Abel woke up.
It already felt close to morning.
Beside him, Ise was still asleep, her quiet breathing audible.
This time, she wasn’t clinging to him.
Well, he convinced himself that it must have just been some kind of mistake anyway…
When he thought about it calmly, it really was something incredible….sharing the same bed with a girl.
And not just any girl, but Ise.
If he touched her carelessly, things could end up in a disaster.
In a sense, it was like sleeping next to a wild beast…
He wondered if the first morning bell would ring soon, and sure enough, it did.
Before the sound even faded, both Abel and Ise were already up.
Yesterday had been a wild day. He fought for his life and dealt with the selfish Kashe, but his fatigue was completely gone.
In fact, Abel’s body felt remarkably well.
His limbs were light and full of energy.
When they stepped into the hallway after getting ready, the werewolf was there.
“You’re still here?”
“Don’t say it like that, boss. My name’s Walt. That’s what ya call me, master.”
“Lady Ise… what should I do?”
“Decide for yourself. You’re not a child.”
“Uh, no, I am a child.”
“Hmph… calling Abel a child doesn’t sit right with me.”
The werewolf who introduced himself as Walt—
His height was about the same as Ayla’s, around 170 cm in terms of his past life’s sense of measure.
His fur was a mix of black and gray, and he wore shabby rags.
His hands looked halfway between human and beast.
They seemed capable of holding a knife.
His face resembled more of a wolf or maybe a shepherd dog with a touch of human features.
Most of his face was covered with fur.
Looking at him like this, Abel realized he didn’t really give off the impression of being a bad person.
But seeing this, Abel couldn’t help thinking—
If beastkin are all like this, then forget about expecting cat-eared girls.
It was honestly disappointing. A real shock.
“Lady Ise. Can slaves use the dining hall?”
“No. It’s a privilege reserved for knights and squires. Not for slaves.”
“Hmm… well, I’ll just ask Cook Pierre then.”
On the way to the dining hall, Abel decided to ask Walt a few questions.
Now that he thought about it, this was his first time talking to a full non-human, and there was so much he wanted to know.
“So, Walt, how old are you?”
“I’m still on the young side.”
“No, I mean your actual age?”
“Uhh… over ten.”
“Wait, do you not know how to count?”
“I can count up to ten! But after that… it’s just a lot.”
“Well, whatever. How long do beastkin usually live?”
Even if he were to keep Walt, Abel knew he wouldn’t be able to for decades, so he decided to ask.
“Well, let’s see. If one lives long, then… a lot, a lot, I guess. But many die young, as children.”
“I don’t really get it. Is it about the same as humans?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“So why did you come to the Empire?”
“This year, famine broke out in the beastkin lands. While searching for food across the mountains, I ended up wandering into human territory.”
“And that’s how you ended up teaming up with those criminals?”
Walt flattened his ears apologetically.
“Sorry. Hunger was too much to bear. But I’ve got my side of the story too. The lands the humans claim now were originally our hunting grounds. They came later and took them away from us.”
“Lady Ise, does this kind of thing happen often?”
“Most beastkin border crossings are because of food shortages. There are regions where the boundaries are vague. Sometimes powerful creatures from the monster lands, like dragons, spill over and drive beastkin from their homes, forcing them into imperial territory.”
While they were talking, they arrived at the back of the dining hall.
When Abel explained the situation to Cook Pierre, the man kindly agreed to give Walt some food… so long as it was done where no one could see.
They had it prepared right away.
“Wait here a moment. I’ll bring it out soon.”
As Pierre promised, he soon came out with a heaping wooden plate of barley porridge, vegetable scraps, and chunks of tendon and fat.
Walt ate with overwhelming gratitude, devouring it at an incredible pace.
His tail wagged so hard it looked like it might snap right off.
Abel felt genuinely good about himself, like he had done something really worthwhile.
Even though it was clearly just yesterday’s leftovers…
Afterward, Abel told Walt to wait outside their room once he finished his meal.
He and Ise then entered the dining hall properly to have their own breakfast.
