n

n

n

nSomething of an incident occurred in Orbaume on this day.

n“Fire!” someone screamed. “There’s a fire in the lower-class nobles’ district! A mansion is burning!”

n“Someone call the firefighting force!” shouted someone else. “The building that’s on fire is an unoccupied house… a Cursed Mansion! It doesn’t matter if they need to flatten the whole lot, the fire needs to be put out!”

nA Cursed Mansion that had once belonged to a lower-ranking noble had suddenly become engulfed in flames.

nThe mages employed at the nearby mansions conjured water and sand, and a troop of soldiers that was specialized in firefighting rushed to the scene. But despite their best efforts, the Cursed Mansion burned to the ground, leaving behind only a handful of burnt pieces of wood – without even singeing the trees in the garden, let alone spreading to the other mansions in the neighborhood.

nThere were some who found this to be suspicious.

n“That’s strange… The mansion that was built here wasn’t that big, but would it really collapse in such a short amount of time?”

nBut nobody was interested in investigating it too deeply.

n“Who knows. The flames were pretty resistant to being put out. Maybe it’s the curse of a vengeful spirit or the wrath of an evil spirit or something?”

n“In any case, the real estate agents and carpenters will be delighted, since they’ll be able to build a new mansion here. The Church of Alda might be less pleased, though, since they’ve missed out on donations.”

n“The Church probably already received the donations as an advance payment. The ones who will be less pleased are the nobles who gave them money for nothing.”

nThe Cursed Mansion had been scheduled to be purified in several days’ time by clerics dispatched by the Church of Alda.

nThere had also been other incidents with Cursed Mansions. In one incident, the clerics were attacked by Skeletons making groans that sounded something like, “OOOOOOOHN,” and after a difficult battle, they eventually managed to purify the mansion (or so they were led to believe). There was also an incident where the clerics entered a Cursed Mansion, only to find that there wasn’t a single Undead inside, and the head of the Church of Zuruwarn contacted them later saying, “We’ve been having a tough time lately, so we purified it as a form of stress relief. Sorry we didn’t tell you about it.”

nAs for a Cursed Mansion belonging to a noble who was connected to Duke Alcrem, a request to purify it had apparently been sent to Honorary Countess Darcia Zakkart, who purified it before the Church of Alda could do anything. According to witnesses, she entered the mansion and fierce flashes of light came from the mansion some time later, so it was likely that she had used some very difficult spell.

nAnd so, the Cursed Mansions in Orbaume all vanished, with the exception of Silkie Zakkart Mansion… The one that had supposedly burned down had actually been dismantled and reconstructed inside one of Vandalieu’s ‘Inner Worlds,’ but only he and his allies were aware of that.

nThe only paperwork needed to join a party at the Hero Preparatory School was to write the party members’ names on a form and submit it to the office.

nIt was similar to the paperwork at the Adventurers’ Guild, and in the Guild’s case, its purpose was to make it easy to determine who was accompanying the applicant when it came to giving credit for accomplishments or imposing penalties for failing commissions.

nOf course, the Guild did not mind if adventurers worked with other adventurers without registering their parties, but this sometimes led to cases where credit was not correctly given for completed commissions and accomplishments.

nIn the Hero Preparatory School’s case, this paperwork was used in the awarding of credits.

n“With this, you and I are a team now, Elizabeth-sama,” said Vandalieu, having submitted the form and returned to his place behind Elizabeth immediately afterwards.

n“Yes, we are,” said Elizabeth. “Now that it’s formal, I’ll say it again – Let’s get along and work well together… By the way, why are you always behind me?”

nAt school, whenever Vandalieu met Elizabeth to discuss strategy for practical training or talk about the special training they did after school, he would always stand behind her and follow her at an appropriate distance.

nThis behavior reminded Elizabeth of that of a duckling, but due to the faintness of Vandalieu’s presence and the fact that he walked completely silently in a stable way that didn’t shift his center of gravity at all, he looked more like a guiding spirit at a distance.

nThere was also no rule stipulating that party members must walk behind their leader.

n“It’s because I’m one of your lackeys, of course,” said Vandalieu.

nThe reason Vandalieu walked behind Elizabeth was because he had a poor idea of what the position of ‘follower’ or ‘lackey’ entailed.

