We were able to find out the truth behind the rumors of the Demon Gods Church, but we found nothing on the Revolutionary Forces. We were pressed for time. Andbecause of how our last investigation had endedCharlotte seemed to think that even if there was some truth to those rumors, it wouldnt be anything serious.

Redina treated me quite friendly whenever we saw each other. She seemed to be quite grateful that I had listened to her to the end without making fun of her ridiculous story.

These are the results of the final exam. Please check over them.

The final exam period was finally over.

1st Ellen

2nd Louis Ankton

3rd Bertus de Gardias

7th Harriet de Saint-Owan

8th Reinhardt

Since I didnt study, my grades obviously fell. Still, 8th place wasnt all that bad. It was almost right in the middle, right?

Everyone stared at me when they saw that the former first-place fell to eighth place. All of them were wondering if my luck had run out.

Yeah, theres no way someone like him could study well.

That was what those who hated me probably thought.

Hah! Last time you made fun of me for being placed eighth, but this time youre in eighth place! I won, right?

Harriet probably remembered that I had teased her after our midterms, so when she saw that her grades were better, she immediately returned the favor.

Wow, you remembered that? What a petty person you are, oh Grand Duchess.

What? Pe-pe Petty?

Yeah, you small-minded idiot.

Small-minded?! Did you just call me a small-minded idiot?

Hey.

E-eek! J-just admit that you arent good at studying!

Its not that Im not good at it; I didnt do it to begin with. If I had studied, I would have beaten you easily. Oh, and did you know? Taking the mid-term exam into consideration, your score average is still lower than mine, you know? Huh? Didnt you lose again, then?

Tha-that cant be

For our midterms, I got ranked first, and for the finals, I got ranked eighth while she got ranked seventh.

Harriets overall score for the first semester was irrefutably lower than mine. When I informed her of that fact, Harriets complexion turned pale.

She tried to tease me, thinking that she had won while she actually lost.

Harriet always ended up taking a hit when she tried arguing with me. I didnt even dislike it anymore, and it just made her cuter when she argued with me like that.

No matter what she said, I had no intention of seriously fighting with her, so she would always end up losing.

Number 11, Number 4, be quiet.

Okay.

I-Im sorry

At Mr. Epinhausers words, both Harriet and I quieted down.

In the end, the final exam followed the original novels development with Ellen in first and Ludwig in last place. Charlotte seemed to have been beaten by Bertus because of her lacking physical strength.

Their performance at Temple mattered greatly, but it was just too disadvantageous for Charlotte to surpass Bertus.

Anyway, youll have vacation starting next week. Royal Class wont give you any specific exercises to do during that time, but we hope that you will spend it as meaningfully as possible.

Mr. Epinhauser wasnt one for long speeches. I could see that everyone got really excited at the word vacation.

No matter how great Royal Classs environment was, it was still best to take a break from everything.

Number 2 and Number 11, please follow me to the office.

Mr. Epinhauser ended his closing ceremony by calling Ellen and me to him.

* * *

Mr.Epinhauser hadnt called us to him because something had happened..

You said you were planning on going to the Darklands for your vacation.

Yes.

Yes.

Mr. Epinhauser had received the notice Ellen and I had sent to him. Usually, there was no need to send any notice on where we would like to spend our vacation.

However, it was unconditionally better if we did.

I believe it would be better to have a teacher with you, but you refused.

Yes.

Of course, Temple would be reluctant to send two students from Royal Class to a dangerous place such as the Darklands while they were still first years.

So the original plan was for Mr. Epinhauser to follow us as our homeroom teacher, but both Ellen and I refused.

She was going there to gain practical experience, not for educational purposes.

Of course, I didnt want Mr. Epinhauser to come with us because Eleris was going to join us after we reached the place.

Teacher, you should get some rest during the vacations as well.

This guy, did he want to keep looking after his students even though he could finally take a rest?

Mr. Epinhauser looked at me as I told him that with a smile.

Just because the students are gone doesnt mean the teachers can take a break.

Is that so?

Yes.

Anyway, Mr.Epinhauser said that vacations werent any different than work for him. What did that guy even do for fun in his life?

It piqued my curiosity again.

Anyway, we decided to give you our utmost support during the faculty meeting.

