—
“So... you’re saying there’s sothing suspicious about Shuna Polor’s enrollnt in the academy?”
Eir, sitting by the fire, looked surprised as she turned to Pevran, the captain of the White Fortress team.
She had followed Pevran for about five days, eventually arriving in Yavik City, where she had received Will’s letter.
The journey had been uneventful, mostly spent traveling.
But...
As Eir asked her question, her gaze wandered to the White Fortress team mbers gathered around the fire, chatting and drinking.
Pevran and her team were nothing like Eir’s initial impression.
At first, Eir had assud that as a rescue team specially appointed by the Adventurer’s Guild, Pevran would be domineering—just like her commanding presence when she first entered the tavern. She imagined the team mbers would be more like subordinates, following strict orders.
She thought White Fortress would be a highly disciplined organization, with no room for camaraderie or friendship...
But...
That wasn’t the case at all.
Over the past few days, the White Fortress mbers had been incredibly kind to her. Even though she was just a “clue provider” brought along for information, they made sure she ate well and even shared drinks—though hers were non-alcoholic.
Monts like this, sitting around the fire and chatting, weren’t excluded either.
It made Eir wonder if this was the kind of adventuring party her young master Will dread of creating—where everyone could sit together as friends, laughing and sharing stories. At least, before Shuna took him away, their group had sowhat resembled this ideal.
But...
Her young master rarely spoke about his “future plans” for the party. For soone who loved planning so much, why did he avoid this topic?
And...
Pevran didn’t seem to be a particularly guarded person. As they talked, she casually brought up Shuna—
“Yes. You should know what the surna ‘Polor’ signifies in the Entark Empire, right?”
“Uh...”
Eir reached into her maid’s pocket and pulled out a small notebook titled ‘Important Things Young Master Has Said .’
“I rember Young Master ntioning it... it should be on this page.”
She flipped through the notebook quickly. Each page was densely packed with notes, and the edges were slightly yellowed from frequent use.
“It’s okay; this isn’t an exam. Don’t stress if you can’t rember,” Pevran said, slightly startled by Eir’s ticulousness.
This wasn’t the first ti Pevran had seen Eir behave like this during their journey. Eir often muttered about her “young master,” proudly claiming, “Young Master taught this!” whenever a topic ca up. Surprisingly, her young master seed to have genuinely taught this beastfolk maid a wealth of knowledge.
“Ah, found it! Young Master ntioned it three years ago when writing to His Highness.”
“You even wrote down the date...” Pevran peeked at the notebook and noticed that Eir had carefully recorded the exact year, month, and day—though she didn’t read it aloud.
“The surna Polor cos from a public adoption agency. This agency was originally run by a noble family with the sa surna, but after their downfall, it was handed over to a rchant guild. They took in many orphans—mostly children who lost their families due to dungeon-related accidents. It’s essentially a large orphanage now. So... is there sothing wrong with having that surna?”
“There’s nothing wrong with it,” Pevran admitted. “In fact, your explanation is spot-on. I hadn’t thought about it so deeply until I t her.”
Pevran flicked her cigarette stylishly into the fire before lighting another one with its fla.
“Boss! Stop smoking already!”
“You said you quit! You’ve clearly never stopped!”
The other team mbers started teasing her noisily—further proof to Eir that this wasn’t a rigid hierarchy but a group of friends.
“Quiet down! I’m telling a story here! How can I tell it properly without a cigarette to set the mood?” Pevran retorted playfully before turning back to Eir.
“Eir, if I’m not mistaken, Shuna—the one who took your young master—is also a Polor.”
“Yes,” Eir nodded. “That’s correct.”
“Then you’ve probably guessed that soone with such a famous ‘orphan surna’ is naturally... an orphan herself.”
“That makes sense,” Eir agreed without hesitation, accepting what sounded like a grim joke with surprising ease.
“So... can you guess why she was able to enroll in Entark’s Second Academy? It’s renowned for its combat training and isn’t easy for just anyone to get into.”
Eir tilted her head in confusion.
W-Was this a test?!
It felt just like one of Young Master’s pop quizzes during lessons!
“You... you look pale all of a sudden. Are you okay?” Pevran asked with concern.
“Boss, this maid is hilarious! Most maids wouldn’t have any schooling at all, but she looks just like a student caught off guard by a teacher’s question.”
“E-Eir was taught by Young Master in his private lessons! So... so I’m not completely uneducated!” Eir stamred defensively.
“Alright, alright,” Pevran said with a chuckle before glaring at one of her archers who had been teasing Eir. “Apologize and give her that skewer you’ve been roasting.”
Seeing Pevran’s stern expression, the archer quickly handed over his at skewer as an apology.
Eir began thinking—how would Will approach this question? He’d probably start by analyzing family relations and political motives—that was his way of thinking.
“Every outco must have related forces and their objectives supporting it,” he often said.
“Eir’s will answer!” she declared confidently. “Shuna might have been a talented child noticed by a prominent family who adopted her, allowing her to enroll in Entark’s Second Academy!”
“Wow!”
“Not bad!”
“Great answer!”
“E-Eir just answered based on what Young Master taught !” she said shyly.
“And your answer is correct,” Pevran confird. “The entrance requirents for Entark’s Second Academy are slightly lower than those for the royal-controlled First Academy, making it easier to pull strings for enrollnt. It’s common for talented orphans from adventurer families to be taken in as muscle.”
“Oh! That’s great—Eir got it right!” Eir exclaid happily as her wolf tail wagged excitedly against the ground.
“But...” Pevran continued, “that wasn’t the case for Shuna.”
“Huh?”
“She was never noticed or adopted by any faction. From beginning to end, she remained an ‘orphan.’ Even after all these years outside the academy, no group has managed to recruit her—even though she’s incredibly strong. Doesn’t that strike you as odd?”
“!!!”
Eir froze at this revelation. Her wagging tail slowed until it stopped entirely.
“After she helped us escape a dangerous situation, I looked into her background,” Pevran said, staring into the fire with narrowed eyes. “After all, soone like her—a student seemingly appearing out of nowhere at Entark’s Second Academy—was bound to raise questions.”
“And what I found was even stranger...”
Pevran took a long drag from her cigarette before exhaling slowly.
“She doesn’t have any record of her first thirteen years of life.”
“?!?!”
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