Reborn in a Dating Sim: Life as a Mob is hard in an Equestria Girl’s Dating Game!

Reborn in a Dating Sim:

Life as a Mob is hard in an Equestria Girl’s Dating Game!

Chapter Interlude

Professor Honeypot looked at the collective information that the various hidden adventurers had taken. All of them were communicating with her via the magical tablets they had, and of course for the most part it was more or less what she had expected. Prince Apollo showed some surprising ability at both magic and swordsmanship, but ultimately it appeared that his real bread and butter was at casting purification magic, and fire attacks. Both of which were things that his mother Celestia, were gifted at.

Unfortunately, his attention span was closer to that of his father. There was no doubt that King Consort Baked Bean was indeed a gifted leader, and a great adventurer in his own right. However, his tendency to question everything, to be distracted easily, and to go from one thing that fancies him to another had rubbed off on his son. Unfortunately he hadn’t seemed to understand the necessity of keeping with the arranged marriage. As such he broke a potential great party member in Diamond Tiara.

Instead he was working with Mithril and Point. Both of which were old friends of his, and they did work well together. However they were treating the labyrinth like playtime. The understanding that there were guards nearby seemed to be well established in them. It meant that they wouldn’t be taking this class seriously. Ultimately it meant that the prince was going to get an average grade. She couldn’t fail him, but she wasn’t to completely pass him either. Her recommendation would be that he repeat the class, without the guards. Her third year that was going through for the first time was another issue.

Sunset Shimmer had potential to be a great adventurer. She came from an established family line, and unlike most of her family her own abilities seemed to focus on healing and barrier spells. There were rumors that her mother had a dalliance with Magnum seemed to be possible. After all, Rarity Belle herself seemed to also have abilities that focused mostly on barriers. Rarity’s barriers though seemed to be composed of magically created jewels. Mostly diamonds, and mostly appearing out of thin air.

They would disappear after the mana was used up for them, but while they existed it had been noted that they could withstand up to a level five fire spell before cracking. Sunset’s own barriers seemed to be made of fire magic. Still, they didn’t burn friendlies. She wasn’t going to openly suggest that both Sunset and Rarity were possibly half sisters, but then she wasn’t going to trust Sunset’s mother around her own fiance either.

“That leaves our other group of notice,” she said as she studied the information gathered about Copper Plum, “He’s able to get past the ants and wasps without much problem. In truth he wouldn’t have even had to battle any of them in a swarm if it wasn’t for other students. He’s got a keen mind, and then there’s the fact that he more or less single handedly took down five crystal scorpions. He’s made enough off of this labyrinth this time to clinch his rise to lower ten of nobility. There’s going to be a few upset individuals about that. No one will really want to see someone that is so obviously new money make it so well here. Then there’s his servant. Yeah, they’re not master and servant. They’re either dating or close to it.”

She breathed out, “I really don’t give a shit if they are, but this is a mess waiting to happen. She’s capable, and damn, if she was fully human I’d say that she would be one of the single greatest adventurers we’d seen in a long time,” she said as she studied the information, “But since she’s a rabbit girl, well, there’s not much else that can be said other than she is Copper’s extra hand. Her actions will reflect on him. Plain and simple. But if it comes out that they’re fucking… Oh Goddesses, I don’t want to deal with that fallout.”

She looked at the information again, “Okay, he’s a little abrasive, a little headstrong, and a little too new, but if I can help swing this right then he might find someone acceptable. If he does then he and his servant can keep fucking like rabbits, if they are, and no one will care. She’ll be a side piece, and he’ll still retain glory,” she said before she shook her head, “But who am I going to find that’s going to even agree to this.”

She looked at the information, “Well, he’s making nice with the scholarship student. She’s nice enough, not really nobility, but if she manages to do some things on her own then she can at least climb to a baroness level. That will be enough to be accepted, and she could marry someone of a higher standing. It’s a plan at least.”

She groaned as she stood there, “Sure, a plan, and go ahead and turn the other one Honeypot,” she said, her voice sounding defeated, “You’ve never been good at this entire behind the scenes thing. That was always something that she did better. It’s not like you can really bother the Queen with something like this though. So, go ahead and focus.”

She closed the information on the magical tablet, and she looked at the students starting to come out of the labyrinth. A few of them had a couple of cores, and a few others had half a dozen or so. Those would be getting the slight bump in their grade to ensure that they wouldn’t be struggling. She watched as Copper Plum came up through the tunnel she told them to not go down through, and she looked at the bag he was carrying.

