Chapter 5 – Administrative Education

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Imperial Calendar, Year 431, End of April

Arthur proceeded along the corridor and came to a halt in front of the classroom. He could hear people talking from beyond the door.

It looks like they’re no different from students at the military academy in this regard.

Once he opened the door, the voice abruptly died down.

Two columns of five rows, each with long desks, had been set up inside the classroom.

“Teacher, you’re late.”

“I was kinda getting tired of waiting.”

“Forgive me for making you people wait.”

Arided and Deneb, who were sitting on the window-sided column at the last table in the back, grumbled unhappily. Arthur apologized and walked up to the teacher’s desk. Putting the book down, he looked around at the students in the classroom.

This class had six other men and women besides the twins. Mino, Layla, White, Gray, Cain, and Fay. These eight were receiving Arthur’s officer training. There were three other candidates, but two of them, Taiga and Nasul, were currently in the middle of the preparatory course because they’d been late in advancing to centurion rank. Goldi, on the other hand, turned down the offer, saying that he wished to help Chrono through technological development.

“Your face looks extremely haggard. Are you alright?”

“Is that so? Personally, I believe I’m fine…”

Arthur touched his face after having this pointed out by Mino, who was sitting in the back of the hallway-sided column.

“Would it possibly be better to lower the number of classes?”

“Since this is something I proposed myself, I cannot simply quit like that,” Arthur replied to Layla, who was sitting in the front row of the window-sided column.

Arthur handled officer training, preparatory courses, and other classes. Classes for the over five hundred veteran soldiers who had been following Chrono since Argo came to invade the Erakis March.

The trigger for this was a single beastman. One day, that beastman watched Arthur from behind a tree, seemingly wanting to say something. Once Arthur approached the beastman to find out what was going on, he was told by the beastman that he wanted to be educated. According to that beastman, he had been wanting to get an education for a while now, but he felt too embarrassed to consult with the priestess in the Ochre Temple.

Arthur could have turned him down, but seeing his tail hang weakly, Arthur’s guilt was pushed aside. When he discussed this with Chrono, he readily got permission. And once he informed the beastman, the beastman asked whether he could bring his friends as well. Arthur agreed to that happily. Of course, he didn’t consider it a mistake. But, in hindsight, he was considering it as thoughtless. Moreover, the beastman’s friends invited their friends, leading the numbers to increase quickly to a little more than five hundred people.

At this stage, Arthur could have refused it, but once he saw them happily call him Teacher, he couldn’t say anything.

Afterwards, he bowed his head at them and prepared the classes. Given that soldiers could only study on their off days, Arthur decided to hold classes in the morning and afternoon so that even those who had been on night shift duty the day before could attend. From their perspective, it was just half a day of classes once every week.

Next, Arthur obtained help from the administrative official apprentice, Vesta, in printing textbooks. Since it’d be challenging to print enough for everyone, they decided to print forty books, which included the number of people taking a class at once plus some spares, and have those books used by several people. Because templates existed already, it was easy to make the textbooks.

Momotaro, Hanasaka Jijii, Kachi-kachi Yama, the Crab and the Monkey――according to Goldi, those seemed to be Chrono’s works, but Arthur wondered why all the characters in those books experienced strangely tragic fates. He also prepared sand boxes for training to write and pebbles for learning to count――which finally rounded up all the basic preparations.

“If you like, I will assist you,” Fay offered while sitting at the front in the hallway-sided column.

“You will become increasingly busier as the territory grows in size. It would cost you your resting time,” retorted Cain next to her.

“T-That would be a problem. I am very sorry, but…”

“I will gladly accept just the feelings of wanting to help out. Well then, let us start the class. Yesterday we――”

“Thirty years ago, disturbances, ended.”

“Barbarians, driven away.”

The ones answering were White and gray, who sat behind Layla. Their quills, ink, and notebooks――all the items provided to them, were laying on the table. The notebooks were made out of the paper produced in the Erakis March. They were used for jotting down the topics broached during class.

“That is correct. The barbarians, who had invaded the Empire during its civil war, were driven into the Aleos Mountains after they lost several battles. They possess a religion and culture that differ from those in the Empire.”

“A different religion? Are you saying they do not believe in the six chief gods?”

“They believe in six-colored spirits,” Cain answered Fay’s question.

“What kind of religion is it?”

