“It seems the mana stone was taken.”
“......”
The area where the boss’s heart had been was torn open.
“Find out what kind of monster this was, and track down the mana stone as well.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Aseraian issued the order at once. Whoever had taken the mana stone was certainly the person who killed the boss.
“But...”
Aseraian glanced around at the sudden thought that crossed his mind.
“Where is Grand Duke Persia?”
“I’m not sure. I heard he arrived before we did...”
***
“I can handle it myself.”
“Stay still. You can’t even see the cut properly. What are you trying to do on your own?”
“There’s a mirror. A mirror.”
“I told you to stay still.”
“......”
The place they arrived at after using teleportation magic was Kainel’s office.
No, but there’s the Academy infirmary, and plenty of other places nearby too.
She couldn’t understand why he had brought her all the way here. He could’ve treated her anywhere.
“Hey.”
“Stay still.”
“Want to buy a mana stone?”
Kainel, who had been applying medicine around her injured ear, paused.
“A mana stone?”
“This.”
Ceres pulled something from her pocket that she had carelessly shoved in earlier. It was a purple mana stone about the size of an adult finger. The very same stone she had taken from the boss’s body after killing it.
It’s awfully small for something that came out of a giant monster.
Artia once told her that the stronger the monster, the smaller its mana stone tended to be. In return, the mana contained inside was far more refined.
One mistake was enough.
Even now, she still sometimes jolted awake thinking about the time she killed the Bakura boss and walked away empty-handed. How was she supposed to know that thing was worth 5,000 gold?
And apparently, the Crown Prince still has it.
Since the owner never came forward, Aseraian had kept the mana stone all this time. Every time she saw him, she had to resist the urge to blurt out: The mana stone is mine!
That’s why I made sure to grab this one.
If her butler found out, he’d praise her to no end.
“What am I supposed to do with that?”
“You can sell it. I’ll give you a discount.”
“I don’t need money.”
“...Must be nice.”
People with money really were the worst.
“You could just sell it yourself. Why go through me?”
“Because then it’ll turn into a mess. Everyone will find out I killed the boss.”
“Wouldn’t the people who saw already know? Why are you worried about it becoming a big deal now?”
“No one saw me kill the boss.”
Besides, it was dark, so hardly anyone would’ve seen her face clearly.
However, this mana stone was a different story. Once she tried to sell it, people would immediately put the pieces together.
An A-rank boss monster wasn’t something even high-ranking mercenaries could deal with easily. If word got out that she had taken one down alone, it would definitely cause an uproar.
“So buy it from me.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want you making a lot of money.”
“Why not? The more money I make, the faster I can pay off my debt!”
“That’s exactly why.”
“...What?”
What the hell was this lunatic talking about?
Ceres stared at Kainel in disbelief as the corners of his lips curled up in that irritatingly smug smile.
What happened to him over the last 300 years?
Why did his personality get so twisted? He definitely wasn’t like this before.
“Make sure you live a long time.”
“What’s with the random nonsense all of a sudden?”
Once he finished treating her, Kainel finally stepped back.
“So you can pay off all your debt.”
“...Ha.”
The corners of his mouth lifted again.
“So don’t get hurt without my permission.”
...What now? Do I need his permission to get injured?
“Just buy this already.”
“Not interested.”
What an insufferable piece of sh*t.
***
“...This is ridiculous.”
The rankings were posted in giant letters across the main hallway.
Was this really the time to be publicly displaying grades? The Black Forest had appeared, parts of the building had collapsed, and there were injured students everywhere.
Well... I’m curious, though.
Pushing through the noisy crowd, Ceres slipped closer and checked her ranking.
“Whoa...”
Am I a genius or something?
She had only found out it was exam day that morning and barely had time to study.
Seventh place.
Well, I’m always pretty smart. Ceres nodded to herself with satisfaction.
“What is this?”
Antonian’s hollow voice came from beside her. Why did this guy follow her all the way to the high-school division this early in the morning?
