Ch.37Chapter 37. You’re Mine (3)

In the end, the inter-grade competition ended rather awkwardly.

The fortunate part was that I had strongly expressed my grievances to Professor Kassis throughout our escape from the dungeon.

Professor Kassis eventually acknowledged my opinion and said he would bring it up at the faculty meeting if I would just stop complaining.

Honestly, who stops a competition without even informing the participants?

We didn’t know, so we went all the way.

We even reached the finish line.

This honestly deserves first place.

“But you two really do look alike, probably because you’re family.”

“W-what? What do you mean by that!”

“…”

As it turned out, Professor Kassis who had entered the dungeon was Elaine’s older brother.

I had wondered why no other professors came and only he rushed in breathlessly—it was because of his sister.

The saying “blood is thicker than water” couldn’t be more accurate.

Professor Kassis remained silent at my comment, but Elaine reacted immediately.

“Well, you have similar hair color and similar vibes.”

“N-not at all!”

“Why? Don’t you like being compared to your brother?”

“N-no! That’s absolutely not it…!”

I hadn’t intended to tease her, but Elaine’s reaction made me continue without thinking.

The impact of my teasing was satisfying.

Professor Kassis was visibly trying to ignore my comments, but Elaine jumped up in surprise.

Just as I was about to stop teasing her while she blushed and kept glancing at Kassis…

Finally, it came.

“Everyone, head outside.”

“F-finally…!”

Emily was the first to rush outside.

The outside, which had been bright when we took the second test earlier, had already grown dark.

Still, the fresh air outside greeted us, much better than inside the dungeon.

“Ah, you made it out.”

“Huh… you haven’t left yet?”

As we came out, we saw the third-year students we had encountered inside the dungeon.

“No, they told us to wait and leave together…”

“Hey! That’s right! Seniors, please tell Professor Kassis too. Honestly, you agree we deserve first place, right?”

I immediately brought up our previous conversation upon seeing the third-years.

The third-years had indirectly acknowledged it earlier.

Since they were essentially eliminated, they had said we should take first place.

“Hmm?”

“No, the professor said the competition was suspended earlier, and he couldn’t be certain about the results…”

“Sigh. Didn’t I say I heard your opinion clearly enough? Let it go.”

“Come on, the third-years’ opinion might carry more weight than mine…”

“Enough.”

“Tsk.”

I wanted to make my case further, but when a professor gets serious, I had to stop.

Fine, I’ve said enough, so he’ll probably advocate well for us at whatever faculty meeting they have.

“Professor Kassis, what about the undead inside?”

“There were two Death Knights. The students mentioned Death Knights riding horses, but I didn’t see any horses.”

“Horses…?”

“Yes. For now…”

Professor Kassis looked us over as he spoke.

“We’ll discuss the details tomorrow. Everyone worked hard today, so it’s best to send the students back now.”

“Ah, yes. That’s right.”

And so the inter-grade competition ended without me ever seeing the “Quest Clear” message.

“At least I caught the green one.”

In the end, the only thing I gained was the green one.

“Sigh. I didn’t expect this turn of events. Who interfered?”

I thought I’d be able to use magic after today.

I’ll have to ask Addy later to find out who interfered with my plans.

**

“Let’s hear your explanation.”

*Gulp*

“Yes, yes. So…”

Nigel barely opened his mouth while swallowing dryly.

It had been a long time since he’d seen the Elder this angry.

The kind of calm that comes after reaching the peak of fury.

Nigel bowed his head deeply and began reporting on today’s events.

In truth, his report was nothing more than repeating the situation.

The plan was supposed to go like this, but the students were stronger than expected, and it failed.

He never imagined students could defeat not only ghouls but even Death Knights.

Especially the Green Flame Death Knight.

“Is that all?”

“…Yes.”

Nigel deliberately avoided adding unnecessary excuses.

He knew very well that Landgar despised pointless justifications.

“That student was indeed strong.”

Landgar began speaking quietly.

The sudden appearance of undead during the inter-grade competition.

Landgar already knew about it.

It had happened under his supervision as one of the elders of the Nameless Organization.

The mana-disrupting barrier inside the dungeon was also Landgar’s work.

A barrier created by Landgar, a barrier magic specialist.

There was no way the academy professors could dispel such a barrier in a short time.

“But no matter what, a student is still a student. A freshman at that.”