“I don’t know the details, but they basically believe that spirits dwell in stones and such. Also, they’re called barbarians by us, but their tribes have proper names. You will draw their animosity on you if you call them barbarians, so you’d better be careful.”

“Sir Cain, you seem to know quite a lot.”

“Well, they’re the ones who created the predecessor organization of the mercenary guild.”

“I see,” Fay said, full of admiration.

No wonder he’s so knowledgeable about them.

“Just as Cain says, they believe in the six-colored spirits and their tribes have their own names.”

“May I ask something?”

“Go ahead,” Arthur urged Fay after she had raised her hand.

“Why did they invade the Empire?”

“You have to know that they lost in the power struggle at the dawn of the Empire and subsequently fled into the northern Better Mountains.”

“Are you saying they came to reclaim the land they lost?”

“That’s how it is.”

“Going by what I have heard earlier, it doesn’t seem like all of them have been expelled into the Aleos Mountains…”

“Oh, good observation. This will take the story a bit out of its chronological order, but the ones called barbarians by the Empire are people who escaped into the Better Mountains. They formed an alliance over there, calling themselves the General Tribes Alliance. This became the predecessor organization of the mercenary guild.”

At that point, Arthur stopped talking for a moment.

“Back then, when the civil war started in the Empire, conflicting opinions clashed within the General Tribes Alliance. Half of them stayed back in the Better Mountains while the other half invaded the Empire. In other words, only half of them have been driven into the Aleos Mountains. And in order to prevent them from invading the Empire once more, eight nobles――including Chrono’s father Lord Chrohd――were tasked to lock them up in the southern borderlands.”

“Thank you very much.”

Layla grabbed her quill and started to write in her notebook.

“It’s kinda like there are unexpected connections in unexpected places,” commented Arided.

“Having the tables turned on you when you try to regain what was once taken from you sounds miserable,” Deneb said with a sigh.

“Getting back to the topic, they possess a culture and religion different from those in the Empire. Of course, their magic arts are included in that as well. Then again, they’re calling them curses…”

“How are they different?”

“Let’s see. When it comes to making magic tools, it’s limited to small differences like using clay tablets, but the biggest difference would be their seal arts,” Arthur answered Mino.

“Seal arts are said to be ritual magic that assimilates with the six-colored spirits. I hear they can use it by adding special tattoos to their bodies.”

“Tattoos…that sounds super painful. I kinda wanna say no to any sort of pain.”

“Hurting your own body is kinda a bit of…”

“Although they’re called tattoos, they seem to only surface when they use the ritual magic,” Arthur smiled wryly at Arided and Deneb, grimacing.

“Sir Cain, did you ever witness that?”

“I never had the chance to work with the folks of the General Tribe alliance, so no.”

“Why is that?”

“When it comes to the Empire, they’re attached to Imperial Knight Orders. I used to belong to ordinary battalions.”

“So you had no point of contact with them, huh?”

“Yep,” Cain lightly shrugged his shoulders.

“How about you, Teacher?”

“Not only have I seen it, but I even had to fight it. I suffered a crushing defeat, however…”

He narrowed his eyes with a bitter smile. He recalled the lights of six different colors dyeing the battlefield thirty years ago. It was a beautiful sight, and even though he knew that light was out to kill him, he still considered it to be pretty.

“The effects of seal arts include the reinforcement of physical abilities and the ability to use the power of the spirits corresponding to the color. For example, red stands for fire, green for wind――”

“Hmm, blue for water, yellow for earth, white for light, and black for darkness, kinda.”

“The six-colored spirits are kinda the same as the six chief gods, if you compare them.”

Arided and Deneb interrupted Arthur.

Layla spoke up, “Why did they repeatedly lose against the Empire despite possessing such strong powers?”

“There exist two reasons. First, their numbers were inferior. Second, they could only secure food through plundering.”

“They had no food on top of losing in manpower, so they had no choice but to flee, eh?”

“Speaking about lack of food, it was really tough until we got back to the Empire from Argo.”

“It was then that I fully grasped the meaning ‘you can’t fight a war on an empty stomach.'”

Mino, Arided, and Deneb looked serious.

“It was also intense when the enemy cavalry went around us and attacked us from behind in the hilly area.”

“You kinda cannot underestimate horses.”

“The ones you cannot underestimate are their cavalrymen, not their horses.”

