Sincerely, Vanessa [EN]: Chapter 35

To my teacher,

My reply is a little late, which is unusual given how eagerly I awaited your letter.

And no, it’s absolutely not because your reply was short.

Actually, well, it was more like a note, but the very, very kind Vanessa Rose is satisfied with just that.

The thought behind it is what matters, right? Right?

The combination of carefully written letters and the phrase ‘Return safely without getting hurt’… I can’t possibly go against that!

Don’t worry, I’ll return to the Academy in perfect health.

Anyway, so many things have happened in the past few days.

You were very worried about me going on a field exercise with the Special Task Force, Teacher. I could understand that feeling.

A huge number of monsters appeared in a village, and the Special Task Force headed there.

What I encountered in that village was absolutely horrifying.

The monsters themselves were scary, but seeing the impact they had on people was even scarier.

They seemed to have the power to ruin relationships between people. They made the villagers suspicious of each other and turn to violence. Only despair remained in people’s eyes.

But I don’t regret seeing and feeling it firsthand. There are things you can only know by experiencing them directly.

Would you believe me if I said that this past week resonated with me more than what I’ve learned about monsters at the Academy for years?

And I realized that if I want to help those who are suffering, people like me have to work very hard, to the point of fainting.

Because I actually fainted….

I apparently manifested a very large magic in a ‘slightly dangerous’ situation.

I don’t really know how I used the magic. When I came to, it was already the next day.

Moshwi was sobbing, Dalois was jumping around beside him, and Evan was huffing and puffing. It was chaotic.

The Captain told me not to get out of bed until I was completely healed, but how could I do that? The wheat field village where the monsters disappeared must be so beautiful!

When I went outside, the Special Task Force members had completely destroyed the wooden wall that had been enclosing the village. The villagers were repairing the damaged roofs.

It was so good to see what had taken root in the place where the monsters had disappeared.

When I first entered this village, all I could see was despair and darkness, but hope had returned. That will be the strength to live on.

I didn’t do much, but I’m so, so proud.

Anyway, the lieutenant who was in charge of me got a big scolding after I fainted.

If I hadn’t been able to use magic properly, I would have been seriously injured, and as a Special Task Force member, this is unacceptable.

But how could the lieutenant have known that only that monster would suddenly use special abilities, unlike the monsters we’ve met so far?

Despite my defense, the lieutenant, who was scolded in order by the captain, major, and lieutenant colonel, was eventually deemed unfit to be in charge of me.

So, the Captain will be in charge of me directly.

Should I be honored? But I’m so worried!

Come to think of it, did you already know when I wrote about Gid, no, Gideon, in my letter? It’s not a common name.

Gideon is the captain of the Special Task Force!

Then you might say we already know each other, but Gideon, the captain of the Special Task Force, and Gideon, who ate ice cream with me in Nimrod, seem like different people. I feel a sense of distance.

If you ask if I’m disappointed, I don’t really know….

Gideon is actually being very nice to me. Since I fainted and woke up, he checks every day to see if I have any pain or a fever.

Of course, this is because I’m a student he’s in charge of.

So, maybe it’s just a disappointment I feel alone.

I just thought we were pretty close.

Anyway, the Special Task Force, realizing that an excessive number of artificial monsters had appeared in this village, looked for another destination.

I feel lighter since waking up. I’m running around energetically again, so don’t worry!

Having learned a lot,

From Vanessa Rose.

p.s. In fact, hope wasn’t the only thing left.

When they investigated the monsters’ stomachs and habitats, they found numerous bone fragments and half-rotted flesh.

If we could have identified them, we could have comforted their families, but we couldn’t tell who the owners of the mixed bones were.

If only those soldiers had tried to defeat the monsters even once. Or if they had contacted the Special Task Force right away.

How much better would that have been?

pp.s. What exactly are the conditions for my magic? The Captain sat me down and checked for a very long time, but only cute magic unfolded from my hands again.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

The villagers gave a large house to the Special Task Force.

Thanks to this, the Special Task Force members were lying around everywhere. Even if it was a dusty sofa, they seemed satisfied as long as they could lie down.

According to Grain, they needed to rest well to be able to fight smoothly in the next battle. It sounded a bit like an excuse, though.

“So, you’re saying that the number of monsters that appeared in this village is definitely strange.”

“It’s very strange. They weren’t the kind of entities that would appear in such a small village.”

“Right, why would they bother sending a Chimera [a monster made of mixed animal parts] to a place like this?”

Anna rubbed the back of her neck and said.

“The Special Task Force members who were sent earlier also reported that an excessive number of monsters are being discovered along the western sea.”

Major Andalus quietly added.

“It’s definitely worth investigating.”

“But we need to narrow down the scope, right? It seems impossible to search the entire western border!”

Lieutenant Grain said, chewing on beans braised in sauce. He was really eating heartily. Since they would be leaving soon, he had to fill his stomach.

The students sat next to him, listening to the Special Task Force members’ conversation.

“Personally, I….”

Gideon rubbed his throbbing head for a moment. He was already tired just thinking about it.

“I suspect that a monster seed was used.”

“Ehhhh?”

Lieutenant Grain shouted, widening his eyes. And then he pondered for a moment.

“What was a monster seed again?”

Lieutenant Hisop glared at him for a moment – embarrassing in front of the students! – and explained.

“It refers to the place where monsters are born. Monsters aren’t just born randomly.”

