The Monster of the Labyrinth City
Just because we'd taken on a training commission didn't mean it was going to be hard.
The monsters that came out of Calcia Lake were mostly slimes and goblins, and even the stronger ones were nothing more than weaklings like hobgoblins.
As long as the kids had made up their minds to become adventurers, they could take them down just fine. And it was still more than enough to build real combat experience.
"Alright! This time, Klein, why don't you step up and take it down?"
"Yes!"
We led all fourteen of them around together. Whenever a monster appeared, we had them come forward one by one to deal with it. On the rare occasions when someone struggled, we supported them from behind so they could still finish the kill themselves.
That was the designated commission we'd accepted from the Adventurer Guild.
The boy I'd just called on, Klein, was only fourteen, but he'd been training with a sword since he was little. Calling him a kid because of his age didn't mean you could look down on him. His palms were covered in calluses and old nicks from the blade.
"Hoo..."
Even the way he settled into his stance was different. That was what swordsmen meant when they talked about true talent.
The moment he gripped the sword at his hip, the light, fresh air around us shifted. Even though no one was holding their breath, it felt as heavy as if we were all trapped in a sealed room, endlessly drawing in and letting out air.
"Kyaaaaah!!"
The goblin sensed the change too. Its eyes rolled back as it charged. Monsters picked up on shifts in their surroundings faster than humans, so it had rearranged its priorities and come straight at him. Better to try something and die than to die doing nothing—that was a monster's instinct.
But Klein didn't move. He stayed perfectly still until the goblin was almost on top of him... then bent the sword he was holding into a sharp nine-shaped arc and brought it crashing down. The most efficient way to put maximum weight behind a strike while moving as little as possible.
"H-how was that?! Lady Esilly! Miss Lumine!"
After cutting the monster down, he whipped his head around with a look that asked if he'd done well, and for a second I just blanked out. Maybe it was because the heavy air from a moment ago had suddenly gone light again...
"Amazing... so this is what they mean by the realm of geniuses."
"He might actually become a real hero someday..."
"This little brat's going to be a hero? That's something else..."
Lumine and I could only stare and murmur in admiration. He was still young, so it wasn't perfect, but if he could do that at his age, his future was basically a Blu-ray you didn't even need to watch.
We weren't the only ones impressed. The thirteen kids watching from behind and the other adventurers hunting in the area were all clapping or staring at Klein in awe. He deserved the praise. Born into an ordinary family with no special bloodline, he'd carved himself into this through pure effort by the age of fourteen.
"Klein could probably graduate like this and head straight down into the lower labyrinth."
"Looking at pure skill, sure... but he still doesn't have enough real combat experience. Klein, don't get cocky. Keep practicing hard."
"Yes! Lady Esilly! Thank you for the guidance!"
I hadn't really guided him at all... but he was still adorable. Diligent, hardworking, good with people, and cute on top of it. A perfect golden boy with nothing missing.
"Alright, next up is Miss Matilda!"
"Y-yes! Lady Esilly!"
Last student of the day. The cute brown-haired girl who'd been holding hands with Klein earlier when they showed up late. She was a year older than him, if I remembered right. From what I'd heard, their parents had arranged an engagement between them. Relationships like that usually went sour or fell apart... but watching them hold hands and look after each other, they seemed genuinely close.
And more than anything else...
Out of the thirteen watching from the back, she was the only one who didn't look the least bit intimidated.
Boing, boing, boing.
The monster that appeared this time was a slime. Hard to kill with a sword, so the key was to take it out quickly with magic. In summer you could freeze them a little and eat them like iced persimmons—they were delicious. Or you could just squish them around while they were still alive. Fun either way.
Ahem. That was a longer digression than it needed to be.
Anyway, for Matilda, who used a staff instead of a sword, it was the perfect opponent. She must have taken down monsters plenty of times in previous lessons, because she cast without any hesitation. Lightning magic burst from her staff, and the slime died the instant it hit. Poor thing... I'll eat you deliciously later, so rest in peace.