Fay puckered her lips as she corrected Arided and Deneb.

“Still, it’s a fact that you can’t look down on the mobility of horses.”

“It is the mobility of the cavalry, not the horses.”

“Okay, okay, I got it.”

“Ugh, it is clear from your tone that you do not get it at all.”

Fay pushed out her lower lip in dissatisfaction once Cain talked to her as if trying to calm an unruly child.

At that moment, Arided yelled, “I, who had been exposed to the threat of horses, kinda thought!”

“Ohh! What did you think!?”

“If archers ride horses, it’ll kinda be the best! They’ll be able to attack from a distance while capitalizing on the horse’s mobility!”

“They’ll kinda be invincible! By the way, when did you think of that?”

“Just now, around thirty seconds ago, it kinda struck me,” Arided shrugged her shoulders bashfully in response to Deneb’s question.

“I think it’s an interesting idea, but will it be okay for us to also ride horses?”

“I kinda believe we’ll get permission if we ask Lord Chrono.”

“There are nine horses kinda left over, too.”

Layla seemed rather reserved about this, but Arided and Deneb’s attitude was brimming with indifference.

—————– End of Part 1 —————–

“”What do you kinda think, Captain Cain?””

“It’s a waste to let the horses stand around, so why not?”

“…Sir Cain.”

“What?”

He looked in Fay’s direction in response to her whispering.

“I would prefer it if you did not add to my rivals.”

“There ain’t no way they’re going to surpass you that easily.”

“You do not understand. You really do not get it! You do not understand the humiliation of being left behind by your juniors! Lady Arided and Lady Deneb are good at picking up things, so they are likely to surpass me! I can clearly see a future where I will be told, 『You’re kinda useless as a cavalrywoman, so make at least sure that the stables are clean』!”

“For the time being, I will propose it to Chrono.”

“God is dead!”

Fay shouted loudly and covered her face with both hands.

“Teacher, there’s somethin’ I’d like to try as well…”

“What is it?”

“I’d like to try makin’ what’s called alcohol.”

“Alcohol?”

“Aye. It’s the burnin’ water which Lord Chrono created,” Mino scratched his head while looking apologetic as he answered Arthur.

“Understood. I will pass it on to Chrono.”

“Thank ye very much.”

Mino bobbed his head. It was a class that you wouldn’t find at the military academy, most likely, but Arthur thought that it might not be his role to make use of their ideas.

※

The next day, Arthur quickly finished his breakfast and visited Chrono’s office. When he entered after knocking, Chrono was just pulling a troubled face while holding a paper in his hand.

“Is something wrong, Chrono?”

“I read the report from Silver. He negotiated with the residents to set up the Silver-styled three-dimensional saltpen, but apparently he couldn’t get them to give him a positive answer…”

“Ah, that sounds likely,” Arthur consented conversationally.

The Silver-styled three-dimensional saltpen was a new invention. But the idea was just too new. Arthur suspected that it’d be hard to get people to accept it.

“So, what do you plan to do about it?”

“For the time being, I’ll give up. It’s nothing, we must build right away, so I’d like to start by drawing people’s interest first.”

“And how do you intend to do that?”

“I’m going to entrust that to the lizardmen and minotaurs who are doing the construction work in the south. If the residents see them make salt and sell it for a profit, it should pique their curiosity.”

“If you’re in no hurry, it’s well worth trying it like that.”

“By the way, why did you come to my office, Teacher?”

“During yesterday’s lesson, Arided suggested a new branch in the army. She called it cavalry archers. Just as the name suggests, its members would be cavalry equipped with bows. Of course, she has obtained Cain’s agreement as well.”

“If Cain approves of it, I see no reason to oppose it.”

“Also, Mino said he wants to make alcohol.”

“Oh, really?”

Chrono’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You can make it by distilling wine and beer, but…what is it going to be used for?”

“Sorry, I didn’t ask about his reason. So, what do you think?”

“Sure, no problem for me.”

Arthur felt let down because Chrono gave his permission so readily.

“Goldi knows how to make it, so it’d be best to ask him.”

“I understand.”

Arthur turned around and left the office.

※

Arthur passed through the entrance hall and headed for Goldi’s workshop. Today was yet another day of hammering sounds coming from that place. Once he peeked inside through the front door, he saw Goldi guiding the other craftsmen. Probably having noticed his look, Goldi turned around and walked up to Arthur.

