Chapter 226 : The Hidden Quest
Chapter 226: The Hidden Quest
The large first-year lecture hall in the Central Wing.
Six hundred cadets sat in the tiered seats, waiting for class to begin.
Since there was still time before the lecture, small groups had formed throughout the room as students socialized.
The same was true around Elsa, the young lady with long golden hair.
Several female students naturally gathered around her.
“Lady Elsa, I heard you've already become a Schuler candidate?”
“And it's only been two days since enrollment. As expected of the daughter of Count Olof.”
“Hoho, it's nothing special.”
Elsa smiled as she folded her fan.
Then her gaze casually shifted toward one corner.
A short distance away sat Philip, a curly-haired boy, all by himself.
Until yesterday, he'd been trying his best to mingle with the other cadets.
Strangely enough, today he seemed completely unable to fit in.
Without hesitation, Elsa walked over.
“...Lady Elsa?”
The female students following behind exchanged glances before trailing after her.
Elsa stopped in front of Philip.
“Philip, what have you been doing?”
“Ah... Elsa.”
He looked up.
“And who is this...?”
One of the female students who had followed Elsa cautiously asked.
“This is Philip of House Lisle, my proud fiancé.”
The moment Elsa answered as though it were the most natural thing in the world, the girls glanced at Philip in surprise.
“So you both enrolled together as an engaged couple.”
“That happens too? How romantic.”
“You two really suit each other.”
Although they smiled outwardly, there was something subtly different in their expressions.
Avoiding their gazes, Philip awkwardly cleared his throat.
“L-Lady Elsa. Calling me your pride is too much. I don't deserve it.”
“My, Philip. You're far too modest.”
Elsa laughed softly beside him.
“Philip is someone I personally chose.
So be a little more confident.”
“Haha...”
Philip scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
At that moment, Elsa's eyes fell upon his hand.
“By the way, Philip.
Why are you wearing gloves?
You barely even wore them during winter.”
Flinch.
Startled, Philip hurriedly hid his hand behind his back.
“M-My hands were cold.”
“But the weather has been getting warmer.”
“C-Cough! Cough!”
“Well, if you've caught a cold, then it can't be helped.
You should've been more careful.”
Elsa quietly watched Philip for a moment before speaking again.
“...Philip.”
“Y-Yes?”
Her gaze had grown noticeably colder, making Philip tense up instinctively.
Holding her folded fan, Elsa lightly raised the hand wearing her ring, deliberately letting it catch his eye.
“You've been taking good care of your ring as well, haven't you?”
“O-Of course.
Even now, the ring is inside my glove...”
Ah.
He'd just told a completely unnecessary lie.
“...Is that so?
Then would you mind showing me proof of our engagement?”
“A-Ah, I'm terribly sorry, Lady Elsa!
I suddenly need to use the restroom...!”
Philip sprang to his feet.
Without looking back, he fled the lecture hall.
“......”
Elsa merely watched him leave in silence.
The bulletin board along the first-floor corridor of Yggdrasil's Central Wing.
「Please Help Find My Cat」
「Looking for Second-year Students or Above to Clear a Weekend Dungeon」
「Seeking Cadets to Join a Research Project」
「Anyone Interested in Part-Time Work, Come Find Me...」
「Looking for an Upperclassman Tutor!」
'There are so many...'
The bulletin board stretched along one entire wall of the corridor.
Hundreds of request notices covered it without a single empty space.
Whenever students encountered problems they couldn't solve alone, they posted requests with rewards in exchange for help.
Of course, it wasn't limited to students.
Professors and academy staff also posted requests there.
'It's basically a quest board.'
There should've been a quest around this time that rewarded Arcanium.
However, no matter how thoroughly I searched, I couldn't find 'Arcanium' listed as a reward anywhere.
Naturally.
Even in the game, it had been classified as a Hidden Quest.
I was probably the only one in this world who knew about it.
After searching for quite some time, my eyes finally stopped on familiar words.
'...Found it.'
「Urgent Request - Looking for Upperclassmen willing to accompany me into a Dangerous Zone Dungeon.
Requirements: Preferably Second-year Students or above from combat-related departments.
Those confident in combat are especially welcome.
Reward - Negotiable
Requester - Philip (First-year Student)」
Riiip-!
The moment I tore the request from the board, the ink at the bottom distorted and transformed into an arrow.
「600m」
It was a simple tracking spell.
The arrow kindly guided me toward the requester's location.
Following it, I found him not long afterward.
A curly-haired boy sat alone on a park bench, looking completely dejected.
I pulled the horse mask from my pocket, put it on, and sat beside him.
“I came because of this.”
Holding out the request notice, I saw Philip's lifeless eyes turn toward me.
Philip.
He was the eldest son of an impoverished Viscount family.
At his coming-of-age ceremony when he was sixteen, fate had smiled upon him.
By pure chance, he became engaged to the daughter of a wealthy provincial Count.
From the Count's perspective, forming ties with a poor Viscount family offered little benefit.
However...
The Count highly valued Philip's ancient bloodline and his exceptional innate magical talent.
'Even in the game, Philip was one of the useful characters.'
He was a promising talent with a bright future.
There was even a possibility he'd become one of Ren's reliable allies.
“...Hello, Senior.
But what's with the mask?”
“There's a reason I have to keep my face hidden.”
“Ah...”
Philip smiled awkwardly.
“It's not that I doubt your abilities, Senior...
It's just that where we're going is dangerous...”
He clearly didn't trust me.
Well, that was understandable.
