“Thank you!”
Evelyn immediately bowed to Arnold when he came over to the group. Everyone else who wasn’t here an hour ago bowed as well.
…
Arnold could recognize a few of them, one of whom (out of a pair of twins) was a transfer student from the Republic of Zrek, a nation that will purge all mages in its country later into the main story if the current president loses in the election and a certain someone is made his successor four years from now. This will be an important arc for Lauran if she is to become the Archmage and gain the favor of all the Towers, unlike Freya who’s on odds with every tower except the Second Magic Tower in the empire.
While the Six Magic Towers (from the original seven after the theocracy’s elite mages left the country) were under Freya’s leadership, that did not mean that she was respected by all the factions within the towers. This was most likely the doings of the infiltrators from the antimagic regime that lurks in the Republic. She also could not control everything that was going on inside the towers so she despised working with all the acting leaders who ruled in her place.
She despised sharing achievements between Towers so she had frequently kept a lot of research incognito from the Towers, except for the one in the empire. It was that same tower where her master was the Grand Warden before retirement.
The Republic of Zrek was one of the few nations which had an aristocracy but not a king. Of course, the noble families were basically the remains of the old families from some fifty years ago. Even the current president is from a royal bloodline but did not have the title of king even though his children bore the honorary “princess” and “princess” titles.
He wasn’t in a hurry to start that questline since there’s many years left until the election.
…
“If it wasn’t for your help, Sabrina would’ve… I don’t even want to think about it…” she bit her lip while squeezing Sabrina’s hand.
Arnold shrugged at Evelyn who looked like she was about to cry.
“While I did save Sabrina, it doesn’t mean that you should get complacent now. Were you informed what we’re dealing with?” that question was directed at the people who weren’t here when he arrived earlier, Evelyn included.
“Yes…” she nodded gravely, “it’s something that no other Year 7 class has ever encountered in history… In general, there had never been a dungeon monster to cast a curse that could cause the deaths of all dungeon explorers that it had interacted with…”
Castacia, while her eyes were shaking, spoke:
“The public will eat us alive… First it was the monster wave we caused… Now we’re carrying a genocidal curse that can spread through the air like a pathogen… An apology and resignation might not suffice… We, the professors, might end up getting thrown in prison for endangering the empire twice.”
Of course, he wouldn’t let it come to that.
Ignoring Castacia who looked depressed and scared, Arnold looked at everyone’s statuses.
As expected, all of them were cursed (obviously, given the nature of the curse).
…Will I really be able to remove everyone’s cursed status?
His confidence was slowly turning into worry and unease as an unknown premonition dawned on him. That premonition seemed to grow stronger every time he thinks about the curse.
“Don’t misunderstand what I did for Sabrina.” Arnold looked at everyone, “I still expect compensation for what I’m doing for all of you.”
“Of course I understand that.” Evelyn said immediately which surprised Arnold.
“Indeed.”
“Yeah, we figured as much…”
“I-I don’t want to take advantage of someone’s kindness while feeling indebted to them for saving a friend…”
“Me neither. Rather it would’ve been troublesome if our junior didn’t want anything in return. I don’t want to stay indebted to someone who saved my life.”
Some more voices agreeing with Evelyn could be heard.
“Really…?”
Arnold was going to capitalize on going this far for all of them and was expecting to come up with all kinds of bullshit to make them feel indebted to him. He didn’t want all of them thinking he’s some hero. This will set a bad precedent that people can always come and ask him for help and expect to give nothing in return.
As someone who will one day rule a nation that far surpasses the empire (and any other major nation) in military power and wealth, he shouldn’t get comfortable with offering favors then shrugging when told that his kindness cannot be repaid.
“Forbidden magic arts is knowledge that was lost after the Demon Human War so we know that it must’ve been hard for you to obtain it.” A young woman with short purple hair, who was about Castacia’s age but was as small in stature as Rachel (on earth she would be considered a loli hag), stepped forward. She was the Academy’s herbalist, top alchemist and a plant-type beast tamer, Remri von Memmon. She was one of the three remaining professors out of Castacia (Class A) and Jerlin (a tall average-looking professor of Class D). The B-class’ professor was killed, after all.