“Teacher, is something the matter?”

“Actually, during our class, it was decided that we’d make alcohol.”

“Oh, so you need the still, right? I’ll get it for you right away.”

Goldi clapped his hands together and ran up the stairs. After a while, he came back with the still――a tear-drop-shaped metal container.

“You can make alcohol with this?”

“Correct.”

Arthur accepted the still from Goldi and scrutinized it. The tear-drop-shaped still’s tip was embedded in something like a box. A pipe extended downwards from there.

“How do you use this?”

“If you pour wine or beer into this and heat it up, the alcohol will leave through the pipe.”

“Heating means you can’t use it indoors, can you?”

“I think it’d be safer not to use it inside the mansion. Ah, that being the case…”

Goldi rushed upstairs again and then came back holding a metallic cylinder.

“This is a portable stove.”

“Thank you kindly for your wonderful assistance.”

“No need to thank me.”

With those words, Goldi revealed an amiable smile. Arthur looked at the workshop anew. They produced all sorts of things, including weapons, armor, and farming tools.

※

———— End of Part 2 ————

In the evening, Arthur set up the portable stove in a corner of the garden and lit a fire.

“Teacher, you’re kinda early today.”

“What are you kinda doing?”

Two cheerful voices could be heard from behind him. Arided and Deneb knelt down next to him and stared at the stove. Probably just having finished their training, they were smeared with dust and soil.

“Today’s class is kinda cooking.”

“I will kinda take over for you.”

“Please do.”

Arthur switched places with Deneb and installed the still on the stove.

“”Hmm, what’s that?””

“It’s a still. And inside you can see wine.”

“”What a waste!””

“I also think it’s slightly regrettable, but it’s necessary to extract the alcohol.”

“I’ll kinda withdraw from here!”

“Please don’t leave me behind here!”

Arided ran away, causing Deneb to yell after her.

“Is alcohol so dangerous?”

“It’s kinda incredibly explosive. It created a wall of fire in the past!”

Arthur looked in the direction of the voice. Arided was shouting at him from behind the flowerbed.

“H-How terrible. This is so unfair. I don’t want to die yet,” Deneb complained with a whiny voice.

“I didn’t expect it to be something so dangerous,” Arthur shuddered.

Once he accidentally lowered his eyes, he spotted a drop about to fall from the tip of the pipe. In a hurry, he caught it with a cup.

“What are you doing?”

“Layla, I kinda would like you to switch with me!”

Deneb beckoned her over while staring at the still. Layla stopped right next to her and peered at the stove with curiosity filling her eyes.

“Change! It’s kinda time for a change!”

“Eh? Okay, sure.”

As soon as Layla took her spot, Deneb leaped behind the flowerbed while falling all over herself. Layla knitted her eyebrows at that while throwing some more firewood in the stove’s burner.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m making alcohol.”

Layla didn’t say anything and continued to silently add firewood. An awkward atmosphere surrounded them.

In the meantime, alcohol kept dripping from the pipe’s tip. But it was still a small amount.

“It’s kinda a chance!”

Arided yelled, jumped out from behind the flowerbed, snatched the cup from Arthur, and put a thin, burning piece of firewood into the cup.

The liquid released a blue light alongside a whoosh and then died out.

“It was pretty, but kinda shabby. I’ll give this back to you.”

Arided handed the cup back to Arthur and jumped behind the flowerbed again.

With a sigh, Arthur started to catch the alcohol with the cup again.

“Big Sis, you’re unfair.”

“You can do it as well, if you want, Deneb.”

“That’s kinda impossible,” muttered Deneb while looking at Layla.

Looking next to him, Arthur found Layla silently throwing firewood into the burner. A tense atmosphere enveloped her whole body.

‘Certainly, it looks like it’ll be impossible to steal the cup with her like this. The instant Deneb gets close, she’ll be caught.

A piece of burning wood popped.

“Sorry for bein’ late.”

“Work, busy.”

“But, still, late.”

“Ugh, I ended up being late.”

“No helpin’ it since the road patrollin’ dragged out.”

Mino, White, Gray, Fay, and Cain showed up.

“That is true, but…”

“Officer training is important as well, but there’s no way we can let our main job slide because of it, right? Rather, you’ve already graduated from the academy, and yet you still haven’t studied enough?”

