Chapter 113
Chapter 113
Gorilla’s Grip (1)
“There are quite a lot of people.”
Winter, who was being carried around like luggage due to the aftermath of motion sickness, had improved enough to speak even in that state.
It would’ve been nice if she had evolved toward not getting motion sickness in the first place, but instead she had evolved into being able to do many things while suffering from it.
When we arrived at the dock, Winter looked fascinated by the massive crowd bustling around it.
“Museion~ has good facilities~ Receiving this level of quality education~ isn’t easy~ So people like commoners try to devote as much time as possible~ Of course, nobles too~”
Canis thoroughly answered Winter’s curiosity. Even though there was still some time left before vacation ended, the dock was crowded with people.
Not only were there residents of Museion, but there were also many who appeared to be students.
“Are you heading straight to the Academy?”
“Yes, sunbae-nim.”
Aro, who had settled herself on top of my head, covered her eyes as she asked. I casually brushed her hand aside and answered.
All I wanted was to hurry to the chapel. I wanted to fully enjoy the fresh scent and solemn atmosphere.
“Sunbae-nim. What about Worden?”
“That guy will take a while. Bereninche said she’d be dragging him around under her arm.”
Winter mentioned Worden, whose lack of presence had made me completely forget about him.
Still, I was looking forward to it. He had originally been quite useful in battle already, so how much stronger would he become after receiving Bereninche’s training and real combat experience?
“Oh my. That friend is quite pretty.”
I immediately picked up the quickly distracted Aro and handed her over to Canis. Canis, who received Aro before she even realized it, made a puzzled face.
“You worked hard too. You’re in the same Magic Department, so you can escort her.”
When I expressed my thanks, Canis made a subtle expression. When I frowned at her, she quickly turned her head away.
“Soon~ let’s have a talk~ I’m curious how~ you know about that matter~”
“Sure.”
After saying that, Canis disappeared with quick little steps. Aro, who had suddenly been forcibly relocated, stretched her hand toward me wistfully.
“M-Me!”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“You brat!”
Aro’s desperate cries never reached my ears. With my polite farewell, Aro disappeared from sight.
“You should go too.”
“Ah, I was planning to head to the chapel first.”
I told Winter, who was standing there blankly, to head to the dormitory too, but she wanted to stop by the chapel first.
Since we were headed the same way, we walked together. While we silently walked, Winter glanced at me cautiously.
“What.”
“No, um… does Sunbae Aro actually know where our chapel is?”
“She’ll figure it out. At her age.”
“……”
Winter’s expression became incredible. In other words, I had sent her off without any plan whatsoever. Seeing how calm I looked, Winter let out a small sigh.
“The compensation-related items should arrive by delivery tomorrow.”
“Ah, what did you receive?”
Winter immediately asked what she had been curious about. After the battle ended, I had bragged about squeezing out plenty of rewards, and she had been curious ever since.
At Winter’s question, I fell into thought for a moment.
“I have to write it all in the ledger anyway, so let’s work on it together tomorrow. I’ll tell you then.”
“Ah. Understood.”
Only then did Winter nod energetically. After walking for quite some time, we eventually arrived at the chapel.
“Ah~ this scent.”
Winter spread both arms wide as she breathed in the solemn air, then let out a relieved sigh. There was a faint smell of dust, but it was still an atmosphere that always put one at ease.
“We should probably clean a bit.”
Even if it looked fine on the outside, it was filled with dust.
I immediately opened the windows. Winter covered her face with a handkerchief that seemed to appear out of nowhere. I tilted my head.
“There’s a lot of dust. Are you okay, sunbae-nim?”
“You just hold your breath.”
Watching me brush away dust barehanded, Winter asked worriedly.
I answered indifferently. My body wasn’t weak enough to be harmed by mere dust, and besides, things like that could be solved by simply holding your breath for a bit.
—Knock knock.