"L-Lady Esilly!"
"Matilda's amazing too. Keep growing like this and I might just scout you myself."
"Th-thank you! Thank you so much!"
".............."
"Lumine?"
Ever since Matilda cast her spell, Lumine had been staring with her eyes wide open, completely blank. I had to poke her in the arm a few times before she snapped out of it and started clapping, praising Matilda.
"M-Miss Matilda is an outstanding mage as well. Truly impressive."
"Thank you! Teacher Lumine!"
Matilda looked so happy at the praise that she kept bowing over and over before hurrying back to the group. And with that, everything we had to do today was finished!
Yahoo! We could finally get our free labyrinth exploration rights! After how much of a pain this had been for a while...
"Matilda's strong too, but Klein is just on another level."
Those two would make an incredibly powerful party someday. Reaching S-Rank probably wouldn't even be that hard for them.
...I really needed to raise my own rank already. Still being stuck as a C-Rank adventurer was mortifying.
"Anyway... Lumine, what's been going on with you? Something wrong?"
"Lady Esilly... did you not notice...?"
Lumine slowly turned her head. Her expression was seriously grim—not just surprised, but like she'd seen something she wasn't supposed to see.
"Notice what?"
"When Miss Matilda cast her magic earlier..."
"...When she cast?"
Lumine swallowed hard, hesitating. She glanced around quickly to make sure no one was listening, then leaned in close to my ear and spoke slowly.
"Miss Matilda... didn't chant."
"What do you mean..."
I rewound my memory to just before Matilda used her magic. She'd stepped forward like it was nothing, raised her staff, and... cast.
Chant...? Where did the chant go?
Had I misjudged it? No—if she really had cast without chanting...
Then among the fourteen students who'd come to our class today, the one with the greatest talent and skill wasn't Klein.
Genius... no. "Monster" was the more accurate word, wasn't it?
Yeah. A monster. She was still young, but that was a monster.
If you saw a monster, you reported it first.
We'd seen something so terrifying that our nerves were shot. The moment we reached the Adventurer Guild building, we burst inside, grabbed the locked door to the Guild Master's office, and twisted the handle open with pure grip strength.
"Guild Masteeeeeer?!"
What the hell. Was I dreaming?
Inside the Guild Master's office, the Guild Master and Enge were being all lovey-dovey. Nothing lewd or weird—just sitting on the sofa in front of the desk while Enge fed her husband cookies by hand.
How do I put this... It was an incredibly heartwarming sight, and yet it made me a little jealous. Enge was my older sister, after all.
"Um..."
"Excuse us."
I was too stunned to say anything, so Lumine slammed the door shut. After that, a whole lot of noisy crashing and thumping came from inside the Guild Master's office for a while.
How much time passed? I was still standing blankly in front of the door when Enge cracked it open and peeked her face out. Her cheeks were a little red. Adorable.
"Come on in~"
"Pardon the intrusion."
We'd already intruded once, but this time we announced ourselves properly before entering. Inside, the Guild Master was sitting at his desk with an even darker expression than usual, clutching his head. He looked thoroughly embarrassed.
"Guild Master. Women prefer it when you say things directly instead of beating around the bush."
"I-I-I have no idea what you're talking about!!"
"Want a demonstration? Enge."
"Yes, Lady Esilly."
I could have done it with Lumine, but the Guild Master couldn't act that way toward her, so Enge it was. I pushed her straight back against the wall behind her, pinned her there, and slowly brought my face close before stopping.
"Enge's cute today too."
"You're even cuter than I am, Lady Esilly."
"Hehe. Then pat my head."
Ah, this wasn't it. I was supposed to show him how to express affection directly by calling her cute and kissing her on the cheek. Somehow I ended up getting stroked like a puppy under Enge's soft hand instead.
"Haa... Hero Esilly really is impossible to deceive..."
"Lady Esilly. Aren't you going to do it for me?"
"I'll give you all you want later when we get back to the lodging, Lumine."
There was something more important right now, wasn't there? We needed to deal with that first.