'M-my Akalion was stolen?' The Priest was on the verge of fainting. Divine beasts were the most special creatures in the world, subsisting on morning dew and holy power. They were incredibly drawn to their food, 'divinity,' and in rare cases, had been known to switch masters when tempted by a more potent source. It was a running joke among Divine Beast Studies majors that the most important quality wasn't skill or care, but the 'quality' of one's divinity.
But she was one of Efnel's elite. She had kept Akalion loyal, and she had never imagined it could be any other way. Stolen? By a necromancer, of all people?
"Go!" At Simon's command, the bear-shaped divine beast charged toward the Priest at terrifying speed.
"Akalion! How could you do this to me!" she screamed, a panorama of memories flashing before her eyes: the first time she fed him, the night they huddled together after he was spooked by a wild animal, the joy they shared after their first monster hunt. 'My Akalion wouldn't do this! He's a vile necromancer! He must be under some kind of curse! B-but can curses even work on divine beasts? Whatever! I have to defeat that necromancer and get Akalion back!'
Barely managing to collect herself, the Priest extended her arm. She had lost her strongest beast, but she still had two left. "Block him, Jackie!"
The rock-like divine beast zipped in front of her, curling into a defensive ball. Akalion didn't slow down. It slammed into the stone creature, sending it flying into the sky.
"JACKIEE!" the Priest wailed.
Having cleared the obstacle, Akalion continued its charge and rammed into her. With a shriek of "Ack!", she was sent flying, tumbling down a steep cliff. Her last remaining beast, a winged creature, dove down the cliff face to save her.
Simon scratched his head, looking somewhat bewildered. 'It really works.'
Lethe's baby white dragon, Ran, had been fond of him, but he'd never imagined he could actually command another major's divine beast.
'Thump, thump.' Akalion returned to Simon with light, almost delicate steps. It even carried the Subspace badge it had emerged from in its mouth. It sat down on its hind legs, wagging its tail as if asking for praise.
"...G-good boy," Simon said with a hollow laugh, stroking Akalion's head. The beast made a pleased sound. "So, are you going back now? I think your owner is pretty mad."
Simon extinguished the divinity that wreathed Akalion's body and turned away. As if it were the most natural thing in the world, Akalion fell into step beside him.
Simon quickened his pace. Akalion broke into a four-legged run to keep up.
Simon blinked, staring at the massive creature. Akalion just licked his cheek and wagged its tail.
"Are you really following me?" Simon was dumbfounded. The divine beast had absolutely no intention of leaving. '...To think this could happen.' A dry laugh escaped him. He felt a pang of guilt and sent a silent apology to the Priest, who was probably unconscious at the bottom of the cliff. '...Feeling sorry is one thing.'
A small smile touched Simon's lips as he climbed onto Akalion's back. "Since it's come to this, I'll be in your care from now on, Akalion!"
'Woong! Woo!' Simon wasn't the type to let a golden opportunity slip away because of a guilty conscience. Acquiring a divine beast during his dispatch mission was completely unexpected, but it meant he now met the requirements to study Divine Beast Arts. With Simon on its back, Akalion began to run.
He was worried about Sasha and the others. As he sped through the forest on Akalion, he heard a familiar voice.
"Are you okay? Please, open your eyes!" It was Meirin.
Simon patted Akalion's back. "Go toward the sound."
'Woooong! Woo!' It wasn't long before Meirin came into view. She was kneeling over a fallen girl, shouting at her. The unconscious girl was none other than—
"Kami!" Simon leaped off Akalion and ran over.
Meirin looked up, saw the giant bear-beast, and let out a strange shriek of "Eeek!", scrambling backward. "W-w-what is that? A monster?!"
"I found it in the forest," Simon said vaguely, kneeling beside Kamibarez. "Kami! Are you okay?"
Her eyelids trembled. A faint groan escaped her lips as she opened her eyes. She looked utterly exhausted. The moment she saw Simon's face, she burst into tears.
"...I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry!"
"W-what's wrong?"
"I... I couldn't protect Sasha."
According to Kamibarez, she had fought and defeated a female Efnel student, likely a Guardian Arts major. Since Simon had taken down three on his own, they had technically won the battle against all four Efnel students. But...
