The procession headed for their destination.
Nothing significant occurred along their journey from the Academy.
The typical batch of monsters had tried to attack, only to die by the hands of protective professors. Perhaps due to the number of people in the party, or perhaps because of the prestige associated with the Academy's na, no bandits appeared.
Nothing happened on the first night after leaving the Academy, apart from the addition of one new team mber.
"Hello, hello. Nice to et yall."
Milred Pseudos.
An upperclassmana juniorwho joined Allen's group for the dungeon practice-raid and a mber of the student council he t alongside the second heir to the empire.
"This is our first ti eting, right? Lookin forward to workin with yall."
She wore a relaxed expression, magenta hair, and a general air of friendliness.
Allen turned his head to look at the crew, who were concentrating on her story.
"Does everyone know about the history of the Academy?
The location of Galshdin Academy was quite special, but not in the sense that the Holy Sword was kept in the city or that relics from the ruins were constantly flowing in. The reason was even more direct, stemming from the brutal desert environnt surrounding the vicinity of the Holy Sword.
The desert terrain was a harsh one to traverse. In particular, it was said that the Great Desert, one of the largest magical sites, was more vicious than any ordinary desert.
From the scorching midday sun to the biting chill of a night on the sand, there were countless monsters that could appear at any ti from out of nowhere and traps that remained buried in the sand.
The sandstorms blowing about at random periods were an added bonus, too.
Varying by dozens of degrees, the temperatures of the day and of the night were difficult for ordinary soldiers to withstand, and rcenaries working in the desert had to purchase expensive artifacts worth several gold pieces to overco the conditions.
Exploring the Great Desert to any aningful extent required taking on a lot of risk.
Surrounded by such an environnt, Elpis served as a fortress within the desert.
"But yknow there are still idiots out there, right?
In the past, there had been several attacks on the Academy.
"There was once a group of rchants who were unhappy with their monopoly on artifacts This other ti, there was an aristocrat who was dissatisfied with his childs treatnt at the Academy, and then another ti, a greedy king of so derelict country"
However, their attacks did not succeed.
Not even once.
"As far as I know, the Academy has never needed to mount a serious response to any threat."
There was never any motion to gather soldiers, let alone any official statents released.
"Then what about the people who tried to attack the Academy?
Milred stood in front of Evan, who was concentrating on the story, and smiled strangely at his question. "What do ya think happened?
"I've never heard of Elpis being attacked
They all failed.
Those who tried to demolish the Academy had rushed in with hopethe nasake of its citylike moths to a fla. And that hope of theirs had withered away to ash.
"That's how the Academy ca to be in the present day.
"The environnt of the Great Desert itself beca a natural border And that's how our racially and socially intermixed community ca to be.
No empire could invade, nor could any aristocrat wield power.
However, the Academy held trendous influence through its possession of excavated artifacts.
Even then, it would be correct to say that though the Academys prestige was unable to be swayed by any one country or race, half of it was developed as a result of the schools special geographical location and its possession of the Holy Sword.
"That's right, you're pretty bright, William.
She patted Williams head, as if hed done well.
In less than a few hours, she had naturally integrated herself into the party.
"Th-thank you!" William blushed, slightly ashad.
Next to him, Ariel opened her mouth with a hint of uncertainty. "Then does that an the student council President being a commoner doesnt have a solely symbolic aning? And that he actually has real skill?
"That's right, too! The President is a real monster, yknow? If I pat your head, I'll ruin your hair Would ya like a snack instead?
Ariel was biting into a crispy cookie before she could refuse. She mumbled through the snack in her mouth. "Weph, I
"Oh, Evan, do ya want so snacks, too?"
"No, I
Evan shook his head in an apparent no, but the snack flew into his mouth faster than he could articulate that sentint.
"Isn't it good?"
"Yes."
Given the faint expression of satisfaction on Evan's face, it appeared as though he didnt dislike it at the very least.
Having quieted Evan in an instant, Milred turned to Allen, the only one left who had not intervened in the situation.
"Do ya want one, Allen?
"I'm alright."
"I heard ya helped by listening to the Vice President. Ill peel an apple, just for ya.
She took the apple out of her inventory and smiled knowingly. Allen waved his hand to refuse.
"It's really alright. Instead, I'd like to ask you a few questions, would you mind?"
She beca sullen, putting the apple back in.
"Well, if ya really dont want one But, yeah! Ask away! I'll explain everything that I can!"
Her personality had suddenly changed to be more lively once more. Thinking it was quite erratic, Allen asked the question in his mind.
"So is it true that youre joining our group?"
"That's right!"
"Only sophomores could apply for the practice-raid, right?"
She wagged her index finger and shook her head.
"No, no, considering the difficulty of this site, they allowed juniors to apply as well this ti. Ya didn't know?
When she turned her attention toward the others, everyone shook their heads with faces that said that they had never heard of the topic at all.
"Nobody told either."
"Even the upperclassn in my club didn't say much
"Huh? Really? The student council definitely asked the chairman for approval, but um
She tilted her head as she tapped her lips with her index finger.
Oh! That's why there were only applications open for sophomores. I thought it was an exchange thing.
"Exchange?"
"Oh. I guess the freshn still wouldn't know. The Academy has an annual exchange with the magic towers.
"I think I mightve heard sothing about it from my sister. No, that's not the point."
Ariel reversed the story of the exchange by being straightforward and asking, "Then, as a junior who applied just now, Milred Pseu
"Just call Milred!"
