CHAPTER 4
STUDY, REFLECT, EXPERIMENT, ADVANCE
“The School District’s orichalcum production is up forty percent over last year’s! That’s a big haul!”
“Your plan is starting to feel more realistic, Mr. Royman!”
“The School District’s reluctant, but the deal made when it was established is still in force! They have no choice!”
Several people joined the discussion in heated voices.
Emerald eyes looked in a daze at the Guild leadership who were currently experiencing what could only be described as euphoria.
Should I really be here…?
That was what Eina thought as she retreated into the uncomfortably plush seat at the table.
She was on the second floor of the Guild Headquarters where the Guild head Royman and the rest of the leadership were gathered in a spacious meeting room.
“…Um, Chief Rehmer? Why was I called to the second floor? Should I really be sitting alongside chiefs and the other high-ranking staff…?”
“You’ve produced several notable adventurers in a short period of time. Is that not more than sufficient an achievement to merit consideration for promotion?”
“Wha—?! Chief…”
As she whispered to her boss sitting next to her, the animal person who ordinarily never cracked jokes broke into a quiet chuckle, and Eina let out a shameful squeak just like a certain adventurer she was charged with.
In the giant Guild Headquarters with its pantheon-like majesty, the second floor of the building held a special meaning.
Eina and the other Guild employees going about their jobs every day did so on the first floor. The second floor and higher was off-limits to everyone below the level of chief. They could only go upstairs on the summons of Royman or another member of the leadership.
In the Guild Headquarters, the line between the first floor and the second floor was a hard-and-fast barrier expressing the difference in status between employees. At the very least, it was not the sort of place a simple receptionist could just waltz into.
“This meeting marks an important fork in the road for Orario. I thought we should have at least one person with a perspective more in line with how adventurers see things. And the topic concerns the School District as well.”
Chief Rehmer watched the continuing discussion while speaking softly so that just Eina could hear.
“You graduated from the School District. That makes you a perfect fit for consultation.”
“If that’s what you want, Misha graduated from the School District, too…”
“Frot wouldn’t have worked. There’s a distinct chance she might’ve thrown this whole meeting into chaos.”
Eina’s last argument was shut down in a rather blunt manner.
The cabriole-legged chair she was sitting in creaked slightly, as if reflecting her state of mind.
I was given permission to attend, but…I could swear the Guild chief glared at me as if telling me not to speak out of turn…
Eina could already feel traces of anxiety growing as she shifted her gaze.
There were ten people on each side of the long, ebony table, and at the head of it sat Royman, just opening his mouth to speak, his good mood showing on his face.
“With this, there should be no problem. We will finally be able to set to work on the plan connecting the depths of the Dungeon with the surface!”
Eina looked over the documents in her hand again as the meeting heated up. The contents were a design calling for the creation of a shaft into the Dungeon and the construction of a large-scale elevator.
In other words, a shortcut for adventurers.
“When the Shaft plan is complete, exploration efficiency will go up dramatically. And by extension, it will provide a tremendous boon to Loki Familia’s expedition, allow the retrieval of even more valuable resources, and contribute significantly to the growth of Finn and the rest of them!”
Royman’s euphoric statement was not wrong.
Dungeon exploration and the expeditions carried out by upper-class adventurers all began at the first floor, and it took significant time, effort, and money in order to reach whatever floor their goal was at.
It was entirely possible that a familia, even one like Loki Familia, wanting to explore the fifty-first floor would use up a significant amount of their supplies, exhaust themselves, and not achieve much if they had to pass through fifty floors to get to the starting line. The current expedition system was a gamble where even a single irregularity could be the difference between success and failure for any familia. It was very inefficient.
But if this plan came to fruition, that massive amount of required labor could be dramatically reduced. And an increase in adventurers’ exploration efficiency would pay out significant dividends for the Labyrinth City.
Transforming something high risk, high return into something low risk, high return. That was a prospect that Royman and the rest of the Guild leadership who ran the city were keen to advance.
“All the orichalcum the School District produced will be used for the giant shaft! We won’t have to use adamantite or any other alloy to make up for volume! With that, we don’t have to worry about any damn monsters breaking it! If we just avoid areas where floor bosses are born, there is no chance of anything happening!”
And that was where the School District came in.
The School District’s Alchemy Department was a world-leader in rare metals work, including the manufacture of orichalcum. Achieving repeated breakthroughs as it traveled the world and gathered materials and talent, it was unmatchable in its production of valuable metals, providing an impressive stream of orichalcum—including master ingots, which were pieces of orichalcum refined to the limit.
It was impossible to create a giant shaft that would not be broken by the Dungeon without the orichalcum provided by the School District’s alchemists.
“If we bring this plan to fruition, it will be a feat comparable to the raising of Babel! If the adventurers’ growth is accelerated, then Orario’s dearest wish will be achieved before long! A new age will soon be upon us!”
“““Ooooooooooooooh!”””
A roiling fervor filled the room.
The higher-ups of the Guild could practically see the vast wealth and unprecedented fame that awaited them.
Royman’s argument was certainly simple to understand. There were surely many upper-class adventurers who would agree if they heard about this plan. But even so, it was impossible to shake the tentative in theory that loomed over the entire discussion.
Eina glanced to her side. Rehmer stayed quiet, as if none of this was his concern. She took that to mean she could do what she liked.
“So then, I move to adopt the—”
“Apologies, sir. May I make a comment?”
Unable to hold it back, Eina summoned her courage and raised her hand.
Royman glared at her with an extremely suspicious and distasteful gaze, displeased she had ruined his momentum.
“What is it, Tulle?”
“The Shaft plan is certainly an alluring and revolutionary proposition. However, might it not need a little more consideration from a safety perspective?”
“Get to the point.”
“…Linking the surface to the Dungeon, which has killed so many adventurers, and connecting directly to the lower floors and deep floors that are the source of irregulars that even upper-class adventurers cannot always cope with is…a scary thought.”
The general presumption was that the Dungeon was just barely made manageable by the combination of the lid on the labyrinth—Babel—and Ouranos’s prayers. Even if they managed to make an unbreakable orichalcum shaft, in the event that anything went wrong and the interior of the shaft were compromised, there would be terrible consequences.
Creating a shaft also created a risk of monsters spilling back out onto the surface.
“There is a real chance that the Dungeon might do something terrifying in reaction to having something foreign inserted into it.”
“We have already debated that issue countless times! And our conclusion after all those debates is that there will not be a problem! Lord Ouranos has been consulted as well! And while you wouldn’t know about it, we even have a model case to show that the Dungeon won’t necessarily go wild in reaction to external interference!”
The information was confidential, even inside the Guild, so a low-level employee like Eina couldn’t possibly have known about it, but the knowledge of the existence of Knossos had been a significant factor in the push for the Shaft plan.
Even with a neighboring massive, man-made labyrinth connecting to multiple floors, the Dungeon remained silent. That was why the higher-ups had decided the addition of another artificial object into the Dungeon would not provoke an incident. In fact, the orichalcum doors found throughout Knossos would almost all be stripped down with the help of Goibniu Familia and reused for the Shaft plan. It could be said that the massive amount of resources in Knossos was practically a prerequisite for making this plan a reality.
I don’t know what exactly he means by a model case, but…
Between the incident with the armed monsters and adventurers’ rumors, Eina had a faint idea that there was something connecting Daedalus Street and the Dungeon, so she quickly changed her approach with a grimace.
“Another concern is that with the establishment of the shaft, adventurers will lose significant opportunities to gain experience on various floors. A shortcut might also lead to a loss of experience in explor—”
“Access to the shaft can simply be limited by familia ranks! What problem could there be in differentiating normal exploration and mission-related expeditions?! And frankly, the thing we should be supporting is surpassing the seventy-first-floor record set by Zeus and Hera!”
Royman was of course entirely comfortable in a battle of words. And unlike Eina, who was joining this discussion for the first time today, he had debated this countless times already. He could counter her concerns without breaking stride.
“We don’t intend to connect the shaft directly down to the deepest floors right away! First the upper levels, then the middle levels and the Under Resort! Progressing almost too cautiously and carefully through each floor and watching for any developments!”
“………”
From the moment creating a shaft that led into the Dungeon was part of the discussion, the words cautiously and carefully more or less went out the window, but the subject shifted quickly out from under Eina. Royman’s face turned red in anger, as if he understood the thoughts behind the emerald eyes silently watching him.
“The plan is to have Ganesha Familia always guarding the shaft and elevator! That will mean that security aboveground will be shorthanded, so we are also urgently looking for a familia fit to act as the city guard! Tulle, all of you advisers need to continue raising adventurers and cultivating the city’s combat abilities!”
Eina made one final comment, not as an employee of the Guild but as a graduate of the School District.
“The plan also calls for taking all the currently available orichalcum for construction, which is to begin immediately. But the master ingots are also used to reinforce Hringhorni’s hull and are the School District’s treasure and its pride…Even if the Guild is financing them, excessive and unreasonable demands will surely invite opposition. Especially from impressionable students—”
“Enough! Silence, Tulle! This plan is the work of the century! You have no right to criticize it after walking into this discussion for the first time today!”
Eina’s insistent arguments had finally worn through the last reserves of his patience, and Royman snapped back with a shout.
Others around the table snipped at her about how a new attendee should not be talking out of turn, too. As Eina closed her mouth, Rehmer next to her was the only one who sighed at the prospect of the Shaft plan. At the same time, it also seemed to be an apology to Eina.
“More than anything, this is Lord Ouranos’s divine will! There is no reversing it now!”
He was right. That was the biggest problem.
In the end, no matter how many issues and faults a newcomer like Eina might point out, with the Guild’s patron god having already given his sign-off, there was no stopping the Shaft plan anymore.
If an all-knowing god has allowed it, then perhaps I’m being overly worried and there shouldn’t be any problem. But would the Dungeon really not react at all to a giant shaft being dug right into it?
Eina’s lingering concern refused to go away. That was just how terrifying she found the Dungeon, which had swallowed up and stolen away so many of the adventurers that had been in her care.
But either way, the motion to begin construction on the shaft was approved.
Royman fixed Eina with a smug, self-satisfied look as he stamped the seal of approval on the parchment. The various leaders of the Guild cheered and shook hands.
The path to glory and riches…or a pitfall into the underworld.
This was a turning point in Orario’s thousand-year history, the first step into the next stage of its existence.
Why did Lord Ouranos allow this to go forward…?
“Is this really right, Ouranos? Allowing the Shaft plan?”
A voice echoed from a crystal sitting on an armrest—an oculus.
In the underground altar beneath the Guild, the Chamber of Prayers, Fels spoke with a tinge of admonition.
“This will make Royman even more insolent. And it invites suspicion and discontent from all sides. The School District will surely oppose the plan.”
There was a tone of “this isn’t like you” lurking in Fels’s prophetic declaration. Coincidentally, this was almost the same exact moment Eina was having similar doubts in the meeting room.
“I chose to observe and prepare for the potential trial that awaits…instead of the difficulties that might occur.”
“Oh?”
“However many means we get will never be enough.”
“To hear a god such as you say that only raises more concerns.”
There was a resigned regret emanating from the depths of the crystal.
Even saying that, though, Fels did not try to probe further. Even if it was not enough to be satisfied, it felt sort of like receiving an oracle. There was only the sound of movement from the crystal as Fels trusted in the god’s words and began working.
“What about you?” Ouranos asked.
Fels’s voice was ever so slightly more animated than normal, like a child who had just been given a toy.
“It’s excellent. Thanks to Knossos, I’ve unexpectedly gotten my hands on an enormous atelier. I’m already making progress on my research.”
In the southeast of the city, far from the Guild’s underground altar, Fels was busy setting up various facilities inside of Knossos, beneath Daedalus Street.
“My research requires a massive amount of space. I’m grateful for getting this whole sealed-off floor to myself, Ouranos. I know it can’t have been easy to placate Royman.”
The labyrinth that had tormented Bell, Wiene, and the others had changed completely.
Only a single magic-stone lamp had been set up so far, lighting a large, gloomy space. A mountain of books was piled along the wall’s edge, and a single snowy owl perched on a pillar. The space was filled with magic gauges imported from Altena and a massive number of flasks. And there was multiple cylinders filled with mysterious, multicolored liquid.
It was the shady laboratory every villain dreamed of. The prototypical mage’s lair.
“Heh-heh-heh, I’m going to renovate it even more. My mage’s blood is racing…!”
Completely conquered after the incident with the Xenos, Knossos was now under Guild management. Or more accurately, it was under Ouranos’s control, and the old god had granted the legendary Sage full access to everything it had to offer.
The benefits of controlling this former hotbed of evil were immeasurable.
