The Search for Derke
“Derke? Derke’s… missing? What on earth could be the reason for her exemption?!”
“Ah, well… that is to say……”
The unexpected news left me no choice but to be shocked. The words burst out louder than I intended. It was the first time I had ever raised my voice during roll call. Of course, there could have been legitimate reasons—duties or other circumstances—but because it concerned Derke, I couldn’t help overreacting. After all, the girl who had come to stamp her attendance at the lounge every single day was nowhere to be seen today.
At first I had simply assumed she was spending time with her classmates. Yet the worry had been nagging at me all along, as if I were her older brother. And now, suddenly, an exemption? Unease surged ahead of everything else.
“So what exactly is the reason for the exemption?”
“Th-that is…! She’s been temporarily exempted for a meeting. She should be back before lights-out!”
“A meeting……?”
“Y-yes… that’s right!”
Tina answered while carefully gauging my reaction. It was probably because I had suddenly shouted. The first-year hallway was still echoing with my voice. Even so, I couldn’t stop worrying about Derke.
“Miss Tina? Do you happen to know who she’s meeting with, or why?”
“W-well, that is…… I’m sorry, Mr. Breeder!”
“Hm? Why are you suddenly apologizing?”
Tina, who had been about to speak, clamped her mouth shut. She even shook her head vigorously, swallowing the words back down. A sigh of relief escaped her, as though she had narrowly avoided saying too much.
“This is a confidential matter between students, so I can’t tell you. I’m truly sorry…!”
Tina lowered her head, glancing at me with a flustered voice. Then she fidgeted, clearly thinking, Oh no, was I not supposed to say even that? Her reaction was suspicious in every way.
Confidential between students? This had to be a senior summoning Derke. There was no other reason to hide the exemption details so thoroughly. They were probably keeping quiet under the pretext of “security” to cover up internal misconduct—just like how soldiers in the military are taught never to report bullying or hazing to officers.
Memories of my own service crept up unpleasantly. But a meeting? Why? For what reason? I had thought first-year roll calls would always go smoothly, yet here was an unexpected exemption…… If it had been any other girl, I wouldn’t have cared this much. But because it involved Derke, I couldn’t just stand by. She might really be getting bullied by her seniors.
—Swish…!
“Miss Tina, how about this? If you tell me, I’ll keep it strictly between us and won’t mention it to the other girls.”
“Huh? Th-this is……?”
I secretly offered Tina a few of the meringue cookies I had made for Derke, striking a deal. If words wouldn’t work, a bribe to loosen her tongue would do just fine.
“Shh, the other students might see. These are specially for you, Miss Tina, so take them quietly.”
“Hah? Just for me? B-but I really shouldn’t……!”
Tina’s cheeks flushed red, and she couldn’t bring herself to refuse outright. Being only a first-year, she clearly didn’t know how to respond to such an offer.
—Plop…!
Seizing the moment, I pressed the cookies into Tina’s hands so she couldn’t refuse anymore. Her small palms were now filled with a generous pile of meringue cookies.
“…Hah?”
“You don’t need to give me every detail. Just tell me roughly what’s going on, and next time I’ll bring you something even tastier.”
“E-erm…! If you insist, Mr. Breeder……”
Tina accepted the snack reluctantly and cleared her throat. The troubled look on her face had already vanished, replaced by a faint blush and shy embarrassment. She seemed completely won over by the polite excuse that the cookies had been prepared especially for her.
“Well then, please tell me.”
“But… I can’t possibly reveal that Derke has been called up by her ‘senior’ right now! I’m sorry!”
Tina gave a vague excuse while still letting the crucial information slip. She was cleverly hinting at the situation without outright saying it. Truly worthy of the first-year representative—smart enough to convey the full picture even while claiming she couldn’t speak.
—Bow!
Even as she spoke, she tucked the cookies away and bowed politely. Tina’s face, as she kept glancing between the cookies and me, was filled with a strange sense of happiness.
“Understood. Please wait here until roll call ends.”
“Yes…! Good luck with everything, sir! And thank you—!”
I headed straight for the second floor without even returning Tina’s greeting. I was in too much of a hurry to find the senior she had mentioned.
The most likely suspects were the second-years. As upperclassmen, they had an obligation to look after the first-year juniors, so they were the first to come under suspicion. The sharp, black-dragon-like temperament of one particular second-year also weighed on my mind.
“Ah, you’ve arrived.”
Among them, the one who looked the most prickly—Sonya—gave me a slight nod. She had become noticeably more polite ever since Raylin’s visit.
“Yes. First, I’ll take your report.”
“Second-year report. Total of fifteen students. No exemptions. By the way… h-how is your cheek? Has it healed?”
After finishing her mechanical report, Sonya abruptly asked after my well-being, adding an awkward extra remark. Her pink eyes scanned my face from every angle.
“Yes, it’s fine now. More importantly, is Derke here?”
Her suddenly respectful attitude since yesterday was curious, but I couldn’t spare the time to engage with the SSR-ranked girl today either.
“Pardon? Are you referring to the first-year’s favorite warrior?”
Sonya answered in a tone that suggested she knew nothing. I hadn’t really expected her to tell me anything. Given the generally uncooperative atmosphere among the second-years, this reaction was exactly what I had anticipated.
