'School trip!

　The two witches, Mattelus and Mucha, were the same in voice.
　I was following the two of them and advancing on the road that stretches north from the royal capital.
　This is the reason why we are heading to a certain place.

It's not the time for that, Lasell-senpai.

'Yes. Given the situation in Branch 5...

"You spies say that?

　I cowered my shoulders towards the two panicked people.

　It's true that Branch 5 - no, the Villa Amst Kingdom is being targeted.
　It's only natural.
　I'm the one who defeated the demons.
　I can't take it easy.
　That's why I sent Mucha (47) and Mattelus (83).

　But I won't panic if there are spies mixed in with the school.
　Rather, this is an opportunity.
　I've got a hold of the number kid.
　Then we can get the information out of them.

　In fact, I'd already heard the location of the enemy's hideout from Mucha and Mathels.

　But it seems that my actions are incomprehensible to them.
　It's not that Mucha and Matels are surprised, they are angry.

It's a good thing that you're not the only one. It's not a good idea to bring them outside the city. It's like asking them to run away.

　Mattelus raised an eyebrow.
　Mucha beside him chimed in with one, "I totally agree.

If you want to run, run.

What?

But only if you're sure you can get away from me.

"...........

　The two men's faces cloud over.
　They don't open their mouths to argue, nor do they turn their backs and run away.
　They simply follow me silently.

　Apparently it's the result of my senior's education.
　Aside from Mattelus, Mucha didn't even give me a hand or a leg to stand on.
　It's probably not in the mood to run away.

　I'm going to continue my story.

I want to tell you one thing: I don't know that you are witches, I want you to know that I want you to know that I want you to know that I want you to know that I want you to know that I want you to know that I want you to know that I want you to know that I want you to know that I want you to know that I want you to know that I want you to know that I want you to know that I want you to know that I want you to know that I want you to know that you are a witch.

'What?　What do you mean?

Are you suggesting that I behave like that?

That's right, Mucha.

　I nodded.

''In other words, restore the relationship. I don't know that you guys are witches, and you can fulfill your role as 'number children' (numbers). If you want to spy on me, you can report to the organization.

You want us to be a double agent?

　Mattelus frowns.
　Although he seems frivolous, Mattelus is surprisingly righteous.
　He is not comfortable with actions that betray the organization.
　When I asked him about the hiding place of the "Numbered Children (Numbers)", he never spoke up and had to hear it from Mucha.

'It's not like that. I've been given the location of the hideout, but I have no intention of extracting any more information from you. And of course, I'm not going to take advantage of you. It's just that the chances of both of us surviving are higher if we restore our relationship.

.........?

　Mattelus looked like he still didn't get it.
　In contrast, Mucha was wise.

''Matelus, senior Lacelle is worried about us.

We're...?

'Now that we've been exposed as spies, the Children of Numbers (Numbers) will cut us off. It will be inevitable that an assassin will be sent to us. So they're telling us to reset the relationship and act as spies as we've always done.

But we have an intermediary...

　The intermediary would be the person they would be monitoring to see if the spying was working properly.

'That's okay, Mattelus,'

What do you mean?

Because I'm the middleman. I've been watching your every move.

'Geez!　Did you think I was going to betray you?

'Yes. As it turns out, your loyalty was higher than mine, but...

'Haha........ I'm shocked..... I've been working pretty hard, haven't I?

You've got it all figured out. --So, are you on board with me?

　I interrupt their conversation.

'I have no objection. If that's okay with you, senior Lacelle,'

I have no objection.

　Mucha and Mathels both agree.
　When one of them had finished, Mucha asked me, "By the way, is that right, senior?

''By the way, is that right, senior Lacelle?

What?

It's about ... the destination of the school trip.

　I raised the corners of my mouth.


　Ah.......... You mean Saw Trading State.........


　Saw Commercial State.
　As the name suggests, it was founded by merchants - a very rare country in Galvale.
　Eighty percent of the people are well versed in some kind of business, and while its territory is less than a mere one-twentieth of the Kingdom of Villa Amst, it has an economic power that rivals that of Galvale's strongest nation, the Eisteddfod Empire.
　Recently, it has also put a lot of effort into tourism, and nobles and royalty from various countries have placed their villas there.
　It has risen to the top of the list of countries to visit at least once.

　If I remember, it was the Kowloon Cup two years ago.

　This is the country where there is a fourth branch that requires Volfot, which caused a lot of students to suffer.
　It was there that we were going on a school trip.
　It's not just the third class students.
　The entire school, including the new students, was going on the trip.

　When I heard that the destination was the country of Sou, the two witches exhaled.

''I think I've told you, but I dare to say it again. The hiding place for us, the 'Numbered Children', is in the Saw Trading Country. Isn't it a risk to go on a school trip there?

'Sure. But there are risks, but there are three benefits.

　For one thing, I'd have the advantage of having a school official on hand.

　If I were to attack the school's hideout by myself, there was no guarantee that the remaining students would not be targeted.
　In that case, it would be easier for me to move if I had it in a place I could easily protect.

　The second is to convince them that Musha and the others haven't betrayed us against the 'number kids'.
　You wouldn't expect them to travel with the entire school, knowing that there is a hideout.
　It was a consideration to protect them both.

And the third?

You'll be in a top-of-the-line resort - so what do you think?



　I've been in a tense mood for a lot of things.
　It's not a bad idea to rest your bones.
　In that sense, it would be good to see another country and to relax.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find it.

''I thought Lacelle-senpai was more of a burly gymnast (Spartanian), but...''

It's pretty flashy, isn't it?

Resting is also a necessary part of becoming strong. If you train all day, every day, you'll break your body.

It's a bit of a contradiction in terms to rest your bones in a hostile country.

　Mattelus shook his head in relief.

'Where are you headed, by the way?　It's not like you're hiking with spies, is it?

Is that better?

　I raise the corners of my mouth.
　Mattelus puts his hand on his brow.

'I shouldn't have listened.'

Don't worry. It's not like I'm going to bully you now. I'm just going to make sure you get punished a little.

So what the hell is going on?

"To get back to the school trip, when I asked the king for a school trip, he made me a condition.

Conditions?

'They want to keep the costs down. Because moving the whole school would be pretty expensive.

　Right now, in the Villa Amst Kingdom, the defense budget was skyrocketing.
　It was because of the countermeasures against the demons as usual.
　Therefore, no matter how much I wished for it, I couldn't raise the budget for a school trip that would involve a lot of money.

''So I thought I'd at least try to raise some money for travel.

'Travel expenses..... What are you going to do?

It's easy. I'll get you a ride.


　A convenient vehicle that can carry all 600 students at once....