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  "Hmm, This one or that...Which should I get? Rudeus which do you think is better?"
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The term commonly used to describe the event known as the [Fedoa Territory Metastasis Incident] which happened 5 years ago.

Since that time, it was reported that the territory\'s feudal lord, Sauros Boreas Greyrat, was executed.

From the city of Roa, the mayor, Philip Boreas Greyrat, and his wife, Hilda Greyrat, also reportedly died.

And in the latest reports, the daughter of Philip, Eris Boreas Greyrat, was also listed as deceased.

With this conclusion, the High Minister, Darius Silva Ganius, terminated financial support to the Fedoa refugee camp\'s search and rescue efforts, and instead, he redirected the focus of that organization to land reclamation and rebuilding.

Only private parties continued independent rescue efforts.

In this way, the Asura Kingdom\'s involvement with the Mana Calamity ended.

But for those who still had concerns involving the Mana Calamity, nothing had ended.

Year of Armored Dragon 422.

The location is Basherant Dukedom in the Northwestern part of the Central Continent.

Basherant Dukedom is one of the Three Great Magic Nations, and as such, is one of the most powerful nations in the northern lands.

In this nation, we arrive at the third city [Pipia].

He has attached himself to the city as an adventurer for a while now... and has become known to the public simply as [Quagmire]. ^[1]

This man was once flung to a far-off place by the Mana Calamity and is only one of many such people who tasted despair after a lengthy return of several years to the Fedoa Region.

He moved towards the so-called \'Northern Lands\' of the Central Continent in an effort to find his still-missing family under the guise of just being an adventurer.

It is early in the morning for Quagmire.

Before the day begins, he himself is a deeply devoted disciple of his religion.

He offers a prayer to his God - A quiet prayer for the \'Shinto and Buddhist\' deities that he has stored in a small wooden box - something that would not be accepted by the Milis Religion.

No, perhaps if someone from the Milis Religion saw it, they would frown upon the nature of it, but they could never dispute the earnestness of the prayers of the faithful Quagmire.

After morning prayers, Quagmire begins his training regimen. Changing into some comfortable and easy to move clothes, he does laps around the town.

The Quagmire often says that maintaining physical strength is one of the basics of being an adventurer.

[Though I am a magician, I am an adventurer first! What good is it if I can\'t move well when it counts?]

He does the training unique to his hometown, starting with one hour of running.

He then performs an exercise not seen anywhere in the Basherant Dukedom; it consists of the body lying prostrated on the ground being elevated and lowered, repeatedly by using only the arms.

He repeats this activity 100 times.

Afterwards, he changes positions onto his back and proceeds to raise and lower his upper torso 100 times as well.

It is said that he never misses these daily activities.

[Muscles are enviable! They work everyday without fail without needing to be reconciled in some way. Like a lady friend... But, unlike the lady who disappears suddenly, muscles will never become a traitor.]

Said the Quagmire whose laughing voice had a bit of loneliness to it.

After he finishes the morning exercises, he goes to the town.

Where he goes is a dining room on the first floor of an inn to have his breakfast.

The average amount of food an adventurer eats compared to a person of the general populace is about 2-3 times more.

The cost of food in the Northern Lands is high, and occasionally, one has to skip a meal here and there to save coin.

However, the Quagmire is different from even the normal adventurer.

He eats.

He eats about 1.2 times the amount of food even a normal adventurer does!

Vigorously eating dishes that are piled high with rice and beans.

The morning meal is perhaps the greatest source of his strength.

After eating, he heads towards the Adventurer\'s Guild.

The place where the town\'s many ruffians gather.

When Quagmire enters, he is at the center of everyone\'s attention.

The reason being is that Quagmire has no official party affiliation.

Oh, but he will temporarily join one if the situation requires it, or if it is a dangerous mission to solo.

The demand for the magician known as Quagmire is great.

And today, like usual, the leader of an S-rank adventuring party called out to him.

[Oi!, Quagmire!, have you heard the news? A stray Red Dragon has been spotted here in the Northern Lands!]

The S-rank Adventurer [Soldat Heckler].

The man had many physical features particular to a human found living in the Northern Lands.

He had attained the swordsmanship ranks of:

Sword God Style: Advanced

Water God Style: Intermediate

He also is one of the most famous adventurers around this area.

He is the leader of [Stepped Leader], a party affiliated with a larger clan known as [Thunderbolt], which is active throughout the whole Basherant Dukedom.

It is a combat oriented unit that deals primarily with subjugation requests.

[Stepped Leader]\'s party composition consists of 6 people.

2 Swordsmen,

1 Warrior,

2 Healers, and

1 Magician.

The party had a 7th member, another Magician at one point, but he died in an unexpected accident.

So their firepower was lacking.

[C\'mon Quagmire, why don\'t you join our party officially already? You surely can\'t be feeling uncomfortable about it by now, right?]

Much like that, Soldat has invited the Quagmire just about every day, but Quagmire just shakes his head in rejection.

[There\'s no point in sticking around that long. I\'m famous enough here already, and I have other countries I must still visit and spread my name.]

Quagmire had a purpose in saying that.

Family.

He was searching for his mother.

However, Quagmire knows that because it has been five years since the Mana Calamity, the discovery of any new information on her whereabouts will not be easy to uncover.

So, Quagmire spreads word of his name while he carefully searches each country he visits from end-to-end, missing nothing.

If he becomes famous enough in each area, surely a family member will be able to recognize and find him, or so he speculates.

[Ah, but still, at least join us for the stray Red Dragon Extermination!]

Quagmire received the job request.

If it is successful, he will become quite famous for slaying a dragon.

So together they went to the counter and registered the party.

[Umm... it\'s not just our party participating is it? Where are the other parties who are also participating?]

[There\'ll be more joining, Quagmire... It\'s the first big job like this in a while. Everyone will be motivated to join!]

Dragon exterminations are usually done by two or more parties working together.

To do so with only one party is pretty much... suicidal.

Five parties expressed desire to join in the Dragon Extermination.

S-rank party [Stepped Leader]

A-rank party [Road Knights]

A-rank party [Iron Lump Corps]

A-rank party [Cellar World]

A-rank party [Drunken Jokers]

In total, a 25 member raid group.

A certain kill group would consist of at least 7 or more parties, so the number of people gathered right now is rather low.

[Oi! Oi! It\'s a Red Dragon you know? It\'s a huge bounty, so where is everyone already? Everyone here is A-rank, where are all the S-rankers at?]

[Word is that a new labyrinth was discovered out in the east, so everyone went to take a look at it.]

Soldat was impatient.

Inside the Adventurer\'s Guild, one man sighed then chimed in.

[...I guess with just this few, it\'s probably impossible to accomplish it after all.]

So the party [Cellar World] withdrew from the raid, and there were just 21 members left.

It seemed that a total dissolution of the mission could be expected at this point.

With the number of people left, it was a very risky proposition. Everyone thought so.

At that point, Soldat spoke with great authority.

[Alright! 21 People, that means everyone gets a bigger cut from the bounty!]

Everyone was anxious enough, but after that, no one said anything disheartening.

21 adventurers walked the chilly tundra of the Northern Lands.

A thin layer of snow powdered the trails.

The leaves fell from the trees, and the branches were whitening from the chilly air.

Soon, the long winter will come.

[Quagmire, Can you scout ahead?]

Following the order of Soldat, Quagmire used the appropriate magic.

He brought forth a pillar of earth and snow that he stood atop as it rose high up into the air, granting him a great vision for quite some distance.

Quagmire then conveys what he sees. The target is a large Red Dragon.

One that is not difficult to be missed with continual reconnaissance.

What\'s this?

Quagmire also spied something else.

[Raster Grizzly at 2 o\'clock. Seems like a bunch of them. They are kicking the hell up out of the snow!]

[How many are there!?]

[8...no wait, 10 of them moving this way. I wonder if they noticed us. Approaching from dead ahead! And fast!]

These monsters were not the target though.

For the so few members of the group gathered, there isn\'t really enough spare energy to go wasting on small fry monsters like this.

However, when evil comes, one must defend.

[Everyone, spread out! Quagmire, hurry down, we\'re going to need you for support!]

[Understood!]

Soldat gave the order, and four parties deployed their members.

The plan was to flank the enemy and herd them towards Quagmire\'s ambush.

[Quagmire!]

[I\'m on it!]

On Soldat\'s order, Quagmire moved.

He was called "Quagmire" for the skill he had using Earth Magic.

He had an amazing skill that instantly created mires of mud, bogging down enemies.

Landing him with the nickname of [Quagmire.]

A herd of ten Raster Grizzly were funneled towards him, and all fell victim almost instantly to the highly adhesive mud in which they found themselves quite stuck in.

"Now!"

The members of the raid group who suddenly sprang out from the surrounding areas quickly surrounded the monsters, charging in and ruthlessly dispatching each and every one.

No mercy.

Any mercy shown now could mean death the next time; such a thing was common sense to an adventurer.

And in short order, the Raster Grizzly threat was eliminated.

However, after dealing with these enemies, someone noticed IT.

[Hey! It\'s the Red Dragon! It\'s coming!]

[Ah, these Grizzly must have been running away from it!]

The Stray.

Red Dragon.

The strongest monster that exists on the Central Continent.

And his prey was the group of Raster Grizzly we defeated.

[Quagmire! Why\'s this guy here?]

[It must have been hiding in the wake of the snow powder that was being kicked up by the Grizzly. I didn\'t see it anywhere before!]

In regards to dealing with the sudden arrival of the Red Dragon, the adventurers pretty much lost their wits about them.

Originally the plan was to prepare an ambush from farther away, then launch a surprise attack on it.

And now, not only was there no preparation, but the dragon was launching a surprise attack on the raid group instead.

There was practically no chance of winning this fight.

[Damn it! Retreat, everyone Retreat!]

A Red Dragon is a creature that flies in the sky.

Its outer shell is resilient and is deceptively dexterous.

And truth be told, a Dragon on the ground is a dreadfully powerful thing.

In this chaotic scene.

The Quagmire goes to work.

[I\'m putting up the smokescreen! Please scatter while you retreat!]

Quagmire was calm.

Using much practiced Fire Magic, he vaporizes the latent snow around him to raise a wall of steam.

A smokescreen, improvised from the use of the surrounding nature.

A skilled magician cheating the enemy of its vision.

However, the Stray Dragon was also clever and sharp-eyed.

It took aim at the Quagmire.

[....Kuh!]

Quagmire fled from it in the opposite direction of the retreating group members.

If he was targeted, it was his role to make it give chase.

Speedy Quagmire.

He was alive now because of the training he did every morning.

He knew the secret to staying alive was to be able to keep running, to keep moving away.

The vexed dragon\'s mouth was burning; it opened wide, and what spewed forth was a hellish flame.

In a mere moment, the entire surrounding area was painted with fire.

It was the Red Dragon\'s finishing move: [Fire Breath].

Everything in the path of the flame was incinerated.

Was the Quagmire killed by this?

No, He was still alive.

Quagmire glanced backward quickly and instantly raised a titanic wall of water.

As Quagmire moved, he tore through the densely rising steam.

Embers of flame burnt the edge of his robe.

He paid it no mind, and instead started magically producing a casing of rock.

The rock bullet shot forth at a high speed and pierced the scaly hide of the Red Dragon.

[GYAaaaa!]

Rock bullets were released one after another.

The Red Dragon managed to avoid several of them.

However, it could not avoid all of the bullets that traveled at such a high speed.

The Red Dragon immediately turned around and prepared to take flight.

The Red Dragon was also a wise creature. It immediately understood that small creature called "Quagmire" was concealing a high offensive power.

The Quagmire didn\'t give chase.

Did he let the precious prey escape?

It seemed so at the time.

[GUKYAaaaAA!]

The howl of the Red Dragon echoed.

Before it could get away, a quagmire came to be in existence.

The Red Dragon found itself having sunk into a highly adhesive mire of mud. Again and again, the Quagmire calls his magical power forth. The Red Dragon madly tries to escape from the mud, but finds the mud it\'s trapped in is becoming more and more adhesive and even solidifying.

[Ah, captured....]

The little Quagmire muttered something so unexpected, then proceeded to smash the squirming Red Dragon with an enormous mass of rock.

The scattered adventurers returned.

[Jeez, Quagmire, you are a ridiculously strong guy...]

[Seems that return trip from the Magic Continent paid off.]

[But still, to defeat THAT, you have to be on another level of strong!]

The companions unanimously praised Quagmire, but he remained humble about it, not giving in to arrogance.

He knew that acting arrogant now would just cause friction for everyone.

[The raid was close to certain death, right? I mean, I didn\'t think for a second that I could defeat this thing just by myself you know... But that matter aside, we need to figure out how all of us are going to handle looting this Dragon\'s corpse for the return trip.]

So he extends the sense of achievement of successfully slaying the dragon to every one of the adventurers.

In doing so, he ensures that fame of his name is spread throughout the country.

[All of us...? Are you good with that?]

[I can\'t loot it all by myself, and if I leave it here, monsters will just devour it. Get what can be gotten, because I must burn the body soon. It\'ll be problematic if it becomes a Dragon Zombie.]

Thus, the day of the Quagmire is over.

Actually, locating the Red Dragon and returning from the trip took about seven actual days, but the [day] of the Quagmire was over.

Today\'s harvest was materials from the Red Dragon.

After selling a fortune\'s worth of materials, he returns to his bed with a warm feeling in his chest.

Before turning in to bed, he stops for a meal at the bar and eats a substantially smaller amount of food as compared to his breakfast.

He who is devoted, prays to God gratefully for passing yet another day safely.

The Good Night ritual is not something seen or known to others, but it is an important thing to him.

Because it meant that now that the day of having to be the Quagmire is over, he can resume his search for his long lost family on the morrow.

--- From Rudeus\'s point of view ---

The nightly event.

I am eating a meal as usual in the bar.

Of course I\'m by myself.

The meal is just enough for myself.

This guy is rich and lonely.

But it\'s not like it\'s a bad thing.

Because I hate being crowded anyways.

[It was right at that moment! The Red Dragon had appeared!]

On the stage in the bar, three minstrels brought with them their instruments and began to play.

One stands in front of the others and with a sweet sounding voice, spins a tale. The two others perform the background music accordingly, joining in with a JARAN~ sound effect.

The Minstrel.

It\'s an occupation that makes money by being commissioned as entertainment by singing about or reciting poetic tales.

In the case of a big town, it\'s normal to be part of a Theater and to have exclusive contracts to certain places.

But it\'s not just that.

Adventurers with the occupation [Minstrel] are splendid people.

They sing of their travels with other adventurers, and the tales they twist are funny and exciting.

The affinity between an adventurer and minstrel is good.

In addition, in this world without copyright, on a daily basis, the tales they hear are often taken in and retold in a new and unique way.

There are also the times when some minstrels gather, share ideas, and evolve their craft.

Among them, those with different instruments often party up by forming a band and travelling the world.

Of course, even they have enough skill to fight against monsters.

A singing, dancing, fighting adventurer.

In this world, that is what a Minstrel is!

Occasionally, this party of three minstrels I\'m watching have been seen in the Adventurer\'s Guild from time to time.

They must have been a C-rank party.

Their name was [Big Voice Band].

It was a wonderfully ostentatious name.

However, they weren\'t really talented, and their own works were unpopular.

In an effort to keep creating something more popular, I received an interview request about this and that and the subjugation job I did the other day.

The song being sung now is the story they heard me tell of my journey.

I consider the one who\'s singing.

Is he doing alright?

Hmm, it\'s okay.

In my previous life, I was crazy about music.

I tried to produce a song for a certain Vocaloid^[2], but it ended up as a complete failure.

Since then, the only musical instrument I continue to say I can play is the KETSU-Drum. ^[3]

I am always up to the task to play those drums.

They twisted a tale just from the story I told them of what happened.

Even if they aren\'t talented, their creativeness will at least be accepted.

The song is played in the style of a village\'s storytelling old gramps.

It reminds me of a television documentary program.

It should be interesting to hear it.

But the narration is bland, and the song will likely remain unpopular.

Even if they were to change it now, the heckling has already started.

Even I, the actual hero of the story, would say it is terrible.

Around the time I\'m thinking such things...

BAM!

Suddenly the door to the bar is thrown open.

A chilly air blew in.

Eyes stared.

People trembled.

[At last I\'ve finally found you, "Rudeus of the Quagmire"!]

There stood a member of the Long Ear Tribe with hair like French bread.

While it looked like an adventurer, its clothes were suitably dress-like.

It wore a backpack and had a sword and shield hung around the waist.

The only word needed to describe her face was Beautiful.

Almond eyes, long ears, and lustrous blonde hair.

A slender body with a flat chest and long ears.

It certainly feels like this is what\'s called an \'Elf\'.

Before she could point a finger.

All eyes were fixed on me.

[Geh... "Quagmire" ...isn\'t here...?]

The man who had just been heckling now wore an unpleasant face.

I disregard it.

Because I\'m tolerant.

I turn back and look at the Elf.

[Have I finally been found at last...?]

I suitably replied.

However, she doesn\'t recognize me for the moment.

I certainly haven\'t done anything in the last few years to warrant someone carrying a grudge.

I work in order to make my name famous.

The name \'Rudeus of the Quagmire\'.

I help others, I don\'t pick fights, and I am always careful not to get a bad reputation.

I have often been given thanks to by those I wasn\'t really acquainted with, but this is the first time I have been talked to this way by such a beautiful woman.

She is probably one of those types too...

But then again, my intuition tells me differently.

[Since you are famous, you were easily found.]

[Eh, just a moment ago, didn\'t you say you had \'finally\' found me?]

[Actually, I thought you were still to the East a bit more.]

The woman said as such and quietly watched me with such beautiful eyes.

Somehow, something like drool began to slide down the side of her mouth.

She quickly licks it away.

Heh, is it love at first sight for her?

Or perhaps she desires my body which has recently become quite toned.

I have been training a lot recently, and I am also in a growth period.

And so of course muscles would form.

Muscles.

[Is there something wrong?]

[No, no, there is nothing wrong at all!]

The Elvish woman cleared her throat with a sound like \'Ko~hon^[4]\' then took a seat next to me.

Suddenly the bar was filled with whispers of "Ooohhh!".

I heard something along the lines of [So that\'s the Quagmire\'s woman.]

What a surprising thing to hear.

How is it possible that I have something as outrageous as this woman?

[Fuu~]

She unloads the backpack and places it by her feet, grabs a chair, and with a bang, it hits the ground next to me, then she sits down close.

CLOSE.

WAY TOO CLOSE.

If I was still a DT^[5] I would think "What\'s there to like about this guy?"

[My name is Elinalise. Elinalise Dragonroad. A former party member with your father, Paul...]

[Hmm.]

I see.

Paul\'s friend.

It might be that she\'s been searching for me.

[Of course, I am also a friend of Roxy as well.]

[EH!! A friend of sensei! Where is sensei now?]

It\'s been a long time since I\'ve heard the name Roxy spoken from another person\'s mouth.

I was excited to hear about it so I leaned in closer.

Elinalise didn\'t answer the question I wanted to hear about the most.

I leaned in closer still and practically kissed my ear to her mouth.

[I heard it, you know, that you had a manly, crushing solo victory against a stray dragon.]

[Eh.. well... sort of, though, everyone and I was nearly killed.]

[I can understand why you are Roxy\'s pride and joy.]

But there was a lot more flexibility dealing with it.

Compared to dealing with Dragon God Orsted, the pressure was significantly less.

If you consider a man like that, the dragon was something strangely calm.

[To hear that I\'m Sensei\'s pride and joy is rather embarrassing after all... Is it because I\'m emotional about it inside?]

[Your chest. It\'s rather strong.]

Before I realized it, Elinalise was feeling around my upper arm and chest with her hands.

It tickles.

She said I was strong, and I didn\'t feel egotistical about it.

[What\'s this?]

The fingers of Elinalise were touching something.

It was the pendant I had received from Lilia.

[I see, I see. It\'s cute and clumsily made. Who gave it to you?]

[My family\'s house maid.]

[Maid? by chance, are they of the Long Ear Tribe?]

[Eh? No, she\'s not... why do you ask?]

