Ch.144144. Road School Faction War (1)

*Squeal!*

A wild boar monster that had been roaming the fields collapsed with a shrieking sound, leaving a large fist-shaped mark on its side.

The one responsible for that large fist mark, Junon, brushed off the dirt covering various parts of his body while muttering.

“…It seems like the intervals have been getting shorter lately. Maybe things will finally ease up a bit now.”

As expected, it’s Professor Muniher’s doing.

With soldiers infected by the Lemtert Plague absent, monsters had been appearing in various regions, tormenting the residents.

In this situation, amazingly enough, he improved the request page according to his reputation and made the academy students take action.

Of course, the manpower shortage wasn’t immediately resolved since only the relatively unaffected third-year students who had been assigned to rear units could participate, but before long, second-year students gradually joined in as well, slowly stabilizing the empire.

“Hmm… E-rank. This should be fine.”

Junon checks the rank in the monster guide and feels relieved.

The systematized monster ranks. The corresponding request ranks also reflect this, so one needs to be careful.

Before hoisting up the wild boar he had caught, he sits on a stump for a moment to catch his breath. Then he looks up at the sky, momentarily soothing his complicated feelings.

“It’s peaceful, and that’s good.”

The Great Shute Subjugation. The Plague’s Shanbereshu Suppression. The Devourer Elimination.

Now that all of that is over, this time is a sweet respite for him who has overcome the first hurdle.

The biggest change is that the empire has stabilized during this period. Thanks to that, there’s plenty of time left until the next incident occurs.

So to enjoy this peace, he needs to break away from Class A. Being noticeable would only cause unnecessary headaches, like before.

‘I should get going.’

Thinking it would be awkward if he stayed too late, he hoisted the wilros and turned around, only to see a familiar face.

“Wilros… an E-rank monster.”

It was Michelle. Though they had risen from team units to party units through this opportunity, requests were individual tasks that also evaluated academic performance.

So they had no choice but to go separately.

He passed by his classmate who might have spoken to him, without saying a word.

Her red ponytail swayed slightly, but she didn’t chase after Junon as he went on his way.

“…Why did he do that?”

Looking at his back, Michelle thinks once again.

At the Shute Great Subjugation banquet a month ago, why did he kick away the best opportunity to be recognized with his own feet?

Why would someone who once craved the top position now reject praise and expectations?

In truth, no matter how much she pondered, she wouldn’t understand. If there was one thing she could be certain of…

It was that unlike when she first met him, so many things had changed now.

***

The bustling Levrant 3rd Avenue Plaza.

A new social environment was being created in this place filled with clients making requests and students fulfilling them.

“Yes! I’ve finally reached D-rank!”

“To think I can now hunt Tau that I couldn’t even touch before. I’m pretty decent now, right?”

“Come on, it’s still just D. And my ranking is at the bottom, so I need to work harder.”

The page now assigns performance points based on students’ request completion abilities and request ranks, which are then converted to grades.

Naturally, those who become accustomed to practical work based on solid theory accumulate more points.

Magic power is no longer everything.

A well-dressed man approaches someone rejoicing over their rank promotion.

“Excuse me, are you student Mark?”

“Oh, yes. I’m Mark.”

“I’ve noticed your rapid growth on the ranking page recently. I’ve been watching as you achieved D-rank this time. Would you like to join our Melcom Guild?”

“M-me? Join the Melcom Guild? Really?!”

“That’s great, kid!”

Canolattle. Osoptera. And even the Devourer.

With just three all-out wars, the empire was greatly shaken, and when soldiers were incapacitated, humans once again had to establish means to counter monsters.

For this reason, groups were created to handle monsters in each area.

This was the birth of guilds.

“…”

It’s going smoothly. The guild organization provides considerable reassurance not only to the empire and academy but also to the residents.

They can respond even if monsters suddenly appear, and in urgent situations requiring manpower, requests can be entrusted to the guild.

It creates jobs for students and covers various fields, making this policy correct from any perspective.

However, a clear problem catches Ophelia’s eye.

[Junon – E-rank 11th place.]

‘…I really can’t understand. Why is he doing this?’

Having clearly observed him as a judge during the Welcome Duel, Ophelia knew that Junon’s skills were definitely not deserving of such a low rank.

Yet he was placed in a much lower rank.

Despite leading the rear unit to significantly reduce infection symptoms and achieving even greater results than the main unit, the very person responsible was merely E-rank.

This was the problem Ophelia identified. It meant that the freedom of the request page couldn’t forcibly draw out a person’s true abilities.

-‘My lady, is this data really accurate?!’

-‘How can that guy be E-rank…! He saved our lives completely!’

A few students came to strongly protest why Junon was in that rank.

But what could be done? The requests were separate from the subjugation, and Professor Muniher had already criticized that one should receive a rank appropriate to their capabilities.

Yes. Once again, Junon himself had closed his own path.

He legally takes and completes E-rank requests as soon as they appear, but never touches anything above that. How could there be any change this way?