First, the sheer scale and depth of the place, which connected directly into the Dungeon’s middle floors. And then, the hidden complex that was used to create magic items such as Jura’s whip. All of it was supremely useful, and it was like Fels had inherited a massive fortune.
As both a secret base and source of materials, Daedalus’s thousand-year legacy that connected right into the Dungeon was ideal. Fels planned to work on a production plant to create medicinal herbs and an elixir spring next. The mage was also considering inviting Asfi in the future to enlist her help with research. Her patron god had already pledged her ceaseless service, which would begin once she was back from her time off.
“I never had anything like this while I was alive. There wasn’t even one like it in my vexing homeland.”
“You are not dead yet.”
“Ha-ha, what are you saying when I’ve completely lost my skin and flesh? I’m already halfway there.”
Though Fels was just bones now, the mad mage’s sagely nature was really showing, going so far as cracking a rather wicked joke.
Fels was in the process of turning Knossos into something other than just a second entrance to the Dungeon. The mage was making a personal base.
“How is it coming?”
“The knowledge and theory are in my head…in my soul. For equipment, I should be able to compensate using the remnant spirit magic. I’ll make something that equals Altena’s underground palace.”
Fels was planning to use everything in what came next.
If Lyu were here, she would abhor it, but the mage was even going to use the technology left by the Evils.
“The School District has returned, too. If I can just restock the materials I requested from Leon—ancient dolupha, stellas alluvium, and elpis sparkle—then all the requirements should be met. There should be plenty in the School District.”
The giant ship that sailed all around the mortal realm was both a massive source of resources and a critical factor of its own.
Yes.
All for the sake of machia.
“…I am already in the process of production.”
The mage stopped in front of a certain structure.
An extremely large flask filled with liquids injected from five different cylinders. And inside was a jewel gleaming with a sorcerous, crimson glow, floating in the liquid.
“Will you make it in time?”
“I won’t promise it right away. But whatever the cost, I will have it for the Black Dragon hunt…no, for the promised time.”
Because the times are already changing—
The black-robed mage’s murmur was swallowed by the darkness.
It’s day two after I (temporarily) enrolled in the School District.
Because an empty room in the residential layer apparently wasn’t ready yet, I stayed overnight in Professor Leon’s staff office. Today is the true beginning of my school life.
That’s right—classes are actually starting.
I meet Nina in the center of the academic layer in front of Breithablik, and we head to our lessons.
My first course is Ancient History—
“Everyone!!! What time is it?!”
“““Aoharu time!”””
—or at least, it was supposed to be, but for some reason, the lights in the classroom are dimmed, and standing in the spotlight centered on the podium at the front of the room is a stunningly beautiful blond-haired goddess all fired up first thing in the morning.
“I can’t hear you! Youthful in body and spirit! Never slacking on lessons! Let’s Aoharu!”
“““Aoharuuuuu!!!”””
The voltage in the classroom rockets up as the gorgeous goddess winks.
My expression is straight as I glance at the girl beside me who is suddenly very interested in the floor.
“Miss Nina?”
“Argh…! Every once in a while, the deities stop in and take over a class…! If it was Professor Adler, it would be more normal! Of all the people it could be, it just had to be Lady Idun…!”
I instinctively revert to a more polite tone as Nina covers her face with both hands and the tips of her ears go bright red. I feel bad for her, but it’s also kind of cute.
The goddess with long, wavy hair—Lady Idun, I’m guessing—is apparently beloved by many students, and people just sort of get sucked into her innocent, youthful performance. Finally, after getting the room all fired up, she says, “All right, let’s get to the lesson,” and the lights turn back to normal. A regular lesson seems to finally be starting. What was the point of getting all fired up, then?
“Just before the era of deities, there were frequent, terrible famines in the northeast of the continent. What was the underlying cause? Who should I get to answer? How about…the new student, Rapi! Who I’m sure has done some rock-solid, Aoharu prep!”
“Eh?! Ummm…!”
As I stand up and start to panic, Nina whispers the answer to me.
“The roaming dragon problem, Rapi.”
“Th-the roaming dragon problem.”
“Correct! Hopefully you’ll be able to answer by yourself next time!”
Of course, Lady Idun sees through it all and flashes a childlike smile. The other students have a little laugh as I sit back down with a red face and share a smile with Nina.
The lesson is difficult.
Copying the notes the goddess makes on tiptoe on the blackboard is an entirely new experience for me and a lot of work, but also, there are many differences between the reality that the all-knowing goddess teaches us and the history passed down by mortals, and she constantly highlights the discrepancies with questions from the perspective of a divine being. While Nina and the others aggressively ask questions throughout the lesson, it takes everything I have not to fall behind.
“Let’s start today’s lesson using the materials brought back from the Combat Studies Department ’s fieldwork.”
After the course is over, there is a short break, and then the next class.
This is Eschatology Seminar, the course Professor Leon recommended. Professor Adler, a monocled dwarf, arrives and projects various pictures in the darkened room using a magical projector that the School District’s Alchemy Department made in collaboration with Altena.
“ ”
What greets my eyes are burned towns and a devastated elven village.
Neighborhoods destroyed and countless refugees.
“As you all know, there have been powerful monsters coming from the Valley of Dragons in recent years. There is no end to the damage caused by the various dragons slipping through the barrier the School District set up. If any of you are considering Orario for your future path, be sure never to forget the tragedy that is even now occurring elsewhere in the world.”
I’m still frozen by the gruesome images as half of his words pass in one ear and out the other, and I have to ask Nina:
“…Did you see things like that before you came here, too?”
“Yes…I’ve seen it before. Not being able to do anything, forced to watch so many people suffer…it was terrible.” Sadness fills her eyes. “It was at the School District that I first learned this is the current state of the wider world.”
I also had no idea.
Until Professor Leon recommended this course, until I entered the School District, I didn’t know anything at all about the outside world. I was totally focused on coming to Orario and making my way through life as an adventurer. For the first time, I’ve been forced to face the reality of the mortal realm.
As the world’s troubles suddenly start to feel a lot closer and immediate, the dwarf instructor’s final, grave message rings out.
—The world yearns for a hero.
“Are you ready, Rapi?”
“J-just a second!”
I frantically answer Nina’s question from the other side of the door as I get dressed in a deserted changing room.
After making sure there are no issues with the rabbit-tail pants and rabbit-eared wig that Lord Balder and Lord Hermes provided me, I fidget with the brown hair in front of my face a bunch, and only then do I finally open the door.
“Oooh! The battle uniform looks good on you!”
Seeing me, Nina breaks into a smile and happily presses her hands together.
A red-and-white top and pants. The material is thin, light, flexible, and in terms of defensive capability, it is a match for the battle clothes that adventurers use. This is the battle uniform provided for students in the Combat Studies Department.
I can’t help laughing a little when I notice there’s even a knife holster for me. Lord Hermes must have provided that.
As it so happens, I’ve brought hardly anything with me to avoid being discovered, but the Hestia Knife is always in my book bag, so I have it that at least—
Nina is wearing a similar red-and-white battle uniform, but unlike the boys’ uniform, hers has a skirt. She is carrying a rod on her back. I guess she has a backline position.
“By the way…what level are you, Nina?”
“Me? I’m Level Two.”
“L-Level Two…!”
I don’t have any proof they’re related, but still, finding out someone in Miss Eina’s family has the strength of an upper-class adventurer…I don’t know if I should call it a shock or a terror or what. In any case, it’s a weird feeling.
Nina looks a little oddly at me as I almost tumble backward, and we go through the magic-stone-lamplit passage and come out beneath the blue sky.
There is a large, reddish-brown-clay sort of field and stands surrounding it on all four sides. This is one of the arenas built of valmars in a corner of the academic layer.
“That’s everyone. Then we can begin General Combat.”
Students all in battle uniforms are gathered around Professor Leon, who is wearing his usual instructor outfit.
This is also a full-fledged lesson, one for so-called applied skill. Unlike written courses where you study at a desk, the key here is hands-on practice and training your body.
Students in Combat Studies are required to take a minimum of three applied-skill courses in a year. At Nina’s recommendation, I chose Swordsmanship, Hand-to-Hand Combat, and General Combat.
Like the name implies, it’s a course for learning how to approach combat as a whole rather than instruction on specific techniques.
“The Dungeon Practical is approaching, so today I’ll have you work on your fundamentals with anti-monster combat. After that, you will divide into squads and conduct a debrief. Take care not to slack off.”
While Professor Leon explains the day’s lesson to everyone, I am once again feeling nervous.
Students of all races are gathered here, and they all have the same demeanor as Nina…It’s the attitude of someone with real strength who has leveled up. They might just be able to leave a mark on one of the mid-tier factions in Orario—
“Sir, may I?”
“What is it, Kate?”
“Since it’s his first time, let’s get a look at the new guy’s strength!”
“—Eh?!”
My shoulders twitch at getting suddenly pulled into the discussion without any warning.
Right away, more and more voices start ringing out.
“I want to know, too!” “He must have something, joining Combat Studies this late in the year, right?” “I’m curious as well.”
My eyes shoot open behind my wig while only a single person tries to stop them.
“Wait! What are you thinking, making him prove his strength? If you’re going to put Rapi in danger, then I’m against it!” Nina shouts.
“We’re in Combat Studies; danger is in the description, right?”
“He looks pretty weak, so I get being worried, but you don’t have to be that overprotective, right, Nina?”
“St-still…!”
When another boy and girl point out what department we’re in, Nina is at a loss for words. The overprotective charge was pretty on the mark, and it’s probably because she’s seen my pathetic reactions several times now that she’s a bit more worried than she needs to be. She mentioned how she couldn’t leave me alone, too.
But what do I do? I don’t know what they’ll have me do, but I can’t let them see through my disguise, so if I can avoid it, I would love to…!
“He’s Level One, right? Nina’ll get annoying if it’s a spar…”
“Hey, new kid, can you use magic?”
“Huh? Oh, yes!”
I immediately answer the question. And at pretty much the same time, Professor Leon speaks up, too.
“Rapi, you only just received a blessing from Lord Balder, so you wouldn’t have developed any magic yet, right?”
“Huh? No, I have…”
His reaction feels strange, but I answer naturally.
He has the faintest trace of what looks like a strained smile on his face, like he’s at a loss.
“You can do magic?!”
“Say so sooner! If we see that, we can get a feel for your strength easy!”
“If you can use magic, then even at Level One, you might be useful in the rear!”
…Ugh!
Seeing their sudden excitement, I realize what I’ve done all too late.
Magic is considered a trump card. It’s so important that it takes up a big section of your status, and having useful magic or not can often make the difference between being sought after by parties and being totally unwanted.
Nina looks at me in surprise, and the other students who were half joking around before are now genuinely curious. There’s no way I can avoid getting tested anymore!
The professor was trying to give me a way out earlier.
“Hmph, even though you’re a human…What element is your magic? And what type?”
As I start panicking, Iglin brushes back his hair and steps forward, his crisp, perfect battle uniform rustling.
“Eh, ah, that’s…i-it’s fire…”
My cheek spasms as I answer meekly. I’m not really in a position where I can just say, Sorry, I was lying. Really, they probably wouldn’t forgive me if that was all I could say for myself.
“Offensive type, huh? I’ll make a barrier, so hit me as hard as you can.”
He smirks and moves away, stopping in the middle of the field and turning to face me with his hands outstretched. After a short cast, a wall of earthen-colored light appears.
“There it is! Iglin’s classic Rockwall!”
“I’ve got a feeling this’ll go badly for him again!”
“He never learns…”
“Hey newbie, hurry it up!”
“Don’t worry, Iglin’s tougher than his barrier, so just let him have it!”
A pincer attack from the boys and girls in our class, urging me on.
Pushed a step forward from the group, drenched in sweat, I look down at the palm of my hand.
Even if they tell me to give it all I’ve got…
“Oooooooooooooooooooooooo, Argonaut, activate! Chaaaaaarge! Gong! Gong! Gong! Full-charge! Fireboooooooooooooooooooooooooooolt!!!”
“Guaaaaaaaaaaaaah?! I loooost!”
“Iglin went flying!”
“That power! He’s like a first-tier adventurer!”
“No, he has to be a first-tier adventurer!”
“““It’s Bell Cranell, the intruder!!!”””
……No way, nuh-uh, there’s no chance!
If I get serious, it’ll be so, so bad in so many different ways!
I have to hold back as much as possible to not get caught!
I hold out a trembling hand, pointing it at Iglin and his barrier.
As long as I tamp down on the power and Mind as much as possible…I just have to make sure he isn’t injured…!
“Hey, hurry up and cast already! You gonna do this or not?!”
“…C-cast?!”
The sudden complaint about my apparent stalling sends me into a panic.
R-right. Magic normally needs an incantation!
If I just use Firebolt, it’ll definitely look suspicious!
