All-Master Player Of The Academy [EN]: Chapter 271

136. Come and Get Me – 1

The group that had ventured into the Mial Mountains returned, looking weary from their trials.

“Seriously, how can there be so many monsters?” one of them complained.

“If we had gone ahead with the Hero Festival as planned, it would have been a disaster,” another added.

Haryun collapsed onto the sofa, and Ian tossed him a fatigue recovery potion he had brewed.

“You even made something like this. Am I supposed to be touched?”

“Just don’t cry,” Ian chuckled. Haryun promptly gulped down the potion.

The others who had accompanied them also gratefully accepted and drank the recovery potions Ian offered.

Wildy, watching them sprawled out, tilted his head. “Where are Instructor Aranse and the others?”

“The instructors went straight into a meeting. Ah, how did things go for you all?”

“We took care of everything,” Blanche replied casually.

With Ian along, there was little to worry about. Blanche then gestured towards Grajin and Widia. “Ah, and hey, big guy. I need to tell you something.”

“Stop calling me ‘big guy,’ you brat.”

“Come on~ I’ve already met Liza [Balla’s younger sister] and we’re getting along great, okay? Don’t deny reality~.”

“What?!” Balla exclaimed, horrified, and turned to Ian.

Facing Balla’s bloodshot eyes, Ian recounted what had happened. “Why did that idiot girl crawl in there!”

“Hey~ give her credit for her adventurous spirit.”

“You should have told me if something like that happened! Where is that girl?!”

“Hey, hey. Don’t get so worked up,” Blanche said, trying to calm him down.

Haryun, meanwhile, looked at Grajin with amazement. “So? You went to the Demon King’s ruins?”

“Yeah. I even saw the sealed Demon King.”

“Wow. That’s quite surprising.” It was surprising both that Demon King’s ruins existed and that the Demon King was merely sealed.

The reason they weren’t more afraid, despite this revelation, was likely due to Ian, who was sitting comfortably and sipping tea.

“Ian said it’s okay, right? Then we shouldn’t worry?” Park Bare, who had been sprawled out, chimed in, and Haryun agreed.

Wildy sighed heavily. “I think it would be wise to worry a little. It’s still the Demon King, after all.”

“Ian. Can’t you beat him?”

“Of course, I can,” Ian replied confidently.

Haryun shrugged, while Wildy shook his head. Everyone seemed overly confident in Ian’s strength.

Just then, the door opened, and Aranse and Valentine entered.

“Huh? Why is Instructor Valentine here?” Aranse’s presence was understandable, as he frequently visited and was in charge of their class, but Valentine’s appearance was unexpected.

The students wondered if she had come to see Ian, but Valentine approached Grajin. “Student Grajin. May I speak with you for a moment?”

“Is it about the materials I researched, reviewed, and borrowed?”

“Yes. Those materials. Most of them are related to the Demon King… Did you find anything?”

They were indeed discussing that very topic. Grajin glanced at Ian, and upon receiving a nod, he replied, “I found the Demon King’s ruins.”

“…What?!” Valentine exclaimed, horrified.

After calming the flustered Valentine, they explained the situation to her. Upon hearing everything, Valentine fidgeted. “C-can I go too? Huh? There must be a lot of records from the Hero’s era left!”

She even had a blush on her face as she spoke, but Grajin remained silent, looking at Ian again.

“It’s a bit difficult right now. How about going after the Hero Festival is over?” Ian suggested, putting down his teacup.

“Aaaah… but.”

“There won’t be much to see even if you go now.”

“R-really?”

“Yes. If you’re going to see it, wouldn’t it be better to see it after the Demon King awakens? The best artifact is someone who has lived through that era, isn’t it? Hahaha.”

Ian laughed, but no one joined in. He was essentially telling them to capture the Demon King and then investigate him.

How could they laugh at that?

“But still, it’s the Demon King…”

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing.”

“You have to fight Rubellin too, right?”

“What’s the problem with that?”

‘I want to learn that confidence,’ Aranse thought.

Aranse clapped in admiration and then said, “Anyway, let’s talk about it after the Hero Festival is over. Instructor Valentine, please head back too.”

“Aaaah. But. The ruins might be destroyed as the Demon King revives…” she lamented, leaving with Aranse, looking dejected. Grajin chuckled.

“It seems like because you’re so strange, the people around you are getting used to the strangeness.”

“It’s temporary, so it’s okay. Now, let’s all disband.”

It was getting late, and they couldn’t just stay in the lobby. As Ian headed to the garden for meditation, the students exchanged glances and then dispersed to their respective destinations.

As Ian sat down alone in the garden, Myane climbed onto his lap. It was late at night, with the moon high in the sky, and only the sound of insects chirping could be heard.

In the quiet garden, amidst the calm before the storm, Ian continued his meditation.

* * *

The Hero Festival’s monster hunting event began, and the academy’s festive atmosphere intensified.

“In the midst of all this, can you believe it! I have to be on patrol like this!” Blanche lamented.

Oerina, looking at him, shook her head in disbelief. “You can’t meet Liza anyway. Balla is sticking to her so closely, how could you? Why don’t you give up?”

It was well-known among the upper B-class students that Blanche had fallen for Balla’s younger sister, Liza.

She giggled and teased him, but Blanche shook his head. “There is no giving up in my life.”

