NOVEL NEXT Chapter 101
『Mana Trading Studies, Basic Group Project Announcement.“
The word ‘Group Project’ stuck prominently on the bulletin board made the students blink in confusion. The newly admitted students at Apuria had no idea what it meant.
Group Project.
The students did not perceive the very idea of it in a negative light.
“Solving a hard assignment together instead of alone.”
If taken at face value, isn’t that great?
“Group Project?”
“Is that the same as those from the Middle Academy? Gathering to discuss and write a report?”
“The one that ends during class?”
Some students who had experienced group projects in Middle Academy were present. However, they did not know.
“What? So it’s just something minor, right?”
They were unaware that the group project they had experienced and the one they were about to face were stories from different dimensions.
“………”
Of course, not every student was oblivious to the meaning of a group project. There were students standing in silence, unlike the others.
“Group Project.”
These were students who had heard from seniors who graduated from Apuria about what a group project entails.
“Surely, seniors had warned us…”
They recalled the warnings they received from their seniors.
“The moment you witness the abyss of humanity.”
“One teammate will definitely disappear.”
“Trust no one.”
“Only trust yourself.”
“When you notice it, you’ll be all alone.”
It sounded the stuff of horror stories.
They envisioned the sunken eyes of the seniors as they recounted tales of ‘Group Projects’.
“I don’t know what it is, but…”
It definitely wasn’t a good story.
Moreover, the professor who planned this project was Professor Rania, often referred to as the nightmare of Apuria.
Indefinably, nothing good could come to mind.
They silently averted their gaze. At the end of their line of sight was the figure of Professor Rania humming a tune and vanishing into the distance.
“It’s ominous.”
They sensed an impending calamity looming.
—
“I truly think I’m going to die from it, senior.”
Not far from the Royal Castle, there was a forest. To call it merely a forest was misleading, as esteemed members of the royal family occasionally used it as a walking path, making it feel no different from a palace.
A forest rigorously guarded by knights.
A forest meticulously maintained by the royal servants.
Clink.
In the depths of this forest, I was tipping back a drink. I paused, munching on the snacks laid out on a mat.
“What’s hard?”
I questioned as the guy next to me spoke up.
“It’s mentally exhausting. It feels like my mind is utterly drained…”
Sitting on the mat, sharing a drink, was my former subordinate. Now retired from the battlefield, he worked as a Hound for the royal family, Kalt.
“See, senior.”
Kalt munched on some snacks, chattering away.
“I’ve been on escort duty lately, you know?”
“Oh, I know that.”
“It’s really tough. It’s heartbreakingly hard. The princess is outrageous. Really.”
I let out a bitter chuckle while tilting my drink.
“First Princess’s Escort Mission.”
That was precisely the task Kalt was currently undertaking. Considering Princess Lruiel’s temperament, I could understand why Kalt was whining so much.
“She really has quite the temperament.”
Even I had found myself caught up in her whims at times. How much more so for Kalt? Feeling a twinge of sympathy, I continued.
“Being on escort duty is always a pain in the ass. You can’t leave the subject of your escort, making it hard to go anywhere.”
“True, but…”
“So that’s why we’re stuck having this boring drink together. Who the hell schedules a drinking appointment in a place like this?”
I sighed and shook my head.
The reason we were drinking here was solely to accommodate Kalt.
Due to the duties of being on escort for the first princess, it would be a struggle to go far from the Royal Quarters.
“It really is absurd.”
Drinking in a forest managed by the royal family?
If someone found us, we’d have no excuse to offer for being judged for our disrespect.
“And, it’s already hard enough to sneak in.”
Of course, that was the case considering the average person.
For Kalt and me, being far from the average meant getting into the forest wasn’t overly challenging.
But that was that.
Sipping drinks in such a forest was a bit embarrassing to consider.
“You’re the first one to invite me to drink in such a forest, old subordinate.”
As I grumbled, Kalt took a swig from his drink and grinned widely.
“But, it’s quite scenic, isn’t it?”
“Scenic my ass. Sitting on this ground with drinks makes me think of the old days, which is all kinds of annoying.”*
When you sit on the bare ground and sip drinks, old memories are bound to bubble to the surface.
“Memories from the battlefield.”
I recalled those times when I would plop down anywhere and sip on jerky that had been gnawed down to nothing. While it might have felt good back then…
“Gnawing on jerky dusted with dirt while drinking lousy booze. Right in the bloody battlefield.”
Looking back now only brought tears to my eyes.
I snuffled and swallowed, speaking again.
“Seriously, why did I enjoy that…?”
“I find it a bit strange in hindsight as well. The taste of that horrid booze, ha ha…”
Kalt chuckled ruefully.
“But, senior.”
“What is it, dude?”
“Unlike the battlefield, this is quite a nice spot, isn’t it?”
He pointed with his empty glass toward the night sky.
“Unobstructed view. The sound of leaves swaying in the night breeze. Shining stars and moon. Really scenic, wouldn’t you say?”
“The stars already made me feel miserable.”
“You truly lack romance, senior.”
“Why don’t you engage in a deal with those stars? I got burned by them plenty!”
Kalt smacked his lips, shaking his head in disapproval as I pondered whether to hit him.
“I’m itching to throw a punch.”
I balled my fist while Kalt exhaled deeply.
“Anyway, I have too much work these days.”
“…Work?”
“Yes, this is a secret, okay? Not long ago, a mysterious maid entered the Royal Quarters and then vanished without a trace!”
Hmm.
“I don’t know what she was up to, but the Royal Castle has turned upside down. The court mages’ lab caught fire, and the captain of the royal guard has gone missing…”
“Well, um…”
“Because of that, there’s total chaos in the royal castle. It seems related to the First Princess, but there’s just no evidence.”