She continued, “Something as hard to obtain like the remnants of a thing that once shook the tide of war is something I personally would never share with others. It might even cause all sorts of bad folk to target you just for possessing this knowledge. But you did so out of the kindness of your heart. For that we are all grateful.”
‘Hmm…’
Arnold thought if it would be okay to let this misunderstanding play out.
He looked at his seniors. Most of them couldn’t look him in the eye. They looked confused and embarrassed.
Arnold smirked inwardly before clearing his throat.
“Indeed, it was a terribly long and difficult endeavour to obtain the knowledge I have today. Not to mention expensive,” He held his hand on his forehead to show his frustration and regret, “I had to taint my name as the eldest son of the Berkley House by relying on Serz, a criminal organization, for information on where to buy the artifacts of old, whether they’re magic items from the last great war, unrecorded magic spells, locations of old treasures that fell with their respective nations and the weapons of great knights form our history books. Since becoming a lover of history, I could not quench the burning desire for what kind of treasures our ancestors left us. Whether they appear on our empire’s black market or in relic tombs, I am eager to find them all.” He spread his arms.
“Hoh, Serz can obtain these kinds of things if you commission them? I’ve been looking for a rare herb that only appears on the black market but have no idea where to find it…” Remri pondered out loud as if she was alone.
While Serz may be a criminal organization wanted by all nations, citizens can still commission them for information-gathering purposes and only that. Despite their status as a crime syndicate, their network channels surpass even those of the [Imperial Intelligence Organizations]. Consequently, many Serz members are secretly on the empire’s payroll. However, this arrangement is impossible to prove, shielding Serz from accountability for their actions. Those who commission Serz services are never deemed accomplices, creating a complex dynamic of evasion and suspicion. It's akin to a game of cat and mouse played out in the shadows, where even the empire’s officials are uncertain whom to investigate, yet remain vigilant for any opportunity to catch someone in the act.
Arnold was essentially bringing Serz more business by lying to everyone about where he got the knowledge of the forbidden curses.
Tsk, it’s a shame I can’t bullshit my way without Liumiala being present.
She was the one who wants to use him to rise up in the organization so this would’ve been the perfect opportunity for her to earn even more clients, making the debt to him even bigger at the same time.
“May we know your contact in Serz at least?” Professor Remri asked with a passionate glint in her eyes, “The members are very hush-hush about their identities. For obvious reasons, of course…”
Arnold was taken aback for a second but he didn’t let it show on his face.
“…Look for a Dark Elf named Liumiala. She’s a low-rank member who usually hangs out inside adventurer guild branches during her breaks. I can’t vouch for her skills since we’ve only met a few times but she’s managed to get things done in the past. Splendidly, even.”
“Wonderful! I’ll be able to get that herb after all!”
‘I guess I don’t need Liumiala to be present, huh.’
He has successfully planted the seed for another favor from Serz.
‘What should I ask her for in payment?’
Her rank was quite low, as he mentioned before, so she wasn’t exactly the first person he’d think of when he needs help with gathering important information (like the adventurer guild SS-class secret quests, dungeons, farming zones, etc….). It was better to have someone who reports directly to a Cadre be his contact in Serz since they hold more power than a mere Legion. Of course, this doesn’t mean he’ll just abandon Liumiala. Helping her rise in rank in the guild will be beneficial to him as well.
Arnold suddenly yawned. He rubbed his heavy eyes while doing so.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“…Is there any place I can take a nap?”
He was immediately bombarded with the girls telling him that they’ll share their sleeping bags and tents with him. Sabrina took him by the arm over to her tent and told him that he can use it for as long as he needs to since she’ll sleep with Evelyn. This surprised everyone who knew that Sabrina dislike for Arnold. They were so shocked that, none of the girls who offered their tents and sleeping bags, could say anything in protest.