Faced with yet another pitfall, my head is on the verge of melting down. I don’t have the capacity to pay attention to Nina’s anxious gaze as my nerves and the pressure make the world start spinning.
My sweat pours and pours for a few seconds as the situation quickly surpasses my ability to keep up, and then I say the fake incantation I’ve desperately thought up.
“…B-Blasphemous Burn!”
It’s pathetic, but I borrowed Welf’s chant.
And that isn’t good.
While I was desperately searching for a fire-y sort of incantation, I slipped up, failed to charge as little as possible, and lost control of my magic.
Agh—
I feel the magic slipping its leash and bursting out in search of an exit.
Experiencing the greatest failure for the first time, I see my friend’s face in the back of my mind for a moment.
This is what Welf is always—
The next instant, an explosion rocks the field.
“I-Ignis Fatuus?!”
“No way!”
“Rapi?!”
Iglin behind his barrier, the gallery, and Nina all shout in shock or concern at the explosion that erupts around me.
After the smoke from that tremendous blast clears…I’m splayed on the ground, singed and smoking as I stare up at the blue sky.
…Am I really a first-tier adventurer…?
Nina rushes over as I, having accomplished the inglorious and never-before-seen feat of backfiring a spell with no incantation, wish silently to disappear into the wide and open sky.
On that day, Rapi Flemish received the title of scrub for triggering an Ignis Fatuus in a fit of panic…
“Now then, Rapi will be joining Balder Class 3rd Squad.”
“No way!!!”
The students I’m supposed to form a party with are not particularly excited to have me on their team.
Around the time the General Combat lesson ends, Professor Leon makes his announcement while I’m still singed, even after some treatment by Nina’s healing magic. The moment they hear that, three students erupt in furious resistance.
“Why do I have to be in a squad with a scrub like him?! He managed an Ignis Fatuus on a trial shot. It wasn’t even in combat! He’s just going to drag us all down!”
The loudest of them is the dwarf Iglin, who’s forgotten to brush back his hair for once.
Yep, that’s right…
“We’re already a four-person cell…we don’t need baggage… maybe emergency rations, or a human shield…” mutters a dark elf girl wearing a mask that seems to be armor on the lower half of her face.
Wait, what are you saying?!
“Ahhh! Another trial from Fianna! Jealous of my talent, the goddess has set another obstacle in my path!”
And finally, a small prum boy—girl? No, I think boy—smiles, brimming with self-confidence. He’s immediately treating me as an ordeal he needs to overcome…
“R-really, Professor? Rapi is in our squad…?”
“Yes. As the squad leader, your burden will likely increase some, but you can rely on Rapi. He should be able to support you, Nina.”
And lastly, Nina stands up after finishing the healing, a look of surprise on her face.
“I’m surprised…But I also sort of guessed it. You intended this from the start when you had me show Rapi around.”
That is how it feels to me, too.
Most likely, he and Lord Balder intended this. But…
“…Umm, I’m sorry, Nina. This squad that everyone keeps talking about…”
I can guess it’s essentially a formation for combat.
My half-elf classmate, who holds out her hand and helps me to my feet, summarizes it for me. “In the Combat Studies Department, whenever we leave the school for Fieldwork or Combat Volunteer opportunities, we work in four-person cells. Though there are occasionally times when it goes up to five because of the number of people involved…”
There are only as many classes as there are deities in the School District, so classes are divided into squads. Members of squads are only drawn from the same classes, which makes it simpler logistically, as squads receive status updates as a group.
As part of the curriculum, the deities and instructors usually shift people around to fill vacancies and create well-adjusted teams, but…
“…I’m sorry if I end up causing more issues, Nina…”
“You’re fine! If anything, it’s a relief having you in my squad. If you were in another one, I would probably be worried about how you were doing.”
Nina’s single lock of jade hair sways as she smiles, and I can’t help an awkward, strained smile.
Nina really is nice. She’s just like Miss Eina in that way, too.
“But…” I follow her slightly troubled gaze as she trails off.
She is looking at Iglin and the other party members, who are still arguing with Professor Leon.
“The worst party’s breaking new records in suck. Good luuuck.”
“If you drop any lower, you might have to stay back a year.”
“Don’t call us that! Dammit!”
The chime marking the end of the lesson rings, and some of the students leaving the arena laugh as they pass the 3rd Squad.
Blinking at the phrase “worst party,” I glance over at Nina, who doesn’t look super happy.
This party…Does the 3rd Squad have some issues…?
As that thought crosses my mind, Iglin concludes he won’t be able to change Professor Leon’s mind and stomps over to me to stick his fat finger at my face.
“You’re just a supporter!”
Yes, sir, no arguments here, sir…
The middle of the short stack of pancakes is the residential layer.
In between the control layer and the academic layer, the residential layer is a vast, open space with multiple columns that also serve as elevators holding the ceiling up. In place of sunlight that can’t easily reach here, there are multiple large magic-stone lights embedded in the ceiling. The lights’ intensity shifts depending on what time of day it is, and it reminds me of the eighteenth floor safe point. Of course, in front of me isn’t the wide open and natural space of the Dungeon, but a forest of buildings made of stone and metal.
Unlike the academic layer expanding in a circle around Breithablik in the center—sort of like Orario—the residential layer is a patchwork of instructor- and student-living areas.
All the student dormitories and schoolhouses are lined up at regular intervals. What’s interesting is that every dormitory is slightly different in appearance, and some of the buildings are almost artistic or oddly shaped.
The open room I’ve been assigned is in the third student dormitory, and the shared room in that dormitory is also where the 3rd Squad is currently meeting, since Nina somehow managed to call everyone together.
“Introductions? Kind of late for that, isn’t it? I’m Iglin.”
Iglin comments with his sharp tongue, as per usual.
He is shorter than me, an appropriately dwarven 150 celches with stocky legs. As the rose on his chest suggests, he acts like an aristocrat, but his body is solid and toned. His hair is a lighter brown than Nina’s, and he is making no effort to hide his distaste for these proceedings.
“Legi…dark elf…”
And Legi is still wearing that mask, even though we’re indoors.
Dark skin and red hair, around 160 celches tall, she’s a little taller than Nina. Not very talkative and hard to read, her uniform also sports a skirt. At the moment, she’s hugging her knees and reading a book that looks like some sort of holy tome. I can’t really look in her direction, but my impression as I try to keep the heat from rising to my cheeks is that she is an odd child with a unique manner of speaking.
“And last is me! Christia Elvia! Call me Chris! A slumbering lion not yet known to the world! My status iiiis…Level Two!”
The cheerful prum boy—girl? No, he’s a boy…I think—introduces himself. He is wearing a boy’s uniform. Because of his race, it’s no surprise that he’s the shortest member of the squad. His blue hair is neatly combed back, and unlike most prums who tend to be a bit more self-deprecating, he’s brimming with confidence.
“Wait, Level Two?! Even though you’re a prum?!”
“Mhmm, ahhh, that’s it, that’s the reaction! I am the sort of once-in-a-generation talent who will surpass Braver! The School District’s famed superstar! Eh-heh-heh!”
He’s the same as Lilly after she made it back from the expedition?!
Chris closes his eyes, puffs out his chest, and puts his fists on his lap as his face gleams at my shock.
It’s a bit of a delicate topic, but because of their almost universal lack of physical strength, prums are widely known as the weakest race. There are certainly first-tier adventurers like Mr. Finn and Mr. Alfrik and his brothers, but among adventurers, prums are definitely underrepresented in the ranks of people who have leveled up. And yet, he reached Level 2 in the outside world, without the Dungeon…I don’t know if the School District is simply that amazing or if it’s due to Chris’s innate talent. Incidentally, Iglin and Legi are also Level 2, so everyone in the 3rd Squad has leveled up once.
“More importantly, scrub, don’t go doing anything unnecessary during the Dungeon Practical! Just hide behind your half-elf mommy!”
Ignoring Chris as if he got over his showmanship long ago, Iglin hits me with a sharp warning. Nina’s thin eyebrows arch.
“Iglin, stop treating Rapi like a burden. We’re comrades in this squad, so be a little—”
“Who’s a comrade?! He is literally a burden! What if he just self-destructs in the Dungeon out of nowhere?!”
I feel sorry for Nina, but I can’t really say anything…
I slump a bit, feeling like I really messed up. All of a sudden, Legi, still casually reading her book, starts mumbling.
“It’s too late to start getting all chummy…Our squad is crap…”
“Th-that’s why we have to talk more…! And don’t say things like that, Legi!” Nina blushes and admonishes the dark elf.
“Don’t worry, everyone! I will blaze a trail for us! Just follow me without fear!”
And Chris is just going off on his own before we even decide on anything.
“Umm…earlier they said something about ‘worst party’…what did they mean?”
Out of curiosity, I ask the question at the forefront of my mind, only to see Nina, Iglin, and even Legi’s moods all darken at once. Chris is the only one unaffected, and he’s still beaming, confident as ever.
Iglin answers bitterly.
“Exactly what it sounds like! We’re the absolute bottom of the barrel, lowest of the low in Balder Class and the entire Combat Studies Department ! Because they’re holding me back…!”
“Don’t know why…they don’t break up our squad…and you’re…the one holding me back…”
“Please stop fighting! Just look at the aura of light welling up from me! Gleeeam!”
…I know I’m in no position to pass judgment, but is this really going to be all right?
While the three of them all persevere in their unique, unbending debate, I glance silently over at Nina.
The kind, warm girl lets out a deep, heavy sigh. This is the first time I’ve seen her do that…
Time flies by quickly once my school life starts in earnest. With help from Nina, I manage to quickly get up to speed in the lectures. My days consist of review and prep work before breakfast, courses in the morning and afternoon, then more review and prep with Nina in the evening.
Since I’m dumber and worse at studying than the other students, all I can do is make up for it with sheer time and effort.
With Ms. Aiz’s early-morning training and the baptisms in Folkvangr under my belt, I’m used to waking up early. Going to sleep later than everyone else, waking up early, and even in my sleep, I never stop thinking about my studies. To think I would be relying on the innate toughness of a first-tier adventurer’s body here of all places. I really can’t begin to repay Nina for volunteering to help me with all this self-study.
But the thing that worries me more than the studying is the 3rd Squad’s relationship.
Even though I tried to talk to them several times during the applied learning courses, I can’t seem to find a way to improve their coordination.
No matter how much Nina tries to bring them together too, they just unabashedly declare they’ll work by themselves, and Professor Leon simply watches us from afar, not intervening.
And on the fourth day of my school life, the Dungeon Practical has finally come.
“Oooooh!!! Amazing!!!! All of Orario is welcoming me!”
That is Chris’s reaction the moment he passes through the city’s southwest gate.
The School District and the Labyrinth City. With both sides giving permission, the students setting foot inside the great city walls are met with a shower of flower petals. In the distance, I can hear what I think might be a marching band. It’s almost like an out-of-season festival, as the city welcomes in students with a bright future ahead of them.
…What is this?
“Wow! To think Orario was this gorgeous! It’s my first time here, but it’s amazing, isn’t it, Rapi?!” Nina exclaims.
“It sure is…”
Wearing my red-and-white battle uniform, I smile weakly and manage a half-hearted response.
“Hmm?” Nina cocks her head.
When I first came to Orario, I was just as excited and called everything amazing too, but I think it wasn’t quite this presentable. It was much more like an adventurer’s city…At the very least, it wasn’t a place that felt like it was in the middle of a days-long festival.
I can see fashionable sweets stores offering special nougats and honey-drizzled treats. Cafés have rare books set out on tables. Southwest Main Street is currently lined with the sorts of shops that students would probably like. It’s nothing like what I remember. Glancing down side streets, I spot stylish back alleys extending into the distance, and I’m struck by a terrifying question: Is this really Orario?
The familias go without saying, but the city as a whole is eager to entice the School District’s students, or so I’m told…I guess this is their attempt to make a good impression?
Some students are already buying things…Maybe some shops are appealing to the students to turn a profit?
If Lilly were here, I’m sure she could have taught me more, but…
“The brats from the School District are back again, huh?”
“The Dungeon’s gonna be a mess again this year.”
…I overhear the grumbles of a few adventurers watching us from a distance.
While Nina and the others look around excitedly at all the new and interesting sights, I am gripped by nebulous unease.
“Students participating in the Dungeon Practical have to fill out forms at the Guild Headquarters…Rapi, can I ask you to take care of that?”
“Huh? I don’t mind, but…what about you?”
“I…forgot to prepare some items, so I want to go to a store here in Orario first.”
“Then I’ll come along! A future hero should show his face at the Guild! Let’s go, Rapi!”
It’s a little strange seeing Nina so inarticulate, but Iglin and Legi want to check out some weapon and gear shops too, so the squad splits in two with the plan to meet up in front of Babel later.
