Chapter 78 : Chapter 78

Chapter 78. Communication (4)

"Sooooo~?"

Sirocco tagged along behind Enoch. She looked around and asked. "Where are we going and what are we doing right now? I only see tons of people here."

He glanced over, and it was as she said. In the sophisticated fortress's clean white and spacious corridors, not only were there servants in maid or butler uniforms coming and going, but there were also quite a few people on the terraces and balconies installed on the upper floors of the Elsyde Fortress. There, mages belonging to the family, wearing unique attire and Unique Magic Gears, were socializing, enjoying afternoon tea before lunch and chatting.

Sirocco lightly scanned them and muttered. "Hmm~ It looks like there are a lot of people who seem strong here, are we perhaps going to fight someone? If so, I'm all for it."

"No." Enoch immediately denied it. At that, Sirocco drooped her ears, looking a bit deflated.

"Tch, what a waste. I thought I could brag to the tribe that I won all of them here too."

"I don't want to dampen your spirits, but it won't be as easy as you think."

"Hmph, what's this? Are you getting arrogant just because you beat me once? I can tell what the general level here is just by looking, you know."

"I guess so." Enoch calmly acknowledged it. Sirocco glanced back at him with a saucy look in her eyes and asked.

"Even so, you're saying it won't be easy for me to win?"

"You are strong now, of course, but this is a Main House. It's a place where only the Empire's top-tier practitioners gather, and among them, there are many considerable powerhouses." Enoch extended his hand, saying "For example,".

The tip of his finger pointed to two mages sitting and chatting on a distant terrace.

"That woman is 「Karina von Rundstedt」. From the esteemed Rundstedt Family of the Artigen territory, a Rank 10 mage who served as a Royal Guard of the Artigen Main House."

Enoch pointed to the person opposite her.

"The old man opposite her is a mage called by the codename 「Knight Errand」 instead of his name. He was once part of the Victoria territory's elite knight order and a practitioner equivalent to Rank 10."

This time, he pointed to a mage passing by in the corridor below.

"And that man is a Rank 9 mage, known as the undefeated mercenary who reigned as a figure of fear in the outer districts outside the Main House territory, the so-called 'Lawless Zone'."

"Ooh~!" Sirocco, who was listening to the explanation, brightened her eyes. Then she looked up at Enoch and asked curiously.

"You, you just pointed at random people, didn't you? But you know a lot! How do you know all that?"

At her question, which seemed to marvel at a rather strange detail, Enoch unintentionally blurted out. "...I've seen a lot."

Yes. He had seen a lot, truly. It was almost to the point where saying he knew little would be stranger. If they were original characters with high importance in the story or were powerful, their related information and history were all meticulously recorded in the catalog. To an 'old-timer', not knowing would be the strange thing.

"Anyway. The point is, there are more mages here who are stronger than you think. The Main Houses aren't called the pillars of the Empire and given attention for nothing." Enoch changed the subject and added briefly. "At least for now, it will be hard for you to win easily."

"Hmm~ So you're not saying I'll definitely lose?"

Enoch didn't give a specific answer to Sirocco, who was asking with a slightly playful expression. Seeing that, Sirocco smiled faintly.

"Anyway, the fact that even you, who beat me so easily, would say that is a bit surprising."

"You don't believe me?"

"No! I believe you. You said it, didn't you?" Sirocco said that and wagged her tail. "But I am a bit curious. These people aren't the same as our tribe members that I've always seen, you know." She added lightly with a cheerful expression. "Well, I'll find out when I test them later!"

...Test them? What exactly would she test and how? At her meaningful remark, a question flashed through my mind for a moment, but it probably wasn't something to think too seriously about anyway.

"Anyway, there's something more important than that right now. And we're going to do that now."

"Ah, seriously, stop being so mysterious! So what is it?"

Enoch replied with a faint smile.

"Butting in."

"Huh?"

Not understanding the very abrupt remark, Sirocco momentarily showed a blank expression. But even though the explanation was a bit brief, it was true. First, to achieve the top priority of 'spec up', he absolutely had to obtain the sword of another Sword Saint. However, there was something he needed to do for that.

Enoch hastened his steps.

"Wait, go together!"

Behind him, Sirocco, whose gaze had been focused on looking around the fortress for a moment, trotted along.

***

The upper levels of the Elsyde Fortress. The executive office, where all matters of the Main House were decided, maintained its usual solemn silence today.

Exactly until just now.

CRASH!

