Chapter 65

Frost said nothing for a while.
She agonized as she tapped the desk with her fingertips.

Lars’s request that she become his attack magic.

She had no intention of trying to understand what he meant.
Right now, Frost was thinking about how she could refuse the request as cleanly as possible.

“By attack magic…… are you planning to fight something?”
“I plan to deal with the monster that will appear in the sea beyond the mountain range.”
“If you are dealing with monsters, Chairman, you should be able to handle them on your own.”
“It’s lonely alone.”
“…….”

Frost resolved that she would absolutely not go with him.

“I did not feel any dangerous energy from the sea.”
“It’s normal not to feel anything yet. Something will appear within a month, though.”

Frost blinked as if she had no idea what he meant.

“If you were thinking of telling me to bring skilled students along, I will refuse that in advance.”

Lars naturally perched on the desk.
When he spun one of the cups placed on it, Frost’s expression instantly turned sharp.

At the killing intent that filled the room, Lars set the cup down and raised both hands.
He stood up from his seat with a playful expression.

“I’m not looking for someone skilled. I’m looking for a partner who won’t be afraid of monsters.”

Frost straightened the place where Lars had been sitting.
Even the handle of the cup was returned to the same direction as before.

Lars mulled over his own words.

Could that have sounded offensive?
He had not meant to belittle the Academy students.
It was true that most of the students were not afraid of monsters.
However, that was merely courage born from ignorance.
It was a kind of conceit they could only have because they had never fought a monster they could not defeat.

It would not become a major problem.
Once they graduated from the Academy and became knights, it would resolve itself.
After going through all sorts of things, conceit was bound to break on its own.

‘I should adjust the education system a little.’

At this Academy, they mainly learned combat against human opponents, with respect for the opponent included.
However, the current enemy wasn’t humans, but monsters.
What was needed in troubled times like these was experience in combat against monsters.
So it was about time to breathe some change into the Academy as well.

It wasn’t only because of the times.
Any kind of experience would eventually become flesh and blood.
Just as there were things to learn on a well-made arena, there were also things to learn in a mud fight.

“Please don’t misunderstand. The monster I mentioned is not an ordinary specimen.”

Frost quietly blinked.

“I did not particularly misunderstand. What do you mean by not an ordinary specimen?”
“It may be something rarely seen, like a Basilisk, or it may be an unusual specimen no one has seen before.”

Frost tapped the desk with her fingertips.

A Basilisk. And a strange specimen.
She had heard of them through telegrams.
The monsters that had caused problems on the eastern, western, and southern fronts, where the war’s end had recently been declared.
She had heard that the capable people from each nation had resolved them more easily than expected, but…….

They were too much for Academy students to handle.
The Basilisk alone was proof of that.
Even if everyone in the Academy joined in, victory couldn’t be guaranteed.
Because it was a monster even Frost, a 7th-class magician, could not face alone.

“It may be only natural for the students to be afraid.”
“That is why I asked you, Principal.”
“…….”

Frost hesitated for a moment.
She had no desire to accompany the man before her.
It wasn’t that she was frightened by monsters.
Lars Musica was an archmage.
If she linked his magic with her own, they should be able to easily take down even a Basilisk-level monster.
Even if the battle took place in the middle of the sea, it was clear that no major variables would arise.

Originally, she had intended to send two former students as support.
Violet Lyond.
Aiden Lawson.
They were the students who had most recently graduated from the Academy and become knights.
Although ‘recent’ still meant several months ago, she had expected that they had built up some experience with monsters by now.
However…….

‘It’s still too much for the children.’

They were outstanding children.
They were excellent students with great talent who also worked hard.
But they were not at the level where they could thrust their swords without hesitation at a monster on the level of a Basilisk.

Of course, Lars’s magic would give the two children wings,
but for some reason, Lars said he was looking for a partner who would not be frightened.
If he said so, there must be a reason it had to be that way.
If that was the case…….

Frost let out a sigh.
As she pressed her temple, faint irritation showed on her face.

“Understood. I will accompany you to take down the monster.”

Lars welcomed her with a bright smile.

“Chairman. Do you know exactly when the monster will appear?”
“I don’t know the exact date, but I can guarantee it will be within about a month.”

Frost looked over the documents piled on her desk.
If she had a month, she could finish the matters she needed to resolve to some extent.
As long as the amount didn’t increase in the meantime.

“Then how much time will it take to deal with the monster?”
“Wouldn’t it be two days at most?”

Frost slowly nodded.
Two days.
That much wouldn’t have much effect on her later schedule.
She only had to focus on dealing with the monster at ease.

However, the words that came from Lars’s mouth immediately shattered her calculations.

“I’ll be in your care for the next five months, Principal Frost.”
“Five months?”

Around that time.
Lucas left the Quantums Merchant House and headed for the imperial knight order.
Serpens followed him with his heart full of expectation.

The imperial knight order.
Wasn’t even the name cool?
It felt as if the very embodiment of the knights he had dreamed of as a child would be gathered there in droves.

“The imperial knight order……. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Lucas answered in front of him.

“Do not hold useless expectations. There are many who put authority before skill.”

Before long, they reached the knight order’s quarters inside the fortress, and after a simple identity check, the two were able to enter.

