154. School closure period (3)
Three days have passed since the temporary school closure began.
Maybe it’s because there’s neither Marie nor Claire. A little lonely
─It was only for a moment that I thought that. It is only in the afternoon that I realize that there is no room for loneliness.
When you spend time reading a book borrowed from the library,
Rachel came right next to me with the sound of wheels on the wheelchair.
“Brother. A guest has arrived.”
“…A guest?”
Putting a bookmark on the book I was reading, I vomited my doubts.
Guest… Ira.
It’s a word I’m sure I know, but why is it so hard to understand the meaning of the word?
“There must be no guests to come?”
Marie, Claire, Er…. Now, everyone has left for their own affairs.
No matter how much I think about it, there doesn’t seem to be anyone worth visiting.
Of course, this is the room where I, the only male student at the academy, live.
Most of the students feel reluctant and don’t even try to approach me.
“Flora Meldis has come. I heard that she came because of Claire-sama.”
“Hmm…?”
It’s surprising to hear the name Flora Meldis here, but the purpose of the visit is because of Claire’s business?
What the hell is going on….
“For now, tell them to come in.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Rachel led her wheelchair toward the front door.
And after a while, Rachel appeared with a girl.
“I wonder if it’s okay if I say nice to meet you.”
Flora greets you.
She was a woman with a slightly different impression from her name, which means flower. It feels more like an animal than a plant.
It’s ironic. It doesn’t have the slightest hint of wildness or roughness, but it ends up being compared to a beast.
If she was born as an animal, would she be a snake-like reptile?
Maybe it’s a cunning and clever bird, maybe it’s an aquatic creature like a killer whale.
She was such a strange woman.
She seems to have the elegance of an aristocrat, but she doesn’t look like a noble.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Ariel Beheritt.”
“Of course I know. Flora isn’t such an idiot as to come looking for the landlord without knowing her name.”
“…I see. So, why did senior Flora Meldis, who is the Treasurer of the Student Knights, visit me?”
Flora smiled at that question.
Blue eyes shine in her thin narrow eyes, revealing her sharp, sharp teeth like shark teeth.
It feels like a glimpse of the violence of a seemingly docile killer whale.
“Brother, Flora Meldis has brought presents.”
“…A gift?”
“Yes.”
Wooden crates fly from the front door as Rachel wiggles her hand around her.
That number is not one or two. Ten…… No, twenty boxes.
All those boxes are neatly piled up behind Rachel’s back.
Flora grabs one of the boxes, and she promptly opens one and shows it to me.
In it,
“…The seed of Ulkoa.”
“Hey, you know right away?”
Immediately, Flora makes an interesting expression toward me as I speak the item name.
I couldn’t help but know. It was an item that I had seen many times in Unknown Saga.
How many times have you been looking for this item when making an automaton?
“She asked why she came. Of course, as I explained to the blind girl here, she came because of Claire’s business. Flora was to arrange her item instead of Claire’s.”
“…Instead of Claire?”
“I heard from Claire. She said she’s been looking for materials to make automatons all over the place? ──Ah, can I have a seat?”
Flora asked, pointing to a table in the living room.
Of course, at this point she had no reason to refuse. I nodded.
So me and Flora took our seats,
“Ariel, do you know what Claire is doing? It looks like she’s still on a floating island.”
“I’m not sure, but he must be attending a meeting somewhere.”
“Yes. It looks like Claire is having a tea party with Her Highness, the famous princess today. Tomorrow, it looks like she’ll go to the Flach family’s gathering, and the next day, she’ll attend the Tanpel family’s banquet.”
From noble mtl dot com
“You’re so busy.”
“Yes. So Flora, who is relatively unoccupied, has been assigned to take over Claire’s work. She is here to report to Ariel that she has taken over today.”
Flora said so.
At those words, I inadvertently turned my gaze toward the stacked boxes. It seems that they have already completed the work to some extent, rather than simply taking over.
Anyway, I am grateful to collect ingredients on behalf of the busy Claire.
Her heart, which was wary of Flora at first, disappeared like snow.
“Thank you for your help.”
“Hmm, Flora thinks it’s too early to be thankful. Mainly for two reasons.”
“Two reasons?”
“The first reason is based on the very obvious logic that nothing is free in this world. If something goes, something must come, and in order to gain something, something must be lost. Isn’t the truth engraved in this world?”