*Gulp*

Nigel knelt on one knee with his head bowed, quietly listening to Landgar’s words.

Everything he said was true.

Even if an unexpected opponent showed extraordinary skill, he should have been prepared for that too.

“How was I supposed to know they’d be that strong? Damn it.”

Nigel did feel wronged.

He had simply followed the plan.

Death Knights for the strongest third-years, skeletons for the second-years, and ghouls for the first-years.

The number of participants was even fewer than expected, which should have made things easier.

“Still… the opponent did show extraordinary capabilities.”

“Oh, really?”

Nigel felt a glimmer of hope in Landgar’s words.

The slightly softened voice and content.

It seemed like he might not be held responsible since it was an unavoidable situation.

*Gulp*

Nigel swallowed, thinking this was fortunate despite the misfortune.

“Yes, that could happen. This student, Ryu, is no ordinary student. Such strength is suspicious.”

“R-right! Logically speaking…! Ah.”

Nigel unconsciously agreed with Landgar but reflexively covered his mouth.

“…”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Nevertheless.”

Landgar’s demeanor changed again.

Nigel tensed as he waited for Landgar’s next words.

“Losing the Green Flame Death Knight is entirely your responsibility, isn’t it?”

“…”

Nigel couldn’t answer.

While the earlier events might have been unpredictable, what followed wasn’t.

It was he who summoned the Green Flame Death Knight, consumed by rage at the failed plan and lost Death Knight.

There had been clear instructions.

Other undead were fine, but higher undead weren’t to be revealed to the world yet.

The plan’s failure was regrettable, but he should have abandoned it cleanly and waited for the next opportunity.

But such instructions couldn’t penetrate Nigel’s rage-clouded mind.

It was incredibly fortunate that he had at least cut off the live broadcast.

“I’m… sorry.”

Nigel knelt on his other knee as well and prostrated himself.

He had no choice but to grovel now.

The Green Flame Death Knight.

It was supposed to be a card to play later, after it had been completely tamed, in a future plan.

But he had not only revealed that card prematurely but lost it as well.

Nigel felt any hope of escaping responsibility vanish.

Far from being exempt, his mistake was serious enough that the Elder could kill him on the spot without anyone questioning it.

“Sigh. Fine. I’ll give you a way to make amends.”

“W-what kind?”

“Summon it again before the second plan’s execution date.”

“…Pardon?”

“The Green Flame Death Knight. Or something comparable. If you’re not prepared, you’ll perform the summoning ritual with your life as the price. For a black magician of your caliber, that should yield decent results.”

*Gulp*

Nigel sensed the sincerity in Landgar’s words.

To so calmly say he would kill him if he didn’t prepare properly.

Nigel knew all too well that this wasn’t just a threat.

“I-I understand!”

“Good. You may go now.”

*Whoosh*

Nigel disappeared, still prostrated in the same position before Landgar.

Landgar stared at the spot where Nigel had been for a moment before turning his gaze to the window.

The moonlight was shining as always, casting a soft glow in the dark night.

“Nothing’s going right these days.”

Landgar muttered quietly.

It started with the recent incident of losing the hourglass.

The Black Shadow Corps, a thief organization that had suddenly interfered.

From there, things kept going wrong.

They were tracking the Black Shadow Corps to recover the hourglass, but there had been no significant progress yet.

There probably wouldn’t be much progress in the future either.

On top of that, their meticulously prepared plan had failed completely.

All because of a single student.

“Haaa.”

In truth, compared to losing the hourglass, this plan’s failure wasn’t that devastating.

Besides, Landgar himself had been somewhat greedy.

A good opportunity had arisen to advance the inter-grade competition, and losing the hourglass had made him rush the plan earlier than expected.

Since he had started with risks, he could humbly accept the consequences of failure.

If things went well, it would be a huge success, but even if they didn’t, he could accept the pain and look forward.

“That crazy bastard.”

If only Nigel hadn’t acted on his own and lost the Green Flame Death Knight.

“But did he really handle it alone?”

Landgar tried to calm his anger as he thought about Ryu.

He knew something was off from the moment Ryu cut down the ghouls and defeated the Death Knight.

But to think he would even handle the Green Flame Death Knight.

“I should meet him in person.”

Landgar felt the need to meet Ryu directly.

A commoner, not a noble, and seemingly rebellious in nature.

“I need to see if he can be recruited.”

Landgar was considering bringing Ryu into the organization if the conditions were right.