Doggone Academy

Nielrin drew his sword, revealing a murderous intent.

“Come out. Your tailing skills are embarrassingly amateurish.”

Despite the limited visibility of dawn and the distance too great for a normal person to perceive, he had pinpointed the location of his follower.

A man emerged from behind a rock.

It was Damian.

He slowly approached the large tree where Nielrin stood. Nielrin asked him in a pressing tone,

“Hmm, a new rat from Eternia. Speak. Were you ordered to extract information about the Duchy?”

Damian answered calmly and politely,

“I was under the impression that when one moves at night, it should always be in pairs according to the regulations.”

Nielrin retorted sharply,

“It doesn’t seem like you were moving in a pair with this maid.”

“No, but I could not simply overlook a young girl leaving the camp alone at night without permission. My apologies. Had I known that it was for a private meeting with the commanding officer, I would not have come.”

He attempted to extricate himself with polite but incisive words, trapping Nielrin in a rhetorical mire.

Nielrin chuckled at the cunning retort,

“Whatever you say doesn’t matter. Just remember, if you spill anything you overheard tonight, there will be severe consequences.”

“I will take it to heart. My apologies for unwarrantedly interrupting what was a private moment.”

Nielrin’s killing intent subsided. He sheathed his sword.

“You seem to have an abundance of camaraderie, yet I hear you had the audacity to request becoming a direct guard for Lady Vivi?”

“It was only in keeping with the oath I swore to Lady Vivi.”

Nielrin gestured to the maid standing by. She bowed to both Nielrin and Damian and then disappeared toward the camp.

Nielrin lectured in a condescending tone,

“Do not delude yourself into thinking you’ve achieved something great by merely beating up a low-ranking soldier. The position at Lady Vivi’s side is not even granted to knights who have dedicated years of service to the Duchy.”

Not being part of the guard meant he was also not included among those needing protection. It would have been a non-issue if Damian had just passed by quietly.

Damian provoked him, as if deliberately poking at his nerves,

“…Then shall I prove my worth by fighting you directly?”

Perhaps Damian was too eager because he carried Silveryn’s name. If that were the case, he couldn’t be utilized. Firstly, Vivi would not allow it, and secondly, those who rush into things often ruin them.

Nielrin didn’t react much to the provocation.

“The guard still has a long way to go. I have no desire to waste energy on needless matters.”

Nielrin turned and walked away into the darkness.

Damian nodded quietly and then, as Nielrin walked away, he bowed politely and uttered something indecipherable,

“I certainly hope so.”

***

The night passed without further incident, and I woke up in the tent to a new morning.

As I opened my eyes, I briefly reviewed the situation from before. Nielrin and the maid had been discussing something secretive concerning Lady Vivi.

While suspicious, I could not be certain if it involved treachery or betrayal. If it were indeed a plot, they would have killed me on the spot to make it look like an accident. But they hadn’t done that.

The evidence was tenuous, but I couldn’t relax. Sooner or later, they would come at me with bulging eyes, intent on killing Lady Vivi and myself.

During these thoughts, Misha, one of the maids I had become friendly with, peeked into my tent.

“Are you awake?”

I cast off the blanket and stood up, replying,

“Yes, what is it?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. No.”

“…?”

She hesitated to leave but then made a face as if something was bothering her and said,

“Uh, it’s just that… um… have you seen Polly by any chance?”

Polly was one of the five maids sharing the carriage with me, the very girl who had been summoned by Nielrin the night before.

“I have seen her.”

“Do you know where she went? She’s supposed to be on breakfast duty, but she’s nowhere to be found.”

“I saw her leave early in the morning. She was moving about quite secretly.”

“Ah! That’s what I meant.”

Without further explanation, Misha seemed to accept this as a regular occurrence.

“Is this a common event?”

“Oh, yes. Polly often has to attend to Lady Vivi’s bath late at night. Since she works late, she’s given the morning off.”

“…Bath attendance?”

Something felt off. Why would one need to perform bath attendance so secretly?

“Yes… but no one else has ever attended Lady Vivi’s bathing except Polly.”

“…Any particular reason for that?”

Misha looked uncomfortable for a moment, then glanced outside the tent and approached to whisper in my ear,

“I’m not sure, but they say it’s because of the Lady’s illness… Everyone guesses that, but no one dares to speak it aloud.”

I had heard rumors before that Lady Vivi suffered from a hereditary illness. She didn’t seem ill at a glance, so I hadn’t paid it much mind. What kind of illness could it be that requires such secrecy?

Even with all the information gathered, I couldn’t find an answer. What was leading me to that scene in my dream? What was about to happen?

Suddenly, a loud voice echoed from somewhere beyond the tent.

