## Chapter 307 – The Monarch of Monsters (9)
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“Since Monehen is here, I’ll reiterate.
You all know that the Swordsmanship Department isn’t included in the specialization period, right?
Instead, you’ll form teams with people you get along with and solve requests.
Think of it as a kind of field study.”
As the students nodded at Padwick’s words, Anne recalled a story she had vaguely heard before.
The specialization period was designed to allow other departments, where research was the primary focus, to concentrate on their research activities with support from the Academy.
For example, during the past month or so, Carla and Lucas from the Alchemy Department received full support: Carla created [Spider Army-mk1], and Lucas developed [Theory of Refining Efficiency Amplification Applying Liquid Metal].
Many students were able to carry out numerous experiments and intellectual activities using this specialization period, but the Swordsmanship Department, being a physical education department with little connection to intellectual activity, did not receive such benefits.
“It doesn’t matter whether you team up with classmates or upper and lowerclassmen.
But you know we won’t tolerate anyone just riding along, right?”
The ‘request experience’ was designed to provide them with a special experience to compensate.
‘Request……’
“The request details are posted on the academic bulletin board, so pick one you like…
If you’re unsure, you can directly solicit requests yourselves.
But if you do, report it to the office and make sure you get a solid guarantee of mission completion.”
Padwick’s declaration of a ‘group project’ elicited varied reactions from the students.
A group project could be a special experience if done with people you got along with, but conversely, if there was discord or a freeloader among the members, all the teammates would suffer in a death spiral.
“Ugh…… Why a group project……?”
“Like this? Divide like this?
Aha!! Or like this? Ahahaha!!
If we put you two together, you’ll fight!!”
“Exploring the sewers?
What a stupid idea!
Let’s do it right away!!”
In the end, the students were divided into loners who sighed at the group project itself, and popular kids who were excited, discussing who to pair up with from their groups.
‘I’m…… the same……’
Naturally, Anne belonged to the sighing group.
She didn’t have any particularly close friends, and looking at the other loners who were worried about the future just like her, it didn’t seem easy to form a team with them either.
A slight sense of urgency flickered in Anne’s eyes as she glanced around.
For her, whose class attendance wasn’t great due to her ‘job,’ a project where she could directly demonstrate her ‘achievements’ was important.
There was a reason why she attended classes regularly, even if she was sometimes late for work.
Wasn’t it to receive the minimum certification of having graduated from the Academy and having learned and trained in swordsmanship?
Although her physical abilities had been gradually improving recently, she couldn’t help but be sensitive to how she was evaluated in such a large project, given that her usual class attendance wasn’t particularly good.
‘If it were an individual project……
No, there’s no use thinking about it…
I have to join a group now……’
At that moment, as Anne, who was in a situation where she had to grab at straws, felt a sense of crisis while watching the groups around her being formed.
“What are you looking around for so much?”
“Eep!! Ah… Roxanne…!!”
“This looks like a fun thing, doesn’t it?
Why don’t we do it together?”
“Ah… Well… I’m fine with it……
Then… would you like to team up with me…?”
At Roxanne’s question, delivered with a bright smile as she suddenly appeared from behind, Anne hesitated for a moment before immediately taking her hand.
This wasn’t the time to be picky.
On the contrary, if Roxanne, who demonstrated her mysterious spearmanship skills, joined her, it would naturally reduce the burden that much more.
“Then… we need to gather more people now……”
Most requests had a restriction that required at least four people to work together.
It might be better to have more, but filling the minimum number was the most important thing.
Still, if Roxanne joined, the number of people to be added would be reduced, which was fortunate enough.
“Hmm…… Or, even if it’s a bit burdensome…
We could look for requests with fewer recruits……”
Just as Anne was about to look at the bulletin board, thinking of accepting a request that recruited only a small number of people if necessary.
“We’ve already filled all four spots, haven’t we?
You don’t have to worry about that, do you?”
“Huh……?
Four people…?
We’re only two……”
“Hey~! Over here!”
At Roxanne’s sudden action of turning around and waving her hand, Anne stared blankly in the direction she was waving.
And the reactions of the others, who also seemed taken aback when they saw Anne, were quite noticeable.
“Shall we introduce ourselves?
Well, I’m also considered a freshman.
Isn’t love for classmates love for the country?”
Perhaps they had asked Roxanne to join them first.