Suddenly, with a tremendous roar, the office door was flung wide open as if it were about to be torn off.

"Ugh! Wh-What...!!" At such an absurd situation, the butler who had been setting up teacups flinched and quickly turned towards the door.

Meanwhile, Grantel, who had been approving documents as usual, also stopped his pen and looked at the door. Beyond the wide-open door.

"Ohh!"

In the backlight of the bright sunlight streaming from the corridor, the Beast-kin girl with red hair, who had just delivered a roundhouse kick to the office door, let out a pure exclamation.

"Hey, the door to this room opens easily!"

"Because it wasn't locked."

Leaving Sirocco behind, Enoch slowly walked into the office. Then, with his usual expression, he said calmly.

"I wish to go to the Rhodes Ruin Site."

"...Pardon?"

"I request a mission."

Grantel, who hadn't been particularly surprised by Sirocco's dynamic entrance just now, looked at the boy before him with a slightly bewildered expression at his request.

"No, you just returned to the family today, didn't you?"

"That is correct."

"So, what I mean is, rather than discussing a mission immediately upon returning from the Joint Mission. Perhaps you should take some rest..."

"It's alright. I am perfectly healthy." Enoch replied immediately with no change in his usual expression. "Give me a mission."

Silence flowed for a moment. Grantel stared blankly at Enoch.

Indeed, the boy before him had completed two consecutive Exemption Missions immediately after his first mission. Right after going through the first Nemesis Knight Order test, he was immediately dispatched on the Joint Mission. Therefore, he hadn't rested at all until now. But as soon as he returned to the family, he was already eagerly trying to take on another mission with burning eyes? At this point, it was almost scary to watch.

However, the Executive Officer couldn't possibly say to a direct descendant, whose duty was to build merit through missions, 'Why are you so actively seeking missions?'

"Ahem. I, I understand. My apologies." Grantel, who had been staring at Enoch with his mouth open for a moment, cleared his throat and shook his head. "...By the way, Rhodes... It seems you have already heard rumors about what happened there, Young Master."

"That is correct." Enoch replied nonchalantly. In fact, he hadn't truly heard it as a rumor. Rhodes was one of the 'ruin' areas that appeared prominently in the original story. As such, he naturally knew everything about the place without exception. And what was happening in Rhodes around this time, everything.

Enoch opened his mouth calmly. "I understand there is a mission related to the 'Imperial Academia Expedition Team' scheduled to investigate the Rhodes Ruin Site."

『Imperial Academia』

The collective body of the foremost academic intellectuals in the vast Magic Empire, comprised of scholars and students researching various fields of magic. Among the sub-organizations of the Imperial Academia, the organization of mages called the 'Expedition Team' is responsible for excavating and exploring ruins throughout the Empire. However, when exploring ruins in places where human foot traffic has ceased, there was no telling what dangers might arise during the exploration. Therefore, to prepare for any potential unfortunate incidents, the Imperial Academia Expedition Team had consistently requested cooperation from the local Main Houses from the past.

That was exactly what Enoch was aiming for.

"I've heard that they requested a mission from our Main House this time."

"......You are referring to the 「Support Mission」." Grantel nodded. There were various types of missions the family assigned to its members. The Support Mission was one of them. "As you said, Rhodes is a ruin site whose entry is strictly controlled due to safety issues, and the dispatch of family members as a Support Mission was decided through the contract with the Imperial Academia Expedition Team this time."

Thump.

Grantel closed the file he was holding in one hand.

"However, Young Master. Precisely because of that, it is difficult to grant permission for this mission immediately."

"Why is that?"

"Because this emergency Support Mission to Rhodes is a mission that another direct descendant had already contracted from before."

At those words, Enoch's gaze sharpened slightly. So, this was how it was going to be. In fact, in a way, it was an obvious story. The mission to support the expedition team in Rhodes was something that happened in the flow of the original story. As such, in the Official History, there was a separate direct descendant who had taken on this mission. That was the problem.

By regulation. The people dispatched on a mission were usually only the person who took on the mission and their associated personnel. But even so, he couldn't give up on the next Sword Saint's sword, which was in Rhodes. As far as he knew, if there was something to gain in Rhodes, there was a reason why he absolutely had to go 'now'.

Having thought that far, Enoch suddenly noticed something strange in Grantel's words from earlier and asked again. "...But, 'difficult to grant permission immediately'... It sounds as if it's not entirely impossible?"