n“I wish you’d call us ‘retainers’ or ‘bodyguards’ rather than ‘lackeys,’” said Macht.

n“But, well, it seems like you get it,” said Taurus.

n“It’s important to show our unity to those around us, after all,” said Yusef.

nIt seemed that Vandalieu’s poor idea of what being a lackey entailed was mostly correct. His three senior lackeys nodded over and over, approving of Vandalieu’s actions.

n“Y-you guys… Can you stop making it sound like I’m some mother duck?! It’s not like I’m always walking around with you accompanying me, is it?!” Elizabeth said angrily.

nMahelia and Zona smiled wryly.

n“My lady… You walk around the school with everyone in your company at least three times every day,” Mahelia said.

n“I suppose that number has gone down lately, since you’ve stopped trying to get Alex to join us,” said Zona.

nElizabeth gave a small gasp in realization. “Come to think of it, you may be right… but it’s not like I’m dragging you around to flaunt you to everyone! It’s only because it’s inefficient to move around separately after gathering for meetings and things!” she said, hastily blurting out an excuse.

nShe was aware that she had been subconsciously trying to put on an appearance of superiority to those around her, but if she had the kind of personality that could honestly admit that, she wouldn’t be trying to put on appearances in the first place.

n“I don’t think any of us mind,” said Vandalieu. “Adventuring is a profession where it’s bad for business if you’re underestimated by the people around you. I think it would be troublesome if clients undervalue you and try to haggle your commission fees down, or if the Guild doesn’t give you the credit you deserve. I think it’s good to get into the habit of making yourself known.”

nVandalieu could understand why she was putting on appearances. He had reasoned that popular people walking around with their followers in tow was a form of demonstration – an emphasis of one’s influence within their community.

nThus, he didn’t feel any discomfort with Elizabeth leading them around the school.

n“Ugh, when you break it down rationally, it’s kind of embarrassing. It makes me realize how childish I’m being…” said Elizabeth. “But, well, ever since you joined the party, the rumors that I failed to invite Alex to the party stopped… Whatever. Make sure you keep on following me!”

n“Yes, I’ll haunt… I’ll follow you,” said Vandalieu.

nVandalieu had actually been struggling with deciding whether to have Ghosts follow them around. Perhaps he was being too nervous, but it was certainly possible for unforeseen circumstances to arise.

nFor now, he had secretly set up Demon King Familiars in front of and behind their mansions, and along the routes they took to and from school, in order to deal with anything unexpected. But so far, their only achievements were arresting a few petty criminals that were completely unrelated to Elizabeth and the others… like bag snatchers and pickpockets.

n“Why did you say it twice?” Elizabeth asked, but she didn’t think about it too deeply. “More importantly, let’s get going to our practical training. Mahelia, is there a practical training that seems good for us?”

nThe Hero Preparatory School’s curriculum was credit-based, just like ordinary Adventurers’ Schools… though ordinary Adventurers’ Schools didn’t track students’ credits particularly accurately. Class attendance was almost a non-factor when grades were determined; students were evaluated based on their results in practical training and examinations.

nThus, if one was not confident, it was possible for them to only take examinations without attending a single practical training session… though they would receive no grades for practical training, so it would be difficult to earn credits unless their grades were extremely high.

n“The practical training available for today is alchemy, crafting, and practical cooking,” said Mahelia. “The alchemy training involves making an improvised staff out in the field. The crafting training involves repairing armor out in the field. The practical cooking training involves preparing food out in the field.”

n“Not that this is new, but they’re all outdoors, aren’t they… Let’s go with the alchemy training, then,” Elizabeth decided. “I don’t think any of us have earned credits for alchemy yet…”

nAnd so, it was decided that Vandalieu’s first practical training with Elizabeth’s party would be making an improvised staff that functioned as a magical medium… which involved carving a magic circle into a tree branch and combining it with a Magic Stone taken from a monster.

nBut –

n“Elizabeth-sama! I think the practical cooking one would be better!” said Zona, suddenly strongly pushing for a different practical training.

n“Huh? Really?” said Elizabeth, surprised.