“You really don’t know?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about……”
As expected, she was uncooperative. She was probably just pretending not to know. In that case, I had no choice but to use my authority as dorm supervisor.
“Then I’ll conduct a room inspection.”
“Ah, what? Well……”
Of course, Sonya’s words held no credibility. Because the second-years were hiding something, there was every chance they were secretly bullying Derke behind the scenes.
—Bang!
I started by checking Sonya’s room first. If I searched every room, something was bound to turn up. There had to be either an empty room or one where Derke had been summoned.
“Hehe~♥ Barging into a lady’s room without warning again? Are humans’ learning abilities really on the level of monkeys? Puhuhu♡”
“……”
The moment I opened the door, Eros greeted me with a tone that made me want to give her a good smack on the head. How could someone who scored zero in every subject dare talk about learning abilities? I wanted to retort exactly like that, but I didn’t have the luxury. There were far more urgent matters at hand.
“Derke? Are you in here?!”
“Wh-what?! Looking for another dragon inside someone else’s room? How utterly uncivilized♡”
“Derke…?!”
I searched every corner of the room, but the only one inside was Eros. She grumbled at me, muttering things like, Is this human ignoring me on purpose? If he keeps this up, I’ll get jealous, you know?! as though she were demanding my attention.
“Haa, Miss Eros? Do you know where Derke might be right now?”
“D-Derke…? Wh-why would I know anything about that pathetic freshman?!”
“I see. So you don’t.”
“More importantly, how rude! The lowest! How dare you look for another dragon while I’m standing right here—!”
“Here. I’ll give you this, so tell me everything you know.”
“Hweh……???”
Once again, I held out meringue cookies and attempted to negotiate. Thanks to Sofia and Raylin’s protection, I could afford to try bargaining even with the second-years.
“D-don’t tell me these are for me……?”
“That’s right. I’ll even give you Sonya’s share, so if you know anything, please speak up.”
“Hmph…! Why would I care about something like that? Did you really think a few cookies could move my heart?”
Eros suddenly blushed and turned her head away sharply. Yet even while acting so prickly……
—Snatch!
She quickly grabbed the meringue cookies and tucked them straight into her clothes. Her words and actions were completely at odds.
“You really don’t know?”
“I don’t! Why would I know anything about that girl?”
“Understood. I’ll be going, then.”
She didn’t seem to be lying, so I turned away. It was a shame to have wasted the cookies, but if she wouldn’t talk, I had no choice but to check with my own eyes.
“Huh…? What? Y-you’re really just leaving like this……?!”
Eros’s bewildered voice followed me from behind, but I couldn’t afford to waste any more time here.
—Knock knock knock…!
—Bang!
“I’ll be conducting a room inspection.”
After that, I carefully checked the other rooms as well, but found no trace of Derke. I also asked the other second-years about her whereabouts, yet gained nothing. Moreover, they all looked genuinely clueless.
“Please wait in your rooms until second-year roll call ends.”
Leaving only those words behind, I headed straight up to the third floor. Inspecting every room had taken longer than expected, so I needed to move quickly.
“Hey there! The old man’s here? Long time no see.”
The moment I stepped onto the third floor, Tiana with her black ponytail greeted me. She was the current third-year representative and the vanguard of the Diora line.
“It’s Breeder, not ‘old man’……”
“Who cares about a silly nickname? Anyway, I’m tired from yesterday, so let’s finish roll call quickly and get some rest, yeah?”
“Yes, understood. Then please give your report.”
Perhaps because of the group punishment from yesterday, Tiana unusually began her report right away.
“Third-year total: twenty-eight students. Current: twenty-seven. One exemption. That’s all.”
“Ah? By exemption, you don’t mean……?”
“Raylin hasn’t returned from practical training yet.”
“…So it was Miss Raylin.”
I had thought it might be related to Derke, but unfortunately it wasn’t. Come to think of it, she had also returned late from training yesterday……
“Why? Should I tell Raylin that you’ve been missing her?”
“Pardon?”
“Raylin’s been talking about you nonstop lately… You two seem to have gotten pretty close.”
“Thank you for the offer. In that case, I’ll head up to the fourth floor now.”
“Sure, sure. It’s the weekend tomorrow, so let’s wrap this up early, okay?”
“Understood.”
I had wanted to check if Derke was on the third floor, but without Raylin here, I had no right to do so. At this point, asking Sofia would probably be faster.
—Step, step, step…!
After quickly finishing the third-year roll call, I climbed the stairs at a brisk pace. Sofia would surely be able to help me properly.
“Huh? What’s this? No one’s here?”
But on the fourth floor, no one came out to greet me. Only an empty hallway stretched before my eyes. For some reason, I couldn’t even catch a glimpse of the hem of Sofia’s veil……
“…I’m over here. Come this way quickly.”
“Hm?”
While I was looking around the hallway, a familiar voice called out to me. It was definitely Sofia’s voice. The sound came from inside her private room. Yet for some reason, I still couldn’t see her.
—Wiggle, wiggle…!
That made sense, because only Sofia’s pale white hand had emerged from the doorway, beckoning me inside. It was as if she were urging me to hurry in.
—Shiver!
Shiver! But why did a sense of unease wrap around my entire body? An ominous premonition pressed against my skin.