episode_0465

“Professor Luca. You come here often these days.”

“Ahaha. It’s almost time for the second year students to go to the external dungeon. I keep coming here because I’m wondering if there’s someone trying to go to a dangerous place.”

Luca said this and stepped into the administrative office.

A professor in the administrative office who had a relationship with him in the past was expelled due to an incident related to Lucy.

It was the price of touching someone who shouldn’t be touched just because they didn’t like him.

If you were going to cross the line, you should have seen where the line you were stepping was.

What can I do if I didn’t see it?

I have to die.

Feeling betrayed. anger. fear. Astonishment.

Luca, remembering the look in this person’s eyes with all those mixed emotions, instantly erased him and smiled at the new administration professor.

The new professor in the administrative office was the child of a noble family belonging to the First Queen’s faction.

Because he came from a powerless family, he had a tendency to be obsessed with making achievements. He rushed in with red eyes at the fact that there was an empty position.

Luca, who saw him and thought he was an easy person to deal with in many ways, put him in a position where he could be useful.

The professor in the administration office seemed to regard this as a blessing and easily overlooked whatever Luca did.

Just as Luca is now ignoring the rules and looking at other people’s documents.

“The number is smaller than I thought. Is this because the difficulty of this Academy Dungeon is high?”

“In the first place, not many people passed the 50th floor. Even students who have passed the 50th floor are choosing to continue conquering the academy dungeon.”

This academy dungeon boasted a high level even to Luca.

Some people related to the Dungeon Society even say that this year’s winner has already been decided.

So, even those who would normally attack the Academy Dungeon moderately and then escape were naturally focusing on conquering the Academy Dungeon.

The fact that Lady Aln and her friends conquered the dungeon must have also had an impact.

Because it has proven that even if it seems like an impossible place to conquer, there is definitely a way out.

Luca, who was checking the few strategy application documents, found Lucy’s name among them.

You went outside the week before and are you going outside again?

You are very active.

Did the Lord give a revelation this time?

Luca tilted his head as he checked the name of the area that Lucy had written down that he would go.

If what I know is correct, the forces of evil spirits do not exist there.

Is that all? There is no such thing as a force.

There are three main categories of people who stay there.

One who wishes for death. A wanderer who runs away to hide his traces. A mercenary group that manages the area following a nobleman’s request.

Other than that, no one visits that barren place. Because there is nothing to be gained by wandering around that place.

Why did Lady Arn apply to visit a place like that?

The Lady Arlene I know is not the type of person to waste time on meaningless things.

She’s crazy about efficiency. This is especially true if it has something to do with friends.

“Hmm.”

I guess I’ll have to look into it sometime.

“Ah. You are looking at documents related to Lady Arlen. I was worried about this in many ways. Considering the risk, it is right to refuse, but since the opponent is the opponent.”

“It’s okay. Let’s pass it. If other professors tell me what to do, I will persuade them.”

“If Professor Luca says so, I’d be happy.”

Seeing the public administration professor smiling brightly, Luca also smiled back.

I wish I could smile like this again later.

“Oh. Professor Luca. Have you ever worn gloves before?”

“No. Recently, I’ve been finding things I like and wearing them.”

“Indeed. It looks like a good product.”

*

Weekend morning has arrived again. I met my friends in the morning and put a subspace pouch in each of their hands.

“What is this?”

“What do you think it is? Poor prince? Would you like to try some guessing with the prince’s pathetic imagination?”

“There is no need to guess. You are not a great person who would give us something as a gift. It must be something you need for your future destination.”

I didn’t respond to Arthur’s indifferent response and just drooped the corners of my eyes. As if he was shocked to hear such a thing.

“You have to act like that to avoid being deceived. Do you know how many times I’ve been bullied by you?”

don’t answer Just lower your head and keep your mouth shut. This is enough for me to do. Others will take care of the rest.

“3Prince.”

“Prince. This is a bit.”

“The prince was bad in this.”

“No! What! Why does it seem like I did something wrong! Considering what Lucy Aln has done so far, isn’t there a higher possibility that this is a joke!”

I suppress the corners of my mouth from rising and wait for my friends to continue their pressure.

Arthur, who did not know what to do under the pressure of 3 to 1, eventually apologized in a disapproving voice.

“That. What. sorry. I have doubts.”

“Fuhahaha!”

After hearing the shy voice, I eventually failed to hold back the laughter and giggled for a while, accepting the gaze that was clearly filled with absurd emotions.

“Ah. really. The poor prince is really fun to play with. Every time I see it, I want to poke it.”

“…damn.”

