[The Cleanup After the Extracurricular Class]
(Cirrus Side)
With the early appearance of the Dungeon Boss, the extracurricular class was temporarily suspended.
The investigation to find out the cause was underway both inside and outside of the dungeon.
“300 magic stones every week?!” I couldn’t help but shout reading the report from the academy’s exchange store.
Every year after the extracurricular class was announced, there would always be an increase in the number of students challenging the dungeon.
In case the students were exceptionally skilled, a dungeon boss might even spawn. As such, the academy was especially vigilant during this time of the year.
The last time a dungeon boss had spawned was four years ago, when the first prince attended the academy.
It was because the first prince, Testa Hugaro Deskustos, and Guts Sword Marshall had been fiercely competing to see who could hunt most monsters.
Even combined, the three teams had only managed to bring back at most 100 magic stones a week.
Yet this year, one team alone had been turning in 300 magic stones every week.
Following closely behind it was Team 001 with 50 magic stones.
Combined, the two teams had been subjugating 350 monsters every week.
Compared to other teams’ average of 3 to 4 monsters per weekend, the fact that they could kill 300 monsters a week was nothing short of abnormal.
“How did they do it?”
I was sure that I could hunt about 50 monsters in a day.
However, we were talking about a group of 4 students here. They had been hunting 300 monsters every weekend! If I had heard this from anyone else, I would have surely not believed it.
“I need to get to the bottom of this.” The face of Luc Hugaro Deskustos came to my mind. I doubted he would cooperate just like that.
I would have a better chance if I went to Lyncean Sword Marshall, who had been selected to keep Luc Hugaro Deskustos in check.
She would surely tell me the details if I were to ask her.
“The initial plan was to separate them with the conflict between their families in mind, but since we couldn’t anticipate what Luc Hugaro Deskustos might do, we hurriedly put them in the same team at the last minute. She’s the perfect person to monitor Luc.”
I decided to summon Lyncean Sword Marshal right away.
I had her come to the laboratory separated from the main school building provided to me by the academy.
“Thank you for coming, Miss Marshall.”
“It is no issue, Professor Cirrus.”
Born into a family of knights, Lyncean was disciplined and obedient, making her well-liked by all professors.
“I’m sure you have heard of the dungeon boss’ appearance. We are currently investigating as to what might have caused it. In light of that, I will be interviewing all students, and you are the first one I chose.”
“Understood. Please, ask me anything you would like.”
As a teacher, I really appreciated obedient students like her.
“Okay, first I would like to ask regarding the hunting result of your team every weekend.”
“All right.”
“I read the report from the exchange store that your team has been turning in 300 magic stones every week. Could you tell me how you defeated that many monsters?”
“How we defeated them, is it?”
“That’s right.”
“…I’m afraid I can’t answer that.”
To my surprise, Lyncean refused to answer.
She normally would take every chance she got to put Luc Hugaro Deskustos down a notch. What was going on?
“You can’t answer?”
“Yes, I believe the person who came up with the method is the only one who can, especially since I did nothing but benefit from it.”
Urgh, you didn’t need to keep up your uprightness in this case…
“Okay, could you tell me who came up with the method, then?”
“It’s Luc Hugaro Deskustos.”
Luc… Him again? …Dan often mentioned his name, seeing him as a rival.
“You are at odds with him, aren’t you? Why would you cover for him?”
Did she not like what I said…? Lyncean’s face became stern.
“I’m sorry. This and that are separate issues.”
She used to be always angry at Luc, but for the first time, she was angry for his sake.
“I see… Then where were you guys and what were you doing when the dungeon boss appeared?” I decided to ask another question.
I asked because I had checked where the students were at the time. Team 002 had been camping near the summit.
“!!!” Lyncean frowned at my question.
This girl wore her heart on her sleeves.
As such, she couldn’t hide it if she had a guilty conscience.
“I will ask again. What were you guys doing?”
“I wasn’t doing anything.”
“‘You’?”
“Luc Hugaro Deskustos went into the cave where the dungeon core was.”
I gasped. “Did he destroy the dungeon core?”
“No, he didn’t destroy it.”
“He didn’t…? Then… I see… the Rare Metal?”
“Yes.”
“So the reason why the dungeon boss vanished so suddenly was that it had lost mana supply from the core… Okay, I will not ask you how you hunted such a large number of monsters, but collecting the Rare Metal might pose a problem. You know that, don’t you?”
I looked at her reproachingly, but Lyncean returned my gaze with eyes filled with determination.
“There should be no problem. The law stipulates Rare Metals belong to those who collect them. The academy also approves the use of materials collected in dungeons for magic experiments. In addition, since the means to safely transport and process Rare Metals is in the possession of a select few, he can’t possibly sell his to a black market or something. Add to the fact that he was from a ducal house, no one would take your side if you were to charge Luc.”
A Marshall was protecting a Deskustos? Now that was a sight I’d never seen before.
“I never imagined you of all people would defend him so vehemently.”
“…Indeed, it is uncharacteristic of me. I’m sorry if I have been rude. If you have nothing else to ask, I would take my leave.”
“Okay.”
Lyncean got up and left the room.
“What is going on? Luc Hugaro Deskustos… what have you done to her? Haa~, I suppose I’d best report this to the principal.”
I tried my chance with Ruby and Myril as well, but the result was the same.
Of course, I wanted to talk to Luc Hugaro Deskustos, but he apparently was too busy to come to school at the moment.
Reluctantly, I compiled a report and headed to the principal’s office.
“Hohoho, well, in that case, let us drop this matter.”
“Might I ask why?”
“What is done is done. The dungeon boss has been defeated, the dungeon has temporarily gone inactive, and most importantly, the students have returned safely, and that is the most important thing. I don’t see any problem here.”
I wasn’t convinced, but I understood where the principal was coming from.
“Very well.”
“As for the rest of the students, we will have them go on a field exercise outside the royal capital. Let us ask the knights for assistance.”
“All right. I will see to the arrangements.”
We had taken the same measures four years ago, so it wouldn’t be that difficult.
“Luc Hugaro Deskustos… what an interesting boy. Because of him, some have raised their levels quite a bit and gained confidence in themselves… some strive to be stronger seeing him as a rival… and some went out of their way to protect him when they used to be so hostile to him. It is like he can bring change to everyone that comes into contact with him.”
At the principal’s words, Luc Hugaro Deskustos’s face surfaced in my mind and I released a sigh.
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