The Second Named Request

The fourth day of the academic festival tied to the second named request ended in resounding success. The unlimited sparring event drew strong praise, and the scholars' presentations concluded in a warm, positive atmosphere. The final fifth day was reserved for the scholars themselves to present and critique one another, so after watching their debates for a while, I grew bored and wandered the city streets. By the time I returned, the results were in.

After compiling all the information gathered over five days, the rankings were finalized, and an awards ceremony combined with the closing event was held in the grand plaza. The star of the closing ceremony, the team that had seized glorious first place among all the academic groups, was Delian's team from the Edenberg branch. They claimed first, the Libertas branch team took second, and—just as expected—Urek's team from the South placed third.

With that, the academic festival drew to a close. But while the citizens returned to their daily lives, those directly involved moved with urgent purpose. Rankings meant capital would flow, project teams would form, and personnel would shift. The leaders of each research team were especially busy, yet Delian still managed to carve out time to meet us.

"I asked the academy to pull every ancient record they had, but unfortunately nothing matched the details you provided. On the contrary, the architectural style of the ruins you found is completely new to us. Every archaeologist in the place has latched onto it."

Negative words from Delian—who had gone out of his way to dig up information—should have stung, but I simply nodded without much disappointment. If the academy could have found it, there would have been no reason for the information to stay hidden all this time. I had never expected an easy answer, so I accepted the result calmly.

Seeing my expression, Delian offered an alternative with a slightly awkward smile.

"On the bright side, Urek mentioned he's surveying candidate sites for ancient ruins. We'll have to wait on his findings."

"Will they share their research outcomes with us?"

"I'm quite interested in ancient civilization theory myself. He promised that once my own research wraps up, he'll help with the ruin exploration. We've agreed to exchange information."

Urek's project would begin with the long, laborious process of excavating the candidate sites he'd identified, so it would take considerable time. That was likely why he had accepted Delian's offer to assist as soon as his own work was finished.

I nodded at Delian's explanation. Looking somewhat relieved, he checked the time and let out a regretful sigh.

"I suppose we should part ways soon. I'll be staying in Libertas for a while to coordinate with the sponsors. What about you? Any plans while I'm gone?"

"I need to strengthen my foundations. There are still plenty of shortcomings in both equipment and overall capability, so I'll take on requests steadily and fill in the gaps."

"Not a bad plan at all."

Delian nodded thoughtfully, then rose from his seat. The meeting had been brief because he'd squeezed it into an already packed schedule.

"Then our next meeting will be at least a few months away. Take care of yourself until then."

"You as well, Mr. Delian. Try not to pull all-nighters and catch another cold like last time."

"It's embarrassing for a scholar to catch a cold while pursuing knowledge."

"No, I mean take care of your health."

"Do you honestly think I'll do that?"

"Please don't take pride in that particular flaw."

I'd have to ask Elin to keep a strict eye on him. Looking after scholars was part of a guild employee's duties, after all. We finished our conversation on a light, pleasant note and parted without lingering attachment, each of us carrying the unspoken promise of our next meeting.

Spring had fully passed, and summer was drawing near. In the North, summer was the season when life truly awakened. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The forests grew loud with monsters fighting over ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠territory, making it a time when regular convoys stayed especially vigilant. If the territorial disputes grew too fierce, the frenzied monsters might spill into human lands. Just like now.

"Grrrrr!"

"Kyaaaak!"

On the road ahead, a pack of Battle Wolves and a group of Wood Goars faced off. Both sides had grown agitated during their territorial dispute and had descended all the way to the convoy route. They were natural competitors on the food chain, and their nerves were stretched taut as they prepared to eliminate each other. The Wood Goars held the advantage in individual strength, but the Battle Wolves had superior numbers, so the standoff had dragged on for days.

They couldn't glare at each other forever. Just as both sides prepared to end the conflict once and for all—

They suddenly froze. Every monster's head snapped toward the same spot. Dealing with the rival before them was important, but identifying the source of the foul energy they now sensed was far more urgent. Their gazes locked onto a man standing imposingly in a silver coat.

When the monsters focused on him, the man smirked and tilted his head.

"What? Never seen a black mage before?"

No further words were necessary. The murderous tension from moments earlier vanished as both groups charged the man without hesitation.

"Hahaha! You'll never catch me at your level!"

Yet contrary to the monsters' expectations, the man refused to be caught. His speed and flexibility were unbelievable for a mage. He dodged attacks with fluid grace while weaving black magic, looking like a circus performer walking a razor-thin line—precarious, theatrical, and strangely impossible to pin down.

While the man drew their full attention, the rest of us who had quietly encircled the area struck.

"Grah!"

"Grrrr!"