“A. Poor Prince, why are you acting angry when you were enjoying it too? Actually, it’s good, right? You’re enjoying it, right? Because you are a perverted prince.”

“Who is the pervert?”

Ignoring Arthur’s cries, I explained to my friends what was inside.

“Look carefully. You bastards. What’s contained here is water and food.”

“What! Was I right?”

The place we went to last week was a place where we didn’t have to worry about food.

There was a pretty good city nearby, and the forest was an easy place to find food in the first place, so there was no need to worry about it.

But that is not where we are going from now on. That place, colored the color of sand, is a place where it is difficult to find even a decent lake, let alone grass.

“Is it the desert in the west?…”

“I once visited for encouragement. It was an incredibly barren place. It’s going to be a difficult trip.”

“Desert. I don’t think it would be fun.”

I listened to my friends and nodded.

The western desert was not a place I necessarily wanted to visit.

There are a few things hidden, but they may not be useful to me right now.

If you play a character with a weak body, it’s hard to imagine what a shitty place the desert would be where your stamina is being reduced in real time.

After stopping by there this time, I didn’t plan on going there again.

“What should I do? You guys have no choice but to go there because your abilities are poor.”

“Answer! Was I right?”

“Just follow along quietly. Poor guys.”

“Damn it! Just at night. Just give me one chestnut! One big deal!”

“You scream that you want to hit a girl. The poor prince is truly barbaric.”

“Answering only these things again… Argh!”

*

The place we arrived at after riding the teleportation train was an oasis in a corner of the desert.

A large number of people had gathered at this place, where travelers who wanted to head towards the desert naturally had no choice but to stop by.

“…Those people over there.”

“Why are people from the academy here?”

“What should I do? Should I say hello?”

People who saw our faces instantly realized who we were and started chattering.

As mercenaries with close ties to nobles remember the faces of famous people.

On the other hand, there were also people who opened their eyes wide when they saw us and quickly retreated.

They are probably trying to hide their identity.

In the commotion created by our arrival, I found the person I had called in advance.

The mercenary group called in via Caria should be waiting.

“Long time no see. Lady of the Aln family.”

The man who walked and knelt in front of me was a mercenary I met at the Patran family festival.

He, who had said that he had been indebted to Benedick, continued speaking after checking on his friends who were lying around due to the aftereffects of the teleportation.

“I heard that you cared about my son. thank you. Thanks to that, he also developed connections with nobles.”

“…Huh? What are you talking about? You say I cared about a lowly mercenary’s son?”

“Do you remember the name Toby?”

Toby?

ah! I remembered!

A commoner boy who was conquering the dungeon I created last semester.

I really liked the idea of conquering dungeons, so I gave it to Avery.

To be honest, it was a waste of talent to be able to conquer dungeons with someone like Avery.

If we had been with better players, wouldn’t we have been able to compete properly with the top teams?

“You reminded me. It’s a happy thing.”

The mercenary leader smiled brightly when he saw my expression. From my perspective, I did it without much thought, but from the other person’s perspective, it seemed to be a very gracious thing.

“I promise to do my best to help you on this trip in order to repay the kindness I have received from the Aln family.”

What the mercenary leader said was not a lie. Outside the oasis that followed him, there was a mercenary group waiting so well-disciplined that it could be considered an army.

“If you are in the carriage, I will take you to the destination mentioned in advance.”

The inside of the carriage, with a beast that was much larger and fiercer than a typical horse hanging on the front, was unimaginably comfortable in the desert landscape.

According to Joey’s explanation, it seemed to be a carriage for VIPs with all kinds of magic installed for convenience.

“It’s too luxurious a carriage to be used in a desert like this. I think it will be a very comfortable trip.”

Joy looked around the inside of the carriage and smiled lightly, then added some magic to it.

It is said to be the Patran family’s secret to making travel comfortable.

Around that time, the wheels of the carriage started to move and the inside of the car started to shake. Arthur, who had been keeping his mouth shut because he was annoyed by the teasing in the morning, lifted his heavy lips with a sigh.

“Now that we’ve reached this point, there’s something I’d like to ask you. Lucy Alln.”

“What is it? Poor prince?”

“Who on earth is that archmage who will be giving us advice? Who are you to stay in such a dangerous place?”

When Arthur asked me if I was a person who had to hide my identity, I gave a light answer as if it was no big deal.

“He is a mental patient who was famous in the past. He may have a weird head, but his skills are clear.”

“So who is that?”

“The title ‘hero’ is too undeserved.”

“…if you are a hero. No way.”

As I looked at the gazes of my friends who naturally gathered in my direction, I smiled and nodded.

“He’s that crazy guy that even your poor imagination can picture.”