Former Battlefield Tour (2)
We returned to the Academy. The moment the carriage stopped, Hindrastar bolted straight for the dormitory, and I headed home.
Olicia came scurrying out to meet me as I stepped down from the carriage.
"Welcome home, Dian."
"Nothing happen while I was gone?"
"The Principal stopped by. She asked where you'd gone."
"Did she? Any idea why she was looking for me?"
"She ran off before I could ask."
I cocked my head at that.
"Ran off?"
"I invited her in for tea, but while I was in the kitchen brewing it…"
Olicia trailed off, scratching her cheek with a look of acute discomfort.
"But what?"
"Well…"
She hesitated, then forced the words out.
"She was sniffing one of your shirts. One I'd just finished washing…"
"I'm sorry — she was doing what?"
"Exactly what I said. She was squatting on the floor, pulled one of your shirts out of the laundry basket, and had her nose buried in it. When I asked what she was doing, she fled."
What the hell kind of situation was that? What was Kirlin even—
Celine's warning surfaced in my mind. She'd told me to keep an eye on Kirlin. That there was no telling what strange little scheme that woman might be cooking up on her own.
What was that dark elf thinking?
"Anyway, did you have a nice visit at Sir Linus's house?"
"Yeah. You should've come along. The guy's living like a king."
I described Linus's manor, and Olicia's eyes began to sparkle.
"A house like something out of a dream… Good heavens. Living in a place like that someday is my one great wish in this life…"
"Then work hard and become a duke. The only people who get to live like that are high nobles."
"Wouldn't it be faster for you to become a noble than for me to, Dian?"
She wasn't wrong. The title they'd tried to confer on me at the Imperial Palace in the first place had been a dukedom.
But I'd already turned it down and walked away, so I could hardly go back now and ask for it. Even if I did, the Emperor would refuse.
And becoming a noble isn't all happiness and sunshine, either. The higher the rank, the more suffocating the constraints that come with it — not unlike the corporate tycoons of my previous life, who live under such relentless scrutiny from the press and the public that even the slightest misstep gets them raked over the coals.
Just as the owners of modestly sized businesses tend to be the happiest people around, the best way to live in this world is to earn a decent living and stay well clear of anyone's interference.
Monday meant the all-faculty meeting — a gathering of the Theory Department, the Combat Department, and the Administration Office in the main conference hall, presided over by Principal Kirlin. It was the same meeting I'd walked into on my very first day at the Academy.
I headed in with the Combat Department professors, laughing and talking, only to find the Theory faculty already seated. Those people always arrived a full twenty minutes early to review the agenda and check their collars. Diligent to a fault.
The Combat Department, on the other hand…
"Oi, Brog! I found a decent tavern over the weekend! They say if you drain a whole keg on the spot, the drinks are on the house!"
Kazadar, the dwarf Combat Equipment Professor, bellowed the news, and a grin bloomed across the face of Brog, the orc Unarmed Combat Professor.
"We're going today!"
"That's the spirit. Morton! You're coming too!"
"Well… very well."
"Orendi! Waiver! You're in, right?"
"Of course we should go."
"Sounds good to me!"
With the men on board, a thoroughly delighted Kazadar turned on Genev, who was wearing his usual gloomy expression.
"Hey! Don't you go skipping out today—"
"I will not be attending."
Genev cut him off before he could even finish.
"That plague-ridden bastard ducks out every damn time. The rest of you! Hands up if you're not coming!"
Kazadar roared at the women filing in behind us, and Professor Anna, glancing around uneasily, eased a hand into the air.
"I-I have to… look after the children…"
"What? Are the horses your kids?! Huh?! Skipping one day won't kill 'em!"
"I can't drink anyway, and I'm no fun… I'd just ruin the mood if I went… I don't want to go…"
"Tch, tsk tsk. Felimia, Linders! I'm counting you two in!"
"I've asked you to call me Lina, not Linders. I'll come, though."
"I'm in as well."
Felimia raised a hand in agreement.
"So that's everyone except Genev and Anna? Oi, Dian!"
"I'm in. If the drinks are free, I'd go all the way to Tyraelen."
It was Monday morning — the start of the week, not even Friday — and the Combat Department was already booking a drinking party. A look of profound contempt settled over Professor Ismera's face as she watched us.
"Good morning, Professor Ismera."
