Chapter 172 - Chapter 171: As an Adventurer
The third day of the third month of Fire, the second week.
About a week had passed since the meeting at the Adventurer's Guild.
The aftermath of the fake "Dispeller" incident and the Guild's scandal had been made public, but in truth, everything had not yet ended.
It was an apology from the Guild itself to Mika personally.
He had nearly been framed with nearly thirty false accusations by active Guild staff.
Moreover, due to fabricated disciplinary requests, Mika had actually been demoted.
Although it had already been corrected and the records restored to their original state, that did not mean "Is this okay now?"
Mika used money to gather information as if paying a "fame tax," caught the culprits through somewhat forceful methods, and made them confess.
But this was not something an ordinary adventurer could do.
He had been about to be crushed by the power of the massive organization known as the Guild and socially erased.
"We demand a sincere response."
Thus, he asked the Information Broker Guild to act as his proxy in negotiations, and currently, talks are being held between the respective handlers.
Since the contract stipulates that twenty percent of the amount withdrawn as "apology money" will serve as their reward, the Information Broker Guild was negotiating with great enthusiasm.
(They're going to make a huge profit this time.)
Even just from Mika's reward, it was close to eight million Rats.
There must be many people with beaming faces right now.
As for the Guild's apology to the victims of the fraud, Mika had put a temporary stop to it.
The reason was that originally, Mika's request acceptance had been suspended.
The victims knew this as well.
And yet, they jumped at the story that "We have connections, so you can get it done."
Isn't that just asking for it?
There was a prop called a forged Guild card, and since an active Guild employee was the mastermind, the Guild would bear some responsibility to a certain extent.
However, compensation for damages should be handled by Demsoric and Concorado, not the Guild. It would be strange for the Guild to do it.
Still, the Guild tried to resolve it with money, thinking "If we can settle this matter as quickly as possible," but Mika forbade it.
"If there is such money, put it into the apology money for me."
He had conveyed this to the Information Broker Guild's handler, and this is also being used as a negotiation card.
However, he did allow the circumstances of each victim to be confirmed.
In truly desperate situations, like the Lust Crest curse, there is no helping but to be deceived.
Even if they knew it was cheating, even if they knew it was wrong, they still clung to it.
For people driven to such a corner, Mika had considered helping them immediately, such as by removing the curse.
But there wasn't a single case like that.
It was all "Curse Removal" at the mansion.
There wasn't a single request that felt like "I must help immediately."
So, he decided to let the victims give up, thinking of it as a tuition fee.
Please work hard to get the lost money back from the people themselves.
When he went to report to Yaroibarov, he had already grasped most of the information.
As expected, Yaroibarov had wide connections and seemed to have heard various things from his acquaintance Information Brokers.
"Skipping straight to the Deputy Guild Master... what a scary guy."
That was the first thing said upon opening his mouth.
"If it were me, I'd have stormed the Guild headquarters and caused a riot after being treated like that. You really held out."
If Yaroibarov had caused a riot, the Guild headquarters would have been destroyed.
With the buildings included.
"Because they were so arrogant, they probably thought even such sloppy methods would be fine."
"Well, that's true."
Yaroibarov nodded happily.
He was completely enjoying it.
"I had heard that the higher-ups of the Guild were up to no good. They seemed more corrupt than I expected."
Yaroibarov crossed his arms and put on a serious face.
"I understand that when you have power, you want to use it."
Mika looked up steadily at Yaroibarov who muttered that.
"Why don't you ever act arrogant, Yaroibarov-san?"
If someone as strong as Yaroibarov, it wouldn't be strange if they were more haughty.
Of course, if Yaroibarov, whose strength was unimaginable, were such a person, Mika would never approach him.
"I've seen too many people who act arrogant or hit people to make them obey. I thought I didn't want to become like that."
He said that deeply and shrugged his shoulders.
He had said something like that before, about struggling in his childhood.
Those experiences must have raised Yaroibarov into the kind of personality figure beloved by everyone today.
On the contrary, it wouldn't be strange if he became like that himself after gaining power.
"A monk like you has a C-rank epithet at that age. It wouldn't be strange if you got conceited, would it?"
"Me?"
At Yaroibarov's words, Mika looked bewildered.
(What would happen if I got conceited and acted arrogant?)
First, I'd get beaten up by Yaroibarov.
Then, I'd be rolled around by Ozendorwa until I apologized.
Finally, I'd be dragged before the Marquis (uncle) and forced to sit in seiza while sweating profusely.
...I felt like I saw such a terrifying vision.
"I don't know if I'll be completely free of conceit... but I'll try to be as humble as possible."
"What's that?"
Yaroibarov made a strange face at Mika, who was looking down and shrinking.
