Graduation
"Always dragging trouble around, huh."
"Not really out of spite."
I replied to Arthur's words while staring at the unconscious Jake in front of me.
"But what is it?"
"Feels like they're talking inside. A mutated Bugbear."
It really does look weird. Could we actually call this a Bugbear?
Aleandra poked at a protruding lump on my back with her finger and spoke.
"Well, for starters, it wasn't this bad from the beginning."
Piqued by her retort, Fiona also examined the mutated Bugbear from every angle.
An air sac?
Fiona crouched down and poked at the air sac, her face twisting at the stench that wafted up.
"I'll cast preservation magic, anti-decay magic, and deodorization first."
Fiona cast three spells in the blink of an eye and bestowed them on the mutated creature's body.
The humid air that had hung thickly before suddenly grew cooler.
"I'll take it over to the city and have them examine it."
"If it's about monster biology, the school might be better suited, Your Highness?"
"No. Speed is crucial for this operation. Considering the time it would take to consult with the other schools, the city and the union are the best ones to handle it. And, Roman, I'll show you something. Even compared to the great schools, we don't have anything lacking in ability."
With that boastful declaration, Fiona's gaze shifted back and forth between me and the Axis I was holding.
Fiona, who hated losing, and especially Aleandra, who was burning with competitive spirit, had left the staff crafting to her. From Fiona's perspective, it must have been like her heart was on fire.
"Yes, then. I'll leave it with you."
"Great!"
Fiona immediately sent the union's people to carry away the mutated body.
Truthfully, if this were an experiment, we could have done everything while we were alive.
But that data needed to be properly compiled and delivered later.
More than that, though, it felt like we were a bit short on numbers.
Calculating it, only the First Expedition team had wiped out everything so quickly and returned.
"Still the worst off, huh?"
"Still, Dustin's four haven't come yet."
"Ah, they went to Whitea's necropolis? That makes sense for being late."
The ones who had gone there weren't so much about getting the proof of purpose as they were eager to dig through Whitea's necropolis this time around.
If anything took a long time, then it took a long time.
Perhaps they wouldn't make it before the deadline for this test.
"In essence, we're the last."
"Heh. What a memory."
"...What is?"
"What, aren't we the last from the beginning?"
Arthur was referring to the very first exploration training.
"Which one?"
"Hmm? It's only been about three weeks. We should have spotted it then."
Aleandra chuckled lazily and spoke in her unique drawl.
"Spot what? Strategic defeat."
"Exactly. Honestly, being first and then leaving last to make a bet about not getting anything is the height of selfishness, isn't it?"
Fiona was sharp, as always.
She didn't miss a chance.
"Nothing to say. Spot on."
"Oh~ Juan finally admitted it?"
"I don't just blab about it, Amaya."
While we were casually chatting like that, the union staff were taking care of the unconscious Jake beside us.
Then, Jake woke up.
§
The first thing Jake saw when he came to his senses was the faces of the people looking down at him.
'Was it a dream?'
The people he had seen right before he fainted, the ones he had thought were a dream.
Even now, he habitually triggered a mana weave to produce pain, thinking it might still be a dream.
'Ugh, not a dream.'
Then this was reality. Reality felt even more dreamlike.
Everything he had thought was a dream was actually real. What kind of person was this Roman guy, anyway?
Realizing Jake was doubting him, Roman suddenly opened his palm.
"...Hmm?"
Jake unconsciously placed his own palm on the one Roman was holding.
Was he trying to shake hands?
It looked more like he was ordering a pet around than a handshake, but in his weakened state, Jake didn't think that far.
Just as he reflexively reached to grab Roman's hand, Roman flicked it away and said in a slightly annoyed tone.
"No, not the hand. Give me the proof."
"Ah, uh... proof."
To hide his displeasure, Jake quickly searched his pocket.
"Ah... this one disappeared when I was caught. The rest are at the Windmills of the World End. Just use the shoes instead."
The proof was only given because the assigned officer had to stay in place. If the officer himself testified, there was no need to use the proof as a substitute.
Since it was with the union, Jake's testimony that the Roman team had come to the Windmills of the World End was enough for the test to be passed.
No matter how swift the processing was.
Right after Jake gave his testimony, Roman could obtain his exploration license.
And the badge that symbolized the Novice Explorer rank came with it.
At last, Roman had become an official explorer.