Oh damn, we changed topics.

[It\'s not a big deal, however...]

Elinalise seemed to particularly mind the sword attached to her waist.

She shows me what is attached to the scabbard.

It is a similarly shaped pendant.

However, it is far more elaborate than mine.

Mine is an amateur\'s work - hers is definitely professional.

[...It seems we match.]

Elinalise has seemingly snuggled in closer and closer to me.

What\'s going on here?

She has been way too extremely frisky with me for a while now.

[Is yours from a while ago? Perhaps from a guy you really like?]

[Yeah, he\'s a good man. Better than I expected. It\'s surprising really. I wanted to make more children with him... He was very vigorous and A~MA~ZING....]

I wonder if I\'m being teased.

I\'m a bit excited.

[Well, the Onee-chan here is also quite beautiful.]

Hmph.

I am not such a DT that I will panic when teased.

So, I quickly push a finger up to close my hanging jaw.

[Nnn...]

Then, Elinalise quietly closed her eyes.

It was the full gesture of waiting for a kiss.

Even though it seemed like a joke, her hand reached around the back of my head and moved in..

[...eh?]

Seriously?

Was there the atmosphere for this?

Is it alright?

It\'s alright if I go Zukyuu~~n? ^[6]

The moment I thought that, the eyes of Elinalise opened with a click sound.

[Yaaa, That was my fault. I\'ll stop here.]

[You really shouldn\'t go that overboard with the teasing.]

[I am not the kind of person to leave it at a tease with a man. But, I have no intention of becoming a daughter of Paul.I also wish to stay friends with Roxy as well.]

...That explained the matter.

What kind of thing happened back in those days when Paul split from his party that this woman doesn\'t even want to associate with his son?

Whatever, it\'s fine like this anyways.

[Well then, Elinalise-san, do you have official business with me?]

[Sort of. I came to deliver you some good news.]

Elinalise gave me a sweet smile.

On that day.

I learned my mother Zenith had been located.

One week has passed since I heard that Zenith has been found.

I still remained at an inn in the Basherant Kingdom.

I want to head to the Begaritto Continent, but winter quickly approached.

So, I decided I would stay in this country for a little while longer.

The winters in the Northern Lands of the Central Continent are severe.

Snow continually falls and can get as deep as 5 meters.

The highway and some important country roads are passable, but that changes when heading to foreign lands.

I could use my magic to stop a snow storm, melt the snow and travel onwards...

However I don\'t know a magic to clear all the roads, so there\'s no way to make it to the next country without having to camp outside.

I would likely meet with a disaster.

Anyway, Zenith is alive, and the word was that the labyrinth is being sought.

Though there were a couple of problems, Paul and Roxy were heading there.

And Elinalise said that there was no need to rush there.

It was better to head there after the winter when the danger was minimal.

So, with plans to eventually go there, I continued with my daily training regimen.

I wake up in the morning and do training.

During my lifetime, I trained to keep my body healthy as long as I can, that\'s why right now my body moves well.

After all, a healthy body is a healthy mind.

In the afternoon I didn\'t head towards the Adventurer\'s Guild.

It is a one-week holiday right now.

I\'ll do training until midday, then I\'ll look around the market.

If winter is coming, I need to get appropriate clothes now.

While thinking about various things, I began training.

It\'s a bit difficult because it\'s a holiday.

Running through the snow, I reached the outer wall of the town and assisted by my magic, I climbed the hill.

[Whoa~!? Say, Quagmire, You shouldn\'t go out! How about you take a break today?]

[Can\'t, I\'ve got to do my daily training.]

[You\'re a hard worker aren\'t ya? Ah, that\'s right, can you help me with repairing a wall next time? I\'ll reward you with some rice!]

[If you let me rub your daughter\'s tits, I\'ll rebuild your whole house!]

[Now listen here you....]

[Just kidding!]

After greeting with the soldier on top of the outer wall, I jumped down to the city outskirts.

Then I proceeded to run one lap around the city.

Unlike the freshly snow-shoveled streets in the city interior, snow is piled high outside the wall.

I run while making my own road through the snow I melted with fire magic.

After my lap, I proceeded to do sword-swinging exercises.

I learned how to do image training from Ghyslaine and Paul, so the shadow of the person I\'m chasing today was Ruijerd.

I can move neither hand nor my foot against him.

I have to train harder.

Afterwards, I took the same route home.

When I was returning to the hotel, I saw Elinalise appear in the window of the room on the second floor.

[Ah... Isn\'t it, Rudei, err, -us, welcome home.]

Though she has seen and spoken to my face, the circumstances are strange.

Her hand grabs the window edge, she is making unsightly faces, and her head moves in a rhythmic fashion.

She was trying to keep her voice low but the volume of her groans of [Nnh, Nnh] was rising.

A bare-skinned shoulder.

Yep. Busted.

[I\'m back Elinalise-san, You are \'energetic\' as well again today it seems.]

[Eh? \'Energetic?\' Wh-whatever do you mean by thaAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH~t!]

Surely, on the other side of the window there, there is a man who is taking care of Elinalise from behind.

Even though it was cold outside, she engages in the advanced art of open-window play.

She is an \'energetic\' thing.

I took my eyes off her and entered the hotel, returning to my room.

I\'ve come to understand in this one week, that Elinalise is one hell of a bitch in heat.

The existence of such a woman is surely some kind of criminal sex offense.

Although I wouldn\'t mind being caught up in that kind of crime scene.

But to tell the truth, for the last 2 years, I\'ve been suffering from a certain disease.

It\'s a sickness of the Heart and Body.

It\'s difficult to speak about it in detail.

Well, let me use an example of a plant bulb to try and explain.

If a bulb sees some mountains or a valley, it will sprout out the bud.

And as it grows towards the heavens, it becomes swollen, a splendid stalk that cannot be knocked down by heavy winds or fierce rains.

Then it will release a splendid flower which will bloom.

But, right now my bulb does not grow, and the flower does not bloom.

...In short, It\'s ED^[7].

And no, it\'s not a cassette tape.

That\'s right.

Since that separation experience from Eris, it won\'t stand.

Of course, I made an effort to overcome it.

I headed in the direction of a strange place called the Red-Light District.

In my previous life, I would never ever have gone there.

However, the result was complete defeat.

The stem that would come from my beloved bud was instead peacefully at rest.

Afterwards, when I sold my name as an adventurer, I was able to court a lady adventurer.

Even though I surely had a lewd face, I managed to coerce her into my room.

Or, it might have been that because I considered that she may have been a professional.

It\'ll stand ready.

However, with it in this worthless state, it was over, and when she was finished being angry with me, she left.

So I gave up.

If I see a naked woman, I do get excited.

But, there is no signal from the spinal cord to that place on the body.

Afterwards, a sense of helplessness and loneliness descended upon me.

My heart broke.

I also don\'t think that anymore, there isn\'t someone else who can make it grow.

There is no beloved partner.

After that kind of betrayal, only someone who I could see, and feel, and love from the start would be good.

I don\'t desire anything more than that.

Hasn\'t it been that way since the olden days?

I managed it once, and I desire more.

There is no good advancement from before.

If I choose solo-play that might be good.

I don\'t need a partner.

I hate being crowded anyway.

No, recently, even solo-play has to be rather...

I can\'t even cry about it!

[Haa~]

I came back to my room.

With magic I warmed the room, then I produced some warm water, and proceeded to wipe my body down.

After changing clothes, I left the room to go eat.

[Ah?]

[Eh?]

And just then, I bumped into Elinalise and the company who had just finished shouldering her burden.

Coming out of the room holding the shoulder was Soldat, who had recently been the one accepting her job requests.

After seeing my face, his own face turned pale.

[Ah, it\'s not like that Quagmire.... I didn\'t intend to make a move on your woman.]

[Ah, it\'s not like that Soldat, Elinalise-san was never my woman. Besides you know how it is.]

[Y-yeah, it\'s like that isn\'t it, S-sorry. I didn\'t mean to dredge up that emotional scar. I didn\'t have any intention to go against you, especially after what we accomplished the other day.]

[Don\'t worry about it... By the way, was she good?]

[Yeah, she was the the absolute best.]

When Soldat said that, his face went hot.

[Tch...]

After asking him myself, a tongue clicking sound came out.

[About that, Elinalise-san. Does it make you feel good?]

[But of course, it\'s only natural that I try to bring every man closer to happiness.]

[....Ah, so that\'s how it is.]

I know about it.

Soldat\'s male party members and many others have already been gobbled up by Elinalise.

Each and every one of them offered me an apology as they spoke fondly of her.

I don\'t really need any apologies.

However, are the other men aware of what happened?

If it comes out, will it become a scene of carnage?

Well, it\'s not my concern.

I\'m not a participant.

It\'s too troublesome to deal with the awkwardness of those situations.

In the last two years, I have done my best to avoid getting involved in troublesome situations like this.

I don\'t cause grudges, and I don\'t start fights.

In other words, I should offer her a word of advice here.

[Elinalise-san]

[What is it?]

[It\'s okay if you make a mess eating whatever you like, but please clean up after yourself, alright?]

Personal maintenance.

She nodded in assent as if it was a natural conclusion.

[Of course.]

[Oi, Oi, what\'s the story?]

I cannot say what kind of face Soldat was making.

Elinalise gave him a kiss on the cheek and ushered him downstairs.

[It\'s nothing at all, now then, shall we eat the meal?]

She is a cruel woman.

Elinalise Dragonroad.

Paul\'s former party member.

It seems that along with Roxy, she was also looking for Paul\'s family that were involved with the Mana Calamity.

Together with Roxy, they traveled across the Magic Continent, happened upon Kishirika, then came back towards the Central Continent.

I was grateful hearing the story.

Roxy rushed back from the edge of the Magic Continent.

She was going to inform Paul about Zenith\'s discovered whereabouts.

In other words, this selfish woman is saying that Roxy is not otherwise coming here.

Damn.

No, hearing the situation, originally everyone was going to return to Milishion.

It couldn\'t be helped if I was left out of the plans.

I should probably be grateful.

It\'s fine how it is.

If I head to Begaritto Continent, I can meet Roxy.

I don\'t have to rush it.

Elinalise\'s adventurer rank is S-class.

Her class is a [Warrior.]

Only once did I do a subjugation request with her. Truthfully speaking, she is not weak.

Her offensive ability is a bit low, but her aggro control is extremely good.

As far as warriors go, she is first-class.

However, she isn\'t the strongest.

The strongest [Warrior] to me is without a doubt Ruijerd.

Though, I feel bad having that as a basis for comparison.

Her luxurious blonde hair rolls extravagantly; this elf has an Ojou-sama like beauty.

Though her demeanor is gentle, her conduct is different towards men.

She is always gazing into men\'s eyes, casually touching their bodies, and, one by one, seducing them.

I wonder, if it was me at that time, maybe even I could have been charmed?

Naturally, I\'ve managed to avoid a misunderstanding.

Moreover, she has the skill to make the men in this world MeroMero. ^[8]

And apparently, her fighting power on the bed is rather high.

Having said that, there is no reason to look down on or despise her.

She gives advice to the love-struck girl on how to use her feminine wiles to get a man.

In a party, she will take the lead and protect everyone like a reliable Onee-san.

Excluding the small chest which is a characteristic of the Elf Race, I would say she is a faultless perfect woman.

Better known as a Femme Fatale. ^[9]

The only downside to her is her freelance eating of so many men.

It\'s like a fire lighting a fuse when she looks at one.

But, since her aggro control is good, she avoids bloodshed in that matter.

However, how should it be said?

There is a problem that occurs often as well.

She\'s never in a party for a lengthy time.

Incidentally, she is in a party with me right now.

She puts on the caring pretense of [I will properly get you to Begaritto.]

Still, the journey to Begaritto will take two years, and it\'s problematic if I go alone. Having another person to travel and talk with is something to be grateful for.

Her fighting power isn\'t low either.

It\'s possible as an adventurer she could even go Solo.

However, she sits next to me and him when we eat.

They lean in close to each other and continue with the irritating petting.

[Soldat-san. Don\'t be naughty now, Rudeus is looking, you know.]

[Didn\'t he say he was fine with it though?]

[Ara Ara, what a bad boy you are....]

Right now Soldat and Elinalise are flirting in front of me.

I was fine eating alone - why are these two together at the table with me?

Perhaps she wants to flaunt it?

Damn woman.

Something like that isn\'t gonna make me jealous at all.

[....]

Soldat is DEREDERE^[10] for Elinalise.

All of [Stepped Leader] were also like that.

So how does Elinalise managed to avoid raising the reverse-harem flag from here?

As much as I want to avoid problems like this, I have a feeling I\'m going to have to face it eventually.

I want to straighten this problem out before it gets out of hand, but my actual experience level in such matters is low.

I have a feeling though that if I interfere, I\'ll only cause more problems.

Or so I thought.

[Well then, here\'s what I promised to pay you.]

[That is, I\'m sorry.... Getting to do something so good and then getting paid for it....]

[It\'s fine, but in return, you absolutely cannot fall in love with me, okay?]

As she said so, she handed over some coinage to Soldat.

I finally get it.

It was reverse-prostitution.

If that\'s how it is, there should be a problem right?

Still, isn\'t that a bit unbecoming...?

Life continued on this way for a month until one particular day.

A letter addressed to me arrived.

It was a firmly sealed letter.

On the surface was written the words: [Ranoa Magic Academy].

What\'s this?

I went ahead and tore the seal and looked at the contents of the letter.

[Rudeus Greyrat-sama,

Pleased to meet you.

I am Vice Principal Jinas^[11] of [Ranoa Magic University], Recently, the fame of [Rudeus of the Quagmire] echoes throughout the Ranoa Kingdom.

I have heard from various adventurers that you are a virtuoso of chantless incantation.

On further investigation, it appears that you have also been a disciple of the [Water King Class] Magician known as Roxy.

Do you have any intention of further polishing your magic techniques?

Ranoa Magic University is ready to invite you as a [Special Student].

[Special Student] includes certain class exemptions, and tuition exemptions.

You are of course free to make use of all the books and facilities our school has to offer you as a student.

If you manage to complete your studies after 7 years and submit your thesis to the school upon graduation or to the magic guilds, there is also the unconditional possibility for you to receive a membership recommendation to a C-Class Magic Guild.

Of course, graduating without any significant thesis will still allow you to earn the right to enter a D-class guild.

May I please be given the opportunity of greeting you once by any means?

I apologize for the suddenness of this request, but I would appreciate your consideration as well.

With my best regards,

[Ranoa Magic Academy] Vice Principal, Jinas Halfas]

It was written there.

[Special Student]...

In short, is this a letter of recommendation for a scholarship student?

I know about the existence of this world\'s Magic Guild.

But I have no idea what it does.

I also incidentally know there is a Thieves Guild.

They have a black market network to sell goods and slaves.

But I don\'t know about the Magic Guild.

I could expect that they do research on as well as publication of books on the subject of Magic.

Honestly, I just don\'t know.

What am I even doing here?

However, why after all this time am I getting such a thing sent to me now?

Certainly, I feel that my magic has reached a bottleneck.

But living over these last two years has taught me that the degree of magic power I have is more than enough to live by.

It was enough to defeat that stray dragon the other day.

...even though that group was weak, it doesn\'t change the fact that it was defeated.

The strong make the rules. ^[12]

At any rate, with my test scores, I don\'t really feel the need to attend school.

I don\'t really know why I\'m here,

I don\'t really know why this letter of recommendation came.

And I don\'t really know why I would have been recommended in the first place.

Perhaps this is some new kind of scam?

If I just carelessly head there, some scary looking Onii-san types will surround me, then cover me head to toe in gold paint and parade me around.

All joking aside.

I\'m honestly thrilled that such a letter came to me.

The Ranoa Magic University is Roxy\'s Alma Mater, and the fact that I received a letter of recommendation from there...

I want to know what the real reason behind it is.

Whether or not this letter is somehow a fraud.

[Elinalise-san, I\'m heading out to the Adventurer\'s Guild for a bit.]

[Wha? Weren\'t you taking today off?]

I called out to Elinalise-san, who, since she hadn\'t yet fished up a man, was tending to her luxurious hair instead.

[I want to check up on something right now.]

[Wait just a moment, I will also come with you.]

Elinalise put down her brush and stood up.

Though she hadn\'t decided on the exact setting of her hair, it still looked fine.

[I may or may not take a request and come back sometime.]

[In the old days, Paul used to say something like that when he was going to the Adventurer\'s Guild to flirt around.]

[Is that so, that is something Paul-like, isn\'t it? Now that you mention it.]

[When flirting around, two people have a better chance at success than just one. Plus, it\'s also easier to take aim at a couple.]

This bitch says something wild all of a sudden.

[Please stop it. Especially when it comes to couples. I will hold a grudge if you come between two lovers.]

[It\'s fine. I know what things to watch out for when it comes to that.]

[Let\'s try this again. I\'m not going to flirt, and you are just accompanying me to the guild.]

In times of peace, there is only one thing in the head of Elinalise.

However, when she takes a job, she instantly changes into reliable Onee-san mode.

Is that personality gap another facet of her sex appeal?

[You know, it\'s because you don\'t take care of this body that I have to leave it to other men...]

[I wouldn\'t mind taking care of it you know? When my "son" recovers that is.]

[I want you to know that I am honestly trying my best to not become a daughter of Paul. Also there\'s the promise I made with Roxy, too. I really don\'t want to be hated by Roxy.]

What inconsistent things she says.

What a carefree life this woman leads.

[I don\'t want to be hated by Roxy.]

Only those words I understand.

And, judging her on those words alone, I cannot come to dislike Elinalise\'s way of life.

[I don\'t want to be hated by anyone.]

I understand that feeling.

However, even I don\'t want to be hated by Elinalise.

Seriously?

O-, MAI, GOD.

Enough of that.

[But that\'s not my fault, is it? It\'s because of Elinalise-san\'s personal reasons, isn\'t it?]

[That\'s right. But it\'s not always easy you know, flirting, finding a good healthy boy to gobble up.]

[And what about a healthy delinquent boy?]

[Ara, those are tasty.]

For whatever reason, I proceeded to the Adventurer\'s Guild with Elinalise after all.

Even though I won\'t be flirting.

It\'s early afternoon now.

Adventurers are sparse around this time of day.

There is no sign of Soldat or the others of [Stepped Leader] today.

They may already be out on a request.

During the winter months, there are a considerable amount of subjugation requests.

Monsters don\'t have holidays it seems.

Despite being a bear, [Raster Grizzly] doesn\'t seem to hibernate.

Taking a glance around, I saw the guys of the A-ranked party [Cellar World].

They are a mage-centered party.

A small 4 member party.

One is a magic warrior, and the other three are magicians.

All of the members are above middle rank in magic, and the leader is Advanced rank in fire magic.

[Yo Quagmire, on a date today?]

[Eh, she wouldn\'t stop nagging me until I took her out to play around.]

[Huh?]

I chatted with Conrad, the leader of [Cellar World].

He is a 40-year old veteran, a skilled and bitter man with a fancy mustache.

Though he had not participated in the dragon subjugation last time, I do have a good work relationship with him.

I have been invited to his party several times.

As an attack mage who can also use healing magic, I am valuable even to them.

[So, finally found the balls to join our party on the long-term?]

[Psh, a lone wolf like myself doesn\'t like crowds. I hate sharing an umbrella with others, you know?]

[So you say, but you went ahead and made a party with THAT woman.]

THAT woman. Hearing that word alone, I turn around and see Elinalise-san playfully flirting with the D-Rank adventurer named "Mallory."

Another victim.

From a distance, his face is long since colored red, and he is clearly emitting what the Beast Tribe would call the [Scent of Arousal].

Mallory is a 16-year old boy - his class is Warrior.

We aren\'t acquainted.

Looking at him, I get the feeling he is not experienced in such matters, especially against the seduction ability of Elinalise, and his arousal is greater than his embarrassment.

[Such things don\'t bother me Conrad-san. Rather, I have a little something I need you to hear me out on.]

[What is it, come to extort money out of me? Didn\'t you get enough reward from the stray dragon subjugation? A~h, If only we went along as well. I heard it was you that solo\'ed it...]

