Chapter 33
Two days later.
“Hello, everyone.”
It was briefing day—the Practical Class students were about to embark on their first mission.
The eyes of the Class E students grew as round as saucers when they saw their dedicated instructor appear before them with a bundle of rolled-up papers slung over one shoulder.
Miriam asked in surprise.
“What’s all that?”
“From the list of missions you’ll be assigned… Heave-ho. I picked out a few suitable ones.”
“Wasn’t it entirely up to the instructor’s decision when it came to missions for the Practical Class?”
“That’s true, but…”
Kariya asked quietly. I unrolled the papers one by one, hanging them from the board as I answered.
“In the end, you’re the ones who will carry out the missions. I thought you should at least have the final say….”
“B-but. An instructor with more experience and greater strength than us would know better….”
“Miss Roxanna.”
I said as I pressed flat the papers that kept curling back up after being rolled for so long.
“Being smarter and stronger doesn’t mean you can always choose the right answer.”
“….”
“It’s embarrassing to say this myself, but I’m still a novice as an instructor. In plain terms, I’m a rookie.”
I added with a gentle smile.
“And since you’re the ones carrying out the missions, not me, I think my role should end at helping you make your choices.”
“So?”
Kariya asked quietly, slouching back against his chair.
“Are you not going to explain the five missions you selected?”
“Kariya?”
“…There isn’t?”
“All right.”
A week had passed, after all. It couldn’t be helped if things became awkward again.
I said as I picked up the pole I had prepared in advance.
“I’ll start the briefing right away. Shall we look at the first one?”
“Ooh….”
Miriam’s eyes sparkled as though she were excited about something, while Charlotte straightened up and focused. Kariya stared intently in our direction while pretending not to, and Roxanna listened with a complicated expression.
After looking over the students once, I used the pole to point out the title on the chart and said,
“The request is, ‘Please find my cat that ran away from home….’”
“…Are you serious?”
Miriam asked with a deadpan look.
“Isn’t it fine? At least for a first mission….”
“What do you take us for?! Tell them to go ask a private detective agency!”
“I-I don’t think it’s that bad….”
“I agree. Finding a cat? A magic knight is a high-ranking professional, plain and simple. Even if we are trainees, what a ridiculous joke.”
“This is so absurd I’m speechless.”
A vehement protest broke out. I think one of them even gave an unexpectedly positive response in the middle, but let’s move on.
“O-okay, I get it. I was only asking just in case….”
I quickly nodded and took down the first sheet of paper, discarding it.
“Aww.”
I heard a small whimper, but decided not to pay attention.
“Next, the second… This one isn’t too bad. The client is the Nile Merchant Guild.”
“What’s the Nile Merchant Guild?”
“It’s one of the kingdom’s only three major merchant guilds.”
Kariya answered Miriam’s question.
“Nile, Grape, and Combert. They’re the only three merchant guilds with hundreds of merchant houses affiliated with them; all the others are classified as small or midsize merchant guilds.”
“I know how merchant guilds are classified, too.”
“Didn’t seem like it.”
Kariya muttered quietly. I shot a glance at Miriam, who was growling, and quickly spoke.
“Now, now. According to the details, several relay stations reserved for members and owned by the Nile Merchant Guild have been occupied by bandit groups.”
“They didn’t even station private troops at those relay stations?”
Kariya muttered.
In response, I pointed at the paper and answered,
“The answer to that question… is written here. Apparently, the bandits include several mana users. Around four have been confirmed.”
“Four?!”
“…Suspicious.”
Kariya said beside the startled Charlotte.
“The fact that a major merchant guild’s exclusive relay stations were raided, and that the bandits include mana users. Could Grape or Combert have made a move?”
“What does that mean?”
“It means they may have paid mercenaries under the table to pose as bandits in order to keep a competitor in check.”
Kariya continued with his arms crossed.
“If things go badly, four rookies alone might find it a bit much.”
“If Teacher Haru comes with us….”
“That would only be in an emergency, Miss Miriam.”
This time, Charlotte took issue with Miriam’s words.
“Choosing a mission on the assumption from the outset that Instructor Haru will help us is not a very good attitude.”
“…I see.”
“I-I think this mission is a little dangerous too.”
“I agree. Let’s set it aside in case there is no other suitable mission.”
“If that’s what you think.”
Their opinions seemed to line up surprisingly well. Even Miriam accepted it without much fuss. I pushed the paper aside and pointed to the third mission.
“The third is a mission to subjugate a manticore that has occupied a forest.”
“A mission to subjugate a monster? Sounds good.”
Charlotte’s face brightened.
“Even if they’re bandits, I’d still hesitate to harm people from our own kingdom. If it’s a mission to subjugate a monster disturbing the area inside the kingdom’s borders….”
“Would that be wise?”
Kariya interrupted Charlotte, who was speaking rapidly, seemingly excited.
