Having finished their udon, Rei, Iskeld, and Set headed down the main street, their stomachs well filled.
Before long, a large building near the centre of Gracial came into view.
Several buildings stood around it, occupying vast grounds.
Rei immediately knew what the buildings before him were for when considering why he had come to Gracial in the first place.
「Is this the officer academy?」
「That’s right. ……Duke Quent……Ronald-sama was actually looking forward to meeting you, but he’s busy right now. He simply doesn’t have the time for it.」
From Iskeld’s words, Rei realised that Ronald was Duke Quent’s given name……meaning Ronald Quent was Marka’s father. With that in mind, he had a rough idea of why Ronald was so busy.
「Ah……is it about the crackdown?」
「Yeah. There are a lot of problematic people around, and Ronald-sama is having a hard time dealing with them. Because of that, you probably won’t be meeting him until around tomorrow night.」
There was warmth in Iskeld’s tone as he spoke Duke Quent’s name. It was easy to see from his demeanour how the fearless looking man felt about the master he served.
(Still, he is Marka’s father. Looking at how prosperous Gracial is, there’s no doubt Duke Quent is a capable man. Running a city larger than Gilm without any obvious issues is genuinely impressive.)
Normally, those in power were disliked by their subordinates to some degree.
However, from the time Rei entered Gracial until arriving here, he had heard surprisingly few people speaking ill of Duke Quent.
Of course, it would be premature to assume Duke Quent had everyone’s complete support based on that alone.
Even so, from what Rei had seen, it was also true that more people felt grateful towards Duke Quent.
(Though my impression of the Royalist Faction still isn’t great.)
Rei’s already bad impression of the Royalist Faction was only worsened by the recent issue with Keep. The shameful display the Royalist Faction put on during the war with the Bestir Empire in spring of last year was also burned into his memory. Because of these circumstances, Rei had reason to hold an extremely poor impression of the Royalist Faction. Of course, considering someone like Marka existed, he understood not all of them were bad.
「Well, that’s fine. I understand that I won’t meet Duke Quent until tomorrow, and I get that I’m going to be an instructor here. But why did we come here right now?」
「Hm? Because you’ll naturally be living here while working as an instructor.」
「……I’m living here? In this place?」
「Yes. There’s a staff dormitory, so we’re planning for you to stay there. We originally thought about preparing an estate for you, but Marka-sama told me you wouldn’t like something like that.」
「By the way, can I ask what kind of estate you were planning to prepare?」
「Well, the first proposal was for quite a large mansion. After all, you were dragged into the mess within the Royalist Faction. The person who suggested it probably wanted to make sure you didn’t experience any inconvenience, but……Marka-sama said that would actually make you feel more uncomfortable.」
Rei inwardly thanked Marka at Iskeld’s words.
(A good thing she said that. If it had really been an estate like that, I wouldn’t have gone as far as going back to Gilm, but I would’ve had to find another inn to stay at.)
To begin with, Rei had no desire for a lifestyle where maids and butlers waited on him hand and foot. It would be a lie to say he had no interest in it, but having complete strangers around him all day and night sounded mentally exhausting. It would be a different story if it were people he felt comfortable around, but being looked after by complete strangers was not appealing to Rei. Still, living in a dormitory came with its own concerns. The biggest one was……
「It’s true that a dormitory is better than having an estate prepared for me. ……But what happens to Set in that case? Surely Set can’t stay in the dormitory with me?」
「Gururu~?」
Realising they were talking about him, Set let out a low cry as he turned his anxious eyes towards Iskeld.
Having already grown accustomed to Set’s presence, Iskeld smiled as he reached out and patted the head of the Griffon looking at him.
「Don’t worry. Many people bring their tamed monsters or horses to this officer academy. There are tamers and summoners here as well.」
「I’m glad to hear that, but tamers and summoning magic? ……This is an officer academy, right? I assumed it only trained knights.」
「That’s not wrong either. Many want to become knights, and in fact, many join the Quent Ducal Knights after graduating from this academy. However, a portion of the graduates become adventurers every year.」
「……An officer academy?」
Wasn’t he supposed to be taking on the role of an instructor at an officer academy?
When Rei asked that, Iskeld nodded without showing any particular expression.
「It might be called an officer academy in name, but that’s what it’s really like.」
「I’m surprised nobles don’t complain about it. Most of the nobles I’ve met so far would probably say things like, ‘How can I study alongside commoners!’ or ‘I’m attending this academy to become a knight, so why must I study with vulgar people aiming to be adventurers!’ without hesitation.」
「……Just what kind of nobles have you dealt with so far? Though I won’t deny those kinds of nobles exist.」
In fact, the current crackdown was being carried out precisely to weed out such nobles. That said, those being purged this time were limited to people who crossed the line, like Keep. The goal was that by removing such people, others who had acted arrogantly until now might change their ways. As far as Rei was concerned though, he doubted those nobles would change their attitudes so easily.