"Hmph. You are sharp." Grantel let out a short sigh. "The truth is... A slight problem has occurred with the person originally assigned the mission, which is why I had to give such an ambiguous answer."

"A slight problem?"

"Yes. That person, coincidentally, is likely on their way here to report right now."

Just then, footsteps were heard from outside the door. Enoch glanced that way. Someone immediately opened the office door and entered. A boy around Enoch's age, quite familiar.

Dionil Elsyde.

The 8th-ranked direct descendant of Elsyde who had picked fights with him at every opportunity since he had become Enoch. And in the Official History of the original story, he was also the person recorded as having taken on this Support Mission to Rhodes. Enoch knew that much well.

But something was odd. His face was completely crumpled.

"Gah! This is absurd! Executive Officer!" As if he didn't even have time to care about Enoch, he urgently strode forward and shouted loudly. "The mission to be dispatched urgently to the Rhodes Ruin Site was originally contracted by me and my Follower Family!"

"That was the case."

"But now you say we cannot be dispatched? No matter what, isn't this different from the original mission details?!"

Enoch paused for a moment as he listened to his words. What was going on? How was the situation unfolding? Amidst it all, Dionil passionately shouted. "This mission is officially contracted to me. If the contract is unilaterally broken like this, Elsyde's credibility externally will also...!"

"Of course, what you say is true. However. It is an undeniable fact that an unfortunate incident has occurred to some members of Young Master Dionil's Follower Family." Grantel said, looking down at the documents. "As you know, some of the Follower Families under Lord Dionil are currently receiving medical treatment in the infirmary. Due to this, a gap has occurred in the dispatch personnel."

"Of course, some of my Follower Families, including 'Achellon', are receiving treatment after fainting. But their injuries are not severe!"

Achellon, he said? The name seemed somewhat familiar. Recalling his memories for a long time, Enoch finally remembered something with a start. Ah, perhaps. He was the Follower Family member of the guy who had stepped forward to spar instead of Dionil who had initially picked a fight. He thought he had probably put him down on the training ground floor with Amnesia Magic (physical) at that time. So, he must have passed out afterward and been hospitalized.

Meanwhile, Dionil was shouting quite desperately.

"It's an injury that amounts to nothing more than temporary fainting. They will definitely all be able to participate in this mission!"

"Well. According to the attending healer, they received a strong impact to the head. They said that all memories immediately before fainting were likely lost."

Enoch, listening to that report, was somewhat impressed inwardly. Amnesia Magic (physical). Its effectiveness was indeed certain. Just then, a brief realization struck him. Wait a minute. Then, the reason why Dionil, who was supposed to take on this mission in the original story, suddenly encountered difficulties in going on the mission was...

'Me?'

He had never expected that the incidents of clashing with Dionil's Follower Families until now would have an impact in this way. Just as Enoch was about to show a slightly dumbfounded expression, an idea suddenly flashed through his mind.

Meanwhile, Grantel continued speaking to Dionil.

"......Therefore, the current dispatched personnel do not match the contracted personnel for this mission in terms of number or level. An alternative is needed."

"An alternative, you say?"

"Of course, breaking the contract is not good for the Main House's reputation, so it would be best for Lord Dionil to somehow supplement the personnel."

"That won't be a problem!" Dionil shouted confidently. "Coincidentally, one of my Follower Families is currently checking on how far along the treatment has progressed."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, they should be back soon..."

No sooner had he finished speaking than someone opened the office door and entered.

"Ah. You've arrived!" As if he had been waiting for him inwardly, Dionil went up to the man who had just entered and asked urgently. "How is Achellon doing? Did he wake up?"

"Well, he is awake and speaking."

At that reply, Dionil brightened up and asked again. "There's progress! What did he say?"

"Well, um..."

The mage seemed to be hesitating somewhat. But Dionil, impatient, urged him on. "Ah, come on. There's no need to hold back, please answer quickly!"

Then the hesitant mage answered cautiously. "About the sky outside the window..."

"Yes. The sky?"

After hesitating several times, the mage finally closed his eyes tightly as if he couldn't take it anymore and shouted. "He says! Dinosaurs! Are walking! In the sky!!"

"......?"

Silence flowed for a moment. As if thinking he had misheard something, Dionil asked him quietly with a bewildered tone.

"What? Dinosaurs?"

"Yes. He is awake, but he is currently happy, saying that huge dinosaurs are walking in the sky outside the window..."

The moment Dionil showed a look of disbelief. Someone burst into loud laughter.

"Pfft!"

