huxford! I didn't realize it was you! I'm sorry for running my mouth!"

Zirkus was about to tell the lunch lady that she had nothing to apologize for, but someone talked to him from behind.

"Huxford, are you bullying the lunch ladies now?"

He turned around and saw Nixie Winslet.

"I'm not bullying anyone," Zirkus said, then his gaze went past Nixie Winslet. "Classmate!"

Of course, he was greeting Enzo Fenton who wasn't his friend yet.

Rivo Creswell was standing next to the future villain, but he had no business with the hero so he only greeted his 'Classmate.'

[I didn't even notice that the Heavenly Trio is already behind me until Nixie Winslet spoke.]

Scary kids.

"Huxford, what do you need from Enzo?" Rivo Creswell asked, standing in front of Enzo Fenton to block him from Zirkus' view. "I thought we already warned you to leave our friend alone?"

[Aigoo.]

Look at Rivo Creswell and Nixie Winslet protect Enzo Fenton as if the crazy bastard wouldn't end the world in the future "just because."

[Enzo Fenton is too good at acting innocent.]

And it probably didn't help that Zirkus had the face of a criminal.

"Rivo, Nixie, aren't you being too harsh on me?" Zirkus complained, addressing the hero and the heroine as if they were his close friends. "Didn't I already tell you that I just wanted to be friends with Enzo Fenton?"

Nixie Winslet let out a sigh. "Huxford, if you were us, would you believe your own words?"

Rivo Creswell motioned to his face awkwardly. "And your face isn't really trustworthy, Huxford."

Ouch.

Even so…

"Understandable," Zirkus said while nodding his head. "Have a good day."

Since there was no point arguing with kids who were attacking his face now, he decided to retreat.

"Pfft."

That was the sound Enzo Fenton made when Zirkus walked past him.

[Aigoo, look at this scary punk making fun of me.]

***

[I SHOULD have just slept in my dorm.]

Zirkus was so bored in his Elective Class.

[I wonder why Zirkus Huxford chose Guinevere Heroes History as his Elective Class.]

Professor Lindon, the class teacher, was an old man with a gentle face. The professor also talked so kindly that his voice almost sounded like a lullaby.

The class was full, but it was obvious most of them were only there to sleep.

[It's amazing how Professor Lindon isn't bothered by the snoring students.]

Zirkus discovered a newfound respect for the professor, so he decided not to sleep in his class…

… and he didn't get the chance to do so anyway.

"Do you have it?"

It was Enzo Fenton who sat beside him and spoke in a very low voice.

[Is he in this class, too? Or did he just come here to threaten me again?]

Fortunately, Zirkus was sitting on the farthest row from the professor. Moreover, no one was sitting in his row as if everyone avoided him on purpose.

[It's the perfect spot for this transaction.]

"I have the goods," Zirkus whispered back, then he pulled out the notebook from his crossbody bag and put it on the desk. After that, he gently pushed it towards Enzo Fenton's side. "I assure you– we'll be friends after you read that."

"'Garuto and the Hidden Soul Village' by Park Suho?"

Hehehe.

Yep, he was shameless enough to put his old Korean name as the author of the story that was inspired by two gigantic series from his world.

<"Shameless bastard.">

Zirkus naturally ignored Blob, the rude System.

"The title sounds stupid and the author's name sounds strange."

"Just read it, dude."

Enzo Fenton turned to him with a cold look on his face when Zirkus spoke to him casually.

Zirkus avoided the scary punk's gaze slowly.

"Professor, I have a question."

[Thank you, nameless classmate!]

"She has a question," Zirkus whispered, discreetly scooting away from Enzo Fenton. "Let's stop talking and focus on the lesson."

"When monsters began infesting our continent, heroes also started to emerge," their female classmate asked the professor. "Most of the first-generation heroes came from the slums, and the first crisis that they encountered early in their lives was famine. Even now, in places where wars against monsters are ongoing, the number one problem our forces face is food shortage."

Huh?

Zirkus was staring at the back of his female classmate, the one who was currently talking, and realized that she had a unique hair color.

[I think it's called ombre?]

His female classmate's wavy hair was green from the root down to the middle, then blue from the middle down to the strands.

He suddenly got nervous.

[There's no way an extra or a minor character would have such a pretty hair color. Who is she?]

