Chapter 20

Chapter 19

When the superior points, the subordinate rolls - 1

The curse mark that impersonated Tanian's eight characters was deeply imprinted. There was a chance it could be wrong, and since his fate wasn't particularly good anyway, he tried to brush it off lightly. However, a part of his mind wouldn't let him forget the curse mark, which seemed to assert its presence like a curse. A saint candidate cursed? This world is truly in decline.

In the end, he couldn't sleep well all night, tormented by the creeping unease. His heart hadn't raced like this since he faced the cavalry charge of Kagan and Kesik head-on. Is Tarian getting revenge for the advice I gave to Erich? No, that can't be it.

Still, thanks to Tarian's performance, he had to say goodbye to a good night's sleep, and the aftereffects continued into the morning.

"Damn it."

While wandering around the club room, he accidentally kicked a table leg with his shin. The shock made the wobbly table leg even more unstable. This never happened before, but it was all Tarian's fault. How dare he curse the club advisor.

Fortunately, it wasn't a table he used often, and the wobbling leg could be fixed by force. He fiddled with it roughly and realized he shouldn't meddle in other people's job territories.

'This isn't working.'

The four-legged table had degenerated into a three-legged one. Zhuge Liang said that a three-legged structure is important, but isn't this the most beautiful form?

While staring blankly at the wobbly three-legged table, he saw the principal passing by the window in the hallway, and soon the sound of knocking on the door was heard. What could be happening so early in the morning? It probably wasn't good news.

"Come in."

He put down the table leg (which used to be a leg) and invited the principal in. The principal carefully opened the door and entered, his eyes trembling slightly. I can tell, it's bad news. The image of Tarian's curse mark flashed in my mind, but I tried to suppress it.

"I didn't expect a visitor this early in the morning. If I had known, I would have prepared some tea."

Although the visitor brought ominous news, he greeted with a smile. The principal, however, couldn't control his trembling eyes and was wiping sweat with a handkerchief. He barely managed to respond to my greeting and then, after calming down, spoke cautiously.

"Inspector. That... the plan you submitted the other day."

"The plan? Is there a problem with it?"

The other day during club time, Louise suggested a picnic outside the academy, so I submitted a plan. The place outside the academy was just a small hill beyond the city walls, and it was a manageable round trip.

Since I planned to lead the trip, I thought it would be fine, but the principal's early morning visit suggested something had happened.

The principal sighed softly and continued.

"A dungeon has appeared near the picnic site."

"Really?"

What the hell, why did it appear?

The academy's internal artifact detected the creation of the dungeon. While it's called a dungeon, it's not the kind where you enter through a grand gate, fight monsters, and obtain treasures.

When I first learned of the existence of dungeons in this world, I wondered if this was a hybrid of a romance hunter novel, and I even shouted out my status window in a corner. Of course, nothing appeared. It's an embarrassing part of my history, but it's old news.

In any case, the academic consensus is that dungeons are formed when mana in the air is concentrated in a specific place, altering the surrounding environment. While there are other theories published in papers, the basic idea is that it's a mana issue.

I was curious about the existence of dungeons in this world and looked into it once, but then lost interest. Since I haven't read the original, I don't know why the author included them. However, hearing about a dungeon at this timing makes me think.

'This is a crisis setup.'

Compared to dungeons in other areas, it's safer, but dungeons in this world are still problematic. They contain harmful creatures that are far from the surrounding ecosystem, and there are no barriers to distinguish them. You could easily walk into their habitat.

A dungeon appeared near the place the baking club planned to visit. It's a massive trap that's hard to distinguish with the naked eye.

'Shit.'

Leading the dignitaries on a picnic near a dungeon? That's not just crazy; it's insane. I'm almost there myself.

"Isn't the local official responsible for managing dungeons periodically? If the concentrated mana is dispersed, a dungeon shouldn't form, right?"

Dungeons are formed by concentrated mana, so local officials and lords regularly patrol their jurisdictions to prevent them. It's not difficult; they just swing an artifact from the Magic Tower to disperse the mana.

The principal answered my question with a troubled expression.

"The local official managing the area near the academy was recently sent to the capital. A successor hasn't arrived yet, and the dungeon appeared in that gap."

"Oh."

A small memory buried in my mind resurfaced.

"Deal with the guy who messed with the road budget."

I gave that order to the deputy when I arrived at the academy. The successor hasn't arrived yet. I didn't expect my small action to come back like this.

"I'll take care of it. Thank you for letting me know."

I didn't intend it, but since I set it in motion, I should clean it up.

