An Invitation from Dorothy
An upper-class monster: the ogre.
Among the giant-type monsters, ogres were especially warlike by nature. They held the front lines on the battlefield and posed a constant threat to heroes; among players, they were infamous as the kind of monster that simply had too much health and refused to die quickly.
Just as goblins dominated the lower ranks and orcs the middle ranks, ogres were the upper-class monster that appeared most frequently. Of course, frequency never meant weakness. An ogre stood a full five meters tall and possessed the raw strength to match that bulk. On top of that, its hide was so tough that even a weapon sheathed in mana could barely leave a scratch. There was no question it was a formidable foe.
“Still, this isn’t information we confirmed with our own eyes, so its accuracy is lower than I’d like. All I can do is apologize for that.”
Dahlia bit her lip, and I could tell she had hesitated over whether to pass the rumor along at all. It was still only hearsay, and the practical reality was that an upper-class monster simply shouldn’t be anywhere near a city. Selling incomplete intelligence must have stung her professional pride as well.
“Whether the rumor turns out to be true or not, the commission continues. If you need extra payment, say so. Keep bringing me any new information that surfaces.”
I said it calmly, but privately I rated the tip’s reliability quite high. The monster that had appeared in the game had been an ogre as well; for all practical purposes, it was already confirmed.
“Of course. We always welcome commissions. Just so you know, most of the guild’s manpower is tied up with internal matters right now, so it might take a little longer than usual.”
Internal matters…
If something was happening around this time, the odds were high that Argyle Campbell—master of the Information Guild and Dahlia’s adoptive father—had gone missing.
“Fine. How much extra do you need?”
“No extra payment is necessary yet. The information I just gave you wasn’t sold; I simply passed along a rumor circulating in the area, just in case.”
It was the sort of intelligence an academy student like me would never have heard on my own, so the guild would have been fully entitled to charge. Still, if she wanted to frame it as a free courtesy, I wasn’t about to complain.
“I see.”
“Yes, that’s how it is.”
“Then I’ll leave the rest of the commission in your capable hands.”
“Naturally. Failure doesn’t exist in the Information Guild’s dictionary. You should probably head back now—everyone seems to be waiting.”
I wrapped up the conversation with Dahlia and returned to where the others were standing. Even though I had told them they were free to go on ahead, every last one of them had stayed put, waiting for us.
William stepped up to the returning Dahlia and asked something in a quiet whisper.
“Miss Campbell… have you known Young Master Winchester for a long time?”
“Oh my. We’re simply acquaintances through the family business.”
“Family business…?”
“Ohoho. That’s right.”
Dahlia offered nothing more, merely smiling as if the rest were a secret. My own party members, who had been listening carefully, wore rather complicated expressions—somewhere between anger and hurt.
I supposed it made sense. Right after the professor had mentioned something like a class competition, watching one of their own hold a private conversation with a member of another class would leave a sour taste.
Even so, why do I feel like I’ve done something wrong…?
Probably because of the quiet girl standing beside me, her expression clouded. Elizabeth. She stared at me with the look of someone who had just had something precious stolen, then finally dropped her gaze to the ground and let out a long sigh.
When she reacted like that, I really did start to feel guilty… even though I was fairly certain I hadn’t done anything wrong. Still, maybe I ought to apologize just in case.
“……Mm.”
The moment I tried to say I was sorry, the words stuck in my throat.
What exactly am I supposed to apologize for?
I wasn’t good with words to begin with, and I still didn’t know precisely what I had done wrong. Trying to apologize under those conditions felt unbearably awkward. If only I had the kind of sunny personality that could toss out a casual “sorry” without thinking…
This is getting uncomfortable…
Just as the atmosphere grew heavier and more awkward by the second, a bright, refreshing voice dropped a lifeline straight into my hands.
“Hello, underclassman. Do you have any idea how long I’ve been looking for you? And here you were, hiding in a place like this.”
