The North.
In a barren environment lies a territory on the frontier of the empire.
Due to its northern location, it has a dry and cold climate.
Yet, a notable characteristic of this territory is the prominent presence of beasts near its borders.
The lord of the northern territory, Lucarion, hunts these beasts every year.
If the northern territory were breached, the surrounding areas would descend into chaos, so preventative measures are taken.
To aid in these situations, central territories and others regularly send reinforcements.
While they deal with the beasts annually, every four years there's a significant attack.
This attack is, in reality, the beasts' final act of desperation.
As humans hunt them, their population diminishes, and with a scarcity of food, they lash out in one last desperate attempt.
Staving off this onslaught ensures a period of peace.
"Hmm..."
I was slowly going through documents regarding the beast attacks in the North.
These beasts typically attack just before summer, after enduring hunger and near madness during the winter.
The exact day of their attack was never certain, only a general timeframe was known.
"The support from other territories isn’t specified yet..."
There were no concrete plans for this upcoming attack.
Given that this event has been experienced several times before, there seemed to be a laid-back approach to preparations.
Reading through the manual, I noticed systematic documentation related to student involvement and reinforcements.
The meticulously crafted manual made me think,
"There’s no reason not to..."
The safety of the students was guaranteed, and there were plenty of experienced veterans.
If I were to join the reinforcements, my role would be to ensure the safety of the citizens from within the fortress, providing rear support.
It was a sweet deal.
Of course, even providing rear support had its risks.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})But considering all I'd been through, this hardly ranked as dangerous.
I've faced life-threatening situations more than once, so this was manageable.
"This is definitely..."
Bang!
"Rudy! I'm here!"
Luna burst in, panting heavily.
"Shall we go for a walk outside? Or maybe visit a bakery to unwind?"
Her words trailed off as she noticed the North-related book I was reading.
I awkwardly smiled and tucked the book into a drawer.
"Oh, it's alright. Professor Gracie summoned me earlier. I'll pay her a brief visit."
There were things to consider if I was going North.
The responsibilities of a student council president and those of a teaching assistant.
In my absence, someone would need to handle these roles.
As for the teaching assistant role, I had a plan in mind.
"I'll be back in a bit."
"Mm, okay."
Luna responded with an awkward smile.
I then headed towards Professor Gracie's office.
Gracie's research lab.
"...What?"
Gracie widened her eyes in surprise.
"It seems like it could be fun~."
Yuni, standing beside me, smiled mischievously.
"No way! I absolutely refuse! Why would I go there and put myself through that?!"
Gracie vigorously shook her head, expressing her disapproval.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})I had made a proposal to Professor Gracie.
The proposal? To head to the northern region together.
Thinking of the lab work and how to manage it, an idea struck me.
If the tasks in the lab simply disappeared, that would solve the problem.
If Professor Gracie went to the North as the supervising professor, the lab work would naturally vanish.
Professor Gracie's lab consisted of just three of us: Yuni, Professor Gracie, and myself.
Two of us were students.
Without Professor Gracie, there'd be no one to delegate the work to.
The lab would essentially go on hiatus.
“You… You're trying to kill me, aren't you? Moreover, what did you do with the Remblin flowers? They were just brought in recently!”
“Oh, I used them well. They were quality herbs.”
“You used… all of them?”
Despair flooded Professor Gracie for another reason.
"How could you use them all?!"
Gracie lamented, her face contorted in distress.
I feigned ignorance at her outcry.
"Setting that aside, let's head to the North together. Imagine the praise from the other professors if their junior took the initiative.”
"I don't need their praise... There'll be so many nobles there. If I go as the representative, they'll make sure I suffer the most."
"Hmm... I have a feeling you're going regardless..."
Yuni said with a smirk, tapping her cheek playfully.
“What are you talking about? Hahaha… just a joke, right?”
Both Gracie and I, even Yuni, knew a certain fact.
Whenever there was tough work, the professors always dumped it on Gracie.
Even we, who recently joined the lab, were aware of this.
Initially, I had planned to accompany Professor Gracie without even telling her.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})However, respecting the lab's traditions, I felt she should be the one to formally apply first.