§
"This is the exploration license~ Not much of a big deal."
"The license is just the license, but the badge feels more finely crafted."
"The magical processing on the license is much more complicated."
I added, examining the intricate magical processing on the license with my mana sight.
For reference, where we were...
"There, why are they gathering here again...?"
It was the Thelema School.
"Eh? Isn't this fine? I'm a proper school member now."
"Well, that's true..."
"These two are just on a tour."
Hekate leaned in close and whispered softly while they were distracted by the license and badge.
"The book I gave you last time... I got a better handle on the decoding."
"Oh, really?"
Relying on Mea's word, I had entrusted the book to her. She really was versatile.
'Why is the school like this when we have this kind of ability?'
The distinction between individual ability and management might be a case of that.
"Two of you, what are you doing?"
A cold gaze pierced my cheek from the side.
Even through the hood's shadow covering my face, the bright eyes remained undimmed.
But I spoke boldly.
"I had a request I left behind, and there has been some progress."
"Th-that's right..."
"Request? What was that?"
Leaf and Ray, who had quickly gone back to normal and showed late curiosity.
Hmm, it might be fine for the two of them.
Would it be okay if I casually let Hekate know? With that meaning in my gaze, Hekate quickly shook her head side to side.
Hmm, sorry, but then I'd want to do more.
And who knows?
Maybe they knew something that even Hekate didn't know.
Ray, with her high-ranking beastman bloodline, surprisingly had some advanced knowledge.
Though lacking in common sense.
Leaf openly concealed a secret, and perhaps that secret shrouded in mystery could be helpful.
Though lacking in common sense.
"Just tell me, then?"
"Haa..."
Hekate's long sigh.
But my intention had already been decided.
As a school member, Roman, Hekate was my superior.
As a client, Roman, Hekate was my subordinate.
Actually, even in the first case, it was similar?
There was also the concept of super-competence.
Anyway.
At my request, Hekate's shoulders drooped as if there was no choice, and she brought out something from inside.
A box that showed she had kept it carefully, as anyone could see at a glance.
Inside it was the book I had brought and entrusted to her.
Hekate carefully took out the book with both hands.
And though not much time had passed, she said in a voice uncharacteristic of her, serious.
"This book is a work by Cordelia Wollstonecraft."
"Cordelia?"
"Wollstonecraft?"
Both Ray and Leaf tilted their heads curiously, rolling the name on their tongues.
"Who was that?"
I had known of her originally, but I didn't think my brain was this pure.
To Ray's question, I managed to keep from touching my forehead and answered.
"The First Expedition."
After the Abyss appeared, the seven heroes who had been the first to jump into it.
They finished the expedition and returned, sharing the dangers of the Abyss and its mysteries with the world.
After that, the leader of the expedition, Robard, built Res Limen on the Abyss and made alliances with surrounding countries, establishing it as an independent city-state.
And Cordelia Wollstonecraft was one of the expedition members who cooperated most actively in the construction of Res Limen.
While other members returned to their hometowns to face their end or met their unknown end in unknown places, Cordelia remained in Res Limen until the end and built a separate world for the alchemists, the Golden Branch Castle, distinct from the mages' school.
Only after my additional explanation did Ray say in a recalling tone.
"Oh~ So that's her?"
Her, a figure from hundreds of years ago.
"Then is this a thing from hundreds of years ago?"
It was certainly the one I had brought that was clean, but the others had clearly decayed and disappeared.
Hekate affirmed my question.
"Probably? The First Expedition were those who were in the transitional period between the Mythic Age ending and the Abyss appearing, entering the Deep Age. However, since Cordelia reached the pinnacle of alchemy and lived a long life, it might be shorter than that."
"So, what is it?"
"I didn't know anyone, but apparently there was a Cordelia sister."
"For my beloved and hateful sister."
That was in the dedication at the beginning of the book.
For the sister.
"But the sister seemed to have different ideals from Cordelia. I don't know what ideals they pursued, but anyway, this is a kind of experimental log. I haven't interpreted what exactly they studied yet, but if I explain the basics..."
Hekate took out a glass bottle containing an unidentified liquid.
"This is a kind of enhancement. I don't know the exact effects, but the book says it was created to birth a complete existence."
A complete existence?
What that word brought to mind was probably something like Ray and Leaf.
Without anyone saying, they looked at each other at the same time.
"What a subtle situation."
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