There's a Job I'd Like Done
"Go, go, go, go!"
"Kyaaaaaah!"
"Uwaaaaaaah—!"
— Thud!
On the screen, the chest of the last swordsman still fighting alone was run through by a blade.
And at that same moment—
Evaluation complete.
A clear message floated into view.
"———!!!"
A massive roar of cheers shook the entire hall.
—From the Class A cadets.
"We won! We won!"
"That's what I'm talking about!"
"Kwahahahaha!"
The electric joy of victory swept through them. Blood surged as if it might punch straight through the tops of their skulls. Their brains felt like they were boiling over. The Class A cadets tangled together in a heap, throwing their arms around one another and dancing in place.
Leon was no different.
"Yeeeeeeeeeah!!!"
"H-huh…?!"
He shot to his feet, scooped up Celia beside him, and spun her around and around right where he stood. Honestly, detonating himself alongside Billy and leaving the rest to Class A had been half a gamble.
And it had paid off — so of course he was thrilled.
It had been razor-close, and luck had smiled on them more than once. But none of that mattered. Victory was right, and winning was always a joy.
The duel between Carotin and Esabel had ended with surprising emptiness. The two of them had been locked in a dead heat — so fierce that the spectators' palms went slick with sweat and their eyes burned dry from staring too long. But even that had gone on too long. In the end, Class A seized the momentum, drove the Class B cadets out, and piled onto Esabel with sheer numbers to finish it.
The hollow look on Esabel's face in that final moment was a highlight Leon would carry in his head for a very long time.
Class A's ability to seize the upper hand owed a great deal to their superior gear. Or you could say it was thanks to Carotin holding out so well against a powerhouse like Esabel. Either way—
They had won.
Push the stray thoughts aside and just enjoy it for now.
While the Class A cadets went completely wild, the crowd in the waiting room drained away like a receding tide. Those who had been eliminated early and had been sitting around the whole time offered a few polite claps and filed out. Emptiness, relief, bitterness, regret, pride — every face wore something different and complicated. Some accepted it. Some were satisfied. Some burned with anger. Some simply felt hollow.
But what could they do? The path of the process had already been walked; all that remained ahead was the result. How you took that result was yours alone. You could let it slide past without feeling much of anything. You could collapse and cling to despair. Or you could rearm yourself and set out on the next road.
In the end, it was a choice.
About five minutes later, even the Class A cadets lost in their frenzy found the dopamine wearing off.
"Haa… haa… Okay, that's enough…"
"Everyone get off… You all smell like sweat…"
"Ugh! I want to wash up already!"
Drained of strength, they began peeling away one by one. A victory party wouldn't have been out of place — but—
"Later. We'll do it later."
They were exhausted, filthy, hungry, and desperate for sleep. In that total wreck of a state, who had the energy for anything else? They were already at the point where another potion would tip them into toxicity. Rest came first. Class A agreed to celebrate another time. They greeted the last of their comrades emerging from the Tower of Illusions, said their goodbyes, and scattered.
Leon, who had burned through every last drop of his ocean-deep stamina, returned to the dormitory and collapsed into sleep.
The next morning.
Leon woke in excellent spirits, washed up, got ready, and left the dormitory. With the exam over, they had a holiday stretching through the weekend — but he was heading out to check the scores that had been tallied overnight.
He strolled toward the first-year main building. A few other cadets who had likewise come out early to check their results were walking the same path.
"Man, the weather's greaaat!"
When Leon shouted it out with gusto, a cadet passing beside him looked at him like he was insane. The sky was buried under thick black storm clouds, as if a downpour could break at any second. Not a ray of sunlight made it through — gloomy as could be — but to a Leon whose mood was riding high, even that was perfect.
Before long, the first-year main building came into view. Hung across the front entrance was a massive bulletin board that caught the eye from the far end of the road.
Tap-tap, tap!
Leon stamped out a few steps of the Heavenly Spirit Steps and closed the distance in an instant.
"Let's see, let's see, let's see…"
He tipped his head back and checked the very top.
1.Leon Crusif
2. Billy Kaintel
3. Carotin Bastio
4. Esabel de Latnia
5. Celia Helbridge
······
"Kuuuuuuuh!"
Clap clap clap clap clap!
Seeing his own name planted proudly at the very top, Leon broke into loud, enthusiastic applause. The cadets clustered around the board scowled and turned to look — then recognized it was Leon and hastily faced forward again.
"That's right!"
In his past life he had always scraped along at the very bottom. In this world, he was the top student — at Elprime, the finest academy of them all.
See? I knew this place suited me better.
Grinning to himself, Leon shifted his gaze to check the Magic Department rankings.
First place is Aria, obviously.
As certain as the sky being above and the ground below. So obvious there was no need to confirm it. He skimmed the names in the top five.
Oh, Riana took third?
The familiar name Riana Elingold was right there.
Then she'll be coming along too.
Leon brushed a hand across his mouth. One of the rewards given to cadets who posted top-tier results at Elprime was a study tour. Students who placed in the top five of each department were sent to the capital during summer break. Calling the capital the place where everything in the Empire converged was barely an exaggeration — there was plenty to see and plenty to do. Ideal for broadening one's horizons and stacking experience.
