Chapter 104

Dispatch Request.

The Empire Knights, who have been asked to handle issues arising across the territories, select appropriate cases and pass them on to the academy students, ultimately having the students solve them themselves.

In other words, it’s like a mercenary service arranged by the Empire, or a subcontract of a subcontract.

To explain why this system was introduced to the academy, we have to go back to a time when the entire continent was in chaos due to war.

At that time, 80% of the Imperial Army was being slaughtered daily on the front lines, causing internal security to be extremely chaotic.

Thus, the royal family decided to use the students being trained at the academy for maintaining order.

Unlike the front lines where even masters were constantly losing their lives, most internal issues could be resolved by knights of a decent level.

In a way, it was like using child soldiers.

At that time, combat personnel were so scarce that even second-year academy students were only around 16 years old.

Moreover, there was no need to give them significant rewards.

Since they were gaining practical experience in preparation for joining the Empire Knights after graduation, it was enough to justify it as something they should be grateful for.

For those in power, passion and justice were always lovely concepts—because they didn’t cost money.

—

“So, what’s the point?”

“It means there’s an overflow of work. It’s a chance to use master-level warriors without spending a single penny, right?”

Friede waved the paper she was holding in front of me.

A request form densely filled with over a dozen requests.

Everyone moves fast.

It hasn’t even been three days since our party registered at the academy.

“Excluding useless requests like monster extermination or bandit suppression, there’s still this much. You can pick and choose from these as you like.”

“Let me take a look.”

I carefully read the request form handed to me by Friede.

1. Abnormal phenomena suspected to be precursors to monster activity in Orc’s Tear Gorge.

“What the hell is Orc’s Tear Gorge? What kind of name is that?”

“It must be Vermang Gorge. The place where the last orc tribe was all deep-fried in boiling oil.”

…The Empire’s old stories always seem too brutal.

I should probably apologize to the orcs for unintentionally thinking of pork cutlets.

2. A surge of corpse-rising magic monsters in the western territory of Einfeldt. Currently under defensive alert.

Corpse-rising magic monsters. Judging by the term “army,” it must be more than a few. Was the initial response delayed?

This seems like a request that should have been sent to the knights. Why did it come to me?

I should put this request on hold.

Fighting against an army is something we should still avoid.

The more enemies there are, the more variables increase, and I might not be able to protect the others if something happens.

3. Recruitment of short-term support troops for the southern border fortress. Service period: 3 months.

“By the way, wasn’t there something about spider-birds?”

“Right. There was some damage from a sudden air raid.”

Spider-birds.

They are low-level hybrid monsters, but since they fly, they are tricky to deal with for knights and soldiers alone.

4. Recruitment for a survey team in the Sky Mountain Range. Scouts preferred.

“…Did you pick this one on purpose?”

“The north always welcomes brave knights!… You’ll be doing this to death after graduation anyway, right?”

Friede exaggeratedly mimicked my tone.

I have no intention of going north. Why would I do military service in that cold place when I have the east as my home base?

If the beastmen invade on a large scale… I might have to go then.

Is that contract even still valid?

Unlike back then, I now have the backing of a margrave’s heir and descendants of the twelve knights.

By the time I graduate, it will be even more so.

The title of Ka`har’s princess might be meaningless, but with the rest, I doubt they can force me into military service.

5. An unidentified dungeon with miasma flowing inside has been discovered in Karmaine Forest. Request for investigation and extermination.

“Oh, this one looks good.”

“Which one, the unidentified dungeon extermination? It wouldn’t be dangerous… I guess.”

Friede looked at me and nodded.

Dungeons with miasma are usually the top priority to avoid.

Dungeons generally have stronger monsters compared to the outdoors, and it’s hard to know what kind or how many monsters are inside.

Additionally, due to their narrow and complex structure, ambushes are frequent, and retreating can be difficult.

However, with our level of strength, it wouldn’t be a problem.

With Friede and me combined, we have the strength of two masters. If there’s a dungeon with monsters strong enough to defeat us, the miasma wouldn’t just be flowing—it would be gushing out.

Of course, if such a dungeon were reported, an emergency lockdown would be issued, and the Empire’s masters would be deployed.

“Let’s go with this one. How far is Karmaine Forest from here?”

“Wait a moment… It would take about six days.”

A generous estimate would be two weeks. It’s still a bit of a journey.

It seems like it will be a while before airships become common. Get to work, you mages.