My heart races as I try to avoid being recognized—particularly by any acquaintances—and we take care of the formalities at the Guild Headquarters and obtain permission. Ms. Misha is the one who takes care of it at the counter, but she doesn’t recognize me at all and just cheers us on by saying “Good luck, everyone!” and beaming with a big smile.
After rejoining the group without any issue, we head into Babel.
Then we begin the long descent down the stairs into the labyrinth. Our Dungeon Practical is starting…
When you enter the Dungeon, there is always a moment when you can feel the air change. That’s the sign you’ve left the surface world behind.
It’s something that becomes less distinct with time and experience, fading a little every time you go into the Dungeon, but it’s different for students. For most of them, this is their first time setting foot here. As much potential as they might have, they still get nervous when faced with the unknown. Their eyes dart around the empty passage; they worry about monsters that might start crawling out of the walls without warning. I watch the students out of the corner of my eye as I adjust the big backpack on my shoulders.
“Don’t do anything unnecessary, scrub! Just pick up the drop items!”
“Yes, got it…”
The Dungeon’s first floor. The beginner’s road.
Iglin skewers me with a sharp order while the other squads start moving. Ever since the Ignis Fatuus incident, Iglin has never let it go.
Nina is a little tense, and the other three are at ease. Also, what is this formation? Three people abreast in a line out front…
I’m bringing up the tail end of the party and Nina is in between, so it’s technically a T-formation, but…
The 3rd Squad is clearly different from the other squads that are advancing cautiously. I don’t know if I should call it bold or complacent, but it certainly feels like this is their natural state. I don’t know how they fight yet, but this lack of tension could be considered one of the 3rd Squad’s strengths.
Professor Leon asked me to guide this squad, but…
Of course I want to live up to his expectations, but can I really do that while also not revealing myself?
Up front, I see Iglin with a hammer hanging from his back. Legi has twin shortswords at her hips. And Chris is taking practice swings with a two-handed sword as long as he is tall. Nina carries a staff and appears to be the party healer.
Setting aside questions of level, with a healer in our party, we have an overwhelming advantage in clearing the first floor of the Dungeon.
There won’t be any mistakes, I don’t think, but…
I’ve been watching the party from behind this whole time, and I might be the most nervous one of us all.
“Gobaa!”
“UOOOOOOOO!”
Once we take a couple of turns into the labyrinth and leave the main corridor behind, some monsters finally appear. It’s a swarm of goblins and kobolds!
With our first encounter, the party shifts into combat position and Iglin steps forward.
“Watch and learn, scrub! Gaze upon my intelligent fighting style!”
“Ah, yes! Please let me see!”
Iglin reaches out to grab the weapon on his back as if to show me how it is done.
And the instant he grabs the hammer—he transforms.
“—Uoooooooooooooooh! Let’s do thiiiiiiiis! I’ll murder them aaall!!!”
“What?!”
Iglin lets loose a thundering war cry that is the polar opposite of his usual tone and demeanor. The shock in my voice probably matches how the monsters are feeling.
The dwarf charges forward, his battle uniform stretching as his rippling muscles bulge underneath with every wild swing of his hammer. Goblins and kobolds screech as pandemonium descends and they are knocked aside and shattered. Iglin brings his hammer down over and over and over, as if to declare, I’m not done yet!!!
Where’s the intelligence here?!
“Wh-what is happening?!”
“Iglin’s personality changes when he holds a hammer…”
“You’re kidding, right?!”
Nina sounds like she’s nursing a headache as she explains.
In a way, this makes him feel a lot more dwarven, but then what was that aristocratic, gentlemanly persona he was maintaining until now?!
“Not bad, Iglin! But I am the true hero!”
“I’m going, too.”
In a moment, Chris and Legi move too, as if set off by Iglin’s performance.
From this point, it’s all downhill.
“Ughhhh…?!”
From my position at the very back as supporter, I groan like a squashed frog as I watch the unspeakable scene unfolding before my eyes.
“Don’t charge ahead on your own, Iglin! Legi, Chris, you shouldn’t go that far, either!”
Nina’s voice rings out, but no one is listening!
Iglin charges into a group of killer ants by himself, while Legi leaps over his head in search of another hunting ground. Then Chris charges forward too, like he’s competing with them, yelling, “I’ll open a path!”
One in the back and three in the front is already bad enough, but spreading out so much that no one can hear directions from the party leader?! Are you kidding me?!
And they’re all attackers other than Nina?!
This isn’t a party, it’s just four solo fighters!
“Is…is this really your first time on this floor? Or in the Dungeon, rather?”
“Mhmm, it is…So even in the Dungeon, it ends up like this…”
I immediately correct myself, but Nina sounds gloomy, like she’s seen this happen before.
Currently, we are on the seventh floor.
Reaching the seventh floor on their first day, on their first venture into the Dungeon! These are the upper levels and everyone is Level 2, but still, setting seven new personal bests in just half a day? And doing it without any experience with these floors?! They’re scary!
It’s something a skilled adventurer would never even think to try, and I’m almost swooning watching it happen.
“They are always like this during Fieldwork and our Combat Volunteer sessions. Everyone charges ahead alone, but they’re strong, so they manage to make it work…but it causes lots of problems. I was hoping we might be able to work together in the most dangerous and deadly Dungeon, but…”
The way Nina says hope with the look of a lost child on her face speaks volumes about how much she’s struggled and how hard she’s worked until now.
She sounds like she’s all out of resigned sighs, even. After staring at her for a moment, I look forward again.
“Outta the way, elf! You too, prum! You wanna get smashed?!”
“I hate dwarves…”
“Never fear, you two! I will defeat all the enemies myself!”
The rest of the party push on without us, leaving only the echoes of their voices as they advance deeper in the labyrinth.
Leaving us behind, the echoes of their voices reach us from deeper in the labyrinth.
As we stand in the middle of a passage filled with monster corpses, not even keeping up with the magic-stone collection, Nina and I have no idea what we should do.
“Why don’t we work together? Because these barbarians just get in the way, obviously!”
In the evening, we return from the Dungeon.
After getting berated by adventurers and other students for disrupting the passage, Nina and I spent most of the day apologizing and dealing with all the monster corpses (or rather, that was all we could do). We only managed to catch up with the other three back in the dormitory.
We meet up in our home clothes, borrow a corner of a cafeteria, and finally sit down to discuss what happened.
“Always getting into my space, making it so I can’t properly swing my family’s heirloom hammer!”
“The only barbarian getting in the way is you…Your body is so big. I can’t cut down monsters cleanly when you’re around.”
“I’m an amazing prum, so of course I have to be at the front leading the charge!”
…It’s painfully clear they don’t have much coordination, but I’m starting to get a headache from this constant bickering.
They tolerate going into the Dungeon as a squad because it’s an ironclad rule of the School District, but that’s it. If we run into any monsters, they just start fighting by themselves.
Trust, faith, thoughtfulness.
They are fatally lacking in those core qualities, which is unacceptable for a functioning party where you’re supposed to be able to trust that the others will watch your back.
…It’s a bit extreme, but…
Probably a strange thought to have, but seeing them just reminds me how amazing Lilly and Welf and everyone else are.
Even for adventurers, it’s natural to have some amount of discord in a party. Everyone has their own quirks, their own personalities, their own plans. Adventurers and supporters are always being asked to figure out how to blend all that together to improve their coordination. This experience is a painful reminder of just how blessed Hestia Familia is.
“Because of you, I’m losing out on study time! Scrub! Write the report and turn it in for me!”
“Eh?!”
“Iglin!”
I’m dumbfounded as Iglin pushes his homework onto me, and even Nina gets angry. But Iglin doesn’t care at all.
“He can’t do anything but gather magic stones and drop items! He’s getting a passing grade thanks to our work! The least he can do is make himself useful!”
His tone practically screams, If anything, he should be grateful to be in the same squad as me. Overawed by the sheer audacity, I can’t say anything. And it is true that I haven’t been able to contribute much.
Iglin storms off before Nina has time to stop him.
“I’m…done. Turn it in, please.”
“I’m not done yet! So help me out with the report again please, Nina!”
Legi puts her paper on top of the one Iglin pushed onto me, while Chris is on the floor begging Nina for help. Nina tries to chase after the two who have already left, but Chris hangs on to her like an anchor, and she gives up with a defeated shrug.
The worst party…
From an adventurer’s perspective, that label might actually be too generous…but I finally understand why the other kids called it that, and I can’t help thinking things are looking grim.
“Pardon me, Professor…Oh, Lord Balder?”
I just managed to finish writing my report before it was time for bed. Nina offered to come with me, but I told her it would be fine. And so I walk to Professor Leon’s office alone, only to unexpectedly stumble into a god.
“It’s been three days, hasn’t it, Rapi? How has your time at the School District been?”
“Umm…I’ve been struggling to get used to everything.”
Lord Balder is sitting at a table with Professor Leon, enjoying tea—or was he waiting for me to come by?—and with an awkward smile, I tell him the truth.
“But as much work as it is…I’m also excited to experience so many new things.”
And that’s the truth.
The studies are certainly difficult, but I’ve discovered that it’s a lot of fun to learn things I don’t know. All the more so when it is a subject I’m interested in. Interacting with the instructors who know so much, discovering new ways of fighting, visiting the great library and arenas and all the other facilities…The School District is a place where you can improve yourself however much you want if you have a mind to. It is perfect for what Miss Eina said about remembering my original motivation.
Even the battles for limited cafeteria space during lunch are amazing, and compared to my normal life with my familia, every day brings something new and different.
As Lady Idun might put it, this is probably that Aoharu feeling she’s always talking about.
“Is that so?” Lord Balder asks with a smile, his eyes still closed.
“Ah, Professor Leon. Here are our reports…”
“Thank you, Rapi. I’ll glance over the details later, but please tell Iglin to come see me first thing tomorrow morning.”
Busted…
With a single glance, he saw right through my extra writing. I feel a bit nervous, and all I can say is “Yes, sir…”
“You went into the Dungeon for the first time today. How was the 3rd Squad?”
“Umm…th-they are quite unique…?”
As I choose my words carefully to answer Professor Leon’s question, Lord Balder puts a finger to his mouth and chuckles quietly.
“…Professor Leon. Lord Balder. Why did you place me in their squad?”
I ask the question that has been on my mind.
“Because the way they are now, the Dungeon Practical will totally crush them.”
The answer came surprisingly easy…
I’m a little stunned to hear his blunt assessment.
Because, vaguely, I was thinking the exact same thing.
“Other than Nina, the members of the 3rd Squad were all previously in different squads, but after causing issues, they were transferred around and now are gathered together,” Lord Balder explains.
“…So they’re problem children?”
This time, Professor Leon answers my question.
“At the very least, they are treated that way by other students. From an instructor’s perspective, they have praiseworthy strengths, but even bearing that in mind, they lack the spirit of cooperation and are too unbalanced.”
I sensed it, too. They aren’t coordinating at all, but at the same time, that means they made it through several floors of the Dungeon on individual strength alone.
That strength stands out even among other Level 2s. But…as powerful as they are, sooner or later, they will lose their lives in the Dungeon. Just as so many other upper-class adventurers have before them.
“Were I or another instructor to accompany them during their trips into the Dungeon, it would essentially be giving them special treatment, and it wouldn’t help them grow, either. And frankly, we are always shorthanded this time of year.”
Lots of instructors are stationed in the Dungeon during the practical exam. But considering the scale of the Dungeon, they can only cover the main routes. They simply don’t have the numbers to spread out any farther, especially if they want to protect the students from any irregularities that might occur.
And from the sound of it, there have been issues with certain adventurers holding grudges against the elite students of the School District and ganging up on them or otherwise causing problems…
“Breaking up the 3rd Squad and placing the members in other teams would cause problems elsewhere like before. We dearly want to limit complications in the Dungeon as much as possible. And just when we were wondering how we could possibly handle this situation…You came to the School District, Rapi—or rather, Bell Cranell,” Professor Leon explains.
“!”
“When Hermes sounded me out about letting you enroll, the truth is, there was a condition for allowing you to come here. In exchange for providing you with the School District experience, we want you to watch out for the 3rd Squad.”
It all makes more sense when Lord Balder explains the deal Lord Hermes struck.
I haven’t paid any money or anything in order to enroll in the School District. I’ve just been blessed with an opportunity at no cost to myself. I felt bad about it, but knowing there’s a condition like this makes me feel better.
Now this feels like a quest.
The reward—enrollment in the School District—was paid upfront, and in exchange, I need to live up to their expectations.
“What do you think? Can you keep the 3rd Squad safe?”
“Ah, yes. If it gets truly dangerous, I can let loose. I won’t let anyone die.”
