This is where the Heilkwaite Higher School of Magic is just visible, though from a distance.
There was a vast expanse of land, and the grass and trees grew thickly.
And there was a certain pair of people there.

'Ivan, we can already see them over there. We're almost there, hang in there.

This gray-skinned, skinheaded man
--Crom-El.
He's a warrior of the Durmskale Empire.

'I don't want to be with you, Crom-El. You were a snake man to begin with, and with me, a human!　Anyway!　Your body is built differently!

This woman carrying this purple robe and witch's hat, and a brown curved staff in her right hand.
--Ivan Toilette.
I'm a mage of the Dahmskale Empire.

'And yet, after all this time, don't you ever wear clothes?

I always do this. I don't wear a top. It's easier for me to move around.

The two of them had walked a long way from the Empire to this point.
Through several countries, of course.

'There's a... what's that... what's that?'

It's Nito. The enemy of the Empire, Nito is here.

'Yeah, yeah, nit!　And who was the other one?

'You've forgotten your mission, haven't you?　You don't know that without bothering to ask me?

'No!　I just got tired and hot and forgot about it.

I see...

Cromel's expression is hard and his tone is hard.
Ivan, on the other hand, has a lax personality.
More than anything else, this unflattering outfit speaks for itself.
The skirt is much shorter than necessary.
Another robe that wasted her cleavage exposing her cleavage.
If she hadn't been wearing a witch's hat, she would have been mistaken for a mere prostitute.

"'Avoid fighting with Nito,' she said. Master Raje said so. "And he told me to attack not Nito, but the woman with the light pink hair beside her.

'I see..... I forgot about it because I wasn't told my name.

Ivan is sweating.
Cromel, on the other hand, is cool.

The two of them set out for Heilkwaite in the distance.




o




　This is the grounds of Heil Kuwait.
This is the venue where the national championship match is being played.

There I found Patrick and the three men after the game.

The game is over, shall we go to Nito's place?　I told you not to look, but I should at least tell you the results.

Patrick will qualify for the block qualifier that day and will advance to the tournament.
If he finished in the top three there, he would be selected to represent the team.

'The thing is?　I feel like I'm going somewhere today.

Nito told the three of them that he was going out, but he didn't tell them where he was going.
And now Nito should be visiting Enumasan, the tethered country.

And Toa, with a question mark on his face, told Patrick that.

''Hmmm.......come to think of it, you were out somewhere else the other day, right?　What's Nito doing these days?　You seem to be out a lot.

That's what they don't tell me. "It's like he's just killing time." And then he disappears.

'Come to think of it, you did the same thing the other day. I saw him leave the room in the middle of the night without making a sound, so I followed him stealthily. But I lost him around the corner.

According to Sufilia, Masamune disappears even in the middle of the night.

''Where in the world is he going to be?''

The Toa has no idea.

'It's going to the dungeon!

"Huh? --"

Then Nem replied.
The three of them made dumb noises.

'Dungeons?'　Are you talking about... the dungeon the other day?

Toa asked.

'Yes!　Master ... he often goes to the dungeons from the black, round and round places!

The black and round part?

Nem's story doesn't make sense.
They look more and more confused.

I don't understand, but that's okay. Does this mean that you are in the dungeon right now?

'Neem doesn't know that either. But he went into circles again today.

For now, the three of them agree that Masamune is headed to the dungeon.

''Then what do we do after this?''

I'm sorry, but I'm going to the exercise area.

Then Sarah and Yui appear.

'Patrick?　I thought you were going to tell Nito the results?

Then Sarah asked.

'I don't seem to have it.'

'Well do you want to go to the training grounds now?

Let's go!　We have no time to wait for the return of a fool!

Then Yui said that vividly.
Patrick lets out a sigh.
He seems a little tired of communicating with Yui.

'Well, when Nito comes back, tell him that.

With that, Patrick disappeared.

After the morning session ended, the hall where people were gradually disappearing.
The students who were there that long were no longer in sight.
There was even silence there.

But that was the time.
An ear piercing noise like a howling sound rang out in the school.
Reflexively, the three of us covered our ears.
The school was not equipped with any sound equipment.
It was all done by magic, announcing by extension.
And it is limited to only those who have been determined and given the right to use it.

"........Do you hear me?　My name is Crom-El. I'm a warrior of the Durmskale Empire."

"Change a bit! ........"

"Hey!　Not now!"

"Hah!　I am Ivan. Also an Imperial mage. I'm taking a hostage. If you do not wish to be killed, Nito's female companion is requested to come to the front gate to be greeted... "Hey!　Give it to me now! ........"

They had some sort of dispute on the way.

"That's what I mean. There is no use for Nito the Adventurer. What there is is its mate. If you resist, I will kill this guy. Go on, the other students as well. Teachers are no exception. I'm going to kill them all. I don't like to be kept waiting. We're tired after such a long journey from the Empire. The sooner you get here, the better, while I'm still in the mood, the better. That's all--"

Then the announcement was cut off.

'Hey ... that was it.'

Yes. I suppose that's what we're talking about.

If you're one of your master's companions, then you're one of Nem?