[I\'ll treat you well next time. Now then, what I need you to hear....Conrad-san was a graduate of Ranoa Magic Academy, right?]

[I was until the 5th year when I dropped out.]

Even if he dropped out, I don\'t mind it.

I asked Conrad about the letter I received.

First off, about what being a [Special Student] meant.

[Ah, a Special Student eh? It is, It is. At the magic university, there are other magicians who can use various magics like yourself, and other adventurers who got their name through fame or recommendation from a Magic Guild, Royal families from foreign countries, or even nobles. Proactively searched for, Special Students are people with great magic power and potential. They aren\'t obligated to attend classes, and they only have to lend their name to the school as someone who did attend there.

Listen, this way when someone from there becomes famous, isn\'t it like free advertising for how good the Academy is?]

It seems it\'s like this.

In my previous life, I seem to remember something like this.

Is it different from a Scholarship Student?

Maybe something like having an Honorary Membership?

At any rate, it doesn\'t seem to be a complete scam at all.

[What goes on in a Magic Guild?]

[They assist with production of things like [Magic Items] and [Scrolls].

I\'m not enlightened on more than that. For the moment I belong to an F-class guild.]

[Ah, is it true if I just graduate from the Academy that I am qualified to join a D-class guild?]

[Graduate huh...]

The Magic Guild seems to carry out support for all areas related to magic.

As the rank rises, authority increases, and various aids can be received.

Even if at best all someone could only use was a Beginner grade magic, they can also join.

Normal graduates of the Magic Academies may usually find themselves in an E-class guild.

The top of the magic academy is also an executive member of the magic guild, since it\'s the magic academy that keeps the magic guild running. If I graduated, I can surely become a member of a D-class guild.

If a [Special Student] submits a thesis, C-class.

Of course, even those who are not [Special Students] who are also excellent magicians may actually be rewarded with C-class.

Incidentally, F-class seems to get next to no support at all.

As for Magic Guild Ranks, You can rank-up if you complete certain requests from the guild, or if you contribute certain services to the guild.

Unlike the Adventurer\'s Guild, there isn\'t a clear path in how you get to the top.

Even a skillful ass-kisser with an executive connection can manage to rank up.

Truth be told, entrance even up to B-class can be bought with money.

[Quagmire, haven\'t you already gone to school?]

[I had a private tutor.]

[Hmm~ Weren\'t you quite rich though?]

[Just in name, as part of the upper aristocracy of Asura]

[...Sorry Quagmire, what was your family name again?]

[Greyrat. I am Rudeus Greyrat.]

Even though the name [Rudeus of the Quagmire] is famous, it seems the name of Greyrat is not spread with it.

It doesn\'t matter to me.

Even I don\'t know Conrad\'s family name.

Though I heard it when we introduced ourselves, I\'ve already forgotten it.

[Greyrat, wasn\'t that the name of some regional lord in Asura Kingdom? That\'s amazing, but if that\'s the case, why are you a solo adventurer out here?]

[That is because....]

As I started to speak, everything about Eris flooded my mind.

Her face, her warmth that night, and the painful loss of her the next day.

...and then my worthless little man after that...

Tears were noticeably flowing.

[Huh, W-what..? Sorry, I guess you have your own difficulties as to why.]

I still care about her it seems.

Isn\'t it about time I forgot about her already?

I\'m sure she\'s changed a lot already, She\'s probably already forgotten all about me.

There\'s really no point in me carrying a torch for her anymore.

Don\'t Think.

Don\'t Feel.

[But still, if you are being given preferential treatment from them, do you have any good reason not to go?]

Conrad said it, and I suddenly recalled it.

The reason I bothered tutoring Eris in the first place, is because it was necessary to earn tuition for the Magic Academy.I was going to take Sylphy with me.

That was my first goal.

However, I don\'t feel the need to go there right now.

The circumstances now are different from back then.

Although, good things might happen if I join the Magic Guild.

It\'s not something that I particularly need to do right now.

I\'d probably be better off joining Paul.

[That\'s right. I\'m with Paul on this matter, even he wanted you to attend that school. You are already at a good age, why don\'t you learn to become independent?]

When I noticed it, Elinalise was suddenly next to me.

She seems to dislike Paul a great deal.

[It might not be too late to meet with my whole family once again.]

[I\'m told Zenith was safe. Just live your life. You\'ll surely meet her again.]

[No, the first meeting will likely be a family dissolution.]

[Paul and everyone, wouldn\'t they come back to Asura?]

[Isn\'t it more likely they will go to live in Milishion?]

[Milishion is not the place where a man with two wives can live comfortably.]

In the Milis religion, the premise of 1 husband 1 wife is common sense.

Certainly, a guy like Paul would find it a little bit difficult.

[I mean, does Elinalise-san really not want to see father that badly?]

[That\'s right!]

Elinalise said so unconcernedly while shrugging her shoulders.

But even if she doesn\'t want to meet Paul, she\'s not going to give up on her plans to get me safely to him.

There are times when I just don\'t know what she\'s thinking.

[By the way, Quagmire]

[What is it?]

[Isn\'t it about time you introduced me to that Onee-chan of yours?]

Conrad followed Elinalise with a lewd pair of eyes.

This woman, how is she so popular?

Anyways.

Nothing is lost.

Though it\'s a very tempting offer, I think I\'ll pass on the Magic Academy right now.

That night.

I was in a white place.

There is a guy.

It\'s that guy.

The mosaic.

It\'s been two years.

[Un, It\'s been a while.]

Ah, without a doubt, it\'s Hitogami.

[What\'s with that expression?]

It\'s nothing, don\'t worry about it.

[I don\'t mind it. I\'m just used to the weird way you say things.]

Is that so?

Even though it\'s been a long time since this dream came, the feeling isn\'t as unpleasant as before.

Have I gotten used to it?

[Have you adapted?]

I wonder.

For these kind of things, in the middle of searching for Zenith, how many times did I call out for you?

Couldn\'t you have appeared once then?

[There are certain reasons for that.]

Is that the reason?

Well, since the result was that she was found, it\'s fine for now.

I feel like I lost two years worth of feelings.

[Aren\'t you glad? Your mother has been found.]

Ah, I never thought that Roxy would be taking the trouble to search.

[That girl is a hard worker, isn\'t she?]

I\'m truly proud of my shishou.

I want to meet her quickly on the way to the Begaritto continent.

[Are you sure about that? That you want to show your current and pitiable self to your proud shishou right now?]

...eh?

Pitiable self?

Current?

[Isn\'t it the case? Eris ran away after all, that thing is useless too, and even though your magic skill has improved, it\'s barely better than back then.

Even your swordsmanship hasn\'t improved. You just go through the motions of swinging your sword.

Though your body has became somewhat stronger, can you really say that with conviction?

To say to her "Your Student has grown up splendidly," do you really have the confidence?]

Gununu...

Have you said all that you are going to say?

What is it that you really want to say to me?

[Shouldn\'t you be training yourself now? If you go to the Magic Academy, you\'ll be incomparable to various adventurers, you should be able to learn all kinds of important things.]

What is this, where are you hiding the cram teacher at?

Ah.

Although that\'s rather straightforward, is that the advice this time?

[Yes, did that give you a good feeling?]

In front of me is still a shady-looking guy.

[Oh still that kind of feeling? But, you should listen to what I say this time. If you go to the Begaritto continent, you will REGRET it.]

REGRET?

Why is that?

[I cannot tell you that.]

Is that it?

Anyways, it\'s not like you haven\'t been hiding all sorts of things from me since the start.

But, you should know that kind of reasoning is weak.

Even I want to settle down now that I\'ve found everyone again.

[Yes, so then, the real advice begins now]

Alright, I\'m listening.

[*Ahem.* Rudeus, Enter the Ranoa Magic University. Then investigate the "Mana Calamity" cases of the Fedoa territory. You may regain your confidence and ability as a man once more.]

Eh?

Really?

Hitogami-sama! Does my Erectile Dysfunction get healed at Magic Academy?

I wonder....wonder....wonder...?

The echo trails, and my consciousness fades.

I woke up, and there was Elinalise\'s face really close to me.

I was startled when I gazed at her.

I try and remember last night.

It was an unusual failure in her boys hunt. ^[13]

At night, she slipped into my bed with the excuse [I can\'t sleep when I\'m cold].

Certainly, the winter nights of the northern lands are cold.

There is a fireplace in the hotel. Though it\'s warmer than the outside, this world doesn\'t have air conditioning or gas stoves.

At a high-class hotel, each room is furnished with a fireplace, and magical heat warms the whole building that way.

However, the reality is that this is a cheap hotel for C-class adventurers.

The only provision against the cold is a thick comforter.

Because I can warm the whole room by magic, I don\'t have any problems in particular.

However, Elinalise is rather low on body fat, and that seems to contribute to her being cold.

Well, I\'ll just have to consider this a side benefit.

It doesn\'t mean that last night wasn\'t fun.

No, actually last night was not enjoyable at all.

Sleeping next to this Onee-chan with no sense of virtue, my fur seal lays limp, and we only exchange an empty silence.

Even if I experimentally grope the sleeping body of this woman, my fur seal remains silent.

Even with the so called "unauthorized usage" of the female body that I yearned to do in my previous life.

Despite how excited the reaction in my head is, no reaction came from the spinal cord to that place.

[Nnn~]

When I moved my hand, I was latched onto, much in the way an octopus does.

Though the degree of her fleshiness was rather thin, she had the soft build particular to a woman, and I was wrapped up in her.

She makes incredibly lascivious movements and coils up around me. Though as usual, there is no reaction.

However, my brain is surely excited...

After not too long, the movements of Elinalise stopped, and she resumes the quiet breathing of a sleeping person once again.

The excitement instantly fades.

Only the miserable feelings of loneliness and nothingness remain.

I shed tears.

[Is that so? This really gets healed....?]

I made up my mind right then to go to the Ranoa Magic Academy.

---

3 months later.

At the end of winter.

I started on a journey to Ranoa Kingdom.

Ranoa Kingdom.

The largest country in the Northern Lands of the Central Continent.

Though it\'s the largest, the current national power is around the same level as Shirone Kingdom.

However it is intimately allied with Neris and Basherant kingdoms by way of the Magic Guild.

If you put the combined power of all three countries together, even though they are located in the pitiable northern lands, they can be considered to be the world\'s hidden fourth strongest power.

Ranoa, Basherant and Neris.

Together, these three countries make up the power known as [Magic Triumvirate]^[14].

Why is it the 『Magic』 Triumvirate?

Is it because the Magic Guild Headquarters is located here?

That\'s one reason.

However, the best reason is that these three countries lay a great emphasis on the study and further research of the magical arts.

Without regards for expense, the most magically talented and capable people are gathered with the aim of advancing magical knowledge.

This point alone was why there was an alliance between these countries.

And so, this big city came to be on the edges of each nation\'s shared border.

The city of magic 『Shari\'a』

This city boasts the 『Ranoa Magic Academy』 『Magic Guild Headquarters』 『Neris Magical Tool Atelier』, and into these three locations, everything there is to know about magic was condensed and stored.

The heart of the 『Magic Triumvirate』

It wouldn\'t be wrong to call it the most prosperous city.

When the Magic City Sharia is seen from above,

at the center is the Magic guild, constructed with the latest in magic-proof bricking, and towards the East is the student town centered around the Magic Academy.

Towards the West is the crafting town centered around the Magic Tool Atelier.

In the North is the Shopping District run by the Commerce Guild.

And in the South is the Adventurer\'s Post, a small town that welcomes in adventurers.

If looked at with a discerning eye, certain aspects of Milishon seem to be have been used as a reference for this city\'s design.

At least when I saw a map, I realized it at once.

Even though I can only talk about what I\'ve already came across.

Elinalise and I stayed in a hotel in the Adventurer\'s Post town.

When she is cold, she will crawl into the bed.

And while she is sleeping defenselessly in front of me, I want to take advantage of her.

If I touch her though, I\'ll just get depressed.

So I made sure to choose an A-rank hotel that was fully equipped with a heater.

Elinalise had no complaints about it either.

I seemed to have learned along our trip out here that she has a certain reason for doing the things she does with men.

On our way here, we got sidetracked off course for a week until we arrived at the next town.

Her physical condition was the worst I\'ve ever seen, and the look she had was on the level of a lusty predator.

Even if she looked at me like that, it was hopeless, because even if I was up to the task, I wasn\'t UP to the task.

Hearing about it in detail, it seems to be some kind of Curse.

It is the Curse of Promiscuity, if she doesn\'t couple with a man on a regular basis, she will die.

Seeing it spelled out like that evokes a strong feeling.

However, Elinalise doesn\'t seem to have any real distress over this matter.

It seems she is naturally prone to being erotic as it is.

Even if there was no curse, she said there wouldn\'t be much of a change in her lifestyle.

I can definitely say that I can get along well with someone who has an affliction like this.

[Now then, I will be off to pay my respect to Jinas-san. What is Elinalise-san going to be doing?]

[Of course I am also coming with you.]

[...Why?]

Surely I thought Elinalise was going to be man-fishing at the Adventurer\'s Guild.

[Even if it\'s difficult, I too want to try enrolling at the Magic Academy.]

[...Why? Are you interested in learning magic?]

[Not at all, I am interested in boys who happen to be about Rudeus\' age.]

[Ah, I see.]

In other words, business as usual.

Because it\'s an academy, of course there would be children my age there.

Though I don\'t know the laws of this country, are there any laws protecting minors from being caught by her?

...Then again, it\'s not like it\'s a bad thing to get caught sometimes.

I feel myself getting a bit hazy on that topic.

It\'s not something I need to worry about anyways.

[However, doesn\'t the normal enrollment require a rather expensive tuition?]

[That is not a problem for me, I happen to possess quite the sum of money.]

Elinalise said merrily, as she slaps the pouch of coins she has.

The total amount of money contained in there is more than 5 Asura gold coins worth.

There are also many magical crystals in the backpack she carried as well.

She showed me once a magical crystal she owned, it was a beautiful golden sphere and looked very much like a Superball^[15].

If it was sold, the price would be in excess of 10 Asura Gold Coins.

I wonder where she had obtained it?

Although as an adventurer, she is primarily a Labyrinth Explorer.

I figured that she must have walked away with that as some kind of alternate compensation for doing a job.

Entrance to the Academy does cost money.

However, money doesn\'t concern her.

Although her reason for entering is impure, I can\'t complain.

I had no real reason to stop her anyway.

[So then, shall we go?]

And so, we pointed our feet in the direction of the Magic Academy.

Ranoa Magic Academy boasts quite the gigantic school-grounds.

This vast area was fashioned mostly with brickwork, buildings composed of various bricking styles fashioned the sides of the ridged pathway, leading directly to the central building which looked like a castle.

Upon first seeing it from far away, it looks like it could have been used as a fortress.

The best image I could use to describe it is Tsukuba Daigaku^[16].

Maybe not though, I\'ve never actually seen a photograph of Tsukuba Daigaku before.

For now, I showed the letter I had received to the guard at the gate of the school.

[Excuse me, I appear to have received this letter...]

The guard took a look at the letter, and gave me an understanding nod.

[Do you know where the Administrative Building is?]

[I\'m sorry, I do not know yet.]

[Alright then, From here go straight, it\'ll be to the right of the statue of the Academy\'s Founder. The building with the blue roof. Just hand this letter to the receptionist there, and she\'ll take care of the rest for you.]

[I see, thank you very much for your help.]

In no time, I already noticed Elinalise-san making eyes at the guard, so I responsibly pulled her by the ear along with me.

Indeed, straight ahead of us was the statue of the Academy Founder.

Lining both sides of the road, there are withered trees.

If spring were to come, would Sakura bloom here?

I doubt that this world even has Sakura trees.

Towering 3 meters higher than the largest of the withered trees here, was a brick wall.

Even if facing an attack by many people, a wall archer would probably say something like [Take \'em on!] ^[17]

[All the buildings here are made from Magic-proof brick, it seems.]

[Hmm...]

As Elinalise muttered that, I examined the wall closely.

As for what the Magic-proof bricks are,

As the name implies, it is a brick that has a high tolerance for magical power.

It seems that it would be able to withstand an attack by certain large-scale attack magics.

I wonder how much tolerance there is though?

I kind of want to fire a shot and confirm it that way.

I probably shouldn\'t though.

I heard that the Magic Guild has a monopoly on manufacturing and sales regarding it.

In Asura Kingdom, it\'s so expensive to get that it\'s only being used in the Castle town.

I didn\'t even see any in the Dragon King Country or Milis for that matter.

However, it\'s quite prevalent in the lands of the Magic Triumvirate.

Though the manufacturing process is strictly confidential, the raw material costs might not be that high.

Coming through the brick passage, the road opens up into a large plaza.

The road forks into three paths from here.

At the center is the statue of a woman wearing a robe.

『Ranoa Magic Academy, First Principal - Frau Claudia. Fifty-Sixth Generational Head of the Magic Guild.』。

Such was written on a plate affixed to the statue.

It seems this is the statue of the first principal.

The walls of brick taper off here.

On the road in front of us, a huge group of school buildings look like a fortress.

It seems I can only fit about 6 buildings in my scope of vision.

Suddenly, from a place near the side of the school building that looked like an activities field, a large flame erupted into the air.

Is class in session I wonder?

To the left, there are a number of red-roofed buildings.

This is also a gargantuan building, with many windows, and an attached veranda.

I wonder, if in the student dorms, if the veranda is where you put the laundry out to dry...?

Now then.

The blue roofs are on the right, and the red roofs are on the left.

Because I am not a Sylvanian Family^[18] I went to the right.

[Somehow, I\'m getting more excited the closer we get.]

Elinalise cheerily spoke

[Really?]

[But, that\'s because it\'s such a big building!]

What\'s made this bitch^[19] suddenly start acting like this?

So I thought about it for a moment.

It seems that Adventurers don\'t usually have any business heading into large buildings like this.

At most, the largest building they will visit is that of the Adventurer\'s Guild.

So the opportunities to see such a huge building are few if any.

[So, Elinalise-san, what\'s the largest building you\'ve ever entered up until now?]

[Of course it would have to be the Milishon Adventurer\'s Guild!]

[Ho~, That was a rather large building wasn\'t it?]

I have also visited the Milishon Adventurer\'s Guild before.

It was certainly a wonderful place.

But it wasn\'t surprising to me who has seen far bigger buildings in my previous life.

[What a dull boy you are. The first time I saw the Milishon Adventurer\'s Guild, I was so excited seeing it that I was unintentionally clinging on to Paul.... Tch, Now why did you have to make me go and remember a thing like that.]

Elinalise-san grumbled, then made an unpleasant face by herself.

She really dislikes Paul.

To the woman who self-proclaims that any man is satisfactory... when it comes to Paul...

Just what the hell did you do Paul?

I wonder how many years it has been since Paul and Elinalise separated?

I\'m 15 years old now, so it surely has to be longer than that.

[Pardon me for asking, but how old is Elinalise-san?]

[Ara ara, you know it\'s not nice to ask a lady her age.]

[For the record, I\'ll be 50 years old soon.]

[What a liar!]

Chatting while we walked, we finally reached the building with the blue roof at last.

When I passed the letter to the receptionist, I was ushered into a receiving room.

[Please rest here for a short while.]

Leaving us with just those words, Ms. Receptionist disappears.

While we wait, we sit quietly on the available sofa.

Elinalise of course snuggles right into me.

Whenever she sits next to a man, she does that. It\'s really a bad habit.

But since it doesn\'t really bother me, I let it go.

She\'s happy to feel my manlike body, and I\'m happy to have such a beautiful Nee-san next to me.

Everybody wins.

The only loser is that son of mine who doesn\'t react at all to the situation.

While lost in thought, I looked at my surroundings.

I\'d give this receiving room a grade of C-rank.

The sofa is rather hard, and there is minimal furnishing.

However as a place for meeting with adventurers, it\'s actually fitting.

[Thank you for your patience, I am Vice Principal Jinas.]

After a wait of about one hour, Vice Principal Jinas appeared.

For not having an appointment, we were still met promptly.

With a receding hairline, he seems like a nervous man in the prime of his life.