“…What do you want?”
“Of course it’s money. A worker needs a salary.”
Flora made a circle with her thumb and index finger.
It was a bit absurd, but I liked that it was honest. Rather, is it cool enough to feel like it?
When I look at Rachel, Rachel nods her head and she immediately moves into her action. She
She goes to the safe and retrieves her purse from there.
‘As long as it’s money, it’s not difficult.’
Because the apocalypse happened a while ago, the academy gave out another reward. Thanks to that, my wallet has never been more plentiful.
I get Rachel’s purse and hand it to Flora.
“You are a generous employer. You are at such a level that even a bad-tempered worker can realize the joy of work.”
Laughing heartily, Flora took her purse.
She looks like a decent person, but Flora likes money. In a slightly different sense from the old Sujeon Muri.
If Myuri is a merchant character who just likes to make money, Flora in front of her likes to spend money.
Probably half of the money I gave you will be gone by tomorrow.
By gambling.
“Is there anything else you want? You said there were two reasons.”
“All she wants is money. Asking for anything more than this would break the trust of mutual respect, so Flora shouldn’t do it. So, the second thing I’m going to say is not Flora’s personal greed, but about extremely realistic difficulties.”
“How about realistic difficulties?”
“I have only collected about half of the items Ariel is asking for. It seems like it will take some time to collect the other half. ──Do you know that floating islands today are less crowded than during vacation?”
Flora asked such a question,
I reply with a nod.
Along with school closures, many students left the floating island.
It is only natural to leave the infected area where even deaths occurred.
However, it is not only the students who have escaped the floating island.
Many ordinary people live in the life block of the floating island.
Employees working at the academy, merchants selling food and items, and even their families.
Students were able to respond to this apocalypse to some extent because they had combat skills, but
Many casualties occurred because there were many ordinary people who had not been involved in combat in the first place.
Not only did the people so disliked go out,
“Since all the students leave the Floating Island, it seems that the merchants are also facing an off-season. So, I think quite a few merchants left the Floating Island and returned to their hometowns.”
There’s no guarantee that you’ll be safe outside the floating island, Flora added lightly.
Anyway, I knew the situation.
“It must be difficult to trade items as not only students but also merchants have left.”
“It’s true. No matter how good a negotiator is, you can’t negotiate without a partner.”
“You’re in quite a bit of trouble. Can you get me the rest of the items?”
“I have to try to figure it out, but it’s not impossible at all. From Flora’s point of view, the merchants’ departure is a temporary phenomenon. Moving or changing jobs isn’t something that can be easily done in a day or two, right?”
So after this two-month closure, Flora says, many vendors will return or fill vacancies.
“So it will take about three months to collect them all. Flora’s calculations estimate that it will take that much time.”
“Is that so?”
Three months. At least until the end of this year, I wonder if I can somehow complete the automaton.
In Unknown Saga, it was possible to make an automaton at least in the second year. If you think about it like that, being able to make an automaton in the middle of the second semester of the first year is really lucky.
I wish it was faster, but I can’t help it.
Anyway, I have something else to do during this temporary closure.
“You may proceed as is.”
Archeology club room.
Four students gathered there.
Lucius, Tia, Lapisca.
And Benit.
“The Catacombs Dungeon of County of Findelnerca… The 9th floor was not the end, but the 10th floor existed.”
On the table, the memoirs left by Jayka are spread out.
Lapiska looks down at it and shrugs her shoulders.
“She’s the queen of the undead… They say you have to get rid of this to stop the last infection.”
“Then we’ll need a large raid. Lapiska, what can we do?”
“That’s probably hard, Lucius. No one wants to go to the Catacombs dungeon.”
“…….”
Hearing those words, Bennett could only be silent.
In fact, it is. The infection was caused by the catacombs dungeon, so who would want to go inside?
No one would want to go to the Catacombs dungeon.
“However, according to Jayka-senpai’s notes, the infection will spread all over the world if this continues.
“If you believe Jaca Ancilla’s memoirs, I mean. It’s my prediction, but no one will believe it?”
“Why?”
“That’s true, Jaca Ancilla has turned into a monster. … No, according to this memoir, it means that it was turned into a monster from the beginning, with only memories remaining? What will people think if you read this memoir?”
“……What do you think?”
