Chapter 7: The Descendants of Adventurers

Chapter 7:
The Descendants of Adventurers

 

WHEN LEON’S PACKAGE arrived at Holfort Academy, Angie and Livia were there to receive it.

“I wondered why we hadn’t heard from him in so long,” Angie said. “He actually sent us souvenirs.”

She opened the box happily to find tea leaves and other products young ladies might find appealing. There were also letters tucked inside. Livia read the one addressed to them.

“Angie!” she exclaimed. “It looks like Mr. Leon has gotten himself into some trouble. And he wants us to deliver letters to the king and queen.”

“What?”

Angie scanned the letter herself. There were a few words of love at the top, but after that, Leon spoke solely of the problems in the republic. He’d asked them to deliver a couple of letters to Roland and Mylene on his behalf, hoping they would help to sort it out.

Angie turned to Cleare, hovering forlornly in the middle of the room.

“I see he didn’t send me anything,” sniffed the robot. “I can’t believe it. After all the hard work I’ve done.”

“Cleare, had you heard about this already? Weren’t you in charge of exchanging letters between us?”

“Luxion went silent, so I don’t know what’s going on. I assume there was a problem.”

Angie pressed her hand over her lips. “What could have happened? And why would he send several letters like this? It troubles me that he didn’t give us any details.”

Livia plucked out the letters intended for the king and queen, looking anxious. “Should we take a peek?”

“As much as I would like to, Leon must have his reasons for preparing separate letters. We should take them to Their Majesties right away.”

Cleare spun in circles. “Hmm, I’m skeptical. Knowing Master, I doubt there’s a deeper meaning. The letter for Roland is probably just an offensive nastygram, while the letter for Mylene is probably a love note. Or at least his best attempt.”

Livia’s face went blank. She glanced between the letters. “I think that would be a bit inappropriate.”

Angie chuckled. “He’s already engaged to us. You really think he has the courage to pen a love letter to Her Majesty and make us deliver it? If he had the guts to do something so stupid, I’d almost admire him for it.”

She might have been laughing, but there was nothing amusing about this situation.

“Yeah, I’m sure that good-for-nothing wouldn’t have the nerve to pull it off,” Cleare added, sensing the tension. “Anyway, if there’s something going on, maybe we should make some preparations?”

“What do you mean?” Livia asked.

“Bet you’re curious, huh?” Cleare responded gleefully. “After the Einhorn’s construction, there were a lot of spare parts left over. Luxion kept them for maintenance, but we can use those to build a second ship. Since it’ll basically be Einhorn 2.0, I think we should call it the Licorne. We’ve collected some interesting equipment that I’d like to try out as well.”

“Uh, okay.”

Livia ended the conversation on an awkward note, unable to keep up with Cleare’s passionate rambling. She and Angie took the two letters that Leon had entrusted to them.

“Let’s get these delivered quickly,” said Angie. “…And hope that nothing bad happens to Leon in the meantime.”

 

***

 

My package should be arriving in the kingdom around now…

Meanwhile, I had taken an extended break from school. I had no interest in showing up to be bullied, and no one complained about my lack of attendance.

Instead, I went to Marie’s estate to speak with Brad.

“Apologies,” he said. “I understand I’ve caused you a great deal of trouble.”

“Your injuries were pretty serious,” I said. “But you seem to be healing up quickly.”

“Marie has used her healing magic on me every night. I feel a little guilty, but it’s a nice perk.”

I frowned. “I’m not interested in hearing about your love life.”

“Oh? That’s unfortunate.”

If he was bragging, then obviously his condition wasn’t too serious—although his wounds still looked pretty gruesome. Marie had told me that his initial condition had been pretty damn severe. If he’d been any worse off, she wouldn’t have been able to heal him with magic.

Pierre and his flunkies really hadn’t held back.

Unsurprisingly, that was what I’d come to discuss. “Brad, the guys who hurt you, were they pretty strong?”

Brad pulled a face. “Honestly, they were pushovers. I even had the advantage in melee, and their magic was clumsy. Amateurish. I thought I couldn’t lose.”

That was really saying something. Brad was terrible in close combat—even worse than me. If these guys were weaker than Brad, that made me question the actual strength of the republic’s nobility.

“They started using magic, so I responded in kind. But at some point, my spells stopped working.”

