Joyful Training

"…Why is this Evan guy going 'hmm'?"

Western goblin colony, near the capital.

Haring sat atop the corpse of a goblin great warrior she'd just slain, tilting her head in disbelief. She'd already explained the situation to Evan ages ago, yet he still hadn't come back. Apparently looking calm was the more dangerous sign, or something like that.

At any rate, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Haring and Nya-nya had cleared over a hundred quests in the past week. Getting the quests was fine — what they couldn't figure out was why they were suddenly being handed out in bulk like this.

We only ever got these at the beginning.

Easy, simple quests that had once been used to grow Lea's low-level disciples. Back then they'd been sweet and comfortable. Now that they were top-tier rankers, it was a different story entirely.

"…Did I go up, like, twenty percent?"

Low-level quests barely moved the needle on your level. A week of clearing over a hundred quests, and her experience bar had filled a measly twenty percent. Avoiding expulsion or permanent imprisonment was a relief, but they couldn't keep living like this forever.

"…Not that I can really complain about it either."

They were already deep in the doghouse thanks to the Red Pill Incident. Whining for better quests instead of these petty ones?

"That's a bit…"

It would be no different from asking to be killed. Haring shook her head firmly.

"Ugh… but keeping this up is risky too."

Leaving the capital would cost far too much time, so Haring had been sweeping the hunting grounds around it instead. With few newbies near the capital, the quests had been easy to clear — but as the gallery posts made clear, people were starting to catch on. And no matter how secret the hidden passage was, constantly slipping in and out of the royal castle was bound to look suspicious.

"Alright. Okay!"

Haring checked the whisper, dusted off her hands, and stood up. She left the goblin colony without a backward glance, thinking as she walked.

She should at least try saying something. Surely there were quests that could improve Lea's mood besides goblin hunting…

"Sorry."

Haring shook her head. She felt bad for Yugi, but she still couldn't tell him. Lea didn't like Yugi all that much, after all.

"Call them."

"Huh?"

"Pardon?"

"I said call them."

Having returned to the royal castle, Haring and Nya-nya stared at Lea with blank faces. Call them? Lea, who had fled to the castle because dealing with the heroes was too much of a hassle, was suddenly saying this? And while she'd summoned Nya-nya and Haring because she hated watching them wander around uselessly, she still hadn't called for Yugi.

The two of them looked at her questioningly, but Lea simply crossed her arms and spoke as if it were nothing.

"Tell everyone who wants to come to come. Call Evan too. Doesn't have to be just disciples."

"Uh… then the chances of getting found out would be pretty high."

"Doesn't matter."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Lea nodded.

"If they cause a scene, they just get locked in the royal dungeon. Whatever."

"Ah."

"That makes sense."

This wasn't Lea's nest — it was the Legion Kingdom's royal castle. If people came swarming in the way they did at the nest, figuring they couldn't die, the odds of an immediate trip to the underground dungeon were ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠extremely high. Causing trouble anywhere else was one thing, but causing trouble in the royal castle guaranteed at least several months of imprisonment.

Haring nodded in understanding.

"And you two — don't go outside. Do it here."

"Huh?"

"You weren't earning much anyway. Better to get stronger and clear harder quests."

"Ooooh… you're right! That's exactly right!"

"As expected of Master!"

"Both of you, go to your usual training spots. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'll give you the quests when you get there."

"Yes!"

Haring and Nya-nya left Lea's room and high-fived with a sharp clap! Nya-nya let out a sigh of relief, as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

"Wow. Thank goodness. If we'd gotten another subjugation quest, we'd have been in real trouble."

"Agreed. We almost got branded as toxic players…"

"Hehe. Alright then — I'm heading to the room where my magic teacher is."

"How should we handle contacting people?"

"I'll tell all the fellow disciples for now. Anyone who wants to come can come."

"Mmm… kind of annoying, but okay for now."

Haring nodded and posted Lea's location and the news in the group chat of six. Nya-nya left an additional message in the chat as well, then skipped off humming toward the room where she did her magic training.

Inside, Heris Loen sat in her priestly robes behind a central table, smiling sweetly.

"Hohoho. It's been a week, Hero Nya-nya."

"Lady Heris! Have you been well?"

"Of course. I'm glad to see you've been well too, Hero Nya-nya."

"I've been told to resume training. Please take care of—"

Thud!

"L-Lady Heris?"

"The Fire Dragon has made a request of me. Or rather, should I call it an order? Hohoho."

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Magic tomes were stacked upon the table — far thicker than any Nya-nya had seen before. Her eyes wavered wildly as she edged backward, but the door was already firmly shut. And before her eyes, a new quest had appeared.

"…What?"

"Don't worry. I'll teach you each and every thing very, very carefully. Hohoho."

"…I-I'd rather hunt goblins."

"Absolutely not, Hero Nya-nya."

"What?"

The training grounds. Having arrived at her destination later than Nya-nya, Haring frowned at the strange whisper. Run? From what?

"Something going on?"

She pondered for a moment, then decided it was probably nothing and waited in the sparring hall. If it had been truly serious, Nya-nya would have spammed whispers or made a huge fuss.

How long did she wait?

"You're here?"

"Unnie~"

"This Knight Commander is not your sister."

"Aww, come on~"

After a week apart, Adela Measis appeared before Haring. Haring grinned playfully at her, chuckling, but Adela's face was endlessly serious as she drew her sword.

A real blade.

"Huh. We're using real swords?"

"Naturally."

"We've always used wooden ones until now."

"It is the Fire Dragon's will. Draw your sword."

"…Lady Lea?"

"Correct."

Haring looked up at the empty air as a chime rang out.

"I will kill you."

"…Huh?"

"Do not worry. I will match my level to yours."

"W-wait a second, Unnie? This quest is completely ridicul—"

As Adela settled into her stance, Haring frantically gripped her sword and raised her guard. And then—

"Ah."

Haring's head went flying into the sky.