It seemed like they had held a faculty meeting about the matter of us two going to the Darklands; Ellen was originally supposed to receive some teleportation scrolls.

They probably would have left it at that if it was just Ellen who went there. After all, she had proved to be capable enough, but then I had stuck my nose into it.

Mr.Epinahsuer took a wad of paper that had been placed on his desk and handed it to Ellen.

A teleport scroll for each of you, and these are requisition documents with Temples seal on them.

A total of two teleportation scrolls were given to us. They were probably meant to be used in emergency situations to escape.

Additionally, we received requisition documents. They were key items necessary to become an adventurer.

If you show these documents at Temples Armory, they will open it for you. Make sure to not requisition something useless. All requisitioned items are Temples property, so be careful not to lose them.

They werent just some slips of paper but documents with which we could requisition weapons and equipment for practical use.

They were weapons created by Temple, which received tremendous support from the Imperial Family. They certainly were on a very different level from the items one usually found in the Al Ligar District, which was full of cutthroats.

That was Royal Class majesty. They provided us with such great support; it almost felt strange that he handed those things out to us after just saying a few words.

That wasnt all. Mr. Epinhauser took out a bag filled with gold coins as well.

These are 50 gold coins for your travel expenses. I dont believe you would do something like this, but dont spend the coins on nonsensical things.

In addition to the requisition documents, we also received a subsidy equivalent to about 50 million won. He told us not to spend this on nonsensical stuff, but he would never find out if I decided to do just that. Of course, I wouldnt do that.

You will work through the Adventurers Guild, so there is no need for you to prepare separate reports. We will check their records later.

Of course, that meant that they would find out about our actions anyway if they checked the Adventurers Guilds records later.

Since our vacation would start the next week, and our final exams were over, all individual courses had been completed. Except for Mondays and Thursdays, the days when we had common classes, we had no classes at all.

It wasnt actually that much different from having vacations even before they started.

Thats it for the briefing.

Mr. Epinhauser looked at Ellen and me.

Dont get hurt.

I was really surprised because I didnt expect him to say something like that.

* * *

Our summer vacations started at the end of July and would end at the beginning of September.

During that one month, Ellen and I would go to the Darklands.

However, Ellen said that she wanted to go back a week earlier, even though it would have been fine to stay in the Darklands for the whole month as well.

The reason for that seemed to be the three people she had been hanging out with.

Liana de Grantz said that she would travel between her various villas during her vacation with her end goal being the Edina Islandswhere she would stay for a week.

Ellen told me that Liana had invited her three classmates to visit, so it seemed that she would be resting in Duke Grantzs villa for the last week of our vacation.

Of course, if the situation wouldnt allow it, she also wouldnt be able to go there.

Are you really leaving?

You think Im bullshitting, then?

Harriet was shocked that Ellen still decided to go to the Darklands and that I chose to go with her. She didnt seem to understand why we wanted to go to such a dangerous place.

What if you get hurt?

Harriet was teary-eyed. It seemed like she couldnt help but worry about us.

If we get hurt, then well get hurt. You think well die from that?

I wouldnt want to go either if it was just Ellen and me. I wouldnt have let Ellen go all on her own, either. I was feeling confident because we were protected by our insurance called Eleris. Harriet looked at me and sighed deeply. She wanted to follow us, but she was too scared, and she definitely wouldnt get permission from Grand Duke Saint-Owan.

Rumors spread throughout class A that Ellen and I planned on going to the Darklands.

Isnt that place a bit too dangerous for a date, Reinhardt?

Bertus seemed to be quite surprised to hear that I was going there as well.

The three idiot brothers seemed to have realized that I wasnt someone on their level. They talked about what they would do during their vacation while Ellen and I decided to walk down a much harder path that couldnt be compared to our school life up until then.

Dont get hurt.

Ah, yeah. Got it, thanks.

Cliffman expressed his worry as shyly as ever.

Why did it always feel like I was talking to some girlfriend when I talked to that guy? It felt really uncomfortable.

We still felt rather awkward around each other, so those kinds of situations kept happening!

I dont understand you two.

Liana didnt seem to understand in the least why Ellen and I decided to go to the Darklands.

If youre still alive in the last week of the vacation, go along with Ellen and visit me to hang out.