I greeted her as I sat down. Across from me, she composed her expression with visible effort and let out a polite little laugh.
"Welcome, Professor Dian. Everyone's so full of energy this morning. How very like the Combat Department."
The conference hall was a long room with desks arranged in two facing rows, Theory on one side and Combat on the other. The seat of honor at the far center belonged to Kirlin. I sat to one side of her, Ismera to the other, with the Head of Administration at the far end.
Which meant that, like it or not, Ismera had to sit across from me every Monday morning at a distance of barely six feet.
"Incidentally, Professor Dian. What exactly did you mean by that just now?"
I had been flipping through the materials I was supposed to present when Ismera posed the question.
"By what?"
"That you would go all the way to Tyraelen for free drinks."
"Ah, that. Tyraelen's an awfully long way from here. That's how good a free drink is."
"I see. A truly apt comparison. Though there is no liquor in Tyraelen. It is a forest of elves, after all."
"Quite right. The noble elves would never go near a beverage that gnaws away at the mind."
At that moment, Kirlin opened the conference hall door and stepped inside.
"Good morning, Principal."
"Ah, u-uhm…"
The professors greeted her, but Kirlin received the courtesy in a distracted, fidgety daze. I wondered what was wrong with her, then noticed she kept stealing glances at me, clearly gauging my reaction.
Probably because of whatever she'd been doing with my shirt when she dropped by the house yesterday.
Kirlin took her seat, and the meeting began.
From the Combat Department, we reported on the progress of the outdoor training ground renovations. All construction would be finished by the middle of next week, giving the students plenty of time to train before the summer heat set in.
The Theory Department presented a draft itinerary for the former battlefield tour.
"For the first half of this year, I believe Ivronik Castle would be a suitable destination."
Ismera explained, glancing down at the draft report.
"It is a fortress of the Human Alliance that fell to the Demon King's army during the Four-Year War — a site of considerable historical value, recaptured by Sir Linus while he was serving with the special task force."
"That's a good idea. Ivronik Castle should be plenty motivating for our students. They'll be the Empire's special operatives someday, after all."
Kirlin nodded.
"If at all possible, I would like to use a dimensional gate for travel. Professor of Magical Countermeasures, is that feasible?"
"It is."
Orendi answered Ismera without the slightest hesitation.
"Head of Administration. Lunch will fall at an awkward hour — would the cafeteria be able to prepare boxed meals?"
"Of course."
"Excellent. The scenery around Ivronik Castle is quite lovely, so I think a one-day itinerary would work well — lunch on the grounds, then a return in the afternoon."
Ismera coordinated the relevant details with practiced ease.
I, however, had a somewhat different thought.
"Does the Combat Chief Professor have an opinion of his own?"
Ismera asked, as if on cue, and I raised the question that had been sitting with me the whole time.
"There's something I'm curious about. If we go there, will we actually be able to tour the place properly?"
"What do you mean, Combat Chief Professor?"
"The way I remember it, the walls were half-collapsed and the bridge in was barely holding together. There's no telling whether the miasma along the approach has fully dissipated, either. And there's a minefield of unknown size. Even if they are students of the Special Operations Academy, isn't that a bit dangerous?"
The professors looked at one another, clearly at a loss.
"Miasma? Minefield? There's something like that there…?"
What was this atmosphere? Had I said something I shouldn't have?
Professor Ismera answered with a captivating crinkle of her eyes.
"I believe the Combat Chief Professor is mistaken. Ivronik Castle is not that sort of place."
"Excuse me? Not that sort of place? Is there another castle with the same name?"
"There is, of course, only one Ivronik Castle. And it is a perfectly safe destination for our students to tour. Are there any further opinions?"
"Ah… no."
I scratched my chin for a moment, then jabbed Felimia in the ribs.
"Explain."
"Ivronik Castle is a tourist destination, Chief Professor."
"What? A tourist destination? That's ridiculous."
"It's not. Tens of thousands of people visit every year. It's quite famous. I went myself last year."
"You're serious?"
"Mm-hmm. They even installed a lift, so you can go up without any trouble."
"A lift…?"
Had Ivronik Castle really become a tourist attraction?
That hellish mountain fortress, where blood had been washed away with blood?
They say ten years can change the very face of the land, but this was still hard to believe. No matter how I tried, I couldn't picture Ivronik Castle as a place for sightseers.
The memory of scaling that cliff with Linus was still vivid…