I turned at once toward the owner of the voice. Dorothy Rothermere, vice-president of the academy student council, was walking toward us, her silver hair swaying with every step. In my eyes it almost looked as though a halo of light shone behind her.
“Forgive me. It seems someone is looking for me, so I’ll take my leave first.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Young Master, we’ll head to the lecture hall ahead of you.”
Leaving my party members and their faintly uneasy expressions behind, I made a swift exit.
I really thought I was going to die of awkwardness back there.
“Dorothy Rothermere. What business do you have with me?”
Right then I was so grateful I felt ready to grant almost any request.
“Ahaha, still jumping straight to business, I see. You were with your friends, weren’t you? I hope I didn’t interrupt anything. If I did, I’ll apologize.”
Those “friends” were giving off such a dangerous vibe that I ran away, actually.
“Don’t worry about it. Just tell me what you need.”
“Standing here and talking feels a bit awkward. Hmm… if you don’t mind, shall we head to the student council room?”
“……?”
Listening to Dorothy’s cheerful small talk, I followed her down several long corridors of the academy building until we reached a room that was clearly more luxurious than the rest. So this was the student council office.
A thick, soft carpet covered the wide floor. Beneath a large window that let in plenty of sunlight sat a neat desk, giving the whole space a comfortable, almost homey feel.
“Welcome, underclassman. Allow me to welcome you to the student council room of Hero Academy.”
I followed Dorothy through the door that opened onto the terrace. A table and chairs for tea were already set out, and one of the seats was occupied. A girl with a calm demeanor sat there; she gently closed the book she had been reading and looked up at Dorothy.
“Welcome back, Vice-President. You’re early today—what’s the occasion?”
The tone was polite, yet carried a teasing edge. Dorothy answered with a laugh.
“Heh, don’t be like that, Lily. Today I went out and brought back an underclassman I rather like!”
The girl tilted her head, then seemed to remember.
“Ah—the underclassman you mentioned last time?”
“That’s right. This is him.”
Only then did her eyes turn toward me.
“A pleasure to meet you. I’m Lillian Plumpter, treasurer of the student council. It seems our vice-president has been rather rude to you.”
“How mean!”
“……Taylor Winchester.”
At the sound of my name, Lillian’s expression shifted into mild surprise.
“So you’re the famous… ah, forgive me. Your name is rather well-known within the student council.”
I was a little curious exactly how I was famous.
I doubt it’s for anything good.
Every major incident at the academy lately had somehow involved me. All I had been trying to do was stay alive, yet somehow an unintended notoriety had spread. It was a little depressing.
“Come on, underclassman—have a seat.”
“If you’ll excuse me.”
Once I sat down, Dorothy launched into a long discussion of recent events, the direction Hero Academy ought to take, and the many virtues of the student council. Only after that did she finally arrive at the real reason she had sought me out.
“Hmm. So, to cut to the chase—what do you think of the student council, underclassman?”
The student council, huh.
To me, the student council had never been a particularly important group. Dorothy Rothermere wasn’t a playable character, so there had never been much reason to get involved with her, and none of the heroines belonged to the council either.
“……I don’t really know.”
It was the honest truth. I didn’t even have a positive or negative impression of the place.
“Well, you are still a first-year, so that makes sense. We’ve had so many incidents lately that things got delayed, but club activities at the academy will be starting soon.”
I already know that, of course.
Club participation was mandatory at Hero Academy. I had planned to check which club the protagonist joined and then pick the most advantageous one for myself.
“The student council isn’t a club, but there’s a system that counts service here as club activity.”
Dorothy stood up abruptly, her expression turning serious, and held out her hand to me.
“Underclassman Winchester. I’m going to become student council president soon. When that happens… won’t you join the student council under my leadership? I want you.”
She had just used the classic “Be my comrade” line without the slightest warning.
Me? In the student council?
Suddenly a brand-new option that had never been on the menu had appeared. What would I gain by joining? What would I lose? My head was starting to hurt.
I quickly sorted through the tangle of thoughts and delivered the answer I had settled on.
“……I—”