n“That’s right, Elizabeth-sama! The alchemy training has a lot of people participating in it, so we’ll end up having to compete for materials! We’re better off taking the practical cooking training, which always has less people participating in it!” said Yuzef.

nYuzef was a mage with the second-best grades in the party for magic-related classes after Elizabeth; he was surely interested in alchemy. But even he was supporting Zona’s suggestion.

n“I see. Then I suppose we’ll go with practical cooking, then. If I recall, none of us have earned credits for practical cooking, and we should be able to get a good result since we have Vandalieu with us,” said Elizabeth. “Vandalieu, you’re fine with practical cooking, aren’t you?”

n“I don’t mind, but… I haven’t brought my house’s cooks with me today. Is that alright?” Vandalieu asked.

n“No, rather than practical cooking, those cooks are more suited to cooking the things that they fight, aren’t they?” said Elizabeth.

n“Depending on what the practical training involves, they could be very useful, but…”

nThe cooks armed with enormous kitchen knives and meat mallets were meeting the newcomers at Silkie Zakkart Mansion today.

nThe teachers had been worried about whether Vandalieu would take practical training normally, like the other students. With their concerns in mind, Meorilith had asked Dandolip… Randolf, to temporarily be in charge of the practical cooking training.

n“The topic for today’s practical training is: ‘Cooking when you’re guarding scholars on extended field trips or nobles traveling through uninhabited areas and they selfishly request the occasional delicious meal rather than preserved foods,’” he said, reading the topic out loud with eyes that resembled those of a dead fish.

nRather than going outside Orbaume… they were on a wasteland floor of the practical training Dungeon. It was labeled as ‘outdoors practical training,’ but it was impractical to travel for several days just to reach a place where conducting this training would be possible. Thus, certain floors of the practical training Dungeon were often used for occasions like this.

n“Dandolip-sensei, I know it’s a popular saying that every day is an emergency situation for adventurers, but is this topic really going to be useful?” asked Alex, one of the students taking this training, with a dubious expression.

nDandolip gave a weak smile. “Alex. You might be thinking that there aren’t any nobles who are stupid enough to make such a request. However, such stupid nobles do indeed exist. Well, I can’t reveal their names, but I’ve had nobles who make such stupid requests as clients on more than ten occasions. And I’m sure Principal Meorilith has had a similar number of such experiences.”

n“Are you serious?!” Alex exclaimed, stiffening in astonishment.

nWith the exception of one student, the others all showed varying degrees of surprise as well.

nBut Randolf was telling the truth.

nHe had once been on a mission to protect a client who, out of boredom, asked to see him destroy a group of bandits – effectively ordering Randolf to charge into danger, despite it being Randolf’s job to protect him. Another client of his had tried to make different adventurers he’d hired fight each other like they were pawns in a game. He’d had his fair share of experiences of being hired by foolish nobles.

nHe’d even seriously contemplated murdering some of those clients and simply accepting the penalties that would come with failing to complete the commission.

nIncidentally, he wasn’t naming these foolish nobles’ houses because the descendants of those foolish nobles were innocent, and because if one were to look up those names in the Adventurers’ Guild’s records or investigate those families, they would learn that the name of the adventurer who had accepted those commissions was not Dandolip, but Randolf.

n“And don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying that there are fools among nobles. I’m saying there are fools among nobles as well. There are those who are intelligent and those who are foolish among commoners, nobles, royalty, adventurers – any group of people. You can go to the library and read up as many examples of foolish people and their failures as you want,” said Randolf, emphasizing that there were fools everywhere, so that the students who were from commoner or merchant backgrounds wouldn’t get too conceited.

nIndeed, from Randolf’s own life experience, there wasn’t a single profession or race without a single fool in it – including the race of Elves.

nWell, I can’t say that I’m terribly intelligent, either, he thought.

n“However, you people are not such fools, and I expect you to refrain from becoming such fools in the future. Now then, if there are no more questions, I shall have you begin your task. You have two hours,” Randolf said.

n“I do have a question, sir,” said Vandalieu.

n“… I can guess what it might be, but what is it, Vandalieu?”

n“May I use the ingredients that I’ve brought with me?”

n“… I’m afraid I have to say no to that in most cases. The topic is as I have just explained. You are in the middle of a commission to guard your client over an extended period of time in a remote area. Assume that you’ve already eaten the food that can’t be preserved. You’ll be provided with water, seasonings like salt and sugar, dried meat, bread, and equipment to cook with.”