Ill think about it.

Okay.

Liana told me to come to the Edina Islands if I had nothing better to do. That was something I decided to keep in mind.

-E-erm

As Liana went on her way, I could see Heinriich von Schwarz calling out to her from a distance.

He was set to have a crush on Liana.

-What do you plan on doing during the vacation?

-Just traveling and playing around.

-Where are you going?

-Ill be going here and there, but for the last week, I planned a get-together with some people in one place.

-A-ah, is that so?

Liana had a cool personality.

-Do you want to come as well?

-H-huh?! C-can I?!

-Sure. Ill give you the date and location, then.

-Tha-thank you!

That easy-going and cool personality

The more I looked at it, the more problems it caused.

Heinrichs face was tomato red as if he had never even dreamed of getting invited somewhere by Liana.

There were also some students of Class B that came over.

The Darklands. You must have gone crazy. I have no words.

Charlotte could only sigh, as she had found out that I was planning on going to the Darklands too late. If she had known, she definitely would have prevented me from going somehow.

Do you really know no fear, or whats the reason?

I heard there are treasures in the Darklands. I need the money.

Charlottes mouth was slightly agape as if she found the whole situation absurd.

Will you not go if I give you that money?

She meant that she would simply give me money if I needed some, so I shouldnt do anything dangerous.

Urg.

That explanation was hard.

Then Ellen would have to go alone.

You dont actually think that youd be much help to her, do you?

Hey!

No matter how well you mean it, wasnt that a bit too harsh? I can get hurt, too!

Anyway, this isnt just about the money. We wont go to any dangerous places.

Would adventurers go to the Darklands if they knew which places were dangerous and to what degree? Adventurers flock there because no one knows.

Charlotte raised her voice even while she was in Class-As dormitory, which she rarely went to. She didnt even stop when Bertus was slipping by.

It was really quite moving that she was so worried about me that she openly showed that side of herself. Charlotte sighed when she saw that I was very unlikely to change my decision.

Really, its ridiculous I even tried.

No matter how much we were friends, it was rather absurd that I didnt listen to her when she, the Princess, told me not to go somewhere, and it was even more absurd that she just gave up instead of ordering me not to go.

Come to me before you leave. I have something to give to you.

Charlotte stared at me for a moment as if I went completely crazy and then turned around, going back to her dorm.

Reinhardt. Is it true that youre going to the Darklands?

Ludwig also appeared before me.

Yeah.

Will you be okay? Isnt it dangerous there?

Im going with an almighty weapon by my side, so what could happen?

When I said that I would have an almighty weapon by my side, he burst into laughter, thinking that I meant Ellen.

Of course he would think I meant Ellen, but I was actually referring to Eleris.

Im going to Delphins hometown for the vacation.

Is that so?

Yeah, I decided to take their ranger training. Its going to be fun. Reinhardt, do you want to receive their training with me sometime?

If I have the time.

Like in the novel, it seemed like Ludwig would go to Talprad, Delphins hometown, to train as a ranger.

It sure was strange, seeing so many people saying they were worried about me.

I kind of felt like I became quite popular.

Anyway, rumors about me going to the Darklands spread throughout the whole first year, so things were pretty noisy even before the vacations even started.

* * *

Monday through Tuesday.

Junior, I heard youre going to the Darklands.

Adriana talked to me during our early morning training. She seemed to be worried.

Yeah, but Im not going anywhere dangerous, so dont worry.

Hmmm Im sure youll figure things out on your own, but I wish I could go with you.

Adriana seemed to think that it was a little much to only send Ellen and I to such a dangerous place.

Come to think of it, Adriana could cast recovery spells, so it would have been nice if she went along with us, she was also skilled enough. Adriana sighed.

I decided to go back to the monastery to receive training during the vacation

However, it seemed that Adriana had planned out her vacation already. She hadnt given up on the path to priesthood, although she did struggle with her own faith because of Olivia and what the Knights Templar had done.

I smiled when I saw that she felt sorry for not being able to accompany us.

Its okay.

If you ever plan on going there again, let me know in advance. Ill make sure to find some time.

After that, Adriana had been nagging me throughout our whole workout session, telling me not to get hurt and never to wander off to dangerous places.