The multipurpose room of the orphanage had long become a temporary operations headquarters.
Scattered documents had been meticulously handwritten by Reto. They contained a summary of the progress of the search and various issues concerning the orphanage.
Among them, one document particularly stood out: the orphanage’s financial statement.
Receiving support from the Holy Kingdom, Gilford Orphanage kept its own accounts to some extent. However, the ledgers created by Guildford, who lacked professional training, were riddled with inaccuracies.
Thus, it had been decided that Reto would temporarily take charge of the orphanage’s financial statement, at least while we stayed there.
During this process, Reto came to a realization.
“This orphanage is doomed, anyway.”
It was a cold assessment, but Reto’s evaluations had never been wrong. He clicked his tongue and threw the documents onto the table.
“There are just too few sources of income. It’s almost strange that it has lasted this long. If it were going to fail, it should have done so long ago…”
“That’s not really our concern, now, is it?”
The words that followed were cut off by Senior Delphine. As always, she sat with an air of dignity, crossing her legs as she spoke.
Her expression was utterly indifferent. It seemed like she considered the fate of the orphanage to be inconsequential.
“Remember, Ainstern, our mission is merely to exterminate the monsters attacking the orphanage. Right now, the target could even be a mage.”
Delphine’s words, detailed and persuasive, had a strange compelling power. It was the innate charisma possessed by Delphine Yuridina.
Her words were plain yet always struck at the core of matters.
It was the language of Delphine Yuridina, and the language of the strong. In her relaxed tone, a sense of ennui could even be felt in her crimson eyes.
Reto, who had been silently listening, nodded in agreement.
“…You’re not wrong. Very well, while we’re at it, please tell us about the search party led by Senior Delphine.”
Delphine, as though she expected this, opened her mouth immediately. Unlike moments before, when she seemed somewhat relaxed, her voice now carried a slight tension.
“I continued the search primarily around the areas where monkey monsters appeared frequently. I found that the further we went in a certain direction, the more actively those monkeys attacked us. In the end, we discovered a cave.”
It was a brief testimony. However, it contained all the necessary information. As we listened to her, the group let out gasps of realization.
As I observed this with a serious expression, one natural question surfaced in my mind.
“Did you attempt to enter the cave?”
Upon hearing my voice, Senior Delphine’s body flinched. Her eyes flickered toward me and then quickly looked down at the ground.
The once-proud demeanor now returned with a slightly deflated voice.
“…No.”
I hadn’t intended to place blame, but Senior Delphine began to glance at me nervously. I asked again, in an effort to sound casual.
“Were there too many potential dangers nearby?”
“No,” came the response, not from Delphine, but from someone else. While Delphine hesitated, Ceria spoke up first.
As always, she continued speaking with her cold and aloof voice. Even though they were half-sisters, it seemed they were indeed sisters.
Both had the same aloofness, beautiful appearance, and pride in the Yuridina clan. They also cared for each other in subtle ways.
“But my sister decided that the potential risk was too high. If a mage truly remained there, the current strength of the search party wouldn’t suffice to confront it.”
Yulen, a member of the search party, raised his hand as if to agree.
“Exactly! Mages are no joke. They even made a hideout and controlled the monsters to abduct children. We absolutely cannot go in.”
The last to speak was the Lady Virgin Saint. Since there were four members in the search party, her voice effectively wrapped up their opinions.
“Rescuing the poor lamb is something we must do as servants of the Lady Virgin. But don’t overlook the fact that the burdens each of us carries are not light. While saving the children is important, fulfilling our own responsibilities is equally valuable.”
In other words, while we would cooperate to carry out the mission, we shouldn’t risk our lives.
It was a somewhat cruel reasoning, but also a sensible judgment. In a world where there were hundreds of orphans, if one had to weigh that against even a single academy student, most likely the latter would be chosen.
The academy’s talents were precious resources. Moreover, everyone gathered here was either of noble birth or high-ranking officials of the Holy Kingdom.
They were people who needed to be protected, even if it meant sacrificing dozens of orphanages. It was a harsh and regretful truth, but the words of the Lady Virgin were taken as entirely reasonable.
Even the compassionate Saint had spoken thus, so there was no arguing against it. There were many orphans in the world, but academy students were scarce.
Senior Delphine was still watching my reactions closely. Carefully, she opened her mouth.
“…Y-Yes, Lord Handaxe.”
I had never planned to blame her in the first place, so I nodded willingly.
“That’s a wise decision. If one were to die, it would be a complete blunder losing our strength to it.”
Upon hearing my words, Senior Delphine finally regained her momentum. As her arrogant and proud attitude returned in an instant, Senior Elsi clicked her tongue as if greatly displeased.
However, the situation was not such that we could afford to concern ourselves with even Senior Elsi’s small complaints. Senior Delphine continued to speak.