But then, Yaroibarov patted Mika's head vigorously.
"Well, most of this should be settled now? Good work. You did well."
Being spoken to by Yaroibarov like that, Mika finally felt the reality that "it was over."
At home, Kistil and Nerisfeene were, of course, worried about Mika.
But the two seemed to have heard a certain amount of the story from Yaroibarov.
Of course, they blurred quite a bit so as not to worry too much, and said that if things got bad, Yaroibarov would lend a hand.
Not wanting to cause too much worry, Mika lied and said the reason he couldn't return was "work in a distant place."
It was an obvious lie from the start, but he was scolded for it after returning.
Scolded, or rather, cried at.
"...I wanted you to tell me the truth properly."
"It's truly sad to be lied to just because you don't want to cause worry. Mika-sama..."
When asked how he would feel if the same thing happened to him, Mika had no choice but to apologize.
While doing a full prostration for the first time in a while...
Fee repeatedly headbutted Mika, who was prostrating.
Fee (you), you're not involved, are you?
No, did Fee (this one) worry too?
And so, currently, Mika was hiding in the mountains.
This was a mountain located a full day's walk from the Royal Capital.
It was far from the village where they went to hunt the Agu Bear, but it was the same mountain as the one near that village.
The village was on the east side of the mountain.
And currently, Mika was on the southwest side.
Mika had also been forced to participate in the large-scale exercise held every summer as part of the Advanced Department's field training.
I'm still in the Intermediate Department...
This mountain had ordinary magical beasts.
They weren't that strong, but it was an ordinary magical beast territory where even Sou-Labi lived.
It was very dangerous, so it was a large-scale exercise with full national backing, with the Kingdom Army's knight division cooperating.
So, Mika was equipped with adventurer gear.
He usually didn't use [Physical Enhancement] during exercises (SABUGAI), but this time he was allowed to use it.
He would never stay in a magical beast territory without [Physical Enhancement] again.
The exercise this time was not attacking or defending usual bases, but orienteering.
Using the entire southwest area of the mountain, they had to visit ten checkpoints in a specified order with a map in hand.
Suppose the checkpoints were numbered one, two, three... in order if one went from the nearest checkpoint via the shortest distance.
But on the maps given to each team, the order to visit was specified differently, like seven, two, nine.
One team consisted of one mage and six knights.
The content was to visit all checkpoints within five days and return to the foothills, which was the starting point.
Also, many knights from the knight division were deployed in the mountains.
The knights patrolled specified areas to search for the academy students.
They had to move without being found by these knights.
That said, no team had ever come out without being found at all.
Even for the few teams, they seemed to be found three or four times.
And if found, a mark was made on the map, resulting in a deduction of points.
However, this was about the knights of the Knight Academy.
Mages did not have such a thing.
For mages, they were simply begged... no, strictly ordered to walk until the very end and return safely.
Since they are useless if raised in a greenhouse, they are thrown into the mountains, but it seems even just traversing this mountain is quite difficult.
On top of that, magical beasts appear, so the knights are strictly ordered to ensure the mages survive.
It seems that while there are plenty of replacements for knights (you), there are no replacements for mages.
I felt a little sympathy for the knights.
The difference in treatment is terrible...
The professional knights deployed in the mountains could also be said to be there to help the mages if necessary.
Everyone was given a whistle along with a recovery potion, and they were told to "blow without hesitation" if they were in a pinch, such as being attacked by a magical beast.
On the third day of such an exercise, before noon.
Mika's team had just arrived at the seventh checkpoint and was resting.
(Walking around in the mountains all day... If we do this for three days, fatigue will surely accumulate.)
[Heal] restores stamina, and [Physical Enhancement] is also being used.
Still, he felt the fatigue accumulating in the core of his body.
Mika looked at the map placed on his knees while gnawing on the bread and smoked meat distributed at the checkpoint.
They were also given two days' worth of rations, but slightly better meals were prepared at the checkpoints.
The rations were to be eaten when camping outside of checkpoints or in case of getting lost.
Since they could be replenished at checkpoints, they were allowed to consume them at their own discretion depending on the situation.
They had already passed seven checkpoints, so the pace was quite good.
Mika's team was progressing more smoothly than other teams because the mage (Mika) wasn't holding them back.
If they continued at this pace, they would arrive at the eighth checkpoint today, and finish walking all checkpoints on the fourth day.
However, the checkpoint they were currently at was number eight, and the next checkpoint was number two.
It was a distance of movement that was almost like descending the entire mountain.
(If I push myself, I might make it by night...? No, that's definitely pushing too hard. Since we've come this far, there's no need to push that hard.)
Depending on the leader's thinking, there was plenty of time.
It would be better to prioritize safety and aim for a sure traversal.