He wears about himself a deep blue robe.

Is he a user of water magic?

[Pleased to meet you for the first time, I am Rudeus Greyrat.]

I greet him in the aristocratic form I learned, quickly bowing my head.

When I glanced at her, Elinalise also was bowing respectfully.

[And who is this person if I may inquire?]

[I am Elinalise Dragonroad. I share membership in a party with Rudeus.]

[I see....]

Who is it? Why did they come?

One glance of his eyes showed that Elinalise was of no concern to him.

Jinas, in whatever form of good spirit, offered us a seat.

[Never did I think you would come here so soon.]

[A certain person suggested that I should.]

[A certain person...? Ah, perhaps it was Ms. Roxy then.]

Mind your business you big forehead bastard.

Though I didn\'t say it aloud, my heart screamed those words.

[Of course Roxy-sensei had recommended that I come as well, however, the one giving me the push to actually come is someone else after all.]

[Mmm... ...Then, shall we go ahead and enroll you here at the academy?]

[Perhaps, we shall...?]

Jinas leans forward.

With a little subtle pressure, I nod slightly.

[For what I may say, please forgive me, I find that many magicians who have come into great power tend to be very prideful. Especially a young magician like yourself who may come to dislike or look down upon our academy.]

[I see]

[I have also heard the story of how Rudeus-san defeated the Stray Dragon a short time ago. I thought someone like that would not think about pursuing school immediately.]

In these past two years, I have come to understand the tendencies of adventurers.

Though it differs by race and country, but for the most part, in this world, 15 years old is often considered an adult.

It is the age most debut as an adventurer.

However, there are a considerable number of adventurers who are not yet "grown up."

Since there is not a particular age restriction.

However, there are those who exhibit talent and manage to climb to a high rank before becoming 15 years old, though they are few.

And those young people who reach the top, are usually a bundle of pride.

I have only once seen a 14-year old boy called a B-rank adventurer.

And that fellow was a Tengu^[20] who regarded me as a rival.

Perhaps he was unable to stomach that I, who was the same age as him at the time, was an A-rank.

Well, come to think of it I hadn\'t seen him in a while, I wonder if he made a mistake and died on a subjugation request.

Jinas probably thought that of me, that I myself was a bit of a Tengu, like the type I just described.

I regret to inform that these days my Tengu is lacking in vitality.

Am I suffering a spiritual power shortage?

[The first thing is that there are many facilities here to assist you with whatever you wish to pursue. Whether that be General Curriculum, Specialized Research, or Practical and Experimental Application.That is, of course, I will have allowance to advertise that you were a graduate here, correct?]

While Jinas smiled wryly, I recalled Conrad\'s story.

[If there is something you need to frankly discuss or inquire about, please don\'t withhold it here.]

[Actually, What exactly is a [Special Student]? I do not yet properly understand what it is, even after all this talk.]

Jinas once again smiled wryly, suddenly recalling something important.

[Ah, Before I get into that, May I be allowed to give you a brief examination?]

[Examination?]

Maybe it\'s something like the Scholarship Student Examination?

It seems like something naturally asked for.

This might be bad.

It\'s been ten years since I learned about magic from Roxy.

Exactly how much do I remember?

Umm.., Well I do remember Melded Magic....

Damn it, if I had known this was going to happen, I would have brushed up a bit.

[Yes, Well, this is a test to determine if you are in fact the same Rudeus as the rumors say.]

Apparently, there will not be a written portion of the test.

I don\'t want be told I have to defeat another stray dragon.

I am not as brave as I was before.

That\'s all I want to say honestly, however Jinas\'s wry smile tells me that might be Impossible.

This guy has too many wry smiles.

We left the building together with Jinas.

Our destination was somewhere in the group of school buildings.

It seems to be a training room in a training building.

The location was where they perform magical experiments and examinations.

[There are an extremely large number of buildings here. Are there really that many students here?]

Jinas nods his head, and I took that as a confirmation.

[Ranoa Magic Academy is different from a normal magical school, but since we have classes that are the same as a normal school, we have increased the number of classrooms to match the need. Instructions for nobles, and even a math department for merchants.However no matter the section, lessons on magic are adapted to fit the curriculum if necessary.]

There are lesson courses for various fields, not just limited to magic.

It is as Roxy said, they will accept just about anyone.

That is why it has become a Mammoth school.

[Still, while we don\'t have someone to teach royal studies, I feel more than confident that our teachers surpass those of the Ranoa Royal Academy when it comes to that of Magic.]

[Oh?]

[For the time being, there is a nearly unpopulated department that teaches the Military Sciences.]

[As an example, would there be a division in the medical department that teaches about how to use medicine for healing a mental illness?]

[Medicine for mental illness? No, I\'m afraid there isn\'t something like that. However I am proud to say we have a good assembly of teachers skilled in Recovery and Detoxification magic.... Does this field differ greatly from magic?]

[You can say that...]

Although this is an Academy, there isn\'t an Academy hospital.

Well, there is the advice from Hitogami.

I don\'t need to rush anything yet.

[Is there an acquaintance who has become sick?]

[I can\'t call it a sickness... Well, it\'s something more like a curse.]

[I see, you insinuate that you are here to do research on how to cure a curse, that is a splendid goal.]

[No, I\'m not really planning to do anything great here.]

As we talk, we entered one particular building.

In here as well, is the Magic-proof bricking.

The inside of the building was made to look like a deficient gymnasium, on the floor are 4 magic circles with a radius of 5 meters each, and they are partitioned off by horizontal lines.

At the edge of the magic formations, were about 20 people.

All of them wore a similar looking robe, two of them entered the magic formation, and were casting spells at each other.

Are they not concerned with being injured?

[Those are students who will become fourth graders this year, I believe that class had many aristocrats in it. Our school considers curriculum for actual combat, so we can perform mock battles here.]

I watch on, taking in the explanation Jinas offers, as one student strikes the other with a fireball directly.

The student is being wrapped in flames, as it happens the magic formation under their feet shines immediately, the flames are extinguished. The student who was just wrapped in flames comes out with not even a scorch.

[What is this magic formation?]

[It is attuned to Saint class recovery magic. Even if the attack is received, any injury will be recovered instantaneously.]

[That is really amazing!]

[In addition, an advanced level barrier is set into the outer circumference of the formation, and some magic won\'t even move an inch outside of it.]

Amazing.

As for what he called a magic formation, even though I saw magic textbooks a long time ago, with all the bad experiences on the return trip from the Magic Continent, I never managed to look through one.

I wonder if I wouldn\'t have come to know how they are used.

Could I have somehow dealt with the situation with the magic formation in Shirone?

While I think about that, students entered from the opposite ends of the magic formation.

[Now then, what shall I be doing?]

[I have heard that Rudeus-san is capable in using voiceless incantation. I would like you to demonstrate that.]

[Is it good if I just use anything? Supposing the case that I am a fake, do you have a way to verify it?]

[Ah, you bring up a good point, though there was only one teacher in our school who could use voiceless incantations, he died of old age last year...]

When it looked like Jinas might worry about such a thing, his hands came together in a loud clap.

[Ah~, It is fine though, in fact, there is a child in our school who can also use the voiceless incantation magic as well.

While he may not be as strong as Rudeus-san, he is the prodigy of my school.

They belong to the student council this year... no, is that a good thing?

Gaiter*-sensei! Will it be all right if I borrow Fitts-kun for a moment?]

While Jinas ran towards a different magic formation, the teacher called out in a voice as well.

After a while, they brought a lone boy.

He had short white hair, and wore a pair of sunglasses.

The ears were long, was it perhaps an Elf?

He has a small build. No, perhaps he\'s just young? About 13 years old or so?

His muscles are overwhelmingly insufficient.

But he is supposed to be the type who is talented.

If he is a man, he should train his body more.

He\'s younger. However next year he will be my senpai.

I should probably greet him properly.

[Ru-....!]

He looked at me, and was going to rush up to me.

I went before him, while making my greeting with a loud voice.

[Pleased to meet you, I am Rudeus Greyrat.

If there are no problems, I will become your kouhai from next year on.

If I find myself in a difficult place, I hope you will please instruct and encourage me.]

[.....EH? Ah, Y-, Yes!]

Though it looked like Fitts tried to say something, I had already finished the greeting.

When it came to the self-introduction, the early bird gets the worm^[21].

Though his mouth kept flapping open and closed.

Before too long, it stays tightly shut.

[I am Fitts, please treat me well.]

His voice was a little high and sounded stiff.

It seems the breaking of the voice has not yet come to him.

Is he even younger than I thought?

However, a senpai is a senpai after all.

Since I am a bit scared of bullying, I will remain humble.

[Since I am forced to trouble you with this matter, let\'s cooperate well.]

[A~...Right!]

Entering the magic formation, Jinas grumbles something, and the formation activates.

I have a disagreeable recollection about being in a magic formation.

I test the outer limit of the formation with a tap, but my hand slipped through.

[Huh? Jinas-sensei, is the magic formation not operating correctly?]

[Rudeus-san, in here, the only barrier is towards magic.]

[So...anything physical passes through?]

Thats how it appears to be.

If I remember correctly, the formation in Shirone was King-class?

But both physical and magical properties were negated in that.

Well, perhaps if I have free time shall I come study this some more?

After coming all this way to the Academy, it might be a good idea to be taught this stuff.

[Now then, since Rudeus is an adventurer, are you alright with having a mock battle with Fitts?

Please feel free to use your standard form of voiceless incantations.]

[No problem.]

Jinas nods at me, then turns and nods at Fitts.

What\'s that?

Are you trying to say that if I lose normally then I\'ll have to pay the tuition fee among other things?

That\'s lame.

Even though I have some extra money from the stray dragon subjugation, I\'ve been continuing to live my life on the cheap, and if possible I\'d like to keep my living expenses minimal out here too.

Should I go all out from the start?

Fitts stands across from me at the center point of the magic formation.

He is holding in his hand a small wand.

How nostalgic! I used to have a wand just like that in the old days, too.

I also brought out my wand.

This wand has been with me since I was 10 years old, the 『Aqua HartiaArrogant water dragon』

Recently, I\'ve given thought to changing the name of 『Aqua HartiaArrogant water dragon』 to 『Charlene』.

Truth be told, whether I use it or not, won\'t make much of a difference.

Jinas raises his hand.

[Now then, Begin!]

[ 『Disturb MagicRan Ma』 ！！]

At the same time the order to start was given, I used the 『Disturb Magic』 at Fitts\' wand.

Fitts made a surprised face when the spell that should have shot out from the wand didn\'t take shape.

In my left hand, I created a Rock Bullet.

The best reason for it is that it is the easiest spell to use.

It becomes even more powerful if I pinpoint a place to take aim at.

Since I\'ve been making figurines for a while, it\'s incredibly easy for me to adjust the power settings of the spell, and it\'s easy to fire off successive shots.

The fundamentals on all my subjugation jobs consisted of me using the [Rock Bullet] and my [Quagmire].

And depending on the situation, I can even use them in different ways.

As the saying goes, [If you play with fire magic, you are going to get burned.]

[...What\'s with this!!]

[Gee, I wonder.]

Size: Tiny.

Rotation: High

Propulsion: High

Target: Center of Fitts\'s Forehead.

...

I thought about it, but changed my mind.

FIRE!

The rock bullet makes a surprising sound much like a doppler ping, it passes right by the edge of Fitts\' face, and a sound similar to a panel of glass breaking is made when the outer magic barrier limitations are exceeded.

It pierced the wall which was made of the Magic-proof bricking, the impact shattered and flung debris that was once the wall in every direction, and then the piercing movement of the rock bullet stopped.

[......!]

From the side of Fitts\' cheek, a bit of blood trickled out, before the wound suddenly closed thanks to the magic of the formation.

Fitts ran a finger along his cheek, and skimmed the blood, then looked behind him at the final destination of the bullet.

Then with a thump, he fell on his rear.

I\'m glad my aim was that good.

Healing magic isn\'t almighty after all.

In the case of an easy wound like this, Saint class magic will recover a wound like that instantly, but if I had hit him head-on with that, he might have died immediately.

And instant death is not remedied by Saint class healing magic.

[...]

Suddenly, Fitts\' eyes met with mine.

Although I couldn\'t see where he was looking because of the sunglasses,

Somehow, I knew Fitts\' eyes were watching only me.

[......]

[...]

We said nothing to each other.

Fitts\' stare just kept getting more intense.

Somehow,

I felt that I had really gone and done it now.

From the other side of the magic formation, was a downpour of stares.

Even Jinas stared at me with wide eyes.

Elinalise yawned.

[J, Just now.... how did you do...?]

Fitts\' voice was trembling.

Jinas too seemed to make a face wanting to know what had just happened.

[It was the magic called 『Disturb MagicRan Ma』. Do you know about it?]

Fitts shook his head.

It seems he did not know of the Ran Ma type of magic.

Is it relatively minor?

Although I think it is extremely effective magic if you ever have to PvP another magician...

Now that I think about it, outside of that one time with Orsted, I don\'t think I\'ve ever seen it used before.

Fitts still quietly watches me.

The gaze from behind his glasses is painfully transmitted to me.

[...]

By Jinas\' own words, he called Fitts a genius.

That he should have fallen on his rear in front of everyone...

The chance that I may have damaged his honor is high.

Fitts\' glance is painful.

I tried to quietly divert my eyes.

His eyes are locked on to mine.

A deer in the headlights?

Crying over spilled milk?

Those are reasons that lead to bad feelings.

If possible, I don\'t want him to have to suffer that.

Alright.

[Thank you very much Senpai! You allowed a new student like me to take the credit for this match!]

[Eh?]

While I was smiling and laughing, I said it in a way that other students could hear, as I approached him.

And I stretched a hand out towards him.

Though Fitts seems a little puzzled, he catches my hand.

Fitts\' hand was soft.

I wonder if he\'s ever held a sword?

[Please give me the pleasure of returning my thanks for today in the future.]

[...!]

As I\'m helping him rise, I whisper that while I\'m close to his ear, Fitts\' body is trembling, he nods for only a moment.

I think when it\'s time to pay my respects after I enter school, I will bring him a box of cake.

Yeah, I think I\'ll do that.

I quietly decided so.

Oh, by the way I passed the examination.

Jinas applauded and praised me.

Fitts didn\'t even complain about being shut-out.

And so, one month later, I have become a resident of the Academy dorms.

I received a detailed explanation about the [Special Students] afterwards.

Exempt from basic school expenses.

Exempt from classes under certain circumstances.

I can receive or join in any class curriculum aimed at the general students, it\'s encouraged that I mix in with them if I do.

Homeroom attendance is mandatory once a month, I am free to do basically anything in the school.

I may borrow one room in the research building for devoted research.

I may borrow one room in the training building for training time.

If I choose to, I can spend all my time reading in the library.

I am free to eat meals in the dining room.

If I leave campus, it is fine to continue acting as though I was still an active adventurer.

I am free to publish my research findings if I visit the magic guild.

I am free to play around in the red-light district.

However, anything done outside of the campus is my own responsibility.

Though I am called a student, my actual title is closer to that of a researcher.

However, it seems that there are many other types of [Special Students].

Other students may for example not be exempt from the fundamental lessons.

I seem to have been provided with considerable amounts of personal freedom.

Of course there are some forbidden things.

For instance, committing something regarded as a crime in Ranoa Kingdom.

Or subversive activities towards the Academy and towards the Magic Guild.

I was given a thin booklet outlining all the school rules and regulations for further reading and inquiry.

I read a little bit on the spot when I received it.

Basically as long as I use common sense, there shouldn\'t be a problem.

It\'s just about the same thing as what was on the Adventurer\'s Guild application.

Although the Adventurer\'s Guild cracks down a bit harder on violations.

By the way, Elinalise also enrolled in the Academy.

She paid money as normal.

From what I understood, the Entrance fee and school expenses until graduation are lumped together and the total amount is about 3 Asura Gold coins.

That\'s incredibly cheap!

Can there really be such a difference in prices?

By the way if I entered normally and took the exam, and received excellent results, I would have received some exemption towards basic school expenses and the enrollment fee.

Otherwise if I had no practical way to pay up front, I could work out a deal to properly pay for my tuition after graduating.

There seems to be more flexibility the more talented of a person you are.

Oh, but that has nothing to do with me.

[Fumu~]

I combed over the school regulations twice.

For a penal code entry in the matters of sexual relations.

And I examined that page properly.

[Elinalise-san. As long as you don\'t... force yourself on them, you appear to be free to do whatever you want.]

[What a wonderful school! Did you know? That kind of thing is strictly prohibited at a Milishion school after all.]

Though the subject almost went out on a tangent, an adequate answer was returned.

As expected, people with their mind in the pink are different.

When I go with the knowledge that I had from my previous life, there is a serious confusion of public morals when it comes to being able to do it with a child who is attending school, which can lead to a breakdown in discipline.

The youngest children in this school are about 10 years old, but there are people on the register who exceed 100 years old as well.

Although it seems for the time being there are many young men here, the ages are various, the races are various, and even the common sense is various.

Also, there are even others here who are cursed like Elinalise.

In such a situation, that is no good, this is also no good, since it seems like it would be easy for a problem to easily occur.

Especially when the mating season starts.

Well, you might say there is a reason for the free school tradition.

To have a reason to live, for me that reason is the effort I will put forth with the desire to reclaim my manhood again.

Uwaah, Let\'s do our best!

I will make my son BIG.

Just kidding.

Actually, there is still the advice from Hitogami, it will definitely be healed soon.

I continued along taking comfort in that.

Ranoa Magic Academy.

The world\'s largest Magic School, it is sponsored by the Magic Guilds of the 『Magic Triumvirate』 and boasts one of the largest campus areas.

The current Principal is one of the heads of the Magic Guild and is known as 『Wind King Class Magician Georg』.

The current number of students in the register exceeds 10,000.

Though it\'s labeled as a [Magic] Academy, the teachers have layers upon layers of various knowledge, and in truth you can be taught just about anything there.

People from all tribes, species, and social standings can be admitted.

Such as those who would avoid anything to do with the Milis Religion, where there is still deep prejudice against the Demon races.

Such as those who would typically find themselves excluded. The moody types like those of the Beast Race.

Such as those of royal or noble lineage who find themselves in jeopardy or exile by way of political power struggles.

Such as those who were born with a curse, or aristocratic children who are deemed unmanageable.

Though it seems that none from the Heaven Race or Sea Race are on the student register.

A person of high magic ability or a person with a deep relationship with magic, even a person with just some kind of magical issue can also enroll.

It\'s said one time a matter arose with the Magic Guild when it tried to ally with the other world powers.

Asura Kingdom knew that if another country gained the use of the Magic Guild it would be hard pressed to compete against them.

So Asura Kingdom made a number of investments to the magic guild in the effort of building amicable relations.

Incidentally Holy Milis Country has an order...The 『Temple Knights』 are directly opposed to the methods of this school.

However, since this school is on the opposite side of the world from Milishion, there has been no reason yet to expressly call for war with it.

The normal enrollment period is for seven years.

The maximum is nine years.

It is possible to continue indefinite enrollment if one is doing research with expressed permission from an affiliated Magic Guild.

There is a huge dormitory that is five stories tall, and boarding is free.

There are those who attend from residential homes that are in the downtown district as well.

But it seems the usual choice for commute is to stay in the dormitory.

A room has already been prepared for myself in the dormitory, it seems.

The dorm room was simplistic.

It is on the second floor.

A 6-tatami length room, fitted with bunk beds.

One table and chair provided.

While the room is normally shared by two people, those who are approved as a [Special Student] are granted exclusive use.

If I wished for it, I could have a roommate.

However I passed on that.

I didn\'t come here to make friends.

It seems aristocrats can pay a bit of money and move to a larger and higher-security room, but for me, I think it\'s unnecessary.

I\'m not living the kind of life where I need to worry about assassination.

There is a toilet in the hallway.

I was surprised to find that it had a flushing feature!

There was a lever and a jar.

It seems I can draw water from a basin near the toilet with the bucket, and then pour it into the jar.

From the jar, I can use the lever to operate a mechanism that lets the waste-water drain out into a pipe leading to a sewer.

