chapter_0244

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
244

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
244

“When Joy told me, I
wasn’t sure if she was serious or joking, but it turned out to be
true.”

Duke Partan gave a wry smile
as he looked at the people I brought along.

Certainly, the group visiting
for a courtesy call isn’t ordinary.

Phoebe, the saint of the
Church of Armadi.

Arthur, though far from the
throne, is still of royal blood.

Including Duke Partan and Joy
as well.

It’s a lineup that would be
intimidating for any noble.

In other words, it’s a group
that the Duke Burrow wouldn’t dare refuse.

Who could possibly turn away
such formidable people when they show up at the door?

As soon as we arrive, the door
will naturally open.

With this, our entry into the
dungeon is confirmed! We just need to set off the trigger properly!

“See, I told you many
times that I conveyed it correctly, Father.”

“Haha. Sorry for doubting
you, Joy. I didn’t expect the Lady to have such high standards.”

‘…Oh. Have I overdone it?’

“Careless Duke, are these
arrangements too much for you? Didn’t you say there was no need to
hold back? Maybe I misunderstood.”

“Not at all. I just think
the Burrow Family will be quite flustered. Although I had mentioned
it in advance, hearing about it and seeing it in person feel quite
different.”

Even though my slightly
insulting casual tone surprised me enough to halt my speech, Duke
Partan just smiled and let it pass without saying anything further.

He must be considerate because
I’m a friend of his daughter. If someone from another Duke’s Family
had heard such words, they would raise their voice.

Once we enter the Duke Burrow
Family’s domain, I should stay silent. We don’t know what kind of
commotion might arise.

After exchanging greetings
between me and the people I brought along with Duke Partan, we headed
straight to the domain of the Duke Burrow Family.

The journey itself wasn’t
long.

Although the distance between
the Academy and the Duke Burrow Family is substantial, Duke Partan’s
abilities as a mage allowed us to cover that distance in seconds.

As I braced myself for the
motion sickness that usually comes with teleportation, I couldn’t
help but feel strange when the landscape changed and I felt nothing.

What’s going on? Why don’t I
feel anything? Did the Fox do something? Or have I finally grown
strong enough to withstand the pain of teleportation?

“As expected of a Duke.
Such a smooth teleportation.”

“Haha. It’s nothing
special, Third Prince.”

Unfortunately, all my guesses
were wrong. It was simply because Duke Partan’s skills were so
exceptional that we could teleport without any motion sickness at
all.

An amazing mage truly does
amazing things.

“Welcome, Duke Partan.
And…”

A retainer from the Duke
Burrow Family appeared shortly after we arrived. He froze upon seeing
our group but quickly regained his composure.

He probably didn’t expect us
to actually come.

“…Please follow me to
the mansion.”

As I followed him, I observed
the Duke’s territory. I thought I might find traces of something
corrupt along the streets.

However, I couldn’t find any
signs.

Neither did Grandpa, the
Perverted Fox, Phoebe, or Adri. None of us noticed anything unusual
on the streets.

The atmosphere felt slightly
sombre due to the Duke’s illness, but other than that, it was just an
ordinary street.

The mansion was no different
either. We couldn’t detect even the slightest anomaly inside.

For a place with so many
people working, it felt oddly quiet, but that was typical for the
Duke Burrow Family.

‘Indeed.’

Considering that Armadi gave
me a quest, there’s definitely something going on here, but why can’t
I find anything?

With the team I brought, we
should have detected any abnormalities by now.

Could it be that I’m just
overreacting? Is this quest simply one of Armadi’s twisted pranks?

“My son truly has great
merit. To think such esteemed guests would come to visit the sick.
Haha. However, even though we informed Jack in advance, he went out
for training in the morning and hasn’t returned yet.”

My suspicions deepened upon
meeting the Duchess.

She was the one closest to
Duke Burrow. If there was any corruption involved in Duke Burrow’s
poor condition, she would certainly be connected.

However, I couldn’t find
anything wrong with her. From my perspective, she was just a weary
wife nursing her sick husband and handling the family’s affairs.

“First, let’s go see my
husband.”

“Is it alright for all of
us to go together, Duchess?”

“Thank you for your
concern, Duke Partan. But it’s fine. Despite everything, he’s quite
healthy. Every day he grumbles about wanting to go outside and swing
his sword.”

Just as the Duchess mentioned,
Duke Burrow was in good health.

“Please come in.”

As soon as the door opened, he
stood up and greeted us with a dignified look in his eyes.

Just by looking at him, I
could tell his illness wasn’t severe.

