Keep attacking girls and try not to be killed by them

"Good morning, Rod. Do you need me for something?"

"Yes, I have something to talk to you about... Wait, how do you know my name is Rhodes?"

"I heard it from the village chief. I know the names of everyone in the village."

Rhodes was caught off guard by Jiang Ran right from the start.

"Oh……"

"So, Rhodes, what do you want from me?"

"I...you...ahhh, you've made me forget what to say!"

Rhodes grabbed his hair for a while. He was not good at delicate things like language, so he just said whatever came to his mind.

"Do you...do you like Wei'er?" Rhodes stared at Jiang Ran as if he wanted to fight.

Jiang Ran looked at Rhodes with interest for two seconds, then said, "Are you worried that I'll take Wei'er away?"

The unexpected question made Rhodes stunned for a moment. He didn't know how to answer.

Seeing this, Jiang Ran continued to press forward.

"So that means you like Wei'er?"

"Huh? W-What are you talking about! I...I just..."

Rhodes was obviously shaken, and Jiang Ran immediately gave chase.

"Since you like Wei'er, why didn't I see you staying by Wei'er's side to protect her when we were in the mountains the night before last?"

"Where did you go when she was in danger, Rod?"

"I saw Wei'er working in the orchard until very late last night, and I didn't see you staying to help?"

Rhode was completely unable to answer the series of questions. Although he liked Wei'er, the level of this young boy who was just beginning to fall in love was far inferior to Jiang Ran.

"Rod, let me give you a suggestion."

——『Combat Class Skill [Trickster - Lv1] has been activated and is currently in effect...』

Jiang Ran put his arm around Rhodes' shoulders affectionately.

"If you like Wei'er, you should confess as soon as possible. If I get there first, you won't have a chance."

After saying that, Jiang Ran patted Rhodes on the back and walked away.

——『Combat Class Skill "Trickster - Lv1" has been deactivated』

Rhode was stunned by Jiang Ran's words and didn't react for a long time. After a few minutes, he suddenly seemed to have made a decision. He clenched his fists and headed towards the orchard with determination.

·

(Benni: Why did you encourage him to confess? Aren’t you afraid that Wei’er will agree to him?)

(Jiang Ran: Have you ever heard the saying, "Confession is a song announcing victory, not a clarion call to charge.")

(Benni: I haven’t heard of it, but it sounds pretty awesome.)

(Jiang Ran: As long as he confesses his feelings, Wei'er will soon come to confess her feelings to me.)

(Benni: Oh~ eh? Wait, wait, you're jumping too fast! Teacher Jiang, can you explain in detail how this works?)

Some map information

━━━━

The plot so far

I made a simple map for your reference.

━━━━

2.23 - Goodtown Cavalry

[Prison Star Calendar]

October 187, 5

8:16 AM

〖Confession: 26 days left in the death countdown〗

██████████

(Jiang Ran: It’s such a simple thing, there’s nothing much to explain.)

(Benni: Oh, please, if you mess with Teacher Jiang, just tell me~ Okay~ Woo woo woo~!)

Jiang Ran had not been surprised much since he came to this Prison Star World, but now he was really shocked by the cuteness of this silly loli.

Oh my god, this stupid loli has lost her dignity now???

Jiang Ran finally became convinced that this stupid loli was definitely not the same as the "human-shaped luminous being" who claimed to be a god. There was no way the human-shaped luminous being would be so shameless as to do such a thing!

(Jiang Ran: Let me tell you something, silly girl.)

(Benni: Yes! Teacher Jiang, you say!)

(Jiang Ran: If it was Wei'er acting cute with me, that could be called acting coquettish, but if it was you acting cute with me, that would only be called acting wild.)

The stupid loli was full of expectations, but ended up getting hit head-on and immediately exploded.

(Benni: Ahhhhh! I begged you to provoke me, and you still bully me! Jiang Yan, you are such a big jerk! You will be a virgin your whole life! Remember this! Ahhhhh!)

Afterward, the silly little girl kept cursing in Jiang Ran's head like a cat with its fur standing on end. Jiang Ran wondered if he was sick. Why else would he feel happier the angrier she got? Even her lisp, a sweet, silvery voice, became a source of joy for Jiang Ran.