Ian smiled at his words. “That’s great.”

“Oh! You understand?!”

“That kind of adventurous spirit is good. But Balla will try to stop you with all his might.”

“Hmm. I wonder why Balla is trying to stop me so much. I’m a good guy if you get to know me.”

“Isn’t it because he knows you too well? Even if she’s his annoying younger sister, he probably doesn’t want to see her end up with a friend like you.”

“Arranged marriages are often done that way?!” Blanche cried out, as if wronged, and Oerina shook her head.

‘Anyway, personal love problems are his own business, so let’s not worry about it,’ she thought.

“If you really want to, try formally proposing marriage through the Auden family.”

“That’s right. All I have to do is defeat Balla, right? The Killhart tribe would probably welcome it.”

“Kuh. I need to train hard,” Blanche grumbled. Taking Blanche, who was still complaining, Ian and Oerina continued their patrol.

Perhaps because Ian had essentially claimed the academy as his territory, there were no major troublemakers. Of course, there were some conflicts between drunk people, but that was to be expected.

After finishing their patrol and being relieved by another team, Ian heard a familiar voice.

“Hey. Ian.”

“Helid?”

It was Helid, accompanied by his fiancée and lover, Leila. Perhaps due to Ian’s treatment, Leila had continued to gain weight and had now regained the appearance of a healthy young lady.

“Wow. Leila. You’re looking much better? That’s great.”

“Hehe. Actually, it’s not just my body that’s gotten better.” Leila lightly raised her hand, and a small magic circle appeared on her palm.

“Huh?! Your circle wasn’t destroyed?”

“I rebuilt it. Actually, I thought it was almost impossible…” She had been diligently undergoing rehabilitation training and had eventually succeeded in reviving her magic circle.

“Is it because of your treatment?”

“I can’t deny it, but it also requires willpower. So, I think your efforts were greater than mine.”

“Hehe. Is that so? Anyway, thank you. If it weren’t for you, neither I, nor my father, nor Helid would be able to walk around like this.”

“I think thank you should be expressed with both hands full [meaning a more substantial reward].”

“Hahaha. I thought so. Then, as a reward, I’ll treat you to dinner tonight,” Helid said with a smile. Blanche shrugged.

“Then let’s disband here.”

“Huh? Aren’t you coming with us?”

“No thanks. You three go and eat.” It seemed Oerina didn’t want to go either.

As they walked away, Leila scratched her cheek. “I didn’t really give them the ‘get lost’ look, though.”

“Still, the kids know when to join in and when to back out.”

“Is that so? Anyway… let’s go. I’ll treat you to a nice place.”

The only “nice place” in the academy was Ruben’s Table, where they always went. As soon as they entered the restaurant and took their seats, Leila got straight to the point.

“I heard from Helid. The movements of the monsters in the Mial Mountains are strange?”

“Yeah. Is it like that in other places too?”

“Yes.”

“It’s not related to the monsters having faith [in a deity or higher power]?”

“No. It’s been like that for the past few days.” Leila told them about what was happening near the Baradis territory and what the Baradis Merchant Guild had discovered.

The monsters’ habitats were changing, and their locations were shifting.

“And the amazing thing is this.” She unfolded a map. “There are even cases where weak monsters enter the habitats of strong monsters.”

“Hmm.”

“Isn’t it strange? Even if goblin groups go to an ogre’s habitat, they’ll only be enough for one meal.”

“That’s a bit much for one meal.”

“Anyway.”

“And one more thing. I heard from my father that the number of demons has been decreasing rapidly lately.”

When Helid spoke, Ian tapped the table. As he closed his mouth, Helid and Leila finished recounting the strange occurrences.

“What’s going on?”

“What do you think?” At Ian’s question, Leila hesitated. She didn’t want to voice her suspicions. It wasn’t that she didn’t know, but she feared that speaking it aloud would make it a reality.

“I think…” She swallowed hard and pointed to some parts of the map. “The reason why weak monsters go to the habitats of strong monsters is…”

She said seriously, “I think it’s to become food themselves.”

Then she pointed to another part of the map. According to the investigation, the movements of the monsters were quite diverse.

“It was so hard investigating this,” Helid joked, and Leila smiled. If it weren’t for his excellent investigative skills, she wouldn’t have been able to reach this conclusion.

“If you check the routes that monsters stronger than a certain level are moving, the direction is like this.” Then she drew lines. As the lines were drawn, the destination of those routes became clear.

“Fredon Academy.”

“Yes. Well, of course, they could go somewhere else. But Ian. You think the same way as me, right?” Ian nodded. At his confirmation, Leila bit her lip tightly.

“Why is that? No, how can you make monsters move so uniformly?”

“There are so many ways that it’s hard to say for sure.”

“There are many ways?”

“There are ways to brainwash monsters or use black magic on people too.”

“But isn’t it difficult to do that with such a large number?”

“If you have enough magic power and strength, what’s impossible?”

The problem is, who could accomplish this on such a scale? Even when black magic was at its peak in the past, no one could achieve this.

“There’s no reason for it.”

“There is a reason.”

“What reason?”

“He can move the monsters to attack the academy, and he can create an opportunity to attack me while I’m protecting it.”

“Wait a minute. So this is Rubellin’s doing?” At her question, Ian smiled.