**
Sabrina returned to everyone’s side after making sure that Arnold was comfortable. He didn’t even take off his shoes or coat and immediately fell asleep when he laid his head on the pillow.
Sabrina decided to not disturb him so she closed her tent and left his side.
She arrived at the big campfire and felt everyone’s judgmental gazes.
“W-What?”
All of them looked away while shaking their heads. W-What did I do wrong?
She jogged up to Anais, Evelyn, Madilith and Shirley who were standing nearby. Another one of her good friends, Berene Sloneworth was chatting with them. She’s from Class A and was enrolled in the same magic study course as Anais and Madilith. People like to describe her as the generic “nerdy girl” with glasses due to her rigorous study schedule. Of course, this was exactly how she reached the top ten achievers last semester and all throughout last year.
Sabrina had known Berene for only a year since she’s a transfer student from the Republic of Zrek, whose academy shut down for unknown reasons (most likely political interference from the top brass).
…
Magicians are treated unfairly in that nation ruled primarily by “normal” humans. While they aren’t exactly persecuted, the conditions that magicians have to live by was nothing short of too extreme.
A few of these were simple enough to follow but still absurd. You can’t cast any kind of magic outside school grounds, not even in self-defense if you were attacked. Magicians are also not allowed to have adventurer licenses that they acquired in their state. Adventurer magicians who visit the country are monitored 24/7 even if they’re there to save the people from monsters.
That nation favour knights more than they do magicians. If you’re good with a sword then your life is already decided to be full of riches and many opportunities for success. Whereas even the most accomplished magician is hated by nobility and common folk.
The nation was very straightforward with its hatred for magicians but never openly insult the Archmage or any of the Magic Towers. It’s not just the power of the most powerful magician they fear but also the retaliation of the dragon lords if they outlaw magic. The Dragon Lords have a good relationship with the Archmage so the retaliation to them outlawing magic as a whole would be devastating.
Nevertheless, they’re still planting the seed for the complete erasure of magic from their world. They do this by planting spies in institutions and the towers who cause division to make the towers implode due to schemes and conspiracies. Trust has already been broken to the point where the Archmage pays more attention to research and projects conducted by the Second Magic Tower, the same tower that employed her as an intern a century ago.
The Republic hasn’t made any major moves against the magicians yet (due to the current president’s efforts) so there is nothing of worth to go over at the moment except for the fact that those at the top use their power to sabotage legitimate institutions to follow their twisted ideology…
…
“Uhm, what’s with the mood all of a sudden? Shouldn’t everyone be happy that we’ll survive this journey and get the Holy Sword? I’ve also noticed some strange gazes being sent my way…”
“That’s not why everyone’s looking at you so strangely… The issue is offering your sleeping bag to a boy. It’s basically a love confession, Sabrina… Or should I say an invitation to your panties?” Anais shook her head.
“Yeah, and you did it without shame…”
“W-What!? No, it isn’t! I would’ve known if that was the case!” she replied to Anais’ absurd observation.
Sabrina had been asked out in all manner of ways over the years so she was familiar with the tactics that young people like them use to confess. It could be roundabout or directly but a confession stays a confession.
Sometimes she’d get letters (with gifts sometimes) which was oddly cute. It means the guy who confessed loved her but was too embarrassed to come forward on his own. Sometimes Sabrina was compelled to give them a chance due to the effort they go through but she wasn’t the kind of person who leads people on.
She’s the straightforward kind who lets you know what she thinks of you. Thus, all of them had been rejected but she was still friends with some of them, even her ex-lovers.
“Wanting to share your sleeping bag to a boy is basically asking him for sex.” Anais leaned close and whispered.
Why did she feel the need to elaborate on the “invitation into her panties” … Sabrina wanted to pull her friend’s pigtails until she cried like a baby.