“Stopped working? You mean you couldn’t cast them properly?”

“No, it was like the spell stopped…responding. It just disappeared. I had no problem calling on mana, but it felt like something, somewhere, was cutting me off. And Pierre’s magic was insanely powerful. He conjured these roots from the ground and manipulated them at will. Only a very skilled mage could accomplish such a thing, but I don’t think he possesses that level of power. It was so strange.”

My guess was Brad didn’t know about the protections the Sacred Tree could afford.

“Gotcha. Well, thanks for the info.” I stood and turned to leave. “You should focus on healing up.”

“Bartfort,” Brad called after me. “Are you scheming?”

“What makes you think that?”

“You don’t take this sort of thing lying down. If you are planning something, then you should know: Those guys have something else up their sleeve, I’m sure of it.”

“I’ll be careful. You just hurry up and get better.”

I stepped out of his room and found Marie waiting for me in the hallway, a notebook clutched to her chest.

 

***

 

Marie held her notebook out toward me. There were dark circles under her eyes. She had clearly pulled an all-nighter.

“I-I wrote down everything I can remember,” she blurted out. She kept her head down, refusing to meet my gaze.

Part of me wanted to chastise her for not putting in the effort to do that before we got here, but a quick perusal of the notebook revealed some interesting tidbits. “Looks like you actually worked hard at this.”

“I did!” she said eagerly.

She wasn’t just blowing smoke up my ass either. There was some good information in here, like how an oath to the Sacred Tree allowed a crest-bearer to draw even more energy from it. That must be how Pierre had beaten Brad so easily.

There was also stuff about the crests themselves. The strongest ones were bestowed on the Guardian and the Priestess, followed by the ones given to the Six Great Houses. It went on to describe the ones given to the other nobles and how a person’s status was dictated by their crest. Nobles were only nobles here because of the Sacred Tree’s blessing. It was easy enough to follow.

“This is pretty good information.” Some of it would prove quite useful in reaping my revenge on Pierre.

“Um, what are you going to do, Big Bro?” Marie asked, fidgeting.

She was walking on eggshells. It seemed my teasing had gone a bit overboard. I smiled, hoping to relieve her anxiety. “That should be pretty obvious. I’m going to get even with Pierre. And I’ll make sure the Alzer Republic learns its place. They can’t keep acting like this.”

Especially because we couldn’t go home yet. Not while we still hadn’t dealt with the world-ending danger of the sequel.

I’d been trying to reassure Marie, but instead she teared up and started trembling violently. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she babbled.

Where’s this coming from?!

Julius rushed over, having spotted us. “Marie! Are you all right?!”

I pulled a face, knee-jerk disgusted with him. “There he is, our idiot prince.”

Julius threw an arm in front of Marie, trying to shield her from me. “Bartfort, I understand I am partially responsible for this mess, but please stop putting so much stress on Marie! If you have something to say, say it to me!”

Oh, yes. How swoon-worthy. If I were a girl, he’d probably have swept me right off my—yeah, no way in hell.

“Really?” I asked. “Then how about I put you to work?”

“Wh-what?”

Jilk peeked into the hallway. “Your Highness! Marie! I’m glad to see you’re all right.”

“Perfect.” I jerked my thumb at him. “Green can tag along too.”

“Pardon?” Hearing the noise, Chris poked his head out into the hall as well. He must have been practicing again, because he was naked from the waist up and covered in sweat. “What in the world is going on here?”

I peered at him, debating whether he or Greg would be the better pick. Ultimately, Greg wasn’t here, so that made the decision for me.

“Okay, Blue, you’ll be coming too. Marie, I’m taking these three with me.”

“What are you going on about?!” Julius snapped.

Marie nodded, unconcerned by my demands. “That’s fine. What are you going to do?”

The boys gaped at her. “Uh, Marie?!”

I ignored them, rolling the notebook up and smacking my shoulder. “We’re going to raid the republic’s dungeon and get our hands on some treasure.”

Marie’s eyes lit up. “Treasure!”

Julius and the others were just as excited. They were pathetic, sure, but they were still the descendants of adventurers. The word “treasure” was more than enough to get their blood pumping.

“I have no idea what’s going on, but I cannot ignore such talk.”

“Your Highness, we should prepare to depart!” Jilk had completely changed his tune. He was just as excited as the others.