More than a dozen Ikelos surged into the gaps between the monster packs. Caught off guard by the unexpected ambush, the monsters tried to respond, but our forces weren't limited to the Ikelos alone. Umbra and Adela burst from the underbrush and tore through the creatures without mercy, rapidly thinning their ranks.

The one-sided slaughter left the Battle Wolves and Wood Goars shaken. They had no intention of continuing their territorial dispute under these conditions. Normally they would have fled, but—

They couldn't ignore the mage casting safely from the rear. Driven by a final, desperate will to take him down at any cost, the monsters charged. In that instant, a flash ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of light appeared, and clean lines traced across their bodies. The irregular cuts widened, and the rushing monsters collapsed powerlessly. They had been sliced apart before they could even register the attack.

I stood atop the pile of fallen corpses, flicking the blood from my sword-spear.

"Request complete. Let's head back."

"Everyone worked hard."

"Hard? You're the one who did all the real work."

As I stored the annihilated monsters into my inventory one by one, I praised Neon. Over the past two months he'd learned all sorts of things, and now he could execute perfect moving casts. Thanks to that, the danger of drawing monsters like this had decreased dramatically.

Yet despite his standout performance, Neon's expression remained sour.

"Something feels wrong."

"Like what?"

"Why does it feel like I'm in even more danger after learning moving casting?"

"Because you're a black mage, obviously."

"Even black mages have limits! This is worse than the Holy Kingdom's inquisitors."

He had a point. Watching the monsters ignore obvious traps and charge straight in, it was clear Neon's talent was an indispensable force in the North. That was exactly why he had become our dedicated evasion tank and aggro puller. He'd held a similar role before, but after two months of brutal effort, he'd grown far more skilled.

"Your ability improves every single day, doesn't it?"

"Well... yes, but..."

"Besides, you said you need to visit the Blue Tower in the Central region before the year is out."

Neon let out a heavy sigh. After reuniting with his childhood friend and rival Shinshia at Orbis Academy, he'd promised to stop by the Blue Tower before the year ended. According to him there was something he needed to resolve there, but he still seemed uncertain, hesitating whenever the topic arose.

Noticing his reluctance, we deliberately kept him too busy with back-to-back requests to give him time to overthink. Thanks to that, his expression had improved considerably. The complicated thoughts that once clouded his face had largely cleared.

After finishing cleanup, we retraced our steps to file the request report. We rode atop the Ikelos with practiced ease, feeling the sunlight grow hotter as we traveled.

"Summer's really here."

"Thank goodness for the Elraid material. At least we can regulate temperature."

"Yeah. I never imagined this place was in the southern hemisphere."

My absent mutter drew a puzzled look from Neon.

"Southern hemisphere?"

"Just thinking out loud. When I was a kid, I figured if the South was cold, the North should logically be hot."

"That's one way to look at it. But there are plenty of places hotter than the North, you know?"

As Neon accepted my excuse, Adela drew closer and asked,

"There are other hot places?"

"By continental region, the East is the hottest. Almost half the route connecting to the Eastern Continent is desert. The Central region has several large and small deserts as well."

"It's all so mixed up."

"That's the influence of mysteries. Lands with little mysterious interference ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tend to be warm year-round or have clear four seasons like the North."

I mentally stuck my tongue out at Neon's casual explanation. In this world, common sense that could toss my previous life's Earth science straight into the trash existed without apology. After a few childhood mishaps, I'd learned to cross-verify every piece of information carefully before using it. I still didn't understand why this damn world had to hide so many secrets.

Grumbling inwardly, I urged the Ikelos to move faster. We reached Edenberg before long. After reporting the successful request at the adventurer guild and verifying it through the Orb of Truth, I headed to the restaurant with Adela and Neon. We would have made it without incident if Luna hadn't called out to us on the way.

"A named request?"

"That's right. Both the Edenberg and Libertas families have specifically requested the two of you."

The sudden news left us exchanging puzzled glances. A request from Edenberg made sense given our connection, but we hadn't expected anything from Libertas.

My thoughts must have shown on my face, because Luna gave a small smile.

"It's probably because of your growing fame, Argo. Rumors have been spreading about a promising rookie who recently climbed to Silver rank. Not to mention your performance at the academic festival."

"It's a little embarrassing."

I pulled the silver-gleaming adventurer badge from my inventory with an awkward smile. My skills had already surpassed the threshold even before the festival, and I'd filled the missing record through steady requests. Reaching Silver rank had been inevitable. Two months had passed since the academic festival and one month since my promotion—more than enough time for rumors to spread.

Luna slid the request document toward us.

"We don't know exactly why they chose you specifically, but it can't be a bad thing."

"If Sister Luna says that, then there's no reason to refuse."

I didn't know the exact reason, but when two powerful families issued named requests, it was never ordinary. Substantial rewards and rich experience were almost guaranteed. Since I'd finished reorganizing by handling suitable requests, the time had come to step forward in earnest.