Hisop cleared his throat, looking at the students who were listening intently.

“In some cases, they have reproductive abilities and lay eggs. But a monster’s corpse, dead things, waste that couldn’t become life, and stagnant magical power can gather to form a monster seed. Monsters are also born this way.”

“That’s right. The number of monsters increases excessively in areas where monster seeds are found. But since seeds are rarely created, the number of monsters is usually maintained at a moderate level.”

“Do you think someone artificially created a monster seed?”

“It seems they not only artificially created a seed but also manipulated it.”

Gideon tapped the crude drawing of the monster that Evan had drawn on the paper with his finger.

A bull’s head, a Naga’s [snake-like humanoid] body, a Bellot’s [monster with a giant eye] eyeball.

“What do you mean by manipulating the monster seed?”

Major Andalus asked worriedly. Gideon spoke slowly.

“It’s all just speculation… Monster seeds are never common. There’s still a lack of research on them.”

“Yes, I haven’t heard much about it either.”

“But the bodies of the monsters that are being discovered now have too many things mixed in. There are too many to have been made by people one by one.”

Hisop frowned.

“Could it be that the monster seed is… creating Chimeras from the beginning?”

As Hisop stammered, Gideon silently swept his cheek with his large hand.

Even though there were nine people gathered, only silence flowed. The matter was that serious.

“Then we should head to the center where monsters are most frequently discovered. The seed must be there.”

“Then Moreane in the west! I heard it’s a monster farm these days.”

Anna shouted, banging on the map placed on the table. She looked very excited.

“Ha, it’s been a while since I’ve been a little nervous! A monster seed.”

“Are you ready to depart?”

“Ah, no need to ask twice. Already-”

The moment Lieutenant Grain raised his hand and spoke loudly, someone knocked loudly on the thick wooden door. Everyone’s eyes instantly turned to the door.

Captain Anna strode over with a dagger in her hand and flung the door open.

“Ah, hello!”

A man with short hair and a square jaw smiled and saluted.

His epaulettes had two embroidered leaves on them. Next to him stood the soldier whom Gideon had chased away from the village entrance, with a terrified expression.

“Haha. I’m Lieutenant Colonel Rodney, the commander of the Western Defense Battalion. It’s an honor to meet the Special Task Force Captain. You’re just as I’ve heard.”

The lieutenant colonel said with a beaming smile.

He looked to be in his mid-thirties and seemed to be in a very good mood.

Gideon, still sitting, only raised the corners of his lips.

“Special Task Force Captain, Gideon Sol Balderda. Just as you’ve heard?”

“Ah, I didn’t mean it in a bad way. The reputation of being ‘Priba’s greatest sculpture’ is widely known. Haha!”

‘That bastard is going to die soon?’

Lieutenant Grain, who had glanced at Gideon’s face and quickly lowered his head, whispered. Lieutenant Hisop smiled awkwardly.

“The Special Task Force members have really worked hard.”

When Gideon didn’t respond, the lieutenant colonel stroked his well-groomed mustache and added words of gratitude for their hard work. And he sat down in the chair in front of Gideon without permission.

The students gathered in the corner and didn’t make a sound.

“I’m glad things turned out well, even now. The damage could have been greater. Haha! The villagers will be relieved.”

“….”

“Ah, is His Majesty in good health? It’s been a while since I came down here, so I haven’t heard any news from Fydom [the capital city]. I should go back up to Fydom now. There’s nothing to do here anyway.”

Gideon, who had been listening to those words with a raised lip, slowly stood up.

He looked down at the bewildered soldier and kicked the chair next to him. As the shattered pieces of the chair scattered, the lieutenant colonel jumped up.

“What are you doing…!”

“Are you kidding me? Those who were dispatched to protect the residents are instead inside the safest castle?”

The lieutenant colonel, his face flushed red at the cold gaze, stammered in protest.

“How can we deal with monsters! We did our best-”

“It was an entity that was vulnerable to physical attacks, but you didn’t even try. Why are you wearing those useless swords? For show?”

“It was rushing at us spewing flames, so are you saying we should have sent the soldiers out? We can’t even hit it with artillery!”

At that moment, the glass windows rattled as if they would break under Gideon’s power. In the silence, a low voice was heard.

“Don’t resist unless you want to be dragged away.”

Anna chuckled as she looked at the soldier who finally shut his mouth. Hisop hurriedly covered Anna’s mouth.

“I, I’m a lieutenant colonel-”

“Yeah, your rank is really high. You’ve climbed all the way to lieutenant colonel, and what? You can’t send out soldiers? You can’t fight monsters?”

Andalus gently interjected.

“Captain, that’s enough. Didn’t you have a big fight with the chief of the security forces last time too?”

Grain leaned towards the students and whispered.

‘You fought in front of His Majesty too.’

‘Really?’

‘Yeah, but rather than fighting, it was more like he unilaterally beat him up.’

“Finish it properly. We took care of the monsters, so I hope you properly help with the damage recovery. Get out. I will definitely report this matter.”

It was an inviting tone, but his eyes were very cold. The man called the lieutenant colonel hesitated, left a sloppy salute, and ran away.

Gideon cast a fierce gaze out the window. Andalus jumped up and sent the four students upstairs.

“Bring your luggage down.”

It was the same gentle smile as usual, but the intention to get them out of this situation was evident. The four students were pushed upstairs.