nRandolf refused to let down his guard, even when asked such a simple and reasonable-sounding question by Vandalieu. He was fully aware that Vandalieu’s real question was still lying in wait… because the familiar he’d brought with him today was Eisen.

n“Then may I use ingredients that are a part of my familiars?” Vandalieu asked.

n“They’re more delicious than preserved fooods,” Eisen said proudly, her abundantly-growing fruits shaking as she moved.

n“… I’m sure they are,” said Randolf, eyeing not the melons on her chest, but the real fruits growing on her branches.

nTamers normally didn’t use their familiars for food, even if they were of edible races of monsters. But Eisen, a plant-type monster, could have her fruit and sap harvested without harming her.

nEven in Randolf’s eyes, these were high-quality ingredients that would satisfy even the most selfish noble.

n“I will allow it. Familiars can follow you on long journeys, after all,” Randolf said.

nSeveral of the other students immediately showed their despair in various ways; some sighed and others looked helplessly up towards the sky.

nThere was no way for them to win over Eisen’s fruit and sap.

nKnowing that, Elizabeth looked triumphant. As for the other party members… For some reason, Zona had a gloomy expression on her face.

n“Now then, begin your task,” said Randolf.

nThe students sprang into action. Randolf approved of the way they didn’t simply give up just because they knew it was impossible to achieve the top grade in the class.

nAlex left with his party members to find ingredients.

n“We just need to prepare Eisen-san’s fruit and sap, don’t we?” Elizabeth said happily.

nMeanwhile, Zona was in despair that things weren’t going as she had hoped.

nI thought that this lesson would provide me an opportunity to be alone with Vandalieu, but to think that we don’t even need to move from where we started. What a failure! I should have checked which of his familiars he had with him today!

nZona had insisted on taking the practical cooking training so that she could try and seduce Vandalieu, just as she had told Macht and the others she would the previous day.

nThis would require the two of them to be alone, but the chances of that happening in alchemy and crafting training were slim. Zona had thought that if they took the practical cooking training, they would need to split up in order to find ingredients to use.

nThe training would take place inside a Dungeon, but with their current strength, neither they nor Vandalieu would have any trouble dealing with monsters. Thus, if Elizabeth were to suggest that they move as a group, Zona had intended to suggest that they split up instead to improve efficiency, citing the time limit as a reason.

nBut at this rate, she would be forced to try to seduce Vandalieu under the watch of Elizabeth and Mahelia… and worst of all, Eisen.

n‘Hell’ is the only way to describe this situation. I’ve always considered myself to be thick-skinned, but even I can’t handle this. I mean…

nZona looked down at her own chest. She was wearing her armor, of course, as they were currently in a practical training session, but beneath it was plenty of proof that she was growing well for her age.

nZona was quite confident in her appearance and figure, not just her chest. Her face had a somewhat childish look, but it was fitting for the short stature of a Dwarf. If she were to secretly moisten her eyes with water and look up with her puppy-like eyes, most boys would be done for.

nBut she glanced at Eisen, who had two very impressive mounds that far outclassed her own. The difference in their strength was clear, and it seemed foolish to even try to compete. In addition to that, she even had the allure of an adult, something that Zona lacked.

nOf course, regardless of how her attempt to seduce Vandalieu during this practical training went, she could always gamble on the next lesson, lunch break, the afternoon classes, or even after school.

nBut Eisen was a familiar, and she would always be with Vandalieu during practical training. During lunch break, Pauvina and the others would come to eat lunch together with him. And there was no after-school special training scheduled for today… though even if there was, Zona had the feeling that there wouldn’t be a good time to seduce him anyway.

nNow’s my only chance after all!

n“Elizabeth-sama, I think we should challenge ourselves more, by looking for other ingredients and defeating monsters,” said Zona.

nThe first one to respond to Zona’s suggestion was Eisen.

n“Mine are more delicious. Give it a tryyy.”

nEisen’s pride as a food provider seemed to have been wounded; she tore a fruit off one of her branches and pushed it towards Zona’s mouth.