"Mika-kun, are you done eating?"
As Mika was drinking from his water bag, the female knight sitting next to him spoke.
This female knight was Taquila.
The only woman in Mika's team and the deputy leader.
Despite being a woman, she was a heroine who turned the muscle-bound men aside and achieved high rankings.
In this orienteering, she served as Mika's direct escort, bearing the role of taking Mika and escaping on her own judgment in emergencies.
In fact, they had been attacked by magical beasts about four times during these three days.
But all of them were repelled by the knights.
Mika was treated completely like a customer, with the attitude of "If you get tired of walking, shall I carry you?"
The knights, of course, were issued real swords.
Already in the Advanced Department, some had their own swords, and those people were allowed to use their own swords.
So, Mika also bought his own short sword and knife and was equipped with them.
Together, the two exceeded two million Rats, a decent masterpiece bought at a specialty store.
By the way, the knife he bought was not the bulky and extremely cool knife he had seen before.
Unfortunately, that one was beyond Mika's reach.
What he bought was selected with advice from experts regarding weight and center of gravity balance, fitting Mika's hand size.
However, unlike armor, it was not custom-made but a ready-made product.
Still, as expected of something chosen by experts, it was very easy to use.
Although he hadn't used it even once yet.
Mika closed the lid of his water bag and put away the map.
"Shall we go soon?"
"Ledginanser seems to be giving instructions. I think we'll start moving in a little while."
Taquila said while looking at the knight teammates.
Ledginanser was the team leader.
He was a quite large man, but apparently had a fairly gentle personality.
However, his sword skills were good, and he had courage.
He secretly thought that placing two top-ranking students on the team was probably consideration for Mika.
No matter how good results he achieved in usual exercises (SABUGAI), he was still in the Intermediate Department.
Special consideration was given so that nothing unfortunate would happen to a mage who was expected to have a bright future.
...If you are going to consider him that much, you don't have to force him to participate, you know?
Day three, night.
It was already pitch dark.
Mika's team decided to camp without pushing themselves, with plenty of margin, at a point one kilometer away from the eighth checkpoint.
Simply speaking, one kilometer, but one kilometer in the mountains is a distance that makes your head spin.
It was not a mountain road.
It was in the mountains.
Basically, since the knight division was deployed on mountain roads, they would cross sideways to avoid being found, but if they walked leisurely on the road, they would be found immediately.
Mika sat at the base of a tree and leaned his back against it.
He had already finished eating his rations and was resting with his eyes closed.
(...Ugh... I want to lie down.)
It wasn't forbidden to lie down, but Mika voluntarily avoided lying down to maintain vigilance.
If he lay down and slept, he would truly fall into a deep sleep.
No, even if he didn't lie down, he would fall into a deep sleep.
Still, perhaps the sleep was somewhat shallow, and he woke up at even the slightest sound.
He thought of this as training to be vigilant even during camping and tried not to let his guard down as much as possible.
The knight teammates were on watch in shifts, so it was somewhat safe.
Gaaaaaaah!
Uwaaaah!
Mika snapped his eyes open.
(A scream...?)
Faintly, a human-like scream could be heard.
When Mika stood up, the knights of the team were also alerting the surroundings.
"Where is it from?"
"Full perimeter alert. Is everyone here?"
"Yes, it's not us. Probably another team nearby."
As the knights tried to confirm the situation, Taquila came to Mika's side and pulled him.
"Mika-kun. You must not leave my side."
At that moment, a whistle sound of Piiiiiiiiii! was heard.
It was an emergency whistle.
Two or three whistles were being blown desperately.
While alerting the surroundings, Ledginanser was trying to grasp the situation.
"Mika-kun!"
As Mika ran towards Ledginanser, Taquila reached out to stop him.
But her hand missed.
"I'm going to help. Everyone, wait here."
"What are you saying. The knight division is heading for rescue. We should just think about protecting ourselves."
What Ledginanser said was correct for academy students' response.
But...
"Excuse me. I am not speaking as an academy student right now."
"What?"
When Ledginanser made a suspicious face, the whistle sound was heard again.
"I know I'm causing trouble. But I can't ignore it. As an adventurer."
Saying that, Mika bowed his head and immediately ran towards the dark grass.
"Ah, hey!? Wait!"
Surely, Ledginanser's team would come looking for Mika.
In this darkness.
If they were unlucky, Ledginanser's team could fall into crisis because of that.
Still, he didn't want to abandon people in crisis right now.
As Ledginanser said, the knight division might rush over, and by the time Mika arrived, everything might be over.
But there was also a possibility that Mika would arrive faster than the knight division.
Mika used "Big Ear" to find the source of the whistle sound.
