C272: Field Trip (1)
Following Sedina's order, the paper bug left the square for a long time and quietly settled down in a quiet alleyway.
At that moment, a mouse hiding in the dark appeared and bit the bug.
The mouse ran into a nearby house with a bug in its mouth and found a man waiting inside.
"Good job."
Hans took the paper that the mouse had brought and handed him an almond in his hand.
While the mouse was happily nibbling at the almond, Hans unfolded the paper bug and read what was inside.
Hans' face quickly became serious after reading the contents of the message.
"Damn."
Hans stood up and looked out the window.
This ordinary house not far from the square was used by Hans as a residence for a long time. Therefore, he was able to check the contents of the letter quickly.
Outside the window, he could see the uniformed knights walking down the street.
"The black side would be the Nightcrawler Knights and the white one is the Knights of Cold Steel, two of the three great Knight Orders of the Empire."
It's unlikely that two groups that don't get along would be out here on vacation. Besides, Rudger's instructions in the letter were to keep an eye out for anyone who looked suspicious.
Hans had a hunch that something must be going on in the capital.
"No wonder things were going well. Isn't it always on days like this that something happens?"
Hans wasn't even angry anymore since he had been through too much with Rudger. He had stopped being surprised and had come to accept it.
While he regretted that he had become so accustomed to it, Hans thought seriously about the future.
'Especially now that there's someone else besides me.'
Hans stared anxiously at one side of the room.
There was a sofa for four people in what could be called a living room, and fine blond hair was overflowing over it.
There, lying on the couch, bored out of her mind, was Grander.
Snow-white skin, tightly drawn features, and lazy half-open eyes. She is a mysterious figure that exudes both beauty and boredom.
There was even a hint of decadence in her seemingly innocent appearance but Hans knew that the young girl was actually a terrifying creature.
'Vampire.'
Vampires are known to be extremely rare among the subspecies. In fact, there have been no eyewitness accounts of them, so much so that they have been considered mere legends.
The rumors circulating were nothing more than mistaking cryptids for a vampire so much so that even Hans regarded them as fictional beings.
That's what he thought.
'I can't believe she's brother 's teacher.'
Moreover, Grander was the progenitor of vampires.
Considering that rumors were not circulating in the world, the girl in front of him was likely to be the only vampire.
'Brother told me about her from time to time.'
She's a very strong and brilliant wizard, but she's bad-tempered and selfish, and he never wanted to see her again.
It seemed strange to Hans that his brother, who seemed to have nothing to fear in the world, would say such a thing. Maybe that's why it felt so genuine.
Your master must be a dangerous man, Hans thought.
'Still, I thought he would be an old man with a long beard, but who would have imagined that she would be a small and soft girl like a doll?'
While Hans was thinking so, Grander, who was lying on the sofa, opened her mouth.
"Why are you looking at me?"
Hans shuddered at the remark.
He knew he'd been caught sneaking a peek.
"Yes, yes?"
"Why are you looking at me?"
"Oh, it's because……."
"You can speak comfortably. I hate lies."
"……I was wondering why you followed me all the way here."
Hans spoke carefully so as not to offend Grander
It was true that he was curious why Grander was here since she didn't have to come to the capital.
Hans came to help Rudger, but the other members decided to stay in Leathervelk. Nevertheless, Grander followed him so he was curious about the reason.
"Is there anything wrong with me coming here, on my own two feet?"
"Oh, no, there isn't."
Still, your very presence makes me uncomfortable.
Hans swallowed desperately at that last part.
"Well, it looks like you have something else to tell me."
Grander, who was lying on the couch, turned her head toward Hans and asked.
Hans broke out in a cold sweat at the sight of those languid yet penetrating red eyes.
"Yeah."
"Tell me."
With Grander's permission, Hans gulped down and opened his mouth.
"Do you know? There are knights out there right now."
"Do you know, there are knights roaming outside right now?"
"Knights? Oh, I've been feeling the signs of those who are full of physical vitality from a while ago."
You can sense that?
Vampires are amazing, Hans mused, but he didn't stop talking.
"Judging from brother letter, I think something is about to happen here in the capital."
"Something is going to happen?"
"Yes. For now, I'm saying it's likely, but I think it's almost certain."
"So what?"
"Well, Miss Grander……Are you going to help brother?"
Grander laughed at Hans' question.
"Hahaha!"
"Uh, you know…."
To Hans's bewilderment, Grander stopped laughing and said.
"Do you think I will help?"
"Oh, you won't help? But it's your student, after all……."
"Yes, he is my student. That's why I don't need to help. I didn't raise him to be so weak."
Hans looked puzzled at that.
"Then why did you come all the way here…….?"
"I think I've already answered that question. Or are you trying to say that I followed you here because I was worried about my student?"
"You weren't?"
Hans prodded.
"Ah, no, no. How dare I speak to my brother's master like that?"
"It's good that you know."
Grander shook her head again, as if the excitement had worn off.
Hans wiped the cold sweat from his cheeks.
'Oh, really. That's exactly like brother said. I can't figure out her personality.'
Just as he was about to turn away and do what Rudger had asked, he heard Grander's voice.
"I want you to check the basement."
"What?"
Hans was surprised by the unexpected words, but looked back at Grander, asking what she meant.
With her back to Hans, Grander didn't respond. It was as if she'd told Hans everything he needed to know and didn't want to get involved any further.
'What? If you're going to tell me, at least tell me properly.'
Hans grumbled inwardly, but he knew from Rudger's accounts that Grander was notoriously selfish, so he didn't argue further.
"Come on, boys, it's time to get to work."
Hans said, and the rats waiting inside the house responded by twitching their whiskers.
* * *
"Nice to meet you, gentlemen."
Caroline Monarch, with a uniform coat draped over her shoulders, stood before her mentees with her arms folded.
