Lucas, who had returned to the academy alone, was dumbfounded.

"Ha, so you just left me behind?!"

He had even thought of all the lines he would say when he faced them, thinking that Skir and Pola might be waiting for him at the academy entrance.

'I'm fine. Were you worried?' or something like that...

But there wasn't a single ant to be seen around the academy.

"You cowardly bastards..."

Come to think of it, wasn't he the youngest? The ones who always acted like an older sister and brother had just gotten on the backs of the escort knights and left when the situation became urgent.

Of course, he had heard Pola call his name a few times, but that didn't mean that the fact that they had left him behind was undone.

"You damn things... you very bad things..."

Just as Lucas was grumbling for a long time and heading to his room.

"Rookie!!"

"Lucas!!"

As he turned the corner and entered the corridor, Pola and Skir, who were waiting, called his name.

It seemed they had been waiting in front of his room, worried.

"Hmph. When did you ever leave me behind..."

"I'm sorry! We couldn't help it... they just picked us up and ran... I'm really sorry! And when the escort knights went back to look for you, the ghouls were already dead and gone..."

"That's right. I'm sorry. No matter how much I ordered the escort to put me down, they wouldn't listen..."

"Hmph!"

Lucas, who had become quite genuinely sulky at the sight of them looking troubled, kept snorting.

'Do you think I'll forgive you so easily!'

Then Pola quickly came over and hugged him.

"I'm glad you're safe. From now on, I'll never, ever leave you alone..."

"R-right... I'm ashamed to be the older one."

He was momentarily flustered by Pola's sudden hug, but Lucas, who smiled gently, patted her back.

"It's okay. Professor Aman came. There was nothing dangerous, so don't be too sorry."

"Waaah! I-I! Huk! I... what if you..."

Pola, who seemed to be relieved now, burst into tears and began to sob.

"Khuk!"

At Pola's crying, Skir also turned his head and looked at the ceiling, as if holding back his tears.

'Kids are kids.'

They apologized for a long time and then went back.

"Well, see you tomorrow!"

"See you tomorrow!"

A smile did not leave Lucas's lips as he watched them disappear around the corridor.

'You cute things.'

***

Magical biology class. A time to learn about all living things except humans.

"Now, does anyone know anything about ghouls?"

The types of undead were not well covered in the beginner class, so it was common to only learn about their basic appearance. But perhaps because of the ghouls that had appeared in the imperial palace this time, the topic of 'ghouls' appeared as soon as the class began.

"Ah, yes. There, your name is..."

"Nella Pocoz!"

The professor, Arnil Genium, nodded his head once towards Nella, who had raised her hand high.

"Yes. Nella-yang. Tell us what you know about ghouls."

"Yes. Ghouls look scary. They have green skin... they smell bad, and um... they walk slowly. They also make strange noises."

"That's right. You've explained the characteristics of ghouls very clearly. Thank you, Nella-yang. You may sit down."

Arnil, who praised Nella's explanation, continued.

"I'm sure you've all heard. Ghouls appeared in the middle of the square. Ghouls are one of the undead creatures that live in underground dungeons."

Professor Arnil's brow narrowed slightly.

"The imperial palace and our academy's faculty are taking this incident very seriously and are preparing countermeasures. The fact that they appeared in the middle of the city, and undead creatures at that, not to mention around the imperial palace, means that there is a high possibility that someone deliberately summoned the ghouls."

"Deliberately? Then does that mean someone is trying to harm people?"

The person who raised his hand slightly and asked a question was Sament Sigit, a former mercenary.

"Yes. If that's not the intention... the possibility of ghouls appearing in a city like this is low. The underground dungeons around the imperial palace are periodically subjugated by the knights, and besides, there is absolutely no possibility that the ghouls came all the way from there to the imperial palace alive."

He was right. Ghouls were low-level undead, and their slow steps made them not a difficult monster to subjugate.

Their appearance was not so ordinary that they would not be noticed by the knights and patrols while escaping from the underground dungeon and coming to the imperial palace.

"So I have decided to change the direction of the class a little from today."

"..."

"If I have taught you about the appearance, characteristics, and habitats of magical creatures so far, from now on, I will teach you about the unknown weaknesses and subjugation methods of the creatures you have learned about so far."

"Ooooh..."

The students' eyes shone at the story of teaching useful information in practice.

And for good reason, in the beginner class, they did not teach anything that went beyond their skills.

Most of the students in the beginner class, if they did not advance to the upper classes, would end up running a small magic potion shop in their neighborhood after graduation, which was a set course.

That's why the potion class was taught at a fairly high level even in the beginner class, but the rest of the magic classes were just at a mediocre level.

The most important thing in magic was the amount of mana and the degree of training. No matter how complicated the formulas or spells were, they were useless if one's mana was insufficient.

It was the same principle as having good ingredients but no fire and no pot to cook them in.

"Now, pass one sheet from the front."

The bundle of parchment that Professor Arnil had handed out was passed back one by one, and the students who received it began to read the parchment carefully.

-Definition and Basics of the Undead

The parchment listed content that matched the title written at the top.

"I believe that a shadow of darkness has fallen over the imperial palace right now. Therefore, we will equip ourselves with the knowledge to stand against it."

-Thwack!

Arnil, with a grim expression, lightly struck the lectern.

"Now! Let's start the class."

***

"It was really fun. I didn't even know there were so many dark creatures!"

"Really? My house has quite a lot of magic-related books... sometime, at my house..."

"Ah! Right, Rookie! What are you going to eat for lunch?"

Skir, who was clearly about to say something, fiddled with his hands and then let out a small sigh.

"Anything."

"Anything? Hmm, then should we eat southern food today?"

