/
Practice quest
“Today’s quest is about the elimination of frequently appearing monsters around the nearby villages of Straheim. Although it’s basic, don’t let down your guard.”
I had accepted today’s quest at the Adventurer’s Guild yesterday. Most likely, they had thought we were going to explore the labyrinth. Everyone had a complex look.
“These are the weapons made for you guys. You can use them as you wish.”
I placed the toy weapon I had manufactured earlier.
Although they were toys, I thought they should be good enough for adolescent students.
In fact, I thought it might hinder their growth if they possessed advanced weapons poorly.
“Hey, this weapon, magic runes are engraved on it!!!” Pluto, holding a spear, shouted as he discovered a magical rune engraved on the blade.
“I-it’s true
.”
Everyone held their weapon one by one and shouted in joy.
“The way to use them is simple. Just like the magic bag, you just have to charge [1] or more Mana. Just by doing it, the system in it will invoke the magic itself.”
I had added a friendly setting so that it could invoke the magic with very low Mana.
“This weapon

.”
“I told you. These weapons already belong to you. Don’t fret about it. I will manufacture better weapons as your training progresses.”
But that was only if I succeeded in developing it.
“Not worrying about


”
The students reacted strangely. Well, whatever.
Time was running out. Let’s quickly head to Accord, the city in the quest.
Urging the students, I teleported to Straheim.
◇◆◇◆◇◆
“Hey, that wasn’t there before, was it?” Pluto asked a simple question.
“Y-yes. It wasn’t,” Eight replied somewhat confidently.
While looking at me with reproachful eyes, Mia said such a disputable fact, “Perhaps, is this also because of Sensei?”
“No, as expected, it shouldn’t be
.”
Without letting Cliff’s denial continue, Teresa nodded repeatedly. “That’s right. You even make magic weapons.”
The thing the students were referring to was the shining tower in the south of the city.
To tell you the truth, I’d only just found out that there was such a thing.
“Sensei, is this because of Sensei?”
“Of course not! What do you even think of me?!”
Well, actually, the tower was the second test, so it could be said that my actions were the cause.
“You’re right. No matter how much Sensei lacks common sense, he isn’t that insane.”
“Yeah, that’s right. Although Sensei is an eccentric person, he isn’t strange to that extent.”
“Although your evaluation is moderate, I agree.”
These guys had a lot to say. I really had gotten good students! Of course, this is sarcasm.
“Don’t be silly. We’re going into battle today. Get some rest while you still can.”
Forcing myself to change the subject, I lay back down in the carriage.
About five hours later, at around 1 p.m., we finally arrived at the town in the quest, Accord.
“First, let’s head to an inn and place our luggage there. Afterwards, we will go to the mayor’s residence and listen to the details of the quest. If we can finish everything quickly, you are free to go. You can go sightseeing, take a break, or do whatever you want.”
Accord was a small town with a population of 1500 people, but it had a lot of nature, so it was perfect for sightseeing. Well, that was if everything went smoothly.
“Alright,” Pluto agreed and jumped down from the carriage.
The students began unloading their luggage.
◇◆◇◆◇◆
Right now, we were listening to the details about the quest from the town mayor in his residence.
“I see. So livestock is getting attacked. What do you guys think?”
Let’s sort out the information.
Recently, they’d noticed that some livestock of a farmer, such as one-horned boars and ratites, had been attacked frequently in the mornings on a suburban farm.
The deep forest on the west side of Accord had become a swarming area for monsters. So, it was only natural for them to think that such an abnormal situation was caused by monsters.
“The number of livestock sacrificed at one time is not more than one or two, and there’s no sign of them being eaten on the spot either. Rather than monsters, it seems more like the work of bandits or thieves,” Cliff replied, putting his hand on his chin.
It was a pretty good point to note.
“That’s right. If it’s a monster, then one or two aren’t enough and even the point about stealing every day is very strange,” Pluto agreed with Cliff’s opinion.
“If that’s the case, we should first gather some information.”
“Then, let’s go♫”
At Teresa’s words, which sounded like we were on a trip, everyone sat up from their seats.
“Umm,” the town mayor turned to look at me with anxious eyes.
“Don’t worry. Despite their deplorable outer appearance, they are quite useful,” I assured convincingly.
[Outer appearance. I don’t think master should be the one to say this.]
Disregarding Mura’s stupid retort, I urged the students while greeting the mayor and began our first outside quest.
“This is the farm where livestock are disappearing every night?” Mia asked.
“Yes. Once in several days, we noticed a few animals missing in the morning,” the middle-aged rancher nodded with a meet expression.
“But a rough inspection showed that none of the fences was broken,” Pluto, who had completed his survey of the fence area, came over to us and reported.
“If that’s the case, it can’t be wild dogs, can it? If it was a wild dog, it would have destroyed one part of this fence to get in.”
“Then, it’s some sort of theft?”
“No, I don’t think so. Do you think a mere thief would be able to climb that high fence carrying a huge boar?”
“Yes, you are right.”
There were several requirements for a criminal in this case.
First, he must be able to enter the fence without breaking it. To put another way, someone who could climb over that high fence. It was possible if the monster was highly intelligent or had the ability to fly.
Second, each time, only one or two of them attacked at night. If it was a monster with weak reasoning, it would have attacked a dozen or more at once.
From these facts, several guesses could be made, but this time, I was just an observer. As much as possible, I would not interfere.
Looking around at the others, Eight suggested, “There’s no limit to guessing at this rate. I think the best thing to do would be to come here tonight and take a look at it in person. What do you think?”
Eight had become quite capable of expressing his own opinions. I thought that was how much he had become comfortable in Class G.
“Well, there’s no other way,” Cliff agreed.
“I agree.”
“Mia also agree.”
Eight tucked his chin lightly and asked the rancher, “Rancher-san. Would you mind if we stay here tonight and investigate?”
“Of course! I’m afraid I won’t be able to sleep at night. Please help me!”
The dark circles under his eyes suggested that he hadn’t slept a wink since the incident.
“Then, let’s prepare a strategy for tonight.”
“Yes!”
Everyone nodded, and the discussion began.
◇◆◇◆◇◆
The night had deepened completely. The hand of the clock had already pointed at 10:00 p.m. We lurked in the shadows, watching the farm at night.
“Will it really come tonight?” Mia muttered her doubt, which was currently on the mind of everyone present, as she yawned loudly.
“There hasn’t been any damage in the last two days, so the timing should be tonight