“The classes at the academy were not as much fun as the classes here,” Fay pursed her lips sulkily.

“Were you taught different stuff at the academy?”

“Yes, it was completely different. The classes at the academy were similar to swordsmanship and horse-riding reviews.”

“Hey, the academy also has classroom learning, okay?” Arthur corrected her while catching the alcohol with the cup.

“There you have it. So, what sort of classroom learning was it?” Cain asked.

“I feel like we might have learned something about the consumption rate of military provisions…or maybe not…?”

“So you’ve learned nothing, eh?”

“I-I remember it now. If I am not wrong…right! We have learned the rules of nobles! Nobles must fight full of courage and put their life on the line for honor!” Fay claimed proudly.

“”That’s definitely a lie.””

Arided and Deneb retorted from behind the flowerbed.

“It is not a lie!”

“Lord Chrono’s predecessor ran away right away.”

“Some time ago, we were kinda forced to play rear guard, too.”

The two elves listlessly responded to Fay’s sullen defense.

“L-Lord Chrono stayed behind.”

“Lord Chrono is kinda special～”

“Lord Chrono is kinda an exception～”

Arided and Deneb emphasized their words.

“A bit of an amount has been collected again.”

“”We will put it on fire!””

Arided and Deneb rushed out from behind the flowerbed as soon as they heard Arthur’s mutter. But, then they stopped moving altogether. Layla was staring at them with a freezing cold glare.

“Layla, let’s have them help us with the experiment.”

“…Understood,” Layla answered after a bit.

Unexpectedly, she doesn’t seem to be the type who holds grudges. No, I guess that’s the correct way to deal with it, if you consider that she had dangerous material pushed on her.

“Arided, Deneb, please assist us,” Layla said with a sigh.

“I’ll set it on fire!”

“I’m kinda sorry for earlier.”

Arided and Deneb closed in excitedly. Arthur poured half of the alcohol into another cup――

“Here you go, Deneb.”

“Yaaay, kinda thanks, Teacher.”

“Uhh, I wanted to set it on fire as well,” Arided commented while looking frustrated after watching Arthur hand the cup to Deneb.

“Arided, you carried out the experiment earlier.”

“I kinda know that, but still…”

Arided pursed her lips sulkily, but didn’t say anything beyond that. Arthur placed the cup on the ground and put the pipe into it. Then he stood up and took some distance from the stove.

“The cup is set up! Layla, set it on fire!”

“…There you go.”

Deneb put her cup on the ground, shouting. Layla handed her a burning twig. As soon as Deneb slowly brought the twig close to the cup, a blue fire quickly lit up with a whoosh, causing Deneb to ooh in admiration.

———– End of Part 3 ———–

“Back when Captain did it, it blazed up even more furiously, though…”

“It might kinda be a question of quantity.”

“When it comes to securing such an amount, it takes time and effort, you know?”

“If it takes so much time and effort, it would be better to simply use oil.”

“Wouldn’t it be fine to stock up on it regularly?”

“Lamp oil, replacement.”

“But, expensive, problematic.”

Mino, Deneb, Layla, Fay, Cain, White, and Gray all gave their opinion. Arthur felt deeply satisfied when he saw his students actively commenting on the experiment.

At that moment, he heard a loud gulp. Turning around while wondering what was going on――

“Ugh! My throat…my throat is kinda on fire!”

――he just saw Arided collapsing while holding her throat. Something touched his toes. Reflexively looking down, he noticed that a cup had rolled over.

Deneb ran over and lifted Arided up in her arms.

“What did you do!?”

“…I kinda drank the alcohol.”

“You knew it was dangerous, so why did you drink it anyway!?”

“Out of curiosity.”

“Sis…you’re such an idiot!”

Deneb yelled after a brief moment.

“You kinda don’t need to be so angry. Uugh, my body is starting to feel hot.”

“Don’t tell me…it’s poisonous!?”

“Fay, use your divine arts!”

“As you command! Oh Goddess, I beseech you for a miracle of detoxification!”

After Cain’s shout, Fay knelt down next to Arided and prayed to her goddess. As she held up a hand, something similar to darkness overflowed from it with a gurgling sound.

“S-Somehow that looks a lot more like a poison!”

“H-How rude of you!”