n“Wait! I know that you’re delicious!” Zona said hastily. “I know your fruit is delicious, Eisen-san, but –”

nIt was none other than Vandalieu himself who understood the true intent behind Zona’s words.

n“I see,” he said. “If we use Eisen’s fruit and sap, we’re certain to get first place. But with that said, it’s a waste to spend two whole hours just cooking with it. In order to gain more experience, we should find our own ingredients. That’s what you’re trying to say, right?”

nOf course, Vandalieu hadn’t said this because he wanted to back Zona up. He had simply voiced what he thought Zona was thinking. There were no thoughts in his head other than, As expected of an upperclassman. Her desire to improve herself is admirable.

n“Th-that’s right, Elizabeth-sama!” Macht said, adding his own support to Zona. “We don’t want people mistakenly believing that we’re completely reliant on our underclassman!”

n“Let’s get even more ahead of Alex and his friends!” said Taurus.

nMahelia found their behavior somewhat strange, but before she could voice that thought, Elizabeth began speaking first.

n“… I suppose you’re right. Then let’s split up and look for ingredients. Eisen-san, you’ll be fine staying here on your own, won’t you?” said Elizabeth.

nPeople would mistakenly believe that they were completely reliant on their underclassman – in other words, Vandalieu. This thought, planted in Elizabeth’s mind by Macht, was very effective on Elizabeth, who was very concerned about keeping up appearances.

n“That might be beeest,” said Eisen, accepting this reasoning and returning to her original position.

nEisen was a high-Rank monster; she was far more powerful than the monsters of this floor… or the monsters of any floor in this practical training Dungeon.

nElizabeth and the others weren’t yet aware of Eisen’s true strength, but they seemed to have sensed that she wouldn’t need someone to protect her inside this Dungeon.

n“Well then –” Elizabeth began.

n“I think it would be best if Elizabeth-sama went with Mahelia. The three of us can go together, and Zona can go with Vandalieu,” suggested Yuzef. “This creates a good balance of frontline and backline fighters, too.”

n“Then let’s do that,” said Elizabeth, not thinking about it too deeply. “Let’s go, Mahelia.”

nMahelia found Yuzef’s behavior strange as well, but didn’t sense any danger, so she decided to simply follow after Elizabeth.

n“Then let’s go this way,” said Vandalieu. “Eisen, please gather your sap in this pot.”

n“You got iiit,” said Eisen.

n“Alright. I’ll leave the rest to you!” Zona said to Eisen… and to Macht and the others who had supported her in making this happen.

nAnd with that, she walked off with Vandalieu.

nShe was determined to get her hands on a lead – whether it was useful information about Vandalieu, or whether it was proof that she and the others could entrust their safety to him.

nIncidentally, Zona was under the belief that it was just the two of them now, but there were a countless number of spirits and powerful Ghosts around Vandalieu.

nPrincess Levia gave a happy giggle. “It seems that you’re having fun today, too, Your Majesty.”

nIf Zona were to learn that Princess Levia was here as a reward for setting the fake Cursed Mansion on fire this morning, she might have fainted in embarrassment.

nAfter all, she was just as voluptuous as Eisen.

nOn the other hand, Zona’s target, Vandalieu, didn’t regard her as a member of the opposite sex. Or to be more precise, he didn’t consider her to be a potential romantic partner.

n“There aren’t any monsters. We might have to get a little further away from Eisen,” Vandalieu said.

nVandalieu was a healthy young boy… though some might disagree with that. But still, this was the third time he was undergoing puberty. It wasn’t that he was entirely disinterested with members of the opposite sex.

nHowever, he already had multiple fiancées… far too many for a single person, unless they were the emperor of a nation. He was even the father of a child. Thus, he didn’t see women other than his fiancées as romantic partners… though if Zona had overflowing physical beauty in the muscular sense, then he might have been stumbling towards her like an insect attracted to a bug zapper.

nBecause they had gotten further away from Eisen, they were also far from any other students as well, and Zona used that to make her move.

n“Hey, the two of us are alone now, aren’t we?” she said.

nVandalieu gave her a confused look. “… Yes, we are.”

nHis response to Zona was dull, as he could see a countless number of spirits as well as Princess Levia, Daroak, and Berkert around him.