.” Eight mumbled.
Well, certainly all students’ fatigue was now at its peak.
“Well, we all can’t stay awake. Let’s sleep in turn, everyone.”
“ThenI! I will be the first to stay up. Everyone, you can go ahead and sleep first,” Teresa cheerfully raised her right hand.
Everyone exhaled loudly. Of course, they knew that once she said it, no one could object.
She was still a selfish girl. Lately, though, she’d been much less selfish.
“Hey
. Sensei.”
“Hmm?”
When everyone had fallen asleep, Teresa, who was sitting next to me, suddenly called out to me with a strange look on her face, which was unusual for her.
Perhaps, she wanted to consult with me about something.
“I think I’m going to have an arranged marriage.”
Arranged marriage, huh. Teresa was now sixteen years old, and it was common for aristocrats to get engaged and have an arranged marriage at an early age.
“Hmm, even though I want to say congratulations
. It doesn’t seem good, huh.”
Based on her personality, if she had a positive view of arranged marriages, she would be open about it.
“Yes, it’s because everything is completely his fault.”
“His?”
“Yes. He was introduced to me by my father once. I think that was my first formal marriage interview.”
Most likely, he’d left a bad impression on her with a bad attitude at the marriage interview. If that was the case, it would’ve been quite difficult for her, who had an honest and frank personality, to laugh and put up with it. It was no wonder that her attitude became stern.
“Hmm, so?”
“Really, he’s even younger than me, but he has the tendency to act like an adult, trying to take care of me. And just like my father, he is a clueless person who doesn’t know anything about a woman’s heart.”
“You didn’t come to like him?”
“That’s not it.”
Unexpectedly, Teresa shook her head.
“Then, he turned you down?”
“Well, that’s not quite right either. He told me that he had no choice but to marry me, and then
”
“You get mad?”
“Yes. I slapped him on his cheek.”
Oh, man. This is fatal. From what I had heard, Teresa didn’t completely hate him. But she seemed to be hated by the other person. It certainly was deep trouble.
“You weren’t able to apologise?”
“No, because I only realised my feelings when my father brought up the idea of a blind date. Until then, I never wanted to see him again.”
That’s a difficult situation to talk about, isn’t it?
[Sigh

What a jerk, that person.]
Mura shook his body and said in an astonished voice.
What, do you have something to say?
I tried to talk to Mura, but he replied curtly. [Nothing in particular.]
“So? In the end, what do you want to do, Teresa?”
“Well, I don’t want an arranged marriage.”
“Then, you can just say no.”
“But I heard that my father has always been very good to him.”
“You know, Count-dono isn’t someone that will get angry if you refuse a marriage interview once.”
“It’s not my father but my mother who’s interested in the engagement.”
Ah, I see. As a mother, she wanted to engage her so that the other person could put control on her tomboy daughter.
“Well, I think you should have a talk with Count-dono, including your mother. If it’s him, he will definitely find a good solution for you.”
Teresa’s character would not allow her to kill herself to be with someone she did not like, and the Count would not allow it.
In that case, the rest was the problem between Teresa and her family. I shouldn’t say anything more than that.
“So, Sensei knows my father?”
Surprisingly, Teresa asked me a fact that was particularly inconvenient for me.
It’s bad. I talked too much.
“Well, yeah.”
Teresa stared at me for a while, but then she pointed at the tall fence.
“Sensei! There!”
“It looks like it’s here. Go and wake everyone up.”
I could see the shadow of a person on the other side of the fence. It was most likely the thief. Although I couldn’t see the thief’s appearance very well, it didn’t seem like his height was near an adult’s.
The dwarf began to climb the tall fence dexterously. When he finished climbing the fence, he landed nimbly on the ground.
Not yet. Wait for a while.
I tugged on Pluto’s sleeve to restrain him from stepping out.
His action was undoubtedly an intrusion, but he couldn’t be caught until he actually started stealing.
The dwarf approached a nearby, relatively small one-horned boar and snapped its head with his right hand in a single move. Raising a single scream, he carried the boar on his back and tied it to his own body with a kind of vine that he had tied around his waist.
I see. That’s how he carries it.
But it couldn’t be a mere child who could easily carry a pig weighing nearly 80 kilograms on his back and had such strong arms, which twisted the head of a one-horned boar with just his right hand.
However, he seemed to have a high level of intelligence, so it would be best to deal with him as a human thief.
Okay, go!
At my instruction, Pluto and the others acted all at once, taking their weapons and surrounding the dwarf.
“Hawawa

”
The dwarf sat on the ground, looking up at us.
“Ugh! Ughhh! Uwaaaahhhhhh!”
He began to cry loudly.