漫画大王

Chapter 232

It was probably because this group mission had taken several extremely disappointing turns.

Ellen voluntarily dropping out, Harriet, the one with the brains, babbling incoherently until she got herself executed, students being fully played by the assassins, Charlotte suddenly committing suicide, and finally, Vertus losing his mental fortitude and getting executed due to Ludwig’s crude deduction...

They looked like they were questioning whether this mission was even worth grading.

However, grades had to be given out. Instead of determining which side had performed better, they had to settle for the less embarrassing one.

“The winner of this group mission is Class B.”

Relatively speaking, Class A’s performance had been more embarrassing, and although Ludwig’s rationale was crude, he did manage to catch the assassin.

All in all Class B emerged victors.

Both classes would be allowed to rest at the mansion until Friday and then return to the Temple, which would conclude this group mission.

Although they could return to the Temple earlier, they planned to stay due to Ellen’s request.

—Wow, what’s with that snowman?

—Why is it so big?

—There’s even something like a statue next to it.

The returning students were marveling at the snowmen Ellen, Harriet, and I had made. One was being admired for its intricacy, the other for its size.

They seemed curious about who made them, and when they learned that Ellen, Harriet, and I were the creators, they couldn’t hide their astonishment.

While it was something they could imagine the others doing, the notion that I, of all people, had been playing in the snow, laughing like a child, was hard for them to picture.

“... What? You jerks,” I said.

‘Am I not allowed to make a snowman?’

I felt unnecessarily awkward.

***

The mansion was spacious enough to allow all twenty-two students to rest comfortably in their own individual rooms.

Although the outcome of the mission was rather disappointing, it concluded with Class B being awarded the victory. Of course, Vertus and Charlotte, who had been designated as the assassins, also received individual scores.

Predictably, in the midst of the overall lackluster results, the assassins were the only ones that performed creditably.

They had manipulated crucial targets during meetings and managed to handle them indirectly. Thus, Charlotte and Vertus ultimately received decent scores.

Personally, although I didn’t achieve anything notable, it didn’t bother me much.

Some classmates were eager to jump into the hot spring as soon as they heard about it, while others were making their own snowmen, possibly inspired by the ones I had made.

‘What’s with this sudden build-a-snowman trend?’

***

It was Friday morning...

“We barely had to participate in that mission at all,” Riana said, and everyone nodded in agreement.

The mission had deviated so much from the original that what was supposed to be a tense mission had ended rather anticlimactically.

After breakfast, I was sitting with the four girls from Class A, including Ellen, sipping tea together.

“Does it always snow here this time of year?” Riana asked, shivering from the cold.

“It’s probably because this place is near the polar region,” Harriet replied. She explained that this location, at the northernmost edge of the continent, likely experienced winter year-round.

“The hot spring was nice, though. It really relaxed me,” Riana commented, clearly having enjoyed her hot spring bath the night before.

“I usually prefer tropical resorts during the winter, but soaking in a hot spring in such a cold place isn’t bad at all,” Riana continued. She seemed to be reconsidering her vacation preferences thanks to this mission.

Come to think of it, it was Riana’s suggestion that had led us to our summer outing to the Edina Archipelago.

‘Hmm. So, does that mean she might suggest buying a hot spring resort and making another trip there this winter? Well, I guess I can’t say for sure right now.’

“Since we’ve brought it up, we might as well go again,” Riana said. She was set on heading back to the hot spring first thing in the morning.

‘Wow, she must have really enjoyed it.’

Unlike Riana, the others didn’t seem particularly interested and just washed up before breakfast.

“Shall we go for a walk?” Ellen suddenly suggested.

‘A walk? Well, why not.’

***

Only Harriet, Ellen, and I ended up going for the walk. Adelia hesitated and then decided against it, saying it was too cold.

Thwack! Thud!

—Hey, hey! Throw gently!

—Come on, Delphine, put some muscle into it!

—You little...!

The Class B students seemed to have moved onto snowball fighting after making snowmen, and were energetically throwing snow at each other.

They were playing like kids—making snowmen, and having snowball fights, just like I did.

The mansion was surrounded by a forest. Steam was rising from the direction of the outdoor hot spring.

We walked through the forest. The old Epiacs castle was faintly visible between the trees, partially obscured by the snowflakes.

“Isn’t it a bit spooky over there?” Harriet mentioned, shivering. It wasn’t clear if she was trembling from the cold or a sense of dread as she looked toward the castle.

Indeed, it did give off a rather sinister air.

“It is quite eerie.”

The castle had been originally designed to be eerie and ominous, but seeing an actual creepy and sinister castle was unsettling.

The icicles hanging from the castle walls, the snow piled up high on the rooftops, and the overall dark gray color scheme—they all contributed to the atmosphere.

It wasn’t an old, decrepit castle, but a well-constructed one, which somehow enhanced the effect.

Ellen tilted her head, curious about something else.

“What’s that castle used for? I didn’t see anyone living there or anything.” Spookiness aside, she wanted to know what its function was.

Harriet also tilted her head as she realized this peculiar fact.“Now that you mention it, that’s true.”