n“Hey, can you hold my hand?” said Zona.

n“It’s dangerous to make one of your hands unusable during practical training,” said Vandalieu.

n“I’ve always thought you were so reliable, and different from the other boys…”

n“Thank you. It makes me proud that an upperclassman thinks that of me.”

n“… V-Vandalieu-kun, what kind of girls do you like? Do you not like Dwarf girls?”

n“I think girls with muscles are desirable. Due to their short stature, Dwarves have a higher muscle density than humans, so I think they are amazing.”

nAs Vandalieu answered her questions, he sensed that something was strange about Zona’s behavior. Despite his exceedingly poor ability for judging people, he was still able to notice that Zona was behaving differently from normal and bringing up topics that would normally never be brought up.

nCould it be that she’s concerned about what kind of feelings I have towards her and the others? he realized.

nBut his thoughts immediately after this realization were completely off the mark.

nI’m always expressionless, after all… If I consciously put effort into always smiling, then I can smile, but… everything other than smiling would become more difficult.

nVandalieu had mistakenly assumed that his expressionlessness had caused a problem in his relationship with the party. And so, he first sought to clear up the misunderstanding.

n“M-muscles?” Zona repeated. “Then I’m –”

n“A precious companion to me. I’ll never forget the consideration you showed by speaking to me, back when I’d only just joined you,” said Vandalieu.

nZona blinked in surprise at Vandalieu’s sudden talkativeness.

n“Your technique with the axe is quite sharp, and if you keep training yourself, I have no doubt that you’ll find great success as an adventurer. Of course, that is true for the others as well, but… it’s not just your fighting strength that I am drawn to. I’m grateful to all of you and I think you are wonderful. For example, you –”

nVandalieu continued speaking to remove any doubts and misunderstandings. Misunderstandings should be cleared up as soon as they are discovered. On some occasions, deciding that now wasn’t the time and leaving it for later would make things more troublesome later on. In some cases, it could even lead to tragic or comical situations.

n“You relieve people’s tension when they’re too nervous, and you calm them down when they become too heated. You act as a mediator between Elizabeth-sama, Macht-senpai and the others… Hmm?”

nVandalieu stopped mid-sentence as he saw something strange float into his field of vision.

nIt was someone’s Status. Given the Status’s contents, it was clear that it wasn’t Vandalieu’s own. Of course, It wasn’t the Status of his Undead or his companions, either.

nThe ‘Name’ section read ‘Alex.’

n“What’s the matter?” asked Zona.

nWhy was he suddenly seeing what appeared to be Alex’s Status? Zona seemed to be unable to see it, so it wasn’t an illusion that had been projected onto the air in front of him.

nBut he quickly realized why he could see it. In the ‘Unique Skills’ section of his Status was ‘Demon Eyes of Great Appraisal.’

n“Emergency! Alex is reading my Status from somewhere! Please find him,” Vandalieu ordered his companions through telepathy.

nHe had realized that he was seeing Alex’s Status due to the effects of his ‘Root Source’ Skill, which had awakened from ‘Abyss,’ which reflected the effects of Demon Eyes. His usual calm demeanor evaporated.

nPrincess Levia and the others flew off in a frenzy to find out where Alex was watching Vandalieu from.

n“Huh? What? What is it?!” shouted a bewildered Zona.

nBut there was no time to explain things to her. Vandalieu cast the ‘Detect Life’ spell, which revealed the students and monsters on this floor, but this didn’t distinguish Alex from the others. He needed to determine that on his own, based on positions and numbers.

n“Your Majesty, Gufadgarn-san has found him!” Princess Levia reported swiftly. “He is to your right! It seems that he is using light-attribute magic to look this way from behind a boulder!”

n“Understood,” said Vandalieu.

nBecause it was dangerous to leave Zona alone in case there was an ambush, he lifted her into his arms.

n“Y-you’re being so bold all of a sudden?!” Zona exclaimed. “Wait! I know I’m the one who started this, but my heart isn’t ready–”

n“Please excuse my rude behavior. But it’s an emergency. I’ll apologize later, so please forgive me for now,” said Vandalieu as he telepathically commanded Princess Levia and the rest of the Ghosts to go and protect Elizabeth and the others.