Though she had some ideas, Ophelia was equally frustrated.

“Sigh… I need to calm down for a moment. I have to meet Renias.”

She couldn’t talk about this in front of a friend she was seeing after a long time.

Leaving the crowd and exiting the 3rd Avenue Street, Ophelia soon reached the meeting place where Renias had already arrived.

But… something about Renias’s behavior seemed strange.

“Gulp, gulp. Phew…!”

Isn’t that herbal tea…? No one drinks tea like that. Moreover, Renias couldn’t possibly have such toughness…

“Another herbal tea… no, cold water please! Fill it with ice, make it really cold!”

Ah, looking closely, she’s burning up inside!

While those around didn’t particularly notice Renias’s reaction, Ophelia could pick up on the subtlety.

A sullen face and protruding lips. Unlike the usual Renias, her expression seemed somehow full of displeasure.

‘But why is she acting like this…?’

Even considering what she’d seen so far, suddenly getting angry like this in the middle of everything.

It truly wasn’t like Renias at all.

It was clear something had happened… so Ophelia tapped Renias’s shoulder.

“Hm? I asked for cold water…”

“It’s me, Renias. What’s with the sudden cold water talk?”

“Oh! It’s Ophi. Ugh… something happened.”

Cold water? Usually she would smile brightly while drinking warm tea, but now cold water…?

While pondering this, the waiter arrived.

“Here’s the cold water you requested.”

“Thank you~.”

-Gulp, gulp.

She quickly drained the cold water filled with ice. Was she burning up inside…?

Ophelia couldn’t even imagine what could make Renias this angry.

This… she had to find out. For her friend’s sake.

“Ahem… Renias?”

“Yes, Ophi. What is it?”

“Would you like to tell me what happened?”

“Eh…? Why?”

“If you don’t tell me, I’ll go ask him directly.”

“…”

It was half a lie. She was taking advantage of the fact that there were few people who could make Renias react this way.

Renias’s face, which had become somewhat relieved after drinking the cold water, returned to its original state.

And as if she had been itching to speak, she began to pour out her pent-up frustration.

“Ophi! Listen, okay? Who would act to erase their own achievements?! Really, I’m going crazy with frustration!!”

“Y-yes… please explain slowly what happened from the beginning…”

“There were even strange rumors circulating that would have been good to eliminate-! Senior is such an idiot!!!”

“Renias…! This is a public place!”

“Wuub! Wub wub wub!!”

Ophelia couldn’t think of any way to stop the rampaging Renias. It had never happened before…!

The best she could do was cover her mouth to prevent others from noticing.

But she couldn’t restrain her body…!

“Renias? Please calm down. Okay? You’re putting me in a difficult position…!”

“Wub, wuwub.”

“Ugh, what’s wrong with you today… really!”

“Wuwuwub, wub!”

She tried adding a few more words, but Renias’s violent struggling showed no signs of stopping.

But then,

“This won’t do! If you keep acting like this, I’ll go straight to him and tell on you?!”

“…!”

At the mention of telling on her, Renias’s silly hair stood up straight. Her struggling movements also stopped at the same time.

Suddenly…? It seemed she had hit the mark.

This was it. The way to prevent Renias from causing a commotion.

“Ahem. Let’s move somewhere else first. I’ll listen to everything calmly there. Understood?”

“…”

“Of course, if you act up again like before, I’ll go tell on you.”

She immediately nodded her head up and down vigorously, promising to obediently follow instructions.

Caw- Caw-

As a crow moved with the gradually setting sun.

During that time, Ophelia was listening to Renias’s complaints over and over again.

Hearing the same thing repeatedly. It might have been tiresome, but she didn’t leave her seat.

“He was active in this subjugation, and if he just got good grades now, no one could say anything. Right?! Don’t you think so too, Ophi?!”

“Umm. Yes.”

“Then whyyy… why does Senior only take E-rank requests saying he has nothing else to do… Hng.”

She had learned belatedly about his activities at the banquet hall and in this subjugation.

From their conversation at the festival, she also knew he was a good person.

If such a person had bad rumors attached to them, she would want them to be dispelled, and it seemed quite unreasonable that someone with skills was being gossiped about by others.

Indeed, she thought Renias had good reason to be this upset.

‘If we could make him join a group… no, that would be the same. As before, he would say he has no intention of joining voluntarily.’

When she suggested joining Tembris, he clearly stated he didn’t want to.

Helping with the guild side would be the same. Pulling strings from behind would violate imperial law.

Then there was only one way.

‘I’ll have to propose that.’

This wasn’t about unreasonableness, but unnecessary concealment.

***

The next day.

The second semester break had ended, and the third semester began.

He thought it would be another similar day, but… it wasn’t.

“…I forgot about this. Damn it.”

[Regional Lordschool Faction War Announcement]

[Levrant Academy students must mandatorily join one of the four Lordschool factions and undergo an evaluation at the beginning of the semester.]

[Students of this school can choose one of the four provinces in order according to their request page ranking.]

[Selection Location – Merak Hall]