Of course, a guy like me doesn\'t need to use a bucket, since I can just use my own water magic.

It seems there is a duty rotation to refill the water basin, but because I am a [Special Student], I am of course exempt.

I am provided with a uniform.

Gentlemen are provided with a school suit^[22], while ladies are provided with a blazer.

Honestly, it\'s a pretty sweet design too!

I heard that until this year, there wasn\'t a standard unified uniform.

If that\'s the case, then the gym uniform should be bloomers right?

Sadly, here, it happens to be a robe.

I was not provided with the specifics.

It seems like there isn\'t a person who understand the importance of bloomers.

For the time being, even someone without money to spend on a uniform is still provided with the cheapest type.

[So, does it suit me?]

Elinalise is in front of me putting on a fashion show with her new clothes.

Because her lengthy luxurious hairstyle was rolled just under the shoulder, she gave off the impression of wearing her robe as someone who did cosplay^[23].

The uniform suits her reasonably well.

It seems that since I know the true nature of Elinalise-san, I can\'t help but to see it as Cosplay after all.

[If the skirt was altered to be shorter, it would be much easier to go man-fishing. Just to the point where the panties almost become visible.]

After I advise her of this, the look on her face that she gave me said: "You are a Genius!"

[If it\'s this short won\'t I be feeling the cold more?]

[I think that if you were to put on some socks that reach all the way up to your thighs you won\'t be.]

[Amazing, just as expected of Rudeus. You are truly a genius!]

As Elinalise said this to me, she began folding the skirt until it felt like one that belonged to a high school girl.

Then when she spun around, the fluttering of her skirt allowed the momentary showing off of her panties.

Yep.

It\'s as I thought, pairing the panties and the uniform was definitely a good idea.

So, I headed to the entrance ceremony.

Even at a school like this, there exists an entrance ceremony.

The new students this year are gathered in a cold schoolyard.

Of course there is no orderly file.

Some students appear to be listening to the Principal\'s speech intently, while others appear rather uninterested.

There are also those gathered who are acquaintances and they are chatting away.

If this was a Japanese school, this would be the place where the guidance councelor would shout at us.

The principal gives a speech on a platform constructed of the ever-present brick material to the many different types of people who are standing before him.

[Ladies and Gentlemen, for the longest time, the ones called "Magician" have been looked down upon by the ones called "Swordsman."

Indeed, that fencing art that the Sword God created might reign supreme.

However! Magic is also a form of supremacy!

After all, in the end, fencing is just a murderer\'s tool.

However, magic is different, there is a future for those who practice magic!

When we stand together united and exchange and build upon our current chanting methods, we can regain our once lost magic system and bring about a new evolution of . . . ]

Elinalise and I just stood there quietly.

No matter what world you are in, the principal\'s speech is long.

However, no one here who is listening to his speech seems tired.

I guess perhaps the motivation to use magic is overflowing?

No, it\'s different.

It\'s because everyone seems to be interested in watching the principal desperately trying to pin his wig down before it takes flight off of his head!

Elinalise is looking about the surrounding area, examining all the men closely.

She seems to be having trouble choosing one at the moment.

[ . . . That is all. Gentlemen and Ladies, may your path of magic be straight and true!]

Finally the Principal wrapped it up in words like some protector of freedom and justice.

There is no school song sung in unison.

This is likely because there is no school song to begin with.

A national anthem exists, but I can\'t sing it.

[Continuing on, we will now hear some words from our Student Council President to the new students.]

With the words of Vice Principal Jinas, a mix of three boys and girls climbed up to the stage.

The girl in the lead has beautiful blonde hair.

Her long silky hair has been put into a braid.

Her uniform is the same as ours, though much newer, and she oozes dignity and grace from the way she carries herself as she walks across the stage.

Compared to that one, the Ojou-sama next to me is a fake.

But then, Elinalise\'s standing behavior says with an act "Not enough opportunities..."

[Oh, isn\'t that the young child Rudeus made cry the other day?]

She said this when looking at one of the two people who were trailing behind.

The person with the White hair and wearing sunglasses.

It was Fitts.

While moving across the stage, he is vigilantly surveying the area.

The other boy is one I don\'t know yet.

I guess he would be a bit older than me.

Fussy brown hair in a combed back style and a sword is visibly worn on the waist.

He does not seem to be a magician.

The way he moves makes me think he is likely a swordsman.

Above all though, he is an ikemen^[24].

According to my investigation, of the countries of central continent, from the faces I\'ve imagined ikemen to have, it seems that the ones who possess a "strong-man" expression are the most popular.

To put it simply, those with a Paul-like face are popular.

Actually that guy looks similar to Paul.

Incidentally, it turns out I\'m not bad looking either, but apparently the way I laugh causes people to be disgusted.

Only Elinalise has praised my fantastically masculine smile.

When they went to the top of the stage, the young students present began to chat noisily.

[Hey, isn\'t that Ariel-sama...?]

[Then isn\'t that one 『Silent Fitts』?]

[Kyaa~, It\'s Luke-sama!]

It seems they are somehow famous.

The schoolgirls all raise their squealing voices.

Perhaps that Paul-like man might be this 『Luke』?

Girls send their support with [Kyaa~ Kyaa~], and he returns it with a wave of his hand.

He\'s really popular.

Tch, I don\'t like this Mannequin-like guy with an AV^[25] actor\'s name.

[Ara, that\'s a fine man.]

It seems he is suitable to Elinalise\'s discerning tastes.

[Quiet down! Ariel-sama will be speaking now!]

On Luke\'s (likely) order, the noise in the surrounding area momentarily quiets down.

He\'s incredible for not needing to use a megaphone.

Choosing the moment when it\'s quiet enough, the girl from before comes out.

[I am Ariel Anemoi Asura. The Second Princess of the Asura Kingdom, and in charge of the Magic Academy\'s Student Council!]

Her commanding voice penetrated to the core.

Attacking the earlobes, and shaking the brain.

Can I call it charisma?

This is not just a penetrating voice.

Just hearing it brings about the feeling of a good mood.

[You have come here together from places all over the world. And there are those of us with big differences in our common sense.

But, here at the Magic Academy, the way we protect it is different than your hometown.]

The contents of what she speaks are basically just school regulations.

Things like even if things are done too differently, please respect what is considered a rule here.

However the way in which it was said was profoundly sunk into the heart.

That\'s right, the rules should be followed.

Even though I was formerly Japanese, it doesn\'t seem that this is why I care.

I seemed to care because I honestly believed in her words.

[ . . . Now then, please lead a good student life.]

Once Ariel\'s speech had ended, she got off of the stage.

At that time, suddenly Fitts\' glance caught me.

Even though he was wearing sunglasses, I was convinced he was looking at me.

His gaze was strong.

This might be bad, I should hurry and go buy a box of cakes already...

After the entrance ceremony ended, I separated from Elinalise and went towards a certain classroom.

It is necessary to participate in homeroom at least once a month.

According to the story I heard, including me, there are only six others who are [Special Students], I was asked in earnest to avoid quarreling with them.

Even if it was asked of me, I don\'t have any intention to get into a fight with anyone anyway.

I\'ll just shrug away whatever is troublesome.

As I think this, I reach one end of three school buildings set in a line.

My classroom is in the rear room on the third floor.

On the way there, is a line drawn on the ground, it reads, [Ahead of here is the classroom for 『Special Students』].

It seems that the classroom is isolated.

Though as a 『Special Student』 I can go freely anywhere I want to on campus.

Is it the opposite?

Because things like pride can make a lot of trouble, is this a consideration for the general students to avoid unnecessary contact?

Well, if they went to the trouble to call it special, I will have to trust that there is a reason for it for the time being.

Lost in that thought, I finally reached the classroom.

The placard above the door has 『Special Student Room』 written on it.

When things are handled like this, I am getting an unpleasant feeling.

I calmly open the door, and enter the classroom quietly.

Somehow this classroom gave off a familiar feeling.

It seems that the black board and teacher\'s desk are not the only new additions to this room.

Wooden desks are lined up in rows all over the classroom.

Though the window was closed, it was somehow still bright in the classroom.

There are four people sitting in their seats.

One is a boy sitting in the front row and reading a book . . . he\'s likely studying.

Impressively concealing his eyes is his dark brown hair.

He glances at me for a moment then looks away uninterested.

Near the back of the room at the side by the window are seated two girls.

Both are members of the Beast Race.

One seems to be munching on some kind of meat-on-a-bone, she looks at me with suspicion. She\'s of the Adorudia [Canine] Race.

The other one, resting her feet on top of the desk while leaning back, both hands are clasped together behind her head, Looks at me. She\'s of the Dedorudia [Feline] Race.

When I see these two, I am reminded of the two little girls from the Dorudia village that I met once.

I wonder what their names were again . . . .

They were both nice children though.

Compared to them, these two seem to be ill-mannered.

Completely Ko-gal^[26].

And the last one.

It was a young man I\'d seen somewhere before.

He has a long face, with round glasses attached.

In my former school days I would have called such a person "Spock."

He was looking at me gap-jawed for a while now.

His expression doesn\'t change, as he suddenly stands up with a bang.

I was enlightened by way of the Eye of Foresight.

[Shi.......SHISHOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!]

As if the desk was a hindrance, he flung it out of his way.

Crashing into desks aside as if he was something like a snowplow.

One after another was being tossed aside as he crashed into them.

Yes, come crash into me!

[Rock Bullet!]

There is a heavy sounding thunk.

[Shishouuuuuuuuu!]

My rock bullet hits his face then falls to the ground with a thud, he didn\'t even stagger from it.

However was there enough power behind it to return this grown man to sanity from his delusional state?

Unreal. Is this a 『MIKO』\'s power?

This guy grabs me around the waist and lifts me up easily into the air.

[Whoa~! Hold it, hold it, take it easy, RELAX^[27], calm down already!]

I braced myself for the impact with the ceiling.

However, I was put down safely somehow.

[Shishou! Have you forgotten myself? It is I, Zanoba!]

While Zanoba laughs with a wide smile, he politely hugs me.

Am I now your beach-house newlywed wife?

[Hah Hah, of course I remember you! My disciple, please let go of me now, you are scaring me.]

Third Prince of Shirone, Zanoba was here.

Under the characteristic pretext of \'studying abroad,\' it seems Zanoba was sent here to Ranoa Magic Academy for a while.

Properly understood, not being able to control the Miko power is treated the same as having a curse.

It seems that as long as there isn\'t a major disturbance, there is no need to refuse his acceptance here.

However there is a division in the Magic Guild who does research into Curses and Blessings.

Miko are valuable existences, especially a sample such as this one.

And with such a reason, Zanoba was enrolled as a 『Special Student』

In exchange for being a [Sample], Zanoba felt he had the right to take classes.

And typical of a place so focused on Magic, it was a convenient solution.

[With Myself\'s teacher as a target, every day has been spent training with the Earth Magic.]

Oh, Zanoba.

What an industrious disciple you are.

[Is that so now? Your highness seems to be most energetic. When I get settled down, I will come make figurines together with you.]

[Please do!]

Zanoba deeply nodded his smiling face.

How nice.

I remember being a junior at my middle school back in that life.

Didn\'t I also speak with strong feelings about things I did, how proud I was when I could create my own PC?

[Though, in the case of this school, isn\'t His Highness actually my senpai? What year are you in now?]

[Second year. However, ha ha, please do not call me "your highness" or "senpai," but Zanoba instead. And I will call Myself\'s Shishou as "Shishou."]

[Zanoba.]

[Yes, Shishou.]

It is this kind of feeling when I am chatting with Zanoba.

With a *bang*, there was the sound of something being thrown.

Involuntarily, we face the direction of the sound.

It was at the place where the Beast Race girls where at, where there were two feet on the desk before, now there was just one.

It was at the place where the Beast Race girls where at, where there were two feet on the desk before, now there was just one.

Since she is wearing a skirt, a certain place is able to be seen.

[You two are making me sick-nya]

Nya!

Nya . . . . . .

The Dedorudia family say Nya.

Eris also used . . . no I don\'t want to remember that right now.

If I go and remember Eris now, I\'ll just be frustrated.

[Oi! Zanoba and YOU? What the hell are you all chattin\' about?]

[Rinia-dono, this is the gentleman I spoke of before, Myself\'s Shishou...]

[When\'d I ever listen ta\' anything y\'said?]

This cat eared girl was irritated, and so she kicked the table above her with the heel of her foot, loudly.

[Zanoba, Oi! C\'mere, you, oi. You understand, right-nya? You understand what I\'m saying to you right? Hah?]

The face of Zanoba stiffens.

Is it possible- this person is bullying him?

If it\'s Zanoba we\'re talking about, then this person must be considerably strong...

Wait, it might just be a matter of something like Jocks and Nerds. ^[28]

[If you understand then bring that guy already!]

After a couple of short tugs, I am pulled away.

[Sorry, Shishou...]

[Don\'t be, it\'s not a problem for me.]

I approach the cat-eared girl as told.

A cat-eared girl and a dog-eared girl.

The both of them stare me down for a moment.

If it was the me from before, my feet would probably be shaking from their glares.

However, I\'m not scared at all.

Should I say something . . . ? I\'ve been like this for a moment now.

However it is not only glares, it seems to be also some kind of bloodlust^[29]?

It might almost be like the real thing that Ruijerd could do.

[Thank you, pleased to meet you, I am Rudeus Greyrat. From today on I will be in your care, I will be mindful not to intrude in your affairs. Please treat me well.]

I bend deeply at the waist, in the Japanese style.

After all, there\'s nothing better than behaving properly in front of people that act like this.

The reason being that I am trying with the utmost of my ability to have nothing to do with them.

Then I was laughed at by Rinia.

[Oh, can\'t hate an obedient guy like this.

I am Rinia Dedorudia, 5th year-nya.

Though I may not look like it, I am the daughter of the Village Chief Gyes of the Dorudia Village-nya.

I\'ll be the head of the family soon-nya.

I\'m just taking care of some things here until then-nya.]

That sounds like typical matters of Dorudia tribe after all.

Moreover, Gyes\'s Daughter.

Didn\'t I remember him saying his eldest daughter was abroad studying at another country?

Was it here?

How nostalgic.

[Ah, is that how it is!

When I was last in Dorudia village I was deeply indebted to Gyes-san!

Ah, I am deeply moved! To think that I might be able to meet the daughter of my benefactor in such a place as this!

Ah, so how are such things faring for the granddaughter of Gustav-san?

Gustav-san was also a considerable help to me as well.

He lent me a house to stay in during the rainy season!]

[O . . . oh, is that so? You were also acquainted with Gr-Gramps . . . ?]

While talking like a machine gun, Rinia was looking at me with a face of amazement.

Though it is trivial now, when she kicked the desk earlier, I was able to see into the certain place.

They were blue.

The kid next to her who was eating the meat, her nose twitched with a tiny sniffing sound, then she frowned.

[Smells . . . ]

She was suddenly impolite.

Did you say that I was smelly?

However that doesn\'t seem visible in her face.

So, I greeted the dog-girl properly.

[Pardon me, may I be allowed to hear senpai\'s name?]

[ . . . . . . . . .It\'s Pursena. Same reasons as Rinia said.]

[Pursena-san, what a nice name! Please look after me as well!]

She suppressed her nose, and abruptly turned her face away.

[ . . . Fakku-nano^[30].]

Is that last word meant as an insult?

When a young lady speaks like that, it makes an old man excitable.

At any rate, it seems the pre-emptive strike was a success.

I want to believe with this, I will be able to avoid being involved in any unreasonable situations now.

After touching base with those two, I listened to Zanoba who was making a complicated face.

And after I left, he whispered to me,

[Shishou, what\'s the reason for you to bow and scrape to that degree?]

I hear what you are saying.

[... My disciple, it is an essential thing that we avoid all unnecessary quarreling between students.]

[Is...that why?... If that is what Shishou says, Myself will say nothing further on that matter.]

Zanoba nodded regrettably.

I have no idea what was done before, but if this guy is bullied next time, I will become his shield properly.

Bullying is no good.

Absolutely no good.

[Oi!]

While I am thinking a voice calls out from behind me.

[Yes, what is it?]

When turning around, it was the boy who was in the front row now standing.

[You, just a moment ago, did you say your name was Rudeus?]

[Yes, I am called Rudeus Greyrat. I am pleased to meet your acquaintance from here on, senpai.]

The boy had the look of complete confusion when I went about bowing my head.

[Cliff Grimoire. The Genius Magician.]

Genius Magician, is it?

Isn\'t that amazing?

Does a genius call himself that?

Isn\'t that a bit shameful?

[In just two years I have managed to learn all attack magic to the Advanced Level.

My recovery, detoxification, and divine-attack^[31] magic are already advanced level.

Though my Barrier magic is only at the Beginner rank, I will soon be at intermediate.

Unfortunately there aren\'t better teachers of it here.]

[That\'s pretty impressive.]

I honestly praised him.

I nod my head to his self-proclamation of being a genius.

Exactly how much effort would be required to get seven categories of magic all the way up to the advanced rank in just two years time?

For me, my recovery is only middle rank, and my detoxification is still beginner rank.

Though I thought that there was always going to be someone better, nonetheless it\'s still an amazing thing to meet one.

Is this a special classroom?

Is my pride undamaged because I\'ve acquired up to saint rank in water rank magic?

[Taking you two years to get just the four basic attack magics to the upper rank. Senpai must be amazing.]

[...Tch, It\'s nothing to get all worked up about.]

While I was honestly trying to praise Cliff, He suddenly clicked his tongue, and fell into a bad mood.

He grabs my lapels, although without any real power, and stares at me.

Since I am the taller one, he has to look up.

[You aren\'t just a magician, you also use swordplay?]

[Eh? Yeah, I do have a bit of an interest in it...]

I am tentatively ranked Intermediate in Sword God Style.

I barely even remember any of the Water God Style.

Though I treat my sword swings as more of a form of strength training than any practical application.

I haven\'t really used my fencing skills in actual combat.

That\'s the extent of which I have a taste for.

To put it bluntly, Eris and Ruijerd and other Swordsmen, they understand the trick to strengthening the body through the proper sword techniques, and no matter how much I try, I just can\'t understand how, so I am halfway over giving up on swordplay entirely.

Even so....

[Who did you hear it from? That I can use swordplay?]

[....from Eris-san.]

I was shocked.

In these last two years, did he meet with Eris?

I wouldn\'t think she would come to the Magic Academy though....

[Is she also at this school?]

[Huh? Why would she have any reason to be?]

Cliff retorted coldly.

Is that how it is?

The fact that Eris would be going to school now isn\'t really expected.

[E~to.... Where did you meet her at?]

[...]

He doesn\'t answer.

Just stares at me.

Did I say something strange.....?

Ah, perhaps a long time ago this kid was pummeled by Eris too?

Sorry, sorry, for our Eris, I\'m truly sorry.

[Ee~to.... Has she said anything about me by chance?]

Now Cliff seems to be giving me some kind of dramatic glares and scowls.

Staring at me from top to bottom.

[Hmph, she said that you were small (in stature).]

[....Is, is that so? I was small (down there), she said?]

I was about to cry.

Was she lost to me now after that one affair after all?

And for someone with a bigger one too...

[W-well, you might say that after being separated from her for two years, I have grown up because of her.]

[Eh? Did you separate from Eris-san?]

[Hm?]

I get the feeling that something isn\'t meshing right in this delicate conversation.

That something is very wrong.

Before I can confirm what that is,

[Ah, it\'ll be fine though, In the end someone like you doesn\'t balance well with someone like Eris-san anyways, right!]

My chest caved in at such a phrase.

Cliff snorted and then returned determinedly to his seat.

I need to give special attention to this one.

Afterwards, the teacher came and after my introduction and some simple contact information, homeroom was over.

It seems one person was missing.

[Ara? Did\'t I hear that there was one more who was also a [Special Student]?]

When I tried to ask Zanoba, he shook his head.

[Silent-dono is exempt from morning homeroom gathering for 1 month it seems.]^[32]

[And the reason?]

[Myself is not sure of that.]

The last person seems to be called Silent.

I wonder if they are capable of using KageJutsu^[33] also?