On that point, there wouldn’t be any problems. I feel confident enough to just say it outright. As long as we stay in the middle levels, I can absolutely protect them.
Professor Leon seems to approve of my reassuring response.
“I’m sorry to trouble you when we’ve already just made a request of you, but could we ask one more thing of you?”
“What is it?”
“It’s not just the others. Nina also has what could be called a problem.”
I’m more than a little stunned by that unexpected turn.
Nina is so friendly, liked by everyone, and has done so much to help me. What kind of trouble could she be having…?
“If I might, could I request you support her as well?”
“…May I ask what Nina’s issue is?”
“If possible, I’d like you to ask her about her worries as a classmate and friend rather than hear them from us.”
That makes sense.
It isn’t that they’re ignoring her problem. They just believe it would be best for her to get guidance from someone with a perspective closer to her own.
“Right now is a particularly delicate moment for her. The doubt that troubles Nina is mixing with everything else, and if we adults were to take a false step, she might lose a great deal.”
“When I heard about you from Hermes, I thought that you, who knew both strength and weakness, might be the right person for the job with your down-to-earth perspective,” Lord Balder says, adding on to Professor Leon’s explanation. “I discussed it with Leon as well. As a student, and as an adventurer, perhaps you would be able to guide her.”
I stumble a little bit at his statement and put my hand on my head. I don’t think I’m that great of a person. But I also don’t feel like I should say it’s impossible for me.
I want to repay her for helping me so much already.
That’s all. As a friend from school, that should be enough.
“…I understand. I will do what I can.”
“Thank you,” Professor Leon says.
“I’m in your debt,” Lord Balder says apologetically.
Feeling bashful, I smile at both of them.
“Ordinarily, it might be good to take a breather and have a field trip, but…that is sort of the bulk of the School District’s curriculum. I’m a little doubtful it would have much effect here.”
“Field trip…?”
“It would be a small excursion focused on introducing students to new environments to expand their horizons and giving them an opportunity to gain experience.”
While we are chatting, the dormitory’s bedtime draws near.
There are prefects from each class—sort of like candidates for promotion to leadership in a familia—who will put me under strict supervision if I break the rules. I should probably get going before I make them mad.
“Rapi, one final question, if I may?”
Just before I leave the room, Professor Leon calls out to me.
“Where do you think the 3rd Squad will stop?”
Turning around, I think about what floors are associated with which grades, and I answer.
“The twelfth floor, I think.”
“Dammit?!”
Iglin’s annoyed voice rings out from within a swarm of imps.
The Dungeon’s twelfth floor is covered in a white mist. Reaching the last of the upper levels, the 3rd Squad, yet again, finds itself in a difficult struggle.
“Take the dragon down already!”
“Can’t…tired.”
“Even as superstrong as I am, I think we’re outmatched! Sorry, everyone!”
Surrounded by a huge number of imps, our party is staring down a small dragon measuring four meders and lurking deeper in the mists.
“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”
The infant dragon is a rare monster on the upper floors. Our unusual opponent roars, shaking the 3rd Squad and the ground alike. Its long tail, covered in sturdy scales, suddenly lashes out, knocking over several dead trees and a couple imps in the process. The three frontliners manage to leap away from the swipe, but their movement is clearly less sharp than earlier.
“Swaying stem, breath of white. Sing of flowers, and of the pristine hill—Magia Kris!”
What looks like a pure white flower petal is actually a fragment of white magic that envelops the vanguard. This is Nina’s healing magic. Standing in the back lines with her staff thrust forward, she is supporting the three of them, but it’s just not enough.
With their stamina returning, they should be able to escape the dragon’s follow-up attack, but they are visibly still exhausted.
“…Nina, we should retreat. This battle is…”
“…Yeah.”
Hanging back as a supporter, I give Nina my advice, and for a moment, she looks pained, but she quickly collects herself as squad leader.
“Everyone, fall back! Head for the room in the south we decided on before! Quickly!”
“What?! Who asked you?! I can still…!”
The dwarf immediately tries to argue, but he never gets a chance to finish his sentence. He’s the one who put himself in the most danger and fought the longest out in front, and he knows better than anyone. If they continue fighting like this, there is a chance of a mistake happening.
If another swarm of monsters appears in this room, for example—
“Bghoooo!”
“Whoa! Orcs! They’re hideous! I don’t want to fight them!”
“…A tactical retreat. There’s no choice.”
Seeing four orcs approaching like a wall, Chris and Legi quickly switch to flight mode. Iglin curses but follows suit.
We could use some magic.
Looking around, I calculate the distance between us and the enemy. I reach into my backpack while running, to snuff out the one-in-a-million chance. Moving away from Nina, I match speed with Legi, who is chasing after us.
“Miss Legi! Can you prepare your magic?!”
“…No time…for incantation.”
“I have some traps ready! Around the third dead tree up there! Can you do it?”
I smile weakly as I run alongside, holding them in my gloved hands. Taking my meaning, the dark elf girl murmurs.
“…I’ll do it.”
She immediately accelerates to pull ahead.
Stopping at the base of the third dead tree that I pointed out, she kneels and begins chanting.
Once I’ve confirmed that, I glance back at the swarm of monsters chasing us and scatter a hail of purple moth poison grenades.
Before going to the Dungeon, I bought them at a shop. Lilly used these often when we were exploring the upper floors, and just like the name suggests, they’re containers filled with toxic powder made of Purple Moth Scales.
“Geha, gaha?!”
“Ugeeee?!”
That alone won’t be enough to stop that big swarm from coming after us, but it does buy us time, just like I promised.
“Dark Mine! …Done.”
A magic circle grows as Legi puts her hand to the ground and then starts running again. I also hurry—while making sure to limit myself to around what a Level 1’s top speed would be—dodging the area around the dead tree while following close behind Nina and the others.
Moments later, just as the orcs swat aside the imps and begin a wild chase—
“Boom.”
“OOOOOOOOOO?!”
Legi recites the spell key and triggers her mine spell, allowing the 3rd Squad to shake off the monsters.
“Dammit!”
Iglin slams his broken helmet onto the ground.
The crash echoes in the quiet room. No one says anything. Everyone, even Nina, is completely out of breath.
“That’s already the fourth try! I couldn’t finish that dragon off this time, either…!”
It’s already the fourth day since the Dungeon Practical began.
It’s already our third time taking on the eleventh and twelfth floors, and the 3rd Squad still hasn’t gotten past the infant dragon that the School District set as a grade requirement. Without the required drop item, we can’t go past this floor.
After reaching the seventh floor on the very first day, the 3rd Squad’s glorious charge has completely petered out.
“Other than the scrub, we’re all Level 2! If we go by the Guild’s standards, we should be able to beat that shitty dragon easy, right?!”
Even though we retreated, we still can’t let down our guard. Holding the hammer in one hand, the rougher Iglin is on full display, cursing and shouting with abandon.
“Other than those asshole elites in the 7th Squad, we were the first to reach the twelfth floor…! So how have all the other squads passed us?!”
The reason is…incredibly simple. It’s because we aren’t working as a party. The 3rd Squad is terribly inefficient.
Even following the main route and taking the shortest path possible, twelve floors’ worth of distance is a long way to go. Considering all the combat that happens along the way, it takes a huge toll on stamina. And the 3rd Squad relies purely on individual strength to progress through the floors, so our stamina and Mind are sapped at a much higher rate than all the other parties’.
The reason why the 3rd Squad can’t defeat the infant dragon and the other monsters around it, even though they are Level 2, is because they ’re dead tired by the time they reach it.
This time, we restocked when we reached the twelfth floor like Nina suggested, but even then…
It is true that magic can help recover stamina, and you can use items to make up the difference in depleted Mind. But the infant dragon is a rare monster—there usually aren’t even five of them on this entire floor, which is massive. That’s the reason they are considered the bosses of the upper levels where there isn’t a proper floor boss: they’re tough foes.
And what happens when the other School District students are after the same dragon?
The hunt becomes a race.
As we struggle in that race, searching everywhere for the dragon, the stamina we go out of our way to recover just gets depleted again…and we end up like this.
Monster parties can start happening at the tenth floor and down. That’s also generally where the number of enemies and number of total fights a party has to endure starts to noticeably increase.
It was also a stroke of bad luck that imps happened to be near the infant dragon.
Nina’s magic is more suited for healing and support. Moving her up to the front line just because she’s Level 2 isn’t a good plan…
Giving up her support and recovery would be a dangerous move for this party. We’re already out of magic potions, and if we put any more strain on her, our ability to get back to the surface starts to become questionable.
Everything is going badly.
If it were just a question of making it through the twelfth floor, then the 3rd Squad could do it easily enough. But defeating an infant dragon now, in this situation, dramatically increases the difficulty.
An adventurer who has spent months or years getting used to Dungeon-diving might be able to manage the fatigue better, but they are the ultimate beginners. This is their fourth day ever in the Dungeon. In a sense, being able to almost completely clear the upper levels in just four days marks them out as absurdly talented students. Almost too talented. Unfortunately, the Dungeon will still absolutely torment anyone this inefficient and uncoordinated, even if they are Level 2.
But when I try to say that as gently as I can while carefully choosing my words, Iglin just shouts back, “Tell me something I don’t know!” I’m sorry…!
“…We should leave for today. We’re out of items, and it will be dangerous to push our luck.”
Infant dragons can appear on the eleventh floor, too, so it has turned into a big mess of squads competing to catch their prey. The 3rd Squad came down to the twelfth floor in a final desperate bid, so when they hear Nina’s suggestion to turn back, they scowl, fall silent, and hang their heads.
There isn’t really anything to discuss, and their silent acknowledgment is about to decide their course, when…
“…Nina, sorry. But can you wait just a little bit longer?”
“Eh?”
Apologizing in the back of my mind, I speak up.
“I think the 3rd Squad can keep going a little more.”
It’s just instinct, but I feel like it has to be here. When they’re almost completely burned out. They haven’t hit their absolute limit yet, but they are reaching the end of their rope. If it’s not now, the 3rd Squad will never be able to change.
They’ve already leveled up, and because they can brute-force some things, they’ve been ignoring teamwork and trying to handle everything alone. So in a situation like this where they can’t force it, if they can see that there’s a different way—if they taste success after repeated setbacks and experience firsthand the almost unbelievable effects of teamwork, they should be able to learn. Then they can use it again next time. Then they can turn it into a weapon.
This should be more than possible for the students of the School District.
I’m sure this is…knowledge and wisdom.
When I was alone with Ms. Lyu in the deep levels, that was the moment I had to use every method and opportunity at my disposal to become stronger just to survive. If I can recreate that here, even a little, then they can do it, too.
Right now, I feel like precisely because they have their backs against the wall, they have the opportunity to truly grow as a party.
Though, the truth is, we can keep going is one of the most dangerous things to say in the Dungeon…
“If it’s this party, it doesn’t count as adventuring just yet…We’re still okay.”
I smile as my bangs cover one of my eyes.
Nina, Iglin, Legi, Chris…All of their eyes open wide.
Recalling Miss Eina’s words, I tell them without beating around the bush that they still haven’t crossed that line yet.
They made it all the way here with their individual strength. If they can work together…the 3rd Squad can go even farther. I know it. Professor Leon and Lord Balder know it, too. That’s why they hesitated to disband this squad.
“Wh-what are you talking about?! Nothing we’ve tried has worked right!”
“Umm, I’ve been watching everyone’s movements these past four days, and I have a plan…”
The past four days, standing at the back as a supporter, I’ve been studying the 3rd Squad closely.
My usual position is in the vanguard. At most, I occasionally switch with Ms. Mikoto and reposition to the middle of the party, so seeing a party from the rear has been a new experience for me. But because of that, there are a lot of things I’ve realized.
“We could really use his attack right now.”
“If she just shifts a little there, it would really lower Chris’s burden.”
And “What would I do if I was in the vanguard right now?”
While thinking about all those things, I started to learn a lot more about our party. I don’t think I would feel that way watching Hestia Familia, even if I hung back all the way in the rear. That’s just how skilled Hestia Familia is.
But because 3rd Squad is made up of students who still have much to learn, there’s plenty to point out.
“This isn’t a game! Who’s gonna trust some scrub’s plan?! If it blows up in our face, who knows what’ll happen?!”
But Iglin rejects it vehemently, still gripping his hammer.
…There isn’t really a good argument I can make. I’ve been acting as a supporter the whole time, so I haven’t contributed much during combat. I haven’t earned enough trust to be proposing a plan.
That is a clear failure on my part. If Lilly were here, she would sigh about me not following through and closing the deal.
As I struggle to think of what to do…
“Tell me your plan,” says Legi, who has been silent thus far. “I’m listening.”
Everyone is shocked.
“Wh-what are you even saying?!”