Fay raised her voice in objection to Arided’s comment.

“My tummy somehow feels hot.”

“Hey, it’s not workin'”

“No way! It is a poison that is resistant to divine arts!?”

Seeing Arided holding her belly, Cain and Fay became flustered.

“I never expected I’d die in a place like this after having survived all those gruesome battlefields.”

“Sis, stay strong! Don’t leave me alone!”

“It was a worthless life, but I was kinda rewarded by being allowed to meet Lord Chrono,” Arided said with an elated voice. “My only regret is that I kinda wanted to be the godparent of Lord Chrono and Layla’s child. Seeing how it’s their child, how about kinda naming it Chrolela?”

“Not happening,” Layla bluntly refused.

“It feels kinda like it’s related to the color green and it has a healthy vibe, and yet it’s no good?”

“Please come up with a proper name.”

“You not going along with the flow even under such circumstances is just what I’d kinda expect of you,” Arided peacefully closed her eyes. “Once I die, I’d kinda like you to finish my book. It’s proof of my existence…”

“It’d be better to stop. I mean, going by the title, it’ll be a misprint. Your name will remain in history as a prime example of an idiot. I…I don’t want to be known as the younger sister of a huge idiot.”

“Who’s a prime example of an idiot!?”

Arided quickly raised her body in response to Deneb’s sorrowful remark. But, probably because the poison had started to spread, she fell back down once again. White and Gray howled in grief.

Just then, the entrance door of the mansion opened, and Chrono stepped out, coming over to them.

“What are you guys doing over here?”

“Lord Chrono! It’s terrible!”

“Arided drank some alcohol!”

“Please behead her cleanly!”

“One of you is kinda trying to kill me!”

Layla, Mino, and Fay ran up to Chrono while Arided screamed behind them.

“Beheading, you say… That’s way too exaggerated for just having drunk some alcohol.”

“She won’t die?”

“Alcohol is the component in wine that makes you drunk. Of course, if you drink too much of it, your life will be in danger, but if it’s just a bit, it should be okay.”

Everyone except for Chrono and Arided sighed in relief.

“I-I seriously won’t die? I’d hate to be all swollen in the morning or something like that!”

“You’re truly going to be alright. If you’re that worried about it, I can drink some of it as well, if you want?”

“It’s not necessary for you to go that far,” Arided lifted her body while feeling relieved.

※

———– End of Part 4 ———–

The next evening, Arthur immediately felt something off when he entered the classroom. Usually, Arided and Deneb would call out to him, but that didn’t happen today. He was sure something must have happened.

As he let his eyes wander, he found the elven twins sitting limply in their chairs in the last row on the window side. Moreover, although Cain and Fay were present, Mino, White, and Gray were absent. Guessing that their regular work might be dragging out, Arthur went up to the teacher’s desk and opened his book.

“Are you two okay?”

“M-My back hurts.”

“M-My thighs are swollen.”

The two answered with groans. Arthur quickly looked at the front row on the window side――where Layla was sitting. She looked exhausted as well.

Maybe――

“Has your horse-riding training started?”

“We got permission from Lord Chrono, so yes,”

“I thought I’d be able to get on a horse easily, but how wrong was I.”

“There kinda was a time when I thought so as well.”

The three girls squeezed out their replies. Then Arided spoke up, looking troubled.

“And here I kinda wanted to test something.”

“What is it that you kinda wanted to test?”

“It’s kinda a new tactic.”

“Is this also something you came up with after thinking about it for around thirty seconds?”

“How rude! This time I kinda thought about it for a bit before going to sleep!”

“You seemed to be asleep after around five minutes, though.”

“You’re getting ruder by the minute!”

Arided raised her voice, but Deneb only answered this with ignorance. Silence filled the classroom――

“Why aren’t you saying anything? Don’t you kinda want to hear about my new tactic?”

“…What sort of tactic is it?”

“It’s a secret finishing move I realized when we launched a night attack on Argo! Its name is 『Pretending to have escaped』!”

Arided proudly explained after Deneb asked her, looking annoyed.

“We will first attack the enemy! Naturally, the enemy will pursue us! If the enemy is in pursuit, we will randomly engage them and then kinda run away! While we continuously flee…we will lure the enemy into an ambush! There we will attack the enemy with all our forces! This will kinda spell total annihilation for the enemy! I kinda might be a genius! Uuuooooh!”

