V3C6

“Nevertheless, Director, let us do something too.”

“This has already been decided. There won’t be any changes now.”

The argument Arus hears from just outside the Director’soffice makes him hesitate on whether he should continue inside. Regardless, he knocks in order to informthose inside of his arrival. While he nolonger feels knocking necessary anymore, he does so because it’s expected ofhim.

He then enters without waiting for a reply. Waiting for permission to enter is all he’d beaccomplishing otherwise. As such, hereceives his reply at the same time he enters the room.

According to general etiquette, Arus should haverefrained from entering. As such, he canonly blame himself for the troublesome situation he walks into.

Arus, aware that he’s early, intends to wait inside,but the situation isn’t what he expected. Five male students face Director Cisty from across her long desk.

He tries rewinding time by shutting the door, but iscalled out to before he can succeed. Inan instant, the five men turn away from the Director and glare at Arus withopen contempt for interrupting their conversation.

One of the men, who’s no more than just a student,says, “You… what business do you have with the Director?” He then turns to the Director so that she canreprimand Arus for his rude behavior. She,however, doesn’t criticize him.

Arus, finding the entire situation troublesome, givesa simple, “Private business.”

The Director then says, “Would you mind waiting a bitfor me?” She then recommends he take aseat on the sofa, implying that him getting involved would be pointless.

Arus thus enters the room with a reluctant bow. Loki trails in behind him to the shock of thefive male students. Although none ofthem make a sound, never would they have expected him to be with her, the 2 nd ranked student within the academy.

The previous tense atmosphere returns as the leader ofthe group renews their argument. Thosebehind him all refrain from commenting while stealing glances at Loki. She and Arus, however, remain silent.

“Director, we would like to be made part of thereinforcement unit. We’re worried aboutcasualties just like you. Don’t keep usfrom partaking in this lesson.”

“How much more do I need to repeat myself? There’s nothing more I can do at this pointin time.”

One of the four students standing by says, “Director,we are nothing more than five people. Many among the second and third years are clamoring about this. This ordeal is much too harsh for fresh firstyears.”

Another says, “Everything would work out if you madeus into floaters.” [1]

The claims they make only offer a comparativeadvantage. In other words, rather thantaking command of a group, they want to move around on their own in order toprovide better cover for everyone else. It is a proposal that undermines the purpose of the extra-curricularlesson.

Arus is furious. His tone grows heavier with each word as he says, “That’s what this discussionis about.” He speaks with enoughstrength to even force the other students into taking a step back.

He then tires of playing around with those childrenand, despite wanting to say more, lowers his blade. This issomething they’ll never come to terms to without experiencing it.

The five students then look towards the two seated onthe sofa. “Loki-san, you’re also a firstyear. We’d like for you to saysomething.”

Arus is surprised that they are familiar withLoki. Then again, that might just be unavoidable at this academy once herrank is taken into consideration. Thebiggest proof to his thoughts is the courtesy they showed her despite her firstyear status.

That silver hair girl asks Arus for instructions withher eyes. He thus signals that he’s fedup with the situation and that she should properly deal with them so that theywill leave.

Loki then rises while keeping her expressionflat. “I understand, this situationcertainly is cruel for my fellow first years. While I am certain the Director has taken the appropriate actions toensure their safety, I am also able to sympathize with your perspective. As such, please begin by listing yourachievements.”

“Ehh— —!”

Loki’s question sounds exorbitant, but it’s very muchrelevant. The claims of those five abouttheir usefulness aren’t persuasive without proof.

She deals with them purely using only words. [2] As such, instead of asking them their rank,she requests to hear their accomplishments. However, nothing they can have achieved will surpass Loki’ssuccesses.

“No, we rank at the top of…”

Loki’s cuts him off. That they have no accomplishments to name is expected. Her tone is laced with shock as she says,“Then there is nothing more for you to say. How are you able to claim you’ll be helpful without actual combatexperience? Such a thing is ridiculous.”

They are stealing away Arus’ time by arguingunjustifiable claims. The words theyspeak are indirect. Loki’s expression isneutral, but before those men, comes off full of scorn.

“Kuh…!”

Loki then glances at the door while saying, “We arefinished here.”

The man once more turns to the Director while saying,“You’ll regret this!”

She also gestures to the door. “Nothing you say will convince me to reversemy decision.”

Fury crosses all five of their expressions. They say, “Excuse us,” and leave. The madman’s smile that crosses their facesas they shut the door behind themselves isn’t missed by Arus.

The Director collapses down on her desk with a sigh. The entire process left her drained. “Haa~”

Arus places a hand upon Loki’s head to praiseher. Although the outcome wasn’t the onehe desired, she did succeed in getting them to leave the room. He then says, “Who were they?”

“Second and third years.”

Arus isn’t interested in hearing about them andtherefore makes his desires clear with his eyes. [3] He says, “I understand that they wanted tojoin the reinforcement team, but for what reason?”

“Isn’t it for the sake of their careers? Subjugating a mamono has a considerableeffect over one’s ranking. That increasewill influence their position within the military after joining. [4] ”

Both Arus and Loki find the Director’s explanationdifficult to understand. “Is that how itis? In that case, they’ve failed tounderstand that the reinforcement unit won’t be proactively subjugatingmamono.”