The three of them made an unhappy face.
Currently, Masamune is not here.
And we don't know when he will return.
Perhaps if Masamune was here, he would have managed to do something about it.
But since he's not here, we can't rely on him.
Then what should we do?

And the thing that bothered me the most was that there were apparently hostages.
Even as I was thinking about this, the student might be killed.

The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that it's a hostage. I'm sure Nito-sama would agree with you.

'Nito would never say that!　I'm sure he'll say he'll help!

But even so, the opponent was the Empire.
Toa remembered the 'King's Shield' of the Empire called Lage, which was there the other day.
Abnormally fast chanting, and wickedly large magic power.
Of course, Masamune's is more wicked, but since he can't feel it, there is no way to compare it.

''I don't want to?　What if it was someone like the 'King's Shield' you met then?　We're no match for you, are we?

Currently, Sufilia is lower in level than Nem.
Of course, level isn't everything, but Sufilia isn't strong and isn't suited for combat in the first place.

And so it is with the Toa.
Even though he is a paladin, what the Toa wears is like an extension of his self-defense techniques.
Even so, the reason why it's strong is probably because Toa is a demon race.

''For now, let's go. We don't know who they are, and we don't know why, but they're calling us, right?

Toa felt guilty, and that's what he thought, that he should head to the scene anyway.
He didn't think about helping them or what would happen afterwards.
But he couldn't overlook the fact that other students would be killed because of their own coming to this school.

'Nem is ... afraid.

Nem looked down and said that while keeping his mouth closed.
The only thing that could be seen in his expression was anxiety.

Sufilia opposed it to the end.
She said it was time to wait for time to pass.
And that they should leave it to the person in charge of the school.
I mean the headmaster.

'I'm just going to have a look. If you don't think it's safe you can come back.

Toa's expression gradually turns to fear.
The words become faltering with it.

And then the three of them were left with the anxiety on their shoulders.
He ran away from the scene.




o




　This is in front of the main gate.
A bulletin board could be seen beside it, and there was a poster of Nito on it, more than necessary.

And there, there was a crowd.

The first thing I saw was a lot of students and some teachers.
They are sending instructions to the students to enter the school building.
But some of the students are so amused that they won't leave the place.

And there was a pair of figures right by the gate.
It's Cromell and Ivan.
Between the two of them, I can see a female student who is crying out.
I'm sure you'll be able to find a lot more information on this.

They are confronted by Sabrina Kidman, the headmistress of the school.

What is the Empire doing in this noble school?

Sabrina glared at him.
Her long, straight blonde hair fluttered in the wind.

'As I said. I've come on a mission for Nito's people. If you want the lives of these students, call them here promptly.

Cromell sent a sharp look at Sabrina.
'The Eye of the Serpent,' if you will.

''They are the students of this academy. I won't let them mimic you without permission!''

"I don't care what you have to say. This is the will of the Empire. This is the will of the Empire, and it's not for you to interfere.

Words are not understood.
Understanding that, Sabrina closed her mouth once and looked into Cromel's eyes.

''You........are a snake person?''

Cromell doesn't return it.

'That's rare. Snake people are supposed to be a rare species...'

Basically, the snake people are a race that does not show themselves in the mundane world, living only in their territory of the 'village'.
Some of them did leave the village, but their gray skin and sharp eyes caused fear and disgust in the rest of the tribe. That's why few left the village.
But that was a long time ago.
A long time ago, someone destroyed the village of the Serpent Man.
Since then, the number of the serpent-men had dwindled to a trickle, leaving only a few scattered across the continent.
As a result, the snake men who had lost their homeland were forced to live elsewhere forever.
But it was rare for those who embraced the serpent-man to do so.
After that, they were persecuted in various ways, but they managed to leave their blood behind for posterity without extinguishing it.
And that was Cromell.
So he is one of the remaining snake men.

''That's why snake people are so few in number. ''So they say.''

Shut your mouth right now or I'll kill you first.

Cromell still didn't move a single eyebrow.
But the words were full of power.

Sabrina mouthed off to distract him.
But she realized that was a mistake.

Then Cromel closed his eyes.
Then she inhaled deeply and exhaled through her nose.

'-- Don't piss me off too much, okay?

Ivan sat there, perhaps because of his long journey, and didn't particularly want to get into the conversation.
But did he get numb to the quicksand?

Hey!　Are we there yet?　I've been waiting for this forever!　If you're the principal, then get on with it and get them out of here!

Ivan is disgusted with his attitude.
But Sabrina just looks at him.
She doesn't say anything back.

Sabrina was looking for some way to create an opening between them.
But there's no room.
And as long as the hostage is being held, we can't do anything about it.
That's why the only thing we can do is to spy on them.

--But at that time, the three of them arrived there.

Then Sabrina is astonished.

''Why.........are you guys.......here? .....

Sabrina did not want the three of them to come here.
If the three of them showed up here, there would definitely be a conflict.
It would be a small 'war'.

Sabrina was trying to somehow govern things without fighting.
And yet........

"They're ... the Empire? .....

There was Toa, Nem, and then Sufilia.