“A-are you going to stay like this?”
Lena, sitting alone in the room, heard a familiar voice.
It was the voice of Sylphid, the wind spirit she had contracted with.
“B-but…”
Lena put her hand on her chest, recalling what had happened earlier.
Recalling Sowol proudly saying that she had gone on a date with Lee Hyun, the inside of her chest kept stinging.
‘D-does Master also like someone like Sister Sowol…?’
Sowol, the Sword Saint.
A beautiful woman who seems confident in everything in the world and has no difficulty talking to people.
A woman who, like herself, is Hyun’s disciple and was accepted by Lee Hyun before her.
Thinking of her made her heart ache even more.
‘S-she’s the complete opposite of me…’
Unlike herself, who is gloomy and introverted, Sowol is always bright and extroverted. That’s why she couldn’t help but constantly compare herself to her.
“T-that. Um. The Sword Saint seems to l-like Lee Hyun too. So…”
She needs to act.
Merely groaning alone and fantasizing by herself will gain her nothing in reality.
Lena closed her eyes tightly.
Her respected, revered, and beloved master came to mind.
The warm gaze that had always been directed at her was now looking elsewhere.
Sowol, the Sword Saint.
Towards her, who was incomparably beautiful even in the eyes of Lena, a woman herself.
Lee Hyun looked at her not with the gaze of a master looking at his disciple but with the gaze of a man looking at a woman. And Sowol accepted it, shyly yet confidently.
The two were well-suited for each other.
Lee Hyun easily gets along well with everyone, and Sowol is confident with anyone.
She could only watch the two of them from a dark corner.
One day, the two who looked so happy began sharing the same room, and when she secretly peeped at it, her heart sank.
Sweet moans and rough breathing of an adult male.
The sticky sounds made by a man and woman obscenely intertwine their tongues.
Their gestures of yearning for each other were unspeakably lewd, and soon, the two of them, layer by layer…
“N-no…”
Lena hastily denied the fantasy created by her brilliant mind.
No.
She didn’t want him to be taken away from her. Lena trembled as she tightly hugged her body.
She could give up on other things.
She could readily give up the fact that Sowol was the master’s first disciple.
But she couldn’t give him up.
Lena bit her lip tightly.
As Sylphid said, if she just sat here like this, the fantasy would become reality. Therefore,
She needs to act.
***
“Today’s class is dungeon strategy class.”
Whether the Asura Cult has infiltrated the academy or not, classes must continue.
Today’s class is dungeon strategy class.
There’s nothing special about it.
It’s literally a class on attacking dungeons.
Unlike ruins, dungeons were a lot smaller.
There are usually about four or five rooms at most, and the number of traps is far fewer than in ruins.
Nevertheless, dungeons are dangerous because they continue to create monsters unless the core is destroyed, and they send out the monsters created to protect it.
“Dungeons grow. Using the blood and lives of those around them as sacrifices, they gradually become gigantic and constantly spew monsters. If you find a dungeon, you must destroy it.”
Everyone was listening with shining eyes.
Most of the people in this class belong to the ruling faction. As such, they were trying to properly listen as dungeons could cause major social problems.
“That place over there is one of the prides of the academy. An artificial dungeon.”
The students’ gazes turned to where I was pointing.
Golems began to emerge from the dungeon’s entrance, which looked like a small temple. There were ten of them. Unless all ten golems were defeated, one couldn’t even enter the dungeon.
“Inside the dungeon, a large number of monsters will preemptively attack to prepare for hostile intruders. Since you have to engage in many battles with enemies, personal combat power and coordination with the team becomes a very important ability.”
“Yes!”
“I’ll now form teams. Dungeon strategy is generally done in groups of 6, so form groups of 6 people each.”
The total number of students in our class is 25.
If divided into four groups, one person will be left out, and that one person will either be added as a leftover or I’ll have to take them with me into the dungeon.
As I was thinking that and waiting, it happened.
“What should we do with the one person left?”
Sowol raised her hand and asked.
When Alicia and Lena beside her nodded, I spoke nonchalantly.
“Should I take them in with me for inspection?”
The reason I’m going in is simple. It’s because something similar to last time might happen.
Now that I’ve roughly figured out the purpose of the Asura Cult, there’s no need to give them unnecessary gaps.
I plan to go into the dungeon, take a look at the situation, and come out.
“Then I’ll go with you!”
Sowol raised her hand swiftly.
Certainly, with her level of skill, she doesn’t need to practice dungeon strategy.
She could even break through a decent dungeon alone, so it’s ridiculous for her to train.
“You’re going in alone because there might be some scheme by the Asura Cult, right? If an unexpected situation occurs, I can assist you.”
It’s certainly not a bad suggestion. With Sowol’s level, she won’t hold me back.
And she probably doesn’t need dungeon strategy training…
“H-honestly, I think I should be the one going in with Master…!”
Lena, who had clenched her fists, lowered her head and slightly turned her gaze elsewhere, spoke.