“And even the captured monkey monsters numbered at least in the dozens. I lost count of how many we took down just getting to the cave, which means there could be even more monsters left than we initially thought.”
“…Is that possible? Even if the forest is wide, there wouldn’t be enough food for hundreds of monsters.”
My reasonable doubt was met with the sound of palms clapping together.
All eyes turned immediately toward the source of the sound. Reto had summarized the argument.
“That means we must explore the cave. If there’s a secret, it must be there.”
As he spoke, Reto threw a glance at me. All the necessary information had been provided; it was a suggestion that I make the decision.
The leader directing Senior Delphine and Senior Elsi was Reto, while Ceria and Celin were practically following me. Even the Lady Virgin would find it hard to resist in this situation.
She knew better than anyone that standing out alone in a situation like this wouldn’t lead to any good.
However, the Lady Virgin added one last serious piece of advice.
“Brother I-an, you know, right? Do not overexert yourself…”
“…I understand.”
I knew well what worries the Lady Virgin had. Considering my reckless personality, she was likely pressuring me to set appropriate levels of action.
I didn’t plan on taking any greater risks, either. I had absolutely no desire to confront a mage, who was possibly hiding monsters and scheming to abduct children.
All I needed was to secure material evidence. That would allow us to mobilize an army. With Senior Delphine, Senior Elsi, and the Lady Virgin here, we could manage.
“For now, our goal will be reconnaissance. If it’s just a mage, it’s manageable; however, if there are even a handful of monsters in addition, it would be beyond our strength. If there are no mages, fine, but the moment we identify a mage, we’ll secure evidence and retreat immediately.”
That was the most reasonable choice. Everyone seemed to nod in agreement enthusiastically.
Even so, I felt the need to add a few more words.
“As you all know, no one knows what will happen there. There hasn’t been a single person among us who has faced a mage before. For now, let’s focus on personal preparations today, and we will depart tomorrow at dawn.”
Monsters, like mages, become stronger at night. Therefore, it was optimal to set off at dawn and engage in combat from morning.
Setting out in the afternoon like now could lead to disastrous outcomes. It was an extremely sensible judgment, so the group accepted it as a matter of course.
With that, the meeting concluded. The goal had been decided, and there was no further information to gather at this point.
What remained was only the final confrontation.
After the meeting, Celin approached me. She looked at me, worry etched on her face.
“I-an big brother, will everything be alright?”
She had always been somewhat tender-hearted since childhood. Suddenly being told to risk her life to hunt a mage, it was understandable that she would be frightened, especially since she had the least field experience of the group.
I patted her shoulder and offered reassurance.
“Don’t worry, if it gets too dangerous, we can just run away.”
I was unsure how well that would work, but it was better than being excessively fearful.
After Celin, it was Reto’s turn. He sighed and asked me.
“…Will you be okay?”
“No, to be honest, I want to ride away right now.”
It was a stark contrast to the answer I had just given Celin. Nevertheless, Reto smiled wryly as if he had expected this and patted my shoulder. His approach was the exact opposite of Celin’s.
“Just keep an eye on Celin; otherwise, I’ll have your hide.”
It was information I already knew without being told. I nodded with a wry smile, and Reto took a piece of parchment from his pocket.
It was a scroll. An item that recorded magic, which, if torn, allowed the user to cast spells beyond their abilities.
Naturally, it was difficult to make and costly. Reto, being skilled in this area, could probably create some but would have to put in a lot of effort.
When I looked at him in surprise, Reto waved it off as insignificant.
“This scroll contains a second-circle fire spell. Most monsters are afraid of fire, so use it if we need to flee.”
I paused for a moment. Reto was also a noble but wasn’t financially well-off. He hesitated to offer me a scroll worth dozens to hundreds of gold.
However, the conclusion was clear.
He likely believed that giving me this scroll was better than risking my life. It was impossible to refuse his kindness.
“…I’ll repay you someday.”
“You’ll make more than enough off the monsters we catch tomorrow, you loser.”
With that, Reto walked away. I watched his retreating figure for a moment before pocketing the scroll. There were still many more items I needed to gather.
The potion Emma had given me, the scroll from Reto, and I should have at least one healing potion left.
So, I started walking with those thoughts in mind. I decided to focus on personal preparations as much as possible tonight.
*
However, that night, the unexpected visitor was truly unforeseen.
The moonlight served as a spotlight to accentuate her brilliant golden hair. Her ruby-like crimson eyes gazed at me with a longing glimmer.
She pleaded with me.
“…Punish me.”
“What?”
At the sudden word, I reflexively asked back, but as always, reality remained unchanged.
“Please, give me a punishment… I beg you.”
The expression with which Senior Delphine uttered those words was so sincere that I lost my words for a moment.
It was as if a stone had been thrown into a smoothly flowing day.
