Chapter 24

Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

---

As cherry blossoms danced in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

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When his level exceeded 25, the experience points from monsters around Sturbrussen began to dwindle, so he decided to head to the border town of Brandenburg, which is considered a remote area of the Vaisel Empire. ... Alone.

Irene told him that Lady Alexia couldn't come because she had some business to attend to, so he found himself playing solo for the first time in a while.

If the level gap with Lady Alexia and the others widened, he wouldn't be able to play in a party.

Therefore, he decided to allocate his free time to travel.

It took about a week (in real time, one day) to move to the neighboring town by sprinting at full speed in Castal, so using only the "Warp Portal" would take too long.

That's when he decided to use something called "Dragon Mail."

As the name suggests, it's a high-fantasy air service where you ride in a basket on the back of a dragon.

There are few dragons that can be ridden, and the number of passengers is limited, so the service is infrequent.

Unlike in some games where you can instantly move from the departure point to the destination, the travel time is significant, making it quite inconvenient.

The cost is also high, so there are few users.

It's an example of a game that is too realistic or too focused on its setting, making it inconvenient.

Still, the speed of the dragon is extraordinary—faster than a car, though it's hard to gauge just how fast (the lack of wind pressure suggests that dragons use magic to fly). The height was so high that the view below was a bit scary.

He didn't think he would want to ride it frequently.

But since travel takes time, he thought he might want some kind of vehicle, like a horse.

After half a day, he arrived at Brandenburg, which, compared to Sturbrussen where he had been for nearly two weeks, was a bit smaller in scale but no less lively, with merchant carriages passing through and street stalls visible.

This is largely due to the influence of the Commune Union, which is located across the eastern border.

The Commune Union is a country created by the alliance of three small states to counter the military threat from the two major powers, Castal Kingdom to the east and Vaisel Empire to the west.

Although the threat has diminished since the non-aggression pact was signed with both the kingdom and the empire, the union has not split and continues to exist as one country.

The current Commune, located between Castal and Vaisel, has taken advantage of its location on the coast to the south and serves as a trade hub between the two countries, earning a reputation as a commercial nation—according to the official website.

He would like to visit someday.

Since the capital of the Commune, Clermont, was the initial starting point, it might be a good idea to start the official service in the Commune.

It would be nice to go to the Commune with Lady Alexia and Irene.

For now, he decided to prioritize the monsters around Brandenburg.

This area is teeming with monsters over level 20, and especially in the ruins, monsters over level 50 are common.

Here, reaching the second job level is not impossible.

He might as well check out the ruins and the "Portal" in the area.

---

The desk was piled high with papers.

Alexia sighed at the sight.

The extracurricular practical training is a course where you can earn credits by completing a certain amount of quests over six months.

Participating in the practical training takes up almost an entire day, and managing one's physical condition and schedule is also part of the training, so each student must adjust to avoid interfering with regular classes.

However, if you don't attend classes for two weeks and hardly go to the academy, it will inevitably affect your regular classes.

Even if Alexia can't attend, she must complete the assignments given in class to earn credits.

This morning, she was suddenly called in and given a mountain of assignments by the teacher, and she couldn't understand why she had to do the assignments for the classes she couldn't attend, but she had to reluctantly comply under the threat of her grades.

She grumbled that she should have been doing the extracurricular practical training right now.

Was Chaos angry? She had asked Irene to pass on a message, but she was most worried about suddenly adjusting to her own schedule.

But she reminded herself that her teacher was not a petty person.

Chaos was not someone who would abandon her for lack of talent; he was her benefactor who brought out new talents in her.

He was a wise man who could calmly handle questions that other teachers at the academy would avoid and could display knowledge that she had never heard of.

He was not just a wise man; he was a diligent and research-oriented person who would thoroughly investigate something even if he couldn't answer it immediately.

Moreover, he was not someone who would boast about it.

On the other hand, he was a strict person who did not compromise on practical skills.

At first, he probably held back to help her.

Gradually, the level of magic and the number of enemies required in battles with monsters increased, and on the first day Irene participated, she was so exhausted that she immediately fell unconscious when she returned to her room.

But he was not just strict.

He was also someone who would use the valuable magic item "Book of Blessing," of which only five exist, without hesitation to help her grow.

She was so moved by a teacher who would do so much for her that she clung to it with all her might and became accustomed to battle, and she could confidently say that she had grown a lot.

Reflecting on those days, they were golden days filled with fulfillment.

Thinking about it, the fact that she couldn't go with them made her deeply depressed.

In the first place, the value of the current assignments and the extracurricular practical training was not even comparable.

She didn't want to waste a single second on such trivial matters.

However, if she neglected this, she might face even more inconvenience, such as remedial classes or a ban on extracurricular practical training.

In the end, she had to do it even if she didn't want to.

One of the reasons she didn't want to do it was the content of the assignments.