The bag itself was a bag of holding. Something that could hold what most would consider an infinite number of things. She knew that he had cores in there, and from the information he had about twenty-five ant cores, fifteen wasp cores, and the five scorpion cores. He was making a mint. Even split among them he was getting more than enough to not have to do the labyrinth again unless he just wanted to.

“Well, everyone, I have information on your raid. I will say that a good number of you have done slightly better than expected,” she said as she studied them, “However, there are a few of you that are sorely lacking in experience and it shows. There’s also a few of you that haven’t taken the class seriously. Because of that I’m going to make the suggestion that you take the class again, without any immediate safety net. There will be seasoned adventurers waiting, but for the most part you will need to make it on your own.”

The words had the effect she was expecting. Prince Apollo, Mithril Shield, and Spear Point all three looked toward her with confused expressions. She knew that likely they hadn’t expected for her to exactly know, or call them out, but she had. Still, the prince had the good sense to not say a word. It also appeared that Mithril and Point were of the same mind. She was overjoyed that she wouldn’t have to explain it to them. She looked around, not focusing on them for long, “Additionally there was a single group that did far better than any would have expected at all At this point those who exited with them honestly will not have to raid the labyrinth again for a school grade,” she said as she did her best from singling Copper out, “Instead, they may do so occasionally simply as a way to sharpen their skills.”

She nodded to everyone, “Now, we’re going to head up, and I’ll give all of you a chance to go to the on campus store. There they will take the cores you’ve collected and exchange them out. Please, know that since the store is owned by the school there is a percentage that is removed. That percentage is strictly there to ensure that the employees are able to be paid without it dipping into the school/s tuition funds.”

She began to lead them back, and she considered the store itself for a moment. Even with the percentage taken out there was no way they were going to be able to completely pay Copper and his party. It wasn’t going to happen. Especially since most of the other groups had a few cores themselves. The school could possibly pay the other students and still manage to pay Copper for the ants or the wasps, but not both.

She almost laughed at the prospect of them attempting to pay for the crystal scorpion cores. There wouldn’t be a way that they could. That was asking far too much of the school’s store. They would have to write a cheque. And of course it meant that they would need to go to the first major trading post to get the funds to cash it when he brought it back, or took it to a trading post himself. The school could ask that he just use it at the school, but they couldn’t force the issue.

She suddenly felt very glad that she was a professor and not one of the clerks at the school’s store. She led them to the store itself, and she let the other students go inside. Part of her began to formulate the best possible way to ask Copper to consider only selling part of the cores back at this time. It wasn’t that he didn’t deserve it. That was far from the truth, but she didn’t want the other students to realize how far behind they all really were.

One of the sad truths of the world was that not everyone was born with natural talent. Copper obviously had natural talent in spades. That talent came out beautifully with his raid. Of course it did bring a couple of potential problems. She was hoping that it wouldn’t go to his head. If it did then it could cloud his judgment. That could lead to a party member being killed or wounded.

The other problem was that it was going to isolate him from other students that weren’t part of his party. They were going to consider him not a goal, but someone to be ignored and villainized. It hadn’t been something that happened often, but the threat of it was very real. She shook her head and she looked at the entrance to the store itself. She began letting some of the students go in, and she looked at Copper himself. There was no time like the present. She moved toward him, “Copper Plum, would you and your party mind stepping over here for a moment?”

She watched as he moved toward her, followed by Diamond Tiara, Applebloom, Sunset Shimmer, and his servant, “Thank you,” she said as she looked at them, “First, congratulations on your successful labyrinth raid. You’ve done something that hasn’t been done in the school’s labyrinth for almost seventy years. You’ve successfully taken down five scorpions. That is an amazing feat. The fact that they were all together, and not spread out makes it even more impressive.”

She breathed out, “The problem is that the number of cores you have, with the five additional scorpion cores, is going to be more than the school’s store can pay,” she said as she looked at him, “There is absolutely no way they can pay you, and the other students. I have to ask if it would be possible to either sell less than what you have, or for you to come back at another time.”

He looked at her, “What about selling at a trading post?” he asked, his voice confident and friendly, “I suppose that I could do that, right?”

She nodded, “You could, and honestly it would be the smarter option, but I’d like to ask that you don’t. If the school is able to show that we’ve collected such high grade cores it will reflect better on the school itself. That’s why I’m asking if you’ll wait, please.”