The meal consisted of black bread so hard it was difficult to bite, grilled salted pork, potatoes and carrots on the side, and a salty bean soup.
Abel dipped the black bread into the soup to soften it before eating.
While they ate, something unexpected happened.
Several knights and squires actually greeted Abel.
They had come up to him first.
Abel couldn’t understand why…
It might have been thanks to yesterday’s trial.
The spitefulness of Lopez and Monke had brought about an unexpected result.
Abel had a thought.
Maybe those infuriating cousins of his had been planning to fire him if he’d put up a pitiful fight.
Or perhaps they had hoped he’d panic and run away.
Their attitude made it clear they were just waiting for a chance to mock him.
Abel hardened his resolve. He didn’t want to lose, now more than ever.
Running back to Walter would be disgraceful.
***
“By the way, Lady Ise. What’s on the schedule today?”
“First, I’m meeting with my superior. I need to consult him about our mission.”
“Your superior! You mean Sir Lopez?”
“No, not him. My direct superior.”
Thinking it over, Abel realized that it actually made perfect sense.
Lopez was only acting as the commander, and there were hundreds of knights in the castle.
It wouldn’t make much sense for Ise to be receiving direct orders from Lopez all the time.
“What kind of person is he?”
“His name is Gatu Tozo. He holds the title of baron.”
“He’s not a knight?”
“No, he isn’t. He’s also a master of shadow arts. Might even be stronger than me.”
“Whoa, that’s amazing!”
Abel was genuinely shocked.
Ise’s strength was already overwhelming.
If someone could rival even her, they had to be the real deal.
“Lord Gatu takes the odd days off. He works on the even-numbered days… usually. Though sometimes he’s not around.”
“Huh. So he gets half the year off? Not bad! By the way, when’s your day off, Lady Ise?”
“Knights don’t get days off.”
Abel couldn’t believe his ears.
“Wait… what?”
“Always on the battlefield. That’s the way it is.”
“That’s so brutal!”
They crossed through an elegant garden with flowerbeds and, after a bit of walking, came upon a small wooden cabin.
When Ise knocked on the door, a voice from inside told them to enter.
In the room sat a man in his thirties.
He had a scruffy beard, but strangely, it didn’t make him look unkempt.
In fact, it suited him quite well.
His hair looked like a mix of gray and dull brown, slightly on the longer side.
His eyes were blue.
His nose was big. So was his mouth.
His skin was tanned.
He wasn’t exactly handsome, but there was something approachable about him.
The moment he saw Abel, he grinned with the corners of his mouth curling up.
“Hey there. So you’re the Abel everyone’s been talking about, huh? You’ve got quite the unique look to you.”
“Uh, thank you…”
“I’m Baron Gatu Tozo. Well, nice to meet you. Ise’s squires usually quit in no time, but I hope you’ll stick around!”
“Ah, yes, I’ll try.”
“Truth is, I’ve got a complicated past myself, just like Ise. But I’ll save that story for another time. What I can tell you is this: watch out for women. Let’s just say… they’ll change your whole life.”
Abel couldn’t help but laugh a little.
In short, the guy had messed up with a woman and got stuck with a troublesome job because of it.
He had a cheerful and likable vibe to him.
“Alright then, take a look at this mountain of paperwork.”
Gatu gestured wearily at the desk.
Stacks of paper sat piled high.
“They’re all mission requests. But we can’t handle every single one. We prioritize by searching for high-profile criminals or urgent monster exterminations. And we multitask. Gotta handle several missions at once.”
“Yes, that makes perfect sense.”
“You actually get it? That’s what I like to hear. Alright, I won’t treat you like a kid anymore.”
—Overwork.
—Multitasking is the foundation of every black company, after all.
“Anyway, we’ve just gotten a sudden request. And it’s straight from Count Barth himself. He sent an order before departing for the Imperial Capital. There’s a young man named Casalos Laro staying at the castle as a guest instructor. He’s in his mid-twenties but a natural-born genius when it comes to making magical tools. The Count has taken a personal interest in him, so we can’t turn this down. Sorry, but I need you to head over and get the details of the request from him.”