"Some man took Sasha away," she sobbed.
"A man?" Simon immediately thought of the only adult male he had seen among the Priests. "An adult with orange hair?"
"Y-yes." After Kamibarez had defeated the Priest and was completely spent, the orange-haired man had suddenly appeared and attacked.
It seemed he had initially pursued Dick and Seiwyr, realized it was an illusion, and immediately changed course. This man was far stronger than the students. Kamibarez, already at her limit, hadn't lasted long.
"At that time, Sasha said this to him," Kamibarez continued, her voice trembling. "Godfather, she said..."
Simon's eyes widened. Sasha was an orphan, but she had mentioned a "Godfather" who would sometimes visit. 'So that was him. And he's a Priest.'
A godfather rescuing his goddaughter from necromancers. The story made sense. But it felt too simple, too clean. Simon remembered the strange drugs and syringes he had seen at Sasha's house. What if her godfather was responsible for those?
"I saw it," Kamibarez whispered, her voice still shaking. "Sasha was afraid of him."
"Afraid?"
"Yes. She resisted, saying she wanted to stay with me. He knocked her unconscious, held her in his arms, and ran away."
Meirin, who had been listening, frowned. "We can talk about this later. Let's get out of this forest first. We need to meet up with Dick and Seiwyr and hear what they have to say."
Simon agreed and looked up. The night was fading, and the first light of dawn was breaking through the trees.
After safely exiting the forest, the three regrouped with Dick and Seiwyr.
"Dick! Are you okay?" Simon asked.
"Yeah, yeah, aside from almost dying," Dick replied with a bitter smile. A long bandage was wrapped around his head and shoulder. "Tsk, that orange-haired guy is seriously strong. I didn't even last a minute."
As Simon had suspected, Sasha's godfather had initially chased Dick and Seiwyr. However, in the middle of the fight, he seemed to have realized the carriage was an illusion, because he had broken off his attack and abruptly left.
"And over here," Dick said, pointing to Seiwyr lying on the ground, "we have someone who's lost his mind after getting hit with some powerful white magic." Seiwyr was trembling uncontrollably, as if convulsing.
Meirin put a hand to her forehead, frowning. "Ugh. So completely useless! If we'd had a real professional necromancer with us from the start, we wouldn't have been defeated so easily! We won all the student-on-student fights. This is so unfair!"
Kamibarez, still being carried on Simon's back, poked her head out, her face pale. "S-so... does this mean we failed the mission?"
Dick nodded with a low sigh. "Looks like it. We lost the target, so a disciplinary committee is guaranteed. If we're unlucky, we might even get expelled from Kizen."
At his words, tears welled in Kamibarez's eyes.
Meirin threw her arms out, shouting, "Th-that can't be true! This was a mission that idiot Seiwyr tricked us into! He wasn't even our real mentor!"
"You can try telling that to the disciplinary committee," Dick retorted. "But Kizen is so rigid, who knows how they'll react."
"You know, you've been spouting nothing but pessimistic crap this whole time while trying to act cool? It's really getting on my nerves."
"And you've been—!"
Just as their argument was about to escalate, Kamibarez bowed her head.
"...I'm sorry, everyone. This is all my fault."
Startled, Dick and Meirin stopped fighting. They forced smiles and tried to comfort her.
"H-hey! No way! Kami, you took down a Priest, right? You did your part. None of this is your fault!"
"That's right!" Dick added with a thumbs-up. "The rest of us might be in trouble, but we'll make sure you don't get expelled."
"If I'm the only one left, I'll drop out, too! You all have to stay at Kizen with me!" Kamibarez insisted, then lowered her head again. "And Sasha... what's going to happen to her now?"
No one had an answer. A heavy, gloomy atmosphere settled over the group.
Simon, who had been listening quietly, finally made a move. He carefully set Kamibarez down on the grass, then went over to the still-trembling Seiwyr and searched his pockets.
"Oh." Simon pulled out the necklace from around his neck. "Dick, isn't this a Subspace?"
Dick strode over. "Looks like a Subspace artifact to me. A really old model!"
"Can you open it?"