"Alright, is there anyone else apart from you?
"Not really probably only a few people from the student council applied, though.
At her answer, William asked her a question in a trembling voice Maybe his anxiety had returned.
"Well, isn't that dangerous?"
"Perhaps She looked out the window of the carriage and smiled. "But that won't happen. Not ever."
"What!? Did you receive any confidential information from the student council?
"It's just my maternal instinct," Milred replied with a languid smile again.
"No, what does that an?
William's weak voice did not stop her from smiling. "It's okay! It's okay! It's not the first ti I've been in a garuins! So don't worry!
"That's very comforting."
"Right?"
Her cheerfulness relaxed their party.
Allen squinted at her.
No one else seed to notice, but Allen could see.
The fact that her gaze instantly landed upon one specific carriage in the procession.
Allens five senses had been honed more keenly than before. What would be a fleeting mont for others would be more than enough ti for Allen to see exactly where she was looking.
'If nothing too disruptive happens, this safety device should be enough'
Feeling the waves of energy that engulfed the entire area, Allen loosened the tension in his body that had been wound tight ever since arriving at the Academy.
Their destination began to draw near.
* * *
* * *
"Are you okay?"
"Im alright."
"If you don't like the food
"It's edible, Im fine."
If you want to get sothing else
"I'll take care of it, so get out of here."
Jaqnelle looked at the people leaving the wagon with a sad face. All of them were Academy professors in a hurry to make conversation with him.
He shook his head with a wry smile.
The Top Eight.
It sounded like sothing grand, but it was all just a show.
Jaqnelle knew that there were many strong people hiding out there sowhere, outside of those eight, and that their skills were only just one step ahead of the masses.
He had earned his position in the Top Eight because he knew that his opponent, the forr mber, was weak in a battle of attrition.
If it weren't for that, he would have fought a much more even battle, in which he surely wouldve lost.
"I didn't even an to end up at the Academy.
Jaqnelle sank into thought, leaving himself lost in his own mind within the swaying carriage.
Heaven's Shield.
The youngest of the Top Eight.
The last wielder of now-lost sacred magic.
And
"the heir to a fallen throne."
Not many people knew this aspect of his identity.
The world was too caught up in its own affairs to rember the successor of a country that had collapsed more than a hundred years ago.
Thus, there were only a few people who knew of his other status after becoming a mber of the Top Eight.
Obviously.
There was a saying that nothing escaped the touch of tieven mountains and rivers changed every ten years. And a hundred years had passed.
That was enough ti for those who were once small children to die and return to dust.
That said, there were so things that were not forgotten, their legacy living on. Even if that legacy was nothing but a useless, wandering thought.
Jaqnelle rembered his father in his childhood.
'You must take revenge.
On who?
'Those bastards at the Academy, of course.
Why?
Didn't they destroy our country?!
Even his father, who had declared such venom against his foes, had never even experienced that age. He longed for tis hed never experienced and obsessed over revenge, grieving the collapse of a country hed never had the chance to witness.
Nevertheless, Jaqnelle received those instructions, and his familys motivation combined with so talent and luck allowed him to climb the ranks of the Top Eight.
After that, he was invited to the Academy and took over the position as the Guardian of the city
'Ive cut off my family and connections.
Because hed expanded his horizons.
Having spent his whole life trying to achieve his family's goals, he only realized the uselessness of doing so after coming to the Academy.
After spending months there, hed arrived at that mont.
"Phew, I have to do my job."
Perhaps because he was too busy to think it through earlier, his mind was racing with thoughts.
Jaqnelle closed his eyes and slowly heightened his senses.
Students wouldn't be able to notice him sensing around at their comparatively elentary level.
So of them were good enough for him to want to watch out for
But they're still just students.
100 ters, 200 ters, 300 ters
Gradually expanding his scope and exploring the area thoroughly, he raised his eyebrows.
"Hmm?"
At the edge of his range of detection, he had caught sothing that disappeared in an instant.
"Was I mistaken?"
* * *
Several kiloters away from the procession of wagons, a mysterious woman stared at the carriage where Jaqunelle was sitting with a smile on her face.
"Master Bjorna, why don't we move back a bit The man sitting next to her looked at her, sweating profusely. "If we get any closer, he may notice."
She ignored what he said. The man added more, careful of her attitude.
If we dont move according to the plan, your work might be set back sowhat Cough.
"I know, I know Why are you so naggy?"
"Sorry, I'm sorry
"Shut up. I'll take care of it."
He wet his pants in fear of losing his life, and stepped back with his face deathly pale.
"For those already ruined to be so prideful Tsk."
She knew, too.
That she had to step down now.
According to the information they had extracted from the Academy, the large garuins site was about to change.
It was just amazing where one could find such information nowadays.
Although it was already ruined, she speculated about the possibility of exploiting its remaining potential.
"And yet ah, what a waste."
It was a three-year-old grudge.
Even though she would soon be able to resolve her grudge in a few days' ti, it wasnt easy to contain herself.
"But, soon enough.
It wouldnt be long now.
There was much more to the ruins than the parts that had already been revealed.
Therefore, it wouldnt be too implausible for any of the Top Eight to lose their lives to a particularly unexpected and treacherous trap waiting within.
She hid herself from the intangible waves that felt around the surrounding area. Soon, his senses swept through the area once more.
Two days remained before their arrival at the garuins.
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