“Emergency! Everyone assemble!”

A deep, resonant horn sound followed,

“All hands awake!”

Immediately, the camp was filled with the hustle and bustle of soldiers.

Soldiers who had received the emergency muster order grabbed their weapons and spilled out of the tents.

Misha, wide-eyed, didn’t know what to do.

“What about you, Damian?”

“There’s no need for you to go out.”

I too grabbed my weapon and hurried outside.

In the center of the camp, the herald with the horn issued a directive,

“Emergency situation. All units, gear up for battle and head southwest of the village. Move out now!”

Soldiers neatly formed up and sprinted towards the commanded area. On the opposite side of the camp, the mages also bustled, their robes fluttering.

I quickly followed after them.

Clang! Clang!

Beyond the fence in a clearing, the glint of swords flickered in the dawn light.

And an ear-splitting roar thundered like lightning. The marching soldiers flinched momentarily in surprise.

“Over there! There’s a beast! Quickly, go support them!”

There, four knights were engaged in a fierce battle with a two-headed lion beast.

The lion-like creature was twice the size of a bear. The knights previously tasked with taking down the beast were seriously struggling.

Already, a few had suffered excessive bleeding from abdominal injuries.

It seemed the beast had been spotted by scouts as it crept down to the village, and combat had erupted.

The backup forces that came out in support swiftly joined the fray. They formed battle lines in the blink of an eye, thanks to previous mock battle training.

The knights took the front line, countering the beast’s growls and swipes with synchronized sword strikes. Meanwhile, the mages in the rear hurriedly began chanting their spells. The aerial and ground coordination was seamless.

Soon, fireballs materialized in mid-air and hurtled toward the beast.

Boom!

The explosion narrowly missed, and the creature swiftly retreated, its mane whipping in the wind. The standoff quickly switched to a stalemate.

In an instant, dozens of reinforcements swarmed and surrounded the beast, which turned and fled into the forest.

The leading female knight shouted,

“Cease the pursuit!”

The knights hesitated, stopping in their tracks.

It was a wise decision. There was always a principle emphasized in the Monsterology classes: the forest is a battlefield that heavily favors beasts. Charging in because of numerical superiority was akin to entering the mouth of a predator.

It was clear that they would first sort out the injured, prepare thoroughly, and then set out to subdue the beast.

And for me, this was an important opportunity.

***

“It seems the Robillion has finished hibernating and is coming down to the village to stock up on nutrients.”

Upon hearing Gerald’s words, Vivi nodded silently.

The village headman lay prostrate before the Lady, trembling. He feared being blamed for not providing a timely warning about the appearance of the beast.

However, Vivi did not seem very interested in ascertaining blame.

“Is this village often attacked by beasts?”

The headman replied,

“No, not usually. However, that creature used to come down once or twice a year to hunt our livestock and newborns. Last year, it was no bigger than a stray dog, but now it has grown so much that it’s… ”

“Some beasts, unlike humans, reach full growth within a year or two. That’s why it’s important to subdue them early.”

The village, lacking young men, could never have dreamed of subduing it.

From the guard’s perspective, it couldn’t be ignored. If left alone, not only would the villagers become prey for the beast, but it could also follow the guard later.

Vivi did not ponder long.

She signaled to the headman to leave. After he bowed and exited, she spoke to Gerald,

“Leave only the minimum troops necessary to protect the village, and assemble the rest into a subjugation force to advance on the beast’s territory.”

“I will issue the command immediately.”

“Oh, and…”

Vivi hesitated as if there was more to say, and Gerald turned around with a sense of foreboding.

“Is there something else you wish to convey?”

Vivi hesitated for a moment before speaking,

“How did Silveryn’s disciple react?”

“Do you want to know about his reaction to the beast that appeared?”

Vivi seemed reluctant to show that she was paying special attention to Damian.

“Yes. Well, I heard that during his attendance at the Eternia class, he threw away his weapon in fear and fled at the sight of the Kiraklo.”

Vivi remembered the situation from when Gerald attended the combat class in Eternia. However, she seemed to have a distorted understanding of the events based only on reports; at the time, although it appeared he fled in fear, keen observers understood there was more to it.

“Gerald reported that during the clash with the beast, the young man from the Duchy didn’t join the fight but watched from a distance.”

Vivi then covered her mouth with her fan and laughed,

“So he rushes headlong into fights against manageable opponents, but suddenly becomes prudent in front of a beast.”

“…”

“This might be a good opportunity to have Damian observe the subjugation force.”

“…It’s a dangerous task. Are you sure it’s okay?”

“If he has any sense, he won’t try to fight the beast alone. Take him with you and clearly show him the gap between him and the Duchy’s elite knights.”