He looked at her, and for a moment she had some hope that he would follow through, “Yeah, naw,” he replied, “Look, I get it. The school wants to look good. Having someone that obviously did something that hasn’t been done in a long time would look amazing on the school. And I don’t really care if the school uses what we did to shine. That’s cool. But at the end of the day I’m getting paid. I don’t care if it’s here or at a trading post. Plus, everyone else here in our group deserves to get paid. So, either I sell it here, and get paid, or we go to the nearest trading post.”

She felt her heart sink. This was not what she was hoping, “Don’t you think that’s a little rash?”

He seemed to study her for a moment, “Professor Honeypot, what if the school came to you, you specifically, and told you that you’ve done an amazing job,” he said as he studied her, “You’ve somehow managed to produce fantastic adventurers, and more to the point you’ve made the school shine for it. I’m sure that being told that would make you feel amazing, right?”

She nodded, “Of course it would,” she said, her voice sounding pleased, “Now, imagine that they told you that while they want to compensate you for you the great job they couldn/t. The reason they couldn’t was because they still had to pay the other teachers their salaries, and more to the point while you could appeal to the kingdom, and receive your truly earned pay they would rather that you didn’t. Because that wouldn’t allow them to shine with fact that you’ve done such a good job.”

She studied him, “I get it,” she said as she shook her head, “Look, I understand, and what I said does sound like the school, and myself, are pretty full of ourselves. I can understand that. I get it, but at the same time I still want to ask this of you. I want to because I truly believe that your actions would reflect on the school, and yourself, better if the cores were sold here,” she stated, “I can’t stop you from going outside of the school, and I can’t promise that we could do any better than a normal trading post. If I was honest you would get a far better price at a trading post.”

He looked at her and she groaned slightly, “I’m not going to withdraw what I’ve said, but I will say that ultimately the choice is yours. It won’t affect your placement here. You will remain a student, and you’ll be one for as long as you would like to be one. I just humbly ask that you please, please take what I’ve suggested into account.”

He gave her a nod, “I can promise that I’ll take it into account, but I won’t promise that we will simply wait for the school’s store to simply be able to pay us. That’s a really big ask,” he said as he looked around, “So, if I can ask why isn’t the school’s store able to pay for the cores? The school itself makes a decent mint off of our tuition, and then there’s the various areas of the school that are generating money. Is the store a separate entity completely?”

She stood there, caught unaware, and at the same time she wondered how he was able to pick up on it so quickly. For a moment she considered telling him that this was something he didn’t need to worry about, but from what she’d noticed he was impressively intelligent. There was little doubt in her mind that he would be able to decipher how the store stood with the school at some point. She nodded finally, “The school’s store is actually ran by a lower nobility family. They’ve ran it for the past three generations. They were given permission by the school to establish a trading store here on the school’s grounds. It ensures that there is always business for them, and in return they pay the school the fees for operating the store.”

He seemed to study it for a moment, “So, they’re not really part of the school at all,” he said, as he looked at the store, “But the school makes use of their presence, and of course pronounces that they have a store. So, they’re using their presence to booster the academy, but in return they’re charging them for the privilege, and in addition I’m willing to bet that they’ve dictated what the family can, and can’t, charge for the goods and services that are sold inside.”

She didn’t say a word. Mostly because there wasn’t a whole lot for her to say. He had accurately guessed all of it. More to the point he had exactly pointed out the issues with the school without missing a beat. Her original thoughts on him were completely accurate. He was intelligent, and more to the point he was perspective. He was able to see what thes school was doing, and how they were using the lower nobility.

“I can see how this might appear,” she said, trying to find a way to spin the situation in the favor of the academy itself, “I really do see how it might appear, but please understand that just because it appears a certain way doesn’t mean that it is that way.”

He shook his head, “There’s a saying that I’ve heard a few times, and the more I hear it the more I agree with it,” he said as he looked at her, “If it quacks like a duck, looks like a duck, and walks like a duck, then it’s a duck. What I’m seeing here is an example of a symbol of the kingdom using some of its pooper subjects to its own benefit. It’s not exactly a nice picture that’s being painted.”

She shook her head, “I might be something that seems unsavory, but the family that runs the store has bolstered their own position. They’re considered to be an important part of the kingdom and the academy. It’s not something that is completely one sided.”

/She hoped that her words got to him, but she understood now that he was someone that obviously saw the world for what it was, and the promise of rising in the ranks didn’t seem to matter too much for him. She could see what was going to happen, and she both looked forward to seeing the success, and feared what it would bring to the academy.