“Then, you, me, Damien, Milia, and Nigel should be enough. We’ll need to prepare the carriage, holy water, recovery potions, and all sorts of things.”

“More than enough, it might even be overkill. With this level of strength gathered…”

“Walking around is a bit inefficient.”

“For now, there’s no other way. If I move, Nigel will definitely follow, and with just Damien and Milia, it’s still too risky.”

I also agreed with Freide’s words.

Having the strength of three masters gathered together is just a waste of resources.

The Empire and the Academy are still at a level where they can handle the frequency of monster appearances, so they’re leaving it be. But once the monster appearances start increasing seriously, they’ll step in. Maybe we should split our forces a bit.

So, once Damien and Milia have gained enough experience, I plan to move separately from them.

“That makes sense. Anyway, I’ll handle the preparations and registration, so just let Damien and Milia know about the requests.”

“Oh, Senior Freide! I’m at a loss for words to express my gratitude for your boundless kindness!”

Freide suddenly smirked.

Huh? I thought she’d blush like last time.

“…You know what? If you get assigned to the north, you’ll be under my command. Let’s see how that goes, huh?”

“Huh? Using a master-level warrior as a mere subordinate?”

By then, I’ll probably be beyond master level.

Usually, with that kind of strength, wouldn’t they make you an independent unit commander or something?

“Well, of course! If we just hand over command to someone just because they’re strong, we’ve had cases where a strong but dumb guy wiped out an entire unit. Not saying you’re like that, but it’s history, just history.”

Looking down at Freide, who was chuckling, I reaffirmed my decision not to go to the north.

Honestly, if I just ignored my conscience, I could easily find loopholes in the contract that requires five years of military service after graduation.

—

The next day was a theology lecture.

A professor in black priest robes continued his explanation of the four great evil gods.

“-And so, the seven demon beasts devoured each other, leaving only four. These are the four great evil gods. They are the malevolent beings worshipped by dark mages, demons, witches, and the like.”

Banargand of Wrath and Gluttony.

Lilith of Lust and Pride.

Fafnir of Sloth and Greed.

And Invidius of Envy.

“Invidius seems a bit unique, right? The name itself just means ‘envy,’ unlike the other evil gods.”

A student raised a question to the professor.

“Good point. That’s because the beast of envy was the only one that couldn’t devour the others.”

The professor nodded and flipped through the scripture he was holding.

“Unlike the other three, who ascended to godhood by devouring their rivals, the beast of envy remained a beast. Consumed by jealousy, it devoured itself and used its own body as an offering to become an equal evil god. That’s why it even lost its name.”

Well, it’s understandable to go mad with envy.

Like being the only one left out on a dance floor where everyone else is paired up.

I remembered seeing a kid like that in school when I was very young. It was pitiful.

I half-listened to the professor’s lecture while explaining the dispatch schedule to Damien and Milia.

We were set to depart in two days, on the weekend.

—

After the lecture, I subtly signaled Ophelia and called her back to the alley we’d talked in last time.

“What’s up? It’s not good for us to meet too often.”

Ophelia, who lit my cigarette, leaned against the alley wall with her arms crossed.

“I’ll be away for about half a month on an outside mission. Just letting you know. If you plan to execute the plan during that time, I won’t be able to participate.”

“Half a month should be fine. I’ve roughly outlined the plan, but the preparations aren’t complete yet.”

Ophelia only gave me a brief overview of the plan.

…It’s a bit vague.

“Aren’t you relying too much on uncertain factors? If the other side doesn’t act as you expect, it seems pointless.”

“Controlling that is my job. Don’t worry. Given my sister’s personality, she’ll definitely act as I expect.”

Ophelia flashed a confident smile.

Well, I don’t know. We’ll see.

Oh, by the way.

“Last time, I met your sister at the Imperial Palace banquet. That woman, she was oddly clingy, like she was into the same woman as me. Did you know about that?”

“Of course I knew. I’ve seen my sister sneak other women into her bedroom more than once.”

Ophelia smiled strangely.

Her lips curved in a cheerful arc, but her eyes were filled with a twisted smile full of disdain.

“She probably thinks she’s hiding it well from me. Doesn’t even realize I’ve seen right through her.”

Ophelia licked her lips. Her fingers, crossed over her arms, twitched oddly.

Hmm.

Better not get involved.

It just seems a bit too ominous.

—

Two days later, in the morning, we headed to Karmaine Forest in the carriage Freide had prepared.