And of course, simply sending them to the capital wasn't the end of it. The cadets were handed opportunities that would make even most nobles' eyes light up with greed. The first-place rewards in particular were no joke. Things like an audience with the Saintess, a custom commission from the Halito Forge, a private lesson from the Imperial Knight Commander — privileges even a ducal house's power couldn't easily secure. Things gold and status alone couldn't buy.
By taking first this time, Leon had claimed every last one of them. The Magic Department rewards would be things like deep access to the Imperial Library, a custom commission from the Francatz Workshop, a lecture from an Archmage. Those would go to Aria.
Leon smiled with deep satisfaction.
"Nice."
Pop—.
"What is?"
The one asking was Aria, who had suddenly appeared via Blink magic. She had materialized right beside him, yet the noise and mana ripple were so faint they barely registered. Leon spoke, privately impressed by how fast her skill was growing.
"I mean taking first place is nice. But why'd you come all the way out here first thing in the morning?"
With a score that overwhelming, she hardly needed to check the rankings.
"Obviously I came to see you, Master. I figured you'd be here."
Aria answered with a bright smile — a beauty that could turn even a gloomy day radiant.
"That so? Perfect timing, then."
Leon nodded, pleased with the coincidence.
"Let's head out together later."
"······!"
Aria's eyes went round and started to sparkle.
No — whatever she was thinking, that wasn't it. Leon opened his mouth to explain, and right then—
Thump.
"Hmm~? What's this, little brother? Your girlfriend?"
Someone draped an arm over Leon's shoulders from behind. It was Hera.
"Ah, perfect timing."
Leon brightened and repeated the same line. He'd been planning to go find her later anyway.
"So? Was yesterday fun?"
Hera's eyes curved into crescent moons as she looked at him.
"Mmm… pretty fun?"
"So I pass, then?"
He was asking about Hera's promise — that if he gave her a good time, she'd grant him one favor. Hera dragged her tongue slowly across her lips and answered.
"Of course. What do you want? A private date with your big sister? Or maybe…"
Feeling a freezing stare lance in from the side, Leon hurriedly cut her off.
"There's a job I'd like done."
"······What? Hahah, a job?"
"Yeah. Drop everything else. Free of charge."
He made the demand with shameless confidence, as if daring her to go back on her word.
"Hmm."
Hera smiled seductively and slipped a hand into her coat.
"Fine. I like it. I like it a lot."
She pulled out a small pendant and held it out. A jet-black crescent moon hung upside-down from the top.
"When you're ready, come find us here. Don't take too long."
"Don't worry. I'll be there soon."
Leon took the pendant and shoved it into his pocket.
"Heh. A request from my little brother… I'm looking forward to it."
Hera released his shoulders and stroked his cheek with a pale hand. Leon recoiled in disgust and jerked his head back.
"See you later."
Business concluded — now get lost. He pulled out a handkerchief and waved her off.
"Sure~."
Hera waved cheerfully. Then her form blurred like a phantom and vanished with a light spring. In that final instant she and Aria exchanged a brief look — something Leon failed to catch.
"······."
Once she was gone, a silence settled in as if a storm had just passed.
"······Master?"
A frigid voice slid into Leon's ear.
"······."
Still wiping his cheek, Leon slowly turned his head. Aria's eyes, waiting for an explanation, felt particularly sharp. His mouth went dry for no good reason.
"Uh. So, when I said let's go together, I meant that."
"······."
"······I've got something to take care of…"
"······."
"······If you don't want to, I can go alon—"
"No."
Aria fixed the cheek Hera had touched with a gaze cold enough to freeze.
"We are definitely going together. Definitely."
"······Okay."
"Absolutely. No exceptions."
"······."
Noon.
A restaurant in Elaim.
Aria delicately swallowed a small piece of steak and spoke.
"Ah, so that was Hera Crusif? Your cousin?"
"That's what I said."
Aria's eyes narrowed slightly.
That look in her eyes was off…
It definitely wasn't the way you looked at family. That much was certain. Still suspicious, Aria muttered inwardly, then continued.
"So, what's the job?"
Leon took a drink and answered.
"There are some people who need cleaning up. Bloodsucking parasites."
"Hmm. Sounds fun."
Aria nodded happily. She didn't know what the bloodsucking parasites were, but she'd find out soon enough once they got there. There was no chance Leon's chosen targets would be a problem. All she had to do was follow. Besides, she hadn't had a proper chance to cut loose lately, and her body was itching for it.
"Hera Crusif… she's the martial artist they call the Red Heaven Sword, right? And the commander of the Mukwol Squad. So that means we're commissioning the Mukwol Squad."
"That's right. If the rumors are true, their skills should be solid."
The Mukwol Squad.
In truth, they were closer to a mercenary company. They took jobs for pay and handled the things no one else could. It was easy to misunderstand because a Crusif family noble stood at their head, but they weren't a force subordinate to the house. Hera had built the outfit entirely on her own. These days they were treated as nearly an A-rank mercenary corps.
Their success rate was close to perfect, and they had a rock-solid reputation for never stooping to the dirty work of third-rates — betraying clients, theft, plunder, harassing civilians. But their methods were vicious and cruel enough that their notoriety outweighed the rest.
Thinking of Hera's personality, Leon snorted.
She probably only recruited people just like her.
Would normal people stick around a crazy woman? Only equally crazy bastards, no doubt.
Leon set down his utensils and wiped his mouth with a napkin. That famous Mukwol Squad. Just what kind of people had gathered there?
He was very much looking forward to finding out.