“Our classmates are pretty upset.” Shirley looked towards the campfire. That was the same place where Sabrina could feel several glares, “You can tell they wanted more than just sleeping next to him.”
Were they sexually frustrated or just plain horny for Arnold? The former wouldn’t make sense since there are many men in this whole group. Thus, Sabrina could only assume that their panties were wet for one of the handsomest guys at their academy…
Sabrina’s frantically waved her hands in a fluster.
“T-That wasn’t my intention! H-He did so much for me so offering my sleeping bag was the least I could do…!” she desperately tried to correct the (unintentional) misunderstanding.
“Hmm, do people normally offer their benefactors sleeping bags?” Evelyn pondered with a teasing “hmm`”, her head bobbing from side to side exaggeratedly. This is one of those rare times where she acted cute which almost made Sabrina’s anger dissipate.
“I don’t think so. I think Sabrina is just making up excuses.” Anais shook her head and looked at her friend with a pitiful gaze.
“Urrrggggh!” Sabrina couldn’t retort to that logic. Yes, offering your tent and sleeping bag was pretty weird…
But she’s not going to have sex with him! She didn’t even know if the hatred she had for him was gone already...
How could she tell if he’d even want t—no, don’t think about it!
“I was going to offer my tent to him, you know…” Madilith said something while pouting at Sabrina, “I wanted to sleep with him… Humph!”
Sabrina patted her head with a wry smile which made her cheeks loosen a bit but her small mouth and big eyes still tried to glare and tremble in feigned rage.
“Huh, why? Hofir would’ve been angry, you know?” With knitted eyebrows, Anais inquired.
“Ah, uhm, mm….” Madilith couldn’t respond and just averted her eyes.
“What’s with that reaction?” Anais walked around Madilith and looked at her face.
“Don’t tell me… Did the two of you do it already!? Then why do you want to sleep with Al!”
Madilith looked more uncomfortable than embarrassed. Sabrina continued patting her head as if it replaced therapy.
“Here she goes again, meddling in the sex lives of her friends…” Berene smiled wryly, “Next, she’ll ask you what positions you tried, Madi. And what it feels like to have your womb kissed by your beloved.”
“W-What?! That’s not true! S-Shuddup!”
Berene chuckled snidely as she avoided Anais’ attempts to cover her mouth.
“Ah, my dear friend can never have her brother’s love or make love to him. She can only imagine all those things happening to others and self-inserting herself. So sad.”
“Shut uuuuup!”
“Hey, you aren’t going to deny anything I’ve said?”
Anais’ cry resounded as she chased Berene.
While the others were bickering, Sabrina caught herself staring back at her tent. It looked so isolated from the rest of the tents.
‘…Miss Angel isn’t with him anymore… I wonder how long he’s been travelling alone…’
It must’ve been a lonely journey for him. A journey without friends to laugh with, a journey without cheers of encouragement or company to look after his back.
Additionally, the journey was void of the cheers of encouragement that often bolster one's spirit during difficult times. Arnold looked like the kind of person who needed that right now but maybe Sabrina could… Well, he did save her life so making him feel comfortable while travelling with them should be her priority from now on.
How many obstacles had he faced singlehandedly? How many times was he knocked down without a companion to help him up? How many times was he on the verge of death’s door to achieve the level of strength he possesses today?
Sabrina was curious… She wanted to find out who Arnold really was and listen to his troubles even if she could not be there for him like he was for her.
To Sabrina, the constant awareness that she had no one to rely on for help or protection would have been a daunting reality but she had friends.
Madilith.
Evelyn.
Shirley.
Anais.
Berene.
Professor Castacia and Remri.
And all the other students who care deeply for her… All of them were there for her even if they couldn’t help her as much as he did.
…
The pair of Anais and Berene returned. Anais was still sulking as if what Berene said was true.
“Ah, it looks like those girls returned,” Berene said while looking somewhere.
Sabrina followed her line of sight.
“Huh, it looks like they did quite a bit of shopping.” Evelyn said before approaching that group who had seemingly been missing for the last two hours.