Back to the point, Jiang Ran basically understood the situation after seeing Rhodes' age and "Production Occupation: Fruit Farmer - Lv1". Rhodes should be considered Wei'er's childhood sweetheart, but not an ambiguous object, otherwise Wei'er would not have such shy reactions towards him (Jiang Ran).

If Jiang Ran hadn't appeared, Rhode might have been with Wei'er in two or three years. But now Jiang Ran appeared as a "person sent from heaven", and Rhode, his "childhood sweetheart", was not at the same level as Jiang Ran in terms of love ability. Therefore, confessing to Wei'er at this juncture would only be courting death.

Once Rhode confessed his feelings to Wei'er, the concept of "confession" would be activated in her mind. All that remained was for Wei'er to combine the two images of "confession" and "Banning," and Jiang Ran would reap the fruits of victory. If Wei'er hesitated due to shyness and reserve, Jiang Ran still had one last trump card.

·

After dealing with Rhodes, Jiang Ran began to look for the brothers Dade and Bacon in the village.

During the search, Jiang Ran noticed that a cavalry team of about fifteen people was parked outside the village of Ella, which was very rare. Judging from their neat equipment and formation, they should be regular troops.

=====

Leider, male, 36 years old, captain of the Gude Town Cavalry

Production Occupation: Gardener - Lv3

Manufacturing occupation: None

Combat Class: Light Cavalry - Lv24

=====

The leading light cavalry captain was negotiating with the village chief, Woodall. Jiang Ran glanced at his information, then reviewed the information of the entire cavalry unit. Not only was the captain of this cavalry unit highly ranked, but the rest of the team were also cavalrymen above level 10. No wonder the Scarlet Cloud Mountain Bandits had fled a year ago. With their strength, they would have been a complete failure if they had encountered this cavalry unit. "Alright, take as many as you can, and hurry."

"Okay, okay. Then please wait here for a moment, sirs. The supplies will be delivered soon."

The village chief humbly entertained the cavalry, not daring to offend them at all. Jiang Ran watched from afar, not wanting to cause any trouble, but quietly using his mind-reading ability to spy on their thoughts.

——Cavalry Captain: (Damn it, this is the third time I’ve come to subjugate the Rock Demon this year, and I can’t even see a shadow of it. They’re really good at hiding, damn!)

Cavalryman A: (Alas, there's never much good stuff in Ella Village, but I don't want to take the long detour to Luka Village either... I even heard rumors of a massacre in Luka Village this time, but I don't know if it's true or not.)

Cavalryman B: (The higher-ups are really stupid. They don't send us to suppress bandits, but instead keep focusing on this rock demon. Is this demon that important?)

Soon, the village chief brought a large amount of meat and rations to the cavalry, including the wild boar meat that Jiang Ran had temporarily stored with him. When his eyes met Jiang Ran's, the village chief looked apologetic. Jiang Ran smiled and waved his hand, indicating that he understood the village chief's difficulties.

The Gude Town Cavalry left after getting the supplies, and Jiang Ran had the opportunity to learn about the situation from the village chief.

"Huh? Haven't you seen the cavalry? Oh, that's right. Luka Village is not on the route to Sand Pouch Canyon."

The village chief told Jiang Ran that the cavalry had just arrived from Gude Town. This was their third trip to Shadou Canyon this year to defeat the monster known as the Stone Shadow Rock Demon. Whenever the cavalry passed through Ella Village on their way back, they would ask the village chief for supplies. For the sake of Ella's safety, the village chief had no choice but to give them. Back when the Scarlet Cloud Bandits were still around, it was their regular patrols that kept them at bay.

"Village Chief, isn't our Kingdom of Wester quite far from the war front, so there aren't usually many monsters?"

"Yes, you'd have to ask the cavalry for the details. I only know that the 'Stone Shadow Rock Demon' has been entrenched in the Sand Pouch Canyon for a long time and is said to have killed many people."

The village chief only knew limited information, so Jiang Ran didn't ask any more questions, but there was another thing he had to tell the village chief.