[They are also an amazing person too, right?]

[It is well known that they are doing this and that behind the scenes of the school right now.

They expanded the menu of the school cafeteria, They have created new magic items......even these uniforms were conceived by Silent-dono.

It\'s even rumored that she has received a recommendation by one of the Seven Great World Powers, and that\'s why she\'s receiving special treatment.]

Hearing Zanoba go on, my mind was painted with the thought of only one kind of man, a "Mad Scientist."

Adorned in a white robe, with big bottle-bottom glasses, wielding a flask containing some kind of green concoction.

Though the head comes up with good ideas, usually he leaves people with bad feelings.

[Silent-dono is usually shut up in their laboratory, but sooner or later they will have something to do that will require them to show up before Shishou.]

Zanoba had said such a thing.

By the way, Silent happens to be a 3rd year student here.

Another Senpai.

I will be humble when I meet them.

[Afterword.]

In this way I managed to successfully enter into the [Special Student] class.

It seems because the characters have increased, I need to tidy that up at once.

1st Years: Rudeus (Hentai Magician), Elinalise (Bitch Elf)

2nd Years: Zanoba (Super Strong Figurine Otaku), Cliff (Genius Magician)

3rd Years: Silent (Mystery man)

4th Years: Ariel (Asura Kingdom\'s 2nd Princess), Fitts (White Hair & Sunglasses), Luke (Ikemen)

5th Years: Rinia (Cat), Pursena (Dog)

After homeroom ended, Zanoba dutifully attended his next class.

It seems he is not allowed lesson exemptions.

Cliff seems to be naturally serious about his lessons.

Rinia and Pursena seem to give off the feeling they\'re boycotting their lessons, but they appear to attend seriously.

According to Zanoba, in two hours, it will be time for lunch.

I was invited to join him for the meal.

How pleasant!

I will eventually be taking classes.

However, don\'t misunderstand my reason for coming here.

I never came to this school to study.

But I also can\'t be \'doing nothing\' for as long as two hours.

Though, I did not come to play around either.

For the time being.

I decided to take a look around the campus.

I was able to see the approximate locations of each classroom on the map.

However, it would probably be better if I went to see it by walking there.

As I thought this, I began to walk.

First off is the School Infirmary^[34].

The infirmary of this school is spacious.

It has 8 beds which are in a line,

There are two healing art users residing here.

It must mean that it is possible that there are many people who become injured in magical accidents.

Just now a man twice my height was carried in with a stretcher.

One arm seems to be broken, and a leg is bent in an unusual way.

One of the healing art users is rapidly chanting spells on the broken arm.

It is Intermediate-rank recovery magic.

At once, the man\'s tortured expression relaxed a bit.

So as to not be a nuisance there, I left.

When I looked at the placard at the entrance, I saw [Primary Medical Ward] written there.

It wasn\'t the School Infirmary.

Next stop was the Athletics Warehouse.

This room was adjoined to the one I took the training examination in the other day.

Of course the door is locked.

Do I need to get the key from the administrator\'s office, or perhaps I need to find the gym teacher?

Or, if I was to happen to use a little bit of chantless incantation earth magic, would I not be able to unlock it that way?

So, with just a little bit of magic, I unlocked the door and entered inside.

The inside is a bit dusty and smells of mold.

Rather than an athletics warehouse, I got the feeling it was just a regular warehouse.

Lining the shelves were various kendo equipments, like helmets and chest protectors, in the corner of the room is a box that looks like an umbrella stand, which has many places for magicians to put their magic wands.

Some kind of iron figure had a number of places marked with some kind of unknown white powder.

However, this is not what I was looking for.

It seems this school doesn\'t have the equipment for platform or floor exercises.

So basically, this isn\'t an athletics warehouse, it\'s just a [Training Tools Room].

Next stop, the rooftop of the school building... oh this school doesn\'t have a rooftop access.

Since it snows a lot in this area of the world, a sharply sloping roof is a fundamental design it seems.

Though it seems there is something like an attic, I pass on it for now.

With the rooftop being no good, I decide to visit the library.

The library of this school has its own independent building.

Leaving the athletics warehouse, I walked for about ten minutes until at last I reached a particular two-story building.

When I tried to enter, I was stopped by a door guard.

[Stop!]

[Eh?]

[I haven\'t seen your face before, are you a new student? A problem with your lessons?]

[Eh, yes, I\'m a new student. [Special Student], and I\'m exempt from lessons.]

[Show me your student identification.]

Trying not to act suspiciously, from my breast pocket^[35], I take out the identification, and hand it over.

The guard stares me up and down for a moment, alright, I seem to be confirmed.

I am deliberately checked for anything suspicious.

Afterwards, a rough explanation of the important points on how to use the library was told to me.

Magic is forbidden in the library.

Removing a book from the library is strictly prohibited, however sometimes certain materials may be loaned out, but only temporarily.

In cases like that, permission must be obtained from a librarian, which means forms need to be filled out.

Naturally, any damage to a book will be met with a disciplinary action.

It\'s pretty much the same as any library anywhere.

But if a book is heavily damaged, it\'s possible that the result could be a heavy fine and expulsion.

Incidentally, all the books that exist in this library are said to be transcripts.

Even if the damage is just to a transcript, that is grounds for being made to withdraw from school.

Is that because books in this world are naturally expensive?

[You are considerably strict here, aren\'t you?]

[There was a troublesome person here before who was substituting books. They were selling these precious materials in the marketplace.]

So the guard says.

When I entered the library, it had the faint smell of books.

The unique mixture of mustiness dried ink and old paper.

It also has a bathroom near the entrance.

Perhaps it\'s a countermeasure to the Aoki Mariko phenomenon?^[36]

I offer a light greeting to the librarian, then head further inside.

At the entrance are tables and desks lined up, from the middle to the back are rows of bookshelves.

[Ooooh.]

I instinctively exclaimed in sheer admiration.

How many books have I read since coming to this world?

It is the first time I have seen such a large amount of books side by side.

The first floor opened up wide to an atrium-like ceiling.

The entire second floor is occupied by bookshelves.

Various places throughout the library have a chair and desk, as expected there is likely no shortage of schoolwork that needs to be done here.

It\'s just about time I looked into some things.

[Ah.]

Then, I recalled the advice of Hitogami.

[Rudeus, enter Ranoa Magic Academy.

Then, examine the matters of the Fedoa Territory Metastasis Event^[37].

If you do this, you can regain your confidence as a man once more.]

Up until now, I have done nothing but give special care to that last sentence.

However, [Investigate the Metastasis Cases] was what he was saying right?

That was close.

I had almost completely forgotten.

It\'s fine though.

There should be quite a few books on that subject, so in regards to it, I should be able to do some detailed research.

However, since there are just a few books... where should I begin looking from?

[Should I ask a librarian about this...?]

I shook my head and decided against it.

For the time being, it\'s not like I have to immediately start researching.

And anyway, as for facts about the Metastasis Event cases, Asura Kingdom wasn\'t done confirming everything yet.

And just a cursory amount of studying won\'t make me understand the whole situation at once.

So for now, it\'ll be good just to know where the book reference materials are in the library, I guess.

As I thought this, I meandered between the bookshelves.

There were indeed many books of different kinds.

Though the majority of the books were in Human language, there were those that were also written in Beast God language or Demon God language.

There was a book in Fighting God language as well. I am not knowledgeable if there are some in Heaven God language or Sea God language languages though.

I would need to transliterate the letters of those languages to one I know already, before I could even begin reading it.

[Ah!]

From behind me, a small voice raised up.

I turned around.

That white-haired, sunglasses-wearing boy was looking at me.

It\'s Fitts!

He seemed to be carrying several books and scrolls.

I panicked for a moment, stood at attention quickly, and then bowed apologetically.

[I am sorry for the other day.

It was through my thoughtless actions yesterday that may have caused senpai to lose face.

I am truly sorry for what I have done.]

[I was thinking about going out for a box of cakes for which I planned to bring them to you when greeting you properly at a future time, but since I just became a new student moments ago, I\'ve been caught up doing this or that since....]

[Uea!? ...I, It\'s fine, raise your head.]

In my previous life, the one person I respected was a character called [Masa].

He is a member of society who managed to weather all the problems of the world by performing dogeza^[38].

One of his techniques is called [When you\'ve made a mess of something, make the humble apology in a place like a toilet or the like, not by shouting abruptly in an important place!]

I rushed into a direction where I would be excused of the bad feelings Fitts may have held for me, and tried to clear them away.

It seems successful.

[Rude...eh, Rudeus-kun? For what reason are you here?]

[Doing a little bit of research.]

[About what?]

[Metastasis Events.]

When I mentioned that, Fitts seemed to bring his eyebrows together.

Did I say something strange?

[The Metastasis Event? Why?]

[I was also a resident of Fedoa Territory in the Asura Kingdom. And the Metastasis Event there had flung me far away to the Magic Continent, for instance.]

[The Magic Continent!?]

Fitts-senpai\'s astonishment seemed exaggerated.

[Yeah, it took as long as three years, but I managed to come back.

During that time I managed to find my family.

Though there is still one person I haven\'t found yet.

But there is a good chance, if I examine this in detail, I may find a lead, right?]

[...Is perhaps, for the sake of that one person the reason you are in this school?]

[That\'s right.]

Though there is no way I can say that the reason is actually for the sake of curing my Erectile Dysfunction.

However, it\'s not a lie to say I do want to examine what happened with the Metastasis Events.

Why did that event even occur? I have the desire to know.

[I see, you are an amazing person...after all.]

Fitts says so, and the back of his ear makes a crunching sound as he scratches it.

What\'s so amazing about a person who hasn\'t discovered anything yet?

That is, what did you mean by that?

Well, it\'s fine, however.

[So, what is senpai doing here?]

[Aaaaaah! That\'s right! I was supposed to be bringing these materials somewhere.

I\'ve got to run. Rudeus-kun, see you later!]

[Ah, sure, later!]

Fitts gave off a panicked look, he was about to turn on his heels and head to the librarian.

[Oh, that\'s right.... If it\'s about Metastasis, then a book by Animas called [Investigation Records of the Metastasis Labyrinth] is a good story you should read, it\'ll be easy to understand what it\'s about.]

And with those parting words, Fitts left.

While it did not seem Fitts was good at talking with me, he didn\'t leave me with the impression that he harbored ill feelings towards me.

It appears that he wasn\'t holding a grudge about the matter of the examination test after all.

Though I may have misunderstood because his gaze was so strong, it seems that he might be a relatively good person after all.

I inquired with the librarian where the [Investigation Records of the Metastasis Labyrinth] was located, and passed the remaining time until lunch came, lost in reading.

It wasn\'t a very thick book.

It was barely the thickness of a notebook; the number of pages was less than 100.

The story was about Animas Macedonias who was an Adventurer from the Northern Lands who was said to have challenged a labyrinth.

The labyrinth he challenged was said to be the [Labyrinth of Metastasis].

It was a rare labyrinth where it was said that all of the traps were teleportation traps.

And there were 5 kinds of monsters that inhabited it.

All of the monsters were highly intelligent, and knew the locations in the labyrinth where the traps would fling adventurers to.

When an unfortunate person steps on the teleportation trap, they are sent to a room where there are usually a large number of monsters waiting to kill them.

It is difficult to avoid stepping on traps during battles within the labyrinth.

If the battle becomes complicated, then the whole party could end up scattered throughout the Labyrinth.

The labyrinth\'s difficulty level is classified as extremely high.

Animas and his associates went to challenge the labyrinth, and investigated about the teleportation traps while they were there.

Chiefly, there are three kinds of teleportation traps.

One. One-way teleporting. It is always to the same location, returning must be done manually.

Two. Two-way teleporting. There is usually a magic formation which can return you back the same way somewhere in the location one was teleported to.

Three. Random teleporting. There is no way of knowing where you will end up, and no guarantee of being able to go back.

In the metastasis labyrinth, it\'s just a matter of aiming for the interior of the cavern while repeatedly dealing with the teleporting traps that move you further inside.

However, the random teleporting traps are interspersed.

If one accidentally steps on it by mistake, the party can be separated, and one person can be stuck fighting solo against a huge swarm of monsters.

There was even a record on how to recognize a random teleport magic formation over other types.

In the middle of the story, Animas discovered a method of use, to allow him to be transported towards the back of the labyrinth rapidly.

Animas and company gradually got careless.

And they thought they would be able to conquer the labyrinth.

However, they were not able to tell the method with certainty how to distinguish the trap.

The final part of the story involved failing to identify a formation correctly, and stepping on a random teleportation trap which put an end to the party.

Animas was surrounded by a large amount of enemies, and though he lost his right hand, he somehow managed to survive.

However, he lost three colleagues at the same time.

And since Animas\' body was no longer able to fight, he gave up adventuring.

The end of the book was a story of why it was written, and that the secrets of capturing the labyrinth were entrusted to whoever read this book.

Whether this story was fiction or non-fiction is unknown.

However, the fact that his party [Monster House] ended up dividing into new parties is considerably amazing.

In my previous life, I seem to remember an RPG that had a dungeon similar to one like this.

However, the conditions required in order to clear the dungeon in the game are different, it\'s not always possible to reach the final level in one of this world\'s dungeons.

Although other adventurers have said that at the innermost part of the Labyrinth is almost always a magic crystal.

However, I wouldn\'t be surprised to find there was one fraudulent dungeon that didn\'t have an achievable end to it.

The study with regard to the random teleportation magic formations appeared at the end of the book.

Essentially the limitations and ranges of the random teleportation formations, and their usual or unusual characteristics.

Also, that it is highly unlikely to wind up being teleported into the middle of something, like the ground or a wall- even if it is inside a cave.

If it\'s the case with Animas, it\'s because the magical power of the metastasis ahead and the magic of the thing itself doing the metastasis repel each other, this may be related to the concept of not being able to materialize an attack magic directly inside the body of a person.

Attack magic cannot be generated directly into the body of another person.

Even I seem to have been aware of that principle.

However the recovery magic is able to be done inside of the body of another person.

It\'s fuzzy logic like that what keeps me from being able to use chantless incantation healing magic.

Even if it\'s related to metastasis, such a theoretical exception may work.

Even if earth magic is generated from the soil, it cannot be generated into it.

Unexpectedly, it is a simple theory, to move a person\'s body to a certain space may require a certain level of extra magic over the normal required amount.

While thinking, the noon bell sounded.

Time flies.

I head to the meeting place with Zanoba, it\'s the dining room.

The dining hall is a separate building with three floors.

Students are separated by hierarchy.

The 3rd floor is for royalty and nobility of the Human Race.

The 2nd floor is for the commoners of the Beast Race.

The 1st floor is for adventurers and Demon Race.

I think this is more distinction than discrimination.

When nobles eat with demons and adventurers, fights happen too often.

That, and there is a big difference, like table manners and such.

Because I am an adventurer, I thought the first floor would be good.

[Please come this way]

Zanoba recommended that we will get a better meal and service on the third floor, so he is pulling me along.

[Uu....]

When I appeared from the stairs, the gaze of everyone was on me all at once.

It seems that with the current shape I\'m in, the smell of commoner is oozing out of me.

I am wearing my robe over my uniform because it is cold outside.

The grey robe bought five years ago, the cuff is worn out, and large patches are visible near the chest.

Since I have become taller recently, likewise it has appeared smaller on me.

To say it bluntly, it is a shabby thing now.

There were some students on the 1st~2nd floors who wore a robe as a counter-measure against the cold outside.

However, there was not even one person on the 3rd floor who did.

Those of the third floor who wished to stay warm would wear a mantle or cardigan.

If I use an easy to understand analogy: if everyone is wearing a suit, I alone am wearing a jersey.

Even I, who don\'t care about clothes, can read the piercing atmosphere.

[Zanoba, I don\'t think I\'m agreeable to the atmosphere here, could we possibly go eat on the second floor?]

[I don\'t go down to the second floor, because of Rinia and Pursena.]

[Then, what about the first floor?]

[The number of crass people on the first floor who do not comprehend a concept such as table manners is high. Royalty such as myself will not for a single moment share company with the likes of them.]

[Then, I guess we will be eating apart.]

[How cruel! This one up until now hasn\'t been able to meet Shishou, does he not think of how much I must have had to endure? At least take a meal together with myself....]

[Please don\'t make me have to stomach eating here.]

We argued on the edge of the stairs.

Though the stairs were made wide, because of us, some students are having an issue going past us who are blocking the top.

At that moment...

[Kya~ It\'s Luke-sama!]

From downstairs, I hear noisy voices.

Those shrill voices approach closer.

[Luke-sama~ is next to me~]

[No way! Luke-sama don\'t go~!]

[Nee~ Luke-sama, for your next date, would it be alright if I also go with you?]

One lady-killer, besieged by women, tries to make the climb up the stairs.

[I can\'t possibly do that, I am sorry, I can\'t possibly date more than two women at once.

You see, I only have two arms, if I were to date three, since I don\'t have three arms, that lady would feel terrible if I was unable to lead her around as well, right?]

[E~ That would be disappointing~]

[Fufu, Terrible right? Because I\'m such a popular person. Let\'s make a date for another time alright? Certainly, if it\'s next month, my left arm will be vacant by then!]

While saying some incredible things on the way, from downstairs came the boy who looked Paul-like.

On both sides of the boy are girls whose chests are clearly cramped into their uniforms.

Moving his hands to their waists, while laughing frivolously, he climbs the stairs.

This is definitely the same fellow I saw at the entrance ceremony.

Luke? Was what he was called, right?

What was his family name? Skywalker^[39]?

While pondering that, suddenly his eyes focused on me.

[Hey you....]

Luke\'s eyes narrowed.

That frivolous face from before gradually steepens.

[If I remember right, the one of Fitts\'...]

As he said that, I bowed immediately.

This person was also one who saw the match between Fitts and I.

And while it seems Fitts might not be angry any longer, because he is a colleague, there may be some lingering feelings of animosity with this one too.

These kind of people tend to worry about the honor of their group members.

[It is nice to meet you, I am Rudeus Greyrat.

From this day forward I hope to receive your favor. Please kindly look after me, senpai.]

[Ah~ I know of you, heard about it from Fitts.]

Luke looks at me in a disagreeable way.

[Then, I take it that you know my name already?]

[No....]

Like the younger brother of an end of the century champion suddenly being asked a question, I shook my head.

Though I have heard the name Luke, I didn\'t know his real name.

[I see, so you have no consideration for others do you?]

[S, sorry. If it is alright with you, may I please receive the honor of knowing your name?]

For a little while, Luke just looked into my face with a sullen mood.

After a while, he let out a harrumph, and then a snort.

[I am Luke Notus Greyrat.]

[Eh~ What\'s this, is it not impossible~?]

[Perhaps I should tell you, but that robe, wa~y unfashionable, you should probably start by trimming the edges on that thing.]

[Since the fabric is worn out, you might as well buy a new one instead~]

I hear the reproaching voices of the accompanying girls group as they sharply rain down criticisms.

But nothing they said to me went into my ears.

Luke Notus Greyrat.

It was a former name of my father Paul. Paul Notus Greyrat.

A love child?

Not likely.

Paul had long since thrown away the Notus name.

But since he stated his name in a dignified way, perhaps he is... something like a cousin?

[Shishou, you sure seem to be attracted to all sorts of troublesome people.]

[Indeed, now, how will I go about stopping all this attraction?]

[That one was Luke, an upper level noble of the Asura Kingdom. Though he is tentatively a student, he is actually a guard of Princess Ariel.]

[...At any rate, I will certainly be giving a pass to eating here.]

[Isn\'t there some other way...?]

Afterwards, as a compromise, we ate the meal outside.

Since the weather was cooperating, the earth magic was really easy to create a table and chairs with, an impromptu Café Terrasse was completed.

Zanoba upon seeing this one act of magic was impressed and loudly voiced a [Whoa!].

I happily accepted the feelings of the one before me who was so moved.

While eating, I heard all about the situation of Princess Ariel and her honorable entourage.

Ariel Anemoi Asura. Age 17.

A genuine heir to the Asura Royal Family.

The Second Princess.

The Empress of Asura was not blessed with many children and had just one daughter; she was given third rights of succession to the throne.