Even Chris was acting like a child on a field trip. “I brought a sword for just such an occasion. I shall fetch it at once. Bartfort, when do we leave?”

I wish I shared their enthusiasm. I snorted. “Give me some time. I need to go lay the groundwork at the academy and secure us a guide.”

Marie tilted her head. “A guide?”

“Right. There’s a professor who knows a lot about the dungeons here, remember?”

 

***

 

It had been a while since I’d set foot in the academy. Everyone gawked at me, even the teachers. At least, until they came to their senses and averted their eyes. Just went to show how the Six Great Houses held sway over everyone else.

I strolled down the middle of the hallway. Everyone was so anxious to avoid me that they scrambled out of the way.

Hey, this isn’t half-bad actually.

“Now to find Professor Narcisse.”

He was the reason I’d come. Narcisse was the only member of the faculty who was also a love interest. His field was dungeons and ruins, so his classes emphasized fieldwork. The course was a special elective, so Narcisse was more of a researcher than an actual professor.

Although he aspired to be an archaeologist, Narcisse was actually a descendant of one of the Great Houses. Consequently, he didn’t have as much freedom as he might have liked. In the original game, he helped the protagonist using his skills.

So why shouldn’t he help us too?

As I headed to his classroom, I bumped into Miss Louise.

“Leon?!” she gasped.

I waved. “Heya, it’s been a while. Mostly ’cause Pierre kinda stole my ship.”

I tried to downplay the severity of the matter, but her eyes narrowed.

“Come with me.” She grabbed me by the arm and dragged me into an empty classroom. “Tell me exactly what happened. I wanted to ask sooner, but none of you have shown up for school. Even Noelle refuses to attend. I can only assume this has something to do with her.”

I tried to keep it simple. “That piece of shit Pierre tricked the others into making an oath with the Sacred Tree and swiped my ship. As for Noelle, Loic cornered her with a collar and started on his spiel about wanting her all for himself. She’s staying at my place for her own protection.”

Louise relaxed. “Now I understand. I will speak with my father. You can leave Pierre and Loic to me.”

Sure didn’t expect the villainess to have such a compassionate side. I shook my head. “It’s not that simple. We’ll just end up looking like fools. I am the Hero of Holfort, you know. Brad, the guy Pierre injured, is the former heir of a noble house. And Pierre left marks on everyone’s necks too, including the former crown prince.”

Honestly, thinking about that collar-like engraving on Marie’s neck made my blood boil.

Miss Louise’s expression tensed. “I understand, but Pierre is a descendant of one of the Six Great Houses. You cannot win against him.”

All right, I admit, I might have been listing the reasons why I couldn’t let this go, but none of those were my real reason for going after him. “Let me put it this way,” I said. “He picked a fight with me, and I’m going to get even. He’ll regret having ever messed with me. Now, would you mind pitching in?”

Hopeless as it was, it was worth asking.

Louise hesitated for a moment, and then, much to my surprise…

“All right, but I would like you to refrain from doing anything too risky.”

“It might not look like it, but I’m pretty good in a fight.”

“I will take your word for it. Now, what would you ask of me?”

“I’d like you to introduce me to someone. Also…”

When Louise heard my second request, her jaw dropped.

 

***

 

Miss Louise guided me to a building with specialized classrooms. Eventually, we found Narcisse Calce Granze lounging on a sofa in one of the prep rooms. The whole place was buried in documents, with no clear way through.

Exasperated at the state of it, Miss Louise banged on the open door to rouse him.

“Won’t you please get up, Professor Narcisse?”

He shot upright at the noise. Narcisse had ashen gray hair that fell loosely down his back, and his face was stubbled. Stains covered his threadbare shirt but, underneath the shabby clothing, he was tall, even slender and toned. Exhaustion lined his face, but he still looked plenty handsome.

Narcisse reached for his glasses on the coffee table and then turned his gaze toward us. “Ah, if it isn’t Louise. Rare to see you here.”

Seemed like the two of them were acquainted.

“I brought a guest.”

“A guest. For me?”

“A pleasure to meet you,” I said. “I am Leon, one of the exchange students. Actually, I came here hoping to talk about dungeons—”

Before I could finish my sentence, Narcisse leaped to his feet and threw his arms around me. “I’ve been waiting for you, adventurer!”

“Uh, what?”