Within the academy, there were school cafeterias with themes divided into east, west, south, north, and central, centered on the imperial palace.

The cafeterias, divided into five sections, were so popular that they were even imitated by foreign academies and large government offices, as students and faculty could choose the menu they wanted at any time.

Because of that, they could eat various regional foods, so they didn't get tired of eating at the same place every day.

"Let's do that."

"The south is good, but what about the central?"

"The central is just the capital's food! Then you eat the central. Rookie and I will eat the south."

"Ah, no. I'll have the south too..."

"Phew, you always have to have the last word."

Skir's lips pouted at Pola's nagging.

The three, who had received their food, sat down and began to eat.

"Ah, but what if we run into ghouls again?"

"Hmph, you worry too much. Even then, our escort..."

"Hey! Have you already forgotten that you left Rookie behind?!"

"Ah..."

"You're a real fool!"

Lucas wanted to smack Skir's foolish mouth, which always failed to get its point across when he opened it.

'Phew, you fool. You're so lacking... tsk, tsk'

Lucas, who quietly clicked his tongue, took a spoonful of pumpkin soup and brought it to his mouth.

"Then what should we do? We can't even use proper magic yet..."

Skir, who seemed to be worried after hearing Pola's words, opened his mouth, unable to eat the rye bread in his hand.

"Ha, I know... then we'll be ghoul food if the adults don't come..."

Pola, who heard Skir's words, also quietly put down the duck meat she was about to bring to her mouth.

'They should just eat their food, but they're chattering away...'

Lucas, who was watching them, let out a deep sigh.

"Haa... just learn magic properly."

"How? We're in the beginner class, so they don't even teach us proper magic yet..."

"Let's talk after we eat. First, eat."

"Can you even eat right now?! What if you get bitten by a ghoul later! No, not a ghoul, didn't you see that earlier?! That... there are a lot of... scary things!"

"...I saw it."

"See, you're scared too, right?"

Lucas, who just wanted to focus on eating, was suddenly treated like a little brat who was scared of ghouls or low-level undead.

'You're just going to throw a mouse-sized little brat into a dungeon?!'

-Thwack!

In the end, Lucas slammed the spoon he was eating with on the table.

"W-what?!"

"How did you learn your table manners! Lucas!"

"Both of you, follow me after class. I'll teach you what magic is."

Lucas, who had reached the limit of his patience from being hungry since morning, used silence magic to shut their mouths.

"Finish your meal without a word. Understood!"

As Lucas, who had scolded them like a drill sergeant, picked up his spoon again, Pola and Skir, who had been flustered by his sudden magic, quickly nodded their heads.

"Now, let's eat."

Lucas, who had released the magic at their vigorous nodding, began to eat again.

"...Hul."

"..."

Pola and Skir, except for Lucas, just looked at each other and couldn't eat anymore.

***

An underground dungeon quite far from the imperial palace.

"Hmm... you're the one who summoned the ghouls?"

"Guk... guuuk..."

The silver-blue-haired man's eyes were eerie as he squatted in front of the men in black robes and observed them.

"Eh? You're not answering?"

-Twang!

As a sharp sound passed by, the man's last remaining finger, his thumb, rolled on the floor.

"Gaaah!!!"

"Why do you keep cutting off your fingers? You can't even give a thumbs-up now!"

The man, who was shaking his head, was none other than Aman.

"Now, there are still many places to cut off... you're not going to answer, are you?"

"K-kill me... guuuk..."

The floor was already soaked with blood from the gushing blood.

Around the man, there were many corpses with their eyes wide open, already dead.

"Right. Then you die, and I'll do this one next."

Aman, who had finished speaking, cast a curse magic on the man who had lost all his fingers.

"Gaaah! Gaaah!!"

As a pain incomparable to having his fingers cut off enveloped the man's whole body, he let out a painful scream.

"Phew, so noisy."

Aman, who waved his hand once, used silence magic to shut the man's mouth, and the man, who was showing the whites of his eyes and lying on the floor, foaming at the mouth, could not even make a small sound.

"Khahaha! Hey, look at this guy. Doesn't he look like a fish pulled out of the water?"

As Aman, who had kindly taken off the robe of the other man in front of him, held his stomach and laughed, the man's trousers became wet as he faced the pure evil.

"Now, you can talk now. Go ahead."

Aman, who had stopped watching the man writhing on the floor, spoke gently.

"I can't talk..."

-Twang! Twang!

"Gaaah!!!

As a sharp sound passed by, the man's both ears flew off.

The man's scream, who was holding the place where his ears had been with both hands, echoed through the dungeon.

"Now, where should I do next?"

"Guuuk... guuuk..."

Aman, who was watching the man groaning in pain, stretched his arms wide.

"Haa... I'm bored."

He was gradually getting tired of torturing them. He didn't know what kind of curse it was, but even the potion of truth didn't work on them.

It was clear that someone had taken measures beforehand to silence them.

The fact that they didn't open their mouths even while having parts of their bodies cut off and watching their comrades die in pain meant that there was a contract bigger than their lives at stake.

"Ha, it's not fun anymore... I don't think you guys are going to talk, and it seems like you're the ones who summoned the ghouls anyway..."

Aman, who stroked his chin as if he was thinking, let his eyes droop.

"Phew, I should stop! Then since everyone likes it warm..."

Aman waved his hand once.

-Fwoosh!

Then the dungeon was instantly engulfed in flames, and flames shot up from the bodies of the living people as well as the corpses.

"Gaaah!!!"

"Go well-done. Bye!"

Aman, who came out of the dungeon, puffed out his chest and breathed in the fresh air.

"Ha! I hate the underground because it's so stuffy."

He, who had tidied his clothes once, teleported and disappeared.

(End of Chapter)