The Human Border Collie
The human Border Collie, who had just planted a straight into my face during our sparring match, grinned and helped me back to my feet. It was a familiar sight from our hometown days, straight out of WWE. "It's been a while! How've you been?"
"Of course I've been doing great. What about you two?"
"Obviously! We've been learning new techniques at the Academy and made tons of friends!"
At Luna's energetic reply, Ruin, who had walked over at a leisurely pace, nodded as well. "The overall level was lower than expected, but there were still plenty of techniques worth learning."
"I see."
If even the Ruin siblings said there was much to learn, then Orbis Academy's educational standards must truly be exceptional. Honestly, I'd been worried whether there would be anything left for me to learn at the Academy, but it seemed Werner hadn't recommended it for nothing.
As I looked around the Academy with curious eyes, Luna's eyes sparkled as she approached me. "More importantly, Rata! Where's Rata?"
"In my pocket."
"I brought snacks to play with Rata!"
"I figured as much."
She'd always been powerless against anything cute. As if Ratatoskr had expected this, it let out a sigh and emerged from my pocket. The moment it came out, Luna swiftly and gently lifted it onto her hand and began fussing over it. While watching the commotion, I caught up with Ruin.
"How's Academy life?"
"It's fun. I've made a lot of friends too. It would've been nice if you'd come here as well."
"It's fine. If I hadn't awakened a Mystery, I would've spent my whole life as a guild employee anyway."
"I heard the news. You awakened a Mystery and became an adventurer?"
Ruin wore a surprised expression as he examined the clothes I was wearing. Rohan's armor was too conspicuous, so I'd changed into the black uniform crafted by Elin, the owner of Fairy's Tail. Even so, Ruin studied the material of my uniform and looked astonished.
"What kind of thread is this? At this level, it might not stop aura, but it could probably block a mana sword."
"It's made from the silk of a Nepentula I hunted myself. It should block most attacks."
"What?"
"Seriously?"
At my words, the Ruin siblings both looked shocked. They knew Nepentula's fearsome reputation well, so they showed clear curiosity about how I'd managed to hunt a young one. Just as I was about to excitedly explain everything that had happened in the North to them, two women came running from where the siblings had appeared.
"Ruin! Luna! How could you just leave without us?"
"I knew you were fast, but this is ridiculous...!"
Both were wearing Academy student uniforms. They seemed to have run nonstop from their original location, panting heavily. When they spotted me, they quickly fixed their appearances. The moment they appeared, the gazes that had been pouring toward us wavered, and whispers began to spread.
"Look over there! It's the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom!"
"The second daughter of one of the continent's top ten merchant guilds is here too."
"I really want to exchange even a single word with them."
"Dream on. They're the heroes who resolved the Academy's crisis. Why would they bother talking to us?"
It was just them whispering among themselves, but to me, who had learned the Northern Breathing Method, it was as clear as if they were speaking right next to me. Hearing the murmurs from all directions, I made a strange expression.
'This really is the textbook Academy story.'
One Saintess and one daughter of a merchant guild that operated on a continental scale. Didn't this feel oddly familiar? Wondering if there might be a possessor or regressor among them, I glanced around, but no one seemed suspicious.
The two women, each with distinct personalities, greeted me.
"I am Harne, the Saintess who serves the gods of the Pantheon."
"I'm Elicia, the second daughter of the Golden Merchant Guild."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Argo, an adventurer."
At my greeting, both women nodded as if they already knew who I was. They must have heard plenty about me from the Ruin siblings. Luna, grinning brightly, squeezed between Harne and Elicia.
"Originally, tons of people wanted to meet you, but I turned them all down and only brought these two."
"Northerners must seem fascinating to people from the Central region."
"That too. And since you're my friend, they probably have a lot of questions."
I understood Luna's words as she scratched her head with a smile. The siblings had a charm like the sun, so it was natural for others to be curious about how they'd lived back home.
"I get the gist. But I don't mind, so you should've just called them over."
"There are quite a few friends who are interested in you."
"If a whole crowd showed up, it would've been overwhelming for you too, so I deliberately only brought these two."
It was like they'd been picked in some kind of lottery. Scratching my head at the siblings' words, I looked at Harne with an awkward expression. She'd just come from the now-normalized Holy Kingdom, which made me a bit nervous. As if she knew this, her eyes sparkled as she approached me.
"Ruin told me. He said you came from the Holy Kingdom. Could you tell me how things have changed there?"
"It might be a long story."
"That's fine! I was so happy when I heard those wicked cardinals were punished!"
From her expression, she must have really despised the corrupt cardinals of the Holy Kingdom. Watching the delighted Saintess, I wondered how to explain. I couldn't exactly say that information from a black mage had led to Northern and Western inquisitors carrying out a massive purge under the Inquisition's leadership. Since I didn't know the details myself, I gave her a sanitized version about the Holy Kingdom returning to normal. The Saintess looked overjoyed and clasped her hands in prayer.
"Ah... The Holy Kingdom has truly been purified...! I must go see it for myself soon!"
"But I wouldn't recommend going right now. The Inquisition friends handled things pretty violently."
"That's all right! As long as I can see the relieved faces of the faithful who suffered in the Holy Kingdom, nothing else matters!"