After the Empress gave birth to another, the recovery of the child after birth was terrible, and she was unable to bear with burying the corpse of her (stillborn?) child.

In the end, she was only able to produce one with the blood of the Asura lineage.

In addition to Ariel, there are two princes who also aim for succession.

The 1st Prince and the 2nd Prince.

The influential people of Asura Kingdom\'s upper aristocracy competed to bring one of them to power as a king, then drew the benefits of their backing.

As is almost always the case, with many supporters available, not everyone will be able to have their backing returned.

Because there is a rank in the minister\'s group, it\'s a natural course of events.

Those of low rank are neglected.

Therefore, those who would have been unlikely to be backed by either prince, crowded the naive princess (Ariel) with promises.

This was the creation of the Second Princess Faction.

However, four years prior to current times, the group of men who gave the most support had been overthrown.

Under the pretext of studying abroad, she headed to this school in a self-imposed exile.

Such a princess has two Guards.

The first is Fitts.

[Silent Fitts]

A person who can use voiceless incantation magic.

During the chaotic time when (the princess\') group lost power, he fended off would-be assassins with tremendous ability.

Where he was born and what he has done until adulthood are largely a mystery, but the thing that is known is that he is a member of the Elven Race.

Those who can be taught to use voiceless incantation are said to be few.

Although I have not heard of their master.

It seems to be a tendency to conceal all that they can about his existence.

The cover story given was that Fitts was secretly trained by the Asura royal palace to be some kind of cold blooded Killer-MachineCombat Machine.

The other guard is Luke.

Luke Notus Greyrat.

The second son of the current head of family of the Notus branch, Philemon Notus Greyrat.

From the beginning, he was Princess Ariel\'s Guardian Knight; from the time he was born, he had been given a special education.

Even after she lost her standing, he continued wanting to be her Guardian Knight, if by chance the princess can recover her standing, at that time he will be her insurance when it is time to return to the succession dispute.

They have kept bathing in the limelight since they first came to this school, at the same time they are envied, it seems they are also respectfully feared.

[However, some of this story includes This One\'s conjecture, I warn you.]

So finished Zanoba.

[Ah, thanks.... Say Zanoba, you seem to be well informed.]

[It was because Myself had been made to check into it.]

[By whom?]

[It was those two foolish people of the Beast Race.]

Rinia and Pursena it seems.

The pained face of Zanoba said as much.

Was he also made to be a porter too?

[Zanoba... you.... Are you being bullied by those two people?]

[Bullying? No, this one had to admit defeat during a fight, that\'s all of the matter.]

[Surrendered, eh?]

Zanoba made a difficult face.

However, his voice is flat.

If he consented to such a thing it\'s fine....

If bullying is done by those people to make it hard for Zanoba to go outside.

If this guy is being troubled, I want to help him out.

However, I don\'t know the power of the other party.

Perhaps I should join the Zanoba faction, I think.

Among the beast race, they are from the Dorudia Tribe because of that, they are like a special existence - they also make enemies of and terrorize other members of the beast race.

They immediately take a prejudiced view to things.

It\'s scary how much of a difference in common sense there is.

But, there are also those who are good guys.

Like Ghyslaine for example.

Besides, I am an ally of the bullied children!

[Please say if you have something unpleasant done to you, even if I can\'t do much, I want to help.]

[HAHAHA! Shishou need not be tied up with my troubles, don\'t worry.

Instead, let us talk about wonderful things, like the figurines!]

Zanoba said so and laughed.

Fu~mu...

Hmm, I\'ll look into the situation for a little longer.

After lunch, I returned to strolling.

However, since I couldn\'t think of a place I should see, after I took a rough tour of the school building I turned around, I went back to the library.

I hunted for more documents related to the Metastasis Event.

But, to begin with, I have not really ever used the thing called a library until now.

Just searching for the documents, I had used up a considerable amount of time.

The librarian hands me a book list to look over.

One book had the word [Metastasis] in its title, so I chose that book.

Also, I found a book from the Sea Race I sought out.

All of it took about a few hours.

Moreover, the book I got is not a detailed account with regards to teleportation, and has a great deal of difficult words and technical terms.

It\'s written in a language I don\'t even know....

If I don\'t read this book carefully, I will lose out on the majority of information.

[For the time being, if I\'m going to be doing a proper research, I would like to at least have a notebook.]

Reading, learning, and memorizing all have their limitation

After realizing this, I get permission to keep the book for now, and I left.

It had already become evening outside.

All the students who were done being taught their lessons began to head back towards the dorms.

There are a few who also seem to be heading to the library.

I braved the oncoming flow of students, and went towards the canteen.

The canteen, it is in the vicinity of this school building.

Rather than a canteen, it felt like a corner drug store.

When I went inside, there were several students merrily shopping.

When looking about, roughly, there were magic textbooks, magic stones, robes, wooden swords, training wands, and etc. placed out for sale.

Even daily necessities like bags, shoes, and soap were also placed out for sale.

Again, even food such as dried meat and smoked meat, and bottles of drinks such as sake^[40] or drinking water were placed out for sale.

In short, it gave off the feeling of having had just about everything one needed.

I make a proper purchase of a bunch of paper (held together by a cord), ink, and pen, and then I headed back.

In the first place, I wasn\'t shooting to buy these many things in coming to school.

Honestly, what was I coming to do here anyway?

Of course, it was to treat my illness.

I still have no clue where to begin treating this matter.

After I finished making my purchases, and went outside, the surroundings were dark.

While something like a streetlight was non-existent, the normal road was dimly lit, so it could be walked without an issue.

Even though winter is over, there is still a bit of remaining snow on the road.

While watching my step, I hurried along the road to the dormitory.

There is no one around the surroundings.

Though I can hear some clamoring in the distance, I got the sense that I had strayed off into a place where people don\'t normally go.

In the case of the schoolhouse in front of me, it\'s the women\'s dormitory. While it\'s near the men\'s dormitory as well, the road that leads to the men\'s dormitory happens to cross in front of the women\'s dormitory as well.

Without thinking deeply about it, I just press on walking.

And then...

[Mm?]

Suddenly, something dropped from above.

It was white.

However, it was not snow.

I caught it by reflex.

[Oou]

When I expanded it, it was a pure white cloth.

It had a little decoration, but was not too showy, giving off the impression that it was neat and clean.

The traditionally respected name was "Panties".

It had a little decoration, but was not too showy, giving off the impression that it was neat and clean. The traditionally respected name was "Panties".

Someone may have possibly been trying to dry them in the shade.

I thought that if I looked up, I had the feeling I might be able to see the owner of this missing item.

However, because it is dark, I cannot make out a face.

But, I saw a form...

[...Ee~to, Did someone lose something important?]

[Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Underwear Thief!]

Eh?

A schoolgirl\'s yell.

It wasn\'t from above.

I heard it from behind.

Turning around flustered, I was being pointed at, while a figure was shrieking.

It\'s a misunderstanding.

But, it\'s too late to think about it now.

In a matter of moments from the time the shriek began, a window from the veranda opened with a banging sound.

And from the first floor, a shadow jumped out. Shadow. Shadow. ^[41]

With that, while besieged by accusations, I remained in the position of holding the raised panties.

Somehow, I don\'t know what\'s going on.

[A, e~to, um...]

[Hmpf!]

The one spearheading it was a girl with an excessively well-built body.

How should I say it? A girl? A woman? A bandit? A gorilla?

This person gave off that kind of impression.

The width of her shoulders was nearly twice my own.

Is she a Beast Race...? Instead she\'s likely a Demon Race.

[You are perverted trash!]

To the confused me, she spat that.

I was suddenly insulted.

That doesn\'t seem like the actions of someone who is supposed to be the sage of the forest.

What?

What is going on?

Why am I suddenly being treated as an underwear thief?

Certainly, as a 15 year old boy, I have an interest in underwear. But, I wasn\'t trying to steal them this time, I didn\'t even smell them.

I just had grabbed it before it reached the ground is all, I was only trying to return it to its owner.

[Please wait a minute, I haven\'t done anything.]

[Haven\'t done anything?]

The Gorilla-girl grabbed my arm.

She\'s got huge hands.

[If it\'s nothing, then what do you have in your hand?]

There is a certain item in my hand.

A face was made, about to say that it was the evidence in question against me.

The surrounding stares are filled with hostility.

My feet start to tremble.

[Those, those are Ariel-sama\'s underwear aren\'t they? Even if someone like you admires the princess, you must have no shame at all to do something so brazen as that!]

To Gorilla-san\'s caustic words, the surrounding girls pour on the jeers towards me with things like [That\'s right!] [Hentai!] [Go Die!]

What the hell, I am already crying now.

[Listen! Don\'t come this way, someone like you should repent on their actions, and never be allowed to do these kinds of things again.]

I am pulled along, being caught from arm-to-shoulder.

The only resistance I could put up was the tracks in the dirt the bottoms of my shoes left as I was being dragged.

The power of the women\'s dorm.

Even though I had been building up my muscles, was the difference in our muscle strength really that great?

I am being dragged into the building, as it is.

Am I about to be subjected to a horrible lynch mob?

I\'m being falsely accused.

Should I run away?

Even though I didn\'t do anything wrong?

If I run away, will rumors spread widely?

What should I do, this is like the feeling of being falsely accused as a train molester.

Can I make them understand through talking?

However it\'s probably already too late for that....

No, at times like this I need to remain stubbornly confident in my innocence.

I did nothing wrong here.

Thinking so, I used earth magic, and firmly affixed my feet in place.

I immediately stop being dragged, and the Gorilla makes a surprised face.

I was going to fight through the misunderstanding.

[Hee~, What\'s this, planning to become violent?

Even though you are just a shitty, shameless underwear thief.

Against this number of people, do you think you can win?]

Maybe, I wonder.

While I get the feeling I won\'t win in the way I want to.

However, underwear thief.

If I get violent here, I will have the label of my person changed to that of an underwear thief.

It\'s a false accusation.

However, if I get violent, the false charge would likely change into something like rape and pile up.

Then, the current false charge becomes lost entirely.

I might be dealt with in some kind of appeasing move by the administration, could be driven in a corner to the point where I would have to withdraw from school.

How annoying.

What good can come out of this?

[Wait a moment! Stop the arrest, wait for just a moment!]

It was the voice of a boy with a high pitch.

[Fitts-sama!]

[E~! Fitts-sama!?]

[Fitts-sama talked!?]

[What\'s going on here!?]

Parting the crowd here, was a small boy with white hair and wearing sunglasses.

It was Fitts.

[I am sorry- that underwear- I was just trying to air dry them after I cleaned them, and they accidentally fell down. He only picked them up because of my mistake.]

Fitts stands between the Gorilla and me, while panting heavily.

And took the trouble to explain what had happened.

Gorilla made a snort and humph.

[Fitts...sama. I already know that Ariel has entrusted you with taking care of washing her undergarments.]

However, the Gorilla continues.

[That and this are a different story though. This guy, at this time of night, was walking in front of here.

It was decided already that after sunset only women can go down this street.]

Oh, is that how it was?

I didn\'t see any sign mentioning that.

I who look puzzled, gave a backward glance to Fitts.

[He is a new student, a [Special Student], with a single room so he didn\'t have a roommate who would have explained that minor rule of the dorms to him yet. Will you please overlook this matter for me?]

Fitts was desperate.

I also felt the desperation in his voice.

I somehow want to know why.

The Gorilla faces this direction.

Is it the truth, or so she was about to say.

I nodded moment by moment.

The Gorilla had gripped my hand for a moment still, Fitts\' face was also looked at.

[Hmph, since Fitts-sama is defending you here this much. It might be the truth.

However, it is also true that you violated the agreement of the dormitory.

So you still need to receive a punishment as a lesson.]

As she said that, she tried to drag me again, but her movement was stopped.

Before anyone noticed, Fitts had pulled his wand out.

And it was pointed at Gorilla\'s face.

[I\'m pretty sure I just said he wasn\'t in the wrong.

Listen up, you better take your hands off....]

[Fu~ Fitts....sama?]

A voice that has anger mixed into it.

The surroundings became noisy.

Even in the dark, I could understand that Gorilla\'s face was going pale.

[Or perhaps, everyone here would like me to send them to the medical office?]

SO COOL~

I also want to be able to say something like that once.

[Tch.... Fine I get it already.]

My hand was released albeit a little violently.

And she separated from this child who was pinned.

My wrist hurt still.

However I didn\'t need recovery magic.

[Fitts-sama, only because you went to all the trouble to show deference to him.

However, you over there!

Never again find yourself after dark wandering around the women\'s dorm.

If I find you next time, there will be no forgiveness then!]

After throwing such a parting threat directed at me, she returned through the veranda window that she popped out from.

The other girls also, after giving me a strong look, faded away.

In a split second, all the women were gone from that place.

[Fuu~... Honestly, Goriade-san, not listening to a person\'s explanation first...]

Fitts breathed a sigh of relief, all the girls were seen off.

Some time ago, the Gorilla had been called Goria-de.

That Strength and Power satisfies having a name like that.

The exact case of Name-is-body. ^[42]

Fitts bowed to me.

[Sorry, it\'s because of me accidentally dropping that underwear...]

I wonder why this boy is in the women\'s dorm washing underwear.

Perhaps it is because he has such confidence from being a guard of Princess Ariel that he may be specially permitted to attend to her here?

He seems to be a sincere person.

The feeling that he\'s harmless comes out from his whole body.

He\'s reliable.

He\'s young.

A handsome guy wearing sunglasses.

Rather, I get the feeling he\'s part of the "Pretty Boy" faction.

It would be dangerous if he said he longed to be by my side.

Would it be indecent of me if I said I wanted to lick your feet?

[No, Fitts-senpai isn\'t at fault either... I was rescued.]

[To say rescued.... If you were serious at all, they might have been injured.]

It was then that I understood the reason he panicked and seemed upset when he came to help.

If I behaved violently, I would have injured the girls.

He probably considered that.

Although, in consideration of that, he still cared about me.

[However, I was suddenly surprised. So what now then?]

[A.. un. Goria-de-san also said that after the sun sets, any boy who approaches the girl\'s dorm is no good.]

[Is that so? But, something like that should be in the school regulations.]

[It was a mutual arrangement between fellow students who lived in the dorms.

At sunset this road isn\'t used by the boys, and instead the roundabout way is taken instead to the men\'s dorm.]

Is it called a "local rule?"

Even though I didn\'t know, it would have been good if someone had taught me that from the start.

For example, Zanoba...

[I didn\'t know about it.]

[It couldn\'t be helped. Just be careful from now on, okay?]

[Sure.]

It goes without saying.

Even if it\'s daytime, I\'m sure that I won\'t ever take this road again.

Besides I don\'t need more hostile glances from any more people.

To be surrounded by those devils, well I\'ll be alright if the number is kept limited to the count on one hand.

The general trend of the looks women have given me is hostility.

If I think about it, I tremble.

[Anyway, I was saved. If I can ever return the favor to Fitts-senpai please do not hesitate to ask me....]

[It\'s fine already, I only did what was natural.]

What was natural...?

When I think, I remember all the times in the last few years where I have acquired all kinds of misunderstandings and false accusations.

Starting from Beast Race, Paul, and Orsted.

Maybe my face instills distrust?

However, Fitts-Sempai did not assume me to be a bad person.

Instead, he even stood by my side.

An even-handed position.

Though there might have been my mistake in that basis too.

Even the matter with the examination as well...

It\'s a nice thing.

Fitts-Senpai.

A refreshing disposition, no grudge about the examination matter.

Gave me advice in the library.

Is well known in the academy, and isn\'t prideful.

Properly helped before with the state of things.

Externally he\'s a shota, but he\'s a man of character.

A senpai.

That\'s right. I will get him to allow me to call him senpai.

Fitts-senpai, and I will put a lot of respect in it when I call him senpai.

[If it\'s Rudeus-kun, can you not get through it on your own power?]

[Things aren\'t like that, really, thank you though, senpai.]

When I bowed, Fitts-Senpai was scratching his cheek with a crunchy sound while being embarrassed.

[Ahahaha.... The way Rudeus-kun says his thanks, gives me a strange feeling.]

[Eh? Why is that?]

When I asked why, Fitts embarrassingly laughed.

[.....It\'s a secret.]

To me, the loser, that smile left me completely shocked.

--

Thus, my first day of school ended.

Around one week had passed.

School life is monotonous.

My day goes as follows:

When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is start my daily training regimen.

In accordance with this one manga I had read in my former life, a certain man did 100 push-ups, sit-ups, squats and then ran 10 kilometers a day and by sacrificing his hair, he achieved something like the world\'s strongest power. ^[43]

I came back to my room, and did a little bit of magic training as well.

Though it had been a while, I resumed creating figurines.

Because Zanoba wouldn\'t stop with the [Please teach me Shishou!], I began my own difficult rehabilitation.

However I am unable to progress much here.

After a short while, Zanoba comes and invites me to go eat breakfast.

The order in which students of the dormitory eat is decided by what year of schooling they are in and their social position.

That\'s more or less how things went.

It\'s a rather hectic morning.

After breakfast ends, I part from Zanoba, and head towards the library.

Doing my investigation on Metastasis has recently become interesting.

When the noon bell rings, I rendezvous with Zanoba and we eat lunch together.

He is also doing his best. The parts of his lessons he doesn\'t understand from class, I inquire about.

If it\'s something I understand, I try and explain it to the best of my ability.

It seems Zanoba only takes classes involving earth magic.

Well, I think it\'s fine for him to do what he likes.

By the way, I\'ve been eating meals with Zanoba almost entirely outside.

Occasionally, I get a strange look, but no one seems to have a problem with it.

Once in a while Elinalise pops in, Zanoba doesn\'t ever seem to catch her considering eye, then she just suddenly leaves for somewhere else.

Her hangout is roughly the first and second floors of the dining hall.

The reason being that she cannot bring a boy inside the girl\'s dormitory, when the reason for why is made clear, they instead go "parking"^[44] late at night off the side of the road in the neighborhood.

Busy by day, busy by night, what a tough person.

Incidentally, the dining hall has many different cuisines that satisfy my palate.

Usually the meal will be made with the Karaage-style Nanahoshi Grilling method, or Curry Soup, which is another different but good imitation of the Curry I once knew.

While it hasn\'t made it to being one of my favorite foods, I am satisfied enough just because something similar to it came out.

In the afternoon, I head for a class in the Main school building.

The lessons I learn are the foundations of divine-attack and barrier magic.

Divine-attack magic\'s principles are said to be particularly effective for dealing with things like Ghost-like entities or monsters that are gaseous in nature.

It\'s probably closest in theory to [Disturb Magic].

That\'s the image I have now of just throwing magic out like that.

However, just throwing magic power out will not give damage, there is some special action needed, but I don\'t understand what it is.

If I was perhaps a Master Exorcist^[45] in my previous life, I might have some understanding in this area.

But, since I\'m just learning the theories behind it, I am going to be memorizing each chant one by one.

It seems that minor changes need to be done to the technique per-enemy basis, depending on the characteristics or type.

If I wanted to excel in divine-attack magic, it\'s important that I\'ll be able to assess my opponent.

Not a big deal since I wasn\'t planning to limit myself to divine-attack magic anyway.

Incidentally, it seems that a first-class swordsman can even strike down a ghost...

Barrier magic is called that because it\'s quite literally a magic that makes a magical barrier.

It requires fundamental usage of magical formations, and it\'s even possible to use it from barely the elementary level chanting.

I learned how to use [Magic Shield], it\'s an elementary level magic, It\'s something like putting up a wall of magical power in front of me to block an incoming attack.

[Magic Shield] seems to mainly intercept and reduce the damaging effects of flame and frost magic.

The magic-resistant bricks used for managing the hotel\'s heating were developed from a technique similar to this.

While there are magical barriers, there also appears to be physical barriers as well.

In fact, the barrier in Shirone Kingdom was made for repelling physical attacks.

I\'ll be learning this sooner or later, won\'t I?

When I ask a teacher about that, I learn that when it comes to divine-attack and barrier magic, that the Milis Religious Order seems to be the only ones who have the rights to be teaching higher level magic in those fields.