With an awkward smile, Professor Gracie's expression turned solemn as she lowered her head.
“Of course… I'll have to go, won't I?”
“That seems likely.”
Yuni grinned, her smile devilish.
“Why did I even join this place… Perhaps I should've stayed as a Royal Wizard. But then again, that place is hell… But is this place any different? Am I cursed?”
Realizing the truth, Professor Gracie seemed to break down, muttering to herself in a daze.
Seeing Gracie in that state tugged at my heartstrings.
Sighing, I picked up a stack of documents.
“So, I'll take it you're going then?”
“Ah, you're leaving?”
"I've got student council paperwork to deal with, so I'll handle it in the council room."
“Alright then, take care.”
I opened the lab door, taking in Yuni's words as I left.
While Rudy was in his lab,
"Ugh..."
Luna intently examined the documents Rudy had been looking at.
"The North..."
To Luna, the North was synonymous with danger.
Her father's fairy tales from her childhood often spoke of the North as a place laid to ruin by beast attacks.
Beneath the main text of the document, the words 'extra credit' caught her attention.
Rudy, who had underperformed in the recent exam, seemed deeply distressed.
Although Luna had come in second place, her joy was overshadowed by concern.
She had never seen Rudy so despondent, his complexion a shade paler than usual.
She even wished she could give him her own scores.
"So Rudy plans to go there..."
Luna found herself deep in thought.
She wanted to help Rudy.
But if she decided to go to that place herself, her grades would benefit as well.
So, what about Rudy...
"No, no."
Luna momentarily entertained the thought of consistently outperforming Rudy.
But she immediately dismissed it.
Such arrogance, to believe that just because she surpassed Rudy once, she could always do so.
That's why she shook the thought away.
"First, let's consider what I can do for Rudy!"
Seeing Rudy so heartbroken made Luna's heart ache.
It felt as if needles were pricking her.
The worry that the ever-confident and selfless Rudy might crumble weighed heavily on her.
She cherished that bright, self-sacrificing side of Rudy.
Luna made a decision: she would ensure Rudy had the right conditions to travel to the North.
Regarding the student council responsibilities,
Surely, during his time in the North, someone else would temporarily handle the duties of the student council president.
But if she could sort out everything beforehand, it would make Rudy's journey smoother.
With this in mind, she decided to settle all pending tasks.
And also her own responsibilities.
She readied herself to manage all the assignments of Professor Mcguire's lab.
Considering the North's perilous reputation, Rudy would undoubtedly need assistance.
While students typically operated in safe zones, the inherent danger of the North was undeniable.
Luna took off the ribbon around her neck, settled at a desk in the student council room, and spread out the research papers and other documents before her.
"Well, let's begin,"
She whispered.
Determined and focused, Luna, the paperwork powerhouse, set into motion.
Cromwell walked purposefully down the corridor, holding an assortment of documents in one hand.
“Hmm…”
His steps led him toward the principal's office, intent on processing the paperwork and securing the final approval.
However, McDowell had been conspicuously absent lately, a fact that had escaped most of the staff.
McDowell had a habit of disappearing without a trace or word to anyone.
Although Cromwell wasn't entirely sure why, he hadn't probed into it, trusting that if it were essential, McDowell would certainly inform him.
The pressing issue at hand was the pending final approval for these documents due to McDowell's absence.
Despite constantly leaving them in the principal's office, the paperwork remained unattended for quite some time.
Typically, if McDowell planned to be away for an extended period, he would inform the Vice Principal to act on his behalf.
But this time, there had been no such communication.
As he approached, Cromwell caught sight of the principal's office.
"I wonder if he's returned."
Just as this thought crossed his mind, a powerful wave of mana surged from the principal's office.
Thud!
A sound, as if something had fallen, echoed.
“Principal?”
Reacting immediately, Cromwell dashed into the office.
Inside, he found two figures.
One was Yeniel, blood-soaked and disheveled.
The other was Principal McDowell, cradling the injured Yeniel in one arm.
However...
"Ah… Is that you, Cromwell?"
McDowell's right arm was missing, cut off at the forearm, blood still pouring out.
"Principal McDowell!!!"
In alarm, Cromwell rushed to McDowell's aid.
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