Had it been around ten minutes since we started cleaning?
We had been silently focused on cleaning when we suddenly froze at the sound of knocking.
Naturally, Winter and I exchanged glances.
What is it?
How would I know?
Who would come looking for this place?
I told you I don’t know.
“Hmm.”
The conversation I exchanged with Winter through our eyes held little meaning. Instead of letting Winter step forward first, I headed toward the door myself.
Vice-Commander? Canis? A few names came to mind, but I wasn’t sure.
“Who…… is…….”
The average height in this world was fairly tall. Even among them, my body was slightly above average.
And the person blocking the doorway was far bigger than me. A man with a face more vicious than a Fiendbeast.
“It’s been a while.”
“……Professor. Have you been well?”
Commonly known as Gorilla. The dorm supervisor professor of the 2nd-year Combat Department had come to see me.
Personally, at that.
“A-Ah, hello!”
“Mm. Student Winter. It’s been a while.”
At the word professor, Winter hurried over, saw Gorilla’s face, and forced out a greeting through clenched teeth.
Perhaps he liked the spirited way Winter shouted, because Gorilla accepted the greeting with a solemn expression.
“Sorry, but I’ll be borrowing Davide for a bit.”
At Gorilla’s thunderbolt-like declaration, Winter immediately turned to look at me. At her gaze filled with blame, I made an aggrieved expression.
Even I had no idea why Gorilla had come here.
“Come.”
At Gorilla’s urging, Winter squeezed her eyes shut. Honestly, I felt the same way.
No matter how positively I tried to think about it, seeing a giant over two meters tall with shoulders broad enough to fill the doorway made pleasant thoughts impossible.
“Understood.”
It didn’t look like he would back down easily, and in the first place, I had no grounds to refuse Gorilla’s request.
“Please return safely.”
Winter spoke wistfully as if she were seeing off a prisoner being dragged away. At her words, I let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.
***
“Here.”
Dragged to the academic building, I accepted the document Gorilla handed me. Rather than asking what it was, I chose to open it.
“…….”
The more carefully I read through it, the more the corners of my eyes twitched.
With his arms crossed, Gorilla quietly waited until I finished reading the document.
“Finished reading?”
“Yes, Professor. Please give me a moment to think.”
I asked Gorilla for understanding and sank into thought. To summarize the document simply, it was a “Temporary Assistant Recommendation Letter.”
First-semester tuition support, partial credit support for related department major courses, mandatory attendance in all classes taught by the related professor.
Not a single clause appealed to me.
“Doesn’t seem very appealing to you.”
Seeing my indifferent expression, Gorilla asked.
For any other student, it would’ve been an offer so attractive their eyes would roll back.
Though Gorilla looked terrifying, his classes were still extremely popular, filling up instantly.
“Yes. None of the conditions are beneficial.”
“Not beneficial?”
Tuition? The Religious Order’s bank account already held more than enough money.
Besides, since it came in the form of a scholarship rather than direct cash, it could only be used for paying tuition.
Credits didn’t matter either. I only needed to graduate anyway.
And Gorilla’s popular classes? Was I insane enough to attend those?
“Right now, I need to focus on the growth of the Religious Order.”
Besides, this was a trap.
Though it was labeled temporary, that was merely camouflage.
Simply put, it was the first step toward graduate school.
The moment I planted my feet there, the rest of my life would become a minefield.
“I expected that. But I won’t give up.”
“Excuse me?”
After saying that, Gorilla obediently took back the document.
Then what he said next chilled me to the core.
A stubborn obsession could be seen in his eyes. I genuinely had no idea why he was acting like this.
“This is something else. Read it.”
Instead, Gorilla pulled out another document. Once again, I quietly accepted it and read.
Then I let out a small sigh.
“I didn’t expect it to happen this year.”
“Indeed. It’s rare.”
Countless events appeared in [Difficult Dungeon].
Christmas events, Easter events.