"By the way, Village Chief, can we keep the matter of the Scarlet Cloud Bandits a secret? I'm worried that the cavalry will stop patrolling this area once they learn the bandits have been wiped out."

"That makes sense. I thought so too. I hesitated and didn't tell Captain Ryder about this just now. I will also explain it to everyone in the village later."

"Then, village chief, if this matter is discovered later, we can say that it was the village chief and the villagers who defeated the bandits. This way, the village chief will have more influence in Gude Town."

——『Combat Class Skill [Trickster - Lv1] has been activated and is currently in effect...』

The village chief was very surprised to hear Banning say this. He had originally thought that Banning would use this achievement as a springboard to get a job in Goode Town, but he didn't expect that he would give up so righteously.

"But...Banning, the bandit group was clearly yours..."

"It's okay, Village Chief. Ella Village saved my life. This is the best thing for Ella Village."

"Well...well, Banning, you are truly a great benefactor to our Ella Village."

——『Combat Class Skill "Trickster - Lv1" has been deactivated』

·

Ella Village was small, and after Jiang Ran parted ways with the village chief, he easily found the brothers Dade and Bacon. They were the village stonemasons, working on stone in their workshop.

"Are you Uncle Dade and Uncle Bacon? The village chief asked me to ask you to go to the orchard to help out. I think it's something related to the 'Rain Festival'."

As soon as they met, Jiang Ran threw out a carefully crafted lie. He believed that he could find clues from the psychological activities of the brothers Dade and Bacon.

"Orchard? Don't you know we don't go to the orchard during the day?"

Dade yelled impatiently, then when he saw that the person coming was Banning, he shook his head helplessly.

"So it's you. It's okay if you're new here and don't know, but the village chief is also old and confused... Anyway, the two of us won't go to the orchard, not even at night, so go away!"

Dai De waved his hand rudely and told Jiang Ran to leave quickly, but after seeing his inner thoughts, Jiang Ran no longer had any intention of leaving.

—Dade: (No one would go to an orchard like that!… I don’t want to run into that crazy woman, Elle! She might kill me!)

2.24 - The truth from three years ago (Update)

Jiang Ran knew that he was not mistaken. He did see the name "Aier" in Dade's heart.

Ai'er, Wei'er's older sister, had died in Ella Forest three years prior. Jiang Ran had confirmed this information many times, and Wei'er herself believed it. Previously, when Jiang Ran was hunting with the village chief, he had told him that he had buried Ai'er himself, and that her tombstone was in the Ella Forest cemetery.

However, there was neither the need nor the possibility for Dade and Bacon to lie to Jiang Ran in their hearts. That meant that the village chief, Wei'er, and Grandma Kana were colluding to deceive people?

(…That’s also impossible.)

The situation was more complicated than Jiang Ran had expected.

"Uncle Dade, Uncle Bacon..."

Jiang Ran did not leave. He ignored Dai De's attempts to drive him away and forced his way into the workshop.

"I saw you two running out of the orchard last night. I know you met Ai'er, right?"

When they heard the name "El", the hammers in Dade and Bacon's hands fell to the ground almost at the same time. They both looked at Jiang Ran in panic, feeling both afraid and confused.

"You, you saw Ai'er too?" Dade seemed to have seen a companion.

"That's not right. Didn't you just come to Ella Village a few days ago? How do you know Ai'er?" Bacon found the loophole in Jiang Ran's words.

Of course Jiang Ran didn't know Ai'er, he just deduced the only possibility based on the known information.

"I don't know Ai'er, but I know that you two brothers are the only ones in Ella Village who know of her existence. Can you tell me about her?"

——『Combat Class Skill [Trickster - Lv1] has been activated and is currently in effect...』

Jiang Ran knew that the most critical moment had arrived. Based on what Dade and Bacon said next, his previous judgments about Ella Village and Wei'er might be completely overturned.

Dade seemed to be persuaded by Jiang Ran, but Bacon reached out to stop him.

"Banning, stop acting like you're smarter than us. Get out of here. We have nothing to say to you."