<512 – You Want Us to Bring That?>
Gift Academy Dark Trading Company Headquarters.
Jezel was closely monitoring the news about Oknodie, who rarely returned to the academy.
“Do you know what our little lady is doing out there?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I came to ask.”
“They say she’s been performing a magic show with the magicians from the Red Magic Tower.”
“…What’s that about?”
“I’m not sure, but they call it a ‘Real Man Test.’ Apparently, it’s a super popular event in the Southern Sacred City-State Federation, selling tickets like hotcakes.”
When a kid who disappeared overnight from the academy started holding an event outside, it seemed like her unique adventurous spirit was shining.
“They say the little lady who sold the rights to the fireworks show went missing.”
“This is crazy. Where could a perfectly normal girl who was studying hard disappear to overnight?”
Isabel looked so anxious that she couldn’t even prepare the ingredients properly.
Only after Jezel thoroughly expanded her network of information could she catch a glimpse of Oknodie’s next movements.
“Professor Destroyer!”
“The professor known as the Previous Hero? Why is he involved?”
“I got a tip that the professor was seen with the little lady before she went missing, near Mount Vesuvius. It seems like there was some massive incident there that the outside world hasn’t caught wind of.”
It wasn’t good to be worrying about external issues while preparing for finals, but the reason Jezel had enrolled in Gift Academy was because of Oknodie.
Without caring much for her grades, she quickly expanded the surveillance network around Destroyer until she finally gleaned some information.
“Kanelle City. That’s where Professor Destroyer and the Thief Guild’s headquarters are located. Oknodie is presumed to be staying with the Thief Guild.”
“Why is a professor supposed to teach classes wandering around with some student? Don’t the warriors take his lectures?”
“I’ve heard there’s already been an announcement. All students will get free grades, and there will be an alternative lecture that has free attendance in the future.”
“Why don’t our professors take the kids and disappear for a month too? I wish they’d just leave together.”
“…I understand your feelings, but I think saying that when the little lady is missing is a bit reckless.”
Given that there were so many quirky oddballs at the academy, and especially since it involved the professor who was a previous hero, Jezel tried to convince herself that they must be taking some special lecture.
However, right after receiving intelligence from the Revolutionary Army, it was impossible to brush it off lightly.
Movement of supplies and funds.
Relocation of personnel and strong forces.
“I have a bad feeling something big is going to happen in Kanelle City… I can’t shake off the feeling it’s a really bad omen.”
“If you’re that worried, why not take a leave of absence and go look for her together?”
“Isabel, are you sure? Are you okay with risking your honor at Gift Academy just to take a leave of absence?”
The procedure for returning from a leave of absence after passing the rigorous entrance exam wouldn’t be all that easy. Worst-case scenario, they might have to be ready to leave the academy forever.
“It doesn’t matter. We wouldn’t have gotten into Gift Academy if it weren’t for Oknodie, right? For you, Jezel, the problem was not the ability but the will.”
“Oh, so only the chef and the cool ones get to pretend to be stylish? Don’t forget about me, Son Ohchun!”
“Isabel, Son Ohchun. Thanks to both of you, I feel a bit more at ease.”
Jezel found courage.
Yeah, if things go wrong, they can just take a leave of absence and go.
What about the rollercoaster of events since becoming a first-year at the academy?
They should be able to save one person.
“So, if you can’t get an outing permit, then you’re thinking of applying for a leave of absence?”
“Exactly.”
The head of year, Professor Mahabharata, shook his head with a troubled expression.
“It’s not always a good thing for friendships to be that strong. For students taking a leave of absence, there’s a strict monitoring process by the academy to analyze whether the reasons submitted for the leave are valid, as well as keep track of any leaks of classified information. It’s quite a hassle, so approval isn’t easy.”
“In that case, I’ll quit the academy. I’ve received plenty of teachings, and though there’s even more to come, the experiences till now have been invaluable.”
“Don’t rush. Regarding your outing and leave of absence reasons, the academy is already paying attention to those, even if it’s not you. So if the three of you join late, it’s just going to complicate things more.”
Isabel’s face brightened.
“Are the professors the ones protecting us?”
“They’ve contracted students who have completed instructor training to provide monitoring and long-distance escort in exchange for points.”
“Students on leave…?”
“You may have already met those people.”
The trio, who once rushed to find Oknodie during the Kraken incident and invaded the Student Dormitory Zone, looked uneasy.
Those upperclassmen from the Production Department who were so eager to extort points or exploit labor at the entrance of the Student Dormitory Zone.