“Manticores are by no means easy monsters. And if a manticore has occupied a specific location, we need to consider the possibility that it’s a female with young.”
“Oh, I know!”
Miriam shouted.
“Female monsters with young are more vicious and ill-tempered than others of their kind! Right?”
“Correct. I’m impressed. Looks like you do know something after all.”
“What did you say!”
Ignoring Miriam, who was huffing, Kariya continued.
“Just as Miriam said.”
“But not all manticores are like that, are they? A manticore’s intelligence is comparable to that of a seven-year-old child. If it has occupied a forest near a village, it might simply be enjoying watching humans who fear it offer it food or the like.”
“Well, that’s true too. So what’s the actual situation… Instructor?”
“Just as Charlotte said. The forest occupied by the manticore we’ve been asked to subjugate has a couple of villages located nearby. Apparently, it’s a forest several villages have been using as hunting grounds.”
At that, Kariya’s expression darkened.
“…I’m in favor.”
“All of a sudden?”
“It’s a mission to protect people’s homes and livelihoods. Seems like exactly the sort Charlotte would like.”
“Why are you suddenly dragging me into this?!”
“Don’t be like that. I taught you how to train with a tomahawk and introduced you to a workshop, too.”
“Of course I’m in favor too! But still, a person ought to have some principles….”
Charlotte nodded, despite putting up a token protest.
“I’m in favor too.”
“I-I am too….”
The other two also cast their votes in favor.
“All right. Then we’ll keep this as a candidate and look at the fourth.”
I nodded and moved on to the fourth sheet.
“The fourth mission is a request to track down a runaway debtor.”
“…Good grief. We’re really seeing every kind of mission there is.”
“Debt collection? That’s rather undignified.”
Kariya muttered with a face like he had bitten something foul, while Charlotte spoke with an awkward expression.
“Now, let me finish first. Apparently, the debtor we have to pursue is a former magic knight who deserted from the front during the Seven-Year War, was captured, and discharged dishonorably.”
“Aha.”
Miriam nodded.
“I get it, Teach. Only magic knights can take on magic knights, right?”
“That’s right. Apparently, he kept living in debt afterward, and when he could no longer keep going, he fled in the dead of night.”
“A former magic knight, and one strong enough to have served on the front lines… That explains why he can’t be tracked down easily.”
“I-if we go after him carelessly… We’d be killed instead of collecting the debt.”
Roxanna nodded and muttered in response to Charlotte’s soliloquy.
“If you try your hand at loan-sharking against magic knights without any backing… you’ll be in serious trouble.”
Roxanna squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head as if disgusted.
Charlotte, who had been watching her, wore a troubled expression without saying anything.
“…Anyway. That seems to be the situation. What do you all think of this mission?”
“I think we should do it.”
Surprisingly, Roxanna was the first to speak up.
“Borrowing money and refusing to repay it simply because you’re strong… is truly shameless.”
“Roxanna….”
Charlotte, who had been muttering, raised her hand next.
“I’m in favor too, Instructor.”
“…Didn’t you say earlier that you were reluctant to kill people?”
“Yes. But we don’t have to kill him, do we? Unlike the bandit mission, the objective of this one is debt collection, not subjugation.”
Kariya tilted his head, then nodded.
“In that case, fine. I have no particular reason to object, so I’m in favor too.”
“A former magic knight must be strong, right? I’m in favor too!”
Miriam nodded along.
“All right. Then we’ll keep the third and fourth missions as candidates and look at the last one.”
I turned around and pointed at the details of the final mission.
“The fifth mission is… a request from the Lucilante territory.”
As soon as I said that, the atmosphere turned cold.
Understandably so, since House Lucilante was… at the center of the so-called illegitimate-child scandal that had recently caused a stir at the academy.
“It’s a perfectly ordinary mission to eliminate the magical beasts that have appeared around the territory and investigate the cause.”
“…House Lucilante.”
Charlotte spoke first.
“I have a question, Instructor Haru.”
“What is it?”
“May I ask what your intention was in choosing this mission?”
Charlotte said, looking at me. Seeing her openly display hostility hurt a little.
But it was understandable. After what had happened, it was only natural that she viewed me with distrust for bringing a mission connected to that incident.
I nodded and said,
“Thank you for the question, Miss Charlotte. And I’m sorry. It’s only natural that you would be suspicious.”
“N-no, that’s not it. Suspicious?”
“But I wasn’t the one who chose this mission and brought it here.”
“Pardon…?”
“If I had to put it another way, I suppose I was chosen.”
Charlotte looked flustered, and the other students were startled. Looking at them, I pulled a letter from inside my clothes.
“The client for the mission and the magic knight representing House Lucilante… Kalud Lucilante sent a letter directly asking our Class E to accept the mission.”
That was exactly twenty hours ago.