The academy is limited to only an elementary level class on the subject.

I was told I couldn\'t learn how to use a physical barrier here, since physical barriers were considered an intermediate level technique.

While the teacher can use it, it would be a violation if they were to teach it to others.

If it comes out that there was a violation committed, it\'s possible that they will be excommunicated from the Milis religion, and may face a heresy inquisition.

It seems that originally even a beginner level class on these two subjects were not allowed before, however about two years ago, provided certain conditions were followed, limited teaching was authorized.

Because of such limiting circumstances, it seems the focus of the class shifts more to the methods of how magical barriers can be broken instead.

Barrier properties are anti-physical and anti-magical, it\'s said that if a person is a Saint-class and above, they can combine the properties of both barriers and create one with a special trait.

Also, barriers have various purposes, such as for the sake of defending oneself and for the sake of imprisoning other things.

Roxy had spoken to me a little about barriers, back then, I didn\'t really understand what she meant about barriers, and I guess I more or less ended up ignoring that part.

With that being the case, I end up studying from the beginning, and it also serves as a review.

When class ends, I return to the library.

Until it gets dark, I study about metastasis.

And then when I return back to my dormitory, I eat dinner, and go to sleep after a little bit of time is spent making a figurine.

When the daily life cycle was established, flexibility in things began to appear.

However, the [Burning General of the Night] remains [Extinguished] by the town\'s [Freeloading Firefighter].

In other words, there are still no signs of recovery.

Then such an occurrence happened one day.

I was in the library during the evening.

There studying metastasis cases and then Fitts-senpai showed up.

Sunglasses and White hair.

He had on a stylish mantle, over the specified school uniform, sturdy boots, and tight white gloves.

Though I\'ve met Fitts-senpai many times, I have a feeling he is always dressed in these clothes.

[Rudeus-kun, is it alright if I join you?]

[No need for formalities, now then, I warmed a place for you, please sit down and have a thaw.]

[Ahaha, sorry to trouble you...] ^[46]

When I handed over the seat I was using, Fitts-senpai sat down while trying not to be embarrassed.

I pull a new seat next to him, and continue conducting my research.

[Have you made any progress in your researching?]

Fitts takes a look through what books I have at hand.

It\'s been a week since then.

I have come here everyday hunting documents related to metastasis.

[I have come to understand that similar cases to what happened to Fedoa Territory also have happened in the past.]

Fitts-senpai asked to hear all about what I had researched so far.

[Nothing as large scale as what happened in Fedoa Territory surely, but there are cases of someone just going out one day and disappearing, then suddenly one day they are back again. These stories seem to mostly fit that criteria.]

The so called spiriting-away.

One person suddenly disappears by themselves, they appear somewhere else, then just as suddenly they reappear back in the same place.

Things such as this are relatively frequent in this world... though it is a rare occurrence.

[So, then, you are saying what happened to Fedoa Territory is like the same thing?]

[I am wondering about that...]

Casually, I happened to look at what Fitts had in his hand, it was a book on metastasis as well.

[Perhaps, you would be willing to give me a hand with this?]

When he heard that, he shook his head.

[I don\'t think so. I also am just examining the metastasis event normally.]

[Oh is that so? Is there a special reason for that? Perhaps a command from Princess Ariel?]

[It\'s nothing like that...]

Fitts-senpai moves his hand to his jaw, and seemed to consider something for a little while, then the edges of his mouth crooked and he laughed.

He was laughing at himself.

[To tell you the truth, an acquaintance of mine also became missing because of the metastasis event.]

[That is, umm, what can I say? That\'s not good...]

I remembered the list of fatalities at the refugee camp.

The number of fatalities was vast.

And it\'s been five years since it happened.

It\'s already been considered too late to find any other survivors.

Surely, even an acquaintance of Fitts-senpai wouldn\'t be alive still.

I, who had every member of his family still alive, was immeasurably lucky.

[Actually, I recently came into the knowledge that they somehow are still alive.]

[Eh? Ah, is that so?]

[Yeah. But, up until that point I had been studying everything I could about Metastasis... Like for instance, I hoped to be able to discern a pattern where one could potentially occur in the future. I thought something like that would be easy to locate, so I searched and searched!]

Is there a trend in the appearance of the metastasis events?

Indeed, I hadn\'t even considered such an idea.

[As expected of senpai! How very insightful.]

[Nah, it\'s nothing like that... Besides, I wasn\'t able to come to any kind of conclusion with all that I had found in the end.]

Fitts-senpai said so, his jaw slackened, and he seemed to be looking depressed.

According to the story I heard, it was one year after the metastasis event that the Princess was overthrown.

Naturally, there may have been signs before the overthrowing, but at that time Fitts-senpai was a guard. He would have had his hands full with work.

[Sometimes it just can\'t be helped.]

There is a thing called a viewpoint.

To give up the search when there is no longer any more reason to keep on participating.

Rather, using the position of the guard, this school\'s library could be used to check matters concerning the case from different angles.

Having been found, the information gathering was being done.

With that much alone, it can be said that it was enough.

[Past aside, let\'s consider this matter from here on, for the time being senpai, can you tell me about what information you\'ve manage to find in your search?]

[Sure, I\'ll bring you the consolidated information tomorrow... However, I don\'t want you to hold too many expectations. Because I don\'t think I was skillful at researching it, Rudeus-kun may find too many things wrong with it immediately after looking at it.]

Fitts-senpai seems to have no confidence.

Isn\'t he currently a 4th year student?

Is it like what I heard a few days ago: that Fitts mostly guarded Princess Ariel to and from classes, and then did whatever routine and miscellaneous duties?

Also, didn\'t you later say that you belonged to the student council?

And in the middle of all of that, still had time to do research on this little by little.

Not escaping from all that hectic work even with a so called reason.

He\'s an amazing person.

[Just let me borrow some of your time, senpai.]

Anyhow, all morning is assigned to research.

Having seen the situation, and having my previous life\'s knowledge, I more or less came up with a prediction.

[Umm, that is... Rudeus-kun. Can I consult with you on this matter?]

Abruptly scratching the back of his ear, Fitts-senpai cast his eyes downward and muttered a bit.

I tilt my head to the side in puzzlement.

[Isn\'t it alright?]

There is the matter of thanking you for helping me the other day.

I\'ll gladly listen to anything you have to say.

[In researching the Metastasis events, I\'d like you to lend me a hand with it.]

I felt deeply grateful in hearing those words.

[No, rather you would be the one lending me a hand. I\'ve only just started researching a few days ago, so the amount of information I\'ve gotten so far is minimal.]

[But, I cannot give you very much time. Most likely I imagine Rudeus-kun would be doing all the research alone by himself.

Wouldn\'t you hate it? Someone who just takes advantage of a partner and when he comes, is likely just a nuisance?]

I would disapprove of a guy who only sometimes shows up for something like a research project and leaves it to the other person to do all the work alone.

When hearing it like that, it certainly sounds disagreeable.

Possibly, Fitts isn\'t one of those types who will do something in vain.

I know that I am not a very bright person.

If it\'s true Fitts-senpai is considered a genius, if he was to check my findings, it\'s possible he might be able to find something useful.

[It\'s not that disagreeable of a thing. I look forward to working with you.]

[Right, I also look forward to working with you.]

When I said so and shook his hand, Fitts became shy and laughed.

With his small face, and soft hand.

My heart throbs.

A male partner...

...no, couldn\'t be.

It might be my mind playing tricks on me.

Afterwards, when I had finished performing my share of the researching, we parted ways.

By the time we came out of the library, it was becoming dark.

On the way back to the dorms, I have a leisurely chat with Fitts.

He appears to have lots of guard work and miscellaneous duties after all, however, it seems that once every 10 days he has free time.

[Come to think of it, Rudeus-kun. I saw you at lunchtime today. It was impressive.]

Though he said lunchtime, I put on a puzzled expression.

Now what was I doing at lunchtime?

[It\'s actually surprising to see how that Zanoba Shirone has taken to you like a puppy.]

[...Haa]

So by lunchtime, he means the time when I was eating a meal at the impromptu café terrasse I created outside with Zanoba and was being watched by everyone.

[You might not already know this, but from the moment he enrolled here, he only ever got into fights, and was nothing but a hooligan and problem child.]

Hearing that he was nothing but a "problem child", I smiled wryly.

Even if you go and say it like that...

That makes it seem like he wasn\'t a victim of bullying.

You know, a person who can easily rip someone\'s head off might not be so easily bullied after all.

[After all, Rinia and Pursena were said to be... Misbehaving too when they were controlling the students, before they were made to be docile.]

Well, it seems that Rinia and Pursena happen to be the school banchou^[47].

The new student who was raging challenged them to a fight, and was defeated.

Two against one.

I won\'t say it was cowardly.

Then Zanoba seems to have been treated as an underling of those two.

I haven\'t seen much of that kind of scene though.

[Please be careful around Rinia and Pursena, since they may decide to pick a fight with you soon.]

[I get the feeling I\'ll be fine...]

I have already shown submission to them.

I don\'t need to show my face anywhere near them.

While I don\'t know where the delinquents gather, I rarely see them in the dining hall.

[Umm, That is... I think that they don\'t want to meet me again]

[And why is that?]

[During the time I was a first year, in order to mess with Ariel, they picked a fight, and I ended up defeating them.]

[The two of them against you?]

[Yes, however that is... I think they might still be holding some resentment towards me.]

Indeed.

However if that\'s the case, it\'s definitely decided that Fitts-senpai is strong.

Fitts senpai took out Rinia and Pursena\'s 2v1 and Zanoba lost to their 2v1.

Since I beat Fitts, does that mean I am the strongest?

No way, right?

There would be an issue of affinity.

Good affinity as to whether or not he also could use the voiceless incantation Disturb Magic now that I had used it on him.

But it could also be that it was just a surprise attack too.

[However if it\'s Rudeus-kun I think you\'ll be alright.]

[Now then, why\'s that?]

[Because there is no one in this school who can defeat me one-on-one. And even though I may appear this way, I had never lost until you.]

Although Fitts praises me by saying that, I would rather commend Fitts-senpai\'s disposition.

An undefeated person was defeated for the first time.

And to top it off he doesn\'t carry a grudge.

Are there no feelings of regret?

[That magic, was... called Disturb Magic? It was incredible! Teach me it next time.]

[Eh? Sure thing!]

I cheerfully consented.

If Fitts masters the Disturb Magic, it may become impossible to defeat him.

Even though I think that, I don\'t have the thought to decline teaching him.

[Ah, but since it\'s like that, take care of yourself.

Because some of those [Special Student]-types are rather eccentric...

The one called Cliff is quick to start a fight, and even Silent also caused a number of problems back when they were admitted. Furthermore, I even heard that there was a strange Elf adventurer who became a first year student. She has been attacking boys.]

Although I am not properly acquainted yet with the first two people mentioned, I am with the third person, though the meaning of "attacking" is a bit different.

[I\'m the kind of person who will try and walk away if I can, instead of getting into a fight..]

While I was talking, we came to a fork in the road.

If I continue straight ahead, I will be at the women\'s dormitory.

Though it is not completely dark yet, I have never again had the nerve to walk down this road.

[Ah, I have errands from Ariel-sama that still need to be done.]

[Right. Thanks for your hard work today. Let\'s do it again sometime.]

[I don\'t have much time tomorrow, but I\'ll try and drop in at the library anyway.]

Fitts said that as he started walking towards the woman\'s dorm.

Free to come from and go to that garden of women... I don\'t really feel jealous,

Maybe it\'s because I still have the memories of Muscle-bomber-san from the other day.

...Or else.

Just maybe.

Is putting my trust in Fitts-senpai who can enter that garden of women the key to the ultimate reason I have entered this school for?

As of yet, I still cannot see the intention of Hitogami\'s advice.

It has been decided that I will cooperate with Fitts-senpai in the matter of the metastasis research.

I think that he has become friendlier toward me.

Though I feel that it is something a bit more than just "Friendly."

I was glad that I was still able to build good relations with him.

He seems to be very mysterious.

[If I might ask, why does Senpai wear sunglasses?]

[Sunglasses...ah, you mean these glasses^[48]?]

Fitts-senpai has never taken off those sunglasses.

Certainly, never, however when do they come off?

[Well, there is a certain reason for it, however I cannot say what it is, I\'m sorry.]

[It\'s fine.]

There was a certain part of his real face I wanted to see.

However, I didn\'t want there to be any ill feeling of me trying to forcibly see what he had a reason to hide.

[So, what floor of the dormitory does senpai live on?

I have never seen you there when it\'s time to eat.]

[Well, for the time being, when it comes to staying at the women\'s dormitory, I am there only as a guard to Ariel-sama.]

So, does a problem never happen then?

However I remembered that if permission is received, one can bring a slave into the dormitory.

Though not a slave, because of matters of Royalty and Nobility, there is a little flexibility that can be requested.

There is a Noble with a maid in the boy\'s dormitory after all.

And naturally, it\'s because if the maid or servant causes a problem, the responsibility falls to the master.

Though Fitts-senpai handles the students, Ariel however has her charisma and the Asura Royal Family\'s power.

In addition, there is also the matter that Fitts-senpai himself is said to be trusted.

It was the girl named Goria-de-san... or was it Big Bang Vader -san, who also acknowledged Fitts-senpai\'s capability.

And, according to Elinalise\'s gossip, it seems that Fitts-senpai seems to be considerably popular among the girls.

The calls Luke gets of Kya~kya~ make him seem like a new guy trying to be trendy. When it comes to the Master, Fitts\'s listless face causes my heart to become completely twisted up.

Though when I talk to him, I get the feeling that he\'s not listless at all.

However I know what I want to say to him.

[Come to think of it, Senpai talks rather normally with me.]

[...?]

[I\'ve heard you are a really reticent person though.]

[I, that is... I am really quite shy of people.]

Comparatively, I felt that he spoke to me as if he was myself.

Despite not being connected, could you call it \'being on the same wavelength\'?

Anyway, as far as when it comes to common knowledge of the school, it\'s that Fitts says surprisingly next to nothing.

Coupled with the fact he can use voiceless incantation, he was given the name Fitts of the [Silence].

Or the [Silent Magician].

[Fitts-senpai\'s family name isn\'t "Raibakku"^[49] by any chance is it?]

[Eh? "Raibakku"... I think maybe the 2nd Generation North God has a name similar to that maybe? Perhaps it\'s different. Anyway I don\'t carry such a thing as a family name, since I am not a noble.]

[You\'re kidding! You wouldn\'t happen to consider cooking as one of your strong points?]

[Umm, I am able to cook... but what\'s that got to do with a family name...?]

My joke wasn\'t caught.

However was something funny? Fitts-senpai seemed to chuckle.

A man of many mysteries, Fitts-senpai.

Even why he is cooperative with me is a mystery.

But I have no particular plans to expose those mysteries.

The person in question is also clearly intending to keep it hidden.

And if that\'s the intention, then there is a reason for it.

To help the person hiding it, to expose it forcibly, I would never do such an ungrateful action.

Of course, it would be a lie to say I am not interested.

However, there is also Hitogami\'s advice.

And moving in accordance to Hitogami\'s advice, I have met Fitts-senpai.

From experience up until now, whenever I do something pertaining to Hitogami\'s advice, it seems to always affect some greater conclusion to an extent.

In other words, as long as I stay close to Fitts-senpai, a clue pertaining to my medical treatment will eventually be within reach.

I need not be in a hurry.

So I thought.

Vol. 7, Youth Period - Admission volume. -End-

1. \'Doro Numa\' lit: mud-lake, translates properly as \'Bog\', but has an alternate translation as \'Quagmire\'.
2. A vocaloid is a voice synthesizer computer program used to create music. (e.g Hatsune Miku) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocaloid
3. Literally, ass-drum.
4. Similar to *ahem*. A throaty sound to change topics or garner attention.
5. DouTei=Virgin.
6. Zukyun is some kinda ero-slang for groping, I think.
7. Erectile Dysfunction. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erectile_dysfunction
8. MeroMero is similar to being love-struck, or having a crush.
9. A femme fatale is a stock character of a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetype of literature and art.
10. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsundere -- dere dere, meaning to become \'lovey dovey\'.
11. Jinas is likely related to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jainism and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tirthankara being teachers of esoteric knowledge, in this case, magic. And Halfas is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malthus_(demon)...
12. Kateba kangun, makereba zokugun. ("The acts of the victorious army are justified, but those of the defeated are condemned.") Just the first half here, quite similar to the medieval philosophy "Might IS right."
13. [Boys Hunt] was written in English.
14. Mahou Sandaikoku - 3 Great Magic Nations, while accurate, doesn\'t sound fluid. Thankfully there is a western concept for this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumvirate
15. Toys similar to Super Balls are more generally known as bouncy balls.
16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Tsukuba
17. Kakatta na! Honestly this is the most ambiguous thing I\'ve translated so far. I\'d rather say it as something like "Greet them!" or "Got\'cha!"
18. Sylvanian Families\' houses had a red roof, non-residential structures had blue roof.
19. Note from an editor: It comes up a lot, particularly with Elinalise, but Japanese use of the English word "Bitch" tends to be an term for someone with a slutty character, but not only that, it\'s often used relatively endearingly. That\'s not to say it\'s polite to call someone that, but it\'s not as mean-spirited. (For an example elsewhere, see "Bitch-sensei" from the manga Assassination Classroom.) I\'d probably suggest a translation like "slutty girl" instead, which doesn\'t feel quite as biting as "slut" by itself either, but since you\'re bound to find it in various chapters all over the place, it might be good for readers to know.
20. Tengu is a Japanese demon of the minor variety that is easily provoked and often causes mischief for no good reason. The literal translation it tends to paint is something like a "pointy-nosed imp." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tengu has a picture of a mask. This visual wordplay becomes an innuendo in the third iteration, regarding our protagonists ED situation. No, not the cassette tape.
21. Sente Hisshou - "First to take action, wins."
22. Gakuseifuku, the standard school uniforms seen in anime, etc.
23. Costume Play.
24. An ikemen is a good-looking man. It comes from Japanese ikeru, iketeru, "cool", "good", "exciting" and either men (メン), from English "men" or "men\'s" (menzu), or men (面) "face".
25. Adult Video.
26. Kogal, Gyaru, gal etc.. Trendy/fashion conscious girls of ages 14-24.
27. Written in Engrish.
28. The line actually says "is it a simple matter of sports-minded hierarchical order?"
29. Bloodlust is Sakki, basically the feeling of the intent to kill.
30. Legit: she says "……ファックなの", feel free and toss that into a translation engine if you want. The -nano part isn\'t necessarily translated, since it\'s like the -nya. It\'s a speech habit that she has.
31. Shingeki: It\'s akin to something like a Sealing Technique or Exorcism.
32. This is a "new" character, not Silent Fitts.
33. He\'s associating someone named silent as being ninja-like. Kage Jutsu is Shadow-Arts or "way of shadow", implying a stealthy sort of person.
34. Hokenshitsu can be informally read as Nurse\'s Office, or School Infirmary.
35. Futokoro: a breast pocket, particularly the pocket-like space within the front of a kimono above the obi.
36. The Aoki Mariko Phenomenon is when people go to places with books(e.g. bookstores and libraries) they feel the urge to defecate. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariko_Aoki_phenomenon
37. Previously translated as Mana Calamity.
38. Kowtow.
39. Star Wars reference to Luke Skywalker.
40. sake means literally rice-wine but is used in general for all alcoholic beverages
41. Is this like that kid\'s movie "Turbo" with the \'White Shadow\' White Shadowwwwww.
42. Name is Body is written in English. Calling her Gorilla-de because she is a demon race member who looks like a gorilla. Sort of like Gi-su.
43. Reference to One-Punch Man. (Chapter 11)
44. Basically she takes him to a kind of park area off the main path and has at it sexually with some guy, modern Japan has some kind of sex-in-a-park cultural thing.
45. Daimashi, "demon expulsion" master.
46. Actually said politely, it was literally, "Ahaha, it\'s my bad."
47. Leader of a group of delinquents.
48. Sunglasses are sunglasses, megane are just any kind of (reading) glasses for general and daily use.
49. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casey_Ryback

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