Events cleverly mixed into the game to match modern holidays.
Among them was one event tied to the game company’s founding anniversary.
“[Floating Island], huh.”
“A rare opportunity that only comes once every sixty years.”
[Floating Island]. As the name implied, it referred to an island drifting through the skies. Normally, it wandered above the clouds, in a location impossible to see with the naked eye, but at specific intervals, it descended briefly at a designated place.
“Every sixty years, a Floating Island visits Museion Academy as well. Its purpose is supply exchange. We provide supplies and, in return, gain the right to explore the Floating Island. It’s quite an important trade occasion.”
Gorilla repeatedly emphasized how important the Floating Island was. I also knew very well just how massive that event was.
“A once-in-sixty-years opportunity. Since it’s so rare, there will be many students losing their minds.”
“So you’re asking me to stop them.”
That was the content of the second document Gorilla handed me. The Floating Island was especially notorious for making mages and alchemists lose their minds and go berserk.
He was asking me to suppress the idiots who would lose all reason and rampage during such an important occasion.
“The compensation isn’t bad either.”
The listed rewards were better than I expected. One Floating Island artifact and major course credits.
I didn’t care about the credits, but the Floating Island artifact definitely tempted me. And if I included the rewards obtainable from participating in the event itself, that made two in total.
“But why offer a position like this to me?”
Once I made up my mind, another question surfaced. I knew this was a fairly important role, so why had they proposed it to me?
“Her Imperial Highness mentioned you indirectly.”
“……Her Imperial Highness?”
“Yes. She said, ‘There are more lunatics than you’d think who would pluck the whiskers of a sleeping lion, but there are no lunatics who would pluck the whiskers of a sleeping mad lion.’”
Was that supposed to be praise? I made a bitter expression. Seeing my face, Gorilla snorted with laughter.
Even his laughter looked vicious, and now I found it slightly pitiful.
“It seems Her Imperial Highness plans to stir up something during this Floating Island event.”
As I signed the proposal, Gorilla muttered quietly.
The moment I heard those words, I froze.
That line. It was one I could never forget.
“Her Imperial Highness specifically chose you. Congratulations, sincerely. You’ve caught the eye of the Imperial House, and of Her Imperial Highness herself.”
Gorilla genuinely seemed to be congratulating me. Unlike his tone, however, the words coming out of his mouth were incredibly irritating.
Could someone like this really be called a professor?
Still, what truly bothered me was something else entirely. The Imperial Princess was making a move.
‘This is Episode 4.’
The Imperial House was supposed to appear in earnest after Episode 4. Normally, the Imperial House only emerged at the end of Episode 4.
But it seemed the Imperial Princess intended to step onto the stage before Episode 4 had even properly begun.
‘It’s because of the Fiendbeast.’
The Fiendbeast we defeated not long ago. The hidden Magus had begun moving in earnest, and likewise, the Imperial House had started moving as well.
It seemed the Fiendbeast had accelerated those events.
“It is all thanks to Anaye-nim. Surely Her Imperial Highness recognized that as well.”
“…….”
I used my usual tactic of bringing up Anaye to instantly smooth over troublesome situations. Gorilla shook his head after hearing my response.
“Fine, off you go. The Floating Island won’t arrive for another two months, so keep that in mind.”
“Yes. Understood.”
I bowed deeply and immediately left the academic building.
“Floating Island, huh.”
It was a fusion of a Main Episode and an Event Episode. Considering the bosses of both episodes, there was a high chance they would appear together.
The Floating Island itself had been enjoyable, and the rewards had been excellent as well, so I had many good memories of it. I began mentally listing the things I needed to prepare.
‘Before that.’
I felt like I needed to meet the Imperial Princess once.
With the Imperial Princess moving in such an unusual manner, I needed to check her condition.
Since the Vice-Commander would likely come because of the Fiendbeast incident anyway, I decided to wait until then.