Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Named Request
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Hero Karl Leonhardt, who is he?
The eldest son of the Leonhardt family, founding contributors to the empire and known as the imperial family's guardian sword.
A hero who had saved the empire from crisis time and again with his exceptional swordsmanship and unyielding sense of justice.
And decisively, the leader of the Seven Stars who slayed the Demon King that had nearly plunged the entire continent into peril.
That was Karl Leonhardt, but...
"Hero, sir, normally you should be the one reporting to the capital—"
"Oh, sorry, sorry. I forgot."
"Haa..."
To Olivia, he was nothing more than a slacker dumping his duties on his adjutant.
"So, any new info?"
"Honestly..."
Yet the reason Olivia followed the hero was that he was a man 'worth following'.
The hero might be a slacker shoving countless duties her way, but paradoxically, he was a knight with a stronger sense of justice than anyone.
Karl stepped up for the empire's crises without being bound by lowly status, making him more than worthy of Olivia's respect.
"...A few days ago, traces of a black mage were found deep in the Prifre underground sewers."
The Vestia Mountain magical beast incident was currently under investigation, focused on an unidentified black mage.
And now, traces of a black mage in a rural city's sewers not far away?
"Doesn't that seem fishy?"
"Same culprit as the Vestia Mountain beasts?"
"Yes, though no evidence yet."
There was every reason to suspect a connection between the two.
"It's weird. Right after we learn the beasts were the black mage's doing, traces pop up nearby not long after."
"...Pardon?"
In a normal case, they'd assume the same perpetrator and redirect the investigation, but several uncomfortable points lingered.
"The empire's investigators couldn't find a single trace despite all their efforts, yet some adventurer stumbles on one?"
"That's... certainly suspicious."
It was a valid doubt. The empire's investigative organs boasted information networks and tracking skills no mere adventurer could match.
For them to miss what an adventurer found first? Plenty of grounds for suspicion.
That adventurer might have ties to the black mage, staging this to sow chaos in the empire.
"It's not unreasonable for you to suspect that, Hero, but..."
This was exactly why Olivia, despite endless gripes about the hero, kept following him.
Contrary to rumors of acting on whims without deep thought, Karl was surprisingly rational.
He distinguished public from private, even if he occasionally pulled odd stunts.
His actions were always underpinned by a staunch sense of justice, giving Olivia ample reason to serve him.
"Still, that adventurer's identity is confirmed."
The same adventurer had exposed the black mage as the cause of the rampaging beasts and found traces in the sewers.
"...Who is it?"
"Haa... You didn't even read the report. It's Rion, the mage disciple of Sion I mentioned last time."
The weight of the name 'Seven Stars' on the continent was no light matter.
Seven heroes of Rilteia whom even a nation's king couldn't treat lightly.
The disciple of one such Star, Sion—Rion's identity was as good as guaranteed.
"Hmm... I see."
But Karl's reaction was unexpectedly lukewarm.
No change in his demeanor even upon learning the suspect was his friend's disciple.
'Why...? Didn't he have interest in Sion?'
Olivia, who had long aided Karl at his side, knew well of his deep interest in Sion.
He'd clung so persistently that Sion, who always used polite speech, had even said, 'Get lost.'
"Why the stare?"
"Oh, no... I just thought you'd rush to meet her right away..."
Karl's indifference left Olivia flustered instead.
She'd hurried to the front lines to stop him from seeking Rion upon hearing of her.
"Well, no point meeting a 'fake'."
But Karl's apathy stemmed from something Olivia hadn't imagined.
He'd never believed Rion was Sion's disciple to begin with, so no interest whatsoever.
"No way. They even confirmed it with another Magic Tower Master."
"Cedric? That fanatic of Sion's."
"...Yes."
"If he says so, it's probably legit... but Sion's not the type to take disciples."
Cedric, publicly known as Sion's staunchest follower and a Magic Tower Master—his endorsement made Rion an unquestionable grand mage's disciple.
But to Karl, who'd traveled long with Sion, Rion was no disciple of hers.
Sion had no interest in others.
Joining the Demon King subjugation, saving the world—it was all for herself, not some noble goal.
Such a woman taking a disciple?
"No way."
Karl knew little of Sion still, but the idea of her directly engaging others never crossed his mind.
"Still, send a cooperation request. She'll be helpful."
Cedric's guarantee and Sion's lack of objection suggested the girl Rion was tied to her somehow.
She'd aid in resolving this, so Karl instructed Olivia to recruit Rion to the front lines.
"Sh-should I?!"
"...What's with the excited voice all of a sudden?"
"N-no way!"
Olivia, uncharacteristically thrilled at the order, was giddy at the thought of meeting Rion again.
...
A few days after the underground sewer incident wrapped up.
"Hyaap!"
Sion and Cloe partied up to tackle an Adventurer's Guild request.
Sion for adventurer achievements, Cloe to grow stronger.
"Hoo..."
"...Good work... Cloe..."
Cloe's recovery was faster than expected.
Injuries that might've left permanent damage on a normal person healed fully in days.
Fully recovered, Cloe began learning magic from Sion as desired, and the two increasingly resembled proper master and disciple.
"...Rion, teach me the next spell."
"Ugh... Shouldn't we rest first...?"
The biggest change was Cloe's speech.
She'd dropped casual talk with Sion before, but as master-disciple, she switched to honorifics.
It felt wrong for a disciple like her to use casual speech with Sion, who was always polite to others.
"No, I can still—"
"But..."
Sion's group was grinding three requests daily—a mad schedule.
Breakfast, request; lunch, request; dinner, request.
Familiar to modern folk, torture to Rilteians.
"Yeah... Honestly... my body's not fully recovered yet..."
"...Got it."
Of course, the rigor yielded results.
Sion had cleared over half the adventurer achievements.
Cloe gained rapid combat experience.
Cloe felt her growth slow, but to others, it was freakishly fast.
"Yes, A-rank adventurers Rion and Mayer—Ogre subjugation request confirmed complete."
Finally hitting a unique achievement.
Sion couldn't hide her smile seeing the rapidly filling list.
Her return home drew nearer, naturally lifting her spirits.
"Umm... what for dinner? Something pricey is fine...!"
"Anything's good for me."
"Then... the priciest restaurant around! I have plenty of money anyway..."
In high spirits, Sion suggested splurging at a fancy restaurant for once.
No reason to refuse, so the group headed out for dinner, but...
"Um, Rion."
A receptionist stopped Sion on her way out.
"What is it?"
The reply didn't come from Sion.
Before she could speak, Cloe intercepted.
Learning Sion disliked talking to others, Cloe always fielded conversations for her first.
"Oh, well... There's a named request for Rion..."
"Named request...?"
A named request.
The Adventurer's Guild primarily mediated between adventurers and clients.
Clients submitted requests; the guild assigned them to adventurers, who completed them for rewards.
But sometimes, clients directly requested specific adventurers.
A method used by those promising higher pay for swift handling.
Receiving a named request proved an adventurer's renown.
"For me...?"
Sion naturally felt bewildered.
Her fame had risen lately, but she was just an A-rank adventurer.
A named request for her? She wondered who and what it entailed.
"Umm... Any idea who the client is...?"
"Uh, someone very high up... Olivia von Leonha—"
"Pass."
She's too noisy.