I Became an Extra Without Growth in the Academy

After testing on my own, I found that there was a pretty simple condition to put items into the inventory.

It’s simply that you have to be in contact with the item.

Whether it’s your hand or foot, you just need to be touching the item.

But… the range of this contact was quite lenient.

When I wanted to put something from my bag into the inventory, I only needed to be touching the bag.

So, I thought, if I could put something like bones or internal organs into the inventory while being in contact with a person, wouldn’t I become the world’s strongest serial killer? Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case; living beings are beyond the range the inventory can hold.

I experimented as much as I could just in case, but even a bug wouldn’t go into the inventory.

I wasn’t disappointed though. Having a ridiculously high level of item storage is enough; asking for more would just be greedy, right?

Instead of being disappointed over what I don’t have, focusing on exploring and utilizing what I do have feels more productive.

So, what I came up with was the idea of stealing items.

The equipment I use obviously makes contact with my body. Therefore, I can freely put items into and take them out of the inventory.

However, the equipment used by others doesn’t make contact with my body. Thus, the condition for putting it into the inventory isn’t met.

But that means, if I just make contact, I could potentially take items from others by putting them into my inventory, right?

It may not be allowed in games, but in the reality I’m in now, I never thought there would be such restrictions.

“…So, you’re saying you want to test if you can steal something that someone else is holding right now?”

“Exactly! Ah, of course, I don’t plan to use it for bad things.”

“You do realize that sounds pretty unconvincing, right?”

“Well, that’s true, but….”

But it seemed that others weren’t all too keen on the idea of stealing someone else’s belongings.

I mean, it does look like theft from any angle.

If even Seria says that, then I guess I’ll just have to test it out against real bad guys later.

As I was thinking this, Seria smirked and changed the subject.

“Why are you thinking so seriously? It’s just a joke. I trust you, so I know Rudion isn’t that kind of person.”

“…You’ve found a new hobby in teasing me, haven’t you?”

It’s true she often does this, but usually, her jokes are more action-oriented.

Maybe that’s why I can’t really tell if she’s being serious or just joking when she talks like this.

“I’m just a little excited since it’s the first time Rudion has asked me to do something!”

“Is that so?”

“Of course! You didn’t know?”

…Thinking back, that actually seems to be the case.

I’ve always hung out with Seria, but I’ve never really asked her to go anywhere with me.

Wow, I really just tagged along all this time.

“Seriously… it would be nice if you could at least say you’d like to go somewhere sometimes.”

“Well, you always make the first move, so what can I do about that….”

“Rudion. In times like this, even if it’s a promise you can’t keep, just saying okay is enough.”

“Right. Rudion, why don’t you understand how I feel?”

How on earth am I supposed to know that?

I felt very unfair, but if I argued back here, who knows what kind of nonsense I’d end up hearing, so I just nodded in agreement.

Seria had a satisfied expression, while Alkiné occasionally chuckled at the sight of Seria and me.

Then, slyly, she brought up the conversation Seria and I were just having.

“Shall we drop that topic? Let’s continue with the conversation we had a bit earlier. I’m quite interested in that experiment too.”

“Really? It doesn’t look like the kind of thing you’d want to use for bad purposes, right?”

“Of course, you could use it that way. But I don’t think you would.”

She expressed the same trust as Seria, which helped relieve some of the discomfort I felt.

The reason I didn’t feel completely relieved was that there was a much bigger reason for my hesitation.

‘Compared to that… maybe stealing is no big deal.’

The truth is, my hesitation wasn’t solely because of guilt over the act of stealing.

While I certainly didn’t completely lack that reason, if you think about it, I’ve already stolen items from the Royal Treasure Storage… so it feels a bit relative.

The only reason I was influenced by their attitudes was that this experiment could lead to negative experiences for them.

With guys, it might be fine, but with them being women, there was definitely a need for caution.

And what’s that about? Well, due to the lenient conditions for putting things into the inventory, sometimes I might accidentally put in more than I intend to.

There’s no issue with taking things out, but there’s definitely a risk when putting things in.