While they were annoying, the strength of the upperclassmen who sought the treasures obtainable in the Student Dormitory Zone was on another level compared to other students on leave.
“Come on. Those upperclassmen can’t be serious, right? They’re way too ruthless, those three are known as the Bivo Recovery Trio. There’s no way they’d leisurely take on missions.”
“I see you know them. That’s exactly who those three are.”
“Huh?”
“Son Ohchun… You’re the type of person who brings disasters when you open your mouth. Famous for his disaster-bringing monkey hand, indeed…”
“Wait, is this my fault?!”
Looking at the list that Professor Mahabharata pulled out, the three were dumbfounded.
━━━
Sword Thief Jeto
Hermit Ian
Murderer Urgas
Flawless Charlotte
━━━
Who are those individuals listed?
They knew every single one of them, without exception.
Student Dormitory Zone.
Stage 3 Mana Disaster [Heavenly Barrier].
An investigation team targeting the depths of the Heavenly Barrier.
A man with Rung Nosa as his nemesis.
Someone who reduces the new year to ashes.
The one who made Irene, Rockbell, and Dorothy feel what absolute strength is.
Sword Thief Jeto, aiming for the strongest lost item within the depths of the Heavenly Barrier.
Student Dormitory Zone.
Stage 5 Mana Disaster [Erupting Lava].
A short senior boy who’s been doing fire affinity practice for thirteen years.
A madman who offers to help only if they exchange mana hearts with him, demanding that from the three of them and Jiang.
Hermit Ian.
Student Dormitory Zone.
Wandering through all disaster zones.
Someone seeking to pave the way towards treasures by gathering lost items as a substitute for lacking skills.
Murderer Urgas, who retrieved a hundred lost items by himself.
…And the upperclassman who got his precious items wrecked by Oknodie’s holy hand grenade and lost more than half.
Student Dormitory Zone.
Stage 8 Mana Disaster [Depths of Chaos].
The strongest leave-of-absence student, Charlotte.
Someone with a background more peculiar than the other students genuinely attempting to recover the lost items.
Some witnessed her directly, while others gathered information based on others’ testimonies. Jezel suspected that none of them could be matched by a first-year.
Even at the quickest, it would take at least a year.
Even upper-ranking strong students in the upper class, like Sing or Irene, would need years to catch up with them.
“Are you feeling secure now?”
“Absolutely.”
*
Jezel arrived at a mountain where strange harpies appeared, known for incidentally kidnapping men instead of women, thinking these upperclassmen could be trusted.
“A bookbag-wearing shorty and a dangerous killer style guy with treasure goblins and a sophisticated lady swordsman! Kill all the guys except the lady swordsman!”
“Hahaha. Usually, don’t harpies shout ‘Boys are dead’ instead? Shouting ‘Girls dead’ — what a crazy world we live in.”
“How dare these beastly idiots call us treasure goblins!!”
The murderer Urgas repelled the unexpected attack of the dark harpies with the treasures’ might.
Looking down at the seven-item treasure set he had equipped, he clicked his tongue in discontent.
“That emergency collection of students on leave is definitely low quality. It’s going to take a while before I can regain the combat power I had from my lost items. To aim for treasures, I must succeed in this mission and buy treasures with points.”
Urgas grabbed a harpy’s hair and lifted her up.
“So tell me the truth. Where did Oknodie go? What is he doing? We need to take that guy if we’re to gain bonus points. Humans get ferocious if they don’t receive bonuses. Like, exploding a harpy’s head ferocious. So hurry up and answer. Where’s Oknodie?!”
The harpy sobbed sorrowfully.
“I was carried around so much, I had no need for the broken thing, so I let it go! If you like mantis humans so much, go have some fun! Ugh!”
“Hahaha. Is the next one a mantis man? You’re really entertaining. So how many did the mantis man take? Five again?”
“He said he couldn’t get tired of switching partners and took two thousand!”
Hermit Ian asked again with a blank face.
“Huh? Two thousand?”
“He said while passing by, he would loot from the zoo and the arena. By now, the numbers must have increased even more. How could he just leave our harpy girls behind? Such a young, bad girl… that makes me admire her even more!”
Charlotte urged the stupefied students.
“Stop dawdling and prepare to chase. If we delay any longer in bringing Oknodie back, a major incident might erupt in the Empire. Then, retrieving Oknodie and getting those bonus points will become even harder.”
“You expect us to catch up to a kid dragging along a monster army faster than the Imperial Army? How?”
“We have verified mounts right here.”
Pointing at the dark harpies, Charlotte indicated.
The abandoned dark harpies realized they were destined to be mounts again, drooping their wings and eyes helplessly.