“Duke Partan, his
daughter, the Saint, the Prince, and even Sir Benedict’s daughter
came to see me out of concern. Sometimes, being sick is not so bad.”

Not only his eyes were
vigorous.

While he didn’t possess the
overtly muscular physique of someone like Benedict’s, the muscles he
did have were precisely where they needed to be, giving the
impression of a warrior trained to the utmost limits.

At the very least, to me, he
looked like someone who could leap out of bed at any moment without
it being strange.

I subtly gauged the reactions
of the others to see if I was alone in this impression, but their
responses were the same.

There was nothing amiss.

Everything seemed normal.

“But as you can see, I am
perfectly fine. I could return to my duties right now if it weren’t
for my wife nagging me to rest more. If it weren’t for her, I would
have already returned to work.”

“What nonsense. Duke
Burrow. When I visited a couple of months ago, you were practically
on your deathbed.”

“That was then. Duke
Partan. Look at me now. Do you see any sign of illness?”

Thanks to Duke Partan leading
the conversation, we finished the visit without having to say much.
Then, Duke Partan mentioned that there were matters for the dukes to
discuss privately and sent us out.

Thus, we were left waiting in
the reception room until their conversation was over.

Sigh.
I really have no idea what’s going on.

Why is there nothing strange?

Shouldn’t there be something
odd? As I sat on the sofa in the reception room, Grandpa spoke up.

‘…I think so too.’

We looked at the streets, the
mansion, the Duchess, even the Duke, but we found nothing unusual.

This was despite the fact that
we had the Master of the Forest, the Saint, a mighty Necromancer, a
Hero of the past, and an Archmage among us.

Given the circumstances, it
should be safe to conclude that there is nothing wrong with the
Burrow Family.

‘But Armadi still insists
that something is off.’

Why is Armadi not telling me
that the quest is complete?

Even though we confirmed
there’s nothing wrong, why does the quest still remain?

‘Yes.’

If his intention was to mess
with me, he would have already announced the completion and given me
a mischievous reward.

Yet, Armadi remains silent.

‘What could it be?’

>

‘Opposite?’

I pondered over Grandpa’s
words.

Magic. Dark magic. Barriers
and curses. Various corrupt methods.

Something that even the
current members, who can detect all of this, might not notice.

It’s quite a complex
condition.

Well, it makes sense since we
prepared team members capable of detecting almost everything.

Various means floated in my
mind, only to sink once again.

Thinking of a method that
surpasses those tough conditions while also being effective against
Duke Burrow, who is a monster, is quite challenging.

A few ideas come to mind, but
most seem unlikely at this point in time.

For example,

That show-off who fled after
getting beaten by Grandpa before.

If he was the one behind it,
this phenomenon could be explained.

The greatest power of the Evil
God of Darkness is concealment.

If he decides to act, it’s
only natural no one would detect anything.

But I rule him out because he
doesn’t have the strength to meddle with the Duke.

Duke Burrow is one of the
kingdom’s strongest warriors, counted among the top three.

Though he might not match up
to Benedict, that show-off isn’t someone who should even dream of
taking on the Duke.

Unless the Evil God of
Darkness has completely awakened, it’s too early for that. He is
set to awaken at the earliest by the end of the second year.

So, if we exclude him and
consider other variables…

“I didn’t expect so many
people to come visit me.”

As I racked my brain
desperately, I heard the door open and looked up.

“It’s been a while.
Everyone.”

Jack Burrow finished his
polite greetings and scanned the faces in the reception room, finally
catching my eyes with a frown.

Does he really think I
confessed to him? Is he thinking; That girl is still following me
around?

Ha. This is seriously
annoying.

How could I clear up this
misunderstanding?

Phoebe, who was next to me,
stood up abruptly, drawing everyone’s attention.

But Phoebe didn’t seem to care
about their stares; she was focused solely on Jack’s face.

“Saint? Is something the
matter?”

“Ah. Uh. That is. Well.”

Seeing Phoebe visibly
flustered, I thought to myself. I don’t know why she was so
flustered.

But I do know it’s strange
for Phoebe to be this shaken.

As a Saint, Phoebe has
travelled to many regions and met countless people. She should be
accustomed to keeping her composure, so for her to be this nervous to
make an excuse means she must have seen something truly shocking.

So, I need to manage this
situation appropriately.

What can I do?

Of course, the usual thing.

“It’s nothing. Inferior
Duke ♡ Our Sloppy Saint, who’s getting dumber by the day because
she’s starting to resemble a friend of hers, was just talking
nonsense about me liking someone like you ♡”

Drawing attention away from
her.

“…Ah. That disgusting
rumour.”

Upon hearing my words, Jack
showed genuine disdain.

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