“I wonder how they interpreted the unit’s directivesin order to attain such a conclusion?” Atroublesome thought flashes across Arus’ mind as the Director adds, “Thosestudents just now all descend from different houses.”

Such is the common way to refer to distinguishedaristocrat families with a deep history. Their members are compelled by a sort of karma into attaining a rankthat doesn’t bring shame to their family name. Their lives can even be called destiny.

Arus also once heard from a superior that insolentbehavior follows with them. As such, hisominous premonition only worsens at the revelation. Regardless, he keeps it to himself and merelysays, “I see.”

Even if he didn’t, the phase for proposing revisionshas already been passed. Rearrangementsdue to criticism can no longer be implemented. Any unfavorable develops that arise will just have to be dealt with. Tobegin with, deploying students as reinforcements is something that has neverbeen anything more than speculation.

Allowing such a burden to fall upon Loki is alsopractically unacceptable. She already needsto consider how she will be dividing the reinforcement unit in relation to thepower balance of the approximately eighty groups. Her situation is one where adjusting thenumber of coordinators assigned to the reinforcement unit would be simpler.

Arus, however, can’t do anything to help her. He thus advances onto the main topic. “I’ll be deploying early tomorrow morning.”

“Ehh, please.”

He doesn’t explain why he refrains from heading outthat night. Doing so would be tantamountto lecturing Buddha [5] .

Mamono are more active during the night. No definitive explanation has been discoveredyet, but at night, mamono are believed to have a characteristic where the wavelengthof their mana undergoes a transition. Thereason is because mamono are known to call out other mamono. If one is encountered, then it is said thatmany more will soon arrive.

As such, the true might of the mamono can only be encounteredat night. Not because they become moreferocious, they’ve already reached that limit. Instead, those who encounter one will soon face an endless swarm fromall sides.

Mamono will even gather from the blood of their ownbrethren. There are claims stating thisis because of mana, but nothing is certain. Regardless, if Arus is to deploy for subjugation a day early, a hoard ofmamono may end up being discovered the following morning.

The Director says, “I would appreciate if you couldfinish transporting the equipment.”

“That has already been taken care of. All that’s left is to drop everything off inthe morning.”

“Understood.”

Once the minor details have been confirmed, Arus says,“What about my combat clothes?”

“Right here, of course.”

The Director then reaches down and sets a case on topof her desk.

All this just tohand me some clothes is too much.

The Director says, “Here you~ go.”

Arus spins the case around and, despite hishesitation, unclasps the simple fastener. Since it comes from the Director, he’d be suspicious even if she didn’tset a prank. Anything could be waitinginside. This is all just needless worry.

His reaction upon opening the case is of silent discomfort. His first impression towards the outfit isthat it’s weird. Yet, since he himselfmade the request, he has no right to complain about it. A single remark, however, is forgivable.

Arus’ face cramps as he says, “What bad taste.”

Behind him, Loki stands on her tiptoes. Once she gets a peek, her eyes shine.

“I wonder about that.”

The Director seems to believe expressing ones trueemotion is better than holding it back. As such, her reply succeeds in surprising Arus who says, “ Ehh ! [6] ”

Within the case is a black cloth. On top of it is an eerie, white, kusundamask. Openings have been made for theeyes, nose, and mouth.

Arus picks up the mask and taps it with the back ofhis hand for a quick verification of its strength. It doesn’t possess any magic properties, but thestrength is guaranteed. Even themilitary uses that material to make shields.

The mask is expressionless, but not all emotion wasstripped from it. The appearance differsfrom Loki’s impassiveness. The conceptof an expression seems to have been shaved off after hardening.

Arus requested a disguise that would prevent hisidentity from getting exposed. Thatwhich was provided satisfies his conditions. As such, he says, “Thank you very much.”

He then hands the mask to Loki and spreads out thecloth that was underneath. It revealsitself as a simple robe reaching down to his knees. The material is very familiar to him. Both he and Loki both utilized it duringtheir time in service. That stated, itisn’t widely used by magicians.

Despite being a first class article that has beenreinforced by having mana fibers woven into the fabric, it’s honestly difficult to move in. While it does allow a limited degree of tai sabaki [7] , most magicians refrain fromusing it. Regardless of thosereservations, they also respectfully acknowledge it as useful.

Magicians who choose to wear articles made from suchmaterial usually do so out of curiosity or because they are trying to raisetheir skill [8] . Arus and Loki are some of the few who wear themas a preference. In Loki’s case, shewears them because Arus wears them.

Arus says, “We have finished confirming our duties fortomorrow and have received the requested item. Therefore, we’ll take out leave.”

The Director’s expression becomes bright and cheery asthough her burden is being lifted from her shoulders. Then, as though she no longer has a care inthe world, she holds up her hand to wave them good bye. “Yes, thank~ you. Although I won’t be present tomorrow, I’ll becounting on you.”

