Chapter 87: From Capital To Mirare Town - Part 9

"What do you mean the ones in front are old and weak?... That you're at the end of the caravan because you're the strongest?... I placed your group there so you won't bother anyone if you have another one of your annoying tantrums, Lynn!" "Then you're just bullying us! Power harassment! Workplace abuse! Kurea the Tyrant!" "You're the one abusing your privilege and my kindness!" The second night of the Annual Caravan Quest started with Lynn and Kurea squabbling about what happened at the meeting that Commander Brandon Von Guttur called after the Annual Caravan had made camp for the night. At the meeting, where Lynn and Arezu once again accompanied Kurea as the Adventurers Guild representative, Brandon mentioned the exact phrase—or rather, the dramatic flair—that Lynn shouted as she cast her mystic spell Avalanche and buried a dozen chimeras under a wave of rocks, boulders, and dirt. Although Brandon just laughed about Lynn calling the cavalry old, weak, and nothing more than bait, Kurea still felt embarrassed about Lynn's audacity throughout the entire meeting. The subject of the meeting was focused on the casualties the Annual Caravan sustained from the encounter against the swarm of chimeras numbering more than two hundred. Unlike the encounter against the swarm of kobolds and werewolves, which was led by a high-level monster Lycan, the mid-level chimeras didn't have a leader to rally their forces. This led to scattered attacks all over the caravan, even reaching less-guarded parts. Though the casualties were minimal—with only a few broken carriages and no deaths—it was still decided to rearrange the defense formation to prevent the same incident from happening again. "Then put our group in the middle of the caravan," Lynn demanded, insisting that Kurea change their assigned position. "I told you, you're just going to cause more trouble there!" Kurea retorted before turning around and walking back to her camp, where Rust and his party were waiting. "Boo~!" "That's enough already, Lynn." Arezu, who had been watching silently, finally decided to speak up before Lynn could try anything behind Kurea's back. "It's not like I'm gonna shoot her with a crossbow in the back, Mr. Arezu," Lynn said, pouting as she glared at him. Says the one who wouldn't stop trying to grab her crossbow until Gwen and that other girl left, Arezu thought, averting his eyes from Lynn's glare. With the meeting over and Kurea gone back to her camp, Lynn and Arezu also headed toward the end of the caravan where their camp was. But before they could leave, someone called out to them—or rather, to Lynn. "How are the students doing, Ms. Lynn?" The question came from a young man a little shorter than Arezu, with short black hair, black eyes, and round glasses. He wore a black robe engraved with the same symbol found on the mage students' robes, giving Arezu the impression that he was connected to the Magic Academy. On second glance, Arezu remembered seeing the man standing behind the Magic Academy's representative during the previous meetings. Lynn introduced the man as Anwir, the mage instructor from the Magic Academy who had submitted the escort quest for the mage students at the Adventurers Guild. After Arezu introduced himself in return, the conversation regarding the mage students continued. "Can I have a copy of your assessment of the students, Ms. Lynn?" "I think it's still a bit early for that, but you're their instructor, so do what you want." Regardless of Lynn's usual rudeness, Arezu watched as Anwir made a copy from Lynn's student logbook by placing it over his own, letting the writings transferred. An enchanted item, perhaps? Arezu thought, noticing the faint glow between the two logbooks. It was impressive magic, but something else caught Arezu's attention: a subtle difference in the paper shade between the student logbook Lynn handed over and the one she normally used when writing failing marks for the four mage students under their care. While Arezu was still wondering about the difference, Lynn suddenly made a remark that caught him off guard. "Convenient, isn't it, Mr. Country Bumpkin?" she teased with a mischievous smile. "I've seen something similar before, so it's not that impressive," Arezu muttered, only to regret saying it as Lynn kept pestering him for more details. Back at their camp, Lynn and Arezu found Gwen visiting, along with the twin-drills girl still clinging to her, plus the three other female mage students from her group. Gwen introduced the twin-drills girl as Alicia, the leader of the mage students her party was escorting during the Annual Caravan Quest. Yet somehow, Alicia preferred to be called by the name granted to her by Gwen: Minion Zero, or simply Zero. Related to that, Zero was also Gwen's classmate at the Magic Academy, which explained to Lynn and Arezu where Gwen had gone after the orc-hunting quest and during the challenge for the title of Dungeon Conquerors. Lynn also realized something else: by enrolling at the Magic Academy, Gwen hadn't just become a regular student—she had officially become a heroine candidate. Arezu, on the other hand, still wondered why Leo, Cliff, Senna, and Casey—obviously younger at sixteen—were already graduating, while Gwen, probably eighteen, was still a new student. "Those four are graduating from the intermediate grade, while Ms. Haughty enrolled in the advanced grade," Lynn whispered sweetly into Arezu's ear, having guessed his thoughts. Though he appreciated the answer, Arezu couldn't help but look uneasy, silently pleading for her to stop reading his mind. But that shouldn't have been Arezu's concern, as Lynn's antics were already causing more misunderstandings among the others—including Gwen—about their actual relationship. After Gwen and her group left, right before dinner began, another unexpected event happened at their camp. —"Please teach us to become better with mystic spells!"— The four mage students shouted in unison, bowing their heads in front of Lynn. While Lynn grinned in satisfaction, Arezu took the chance to ask Beatrix what was going on. "Apparently, those four got really impressed after seeing Lynn cast the advance-level mystic spell Avalanche," Beatrix explained while preparing roasted meat and bread for dinner. "This isn't going to end well," Arezu muttered, looking at Lynn's mischievous grin. "You want me to teach all of you?" —"Please become our master!"— "Very well... Kneel before me and promise to worship me forever."