Fortunately, there's still time before the picnic, and a newly formed dungeon is relatively low-risk, so it's not too burdensome. I can't cancel the picnic, so I'll have to handle it appropriately. The dungeon itself isn't dangerous once the harmful creatures are dealt with.

"If you can handle it, we're very grateful. Please take care of it."

The principal, relieved that I would handle it personally, bowed slightly with a small smile. He probably knows the inspector's department was behind the local official's arrest, but he doesn't look at me with suspicion, which is a relief. I wouldn't want to arrest him for heresy.

With that, the principal's gaze shifted behind me, and I turned to see the three-legged table. Ah, that...

"There's a broken item. I'll replace it with a better one."

I didn't mention that I broke it.

Leaving the club room during club time is unsettling, so I decided to handle it while the members are in class. It's rare for a club advisor to go to such lengths for the members. I wonder if they'll appreciate my efforts.

It's fortunate that there are classes. Sometimes I think it would be easier if the school adopted a system like before my reincarnation, with classes from 0th period to evening self-study. Then I wouldn't have to deal with all this monitoring and supervision. But I might have to deal with the blue-blooded complaints.

'Really, it's right next to it.'

Moving to the location the principal mentioned, I saw a dungeon in a forest near the picnic site. If I hadn't known it was a dungeon, I would have thought it was just a regular forest. The thought of someone wandering here unknowingly gives me chills.

Seeing it with my own eyes, a deep frustration rises from my core. It's not just bad luck; a dungeon shouldn't form unless something is seriously wrong. Yet, a dungeon appeared while I'm at the academy, and I have to deal with it myself.

Worse, it's in the empire's territory outside the academy, so I can't handle it under the pretext of the safety of the three countries' dignitaries. The academy's security personnel, already overburdened, can't help either.

"What the hell."

I mutter to myself, but no one is around to hear. It's rare for a section chief to be on the front lines, but I'm going to the dungeon myself. I might be the first in imperial history. If I'm not, that would be even more problematic.

If I had even one subordinate to delegate to, it wouldn't be so tiring. I wish I had a deputy.

...No, thinking about it, a deputy wouldn't be ideal. I was momentarily insane. Even if the sky falls, it wouldn't be him.

'Proud of our bastard.'

Thinking of the deputy's face, which makes me resolve to stand alone, I stepped towards the dungeon.

Since it's a newly formed dungeon, the inside didn't look particularly special. The trees were a bit denser, and the animals were a bit larger. The sight of a rabbit tearing apart a squirrel was quite striking.

Of course, if those teeth bit one of the six, my career would be deeply scratched, so I dealt with it immediately. Next life, be born in a proper ecosystem, not a dungeon.

However, I don't see anything particularly threatening. Even in a newly formed dungeon, there should be creatures that can threaten a village. The rabbit I just dealt with can't be a max-level rabbit, and there should be at least bear or lion-level creatures.

Then, as if responding to my thoughts, something with black fur appeared from the bushes.

─Choo!

Oh.

Yeah, that.

The black bear suddenly charged at me, stood on its hind legs, and swung its large right paw at my head.

This guy, he's friendly. I like it.

Author's Note

Today's note is a bit longer.

It was also last night. Lately, things seem to happen at night. Anyway, the author, exhausted from fatigue, was lying down.

Then, a friend who knew I was writing a novel contacted me. They mentioned that some readers had questions about the tags I used. I checked the tags and found that while the first five from fantasy to reincarnation were fine, the last three were less common.

First, 'Academy Dispatched Civil Servant' is the identity of this work, so I'll keep it. It was a tag I carefully chose because the main stage is the academy, but the protagonist isn't a student.

'Service Life' refers to the title, introduction, and the last tag, all of which are about a civil servant, so it might not be necessary. I'll remove it.

Lastly, 'Other People's Romance,' which has been questioned in comments, is not a tag to say "I won't allow Kal's romance!" It's a tag to express the position of "observing love affairs from a step back."

If asked why I used such a vague expression, it's because I wrote it with a light heart, saying "I'm going to Norwich!" That's how this ambiguous tag was born.

I've been silent about Kal's romantic status to avoid spoilers, but I think it's wrong to use a tag that could confuse readers about the future of the story.

I can't definitively say whether Kal will or won't have a romance, but after careful consideration, I've decided to remove the 'Other People's Romance' tag.

I apologize for the confusion caused by removing a tag that has been up for over ten days. However, I believe it's better to avoid potential disputes among readers due to ambiguous tags.

The note turned out longer than expected. The author should convince readers through the content, not through long notes, so I apologize for the lengthy addendum.

Thank you for reading this chapter!

Thank you, DNKE, for your support!