Iglin lurches to shoot down the very idea, but Legi responds calmly from behind her black mask.
“His directions while we ran…were good. Better than a dwarf’s stupid shouting…”
While Iglin reels from that stinging comment, Chris looks back and forth between all of us, and then for some reason puts his fists at his hips and puffs out his chest.
“I’m okay with it, too! Since Rapi’s ears and tail are fluffy! I’m sure it will be a good plan!”
That doesn’t really have anything to do with it, and my ears and tail are just a disguise, but for some reason, Chris is willing to trust me, too. As the shock multiplies, Nina’s eyes meet mine and she watches me—as if remembering all she has seen of Rapi Flemish up until today—and slowly, she smiles.
“I want to hear your plan, too.”
Three to one, not counting myself. We’ve decided by majority vote. Iglin is just silent.
After growling, he gives up and points his finger at me.
“If it’s a bad plan, I’m not havin’ any part of it!”
Parties are a difficult thing. I finally realize this, after Lilly and Welf and everyone else has been supporting me this whole time. But now that I’m being trusted, because they put some faith in me, I want to live up to it.
Biting back a smile, I nod back.
“So, what is it, Rapi?”
“Mm, it’s nothing too difficult…”
We naturally form a circle as we gather to talk. I’ve only done this a handful of times with Lilly, but…
“How about we do a little hunting?”
“Use the terrain to your advantage.”
This is one of the first fundamental tactics that Miss Eina taught me in her lectures. And the fundamentals are what we’re falling back on.
“Hey, is this really going to be okay…?” Iglin grumbles hoarsely in the mists.
I keep my maybe to myself. Maybe it would have been better if I went out? But this is where the prep is needed most, and I couldn’t convince them to let a Level 1 supporter take such an important role. I just have to trust them.
Finally, as if answering our silent prayers…tremors shake the room.
“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”
An infant dragon tears through the passage and flies straight into our room. And in front of it are a half-elf and a prum!
“We caught one!”
“As expected of me! Perfection, even as a decoy!”
Nina and Chris are acting as lures, running toward us and shouting.
What I asked Nina and Chris especially to do was to scout. It’s impressive he can fight on the front lines as a prum, but this time I wanted to make use of his prum’s uniquely powerful vision and search for the infant dragon in the mists that are the characteristic feature for this floor. I already knew that a prum’s vision works perfectly well on this fog-covered floor. Meanwhile, securing a safe escape route was definitely a job for the sharp squad leader, Nina. Working together, the two of them found a dragon and lured it here.
Of course, there are orcs and imps and other monsters following behind the dragon, and our party’s still in rough shape. If we fight the monsters head-on, we’ll just get overwhelmed again, but—
“Dark Mine!”
“GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?!”
Legi has already laid mines all around this room.
While Nina and Chris were out fishing, she laid a field of magic explosives everywhere. Every time the orcs and imps step on a hidden magic circle, a dark burst of color erupts, scattering the enemies one after the other. The infant dragon won’t go down that easily, but it triggers a mine that leaves its left front leg out of commission.
Nina and Chris split to the left and right like we planned, moving to a safer part of the room. There isn’t anything special happening. We just took a little time and prepared the battlefield to our advantage.
“Ooorrrraaa!”
“OOOOOOOOO?!”
Iglin is furiously smashing into the monsters that evaded the mines, and the infant dragon roars as if trying to summon support, but it’s pointless.
The walls of the room are already broken. The labyrinth prioritizes regenerating itself, so no new enemies will be born from the walls for now. There won’t be a monster party. This is the reason I stayed back in this room.
While Legi was setting the mines, Iglin and I went around breaking the walls of the labyrinth. We’ve turned this room into our personal hunting ground.
Set traps, lure the prey in, and finish it. A very simple plan.
It was impossible when everyone was just acting independently, but with coordination, there are plenty of ways to make it work.
It just comes down to experience.
I’m just regurgitating everything I saw, everything I learned on my way to becoming a first-tier adventurer. Even if I can’t teach them how to fight like Ms. Aiz or the others, I should at least be able to give them an introduction!
“Surround it!”
All that’s left is a single dragon.
Instead of mist, black embers dance in the air as the 3rd Squad attacks from four sides, continually pushing the suffering infant dragon to the limit.
And…
“Oooorrrrrrrriyaaaaaaaaa!”
With the others’ support, Iglin uses a dead tree as a diving board, leaping up into the air and slamming his hammer down on the dragon’s back.
“Gaaaaa?!”
A fatal blow pierces its scales and its spine, reaching the enemy’s magic stone.
The infant dragon’s throat swells as it cries out and rears back, and then a massive cloud of ash swirls.
Please…!
We all watch with bated breath, praying as we look at the infant dragon’s explosion…
With a thud, a sharp infant dragon fang falls to the ground.
“Th-there it iiiiiiis! The infant dragon drop! We did iiiiiit!”
“Y-yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”
Chris raises his hands and shouts “Hooray!”
And then Iglin cheers too, and Legi pulls her mask down with her finger and flashes a sweet smile.
And finally, as I stand there in a daze, Nina rushes over to me.
“Incredible, Rapi! It all went just like how you planned!”
“Y-yeah, it worked well…Ah, sorry for making you take a dangerous job.”
“No, not at all!”
She’s more excited than I’ve ever seen, grabbing both of my hands and swinging them excitedly. I smile bashfully as Iglin grabs the fang and he and the others run over to us.
“Not bad, scrub! I mean, Rapi!”
“Ah, no, you all were incredible, I just…”
“Don’t give me that modesty nonsense! You’re a Dungeon geek, aren’t you?! Everything you said was right on the money! That’s why you entered the School District at this weird-ass time, isn’t it?! I know it!”
“Ah, ah-ha-ha…”
Iglin laughs and slaps my back over and over.
I’m actually an active adventurer, so he’s not exactly right, but not quite wrong, either.
“Rapi, you’re a lucky rabbit! I’ll let you be my guardian beast from now on!”
“Th-thank you?”
“Yay.”
“Y-yay?”
Chris and Legi are praising me too, in their own odd way. As the 3rd Squad celebrates for once, I thank them again.
“Thank you for trusting me as a classmate, Iglin, Legi, Chris…”
“Not classmates. Friends,” Iglin suddenly says, correcting me.
“Huh?”
“I said we’re friends! So there’s no need for that polite crap!”
“Same for me! From now on, you are a friend parenthesis servant!”
“Me…too.”
They all have smiles on their faces, and before I know it, I’m smiling, too. It’s a mysterious thing—it feels like the distance between us has shrunk suddenly.
A success that we can share as comrades. The longer we suffer together, the greater the joy at the end.
This is the Dungeon. This is the thrill of working as a party.
Even though I didn’t plan it, it brought me back to my roots, too, and I can feel my heart racing in joy.
“…Nina.”
“…Yeah.”
Finally, I turn to Nina. She can tell what I’m getting at.
Nodding, she steps forward with an earnest look on her face.
“Hey, everyone. This really made me realize this is the Dungeon. If we don’t all work together, I don’t think we’ll be able to go any further.”
The students who previously never listened to their squad leader are now lending her an eye and an ear.
“So I want to keep working together with you. So that this squad stops being called just the leftovers…What about you?”
“I guess there’s no helping it.” The answer she gets still isn’t fully honest, but Iglin continues, saying, “For the sake of my dream, it would be a problem to not have enough credits…So I’ll lend you my strength.”
“It’s weird. This feels way more fun than when I fight alone! Let’s try it again next time, too!”
“The dwarf and prum…so simple. But okay.”
I’m relieved by their answers, while Nina just looks ecstatic. I think she’s tearing up just a little bit.
The required drop item is now secure in the bottom of my backpack, so we carefully leave the Dungeon.
Once we’re aboveground, the sun has already sunk past the walls. In the afterglow of our success, the evening light feels gentle and almost warm.
Our squad is all smiles as we head, not back to the School District, but to the Guild Headquarters.
“…Hey, do we really need to do this? We can exchange magic stones at Babel, too…”
“Today is a celebration! We made it all the way through the upper floors! A tiny little exchange spot is unbefitting of our triumphant return! We should hold our heads high and go to the Guild Headquarters!”
With his hammer hanging at his back, Iglin is back in gentleman mode. I grimace a little, and Nina’s face is a little overcast.
“But…”
“You’re the one who said we should get on the same page! Time for you to read the mood!”
Nina can’t say anything when Iglin and Chris are like this, so she simply falls silent.
I agreed because I like to get what information I can from the Guild boards before and after venturing into the Dungeon—though I am a little scared of running into someone I know—but I’m surprised to see Nina so unenthusiastic.
Of course, the reason soon becomes clearer.
After we arrive at the Guild Headquarters and finish the exchange without issue in a corner of the lobby—
“…Is that you, Nina?”
“!”
As Nina quickly tries to leave the lobby, a voice calls out to her. It is none other than Miss Eina.
“…You’re Nina, right? It’s me, Eina! Do you recognize me?!”
Her matching emerald eyes open wide behind her glasses, and Nina gasps. And then she looks away and starts running.
“W-wait, Nina!”
Ignoring Miss Eina, she runs outside.
The rest of us are dumbstruck, and I look between Nina, who ran away, and Miss Eina, who looks hurt. With a heavy heart, I turn around and go.
I’m Rapi right now, so I can’t say anything. Apologizing in my heart, I chase after my classmate who is behaving oddly.
“Nina, wait! What is it?!”
“Hah, hah…!”
Running into the main street and weaving through the crowd, I give her some space but also don’t let her slip away completely. When she finally stops in the northwest of the plaza in Central Park, I rush over and find her standing in front of the fountain, holding her chest.
“…Sorry, it’s nothing.”
“B-but…”
“It’s really okay…I’m just pathetic is all…”
She stares at her feet, and for the first time since I met her, there’s gloom in her expression.
Shrouded by the dark red twilight, I can’t think of anything to say to her.
“…Sorry, Rapi…I’ll just go back first.”
With that, she wanders toward the main street leading to Meren, disappearing into the crowd of people.
A bunch of curious gazes start to focus on me as I stand here in my school battle uniform, but I just gaze back in the direction we came from.
“…This may be meddling too much, but…”
I’ve been helped so much by these two who I’m certain are sisters. So I make up my mind. After retracing my steps a little, I apologize to the others and leave my backpack and other stuff with them, and I get their permission to take a little free time off.
“Haaah…”
Around when the evening sun completely disappears and stars fill the sky, I spot her exiting the Guild Headquarters from the back with a sigh.
“Miss Eina.”
“Huh…? B-Bell?”
I feel bad for ambushing her like this, and her eyes widen when she sees me. Right now, I’m not wearing my wig, and I’ve taken off the School District battle uniform, too. My disguise is inside a bag I grabbed.
After I left the others, I made my way to a back alley on Adventurers Way, made sure no one was watching, and slipped into the underground store Witch’s Hideaway. The same magic shop I used during the Daedalus Street skirmish, and while running away with Ms. Syr during our date.
It would be bad if rumors spread about a School District student going into Hestia Familia’s home…and that was the only place I could think to use instead. The owner Ms. Lenoa greeted me with a tired, “You again?” After apologizing profusely, I changed into the clothes I bought with my share of the loot I’d gotten from Iglin and the others. Then I came back to the Guild as Bell instead of Rapi.
“Wh-why are you here? And is it just me, or do you look more dressed up than normal…?”
“Ah, ah-ha-ha…”
I’m not sure how to feel hearing that the clothes I just randomly picked out are nicer than my usual ones, but I cut right to the chase.
“The truth is, I was in the Guild Headquarters earlier, and I saw you…and a girl who looked a lot like you…”
I feel guilty about lying, but even that much is enough to darken Miss Eina’s expression, which just makes me feel even worse.
“It made me so curious…that I waited for your shift to end…I wanted to ask you about it, if you don’t mind.”
I know I’m butting into their personal lives, but even so, I can’t just ignore it. I don’t want to leave Nina or Miss Eina like this.
Miss Eina looks a little unsure, but she looks me in the eye and nods slightly.
“That girl, her name is Nina…She’s my younger sister.”
Miss Eina said it would be inappropriate for her to eat with an adventurer while in her Guild employee uniform, so we first headed over to her home where she got changed, and then we went to a chic little restaurant in a neighborhood on the north side of the city.
It has expensive glass windows instead of the usual shutters and feels safe enough for the upper crust of society to pay it a visit over an adventurer’s bar.
Once we’re seated at a small table, Miss Eina starts talking over dinner.
“She’s six years younger…and honestly, I only have one memory of her.”
“Eh…? Wh-what do you mean?”
That is a bit of a large gap in age, but why only one memory…?
“Soon after she was born, I went to the School District.”
“!”
