I Will Carry as an Academy Veteran

89

The basilisk’s corpse.

This, as it is, is a tremendous treasure trove in itself.

For starters, those fangs could make quite a decent weapon if made into a dagger due to the venom they carry.

When ingested, it significantly boosts one’s resistance to all poisons.

Moreover, the scales that are no different from armor are so tough that even if Ebnis were to strike with all his might, unless it’s a truly ‘sincere’ blow, it wouldn’t leave a scratch.

Anyway.

Kalen and I proceeded with dismantling this creature to the best of our abilities, ultimately obtaining two fangs, three chunks of meat, and a few extra pieces of scale.

“……Hah, huff. Th-this is our limit.”

“Good job. Go over there and rest.”

We didn’t really plan on taking everything from the start.

How could we take all of this? Just take the valuable parts.

Dismantling doesn’t mean tearing a monster to shreds and taking every bit of flesh, right?

“Ah, Adrian? It’s dangerous!”

Approaching the dead snake creature with a staff in hand, I gently lifted its eyelids, which were closed.

A chilling sensation enveloped my body. The basilisk’s eyes continue to function even after the creature’s death. I won’t see anything pleasant if I open my eyes here.

However.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

Swoosh!

Skillfully, I gouged out the eye with a dagger and reached in to retrieve something.

The extremely poisonous blood that surged forth was blocked from touching me by converting my magic into ‘wind.’

On my hand lay a yellow, shimmering bead.

【Enchantment: Partial Petrification】

An aggregation of magic formed by the debuff of full-body petrification.

Its performance weakened due to the death of its owner. ‘Full-body petrification’ changes to ‘partial petrification.’

Furthermore, when combined with another gem and the ‘Basilisk’s Fang,’ it allows tracking of the location of prey affected by the petrification debuff.

An aggregation of magic embedded in the eyes of this creature.

In many ways, a useful item. When combined with the basilisk’s ‘petrification,’ it becomes a tracking item that can pinpoint the location of ‘prey’ under the debuff. It’s not a bad item to have.

With the dagger, I also retrieved a gem from the opposite eye, extracting a crystal from within.

After rolling both crystals into the inventory, I continued to loot other items.

Several gems shining in purple and blue.

These are… enhancement stones.

[“Acquired ‘Enhancement Stones’!”]

[“Tip, what is equipment enhancement?’ You can proceed with the tutorial.”]

[Skip the tutorial! Skipped tutorials cannot be replayed!]

[10 Low-Grade Enhancement Stones will be additionally provided as a reward!]

From magical conglomerates to dorsal scales, fangs, and enhancement stones.

That’s why I called it my treasure trove.

“Ah, Adrian.”

“What is it?”

“My shield… When will I be able to receive it again?”

The shield.

Hmm…

Originally, I was thinking of combining these scales to have a blacksmith make me a new shield.

But I had a change of heart.

[Would you like to confirm the remaining rewards?]

[Confirming rewards!]

[Obtained equipment item, ‘Reverse Scale of the Earth Dragon’!]

Following that, a large silver scale, reversed and hanging under his chin, fell in front of me.

I held the scale, light enough for me to lift, and turned to Kalen.

“Kalen, try using the elemental sword on this scale.”

“Yes.”

Kalen promptly imbued the sword with ice elements and shot it at me, causing the scale to perfectly deflect the attack and rebound it in the opposite direction.

“…What is this?”

“It’s an item named ‘Reverse Scale of the Earth Dragon.’ Uniquely, it excels in ‘magical’ attacks, including attacks infused with ‘magic power,’ and if timed correctly, it can reflect attacks back perfectly.”

While Kalen’s shields up to now were focused on physical attacks, this one emphasizes magic and magical power attacks.

Though it’s only a 3-star item, it’s still decent enough to use until the end of the third act.

But it’s only a temporary measure; I’ll have to replace it with a real shield later.

I attached a strap to the scale and tossed it to Kalen, who slung it over his back.

“…However, its physical defense is severely lacking, so you’ll have to block or dodge with your sword.”

“It’s a completely different style from before… That’s okay. I’ll overcome my shortcomings through effort.”

“Then let’s head back. We’ve obtained everything we could here.”

“Yes! I’ll take the lead!”

* * *

Returning to Selenium with Kalen, an unexpected face was standing in front of the southern entrance, with a hand on their waist.

Neatly dressed in a school uniform.

Black hair flowing down to the waist.

And eyes shining like jade.

“Long time no see, Adrian!”

“…Reyna?”

“Yes, that’s me!”

…Why is she here right now?

Isn’t there still a day or more left until the holidays?

“Now that all the vice-duke procedures are complete, I am officially the vice-duke of the Volfgang family in the Empire. Once I graduate, I will immediately inherit the title of Viscount of Volfgang!”

I see.

#### Translation:

Is it all over now?

“Did you come to tell me that? … There are still about four days left of vacation, right? Even if you finish all your official duties, it wouldn’t be too late.”