Arided thrust her fist high up in the air, but――

“Being able to get on a horse kinda comes first,” Deneb reigned Arided in with a sigh.

“Deneb, you promised that you wouldn’t tell anyone,” Arided murmured sorrowfully, probably having been dragged back to reality.

Suddenly, Layla sighed.

“Do you think we will be able to get on a horse at this rate?”

“Three have good aptitudes. The other six are so-so,” Cain commented with a wry smile.

“Good aptitudes? You think so?”

Fay sighed deeply.

“But when it comes to using the bow while riding a horse…”

“Indeed! Handling archery while mounted on a horse is difficult!”

Cain sighed while casting a sidelong glance at Fay.

“Well, you see, I think you should hide your true feelings a tiny bit more.”

“…Yes, I guess you are right.”

Just as Fay replied, looking downhearted, the classroom door opened.

“Sorry for bein’ late.”

“Fur, burn, sad.”

“Vase, broke.”

Mino, White, and Gray entered the classroom, causing Arthur to widen his eyes somewhat.

“All three of them are totally scorched!”

“You mustn’t laugh at them!”

Deneb chided Arided, who was guffawing. As Arided said, the three had burn marks on their fur. Considering it from the point that the training for the archer cavalry had already started, the three had obviously used the alcohol for experiments.

The three sat down on the usual seats, dispirited.

“Now that everyone is present, let us start the class,” Arthur calmly announced, opening the book once again.

※

“Very well, we will end today’s class at this point.”

“Stand up!”

As soon as Arthur closed his book, Mino raised his voice. Everyone stood up from their chairs.

“Attention! Salute!”

Following Mino’s instructions, the students placed their right fists on their left chest――initiating the formal salute of Cepheus’ imperial army. Arthur straightened his back and returned the salute. After keeping it like that for several seconds, he lowered his hand again.

“Everyone, good work.”

“””””””Thank you for the class!”””””””

Arthur smiled, picked up his book, and left the classroom. He heard clattering behind him, but not a single student left. Instead, he could hear them talking. Unconsciously, Arthur started to smile. Today was over with this. All that was left was going back home.

As he walked through the hallways while rejoicing over that, someone called out to him.

“I beg your pardon.”

“What is it?”

“Master wishes to consult you on something, so he said he would like you to come to his office.”

“…Understood. I will be right there,” answered Arthur after thinking about it for a moment.

It wasn’t because he didn’t want to go home. Rather, he was curious why Chrono would call out to him at this time. He couldn’t come up with a reason by himself, so it’d be the quickest to simply ask Chrono directly.

He climbed the stairs and headed to Chrono’s office, located on the fourth floor. Once he knocked on the door――

“Come in!”

As soon as he heard the voice, Arthur entered the office.

Chrono was facing his desk, his eyebrows knitted into a troubled expression. Arthur stopped several steps away from the desk.

“Forgive me for calling you over when you’re tired.”

“Don’t worry about it. So, what is the matter?”

“Actually, I received a letter from Sir Taur. He said it was decided for him to fight the barbarians in the Aleos Mountains and thus he’s asking for our assistance…”

“Could I have a look at it as well?”

“Of course.”

Arthur shortened the distance even further and took the letter from Chrono. The content wasn’t written on parchment, but paper, or to be precise, plant paper.

How strange. Only documents written on parchment are regarded as official in the empire. It’s unthinkable that he’d send a private letter while trying to ask for assistance in battle.

Reading the content, he almost yelped. It basically stated that Taur’s son, Gaur, was dispatched to the southern borderlands after receiving orders to subjugate the barbarians.

I see. So he deliberately chose to send a letter so as to leave Chrono some room to decline, huh?

“What do you think?”

“I believe Taur holds no ill will. However, there were no rumors about a barbarian subjugation when I was in the capital, so I suspect there might be some more to this than it seems.”

“I see.”

Chrono folded his arms, brooding.

“I think it’s also an option to turn him down if you feel unsure. Taur purposely sent you a letter for that reason.”

“I’d really love to do just that, but I owe Sir Taur a lot.”

Taur, sighed Arthur in his mind. It’s not like I can’t understand his feelings, but with this, he gave Chrono little choice.

※

Just like this it was decided that Chrono would head to the battlefield once more.

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