“Our mother is frail. Our father was always working so hard to get the medicine she needed, but…even as a child, I wanted to do something for her, too. I actually wanted to start working immediately, but Mother said if I was going to do that, then she wanted me to at least go to the School District first…”
Hearing about her family situation for the first time is more than a little shocking.
Miss Eina entered the School District when she was just six years old. When Nina was born, she set off alone and entered the world of scholars.
She scoffs at herself a little when she explains the reason she chose to work at the Guild after graduating was initially because the pay was high, so she could send more back to her parents.
“I almost never went back home, and I doubt Nina remembers me at all. If anything, other than the general idea that she has an older sister at all, she might consider me a complete stranger.”
“Th-that’s…”
“…Sorry for dumping all this on you. But that’s just how distant we’ve been. I can only just barely remember her as a baby…and when I finally managed to visit home again, Nina had already left to enroll in the School District herself.”
I’m just stunned by the story of how long the two of them have been apart and how much distance separated them.
I’m sure Nina went to the School District for the same reason as Miss Eina. Being far away from your family because you care about them and want to help…Maybe it’s a fairly commonplace story in the mortal realm now, but I can’t help finding it a bit awful.
“I did write letters. To my parents, of course, but also to Nina while she studied at the School District. I wrote her saying that it might be strange, but I am her sister and that she could always talk to me if something was bothering her. When I got a letter back, the writing was awkward, but I was so happy…”
Miss Eina was smiling throughout her story, but now her expression darkens.
“Then at some point, she stopped returning my letters…I thought maybe she was busy, or maybe it had become a bother, or maybe…she hated me acting like an older sister even though she had never really met me and I had never done anything for her…So I stopped writing to her, too,” she confesses sadly. “My parents said that none of that is true, that Nina cares about me, but…I was scared. So this year, when the School District came back…I found it hard to just be happy. If I’m being honest, I was a little scared. Because Nina was on that ship.”
…So that’s it…
The pained look I saw in her eyes whenever she talked about the School District and back when we were in Meren, that was all because she was thinking about Nina.
“…So, when I saw her today, it felt more like I was meeting her for the first time.”
“Eh? …B-but you immediately recognized Miss Nin…er, your sister right away, didn’t you? You called out to her yourself…”
“I could tell. She was wearing the School District uniform…and she looks just like our mother.”
Miss Eina’s smile returns for a brief moment, as if she’s remembering what happened earlier today.
She mentioned that Nina looks just like their mother…but to me, they both look incredibly similar. I think almost everyone would recognize them as sisters.
“But it seems like Nina doesn’t want to meet me…”
“…!”
“She ran away…so I guess she really does hate me.” Miss Eina forces herself to say it like a joke.
But now I’m all caught up. With that, I feel like I understand a little bit of their relationship. Professor Leon said that Nina has a worry weighing on her, too. Is that at least somewhat related to Miss Eina’s problem?
He said I should ask her directly, but…can I really do that? At the very least, I don’t think I should force her to spill everything. It sort of feels like what Nina is dealing with is even more complex than Miss Eina’s concerns. And it isn’t clear to me whether I should be sticking my nose into their problems. I’m going to have to think this over carefully.
But even so—
“Miss Eina, I don’t think…no, I’m sure that your sister doesn’t hate you.”
“Eh?”
“I don’t think she would make such a pained face after seeing someone she hated.”
If nothing else, I can share what I noticed while watching both of them in that moment. Nina’s speechless face when Miss Eina called out and her fragile expression lit by the setting sun as she ran away…Neither of those looked like hate to me.
As I stare deep into her eyes, which are just like Nina’s, I reassure Miss Eina as best as I can.
Miss Eina freezes for a moment as if in shock…and then she starts to tear up as she smiles, forgetting her sadness for a moment.
“Thank you, Bell…”
“Ah, n-no…if anything, I should apologize…butting into your personal life as an outsider…”
“No, not at all. I’m…glad.”
Coming back to my senses, I reflexively apologize, but Miss Eina gently shakes her head. Seeing her smile gently with flushed cheeks, I can’t help but find it charming, giant fool that I am.
Before long, I feel bashful and can’t stop smiling nervously. Miss Eina giggles a little and covers her mouth. Then, with amazing timing that’s got to be either intentional or just a fun extra for putting on such a heartwarming show, the waiter pours a pretty, amber liquid into Miss Eina’s empty glass. Since I have to go back to the School District after this, I am drinking juice.
We thank him and raise our glasses in a toast—
THUD!
There’s a dull noise from beside us, where we’re sitting by the window.
There shouldn’t be anything other than a window facing the street here…I glance over to check and see—
““BE—LL—LL.””
My goddess and Lilly are pressing their faces up against the glass, staring at me with dead eyes.
“Whoaaaaaaaaa?!”
“Kyaaaaaaaaaah?!”
Miss Eina and I almost fall out of our seats with a shout.
Looking closer, I can see Welf and Ms. Mikoto and just about everyone in Hestia Familia outside the window. In my head, I shout, “Why?!?!”
Goddess and Lilly stop pressing their faces against the glass and run around to the entrance, burst through the wait staff who try to stop them, and tear through the restaurant!
“What are you doing, Beeeeeeeeell?”
“G-Goddess?! Why are you here?!”
“Answer the question first please, Mr. Bell. Aren’t you supposed to be dealing with your quest right now?”
“L-Lilly, I had something I needed to ask Miss Eina, so I just slipped out is all…!”
I can’t stop trembling as the intense pressure feels like it’ll drag me down into the abyss. Even though I’m not doing anything bad, I still feel like I have to explain myself—especially when their eyes flare! That’s terrifying!
““Who would believe that?!?!””
Immediately, a thunderous shout slams into me! My ears!!!
“Look at you, aaall dressed up. You were planning to seduce him, weren’t you, Little Miss Adviser Girl?!”
“I—I would never do that, Goddess Hestia! It would just be inappropriate for me to be here in my Guild uniform, so I had to change clothes…!”
“You most certainly did seduce him! That teary-eyed, womanly affectation…You were trying to take pure and innocent Mr. Bell home with you! Lilly sees through you!!!”
“That isn’t true at all, Ms. Erde!”
Miss Eina’s face is bright red as she also gets interrogated, and I have no idea what’s going on anymore!
Please, can someone explain the situation to me?!
“Sir Bell…a secret note from Lady Syr was delivered to the home by a stone-faced Lady Hörn…”
Ms. Mikoto explains, having followed our goddess and Lilly into the restaurant with the rest of the familia.
“It urged us to hurry, saying that there were signs of an enchantress near the white rabbit Sir Hegni was tailing…and it came with a map attached.”
“What?!”
“Sent to us, or rather, to Lady Hestia, because the einherjar might let you escape…”
I was tailed?! By Mr. Hegni?! How?! I didn’t notice any suspicious gazes at all! Is he an expert in not scaring pets or something?!
It shouldn’t be possible to infiltrate Hringhorni, so…has he been watching me the whole time I’ve been in Orario?! What is Ms. Syr doing?!
Picking up where Ms. Mikoto left off, the battered Welf’s addition is so crazy I don’t know what to say.
“That girl from the bar was caught and restrained at The Benevolent Mistress, apparently. And it was hard to hold down the goddess’s attendant when she started rampaging after completing her lady’s order…It looked like she was forcing her way into the kitchen to grab a knife when we managed to subdue her, but…”
“Gh…?!”
My heart freezes over.
Even though I wasn’t there, I can totally see it playing out in my head!
Does that mean Ms. Hörn is after my life again?!
As my face grows pale, Ms. Haruhime keeps looking back and forth in a panic between our goddess and Lilly, who are arguing with Miss Eina, and it looks like she’s the only person who isn’t upset.
Or rather, Ms. Lyu is looking at me with a blank expression—she’s the scariest of them all!
“You’ve been cycling through women ever since you left home, haven’t you, Bell?!”
“I have not! I’ve been studying!”
“No, you can’t be sure, Lady Hestia! Lord Hermes might have given Mr. Bell some bad ideas!”
“Please believe me, Lilly?!”
“More importantly, Bell, you haven’t answered my confession yet.”
“““Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh?!”””
“Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii?!”
Goddess, Lilly, and Miss Eina shout, and I shriek in a weird voice!
Why did you say that now of all times, Ms. Lyuuuuuuuuuuu?!
“B-Bell, is that true?! Th-that she confessed to you…Wait, there was something like that during the war game, wasn’t there…?”
“Right, that was broadcast to Orario through the divine mirror…Wait, Lady Lyu?! Why did you suddenly slump to the ground?!”
“Your face is like the most ripened of strawberries?!”
“The whole city…in front of everyone…my confession of love…they heard everything…eternal shame…save me, Alize…”
“Don’t self-destruct after you add oil to the fire, you clown!”
“What is going on, Beeeeell?!”
“Please do explain, Mr. Bell! We won’t let you go until you tell us everything! Or rather, come back home at once!”
“Sorry, Bell…I really should have stopped them…I’m sorry for being trash…”
Miss Eina moves closer and then stops as if remembering something; Ms. Mikoto is horrified, having seen the elf suddenly collapse; Ms. Haruhime is flustered by the redness of the elf who looks like she might burst into flames any moment; Ms. Lyu is covering her face and kneeling while still trying to mumble something; Welf shouts angrily, and Goddess and Lilly both unleash their wrath. And also, though I must be imagining it, I swear I can hear Mr. Hegni apologizing.
This is absolute chaos, and I want to just give up and faint.
First, though…I apologize to the staff of the shop with all my might for causing them so much trouble, and then make a note never to show my face here again.
“Rapi!”
It’s the middle of the night, just as the date is about to change, when I finally manage to get back to the School District after that unmitigated disaster. Ordinarily, the gangway to the control layer that connects the ship to the port would be closed at this time of night, but for some reason, it’s still open. And standing in front of it is Nina, looking worried.
After going back to Ms. Lenoa’s store, I’m back in my disguise, and I hide my exhaustion with a smile as Nina rushes over to me.
“Where did you go?! I was so worried when you never came back!”
“I’m really sorry…A few things happened in Orario…”
“…Because of me? Because I made you worry…”
“N-no! It really isn’t that! It’s not your fault at all!”
I thought she’d be angry, but instead, she looks so sad, and I frantically reassure her it isn’t her fault. It was my own decision to go see Miss Eina, and if anything, I’m the one who’s been doing questionable things, poking around in other people’s lives. So even though I didn’t do anything wrong, per se, I still have to take responsibility for everything that’s happened…!
Anyway, I just wanted to let her know there’s no reason at all for her to worry, but Nina senses something is off.
“…Liar…”
The look on her face is a little sulky, a little reproachful, and also a little happy.
“…After the trouble I caused you and everyone else, I guess we’re even.”
“R-really? I don’t really feel like that happened…but I guess if you’re willing to call it even, that would be nice?”
Putting a hand to my head, I just blurt out what I’m thinking, and this time, Nina giggles gently. Seeing her finally crack a smile, I feel relieved.
“Let’s get back to the dormitory…Tomorrow is a day off from the Dungeon Practical, but there’s still training to do.”
“Ah, about that, but…could I go for an internship tomorrow, Nina?”
With everything that happened tonight, I’m under strict orders from Lady Hestia to come back to the familia at once. As far as the School District is concerned, internships in Orario are something students sign up for on their own. As long as you inform the instructors and get permission, you can go whenever. I’ve heard a few students in the Combat Studies major have already done several internships.
While it isn’t ideal to miss the 3rd Squad’s training, my request shouldn’t be too unnatural—but Nina is clearly shaken.
“R-Rapi…you’ve already decided the path you want to take?”
“Eh? Ah, mhmm, I wanted to be an adventurer, so, I guess…”
When I fall back on the background that Professor Leon gave me, Nina…looks down and murmurs, “Right…”
“…Nina?”
“…! S-sorry. I’ll go start the elevator up! I’m sure Alisa is going to be really angry!”
She gasps, quickly puts on a smile, and starts climbing the gangway.
I can hear the sound of waves. The sound of the wide seas carries across the brackish lake.
I watch quietly as she disappears into the control layer.
“Mmm, the springtime of youth!”
“…Lady Idun?”
“Sweetness and bitterness are the polka dots adorning life! Now, say it with me: Aoharu.”
“…A-Aoharu?”
Copying the beaming, blond goddess who appeared from the other end of the gangway, I hold a hand up toward the starry sky.
I’m sure she negotiated with Lord Balder to keep the gangway down for Nina and me. I seriously consider what Aoharu is supposed to be while feeling deeply grateful for the goddess’s mercy.
Ultimately, I still have to write multiple paragraphs of self-reflection and a formal apology…
“Incoming! One o’clock!”
Lilly’s sharp warning rings out.
Hearing the hum of insect wings in the bark-clad labyrinth, she focuses the entire party’s unwavering battle spirit in a single direction.