They were a small group of five comprised of only girls who carried shopping bags filled with loads of ingredients that was fit for a feast. Sabrina and the others followed after Evelyn, curious as to what they were up to.
‘Is that our class moderator Keetha…?’ Sabrina spotted a tall young woman who was ordering the other girls around like where to put the bags and to get started on rinsing the vegetables. At first glance she looked similar to Berene. Well, that’s because the two were twins. But unlike Berene, Keetha didn’t wear glasses but wore contacts instead, which made her green eyes blue.
“What’s all this about?” Evelyn asked when she arrived. The girls were already taking the groceries out of the bags and laying them on a makeshift table that was manifested with wood magic and built into a generic table with a form of engineering utility magic.
“Ah, there you girls are. We were thinking of making something special tonight so a few of us went back to the city to buy some ingredients.” The class moderator, Keetha looked back at everyone with a satisfied expression.
“Uhm, what’s the occasion?”
Everyone usually cooks their own food or go without any cooked food at all since this isn’t exactly a simple camping trip.
At Sabrina’s question, Keetha scratched her cheek, “Well, it’s for our junior Arnold… He’s going so far for all of us even though many of us treated him poorly at the academy and said some really mean things. Uhm, we haven’t told Celeste or Her Highness Olivia but some of us have been working to get him expelled from the academy. I feel like a bad person remembering what I was up to behind his back… I feel inclined to confess how I wanted to abuse my power as a moderator and former disciplinary committee member just to kick him out of the academy…”
Right… Sabrina noticed that the group of girls who were gathered here were the same girls who she used to gossip to about Arnold, which was mostly just them complaining about what a terrible person he is, or rather “used to be”.
“We could use the extra hands, girls.” Keetha said with a smile directed at the girls, “We’re cooking for the whole group of over 50, after all.”
What do you say, she asked while staring into Sabrina’s eyes.
“Uhm… Okay…”
“Uhm, I’ll have to sit this one out…” Evelyn said while smiling wryly, “It’s not that I don’t want to so don’t misunderstand. It’s just… I’m afraid I might burn something…”
“Hmm, fair enough. Miss Evelyn grew up pampered in a duchy household, after all.” Keetha said gently. Her words were implying that Evelyn never had to do things herself because her uncle’s wealth and many servants did everything for her.
Evelyn couldn’t argue with that logic since it’s true….
“I only know how to cook meat.” Shirley spoke next. It’s not that surprising since she’s a demihuman whose diet consists mostly of meat and she spent most of her childhood outdoors when hunting with her fellow tribesmen as the princess.
“That’s fine. We’ll leave the meat up to you then. It’s over on the table so you can get started right away.”
“Got it.” Shirley nodded and headed over to the table.
Besides Evelyn who had to politely excuse herself due to her inexperience in cooking, Sabrina, Madilith, Berene and Anais hurriedly began helping the others with the food. Keetha was mainly observing them and not actually participating in the cooking itself. Of course, she made sure everyone was doing everything right.
Since they couldn’t find a pot big enough to add all the ingredients in, they had to build one using magic. That required quite a lot of iron which they could’ve bought at a blacksmith but they stuck to melting all the pots they currently had in their possession. Up until now the whole group had been cooking their food separately.
A giant glob of iron was what resulted from smelting all the iron pots under high temperatures. The same magicians who made the tables tried to sculpt a big pot. Its design was very primitive, although you can’t expect much from people making a pot for the first time. It didn’t even have handles so the magicians also had to use telekinesis magic to move the pot to the big fire in the middle of the camp.
The adventurers didn’t just idly stand by during all this. In fact, many of them came up to Sabrina and the others and asked if they could assist. More hands are always welcome, Keetha replied to them before she barked orders like a squad captain in the military.
It took about an hour before the ingredients could be added into the pot. With the increase in size, reaching the pot was also difficult so the magicians had to even build multiple stepladders to allow everyone to add the ingredients whenever necessary.