Anyone would be suspicious of someone showing up in such a strange mask.
“Is this enough proof?”
I took a golden compass from my pocket.
Philip stared at it for a while before realizing what it meant.
“...A Golden Compass?
Then you're a senior from the Finders Department?!”
“Keep your voice down.”
“S-Sorry...”
Philip hurriedly lowered his head.
“My apologies.
If you're from the Finders Department, then I feel much more at ease.
But... why would someone from the Finders Department accept my request...?”
“I don't know.
It just caught my interest.”
“I see...
As I wrote in the request, I'd like you to enter the dungeon with me...
And help me recover my ring.”
Philip told me everything that had happened yesterday.
He'd entered a secret area to obtain a flower as a gift for his fiancée.
There, he encountered an unknown monster and lost his ring while fleeing.
When he returned several hours later to retrieve it...
The secret area had already transformed into a dungeon.
“You specifically wrote 'Dangerous Zone' on the request.
You're certain?”
“Yes.
I've confirmed it several times using detection magic.”
The dungeons inside the academy were divided into five difficulty levels.
Training Dungeons were for first-year students.
Combat Dungeons were for second-year students.
Dangerous Zones were intended for third- and fourth-year students.
Restricted Zones required professors or assistants to accompany entrants.
Sealed Zones prohibited student entry entirely and were strictly managed by professors.
Starting from Dangerous Zones, entering alone was considered too dangerous.
Students normally formed parties before entering.
“So you couldn't find another solution?
That's why you resorted to posting this request?”
“Yes.
I even reported it to the Knight Order and asked a professor for help.”
“What happened?”
“They asked me if I thought this was a kindergarten and scolded me thoroughly...”
“Hm...”
Well, that was understandable.
Professors couldn't solve problems like this for every student.
“You said you already entered once.
Did you notice anything unusual?”
After hesitating for a moment, Philip finally answered.
“It may have just been my imagination...
But there was something strange.”
“Go on.”
“I...
Couldn't use magic.”
Philip carefully explained how he'd attempted to cast magic while being chased by the mysterious monster, only for every spell to fail.
“I don't know if I was simply too nervous...
But it was the first time in my life I'd been unable to cast magic.”
I slowly nodded.
Of course, I already knew.
The dungeon boss used a particular mechanic that sealed magic.
That was precisely why the dungeon's difficulty skyrocketed and it had been classified as a Dangerous Zone.
'Though it doesn't matter to me.
I don't use magic anyway.'
To earn Philip's trust, I drew the Titanium Sword from my Subspace.
“As it happens, I'm the melee combat type.”
“Ah!
So you specialize in close combat!
What incredible luck!
You're exactly the right person for this request, Senior!”
While talking with Philip, I'd already organized a rough strategy in my head.
Now it was time for the most important topic.
“So.
What are you giving me if I solve this?”
The reward section of the request had simply said 'Negotiable.'
“To be honest...
I don't have much money.”
Carefully watching my reaction, Philip cautiously spoke.
“How about sixty gold...
No, sixty-five gold...”
Faced with such an absurd reward, I let out a hollow laugh.
“Freshman.
Do you honestly think that's an appropriate price?”
“I just don't have enough money...
I'll give you my entire fortune.
All seventy gold...”
“What a waste of time.”
As I stood up from the bench, Philip immediately jumped to his feet and grabbed my arm.
“W-Wait a moment, Senior!”
“What's with you?
Let go.”
“S-Senior!
Please!
I'm begging you!”
“Do I look like some angel who volunteers to help juniors?
I'm not interested.
Let go.”
The reward Philip had offered was ridiculously inadequate for the difficulty involved.
The overwhelming majority of players chose to refuse.
If they did...
The quest naturally failed.
However...
If the player belonged to an 'Upper Department,' a Hidden Event would occur.
“A-Alright!
Then please take this instead!”
Philip reached inside his shirt and pulled something out.
It was a necklace adorned with a dark blue ornament.
“It's a necklace made from Arcanium.
I'm sure you've heard of it.
Arcanium is one of the finest materials in existence.”
Exactly.
This was how the game rewarded players with an extraordinary prize.
“It's small, but if you sold it to a jeweler, you'd easily get several hundred gold.”
“That's a much more reasonable reward.
Though it looks important to you.”
When I said that, Philip gave a bitter smile.
“...It belonged to my mother.”
“And you're willing to hand something that precious to a complete stranger?”
“No.
I'm absolutely not giving it away lightly.
This necklace is incredibly precious to me, but...”
Philip's hand trembled violently as he gripped the necklace.
“The ring that symbolizes my engagement with Lady Elsa is just as important.
No...
That ring is my entire life.”
He lowered his head, clenching his teeth.
“If losing that ring causes my engagement to Lady Elsa to be broken off...
Then everything will be over.
Both I and my family will lose everything.
If giving away my mother's keepsake is what it takes...
I'm certain she'd forgive me.”
“Hm.”
I folded my arms and looked at the necklace.
'...I had no idea this item carried such a heartbreaking story.'
The game had never described it in this much detail.
It felt a little uncomfortable accepting a keepsake that held such painful memories.
“Please help me, Senior.”
Even so...
As pitiful as his circumstances were, I couldn't refuse it.
I absolutely needed Arcanium to deal with the Lunatic event that had appeared this time.
Pretending to give in reluctantly, I nodded.
“Fine.
I accept.”
While the masked man and Philip signed the contract at the bench...
...Someone secretly watched them from behind a nearby tree.
The daughter of Count Olof.
Philip's fiancée.
Elsa.