“I’ll get the gun libellulas. Welf, take the deadly hornets!”
“Got it!”
We split the vanguard, with me taking the swarm of gun libellulas that have a long-range attack, while Welf, gleaming with the telltale glow of a level boost, tackles the deadly hornets that just appeared.
I’m wearing battle clothes, my Goliath Scarf, and the new armor Welf forged for me. My gear is like an adventurer’s instead of a student’s for the first time in a while now. The School District battle uniform isn’t bad, but this really does feel more natural. I can feel something thrumming inside me as I let loose with my Level 5 status.
Not using Firebolt, I just immediately get close and disassemble the swarm of gun libellulas spinning through the air like tops.
Before, if I pushed forward without thinking to reach enemies taking potshots at us from a distance, it could potentially leave Lilly or Ms. Haruhime exposed, but now—
“Haruhime, duck.”
“Y-yes!”
—Now we have the ultimate floating guard, Ms. Lyu!
As a swarm of mad beetles attempts to flank the party, she passes through them like the wind, and with what seems like just a simple touch with her new Alvs Iustitia, an almost deafening chain reaction of ash explosions takes them all down.
We’re currently in a full-on melee. Seeing a battle-hardened adventurer effortlessly reposition and displaying such incredible skill in targeting monsters’ cores so none of them can sneakily grab a magic stone without us noticing, I realize all over again exactly what it means to be Level 6.
And, as if collecting on the instruction she gave Ms. Haruhime moments earlier, Ms. Lyu throws the smaller of her two swords.
The blade slips just over where Ms. Haruhime ducked in her Goliath Robe, seemingly whiffing, only to slam into a crack in the bark of a monster that just appeared moments ago, piercing its chest.
“Gishaaaa?!”
The moment the lizardman was born, it was already crumbling into ash.
When facing monsters in the Dungeon, what is the optimal way of dealing with them?
When that question came up in discussions in the familia before, Ms. Lyu’s simple answer as she swept the home was, “The moment right before or right after they are born from the walls.”
And it’s certainly true monsters are uniquely vulnerable in that moment.
They can’t do anything while they’re being born, but sensing a monster’s presence right as they are about to emerge from the wall is an incredible feat. There’s no way we can do it. Not the current us, at least. Maybe Ms. Mikoto with her skill could just barely put it into practice during the chaos of combat.
Ms. Lyu, who innately has a level of perception comparable to Ms. Mikoto’s skill, is unmistakably the strongest person in Hestia Familia!
Thanks to her, our party has gotten way more stable!
Now we can prevent any flanking or back attacks targeting Lilly or Ms. Haruhime. And a perfect defense ironically frees us up to focus on attacking. The vanguard can just focus on the enemies in front of them without worrying about anything else, making the force of the party’s advance even more destructive.
Glancing at the utterly reliable Ms. Lyu, her sky-blue gaze meets mine, and she immediately looks away. I can see the blush spreading even above her mask, reaching the tips of her pointed ears. Embarrassment scorches my body too, and I feel just a little bit dizzy.
We’re currently on the twenty-second floor, in the Colossal Tree Labyrinth.
As expected, I received permission to do an internship, so I reverted to being Bell and returned to Hearthstone Manor, where I underwent a thorough interrogation that left no stones unturned by our goddess, who had been waiting all night.
After a long, muddled series of questions and answers that left us both red-faced and confused, Goddess was wheezing as she said we’d continue again tonight before she left for her job. When will I be able to strengthen my resolve enough to answer Ms. Lyu…?
But either way, since I didn’t have any plans for the day, I decided to go with everyone else into the Dungeon. And now here we are.
It hasn’t even been four months since the first time I set foot on this floor, has it? Hestia Familia has already grown enough to be able to easily explore down below the twentieth floor on our own.
“Mr. Bell! Ms. Lyu! Focus! We’re in combat right now! That Aoharu sickly sweet eyes-meeting stuff belongs in school, not on the battlefield!”
“S-sorry.”
“Sorry!”
Immediately noticing our delayed reactions, Lilly shoots us a stern warning. Is Aoharu a new term making the rounds or something?
I want to cry a little bit at messing up bad enough to make our strategist angry even though we’re a Level 5 and a Level 6. Still, the party manages to deal with the whole wave of monsters that just appeared.
“…?”
Which is when, even though we are in combat, I look back.
“Oy! Where are you looking, Bell?!”
“…Sir Bell?”
Welf beside me shouts, and Ms. Mikoto, who is a little distance back behind me, looks confused. Ms. Lyu, who was attacking monsters to the side, also glances over as if noticing something.
I immediately apologize and tear into the enemies in front of us with Welf.
After splitting a sword stag in two, we tear into the large mammoth fool, finishing the fight without any issues.
“…Umm, Ms. Mikoto, may I?”
After the long fight ended, we could finally take a little breather.
Once I finished gathering up magic stones and drop items with everyone, I approached Ms. Mikoto, who is refilling water bottles.
“Yes?”
“In that last fight, since Ms. Lyu was staying back in the middle guard, I was thinking it might be okay for you to move up to the vanguard, maybe…”
In order to improve our coordination and our situational awareness, I share my thoughts.
“That position was fine, but if you moved up to the vanguard, I could push even farther forward, and I think I would have been able to focus all the forward enemies’ attention on me. And then the party would effectively be a bit safer…I think.”
“I see, that’s true…Sorry, I hadn’t considered it that far ahead.”
“Ah, no, I’m not blaming you at all…! Sorry for saying something so pompous-sounding!”
Before Ms. Lyu joined, as an all-rounder, Ms. Mikoto was the familia’s anchor. Using her skill, she always protected the back lines. Her focus being more defense-oriented is, if anything, proof of how much she has done all this time, so maybe it’s a bit rude to say it.
I end up just apologizing lamely over and over.
At times like this, I can’t help but feel that I’m not really suited to being a leader…and Lilly looks dumbfounded watching me.
“Lilly…? What is it?”
“…Nothing, you just took the words right out of Lilly’s mouth…”
“Eh?! I-I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize. And the part about focusing the enemies’ attention is something Lilly couldn’t say, having not experienced fighting on the front line…”
She stares at me, examining me from head to toe.
“Mr. Bell…have you gotten kind of smarter?”
…?
My eyes swirl at her unexpected question.
“I think so, too. Today you seem to feel somewhat more intelligent, or…”
“I-intelligent…”
“Ha-ha, that’s becoming a first-tier adventurer for you.”
“R-really…?”
Ms. Haruhime and Welf’s comments don’t quite feel right.
The idea that your brain can go faster because of leveling up…Well, there might be a little something to that, but…
As I cock my head, Ms. Lyu, watching from a little distance, points out the biggest change.
“You’re gaining a broader perspective.”
Her quiet, clear voice draws everyone’s gaze.
“Bell, you’ve more or less mastered combat on an individual level. When we fell into the deep floors, you instinctually knew how to lure enemies and cover your blind spots. That sort of thing.”
…Not to get too self-conscious, but I can agree with that statement.
It felt like my whole world opened up when Ms. Aiz’s and Ms. Lyu’s teachings clicked together. If that’s what she means, then that weapon is definitely in my arsenal now. After being trained by Mr. Alfrik and his brothers in Folkvangr, my awareness of my blind spots is sharper than ever.
“Your field of vision is expanding to include not just yourself, but the whole party,” Ms. Lyu continues.
“The perspective from the back lines, then, Lady Lyu?”
“Wh-whoa, wait a minute. Then my whole reason for being here is…!”
“That is not quite right, but not quite wrong, either. But do not worry, Lilliluka. Your perspective and his field of view are different things.”
Lyu answers like the reliable eldest sister of a family, reassuring Lilly and answering Ms. Mikoto at the same time.
“If I had to give it a specific name, I would call it tactical awareness.”
“Tactical awareness…”
“A commander like you, Lilliluka, surveys the entire battle, guiding the party as a whole, while Bell responds to the ever-changing tactical situation and chooses, or perhaps shares, the moves the party should take.”
At a high level, Lilly’s vision encompasses everything, whereas my field of vision is more focused.
Being able to deal with things that Lilly can’t immediately respond to with people in the vanguard and the formation’s center is undoubtedly a strength. It should decrease the burden on the commander and allow a swifter and more granular response—or so Ms. Lyu explains.
“Increasing our reaction speed and ability to wipe out the enemies is useful for the party. It is also valuable for people in similar positions to be able to share the same perspective. The commander can take those movements in from the back and build upon them to unlock more strategic options, giving us more flexibility.”
Hearing that, Welf and Ms. Mikoto murmur in understanding.
It’s true. I’ve always prioritized just charging in from the front as an attacker up until now. With Ms. Lyu in the party, the stability has increased, giving me an opportunity to catch my breath and take stock of the battle.
Most likely, this concept of field of vision is something Ms. Lyu has refined ever since her time in Astrea Familia. The ability to make tactical decisions on the front line without having to wait for detailed instructions or directions from the rear. A lubricant for the party, the ability to direct. Maybe someone in Astrea Familia taught it to her once as well.
“I’m sure this growth of yours is from studying at the School District.”
“!”
“I thought your time in the School District would be a good opportunity for you to get some rest, but…you turned even that into material for growth,” Ms. Lyu says with a smile.
I’m a little embarrassed being praised so openly, but I’m also happy.
The time I’m spending at the School District is not being wasted. Maybe even my ability to direct the 3rd Squad’s hunt was thanks to my new experience as a supporter and also the fruits of my combat lessons.
I’m pleased to be allowed to study at the School District, and I’m proud that Nina and the others are being praised by extension as well.
“Now that we’ve reaffirmed our coordination with Bell, should we start heading back? It’s a long way.”
“Yes, we’ve gotten quite a lot of magic stones and drop items, too! The take really is better when we have our lucky rabbit!”
“Ha-ha-ha…!”
And after a few more battles, we leave the Colossal Tree Labyrinth.
I’d like to get back home before Goddess returns from work. Mr. Alfrik and his brothers are watching Hearthstone Manor today—while also guarding against anyone after Ms. Haruhime—so I’m a little bit worried. And I have to get back to the School District before it gets too late.
As I enjoy a satisfying sort of exhaustion that comes with living a busy double life of an adventurer and a student, I hear a shout.
“You…! School District brats! Don’t get cocky!”
“Can you not be a little more refined?! Adventurers really are all ruffians!”
When we reach the Cave Labyrinth on the thirteenth floor, we can hear loud shouts.
Looking at the source of the noise, there is a dangerous mood in the air as a squad from the School District and a group of adventurers face off.
There’s signs of a pass parade. Or maybe it’s just the remains of a struggle for the same prey? Either way, it definitely isn’t a peaceful argument, and seeing the adventurers ready to reach for their weapons, my legs move by themselves.
“Um, did something happen?”
“Huh?! You can just butt out a—R-Rabbit Foot?!”
“The first-tier adventurer?!”
Intimidated, the human adventurer recoils when he sees my face, and the others also cower like they’ve just spotted a monster from the deep floors. You know, that’s not a very nice reaction…
They just mutter, “I-it’s nothing” and immediately leave, not noticing or caring about how I feel.
Left behind are me and a few stunned students from the Combat Studies Department.
I don’t know them, but the badge on their chest is of a lyre and a book…Bragi Class, I guess?
“Record Holder!”
“Bell Cranell! The rogue who broke into the School District!”
“You think you saved us?!”
“But you did actually save us, so we’ll at least express our gratitude!”
““““Thank you for saving us! Bleh!””””
The squad of four says their thanks and then spits on the ground in unison.
Watching them march off with military precision, I almost want to cry. I really need to make sure Nina and them don’t find out who I really am…
“School District students, huh? They really hate you.”
“I mean, it is my own fault…so there’s really no helping it.”
“I can’t tell if they’re grateful or not…”
I meet back up with Welf and the others, who were watching from the side. My shoulders slump in disappointment.
“It looks like they were in a dispute,” Ms. Haruhime comments. “Did something happen?”
“The moralistic School District students are just bickering with adventurers, most of whom are outlaws…It is a common scene when the School District returns. Aboveground and in the Dungeon.”
“The morals and etiquette the School District teaches are pretty antithetical to how adventurers act…”
“Anyway, it’s not exactly rare.”
Ms. Lyu, Lilly, and Welf just answer as if it’s just a natural scene when the School District comes back. Ms. Mikoto and I, who have only been in Orario for a relatively short time, and Ms. Haruhime, who lived just within the small world of the Pleasure Quarter, are a bit surprised.
But I guess they’re right.
From what I’ve heard, the relationship between violent adventurers and the School District students is not great…?
“Cocky brats…just you wait…”
Glancing down the passage the adventurers went down, I think I hear some kind of suspicious mutter, and I get a bad feeling…
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