Serpens looked around with sparkling eyes.
Shining armor and weapons. And knights busily engaged in training.
It somehow looked cool, so he let out a small exclamation of admiration.

“I will go confirm something, so stay here quietly. Do nothing, and stay quiet.”
“Yes, sir!”

Lucas left Serpens standing right near the entrance and headed somewhere.
Serpens turned his head and carefully watched the nearby knights who were sparring.

Sunlight reflecting off armor wet with sweat.
The trajectories drawn by swords.
As he watched without thinking, he could understand how incredible Lucas’s sword was.

There were several flaws in their swords.
Their swordsmanship itself was excellent.
However, to the boy’s eyes, ways to attack each person began to stand out.

Someone who looked at where he would attack in advance.
Someone who made it obvious he was aiming for an opening.
Someone who put relatively more strength into his left shoulder.
As he quietly watched the sparring, he could identify the flaws of several people.

Of course, they were only small openings.
If he sparred with them himself, there was no guarantee he would win.

They were skilled knights, and adult men at the same time.
There were already several differences between them and a thirteen-year-old kid who had held a sword for only one year.

Clang!

A sharp metallic sound.
And with that, the spar’s outcome was decided.

“What a shame. Such a shame.”

Serpens shook his head.
The person he had personally been cheering for had lost.
There had been no special reason he was cheering for him.
It was something like choosing odd in the odd-or-even game he used to enjoy in the back alleys.
He had cheered for the side that somehow felt good.
Unfortunately, that side had lost.

“Hey, what’s with the kid?”

A few people noticed Serpens.
When one person in the group spoke aloud, several turned their heads.
When Serpens met their eyes, he avoided their gazes for no reason and tried to play it cool.

One of the people who had been sparring sheathed his longsword and approached.
He had a fairly strong impression and a large build, making him look reliable.

“This isn’t a place you come to sightsee, kid.”

Serpens’s eyebrow twitched.
A hint of mockery was mixed into the man’s tone.

“I apologize if my gaze bothered you. But I didn’t come here to sightsee.”

The boy answered in as composed a tone as possible.
The rude tone had offended him, but Lucas’s instruction came to mind.
Do nothing, and stay quiet.
He did not want to disobey those words.

“Whatever your purpose in visiting, this place is too dangerous for a kid like you to enter. Hurry back to your parents.”

The man turned back and cackled toward his companions.

Serpens took a deep breath.
He had no intention of causing trouble for no reason.
At times like this, he must not show that his feelings had been hurt.
Just apologize cleanly.
He had done nothing wrong, but if he apologized, it would pass easily.

“I apologize. I’m waiting for someone here. As soon as that person returns, I will leave.”

The man seemed about to say something more, then looked Serpens over once again.
Then in the end, he clicked his tongue and shrugged.
He returned to his place and glanced at the boy with his companions a few more times, but he paid him no more attention.

Serpens quietly breathed out and lowered his head.

His expectations for the imperial knight order had already become slightly distorted.
But he thought it was fortunate that everyone seemed to have at least some sense.

The troublemakers lining the back alleys would not accept an apology even if one was given.
Instead, their shoulders would rise proudly, and they would look down on the other person even more.
That was why in the back alleys, fists came before words.
Only by suppressing the other person with sheer spite and grit would words get through.

Fists before words.
That was the back alleys’ excellent means of conversation.

After he blankly watched the sparring for a few more minutes.
Lucas, who had walked off somewhere, returned.

“Follow me.”

That cold and indifferent voice was strangely the most welcome.

Lucas passed between the people sparring and approached a building.
It was a strange building that looked exactly like a temple from the outside, but did not feel sacred.

“There are people you should meet as well.”
“Me?”
“The monster subjugation that will take place in one month. They are people you will work with there.”
“Oho……?”

Serpens’s eyes sparkled again.
The unpleasant feeling from just now melted away like snow.
In truth, it hadn’t been all that unpleasant.
The reason Serpens’s expression had crumpled was not because his feelings had been hurt.
Rather, it was because he had felt a familiar emotion.

Gazes that ignored others and looked down on them.
Being with Lucas and Lars, he had briefly forgotten that the world’s gaze was originally sharp.
He was merely surprised by that fact.

“What do the people we’re meeting do?”

Serpens asked as he entered the temple.
At the same time, he looked over the knights passing inside and the weapons on display.

“There are only two people we will meet now. Though there will be more people you see on the day itself.”

There was no hesitation in Lucas’s steps.
When he passed by, several knights called out their names in loud voices and greeted him,
and Lucas gave them a brief nod.

“Serpens. When you first met me, you asked what I did.”
“I did, didn’t I?”

Serpens looked up at Lucas.

“I was a knight of the imperial court. I was Knight Commander of the Imperial First Battalion.”

It wasn’t a particularly surprising fact.
He had to be at least that much for the things that had happened so far to make any sense.
The reason an ‘oh’ of admiration slipped from the boy’s mouth was because he was surprised that Lucas had spoken about himself directly.

“The people we are meeting now were my subordinates at that time.”
“Subordinates?”
“The current Knight Commander of the Imperial First Battalion. And the Knight Commander of the Second Battalion.”
“Oh……!”

In truth, he didn’t know how impressive the term First Battalion was, or how impressive a Knight Commander was either.
Even so, he reacted as if surprised.

Because the names sounded somehow cool.