While grasping the surrounding terrain with his magic range, he ran through the trees at a speed that didn't seem like he was running in a mountain.
(I'm coming! Please hold on just a little longer!)
Running through the mountains, he heard angry shouts.
(It's this way!)
Mika slightly corrected his direction of travel and increased his speed further.
After all, he couldn't fly in a place with so many academy students and knights.
Furthermore, he couldn't use obvious magic like "Stone Bullet" either.
Mika drew his short sword while running.
In recent exercises (SABUGAI), he had only used knives, but during practice sessions with the Fifth Knights Order, he was practicing fighting with short swords alongside knives.
(I found it!)
Advancing into the darkness relying on the angry shouts, he saw the light of distant torches through the trees.
Following the torches as a landmark, he saw knights standing in a semi-circle with a cliff-like wall behind them, fighting magical beasts.
Since he could hear multiple groans, it seemed some were injured.
Mika increased his speed further.
But the group of magical beasts attacking the knights seemed to have noticed Mika as well.
Several of them came towards him.
A dim battlefield with only a few torches held by the knights.
Still, Mika had a magic range and could completely capture the movements of the approaching magical beasts.
"Hah!"
He slashed horizontally the magical beast attacking from the front, cutting it in half.
It seemed all the magical beasts gathered here were small.
The number was a bit large, but it was easy for Mika.
(...If I could use magic.)
The handicap was a bit too large.
Fighting with just a short sword was a bit difficult.
If he could use "Stone Bullet," he could take down prey dozens of meters away.
But since he couldn't use that, he had to defeat the magical beasts one by one within reach.
...That's something I can't do, right?
Mika slashed upwards diagonally the magical beast that pounced on him.
At the same time, he spun around and muttered "Air Cutter" softly, cutting in half the magical beast that was trying to attack from behind.
(Obvious magic is out, but if they can't see it, it's the same as not using it, right?)
If they don't notice, it's the same as not doing it.
After all, if he attacked distant magical beasts with "Air Cutter," they would think "Isn't that weird?" but if he was almost within the range of the short sword, it should be fine... I think.
Mika slashed down the attacking magical beasts one by one and ran towards the team that was being attacked.
"Are you okay!"
When Mika spoke, a knight wearing a robe looked surprised.
"Sorry for the trouble! Are you a mage?"
"Yes!"
Mika answered while slashing magical beasts.
"Please, buy some time and use [Heal] on the injured! ...You can use it, right?"
"I'm fine! Shall I use it on you too?"
"Ah, ask me later."
It seemed there was enough margin to have such a conversation.
Until just now, they had a panicked expression with no hope of rescue, but it seems they gained mental margin now that a mage who could use [Heal] had arrived.
Mika used [Heal] on the mage who was lying in the center of the semi-circle.
Several recovery potions distributed to each person at the start of the exercise were rolling around the mage.
Had they been attacked again immediately after healing, then healed again?
Or had other injured people appeared and they used the potions?
Also, the knight watching over the mage on the side had an injury on his leg, so he healed that with [Heal] as well.
The mage seemed to have lost consciousness, but the knight returned to the battle line after his injury healed.
The team's combat power was restored.
"Sorry, you saved us."
"You're welcome. Well, I'll leave this place to you then."
"Eh?"
When Mika said that, the knight made a strange face while swinging his sword down.
"I'll charge in and crush them."
"Huh!? Hey, wait a minute!?"
The knight tried to stop him, but Mika grinned and ran straight into the group of magical beasts.
That said, there were only about ten left.
It would be done in one or two minutes.
Zashu! Zubaa!
He cut the magical beast on the diagonal right in half with his short sword while tearing apart the magical beast on the left with "Air Cutter."
Mika slipped through the magical beasts as if dancing, and blood sprayed up from the beasts each time.
"What is that..."
"Amazing... I can't see the sword."
The magical beasts swarming around the knights were dealt with, leaving only a few around Mika.
But the knights forgot to help, mesmerized by Mika's dancing fighting style.
(They say they can't see the sword, but it's not even a sword.)
When he thought he had slashed a magical beast, blood sprayed up from another magical beast at his feet.
That one was cut with "Air Cutter."
It was natural that they couldn't see the sword.
And so, around the time Mika finished all the magical beasts, the knight division arrived.
After a while, Ledginanser and the rest of Mika's team also joined.
They were extremely angry that he jumped out on his own.
After that, they thanked him for helping the knights (comrades).
And then, the orienteering on the next day.
Two people slightly ahead of Mika, two people slightly behind Mika.
(....................)
(....................)
(....................)
And on the left and right, Ledginanser and Taquila were alert to every move of Mika.
He spent a very suffocating day.
But, I finished visiting all the checkpoints on the fourth day.