Normally, when putting something in, it’s likely to be done in bulk, so it wouldn’t matter much, but this situation is definitely different.

So, if something goes wrong, it could turn into a magic show where her clothes disappear.

That’s why I thought it best not to show any signs of hesitation.

…What about asking other friends for help, you might say?

Sadly, I don’t have any other friends. I’ve always been with Seria, remember?

That means it’s not easy to connect with other classmates I always share lectures with.

I’m not the type to take the initiative, and given that I always walk around with the princess, it wouldn’t be easy for them to approach me, a mere assistant to Professor Reina.

‘Seria is probably in a similar situation.’

According to what Lilith told me, there are plenty of stormy friends targeting Seria, but they all seem to have difficulties approaching her.

They seem to see me as some kind of bodyguard… but does Seria really need someone like that?

Well, the others don’t know the internal situation. They probably judge based on the impact I made during the entrance exam.

Oh, and then there was that one time I casually asked if anyone was targeting me.

I’m naturally curious, right? Plus, I happen to have possessed the form of a handsome extra.

The conversation went like this:

-“Do you want to think about that while sitting next to Seria?”

-“No, I’m just curious.”

-“Yeah, that’s how guys are…”

-“So, is there someone or not?”

-“Sometimes, yeah. They all disappear quickly, though.”

-“They disappear? Why?”

-“…Ask Seria.”

What on earth did that mean?

In the end, I asked Seria about it and still got no answers, leaving that conversation a mystery.

…Anyhow, the conclusion is as follows.

Both Seria and I are quite out of place when it comes to relationships.

That’s why asking a male friend for help was simply impossible.

I had to take the risk and ask Seria for help.

Since I couldn’t hide something that important, I told her honestly, and Seria reacted just as I had expected.

“Rudion. I figured you were expecting something like that. Pervert.”

“…I’ve got no defense against that. If you don’t want to now, I’ll stop.”

There’s no upside to being brazen in this situation. No matter what, I’m the bad guy here.

But… their reactions were nothing like I’d thought.

“If Seria says no, then I won’t help.”

“Wait a minute, Alkiné. I never said I didn’t want to! Can you not butt in?”

“No, Seria. I’m the one who offered to help. Of course, I should bear some of the risk.”

“What kind of logic is that? I said I don’t mind!”

Watching them fight over who would do what was completely unexpected!

Did I miscommunicate or something? I checked again, but the two understood what I said perfectly.

So, why do they want to do this so much? What are they thinking?

As I watched in disbelief, Seria, who had rushed away from the argument, yelled out.

“Okay! Rudion! Just do it already!”

“What do you want me to do? The only thing I can take is your clothes right now.”

I hadn’t even taken anything out yet, so I didn’t understand why she was in such a hurry.

“Ah, right. Aha, ha ha.”

As soon as she realized what she had said, her momentum fizzled out, and she started retreating awkwardly with a shy laugh.

To her, Alkiné approached and whispered something.

“Seria, were you perhaps waiting for Rudion to take your clothes off?”

I don’t know what she said, but it sounded sensational.

I had never seen Seria’s face turn that red before.

“N-no! W-what are you talking about?!”

“Was it not?”

“Of course not! D-don’t laugh at me!”

Thus began the perpetual back and forth between Alkiné and Seria, which went on for quite some time… Hey, everyone? I appreciate your agreement, but when can we start the experiment?

Eventually, we could finally get into the experiment after a considerable amount of time passed, and after Seria’s flushed face calmed down.

“Haah… Haah… thanks to Alkiné, I’ve really embarrassed myself.”

“What did I do? I barely said anything.”

“How is that not saying anything?!”

“Okay, okay! Let’s get back to what we were about to do!”

If I left it to her, Seria’s face would probably heat up again, so I hastily intervened.

“If you both want to do it that badly, I’ll let you both do it. Is that alright?”

“Doing it together…?”

“What a greedy man you are…”

But their reactions seemed a bit strange again.

…What did I say wrong?

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