I was so confused. As he hugged me, the cloying stench of alcohol flooded my nose. Miss Louise was kind enough to help me pry him off.

“Narcisse, what is the meaning of this?!” She had given up referring to him as a professor, but he didn’t seem to mind.

“Oh, sorry about that. I’ve just been looking forward to this day, ever since I heard there would be exchange students this year. Students in Holfort are also adventurers, aren’t they? If you decide to explore one of our dungeons, I’m sure you’ll accomplish great things.”

Jeez, he sure had passion for his hobbies.

“You’re not busy with anything else right now, are you?” I asked.

“Hm? Well, I suppose not. I’ve only just returned from exploring some ruins. I figured the academy would scold me if I didn’t come back to teach soon.”

“You know that no one enrolled in your class this year, right?”

“Really? Well, that’s not good. My salary from the school is the only way I can fund my archaeological exploits.”

He sure is lackadaisical. And he doesn’t seem to know anything about the situation at the school.

“Anyway, Professor,” I said. “Would you listen to what I have to say?”

“Oh, just a moment. I’ll prepare some tea. I think I left my tea set over here…” He stumbled over something, and an avalanche of documents fell on top of him. “Pl-please save me.”

I glanced over at Miss Louise. “Are you sure he’s from one of the Six Great Houses?”

“That’s right. Narcisse the Eccentric. The younger generation might make light of him, but I hear he’s an exceptional scholar.”

I glanced at the mound of papers he was buried under. It wasn’t hard to see why they thought this guy was a weirdo. Exasperated, the two of us set about digging him out.

 

***

 

Once we’d excavated the professor, I explained the situation. When I told him about our conflict with Pierre, he seemed genuinely apologetic.

“I don’t quite know what to say. It’s terrible. Allow me to apologize on behalf of the Great Houses.”

“Why didn’t you guys do something about Pierre sooner? From what I’ve heard, he’s been a problem for a while.”

Narcisse frowned. “Calling us the Six Great Houses makes us sound like a collective, but in fact, each family is more like royalty in their respective regions. That may seem unimportant, but if I were to reprimand Pierre, his family would interpret it as outside political interference.”

The republic was basically like a collection of countries united under the Sacred Tree. Perhaps this kind of problem was inevitable.

Whatever, none of that has anything to do with me.

“I’ll deal with Pierre,” I said. “Now, how about that favor I asked?”

“You mean clearing out the dungeon in the Lespinasse Region? I’d be delighted, but it’s quite dangerous. The closer you get to the Sacred Tree, the tougher the dungeons are. And the dungeon in Lespinasse is practically at the base.”

“Not a problem.”

“I still wish you would refrain from doing anything so obviously dangerous,” Miss Louise interjected. “You do seem pretty confident, but it’s not good to overestimate your abilities.”

Ah, if only this woman were my older sister instead of that jerk.

Jenna and Finley wouldn’t have worried for my safety. If anything, they would just demand I bring something back for them. Tears welled in my eyes.

“Wh-what’s wrong, Leon? Why are you crying?”

“I’m just touched. Not often a girl says something so kind.”

I had Angie and Livia now, but my first year in Holfort Academy had been miserable. Nothing short of torture.

I wiped my tears away with my sleeve. “So, Professor Narcisse, will you guide us?”

He crossed his arms and thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “All right. I will be your guide. However, I want the remuneration you promised. I am running out of funds for my research, after all.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll pay you everything you’re owed. Republic dungeons have a reputation for being full of treasure. I’m looking forward to this.”

That wasn’t a lie—I really was excited. This would be a good opportunity to get my hands on magic stones and other valuable resources. I was going to work the idiot squad to the bone.

“In that case, shall we set off immediately?” I asked.

“Pardon?”

I grinned and grabbed the professor by the arm, dragging him out of the room. Miss Louise stared blankly after us.

“When I get back, I hope you’ll help me out,” I called back to her.

“Y-yes, of course.”

A thin smile crept onto my face. Pierre, you are going to regret the day you ever crossed me.

 

***

 

A number of lovers were enjoying their lunch break in the school courtyard, including Lelia and Emile. It was nevertheless obvious from the expression on Lelia’s face that her mind was elsewhere.

Where could Noelle have gone? Her older sister had yet to return home. She was worried for her, but she was also annoyed. Why is she hesitating? She should hook up with Loic and be done with it.