Ise answered in his usual calm tone.
“Understood.”
“Alright! Once the job’s done, the three of us should go grab a drink! My treat!”
Gatu flashed a warm, friendly smile.
…Though Abel couldn’t help but think, “Don’t go inviting a kid to drink.”
Abel and Ise left the office and made their way toward the castle.
The main castle was heavily guarded, and its only gate was shut tight.
They showed the Count’s written order and were finally allowed inside.
Casalos, they were told, lived on the top floor of the castle.
They climbed the stairs, and Ise knocked on the designated door.
The one who answered was a young man wearing a vague, dreamy smile.
He had an air about him that felt detached from the world.
Pale, as if he had never seen the sun, with a long, narrow face.
Abel was reminded of an eggplant.
—Kinda gives off an otaku vibe…
“Huh? Who are you guys?”
“I am Knight Ise Ark. By order of the Count, we are to provide support to Guest Instructor Casalos Laro. Please tell us the details of the mission.”
“Oh! So the Count actually agreed to my request. Alright, come in.”
The room was in utter disarray.
There were an incredible number of books.
Books stacked flat, all the way up to the ceiling….books, books, books…
There had to be at least a thousand of them.
On top of that, wood and metal sheets lay scattered about, as though he had been making tools himself.
There was hardly any space to step.
While looking around, Abel spotted a ruler.
Without thinking, he picked it up.
“What’s this…?”
“Ah, that’s a tool for measuring length. Out in the countryside, only carpenters usually own one, so not many people know about it. Scales, at least, are common.”
Casalos kindly explained this to the country boy from Tenana.
It was true. Abel’s family who dealt in medicine had a scale, but not a ruler.
Instead, they used a rope marked with notches to measure length.
It was crude, but more than enough for daily life.
The ruler here, however, was a precise instrument, about one meter long.
Made of wood, with exact measurements inked onto it.
“This is measured in mel, right?”
“Exactly. And a thousand mel makes one melte. Units are important, so make sure you remember them.”
It was the sort of thing a teacher would say.
“Come on, this way.”
Casalos strode deeper inside.
Abel, unconcerned, simply stepped over the clutter.
The back of the room opened into a large space.
In fact, it stretched across two rooms.
There, Abel spotted something interesting.
It was unmistakably a telescope.
Unable to hold back his curiosity, Abel asked a question.
“Um, Lord Casalos. Is this a tool for seeing far away?”
“Oh? You recognize it? That’s right. It’s called an astronomical observation lens. Technically, it’s not a magic tool but one that uses light refraction. Do you understand what that means?”
“Sort of. You mean a tool that doesn’t use magical power, right?”
“Correct!”
Abel then noticed an elliptical diagram on the wall.
There were what looked like formulas written beside it.
It clicked immediately.
“Aha. So that’s what this was for. Is this a planetary orbit calculation?”
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!”
Casalos suddenly screamed.
He seized Abel’s shoulders in shock.
“How did you knoooowww?!”
Casalos was trembling, his whole body shaking slightly.
Abel thought he should be the one trembling instead.
“I-I mean… Well, when it comes to observing and calculating stars… that just kind of came to mind.”
“Are you a genius? You even understood the formulas?”
“Uh, well. I’ve already forgotten all my calculus. My brain’s kind of useless, you see.”
“Cal-cu-lus? What’s that?”
“Basically, it’s a method where you repeat detailed calculations to determine the motion cycles of planets. Like, the rate of change and such.”
Casalos’s eyes were glittering intensely.
There was a hint of madness in them.
“That’s exactly what I’m working on right now.”
“So this is what the request was about? I don’t think I can help with calculations or anything like that.”
“Request? What request?”
“You know, the matter you asked the Count about.”
“………Ah. Right, that.”
Casalos’s intense, almost threatening gaze softened.
Finally, they were getting to the main point.
“The request, yes. I’m developing magical tools. What I’m making is actually supposed to be a secret, but I’ll tell you. One is a flying magical tool, and the other is a device that causes a massive explosion. But don’t tell anyone, alright? It’s a secret.”