nWith Zona in his arms, he began running towards Alex and his party, causing Zona to scream in confusion.

nPretending to look for ingredients, Alex’s party split up into two groups. One would look for ingredients, but the other, including Alex, had the objective of checking Vandalieu’s Status.

n“Master, is it no good after all?” said Towa, a rabbit-type Beast-kin girl, looking worriedly at her master.

nAlex was silent as he used light-attribute magic to bend light and look at Vandalieu.

nTowa wasn’t a student at the Hero Preparatory School, but she was able to participate in the training, as she was Alex’s property. Her current role was to protect Alex while he looked at Vandalieu’s Status.

n“… Yeah, it’s no good,” said Alex, realizing that he was drenched in cold sweat.

nAs he had expected, Vandalieu’s Status had been entirely censored, and he had been unable to read even a single character… just like his adopted younger sister Pauvina, and his familiars – Eisen and the Vampires… though he’d been able to read the Status of the Undead that called themselves cooks.

nHe wasn’t bothered by that. He knew that the ‘Demon Eyes of Great Appraisal’ couldn’t read the Statuses of those that far surpassed him in strength.

nGiven that Pauvina and Vandalieu’s familiars fell into that category, he’d expected that Vandalieu would as well.

n“It’s possible that he’s someone I shouldn’t ever mess with,” he concluded.

nWhat he hadn’t expected was the sheer volume of censored content.

nThe ‘Demon Eyes of Great Appraisal’ didn’t allow Alex to read the Statuses of those whose strength far surpassed his own. The characters and numbers appeared censored to him.

nBut he could guess how many Skills the target had based on the amount of censored text.

n“The number of digits in his Attribute Values… His Mana is clearly crazy. And the number of Passive Skills and Active Skills… and Unique Skills that he has, that just isn’t normal,” Alex muttered, speaking rapidly in an attempt to suppress his cold sweat and his growing sense of fear. “I knew he was probably at least as powerful as an A-class adventurer, but even that might be an understatement…”

nIn the next moment, he groaned as he suddenly felt his entire body being pressed down on.

nWhat is this?! I can’t move! My whole body is being pressed down on by something I can’t see!

nThe only part of his body he could move was his eyeballs; he turned them towards Towa to see that she seemed to be in a similar state. She was desperately straining to escape from this ‘something’ that was immobilizing them, but it seemed that she still couldn’t move.

nBaring your fangs at the great Vandalieu while not even having the ability to resist my magic. Such impudence. So foolish, small, and feeble.

nThe ‘something’ that was immobilizing Alex was space itself, manipulated by Gufadgarn.

nAlthough it was not one of her own creation, this place was a Dungeon. And Gufadgarn was the Evil God of Labyrinths. No matter how talented Alex and Towa were, there was no way they could match her.

nIt would have been simple for her to strengthen the pressure and crush them to death. But she did not do that.

nAlex and the one who called him master, Towa, were nothing more than vermin to Gufadgarn. They had mocked the great Vandalieu and his friends, cast a damper on his enjoyable school life, and even tried to look at his Status.

nShe believed that they should disappear from the world where the great Vandalieu existed.

nBut because Vandalieu did not wish for that to happen, Gufadgarn kept them captive without killing them.

nNow, all she needed to do was wait a few seconds for Vandalieu to get here… though he could get here in an instant if it weren’t for the need to keep his ‘Labyrinth Creation’ Skill a secret.

nMy apologies. Someone is interfering, Gufadgarn informed Vandalieu.

nIn the next moment, Vandalieu suddenly appeared in front of Alex and Towa, holding Zona in his arms, who was looking around in complete confusion.

nBehind Alex, the one who had forcibly broken Gufadgarn’s space-attribute spell appeared – a red-haired Elf man with an unshaved stubble, wearing a grim expression… Dandolip, also known as Randolf.

n“Alex, I have some questions for you,” said Vandalieu.

n“Answer Vandalieu’s questions as honestly and accurately as you can,” said Randolf.

nWith the immobilized Alex and Towa between them, Vandalieu and Randolf glared at each other.

n“If you don’t, I will have to fight my teacher in order to eliminate you,” said Vandalieu.

n“If you don’t, I’ll be forced to fight my student in order to protect you,” said Randolf.

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