Emile could see she was distracted. “What is it, Lelia?” he asked, concerned. “Has Miss Noelle still not come back?”

She flashed him a smile. “Um, no, not yet. I’m sure it’ll be fine. I just wish she would contact me.”

Emile frowned. “I have heard some disturbing things lately. I know Loic has feelings for Miss Noelle, but I hope that Pierre doesn’t do anything cruel to her.”

“Yeah. My sister is really stubborn. If she’d just quit playing games and agreed to go out with Loic, all of this would be solved.”

Lelia was doing her best to hook them up, and to that end, she had given Loic all kinds of advice.

“Don’t you think Loic’s behavior has been a bit strange lately?” Emile asked. “The atmosphere around him is kind of…terrifying.”

He recognized the danger that Loic posed, but Lelia wouldn’t have it.

“Seriously? I think he’s just panicking because things aren’t going his way. He’s not that scary, he’s just a little possessive.”

Emile pulled a face. “If he’s just a little possessive, then I suppose it’s not my place to say anything, hm?” He peeled his gaze away from Lelia, only to notice Leon dragging Narcisse across the courtyard. “That’s unusual. The exchange students haven’t been here for a while. I wonder where he’s taking Professor Narcisse?”

Lelia’s eyes went wide with surprise as she stared at Leon. She even dropped the bread she was eating, although she was too preoccupied with her thoughts to realize. “Is he…?”

 

***

 

We boarded a small airship and set sail for the Lespinasse dungeon. When we reached it, there was a sign outside forbidding entry, but we pushed it aside. Thanks to Narcisse, we already had permission for our little venture. All we had to do was mention he was a member of the Six Great Houses, and we were free to go in.

“What great weather,” exclaimed Julius. “The perfect day for an adventure!”

“Yes, Your Highness!” Jilk eagerly agreed, checking the rifle on his back.

Narcisse adjusted the straps of his rucksack and gazed up at the sky. “No, it’s cloudy today.”

Julius grinned. “It’s a matter of perspective, Professor.”

“Uh, no. I don’t think the weather has anything to do with perspective!”

These guys were really enjoying themselves.

Chris had brought several different swords and was trying to decide which he should take inside. “Maybe I should go with this one? But this one’s not bad either… Oh, forget it! I’ll just take both!”

I think these guys are mistaking this dungeon exploration for a picnic. Why couldn’t they just put themselves in my shoes for once? You know, as the high commander of huge morons.

“If you’re finished?” I said. “Let’s get a move on.”

I had a portable terminal with me that resembled a smartphone. I used it to pull up a map of the area. Static raced across the screen. Interference caused by the Sacred Tree, maybe?

Professor Narcisse peeked over my shoulder. “Oh? The kingdom sure does employ some curious tools.”

“Oh, this? It’s a Lost Item. Pretty handy. I thought I’d make some use of it.”

“A Lost Item?! That is incredible. I would love to take a closer look, if you don’t mind.”

“If by ‘closer look’ you mean disassembling it, then no. I’d like to keep it in one piece.” I slung a heavy bag and shotgun over my shoulder. “Now let’s head inside.”

Narcisse frowned. “Leon, mind telling me why you brought explosives?”

I tilted my head. “Isn’t that obvious? Because we’ll need them.”

“I am knowledgeable enough about gunpowder,” Jilk assured him. “You needn’t worry. We’ll make sure none of the treasure is harmed.”

“That’s not the problem. There are ruins in this dungeon! You can’t just go blowing the place up!”

Julius laughed. “Don’t worry. We’ll do our best not to destroy anything. After all, damaging the treasure would hurt its value.”

“I hope you mean its historical value! Do you boys understand the importance of these ruins?”

I chuckled. “I’ve got this. If the others get out of hand, I’ll step in. Besides, our objective isn’t the ruins. We’re looking for something else.”

That “something else” was a key item that would normally have no effect. Besides moving the game’s story along, it was practically useless. However, this wasn’t a game anymore. And that meant this item would be extremely useful.

Narcisse frowned. “Something else you say?”

I ignored his questioning look and kept walking. “Time to get down to business! Keep your wits about you, chumps!”

Julius, Jilk, and Chris crowed with excitement.

“That does not inspire confidence,” Narcisse mumbled, hanging his head.