Chapter 102
Chapter 102
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: A Midsummer Night's Nightmare (3)
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What the hell is a group assignment?
I was perched on the sofa in the professor's office, mulling over the words "group assignment." My mentor had included it in the curriculum he'd laid out for me, so I'd put up the announcement...
'Honestly, I have no clue.'
Of course, group assignments do bring certain images to mind.
The last five years of my life had basically been one endless group project, after all.
On a grand scale, it was hunting the Demon King.
On a smaller scale, it was hunting the Four Calamities.
Humans band together with others to accomplish tasks they can't handle alone. They conspire, collaborate toward a single goal. That, in essence, is the point of a group assignment.
'Sounds great in theory...'
I knew the reality all too well.
Wherever people gather in numbers, there's always trash. Even in a group of elites, the dead weight always makes itself known.
Knight defectors spilling secrets as they flee.
Traitors selling their souls to the demonkin.
And...
'That hero whose brain's ruled by his dick.'
Thinking back on it, it was almost laughable.
Even in the Hero Party, handpicked from the absolute best of the best, there was trash.
Three out of four, no less.
A 75% trash ratio. As the one lone 25% holdout, just hearing "group assignment" made my teeth grind. I let out a long sigh and tilted my head back.
"Mentor."
"What is it, Lania?"
"Is this group assignment thing really necessary?"
The question felt utterly serious.
I turned to my mentor.
"Why not just let them work alone if they're good at it? What's the point of group assignments?"
"Why wouldn't there be a reason?"
"Pardon?"
My mentor neatly aligned the edges of his documents with a sharp tap before speaking.
"And you, Lania, know that reason better than anyone, don't you?"
"Me?"
"Yes. What you've been doing these past five years was a group assignment. Haven't you learned anything from that experience?"
Lessons from five years of experience.
I pondered for a moment before opening my mouth.
"...That the only one you can rely on is yourself?"
"...That's a lesson, sure, but isn't there anything else?"
"Whenever a bunch of people get together, trash always shows up."
"..."
"Oh, and trash doesn't stop at just one. Once one turns rotten, the odds are high the rest will follow."
I'd witnessed the hero rotting in real time. That's the scary thing about dead weight. Laziness is contagious.
'Watching someone slack off and gorge themselves pisses you off. You start wondering why you have to be the only one busting your ass.'
Once that thought creeps in, it's over.
I'd seen plenty of parties fall apart that way. It wasn't just ours. Most Hero Parties crumbled like that.
'The difference? They died on the battlefield before they fully rotted.'
Kyle stayed competent even as he rotted.
But most heroes? By the time the rot showed, they were already dead.
'Anyway...'
I summed up my hard-earned wisdom in a single sentence.
"So, you gotta crush the trash the second it appears. Beat them into shape, even if it means beating them to death."
"...I get that you've been through hell, Lania."
My mentor sighed and pinched his brow.
"Still, there's meaning in assigning group work to students, just like you said. Do you know what it is?"
"Uh... no idea?"
"No matter what, you'll rub shoulders with others in life."
As I blinked at him, my mentor continued patiently.
"Group assignments are experience. People learn from experience. That lesson might be as extreme as yours, Lania, but..."
He set down his documents.
"There are surely positive takeaways too."
"Positive ones...?"
"...The forced collaboration itself is a kind of experience. It's right to go through it once per semester."
...Is it?
I tilted my head. Didn't it feel more like a shitty experience?
"Hmm..."
As I made a puzzled face, my mentor sighed and pointed at me.
"Lania, your five years of experience have made your patience downright astonishing."
"Well... true."
"It might be tough, but there's value in what you gain from forced teamwork. Isn't that reason enough for group assignments?"
"Oh..."
It started sounding plausible as I listened.
"So, how should I structure the group assignment?"
"No need to overthink it. Consider why it's necessary, and the answer will come."
That was the moment he said it.
A knock knock sounded at the office door.
-Professor Rosel, are you in?
At the call, my mentor rose from his seat.
"I'll step out for a bit."
Left alone in the office, I stared at the ceiling, chewing over his parting words.
'Think about why we do group assignments?'
That wasn't hard to recall.
'Goals too tough for one person alone.'
Cooperation born of necessity to achieve the goal.
That was the essence of group assignments. The moment it hit me, a spark flashed in my mind.
"Ah."
I focused on that core premise.
Why force collaboration?
'Because it's impossible alone.'
That was the condition for a group assignment.
Scratch.
I pulled out a sheet of paper. An outline of the perfect assignment had already formed in my head. I jotted it down.
Thud. I set down the quill and nodded.