"It's just for today, but I'm Caroline Monarch, your mentor and guide."
Deciding where to go on a field trip in the capital was purely at the discretion of each mentor. As such, each mentor had their own way of organizing the tour for their students.
Caroline, their mentor for the day, purposely kept her voice low to gain momentum as a senior. She didn't want to be looked down upon because of her small size and cute appearance.
'She's small.'
'Cute.'
'She's like a doll.'
Caroline's mentees found her cute. It was like a child desperately trying to pretend to be an adult. But despite her appearance, Caroline is a sixth-rank wizard of the Lexer class.
Among all Theon students who were considered talented, she was one of the few who could reach that level.
"Well, I'm sure you know me, but just in case, I'll introduce myself. I'm a sixth-rank wizard of the Lexer class, the leader of the Monarch Mercenaries, and a freelance wizard with no fixed affiliation."
Caroline looked at the students with her arms crossed.
"From this moment on, you will proceed with the field trip at my discretion. It is also at my discretion to assign grades based on your behavior."
The students didn't protest because they had been given advance notice. If anything, they were happy that the field trip would be used as a third test.
"I usually give good marks if you follow directions and have a good attitude. You guys are basically getting a free pass. However!"
Caroline said loudly, her eyes intense.
"The other dimwits will give you good grades for just enough chit-chat to make you laugh and smile but I don't intend to."
The students gulped at that.
"Then how can we get high marks?"
"Stupid ──!!!"
"Hick!"
A female student raised her hand, causing Caroline to yell at her.
Looking pathetically at the student who had been frightened by her sudden behavior, Caroline clicked her tongue.
"You don't ask me that, you find out yourself!"
"No, we don't know unless you tell us!'
The students shouted in unison but none of them dared to say it out loud.
"But we won't know unless you tell us."
No, there was one.
As Aidan raised his hand and spoke, students around him looked at Aidan with a shudder.
"What?"
Caroline frowned as if she was offended and an unearthly amount of magic began to flow from her body, engulfing the area around her.
"Holy shit!"
"That's a lot of power!"
A formidable mana erupted from her little body and made the students shiver.
They realized once again why Caroline Monarch's known as a tyrant.
It would not be surprising if her flowing mana would choke them right now.
What was even more surprising was that she could unleash this much raw power and it would only affect her mentees, with no impact on the surroundings.
"What did you just say?"
"Uh, I won't know unless you tell me?"
"Ho-ho."
Caroline looked at Aidan as if she was having fun.
Her intense gaze made the other students look away in fear but Aidan didn't look away, and neither did Tracy, Iona, and Leo, who, though nervous, didn't back away or look away.
"You there."
"Yeah!"
"What's your name?"
"Aidan!"
"I see you don't have a last name, so you must be a commoner."
"Yes, I am."
"Okay, you pass. You got an A."
"……?"
Caroline said, retracting all the mana she had unleashed at once.
Hearing that, Aidan stared at Caroline with an incomprehensible gaze.
"What's with the look in your eyes? Are you complaining about something? Don't you want to get an A?"
"Uh, no?"
"Then you should be happy."
'Is that so?'
Aidan scratched his head awkwardly.
"But I thought it would be nice to know why."
"You're a commoner, aren't you?"
"Yes, but?"
"I like commoners, hence the A."
Oh, my God. That's so unreasonable.
Caroline's eyes were on Tracy as the other students were surprised.
"You there. Red pigtails."
Tracy answered confidently, even though she wondered what she was calling her pigtails.
"Yes."
"My name is Tracy Friad."
"What? You are an aristocrat?"
Caroline frowned at the remark.
"What family are you from?"
"…A fallen house."
Tracy hesitated slightly to answer because she was ashamed to bring it up. It was something she'd rather keep hidden, but she answered honestly.
"Ho-ho. You said it without hiding it. That's great. That's great. You got an A."
Tracy's eyes widened at the realization that she had gotten an A.
Ignoring her, Caroline's gaze turned to Iona.
"Oh, my God. What do you eat to be so big?"
"……?"
Iona tilted her head slightly, not understanding Caroline's suddenly hostile reaction to her.
"You're well trained, though. Besides, if you're Suin and you're this good, you got an A."
"……Thank you?"
Iona replied in a blunt tone with a slight doubt at the end.
Caroline's eyes then turned to Leo. Her eyes, which had previously been unwilling to give away any points, softened as they landed on Leo. It was as if she had met a comrade.
Aidan felt like he knew why.
"You, what's your name?"
"I'm……Leo."
"How old are you? Did you skip grades?"
"……I'm the same age as these guys here."
"I see!"
The perceptive Leo frowned as he realized the reason for Caroline's favoritism toward him.
Caroline put her hand on Leo's shoulder, perhaps because of the joy of meeting a comrade.
"Don't worry, kid. Height is not everything! You can especially call me sister comfortably."
"What?"
"If you have any problems, you can tell me, and you got an A, too!"
"……Yes."
"Any words of gratitude?"
"Thank you……Thank you."
Leo expressed his gratitude with his eyes closed tightly.
Aidan knew he shouldn't laugh at the sight, but he couldn't stop a smile from trying to escape.
Tracy was giggling openly beside him, holding her stomach.
As Leo glared, Aidan tapped Tracy forearm, and Tracy immediately turned her head and avoided Leo's gaze.
Meanwhile, Caroline opened her mouth as she looked back at the students as if they were protesting.
"Everyone must be wondering why I gave these guys an A."
"Oh, because they're commoners?"
"What?"
The student who gave his opinion immediately lowered his head when Caroline frowned.
"Well, I won't say there isn't a little selflessness there."
'There is.'
The students all thought the same thing. Of course, just inside.
"Now I will explain the exact reason."