By Zephyria 
“You’ve come down quite far.”
Ardian said, looking towards the villa as if gauging the distance. I released the tension from my stiff shoulders and asked.
“What’s the situation? Explain.”
Ardian replied with a nonchalant face.
“It’s Professor Polajigen’s assignment.”
“…Assignment?”
“Yeah. The Lesser Ramble you just saw wasn’t ‘real,’ but a Lesser Ramble created by Professor Polajigen… The content of the assignment is to compete with Zeon to see how quickly you can find and eliminate the Lesser Ramble.”
An artificially created Lesser Ramble…
“It’s really just a copy of the form, so it has no intelligence or aggression towards people. So, even if you find another one, you don’t have to be too scared.”
Ardian folded his eyes prettily and smiled.
Certainly… I didn’t feel any killing intent.
I took it lightly because of the situation.
‘So that was the reason.’
Tom breathed a sigh of relief, saying it was a relief.
Suddenly, Polargehen’s words came to mind.
He said we could use any method. What if that included using people?
My eyes widened, and I looked at Ardian, pointing towards the cave with my hand and asking.
“I’d like you to accompany us there. Is that possible?”
You know how to use Space Transition, right?
That was the question with that hidden meaning.
Tom and Herman, who didn’t know Ardian’s achievements, looked puzzled, but Ardian, who would have understood my words, wore a meaningful smile. Then, swallowing a sigh, he lowered his eyes as if he was very troubled.
He eventually shook his head.
“I’m sorry. Professor Polajigen threatened to expel me if I directly helped you. So, I don’t think I can grant that request. For your information, Zeon heard the same thing as me, so it’ll be difficult for him too.”
I see. That’s a shame.
Polargehen had already set up a smokescreen for the two of them.
Perhaps he had gauged the achievements of the two to some extent and was considering the possibility of using 6-star Magic, Space Transition. The fact that Cloud had been stalled for an hour would have made him think of at least 6-star or higher.
‘He doesn’t want us to take too easy a path.’
It can’t be helped.
If we can’t get their help, we have no choice but to go with the original plan…
“I understand.”
Too much time had been wasted in one place.
It was time to move on.
Without any lingering feelings, I turned away, and Herman and Tom followed behind me. After a while, Ardian’s voice was heard from behind.
“Ray, be careful.”
I didn’t react to it and walked down the path, re-equipping the Eight-sided Command on my body.
How much time had passed since then?
When Ardian’s figure was completely out of sight, Herman, who had been silent, muttered to me.
“Ardian, that guy… do you know how he managed to hold out against Cloud Hunter for an hour without getting caught?”
As expected, he was quick-witted. He seemed to have grasped the general situation, even though he seemed to know nothing. I glanced at Herman and replied briefly.
“Yes.”
“…Could it be that both of them are 6-star achievers or higher?”
That was the answer.
A half-correct answer, though.
“Huh? What is?”
Tom, who had been following blankly, asked back.
Herman, who had been lost in thought with his chin resting on his hand, finally relaxed the frown he had been gathering. His eyes, squinting and looking at Tom, flickered with a light as if he was dumbfounded.
“You’re lucky. You don’t have to think about anything.”
“Huh?!”
It was around that time.
The sudden gust of wind felt unusual, so I stopped the two of them and gestured for them to be quiet. It seemed that Cloud had started moving again.
“Shh.”
When I put my finger to my lips, Tom covered his mouth, and Herman quietly surveyed the surroundings. We lowered our bodies and hid among the bushes.
The spine-chilling, eerie wind felt like the gaze of a hunter looking for prey, and I swallowed hard.
“Hiding here, were you? Sweethearts.”
A hand suddenly reached out from behind and grabbed the heads of Tom and Herman, who were lurking on either side of me, and the two of them fell asleep and collapsed before they could even resist.
It happened in an instant.
I moistened my lips and slowly turned around. Cloud was standing in the darkness, his eyes shining brightly as he looked down at me.
‘He’s much faster than I thought.’
His search speed was enough to make the diversionary tactic meaningless.
Cloud crossed his arms and curved the corners of his lips.
“I’ll give you a choice, Raymond student. Either come with me quietly, or go to dreamland with your student friends.”
I glared at him and sighed softly.
“Why are you asking me that? Do as you please.”