Arus, despite wanting to confirm if she understandsthe situation, does his best to shut her out. [9] Lokiand I cannot save everyone from harm. Everythingthe students go through will become experience for them.

He’s troubled that she might be expecting too muchfrom him

–Noble Diamond cubed + Noble Diamond squared=?? —

Arus and Loki return to their dorm after a shortperiod of time. Their visit to theDirector’s office took less than an hour.

As of that moment, the several teachers who will beassigned to headquarters has already been decided. All of them have been informed to Loki’sposition as their coordinator. Not asingle one objected to her appointment. Her being a triple digits magician was more than enough to shut theirmouths.

Their main role will be monitoring the situation frombeyond Loki’s 1km detection range [10] . Also, thanks to the military temporarilygranting access rights, they can even tap into residential detectionmagic. While the residential detectionmagic is nothing more than insurance, it has a high detection rate. Furthermore, it will only be used duringemergencies.

The students will have tracking chips implanted intothem so that their movements can be tracked. They are also being provided with signal flares.

Due to the circumstances, low ranked mamono are beingignored. Even then, not much change isseen. The protective barrier emitted bythe Tower of Babel prevents weaker mamono from getting too close.

Arus and Loki finish their preparations for the nextday and then, a bit earlier than usual, turn in for the night. They close their eyes knowing that next day’sextracurricular lesson is nothing more than a variation to their peacefullives. For them, their tranquil daysremain undisturbed.

Only being unable to conduct research could disruptArus’ serenity, not concerns. Theobstructions he currently faces are nothing more than spice. Only later does he come to regret suchnotions.

…

Most students that night are unable to sleep due totheir anxiety. The pair sharing a certainspacious dorm room aren’t exceptions. That silence currently lays between them isn’t their intention.

“Let’s do our best tomorrow.”

Alice understands that the courage being presented toher from atop of the neighboring bed is nothing more than a strong front. She and Tesfia are sharing their gloom withone another. “You too, Tesfia. You’ll take them down one after theother. If you find yourself out numberand separated, retreat for a bit.”

“I know that. Alice, don’t forget to be careful.”

Bitter smiles cross their faces as their expressions relax.

Alice’s worry stems from her concern towards Tesfia’sgroup. Due to the groups being createdthrough a distribution of rankings, many of her group members are lower rankedstudents of the same grade. While Alicecould be said to be in a similar situation, there is a difference.

While both Tesfia and Alice are being supervised by anequally ranked, four digits, upper classman, Tesfia’s supervisor doesn’t have agood reputation within the academy. Thethird year Cavsor Denbel is an overbearingly prideful aristocrat who looks downon his underclassmen. Even Tesfia, whoranks only slightly lower than him, faces a difficult challenge in passing himher opinions.

“Alice, if you get defeated, run awayimmediately.” Tesfia then reminds herthat mamono assemble at the presence of blood.”

Alice accepts Tesfia’s gentle warning without anyresistance. “Right.” She is also confident that her fears will endas a needless worry. “Everything will befine. But, if anything does happen, Alwill lend us his strength.”

Tesfia puts on another strong front, but unlikebefore, her voice isn’t laced with insecurity. “…! I don’t need something likethat guy’s power. I’ll get through thison my own.”

Despite the trivial joke, Alice’s unease doesn’tdissipate. She says, “You’re right, thisis why we’ve spent all that time training.”

“This’ll be easy.”

Alice smiles despite knowing Tesfia is kidding. Tesfia gets caught up in the moment and alsogrins.

Neither of them are scornful. They also aren’t high from their lessons. [11] While claiming they aren’t afraid would be alie, they are comforted by the fact that they’ve been trained by the strongestmagician. Wrapped around their hearts isa veil. One protects them from beingeroded by fear.

T/N: I did not expect to finish this chapter sofast. I’m not sure if I should hatemyself for putting myself through such a struggle, or be happy at the progressof how fast I was able to get it out. That said, don’t expect all of them to be released this fast. Special thanks to M4L4DD1CT10N for sponsoringthis release~

Not much happened from this chapter. What was already known from the manga wasfleshed out a bit more. The next chapterwill be the start of a new volume!

~Gandire Alea

[1] 「監督者ならば誰でも構わないはずです」

[2] あくまであしらうための言葉。

[3] そんなことを聞きたいわけではない。早くしろと視線で訴える。

[4] 魔物を討伐すれば順位が少なからず上がるから軍務に就くにしても順位が影響するのよ

[5] Means teachingsomething to someone who knows more than you

[6] えっ！ という意外感が出ていることからも理事長は本心から最良だと思っているのだろう。

[7] Body defensivemovement where the receiver moves out of the line of attack and places herselfin a more advantageous position to counter from. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tai_sabaki?oldid=487817473

[8] だから着用するのは物好きか腕の立つ魔法師のどちらかだ

[9] アルスはわかっているのかと確認したくなるのを抑え込むので精一杯だった

[10] 教師達の役目は主にモニタリングだ。 ロキの探知範囲１kmから離れた圏外の探知。

[11] 侮りはない、授業の一環だからと高を括ったりもしない。

<3.5 The Preceding Day~ Top~

4.1 Encounter with a Mamono>