“Seventh place?”
“Yeah. Seventh place.”
She was just about to feel proud of herself when Antonian growled like an offended cat.
“What happened to your grades?”
“...What?”
“You never lost first place before. Why did your ranking drop this much?!”
“......”
...Wait. So she was insanely good at studying?
“You need to study harder, Ceres.”
“And what rank are you?”
“Me? Why are you asking something so obvious?”
“Obvious...?”
“Obviously first place. Have you ever seen me rank lower than that?”
“......”
...Then why are you wasting your time learning swordsmanship?
So the teachers really did have a reason for trying to stop him. Ceres stared at Antonian with a baffled expression.
Have you considered changing career paths while you still can?
“Anyway, why are you here?”
“What are you talking about? The middle-school division was damaged, so we’re using the high-school division building for now. Don’t tell me you didn’t know that.”
Ah...
Well, nobody bothered telling her.
“I heard a weird rumor too.”
“What rumor?”
“They’re saying the person who defeated the Black Forest boss was a female student from the high-school division.”
“...A female student?”
“Apparently, she had long platinum-blonde hair.”
“......”
With his arms crossed, Antonian stared hard at Ceres.
“It wasn’t you, right?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Could it be...”
Halfway through speaking, Antonian quickly shook his head. No matter how he thought about it, there was no way.
Sure, his sister had been acting strange lately, but fighting monsters with a sword? This was someone who used to hesitate over killing a single bug.
Even if she had lost her memories and changed afterward, that still sounded impossible.
Ceres may have mercilessly trained the entire Group B, including him, but Antonian was still completely blinded when it came to his sister.
“Did you come looking for me just to check that?”
“Well, partly. I wanted to see your grades too.”
Antonian’s gaze drifted toward the ranking board hanging on the wall.
“Did losing your memory make you dumb too? What’s with seventh place? Good grief.”
“You little...”
“I’m leaving.”
Shaking his head like he couldn’t bear to look anymore, Antonian slowly walked away.
“Go study.”
“......”
Ceres fell silent after taking that disappointed look head-on.
Wait. Was I seventh from the bottom instead of the top?
“Ha...”
“Those grades are still good, though. Your brother must have ridiculously high standards.”
“....?”
At the familiar voice beside her, Ceres turned her head in surprise. An unexpected figure stood there with a smile.
“It’s nice to see you again.”
“Lord Alex?”
It was Alex, Cheion’s younger brother and the Empire’s Third Prince, dressed neatly in an Academy uniform.
“You’re a student here?”
“I transferred in a few days ago. The same day the Black Forest appeared.”
Right before the semester ended? Wouldn’t it have been easier to just wait for the new term?
The thought crossed her mind, but she didn’t say it out loud. They weren’t close enough for that.
Just as she was about to end the conversation with a nod, Alex tapped the badge pinned to his chest, drawing her attention.
“I’m your senior.”
“......”
Ceres glanced at the color of the nameplate attached to his uniform. It was blue, the mark of a third-year student.
“I hope we get along, junior.”
The bright smile on his face deepened.
***
“Something quite interesting happened this time.”
As always, the man spoke while watering the pure white flowers. Alex sat by the sunlit window, just as he had the last time.
“......”
Despite the man’s words, Alex gave no reaction. The man paid it no mind and calmly continued.
“It’s truly remarkable. An A-rank Black Forest appeared, yet no casualty came from it.”
A faint smile curved across the man’s lips as he gently brushed his fingers over the white blossoms.
“And not a single flower bloomed.”
The man finally lifted his gaze toward Alex.
“You know what that means, don’t you? Without flowers, your treatment becomes impossible.”
“I know.”
Alex’s curt reply only made the man smile wider.
“I heard someone cut down an A-rank monster in one strike. Have you heard?”
“Jutel told me.”
Jutel was the one secretly assisting Alex.
He passed along the man’s orders, and during the Black Forest incident, he had also witnessed Ceres dealing with the monsters and reported everything back.
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