"Professor, to solve the food crisis, can't humans eat monsters?"

Zirkus gasped out loud.

The other students, except for Enzo Fenton who remained indifferent, also had the same reaction.

But Zirkus wasn't shocked because of the female classmate's eccentric idea– he was surprised because he had confirmed that the girl who asked that question COULD be the important character who solved the food crisis in the original novel.

"Interesting."

Hmm?

Zirkus turned to Enzo Fenton, then he got chills all over his body.

Unlike his semi-permanent bored expression, Enzo Fenton's face at the moment was full of life. Even his usually empty gold eyes were shining brightly as if he just thought of something exciting.

[This feels ominous…]

"Can humans really eat monsters?"

Zirkus almost answered Enzo Fenton's question– even though the future villain was obviously not expecting an answer– but the professor was faster.

[Whew.]

"Unfortunately, monster corpses are full of poison. Moreover, most monsters eat human flesh, so it's a little..."

The professor was right.

[But a few years from now, a certain important lady would discover that there are monsters that humans can eat safely– monsters that don't eat human flesh. They are poisonous, but there's a safe way to remove the poison. It will solve the food crisis in the future.]

Sea Monsters.

There were some specific kinds of Sea Monsters that humans could eat safely, but Zirkus wasn't sure if they already emerged from the deep sea by this time.

"Thank you for your question, Lady…"

"Sea Monsters?"

Huh?

Zirkus didn't hear the female classmate's name because Enzo Fenton spoke over the professor, and what the villain said caught his attention more than the name that he was waiting to hear.

[Does Enzo Fenton already know the existence of the Sea Monsters?]

***

IT WAS already the third day since Zirkus "submitted" his lifeline (aka his masterpiece novel) to Enzo Fenton.

And he hadn't heard anything about the villain yet.

[I haven't even seen him recently.]

Although it was definitely because it was the weekend.

[Let's forget about that crazy bastard first.]

He was pretty pumped up today because the Dormitory President informed him earlier that a package arrived for him. The package was pretty big, so he had to fetch it from the storage area instead of getting it delivered.

[Zirkus Huxford came from a rich family, so I bet he got pretty useful items~]

His good mood turned pretty sour right away when he saw Enzo Fenton come out of the storage area. The villain was followed by two men who were carrying a huge box each.

He didn't find anything strange about that until the Window appeared in front of him.

<"<Trash Reporter Skill> hidden ability activated! <Nose for News> is in use! Find out what's hidden in Enzo Fenton's delivery boxes!>

"Hey, even though the crazy bastard is a future Disaster, let's respect his privacy."

In his previous life as Park Suho, he hated it when his nosy roommate would open his package before him.

"Enzo Fenton might be a future villain, but he's still a healthy eighteen-year-old boy," Zirkus continued defending Enzo Fenton's privacy from the System. Of course, he was talking to himself discreetly. Hence, he had to cover his mouth with a handkerchief. "It's not like he's going to sneak in some little monsters and cause havoc…"

He trailed off when Enzo Fenton and the "delivery men" walked past him.

[Yep, he totally ignored me.]

It didn't matter, though.

What mattered more was the scent that he caught earlier.

[It smells like the sea?]

Did the skill <Nose for News> heighten his sense of smell literally?

Zirkus scratched his cheek. "Was it mentioned in the original novel that Enzo Fenton likes seafood?"

<"The skill <Nerd for Life> is now in use!">

What?

[Argh!]

Zirkus clutched his head tight when a splitting headache hit him hard.

It was followed by images that contained texts from The Legendary Fisher.

<"Rivo and Nixie are both averse to seafood. Even when Sea Monsters became a delicacy enjoyed both by royalty and nobility all over the world, the two never tried them. After all, they were traumatized by the large-scale food poisoning that happened during their academy days that involved seafood.">

Zirkus gasped and opened his eyes. "Food poisoning…"

He also remembered the other line from the original novel that he remembered recently.

["You were the one behind the terrible things that happened in the academy before, right? The food poisoning… Klaus Irvin's death… and the bombing incident on our graduation day… It was all you!"]

And then he remembered what Enzo Fenton said during their Elective Class.

["Can humans really eat monsters?"]

Zirkus shut his eyes tight when he finally connected the dots. "Enzo Fenton, you crazy bastard."

***

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