Casalos suddenly burst into laughter “Hehehehehe” for reasons Abel couldn’t understand.
Ise had remained completely silent, likely because speaking to someone like Casalos seemed impossible.
“The sky, huh. You mean like a tool that flies like a bird?”
“Fufufu. Hey, have you ever dissected a bird?”
“Never a bird, no.”
“Foolish! Try studying their bones. Bird bones are incredibly light. If you look closely, they’re formed in a lattice-like hollow structure. Completely different from human bones. In other words, unless it’s that light, it won’t be able to fly.”
Abel thought it was the same reason airplanes were made of lightweight metals like aluminum.
“I understand what you’re saying, Sir Casalos. And it must be extremely difficult to create a mechanism that flaps wings and generates enough power.”
“That’s right. That’s why the mechanics got too complicated, so I gave up on a mechanical design. Even if I could build it, it would only carry one person at most.
So I turned to another method: using the mana particles floating in the atmosphere to create repulsion and fly. The theory is already established. Right now, I’m working on a practical prototype… but the production costs skyrocketed, and the Count got mad at me.”
“I see. And?”
“So, I decided to gather the materials myself….magic stones, celestial silver ore, and everything else. I had no choice. The Highwand family spends an absurd amount just to go to war. And I’m just a hired hand, you know? They make me help with the accounting and finances, but war expenses are just outrageous!”
“Yes, yes, I understand, so…”
“You get it? Oh, thank goodness.”
Casalos grinned with a wide, lazy smile.
Abel instinctively shook his head.
When he glanced at Ise, she had her eyes closed and remained completely still.
“So, about that… the magic stones and such, how far do you have to go to get them?”
“I’m not buying them. I’m going to collect them.”
“How far?”
“All the way to the Aldoba Mine Ruins.”
“Lady Ise, do you know what kind of place that is?”
“It’s about a three-day trip one way from Porto on horseback. Located at the base of the northern mountains. Over a thousand years ago, it was a mining site for magic stones and other minerals. Most of the veins dried up, and it’s been abandoned and forgotten for a long time. However, because the mines were originally rich in naturally occurring mana, high-quality magic stones have begun to regenerate inside the tunnels…”
“I see. So you’re going to harvest those?”
Casalos nodded happily.
Ise spoke coolly.
“However, there’s a problem. The tunnels have grown extremely complex over time. And because the site was abandoned for centuries, magical beasts have made it their ideal habitat. Adventurers who enter often go missing. It’s a dangerous area.”
—Yeah, nope. Absolutely don’t wanna go there.
“I mean, doesn’t this seem like something knights shouldn’t be doing? Don’t you think so, Lady Ise? Knights should be doing knightly things. Like helping people, for example.”
“However, I recall that a request to exterminate monsters at the Aldoba Mine Ruins had already been submitted to Lord Gatou. If we handle both tasks at once, it’ll kill two birds with one stone. Guest instructor Casalos, I understand the mission. Let’s head to the Aldoba Mine Ruins. Can you be ready to depart today?”
“I’ll be packed before noon!”
“Do you own a horse?”
“I don’t, but I can ride.”
“Then borrow one from the castle. If it’s you, Sir Casalos, the butler should be able to arrange a horse for you. Let’s meet at the outer gate at noon.”
Abel couldn’t even find a moment to speak. The decision was made just like that.
Since it was a direct order from the Count, there was no chance of overturning it.
Later, while Abel and Ise were walking down the corridor to leave the castle—
Abel spotted Kashe walking toward them from the other end.
She saw him too.
Her purple eyes widened.
With a “found you!” sort of energy, she dashed straight toward him.
“There you are, Abel!”
She ran up to him, crossed her arms, and tilted her chin up with a proud posture.
“Today again, we’re training! Come on, let’s go to the courtyard.”
“Ah, Lady Kashe… I’m actually busy with an order from the Count right now.”
“From Grandfather? What kind of order?!”
“Something like… mining and monster hunting at the Aldoba Mine Ruins…”
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