On a day in early summer when the chilly weather had completely disappeared, and the heat was coming…
The mayor ground his teeth and slammed his desk.
“So… Even the troops sent to investigate the underground waterways have gone missing?!”
The mayor asked, unable to hide his shock, putting down the report he was reading.
His reaction was natural in a way.
That’s because the troops sent to investigate the underground waterways were the city’s elite.
“What on earth is happening in the underground waterways?”
It was not long ago.
Upon hearing that the city’s sewage treatment facility was having a problem, manpower was sent to maintain the underground waterways.
But strangely, they did not return.
Realizing it was an abnormal situation, the city sent proper elite troops.
The elite troops of a big city.
Troops much stronger than average adventurers went in heavily armed.
They were capable of dealing with gangsters without much damage, but,
Even they did not return.
It was nothing but perplexing.
“What on earth is happening…?”
The mayor’s voice was trembling. The secretary sighed heavily at him.
“How about requesting the Academy?”
In such cases, entrusting the request to adventurers is the natural outcome.
However, this city had the Academy instead of an adventurers’ guild.
The students receive a lot of education and can solve these problems well, and their combat power is not bad either, so it’s not strange for them to take on the role of adventurers.
“Hmm… Will it be okay? What if we request the academy and they fail too?”
“If that happens, it could become a big problem, so we’ll have no choice but to ask the instructors to step up or request strong adventurers through an adventurers’ guild in another city.”
It’s best to solve problems that occur in the city with the city’s power as much as possible.
The city was a neutral zone.
It’s in a state where not only the troops of each country but also adventurers’ guilds, churches, and other forces cannot reach out.
But what if the city fails to solve the problem and calls for outside help?
Its value as a neutral zone will significantly drop.
The mayor, who wanted to prevent that, nodded heavily.
“Let’s hope the academy resolves it well.”
In cities without adventurers’ guilds, most problems are requested to the academy.
The difficulty of those requests varies greatly.
There are requests to deliver goods to a nearby city, requests to defeat monsters, and dangerous requests to exterminate giant beasts.
Such requests also increased students’ practical experience. Hence, the academy encouraged them to participate in solving them by giving them additional points and the original benefits if they resolved them.
As proof of that, request bulletin boards existed all over the academy, and students who lacked points or aimed for scholarships would solve requests on their days off.
“Hmm…”
Standing at the academy’s request bulletin board with his arms crossed, Ludwig was seriously looking at a request.
The request he was looking at belonged to A-grade.
“Underground waterway investigation.”
A problem occurred in the underground waterways where the city’s sewage treatment facility is located.
The city dispatched elite troops to investigate it, but they have even gone missing.
Therefore, there is no limit to the number of personnel required to participate in this request, and the basic combat power needed to carry it out is set to a considerably high standard.
Ludwig, gazing at it, had a smile on his lips.
‘If we handle this request, our class can advance even further.’
The reward was also quite tempting.
A significant amount of additional points, many academic points, and some other things.
Using academic points, artifacts sold in the academy’s stores can also be purchased, which will be very helpful in the future.
Nodding, Ludwig picked up the request form and headed to the classroom.
“So you’re saying we should solve this request?”
“Yeah.”
As soon as he arrived at the classroom, Ludwig’s target was Alicia.
Alicia, chatting with her friends, looked at the request form Ludwig handed her with sparkling eyes.
Satisfied with her reaction, Ludwig crossed his arms.
He seemed to like the attention from those around him.
“As you all know, our Class A’s current score can be said to be competing for 1st and 2nd place in the year.”
“So you want to resolve this and become the perfect 1st place?”
At the end of the semester, scores are compared for each class and ranked.
If you win first place, the instructor in charge receives a bonus, and the class that ranks first is given the opportunity to rest at a special resort during vacation.
“Where is this special resort?”
Ludwig showed a confident expression to the curious Riina.
“It’s the Emerald Beach, the pride of the Empire! This is not a place anyone can go just because they want to. Even wealthy people from the Empire and all over the continent have reservations backed up.”
“Is it that great of a place?”
“It is. It’s also run by the Imperial Family. I’ll stake my honor on it. There’s no better resort than the one at Emerald Beach.”
“Wow…!”
Not only Riina but also other students exclaimed at those words.
They were students exhausted from strenuous classes and training. As such, they couldn’t help but look forward to a resort with a beautiful sea.
“It’s an opportunity to stay in a luxurious room that costs a hundred gold coins per night. None of you would want to miss that, right?”
“It’s certainly not bad.”
When even the blunt Etelle spoke as if tempted, Ludwig looked around at everyone.
There seemed to be no one opposed to taking on this request.
“I’m in favor!”
“I’m also in favor.”
“I… I a-also w-want to go.”
Pink thoughts were swirling in the minds of Alicia, Sowol, and Lena.
Sitting on the golden sandy beach in the evening, with the setting sun shining and the emerald sea reflecting…
And next to them is none other than Lee Hyun.
Thinking of enjoying a vacation slightly leaning against Hyun, who has loosened up a bit in the fantastic atmosphere of the resort, they couldn’t bear it any longer.
“Then we can ask the instructor…”
“Everyone, take your seats.”
As Lee Hyun entered with the door opening, everyone returned to their seats.
Perhaps sensing their excited state, Hyun asked in puzzlement.
“Did something happen?”
“Teacher!”
Of course, the class president, Alicia, was the one to step up at a time like this.
As she raised her hand, Hyun waited for her to speak with a smile as always.
“We want to do this request!!”
***
After reading the request form Alicia presented, I nodded.
This request. It was the event that was supposed to mark Chapter 1.
Is it already the end?
Well, a lot has happened here and there.
I checked the request form and nodded.
“A request, huh. The academy’s unwritten rule is that they can only be done from the second semester of the first year.”
“Huh?! Then we can’t do it…?”
“But you guys can do it. No, all current first-years would be able to.”
Not only Class A, which I was in charge of, but all classes related to combat were displaying good skills that could be said to be the best ever.
As such, even if it’s only the first semester, it would be possible to challenge the request with just the permission of the principal.
It was the same in the game.
“I’ll report to the principal.”
“Yay!! Teacher is the best!!”
But for the kids to strategize, they need to know the underground waterways well.
I immediately drew a map on the chalkboard. I memorized it in advance, so drawing it wasn’t very difficult.
“The underground waterways consist of three paths. To enter the sewage treatment facility, the target destination, you must activate the switches at the end of these three paths.”
“So you’re saying we need to divide the personnel into three?”
“Yeah.”
“How about everyone going together at once?”
“That’s not bad either, but I know the switches in the underground waterways reset after a certain time. It’s for security, they said.”
“How do you know, Instructor?”
How do I know?
Because I saw the setting in the game.
But there’s no need to say that.
“This much is basic. You should also study the facilities in the city. You never know when something might happen.”
“Yes~!”
How diligent.
Anyway, now we need to form teams…
8 people per team should do, right? One leftover can be put anywhere.
“Alicia, Sowol, Lena. You three will be the team leaders.”
“Okay!”
“Yes.”
“O, okay.”
“Then which way will you go, Instructor?”
A student raised his hand, and the three looked at me with anticipation.
“Teacher! Let’s go together!”
“How about going with me?”
“I… I a-also w-want to go t-together.”
Facing the intense gazes of the three, I chose right away.
“I will go with Alicia’s team.”
At my answer, Sowol and Lena were disappointed, and a bright smile appeared on Alicia’s face.