→ If the higher-up points, the subordinate rolls (1) ←
Tannian’s curse, which was disguised as fortune-telling, had been deeply imprinted in me. There were chances of it being wrong, and I had never been lucky anyways. But for some reason, I couldn’t forget about it. A curse foretold by a Saint candidate? It’s the end of the world.
I was feeling uneasy, so I couldn’t get myself to sleep properly. It’s been a while since I’ve felt this nervous. That Tannian bastard, was he trying to get revenge because I helped Erich? No, there’s no way that’s the case.
Anyways, thanks to Tannian, I said goodbye to taking a rest that night, and I felt the aftermath of that in the morning.
“Ugh, how annoying.”
While walking through the club’s room, I ended up hitting the table’s leg with my shin. Because of that, the table’s leg shook due to the impact. Usually, things like this don’t happen. This was all because of Tannian. How dare he give a debuff to the Advisor/Tutor?
Thankfully, it wasn’t a desk I often used, and I thought that I should be able to fix it easily, so I fiddled with it. However, I then realized that one mustn’t try to take someone else’s job.
‘I can’t do this.’
The desk with four legs degraded into a three-legged one. According to Zhuge Liang, the three-legged form was important, but wasn’t it actually the most beautiful form?
As I stared at the three-legged desk, I saw the vice principal walk by the hallway window, and then I heard a knock on the door. What’s going on this early in the morning? It probably wouldn’t be for a good reason.
“Yes, come in.”
When I put down the table’s leg that I was holding and asked him to enter, the Vice Principal carefully opened the door and entered the club’s room. His eyes were shaking a little. He was bringing bad news for sure. At that moment, I remembered Tannian’s words, but I tried my best to calm down.
“I didn’t know a visitor would come so early in the morning. If I knew, I would have prepared some tea, at least.”
Although I greeted him with a smile, the eyes of the Vice Principal were still shaking, and he wiped the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief. He barely responded to my greeting and when he had calmed down, he spoke cautiously.
“Mr. Prosecutor… The plan you presented the other day.”
“Ah, yes. Was there any problem with that?”
Yesterday, during the club’s time, Louise proposed that everyone go outside for a picnic. That’s why I had submitted an application. Even if it was outside of the Academy, it was just a small hill outside of the castle’s walls, and it was also a manageable distance.
I was also going to go, so they accepted the proposal without any problem. But considering that the Vice Principal had come so early in the morning, something had definitely happened.
The Vice Principal sighed and opened his mouth.
“A Dungeon has appeared around the picnic area.”
“What?”
Fuck, why did something like that appear?
An artifact that the Academy possessed had noticed that a Dungeon had been created/generated. Well, although it was called a Dungeon, it wasn’t a place where you went inside a Gate and obtained treasures after hunting monsters.
The first moment I learned that there were Dungeons inside this world, I thought that maybe the original novel was a mixture of romance and hunter genres, so I shouted ‘status window’ while I was alone in the room. Of course, nothing popped out.
Although it was a shameful past, it was something that happened many years ago.
Anyway, this world’s Dungeon was a place that was created when a lot of mana gathered in a certain place and ended up distorting the surroundings. Every year, the papers say that there are other causes, but the basic idea is that it’s mostly because of accumulated mana.
I looked for information about it because I was surprised that there were Dungeons inside a romance-fantasy world, but I quickly lost interest in them. I haven’t read the original novel, so I wasn’t sure why there were things like that in this world. However, there was something that I could think of.
‘This is creating a crisis.’
Although it was safer than the Dungeons from other worlds, harmful beings that weren’t like the other biological life forms from that area appeared, so it was quite troublesome. To make things worse, there was nothing that marked the entrance of a Dungeon, so one could accidentally enter a Dungeon while walking around.
And it so happened that a Dungeon had appeared around where the pastry club was planning to go for a picnic.
‘Fuck.’
An Advisor/Tutor that went with important people to an area next to a Dungeon? Only a crazy bastard would do something like that, and I was about to become that crazy bastard.
“Doesn’t the local Governor manage the Dungeon? If the accumulated mana was released, they should’ve been able to avoid a Dungeon from being created/generated.”