“Some might think it’s a trap to lure the scapegoats into the catacombs dungeon.”
Even if it’s not like that, it’s just a student’s memoir.
It is not easy to move a clan, the Imperial Knights, or the enlisted men of the surrounding lords with just one handicraft.
“…They say there is a princess on the roof garden of the Cultural Center. Shall we ask for help?”
“Stop it, Lucius. If you do something wrong, your head could be cut off on the spot.”
“Then let’s go by ourselves. We can’t just sit idly by.”
“Do you think that’s easy? It’s where Jay Carr and Scylla managed to get her raiding party. Our party can’t do it alone.”
“……If there is a military force, there is.”
Benit, who had been listening quietly, finally stood up.
Her face is still contorted with despair.
It was the face of someone who hadn’t given up yet.
“Country of Findelnerca has four districts. Each district has troops, and as long as we can gather them together… Anything will work.”
“But, junior Benit Findelnerka, according to what you said, wasn’t the county already sealed off? In that situation, there was even an infection, so it was a mess.”
“……It will be okay. The heads of districts of each district are competent people, so I’m sure……”
“If the troops of each district are alive, that’s good for now, but the problem is how to break through the blockade. I heard that the contract to operate the warp gate was also terminated, so how are you going to rally the forces of Count Findelnerca?”
“Because there is a detour… If you go there, you can go to the county…”
Benit knelt down.
And then, with his forehead facing the ground, he lowered his head.
“…I beseech you. Take me to County of Findelnerca…. To protect the people of Findelnerca…, to prevent the fall of the family even a little…. Please help me…”
Tears fall to the ground and make a shallow sound.
The sobbing voice echoed through the club room, and Lapisca looked at it and let out a sighing sound.
Tia was still expressionless and did not open her mouth.
Lucius was looking down at Benit like that.
When I first met him, he wasn’t like this.
Since a new dungeon was discovered in the county, I still remember that she invited me with a lively face to come.
I thought she was a good person.
Even when he was invited to the count’s residence, he greeted him enthusiastically, and even while staying at the count’s residence, he treated him without any lack.
Benit just wanted to let many people know about the newly discovered dungeon in his estate.
Of course, everyone knows that there is a calculation behind it. How much the Countess Findelnerca benefited from the fact that many people visited the county.
But that wouldn’t have been a bad thing.
It was just that the lord in charge of the estate was doing what the girl in front of him was doing a little earlier.
I don’t think Benit is the kind of person who should be in this situation.
I don’t understand why Benit should despair like this.
Benit certainly did nothing wrong.
“I’ll help.”
And Lucius says.
“Of course, I can’t go right away. My power alone is not enough to help senior Benit.”
Lucius looked at Lapisca and Tia.
Lapis Cara shrugged her shoulders helplessly.
“My brother said he would go, but I can’t help it. I’ll help.”
“Thank you, sister.”
“…I’ll go too. Benit didn’t discriminate against me.”
“Thanks, Tia. …Let’s all go together when Rose and Ron get back.”
Lucius extends his hand towards Benit.
Benit opened his eyes wide.
Courtesy.
Come to think of it, when was the last time you received favor from others?
He thought he shouldn’t expect favors from the moment he was accused of being the culprit of the disaster.
He thought that he didn’t deserve the favor, and that there would be no one to hand it to him.
But it wasn’t.
In this world where there is nothing but despair, there is hope left.
Benit slowly took that hand and stood up.
3Rd year Sacred Combat Department Minrena was surprised.
“Now, what…?”
Minrena casually took two steps back and asked.
She was facing two people now.
One is a blind girl in a wheelchair.
It feels bizarre because she has a giant centipede wrapped around her body, but she even felt a strange sacredness in her smile. She must be a skilled high priest.
In front of her is a man.
“You didn’t hear. Then I’ll tell you again.”
Hair that looks like it has been painted over with pale blue paint on pure white drawing paper. The eyes are a little dark to say that they are light blue.
His face, which seemed to have no blood or tears, was cold, and he was looking this way with his arms crossed with arrogance wrapped around his body.
As he is a rare man on this floating island, he is taller than the other students, so Minrena looks up at him.
In other words, the boy looked down on this side, giving off a sense of intimidation.
While the surrounding members are surprised,
Ariel Beheritt speaks in a blunt voice.
“He said that he wanted to visit the gardening department. Would you like permission?”