Instantly, the attention of everyone in the heavy atmosphere of the room focused on the girl who had burst into laughter beside Enoch. Sirocco was laughing brightly beside him.

"Hahahahaha! Dinosaurs, he said dinosaurs~! He's really stupid!"

Pointing at the two before her with one hand and holding her stomach with the other, Sirocco laughed heartily. She was completely engrossed in her cheerful cackles, even getting tears in her eyes, then turned to him and said lightly.

"Look at that! Even a three-year-old in our tribe wouldn't be like that. That person's 'inte-gence' must be super crappy!"

"Not 'inte-gence', intelligence."

"Ah, is that so? Anyway! He's really a dummy!"

Sirocco's sincere evaluation echoed clearly throughout the entire office for a while, reverberating. But in contrast to Sirocco's bright laughter, Dionil's expression was growing darker and darker.

"Gaaah!"

His face was contorting like creative modern art the more Sirocco laughed happily. Enoch watched the scene and nodded.

Indeed, a Tier 1 character is a Tier 1 character, he thought. Putting aside their strength, which was obvious, to be a perfect Tier 1 even in grating on people's nerves innocently... A true Tier 1 was different in every way.

Anyway, now was the opportunity. Not missing the timing when the flow of conversation was cut off by Sirocco's laughter, Enoch opened his mouth.

"...Coincidentally, the matter you were discussing with Dionil is related to my coming here."

"Yes?" At Enoch's words, not only Grantel but also Dionil, who had been talking to him until just now, glanced over.

"...What do you mean by that, Enoch?"

Enoch ignored him and slowly continued speaking. "This matter is partly my fault, Executive Officer."

"Fault?"

"You may already know, but I injured Dionil's Follower Family in a previous spar."

Dionil stared blankly at Enoch for a moment.

"It was even the same during the Nemesis Knight Order entrance examination. So, I feel a sense of responsibility for the situation Dionil is facing now."

Dionil made a flabbergasted expression at those words. He was quicker to catch on than expected, apparently, as he was starting to guess something now.

"Hey, hey! Wait!!" However, disregarding Dionil, Enoch spoke to Grantel with a very, very regretful expression. "Of course, it occurred during a legitimate spar and examination process. But ultimately, they fainted because of me, and because of that, Dionil is suffering from a lack of personnel for this mission."

Enoch glanced at the bewildered Dionil and said. "Therefore, Sirocco and I wish to supplement the personnel shortfall in Dionil's mission."

Grantel's eyes widened slightly for a moment. "Young Master Enoch. Are you serious?"

"Yes. Dionil's available mission personnel have decreased, but..." Enoch glanced at Dionil with his navy blue eyes. Then he smiled faintly and added nonchalantly. "It just so happens that I have acquired a Follower Family."

Meanwhile, Dionil's expression, as he looked this way, was becoming something unexplainable.

Enoch added, as if confirming the kill. "Furthermore, it is a Beast-kin mage called a genius of Rank 10, something Dionil doesn't have yet. To this extent, the supplementation of fighting power will more than suffice."

Grind.

For a moment, the sound of Dionil grinding his teeth to pieces was heard. Enoch glanced that way. He knew that feeling better than anyone. In truth, in character-collecting gacha games, the destructive power of flexing after pulling a top-tier character next to someone who didn't pull it, saying 'You don't have this, do you?', is truly immense.

Let alone for Dionil, a direct descendant who needed to recruit capable Follower Families no matter what to compete for rank? Naturally, the effect would be tremendous. To the extent that it was understandable why Dionil was grinding his teeth so hard his dental health was concerning.

Realizing that he might actually have to go on the operation together like this. Dionil, quickly asked the man who had been reporting beside him.

"Th-Then! Fine, Achellon is one thing. What about those who took the Nemesis Knight Order entrance exam, including Adonic?"

"Well. According to the healer, they will all need more than half a month of rest to fully recover..."

"Damn it, the mission dispatch date to Rhodes is three days from now. The timing doesn't match. I knew something was up when they suddenly applied for the exam in a line, and now this." Dionil sighed deeply, clutching his head, then said in a weak voice. "...I understand for now. Would you tell them to prioritize recovery? We can't overexert them."

"Yes, I will convey that."

"Alright. I ask of you. Hmph."

Behind Dionil, who answered reluctantly with a sigh.

"...So."

A hand landed on his shoulder.

When Dionil flinched and looked back.

"Support."

Enoch added, smiling faintly.

"You'll need it, right?"