At her sudden remark, Sowol looked at her in surprise.
Honestly, I was a bit surprised too.
I didn’t expect Lena to speak so strongly.
“Lena, what do you mean by that?”
There was a hint of displeasure in Sowol’s voice.
Startled by her slightly sharp voice, Lena didn’t back down.
“M-Master is going in because something like the Giant Rock Worm from last time might appear, r-right?”
“And?”
“With my mana detection, I can c-check the condition of the ar-artificial dungeon and el-eliminate dangerous things. And through Sylphid, I c-c-can also detect monsters that might be around.”
The smile on Sowol’s face deepened.
Anyone could tell that she’s not smiling because she’s happy.
The atmosphere is getting too heavy.
It’s time for me to intervene here.
“Enough.”
“Master.”
“Master.”
“This time, I’ll go in with Lena.”
“But Master…”
“Let it go this time. I have something to talk about with Lena.”
“…I understand. But please remember. It’s not because I’m inferior to Lena that I’m yielding.”
“Yeah. Yeah. Thank you.”
I stroked Sowol’s head.
Only then did Sowol erase the smile from the corner of her mouth, as if she had loosened up a bit. As she returned to her seat, I tapped Lena’s back.
“Not bad, huh? Even resisting the Sword Saint.”
If we compare actual skills, I can’t say who’s stronger.
But if we compare personalities, Sowol is no different from Lena’s natural enemy.
For Lena to overcome Sowol’s opinion and assert her own was truly praiseworthy.
“I-it was scary…”
“But you still did it. You’ve grown.”
“Ehehe…”
“Good. Let’s wait for the groups to form before entering.”
I looked around at the students who had already formed their teams.
Let’s see. Alicia’s team is… Hmm. Not bad.
That’s just right.
“Lena and I will go into the dungeon first, so the class president and vice president, please take care of the class first.”
“Huh? Teacher? Why are you going in with Sister Lena?”
“In case something like last time happens. We need to check.”
“Mm. Then can’t you take me with you?”
“You stay here and control the students. You have to fulfill your role as class president. And it might be dangerous inside.”
“…Okay. Got it. I’ll do my best!”
Although she seemed a bit disappointed, Alicia smiled brightly.
As she waved her hand, I infused mana into the instructor’s badge.
When the badge glowed, the golems that attacked anyone who approached lost their hostility.
“Now. Let’s go in.”
“Y-yes!”
I took Lena and entered the dungeon.
As soon as we entered, Lena, who was spreading her mana to detect the state of the dungeon, tilted her head.
“There seems to be s-something different from the design in the c-center of the dungeon.”
“Really? How did you figure out the structure of the dungeon already?”
“He-hehe. This dungeon was m-made by the Ivory Tower and dwarves working together. There are design blueprints in the Tower. Since you s-said it’s d-dungeon strategy class today, I re-requested them from the Ivory Tower and m-memorized them.”
Oh. Is that so?
What an admirable kid.
I took a praise sticker from my pocket and held it to her.
Receiving it, Lena jumped up and down in joy.
Seeing her joy in getting one almost made me want to give me another.
“Any other monsters?”
“W-wait a moment…”
Lena summoned Sylphid.
Sylphid, who came out in response to her call, was slightly surprised to see me and gently bowed his head.
It’s been a while, but that guy hasn’t changed either.
“Th-there’s a m-monster within 300m of the d-dungeon.”
“Really? Keep checking and let me know if it seems to be approaching.”
“G-got it.”
Hearing Sylphid’s answer, Lena and I continued to go inside. Then, when we arrived at the place where she felt something was off, Lena pointed to a spot and said,
“Th-that. It’s not in the o-original design.”
It was an unremarkable decoration.
I wouldn’t have noticed if Lena hadn’t told me, as it blended in with the surroundings.
I removed it and checked the inside, then burst into laughter.
“It’s a mana stone bomb. I didn’t expect to get such a rare item.”
A bomb that delivers impact by filling it with mana was hidden as a decoration.
This is one of the weapons that appears in the later part of the game. A boss in the late game uses it to self-destruct.
“I-is it d-dangerous?”
“It’s dangerous.”
Looking at the condition, it seems to be operated by mana from the outside.
This can be disassembled.
But to install this here… It means that one of the academy’s faculty members is an Asura Cultist.
“Well done. Lena.”
Thanks to you, I got a good item.
“Eh-ehehe… I-I’m even more g-glad that M-Master is p-pleased. So… S-since I did well… Um.”
“Do you have something to say?”
“…I-if you’re f-free on the w-weekend, w-would you like to go to the v-village together…?”
“On the weekend?”
Weekend, huh.
Well, it’s not like I have anything particular to do.
“It would be an honor. To meet with the esteemed Colorless Archmage of the Ivory Tower on the weekend. I’ll have to do my best to escort you, won’t I?”
“Eh-ehehehe~!”
Lena’s expression looked brighter than ever.