Since the dungeon is basically formed by accumulated mana, local Governors or lords from all over the empire have the obligation to prevent Dungeons and are in charge of their jurisdiction. It is not a difficult task to wave the artifact made from the Magic Tower to disperse the accumulated mana.
The Vice Principal answered in a troubled tone.
“The Governor that managed the area around the Academy has recently been recalled. The successor hasn’t arrived yet, and it appeared during this time.”
“Ah.”
It was only then that I remembered something that I had left aside in the corner of my mind.
“Get the bastard that played with the money destined for the road.”
The day I arrived at the Academy, I had given an order like that to the Senior Manager. It seemed like the successor still hadn’t arrived yet. I never expected that the small ball I had shot would return like this.
“Then I’ll deal with it. Thanks for telling me.”
It wasn’t intentional, but since it happened because of me, I should deal with it.
Thankfully, there was still some time until the picnic, and since the dungeon has just appeared, the danger is relatively low, so it was less burdensome. I can’t cancel the picnic, so I’ll just have to deal with it. As long as I deal with the harmful creatures, the Dungeon itself wasn’t that dangerous.
“If you do, we would appreciate it. We’ll be in your care.”
The Vice Principal seemed relieved to hear that I would handle it myself. He should know that the Governor was kicked out because of the Prosecutor’s Office. I’m just glad he isn’t glaring at me because I would feel sorry if I had to get the Vice Principal arrested for blasphemy.
The vice principal looked at the three-legged table that was behind me. Ah, that…
“There seems to be a broken object. We’re going to replace it with a better one.”
I didn’t say that I had destroyed it myself.
* * *
I wouldn’t feel comfortable not being here during the club’s hours, so I decided to do that while the others were in their classes.
I’m sure there weren’t many Advisors/Tutors willing to sacrifice like this for the members. I wonder if they know all of my sacrifices.
At moments like this, I’m glad that there are classes. Sometimes, I think that if there were classes that lasted until the night like in my previous world, I wouldn’t need to struggle this much. However, that might turn all of the nobles into my enemies.
‘It really is right next to us.’
As I went to the place the Vice Principal told me about, I saw the Dungeon in a forest next to the place where we were going to have the picnic. Since I knew it was a dungeon, I noticed it. Otherwise, I would have thought it was an ordinary forest. Thinking that we were about to stay around this area without knowing anything gave me chills.
Seeing the Dungeon made me once again realize that my bad luck was truly terrible. A Dungeon had appeared around the Academy while I was here, and I had to come here to deal with it.
Moreover, the Dungeon had appeared in a territory belonging to the Empire, so the forces of the three countries couldn’t do anything regarding it, not to mention the few forces of the Empire that were left in the Academy, which already had a lot of work.
“Why is this happening to me?”
I was complaining out loud, but no one could hear it. An Executive Manager rarely commands the scene, let alone go to the Dungeon and do the work themselves. I’m probably the first person in the Empire’s history to do so. If I wasn’t, that by itself was a problem.
If I had a helper at least, I wouldn’t be struggling this much. In such situations, I often wished for the 2nd Manager to be there.
No… Now that I think about it, anyone but the 2nd Manager. I must’ve gone crazy for a moment. Even if the sky collapses, I don’t want that guy.
‘That son of a bitch.’
The 2nd Manager made me realize I had to do it alone, so I began walking toward the Dungeon.
As it was recently built, the inside of the dungeon didn’t show anything particularly special. The trees were a bit denser, and the animals roaming around were slightly larger. However, the sight of a rabbit devouring a squirrel was quite impressive.
Of course, the moment one of those left even a mark on the six members, my life as a Civil Servant would be over. I hope in the next life, you’re reborn in a place that isn’t a Dungeon.
But unlike what I thought, there weren’t that many dangerous animals. Even though it had just been created, there was often at least one animal that could threaten a village. I’m sure the rabbit I just killed isn’t a max-level one. There should be at least one bear or a lion.
As if it had reacted to my thoughts, something with black fur appeared between the bushes.
– ROOAARR!
Oh.
Yes, something like that.
The bear that appeared out of nowhere charged towards me. It stood on two feet and swung its right hand toward my head.
It seems like this guy is a well-educated one. He knows how to greet people. I like him.
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