"Yeah, this'll do."
Lessons from forced collaboration, right?
In that sense, this assignment was perfectly on target.
'Impossible without cooperating.'
I smiled at the finished paper.
It was so well-crafted, I could hardly wait to show the students.
2.
"You want to buy resistance stones?"
"Yes, about twenty?"
The Black Mage Tower Master, Yetoal, blinked.
His gaze was fixed on the girl before him. Very few could meet with Yetoal one-on-one.
And this girl was one of that select few.
'Lania van Trias.'
The girl with ashen hair and blue eyes.
With her refined features, she tilted her head at Yetoal, as if wondering what was odd about her request.
'...Is she serious?'
Yetoal tried to gauge her intentions.
'Twenty resistance stones?'
No matter how he thought about it, it made no sense.
What were resistance stones? Rare ores that inherently repelled mana. Used to craft barrier stones, they fetched a hefty price.
'Even the lowest-grade, fist-sized ones are worth enough to fill a bookshelf with magic tomes...'
She was asking for mid-to-high-grade ones.
Places handling those were limited.
'Maybe she wants them powdered?'
That might make sense.
Yetoal cautiously asked the girl.
"Wh-what size...?"
"Hmm, about this big?"
She clenched her fist.
A small, pale hand. Small, sure, but far from powder size.
'Twenty mid-to-high-grade stones that size.'
Yetoal mentally tallied the cost.
"Th-that'll cost quite a bit."
"How much?"
"Uh, around this much..."
She checked the amount written on the paper.
Then nodded right away, as if it was no issue.
"When can you deliver?"
"Well, we could provide them now, but..."
"Great, I'll buy them now."
She pulled out her card and started printing gold coins. Clearly intent on buying immediately.
'...What the hell?'
Yetoal stared blankly as coins poured onto the table with a clink clink. The pile was enormous.
"...P-Professor Lania?"
"Yes?"
"What on earth do you plan to use all these resistance stones for?"
He couldn't hold back his curiosity.
Her answer was simple.
"For an assignment."
"...Assignment?"
"Yes."
For an assignment?
Mid-to-high-grade resistance stones, for some academy homework?
'Ever since that circuit recording paper incident, something's been off...'
Yetoal eyed the girl suspiciously.
Suspiciously rich, too.
The more they met, the less he understood her.
"...Understood. We'll ship them to Aphria Academy soon."
"Thank you."
3.
The chaos at Aphria had settled, and classes were fully underway on this summer afternoon. Dragging weary bodies, students headed to their next lecture.
'Next class...'
Checking their schedules, shadows fell over their faces. They stifled sighs, rummaging through lockers.
『Mana Trading Basics (Elementary) Assignment』
『Instructor: Lania van Trias.』
The file binding the assignment was suspiciously thick.
Their steps slowed, weighed down by the stack of papers inside.
They weren't without expectations for the class itself.
Mana Trading Basics was an excellent course on its own. Students always gained real insights each time.
'The problem is...'
The workload that would end up in that file after class. Just imagining what sadistic assignment that professor had cooked up made their teeth chatter.
Step.
Students arrived one by one at the lecture hall.
One opened the door. There was already someone inside.
"Ah, you're here."
Ashen hair swayed.
Blue eyes turned to the entrant. Leaning against the podium, she smiled.
"Take your seats."
Her refined, elegant beauty made for a lovely smile... but knowing the nightmare lurking behind it, the students sighed and sat.
As they settled in one by one, something felt off.
"Huh?"
A few students tilted their heads.
The room's layout had changed subtly. An empty space formed around the podium.
And in that space sat a single box.
That wasn't the only oddity.
'And why is the professor already here?'
Professor Lania usually entered right on the bell. Today, she'd arrived early.
As students pondered this, she clapped sharply.
Clap.
The box in the center popped open in response. Inside gleamed jade-colored ores, floating up one by one.
Jade-glowing stones.
With them hovering behind her, she began writing on the board. Arriving students sat and glanced at it.
『Mana Trading Basics』
『Improving Spell Efficiency, Including Trading Concepts.』
Standard topics from Professor Rosel's classes.
A moment later, new words appeared below.
『Theme: The Limits of Basic Spells.』
The limits of basic spells.
Finishing her writing, Professor Lania swept her gaze over the students.
"Looks like everyone's here."
Ding, doong. The bell rang for class. Amid the chimes, she spoke.
"Let's begin."
Her voice brimmed with excitement.
From it, the students felt an inexplicable dread.
Author's Note
The subtitle has been changed from "A Midsummer" to "A Midsummer Night's Nightmare."