“Uh, um….”

Reina hesitated and spoke.

“Th-the official duties… Alphren and the butler said they would take care of them… Alphren told me to ‘go back to the academy quickly’ and kicked me out against my will…”

“You leave all the official duties to your eight-year-old younger brother and come to the academy yourself?”

“Uh, ugh. No! Alphren should learn the official duties too. It’s only for a few days, and there aren’t many official duties to handle in the always peaceful territory of Volfgang, so I came back.”

…Is that so?

“hehehe, Adrian. Were you bored without me?”

“It wasn’t like that.”

“Oh.”

Why are you pouting?

“Oh right, since we came back with Ebenis, let’s meet later.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Adrian, Ebenis also took care of all the aftermath of the incident you caused at the Duke’s estate. And Ebenis even went to the north to deliver the news to the Marquis. So, she told you to thank her once, right?”

…That guy only does things I never asked him to do because he’s strong.

And…

“Ah, Lord Adrian.”

There was a girl next to me, her eyes rolling around.

Oh right.

I forgot about her.

“Viscount? Acting Lord? Marquis? What do those words mean? Did I not understand them…?”

Come to think of it, I didn’t explain it to them.

“Fine. Then, let’s gather everyone to talk about what happened during the vacation and to welcome everyone back to the academy. As a bonus, I’ll gather the troops.”

While glancing around, I headed towards the dormitory.

* * *

First, I rented an open restaurant in the central district under my name.

Then, everyone arrived on time, and after not seeing each other for about a month, we exchanged greetings together.

“Welcome back, Reina!”

“Rel! And Miliz! Oh my, there’s even a souffle!”

Relvrian and Reina hugged each other.

Me, Reina, Miliz, Relvrian, Souffle, and even Nero, Miliz’s spirit.

Of course, Princess Lizerillias is in the palace, so she couldn’t attend.

Finally.

As the restaurant door opened, someone came in.

“You’re all already here… Ugh.”

“What’s with the ‘ugh’?”

“Sigh… I’m not feeling well. You really know how much I have to say, right? Do you know how much I’ve suffered? I went all the way to the north for the report!”

“Useless…”

Reyna lightly grasped my shoulder.

“Adrian.”

…Hmm.

Right. I’m not sure if this reaction is due to ‘bloodline,’ but this guy is a Repelhite like me in a way and my younger brother.

“…You’ve been through a lot.”

“…Huh?”

He seemed flustered.

“I didn’t mean to say that to you! I came here to explain that your actions have nothing to do with me!”

“I understand. Sit down, the latest tardy student. Consider yourself lucky that the food hasn’t all arrived yet.”

“Hmph, I’d rather die.”

Saying that, he sat down furthest away from me.

Before the food arrived, everyone engaged in lively conversation.

When they talked about what happened in the Wolfgang family…

“So that’s how it went…”

“Sorry, we wanted to help too…”

“It couldn’t be helped. It had to be kept secret.”

“Yeah, it sounds like there was no other choice. But Reyna is a valuable friend to us, so I hope we can give her a heads-up next time.”

“…Agreed.”

Soon after, the dishes arrived perfectly timed, and everyone enjoyed a light meal.

Sensing the atmosphere for me to speak up, everyone paused eating and looked at me.

“Listen, recently… the situation in Salenium is worrisome.”

“Yes. I heard there’s been a surge in injuries from expeditions compared to this time last year. I heard it’s because the deadline for tuition payment is approaching, so everyone is rushing into expeditions.”

…Hmm.

Technically, it’s the mischief of the demons, but does Reyna know that?

“Right. So never go on expeditions alone or in pairs without informing me. If you need to go out, call me. I’ll come along whenever necessary.”

“hahahaha, that’s reassuring.”

Saying that, I discreetly slid a note under the table, which Reyna carefully took.

Then, she playfully gestured towards everyone’s backs.

“Wow! Look at the sky, everyone!”

At her words, I also turned around.

…A blue shooting star streaked across the night sky.

I could quickly tell that it was a fake created using ‘magic’ by her.

“Make a wish, everyone! Now’s the time!”

Following Reyna’s words, everyone closed their eyes to make a wish, but only she and I kept our eyes open, looking at each other.

She’s so quick-witted.

I subtly smiled and gestured with my lips. ‘Confirmed, four people, right? I’ll have the informants be on alert.’

“Hmm.”

Nodding slightly, I exchanged glances with him, and without further ado, we too closed our eyes, pretending to make a wish.

“Okay, done! What wishes did everyone make? Well, first, I…”

Amidst the background chatter coming from all around, I closed my eyes slightly.

**Translation:**

…Sure.

If I’m with these guys.

If I’m with the ones I gathered.

I will easily overcome the upcoming Act 3.

“…Huh? Adrian? Are you awake? Then, the buttered potatoes on Adrian’s plate, I’ll just…”

“I’m not sleeping.”

“Oh.”

“But you can have the buttered potatoes.”

“Thank you!”