“…No evidence?”
Kalt nodded seriously.
“Yes, a devious method. To leave no trace, they broke walls and set fire to the laboratory! Isn’t that madness?”
“No, I mean, is there really no madness in this world…?”
I relaxed my clenched fist.
Quietly lowering my arm, I snacked on some food.
“There was a maid with black hair, but it’s hard to find anyone who’s seen her face…”
“………”
“Huh? Why the silence, senior?”
“Oh, I just…”
I poured some drink into Kalt’s glass. Then reached out and patted his shoulder lightly.
“You’re really doing your best.”
“…Why the sudden kindness?”
Kalt blinked in surprise while gulping his drink.
It was just one of those midsummer nights’ tales.
—
In drinking circles, there are always snacks accompanying. This isn’t limited to just the food you eat.
“Story material.”
That too is a wonderful kind of snack.
In that regard, our exchanges never dried up. Just pulling tales from the battlefield would be enough to occupy several sleepless nights.
“So, that damn Sara…”
“The saint’s personality can be quite difficult at times.”
And above all, Kalt was a person who had seen Sara and Remia’s antics with me.
“Yeah, damn right! How much…!”
There was no one but Kalt with whom I could openly share these thoughts. As we chatted endlessly, dawn was breaking.
“Ugh, I can’t go on any longer.”
Kalt groaned, leaning against a tree. His exhale was thick with the scent of alcohol.
“Aren’t you going to get drunk, senior?”
“I think I’m just beginning to feel it now.”
Sure enough, I felt a bit of warmth on my face, but my mind was still clear. Wizards typically don’t get drunk unless the alcohol is downright lethal.
“What was it… there was a thesis on that.”
There was indeed a paper about why wizards don’t get drunk.
As I delved into my memories, Kalt spoke up, incredulity lacing his tone.
“…Is this really your first time drinking that body of yours?”
“I mean, it’s almost the first time.”
“You’re quite the phenomenon…”
I shook the bottle of drink I was holding.
Having gotten too lazy to pour it into a cup, I downed the bottle straight. Quickly draining what was left, I wiped my mouth.
“Wow.”
Kalt shot me a look, as if I had just woken up from a stupor. I smirked as I rose from my seat and strolled over to him.
“Hey.”
“What is it?”
I kicked Kalt lightly with my toe.
“You think you can go into your duty in that state?”
“One bath, and I’m all good.”
“But you still have to get rid of the smell.”
I flicked his forehead with my finger, channeling mana through it.
Deodorization.
The odor from the alcohol smeared on Kalt’s clothes and body vanished as if washed away. Kalt’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Oh, what’s that?”
“What do you think? A spell I developed to avoid seeing those whining kids.”
“Oh…”
I left Kalt in astonishment behind as I stretched lazily. It was time to wrap things up. Kalt had been sneaking glances at the magic tools connected to the Royal Quarters, so it seemed the time to head back was upon us.
“Shall we clean up?”
Kalt nodded in agreement.
We began tidying up the remnants of our drinking, ensuring our traces in the forest were completely erased.
“Oh, right. Senior.”
As the rising sun illuminated the forest, just as I prepared to leave for Apuria, Kalt called out to me.
“What is it?”
“It isn’t confirmed yet, but I thought you should know.”
With a more subdued voice, Kalt shared.
“In the Anatole territory, and in the streets of Kadinak, there have been reports of numerous corpses.”
“…Corpses?”
“Yes, it seems like the factions in the slums have clashed, but the issue lies with the characteristics of the bodies.”*
Kalt continued.
“The bodies were all skeletal, as if drained of something.”
Corpses drained of life.
Hearing those words, I frowned.
“Kadinak, skeletal corpses…”
When piecing those clues together, only one thought flooded my mind.
“Though it’s not certain, we on the Hound side…”
“Enough.”
I shook my head.
No need to hear more.
“If it happened in the night city of Kadinak and around the Anatole territory… that says it all.”
Basking in sunlight, I stretched my arms wide.
Cracking my knuckles, a series of crunches echoed.
“Succubus Queen, Refe.”
The only one I could think of was that bat-winged creature.
—
“………”
Belnoa gazed at the corpses.
They had flowed through the underground sewer and now hung in the iron bars. Where they originated, he could not tell.
The presence of the corpses was not surprising.
What was unusual was the appearance of the remaining corpses.
“…They’re so thin?”
Skeletal remains.
They appeared as if life had been drained from them.
And, most strikingly… their faces bore an uncanny expression. As Belnoa watched the faces twisted into smiles, he tilted his head in confusion. The more he looked, the stranger the corpses appeared.
“…What on earth is this?”
Belnoa peered toward where the corpses flowed from.
Through the underground aqueduct extending beyond the royal capital, something continued to stream in.
Crimson liquid not blending with the water.
Minced flesh.
And finally…
“…Ugh.”
The stench that pricked at his nose.
Growing up in the slums, Belnoa had encountered all sorts of foul substances. He quickly recognized this stench as belonging to some kind of disturbing substance.
He had smelled it somewhere before.
And recently, at that.
A memory flickered through Belnoa’s mind.
“Hey grandpa, what’s this?”
“Seems like that guy couldn’t get rid of it after all. They call him the Apple Rat.”
“…Apple Rat? That doesn’t sound cute at all.”
“Well, that’s your problem. You clean it up, Belnoa.”
It resembled the stench of that peculiar something that he had been forced to dispose of due to his grandfather’s insistence.
Belnoa furrowed his brow as he watched the flowing filth.
“…What on earth is this?”