“I want to have a conversation with the son of the Valentasia family.”
“…….”
So, it was ‘walk along peacefully while talking to me, or be forcibly dragged away.’ My pride was hurt, but it wasn’t a situation where being stubborn would be beneficial at all, so I decided to give in here.
I was also curious as to why he was interested in the Valentasia family.
“I understand.”
“Okay. Then help me carry him.”
Cloud gestured towards Herman with his chin. I pulled the sleeping Herman’s arm and put it around my shoulder, and followed Cloud, who was carrying Tom on his back.
Cloud, who was already tall and well-built, looked even bigger compared to Tom, who was relatively small in height and build compared to his peers.
“How are Duke Maximun and Lady Luciel doing these days?”
Not long after we started moving, Cloud turned to me and asked. Judging by the friendly way he called them, it didn’t seem like simple interest.
“…They’re doing well. By the way, you were acquainted with them.”
“A little. They’re also people I admire.”
Admiration. I couldn’t quite understand that.
“Their achievements are lower than yours, aren’t they?”
Then Cloud burst into a small laugh.
“Achievements aren’t everything about a person. They have charisma… and above all, they’re the current representatives of the Valentasia family, who gained great fame during the Niflheim War. There are so many people who like them besides me.”
“Is the Valentasia family’s reputation that high?”
Since they were a family that received the title of Duke, they would naturally have that much name value, but it was doubtful whether they were admired by people who weren’t even territory residents. But Cloud widened his eyes as if he had heard something absurd and asked back in a sarcastic tone.
“Huh? Are you, the son of the Valentasia family, asking me that? You should feel it normally, right? The Valentasia family’s recognition and popularity.”
But, well.
I couldn’t feel any of the things he was talking about, so I couldn’t feel any emotion. So, as I was about to not respond, Cloud, who seemed to be subtly examining my face, smiled slyly as if he had realized something.
“Now that I see… you’re the type who doesn’t pay much attention to your surroundings? I saw you at the festival last time, and you didn’t even look at the kids who were sending you passionate glances.”
“Festival?”
“I mean the ball. I had some free time, so I went to see the professors for a bit. Ah, for your information, I’m exempt from the ‘no outsiders allowed’ rule.”
They were looking at me passionately?
I didn’t feel it at all.
“There were a lot of kids hesitating because they wanted to talk to you.”
Who on earth?
I frowned at the strange sense of alienation.
“It’s all lies.”
“It’s not a lie. How can you be so oblivious…”
The way he sighed and shook his head as if he was pathetic was very, very, displeasing. I glared at him and went ahead towards the villa. I pretended not to hear the laughter coming from behind.
After walking for quite a while, the dense trees opened up, and a wide yard and villa appeared.
Herman and Tom regained consciousness not long after arriving at the villa. They didn’t seem to remember the situation. The kids who had been dragged away earlier were either tired and went to sleep first or were chatting and resting leisurely.
Zeon returned to the villa after the time limit was over. Ardian’s figure… for some reason, wasn’t visible. I thought it was strange, but that was it. I quickly lost interest and returned to the villa with the servants.
The rest and sweet sleep, where I could relax and enjoy myself for a short time, were very sweet. Afterwards, I woke up to the voices of the servants waking me up to go to dinner, and I went down to the dining hall with them.
Ardian wasn’t in that group.
I didn’t know where he had suddenly gone.
‘He always sticks around, even when I tell him not to…’
Feeling a strange sense of frustration, I took a seat and suddenly heard a loud voice from the entrance of the dining hall.
“This operation was a complete failure!”
It was Melicsa. Clona, Ibelia, Derek, and Hawkrun were with her.
As the children entered in large numbers, the quiet dining hall quickly became noisy. Of course, it was none of my business, so I tried not to pay attention… but they made it impossible for me not to pay attention.
“You guys think so too, right? It was a complete failure, right?”
Melicsa, holding a tray, approached the seat next to where I and the servants were sitting and naturally started talking and mingling. She said that they needed to change the operation, and that lunch was delicious today… various stories were mixed together, making it very noisy.
It was then.
Someone came up from behind and put their arm around my shoulder. I turned around, wondering who was being so rude, and it was Cloud. He glanced at me and smiled, then turned to the children and asked.
“Are you all enjoying your meal?”