Although meals had been provided at the castle since it wasn’t a survival mission, they had been prepared by temporary staff, dispatched solely to support the mission.

There were no Lords of Epiacs Castle or people who actually lived in the castle. The castle was just there to be used as the location for the group mission.

I didn’t know either.

I had only created it thinking it would be spooky and cool to have a game of Mafia in a castle. I did not think about the castle’s history, why it was abandoned, or any of those details.

“Where exactly are we in the first place?” Ellen asked.

We had arrived here via warp gate and Teleportation magic. We only vaguely knew it was somewhere in the polar region, but we hadn’t been told precisely where we were.

As Ellen pondered this, Harriet furrowed her brow in thought.

“If we’re getting this much snow at this time of year... it must be near the northern extreme border or something. If there’s a hot spring, that means there’s geothermal activity... but I’m not well-versed enough to know exactly where hot springs form...” Harriet responded.

Harriet couldn’t give a definitive answer, since it wasn’t her specialty.

“Why bother wondering? We can just ask the teachers,” I suggested.

‘Would pondering it among ourselves yield any answers? We should just ask the teachers where exactly we are and what Epiacs Castle is.’

Harriet pouted slightly, a little annoyed at my suggestion.

“Geez, you really have no sense of romance.”

“What romance?”

“I don’t know, idiot!”

Feeling deflated, Harriet suggested going to ask the teachers and turned back towards the mansion.

‘What’s up with her? Why is she reacting like this at the strangest times?’

***

Mr. Effenhauser provided a straightforward answer.

“We’re in the northern polar region. It is not part of any nation. Hmm, if you head a fair distance south from here, you’ll reach Glamos. It’s a small nation, which is expected, given the harshness of the area.”

The small nation of Glamos, located at the northernmost edge of the continent. Even that was still considered part of the northern border region. According to the map Mr. Effenhauser laid out, we were at the northern tip of the continent.

“If you go further north from here... you’ll reach the region where B-8 comes from. It’s not close, though.”

Dettomorian hailed from the northern snowy plains, and lived in a tribal society which did not consider itself a nation. It was fascinating how he came to know about the Temple and how he managed to enroll.

In any case, the area north of here was largely uninhabited, as was the place we were in.

We got an answer to where we were.

“What about the castle?” Harriet asked, genuinely curious about Epiacs Castle.

What exactly was that castle? It wasn’t enormous, but it wasn’t exactly small either. There had to have been some significant reason for its existence.

But Mr. Effenhauser’s answer was enough to leave all three of us stunned.

“I don’t know.”

He didn’t know.

We hadn’t expected that answer, so it left us all speechless.

“Wait. Are you saying that we were sent on a mission to a place you know nothing about?”

“All I can assure you of is that it isn’t dangerous. Moreover, the decision was made by the Temple, not me. I don’t have the authority to decide on the activities or locations of the group missions.”

Mr. Effenhauser bluntly admitting he didn’t have such decision-making power rendered us speechless.

“It is a strange place, though. The climate here is harsh, making it unsuitable for people to live in. Yet, in this harsh environment, a large-scale castle had been constructed, but no records of the people who inhabited it exist. Even the castle’s name, ‘Epiacs,’ was given after its discovery; no one knows its original name.”

The ancient castle Epiacs...

It was stranger than I had imagined. I’d created it as a place for a mission because of its eerie atmosphere, and it turned out to be genuinely mysterious.

There were no safety concerns, and it had been chosen just to give the mission an ominous atmosphere. However, the true purpose and origin of this castle were unknown.

Was this what it felt like to wander into an abandoned house without knowing its history? It was both creepy and chilling.

But Harriet’s eyes were sparkling.

“Then, can we visit it again, since it’s safe?”

“Hmm, I suppose that’s fine. But why?”

‘What’s gotten into you? I don’t want to go back there!’

“I just find it fascinating. We might be able to discover more about what that castle was for originally.”

“Hmm... Though all known investigations have been conducted, if you have the time, feel free to visit.”

Mr. Effenhauser seemed to believe that our free time was ours to use as we wished. However, he did leave us with a warning. “But remember, even if there are no other dangers, this is a polar region. While you can use magic to keep warm, don’t stay too long.”

“Yes, got it!”

Harriet looked at Ellen and then at me, eyes shining.

It was an expression driven by a sense of adventure.

I understood why she was acting this way.

She hadn’t been able to accompany us to the Dark Land, so she probably wanted to do something like that at least once with us. I understood her feelings, and I couldn’t bring myself to turn down this creepy expedition.

[Event Triggered - Ancient Castle Epiacs]

[Description: Uncover the secrets of Epiacs Castle]

[Reward: 500 Achievement Points]

Unexpectedly, an additional source of motivation was added. Perhaps the system was suggesting that I attempt something else, since I had failed the achievement related to the group mission.

‘I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try.’

Mr. Effenhauser seemed to consider something. “Hmm, however...”

Maybe he still had concerns about potential dangers?

“No, it’s fine. Go ahead.”

‘Why does he sound so uncertain about this? It’s making me nervous!’