If she saw faces with spines dangling from them at the entrance, she probably wouldn't be saying that. The Inquisition themselves must have thought they'd gone too far, since they were busy cleaning up the bodies. Elicia, who had also learned of the Holy Kingdom's situation through her information network, smiled awkwardly and tried to dissuade Harne.
"Argo is right, Saintess. The midterms are approaching too, so I recommend going later when you have more time."
"Hmm. I suppose there's no helping it. It's a shame, but I'll go after the exams are over."
Thanks to her wise friend's help, Harne was spared the shock of witnessing the hellscape that had unfolded in the Holy Kingdom. While she looked disappointed, Luna, who had been fidgeting restlessly beside us, suddenly cut in.
"We've done enough greetings, right? Then, can I borrow Argo for a bit?"
"I was being too selfish. This is a reunion with a friend, yet I only asked about what I wanted to know."
"Of course. I have plenty of time, so I'll ask later."
"Ah, no! It's not like that! It's just that I've been looking forward to something ever since I heard the news!"
At Luna's request, Harne and Elicia readily stepped back. They withdrew so easily that even Luna, who had made the request, felt a bit guilty. But she didn't miss the opportunity given to her. The two women, as if they knew what she was about to say, chuckled and moved aside.
Luna, who had been breathing excitedly, grabbed my shoulders and shouted.
"Argo! Let's spar!"
"I knew it."
Even at the Academy, her battle-maniac personality hadn't changed. Back in the village, she'd always pestered me to spar whenever she had the chance, so I'd expected a match once we met at the Academy. I just hadn't thought it would happen the moment we saw each other. The companions who had come with me also gathered their gazes, surprised by Luna's combat prowess, but she paid them no mind. Still, as if feeling wronged, Luna shook my shoulders vigorously and complained.
"But everyone here is way too weak! Even the ones who seem worth fighting don't want to pair up with me!"
"Aren't you the crazy one, suggesting sparring three times a day like a Border Collie begging for walks?"
"So I kept asking other people instead?"
"Haha. Did they start calling you the crazy girl at the Academy?"
"There was a rumor like that at the beginning, but it disappeared!"
Their way of thinking really was different from ours. I'd thought coming to the Academy would socialize her, but apparently not. When I glanced at Ruin, he smiled awkwardly and avoided my gaze. Letting out a sigh at Luna's momentum, which made me wonder if her tail would be spinning like a windmill if she had one, I thought, Who would want to live with this crazy dog? Still, she was a good kid who only picked people who could actually handle sparring, so it probably hadn't caused any major problems. I nodded.
"All right, let's spar."
Honestly, I'd wanted to spar with the Ruin siblings too.
"Really?"
"I was overwhelmingly disadvantaged before, but it'll be different now."
"Oho? You're confident?"
"My Mystery is pretty damn amazing, after all."
This was my chance to wipe away the days of accumulating overwhelming losses in our spars since we were seven, and to prove how much stronger I'd become. As a Northerner myself, I wasn't without competitive spirit, so I flashed a fierce smile.
"Then let's go to the Academy training grounds! I've already asked the instructor in charge to reserve it, so we can fight to our hearts' content!"
"Yeah. I'll show you who's on top."
The First Training Ground, which boasted a vast area even within the Academy. This place, often used for martial arts professors' classes or events, now had two people standing in it. On one side was a beautiful woman resembling the sun, and on the other was a handsome young man resembling the night, both warming up. Word must have already spread, as quite a few seats in the spectator stands were filled with people hoping to watch the Academy's sparring enthusiasts in action.
Elicia, seated in a spot with a good view of the training ground, looked down with a seductive smile.
"All the famous people showed up."
"It's because they're sparring with an adventurer who came from the North."
Harne replied to Elicia's words. Just as she said, everyone in the Academy who had any reputation was present in the stands. Some were there to witness the recent exploits of the most famous siblings over the past year, but others were likely curious about the skills of the recently notorious Northern adventurer. After all, a Gold-class adventurer from the North—meaning someone at Master level—had come down to the Central region for an absurd reason. Elicia chuckled as she recalled the news that even the heavy-bottomed nobles had jumped in shock at what was essentially a show of force.
"It was an interesting reaction. That just shows how curious people are about whether the North's reputation is real."
Honestly, Elicia was curious too. She knew that monster materials from the North were of excellent quality, and she'd received information from employees dispatched there, but many of the reports had been hard to believe. Things like how all Northerners had learned the mana breathing method, how even ordinary villagers could casually withstand arrows, or how the weakest monsters were on par with trolls. Since she was still young and hadn't traveled beyond the vast Central region, these were difficult claims to accept.
She glanced at the Northerners watching from the side.
"Who do you think will win?"
"I'm betting on Argo."
"That Luna person seemed pretty skilled too."
"Still, Argo will win."
"Then I'll put my money on Luna."
They were discussing who would win while wearing equipment made from monster materials that were hard to even see in the Central region.
'One thing's for certain—the adventurers' level is at least that of knights.'
Elicia, who maintained a high ranking in the magic department, had tested the Northerners' levels and realized there weren't many people weaker than her. This helped her accept the rumors about the North to some extent.
'I'm curious. Can he really defeat Luna, who's called a monster even at the Academy?'
Wondering what kind of performance he would show, she watched expectantly.
BOOOOOOM!
"......Huh?"
In the blink of an eye, Elicia wore a dumbfounded expression as she witnessed the clash of two monsters at the center of the training ground.