These assignments were created to follow the course, and to be frank, they were far removed from what she had learned from Chaos.

After having her common sense shattered by Chaos over the past two weeks, it was difficult for her to look at assignments that were still bound by the old common sense.

Of course, not everything was different from what she had learned from Chaos.

For example, the knowledge of the four major elements and the concept of non-elemental attributes were the same.

However, while reading magic books and understanding the principles of magic was essential, it was now questionable whether the content of magic books was correct, and it was possible to learn new magic as long as you knew the name and effect of the magic, even without a magic book.

But the correct answers to the assignments created by the current magic studies might be based on knowledge that is incorrect.

It was understandable that she had mixed feelings about the current magic studies, which considered incorrect knowledge to be correct.

But is this really the right way?—Alexia asked herself.

She had heard about the fate of a noble who couldn't use magic when she was young.

That's why she was afraid of being abandoned by her family and studied magic with all her might.

In the end, it didn't pay off, but she was fortunate enough to be helped by Chaos.

But what about other nobles who can't use magic?

If they were "mental-type" mages like Alexia, they wouldn't be able to develop their talents with the current magic studies.

If the current common sense doesn't change, they would end up in despair and disappointment, just like Alexia.

Thinking about it, she realized how fortunate she was.

To save them, the current magic studies need to be reconsidered.

She was the only one who knew what she had learned from Chaos.

So, why not compile what she had learned?

She was still considered "talentless," and if she spoke out loudly, no one would listen.

But if she verified and demonstrated various magics, things would change.

Thinking about it, her dreams began to expand.

She wanted to use the knowledge she had learned from Chaos to reach out and guide someone in the same situation as herself, just like her teacher.

Until now, she would have been satisfied if she could use magic like everyone else.

She only had a narrow view that using magic was the end goal.

For the first time, Alexia began to think about what she wanted to do in the future.

For that, she still had a lot to learn from Chaos.

The speed at which she completed the assignments increased.

She had to finish the assignments today and resume her studies with Chaos tomorrow.

She wanted to spread what she had learned from Chaos to the world as soon as possible.

Chaos was from a foreign country.

So, he would eventually leave.

She had to inherit his knowledge while he was still there.

When she thought about Chaos leaving, she felt a sharp pain in her chest.

---

The young emperor of the Vaisel Empire, Wilhelm III—Wilhelm Victor von Vaisel—had a troubled expression on his face.

"What's wrong, Your Majesty?"

Otto, his tutor, asked.

"Old man, read this."

Victor roughly handed the letter to Otto.

It was an unofficial letter from the Kingdom of Castal.

"From the Kingdom of Castal... What, an alliance!?"

The letter contained a proposal for an alliance from the Kingdom of Castal.

Currently, they were not enemies, but they were one of the trading nations separated by the Commune Union. In the past, they were enemies competing for control of the Commune Union.

"Well, an alliance is not out of the question. Even with the Commune in between, there are mutual benefits. The problem is the reason and the gift they are offering."

"To counter the evil god and form a three-nation alliance—apparently, they have also approached the Commune. However, offering top-tier potions and new drug manufacturing techniques... It seems too generous."

The manufacturing of potions is one of the research areas that the Vaisel Empire heavily invests in.

"Right, our return is limited to military and supplies in times of crisis. But that's the same for them. It's completely unbalanced. What is the old man of Castal thinking? Is he really wary of the evil god?"

Indeed, the increased activity of monsters was a concern within the empire.

However, the evil god, the supposed cause, had not been confirmed and was only a rumor. Is it really necessary to be this cautious?

Perhaps Castal has some information about the evil god, but there is no concrete evidence.

Even if Castal had successfully manufactured potions, considering the cost of development, it is hard to understand why they would hand it over so easily.

It feels as if this technology is not something they developed but something they found by chance.

This makes me suspect that there is something more to it.

"By the way, about a month ago, the kingdom's army conducted a large-scale extermination in Castal. There were significant casualties."

"Hmm, yes, I remember hearing about that. Should we send spies to gather information? Old man, take care of it."

"Understood, Your Majesty. Ah, speaking of spies, some of the spies we sent to the Commune have gone missing."

Victor showed a puzzled expression.

"Did the Commune find out? But that's not unusual."

It is not desirable for spies to be caught while a non-aggression pact is in place, but it is not uncommon for major powers to send spies.

Even if they are caught, it should not have a significant impact.

"No, it's unusual for multiple spies to go missing in the same area one after another."

"I see, so the area is on high alert, meaning the Commune is hiding something. That's what you're saying, right?"

Otto nodded.

"Understood. Send some skilled spies there as well."

As Otto left, Victor looked out the window.

The view from the towering castle was the same as always.

But thinking about Castal and the Commune, it seemed that something was happening.

Although he did not show it on his face, Victor was driven by an indescribable unease.

"Really, what is happening on this continent?"