「I’ve met all kinds of nobles. Naturally, there were some I liked. But there are also people like Keep, who caused this whole mess. Though……」
「Though?」
「Ah, no. It’s nothing.」
He stopped himself before saying that such nobles weren’t just in the Royalist Faction, and that there were actually more of them in the Aristocratic Faction. Iskeld surely understood that such nobles existed in the Aristocratic Faction as well. Even so, Rei saw no reason to speak ill of the Aristocratic Faction here. Thanks to Marka, he didn’t harbour excessive hostility towards the Royalist Faction, but learning about Keep’s existence still carried significant weight. He also had an obligation towards Elena as someone from the Aristocratic Faction, so the Aristocratic Faction carried more weight to him than the Royalist Faction.
……Though if the Neutral Faction entered the picture, that might be a different story.
「Well, let’s head inside anyway. Classes are in session right now, so it isn’t noisy, but if classes end and people spot me, things will become troublesome.」
「Troublesome?」
「Believe it or not, I’m quite well-known in Gracial. And not just me. You’re bringing a Griffon along, so you stand out plenty on your own. If that happens, you’ll definitely get dragged into trouble too. Though I expect it’ll be a different kind of trouble from mine.」
Rei roughly understood what Iskeld meant. If someone only saw Rei, they probably wouldn’t realise he was the adventurer known as Crimson. He wasn’t carrying the Death Scythe right now, and wrapped in the Dragon Robe with its concealment effect, people would at most assume he was a novice mage adventurer, as usual. But…… if Set was next to him, Rei’s identity would be instantly obvious. After all, there was no one else who had a Griffon as a tamed monster.
(Well, I can’t rule out the possibility that someone else has a Griffon as a tamed monster and just hasn’t shown themselves in public. In fact, that would make sense. It feels like there are plenty of things lurking beneath the surface of this world.)
Suddenly, Rei was reminded of the Church of Holy Light, whom he had encountered in Exil. He hadn’t run into them since, but that was probably just because his activities hadn’t overlapped with theirs by chance. That said, word of what happened in Exil had spread through the Mireana Kingdom, and many places now viewed the Church of Holy Light with suspicion. Still, the reason they hadn’t been completely driven out was likely because people could still profit from them.
(Well, spending time in the Bestir Empire probably played a big part in that. After that was over, I headed straight back to Gilm. ……In that case, does the Church of Holy Light only operate in the Mireana Kingdom? It seems likely they’d operate in the surrounding smaller nations too.)
Rei felt a faint sense of foreboding, but he suddenly felt something warm against his hand and looked down. Set was gently rubbing his head against Rei’s hand, as if trying to cheer him up.
「Sorry, Set. You’re right, there’s no point in me worrying over it.」
「Hm? What’s wrong?」
Iskeld, who had been watching the exchange between Rei and Set, asked with a look of confusion.
「No, it’s nothing. More importantly, we were heading inside, right? If staying here will cause a commotion, let’s get inside quickly.」
Even now, people passing near the officer academy were looking at them. First, their eyes would widen in shock at the sight of Set, then their expressions would turn to relief upon seeing Iskeld with them. Finally, looking at Rei, half of them would show understanding while the other half wondered why a child was with Iskeld. Those who showed understanding were probably people who had heard rumours about Rei. Those looking confused were either people who knew nothing about Rei, or knew of him but assumed he was connected to Iskeld rather than the Griffon. In any case, under the various gazes of the onlookers, Rei, Iskeld, and Set made their way into the officer academy.
(If nobles attend this place, you’d think there would be gate guards……but there’s no one in sight. Since this is the Duke’s territory, it shouldn’t be a matter of lacking funds to hire guards, so is it intentional?)
Wondering about that, Rei followed after Iskeld. Walking for about ten minutes, a building with four floors eventually came into view. It was clear quite a few years had passed since it was built, yet it did not feel outdated, instead carrying a sense of history. That was likely proof of how well it had been maintained.
「This is the staff dormitory where you will be living.」
「……Hey, Iskeld. It’s fine that this is the staff dormitory, but what about Set’s stables? I’d like to see that first.」
Not expecting such a response, Iskeld looked taken aback for a moment before speaking.
「Of course I’ll show you there too. It’s just that the staff dormitory was closer, so I showed you here first.」
「I see. Then please take me to the stables. ……Just to check, you’ve already informed them, right?」
Rei asked while looking at Set. He was bringing a monster like a Griffon, so if they hadn’t been warned in advance, whoever took care of the stables would definitely be terrified. Of course, Rei still believed that most people could become fond of Set if they spent enough time together.
(Though Milein and Johanna took things way too far.)
Putting the image of those two showering Set with excessive affection out of his mind, he followed the path with Iskeld. Eventually, they arrived at stables about another ten minutes’ walk from the staff dormitory.
「……It’s quite small.」
Those were the first words out of Rei’s mouth upon seeing the stables. In fact, the stables before him were by no means large. They were smaller even than the ones at the Dusk Wheat Pavilion. Considering these were the stables of an officer academy where many nobles and commoners gathered, he couldn’t help but question the size.
「Yes. These aren’t for the students of the officer academy, they’re for the staff, including the instructors. This size is plenty.」
「……They’re separated on purpose?」
「That’s right. More importantly, let’s head in. I don’t have much time either. Once I show you this place and your room, I’ll hand you over to the officer academy staff.」
Saying that, Iskeld walked into the stables. Rei and Set followed after him……and naturally, a small commotion arose as the stable staff were startled to see Iskeld, shocked to see Set, and puzzled by Rei. Even so, it didn’t turn into a major uproar, likely because there were no other buildings around these stables.