"Hmm, let me see." Dick took the necklace, put on a pair of magically treated glasses from his own Subspace, and examined it. "Hah, this is a completely old-fashioned, second-hand model! Modern ones react to the user's actions or Jet-Black, but an old thing like this should be easy to crack."
"Please."
Dick set up a small table and some equipment, placed the artifact on it, and tinkered for a few moments. Soon...
"Got it!" A small portal, just big enough to fit an arm through, opened in the necklace. Dick reached inside, rummaged around, and pulled something out. "A communication crystal!"
"Really?" Meirin jumped for joy for a moment before glaring at the still-dazed Seiwyr. "He said he lost it, but it was here all along! That... that liar!"
Dick handed the crystal to Simon. "It only allows for fixed-point communication. Looks like a reliable way to contact headquarters."
"I'll try connecting right away." Simon channeled his mana into the crystal. A vibrating hum filled the air, and after a moment...
—"SEIWYYYYYYYYYYYYR!!!"
An ear-splitting man's voice roared from the crystal. Simon winced, holding it away from his head, while the others clapped their hands over their ears.
—"Where are you? Where the hell are you, you crazy bastard! The entire Vengeance is on high alert because of you! You son of a—!!!"
It was a voice incandescent with rage. Simon forced a smile. "There's been a misunderstanding. I'm not Seiwyr, I'm—"
—"What do you mean, you're not?! Are you insane?! A bastard with no qualifications intercepts Kizen students and goes on a critical mission? What kind of—!!!" The man was too busy venting to listen.
"Give it here." Meirin snatched the crystal. As she cleared her throat, the murderous tirade continued.
—"You bastard! I told you last week, didn't I? Just do what you're told! Ah, I'm so pissed off I can't even think straight! This crazy son of a—!"
"Hello!" Meirin said brightly. "Is this Vengeance headquarters?"
The sudden female voice finally brought the shouting to a halt.
— "Uh, wh-who is this?"
Meirin smiled, her voice clear and sharp. "My name is Meirin Villenne, a first-year from Kizen, currently on a dispatch mission with Vengeance!"
There was a five-second pause.
—"Oh, ahhh, ohhhh! T-to have been so rude to such a distinguished person! I apologize! It was not intentional! I don't know how I can possibly atone—!" This time, a torrent of apologies poured out.
Meirin shot a smug look at her teammates and brought the crystal to her lips. "May I ask who is on the line?"
—"I-I am Block, a combat agent of Vengeance! I was originally the necromancer assigned to you Kizen students!"
"Ah, I see. Well, I'd like to explain our current situation." Meirin recounted everything: how Seiwyr had manipulated the letter with illusions, how they had undertaken the mission to secure Sasha, defeated the gang, and rescued her, only to be attacked by Efnel and lose her again.
—"H-haha. A lot has happened in a short time... You've all worked very hard. The loss of Sasha is entirely our fault. We will speak to your school and ensure that you students face no negative consequences."
Meirin's face brightened. She nodded to her team, then said in a deliberately calm voice, "Yes, thank you. We would appreciate that."
—"We should come and escort you immediately, but we have a bit of a problem on our end, so it will take some time. If you could just wait in any nearby village..."
Just then, Simon approached and gestured for the crystal. Meirin handed it over without protest.
"This is Simon Polentia, also a first-year from Kizen."
Another five seconds of silence.
—"Ohhh, aha! Hahaha! You must be the Special Admission No. 1 student! I am truly ashamed. Please, to the Witch of Death—!"
"I won't say a word," Simon cut in. "More importantly, I need information on the man called 'Godfather' who attacked Sasha."
—"I see! Understood! We will investigate immediately and contact you!"
The call ended. Simon had his own reasons for asking about the godfather. He had no intention of ending this mission on such an unsatisfying note. Beyond his sense of duty, he felt a personal responsibility for Sasha.
[Bwahaha! Even if you find the godfather, this isn't a situation students can handle!] Pier's voice echoed in his mind, clearly enjoying the chaos. [It's time to make a decision, boy!]
'...Haaah. I have no choice,' Simon thought, scratching his head. 'If a student's power isn't enough, then I'll use the power of a Legion Commander to solve this.'
Pier laughed thunderously, as if he had been waiting for those very words. [Now it's getting interesting! I will be ready to act at any moment!]

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