So, seeing Roxanne bringing Anne along when they were trying to fill the last spot, they were showing such a reaction.
“Ah… E… Eee…”
“These are my classmates, Vivi and Renée.
You’ve met them once before, haven’t you?
Shall we introduce ourselves?”
As they got closer, each of them wore expressions of not knowing what was going on.
Anne, who had inadvertently become the most senior among them, was the first to open her mouth and introduce herself.
“Ah… Hello……?
I’m… Anne… Monehen……
We fought once before, didn’t we…?”
“Well… as you know…
I’m Vivi, and this is Renée.
Let’s work well together on this group project?”
Vivian and Ranieri’s expressions, as they faced Anne on a narrow bridge, were tinged with subtle emotions.
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“It’s that time of year.”
“That time of year……?”
“It’s the Swordsmanship Department’s specialization period, right?
Soon, the Swordsmanship Department students will be receiving requests.
You used to work with me on them, didn’t you?”
“Ah…!! That walk…?”
Ranieri’s expression brightened with pleasant memories as she recalled the previous request, which involved escorting a noble family.
During her time as Vivian de Grenot, there were plenty of families willing to give her such easy requests, just because of the Grenot family’s prestige behind her.
So, although it was called escorting a noble family, the task that Vivian and Ranieri had done with a few other gang girls at the time was essentially just strolling around the noble family’s courtyard and spending time drinking tea together.
“It was a walk back then.
I didn’t like troublesome things either.
But if we do it this time…
I’m thinking of taking on a more proper request this time.”
“Ummm……”
But now, as a woman who had been reborn as just ‘Vivian,’ no longer the daughter of the Marquis of Grenot, she had no intention of wasting this opportunity for growth.
During her time as Vivian de Grenot, there were plenty of families willing to give her such easy requests, just because of the Grenot family’s prestige behind her.
What she had built up remained entirely as her own skill.
While running Flora’s brothel, and even reaching the point of soaking Laratina.
Having recently felt such enlightenment, she was thinking of challenging a proper request this time, in order to increase her experience as a mercenary swordsman who receives request missions.
Recently, Flora’s had been well-staffed, so unless a special incident occurred, it could operate normally for about a week without Vivian.
Of course, Aurora, who had been managing Flora’s Branch 3 as the former Mademoiselle, would let out a bewildered scream as she took over the work, but that was the fate of someone who volunteered to be a slave, wasn’t it?
“Will just the two of us be enough…?
It might sound presumptuous to say this…
But for ordinary requests, we…”
In some ways, although it was a natural thing, if you only considered their ‘abilities’ without knowing their current ‘skills,’ they were not much different from ordinary upperclassmen.
Ranieri, who should be a sophomore by now, and Vivian, who should be a junior.
Even if it was unavoidable that their grades had been pushed back by a year, their combat abilities had greatly improved as their physical abilities had been enhanced.
It was exerting the same effect as raising their innate talents by one level.
“We’ve only worked with the Henias so far.
But I think cooperation is also a kind of virtue.
Except for the two of us working together this time…
I’m thinking of bringing in other team members from start to finish.
For example…… that woman over there.”
“Eh… Eee…? That woman……?”
In fact, no matter what request they took on, if they worked with classmates, it would only amount to Vivian and her group carrying them.
If that was the case, Vivian’s eyes, wanting to gain new experiences, were turned towards a woman with a bright expression.
“It’s important to have various experiences, isn’t it?”
Hair of a deep blue color, different from her own.
A Sistina paladin with short, neat hair swaying, holding her halberd in one hand.
Vivian’s eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at Roxanne Stronova.
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“Now that we’ve gathered four people, what kind of request should we take on?
I’ve never done anything like this before, so I don’t know much about it.”
Roxanne, who would not normally receive requests like a mercenary, seemed to quite like the experience of doing something for the first time in a new country and a new environment.
The female swordsman team followed Roxanne’s suggestion to have dinner together, in the sense of solidifying ‘friendship’ since they were in the same group.
They moved to a fairly nice restaurant, ordered a course, and had appetizers and a cup of tea each.
Since they were still waiting for the food to come out, Roxanne started the conversation, and Ranieri asked her a question with a curious expression.
“Heeh…? You don’t have things like this in Sistina…?
Getting paid to take on requests…?”
“Not particularly.
We move according to the voice of God.”
“The voice of… God……?”
The Sistina religion’s source, the Heavenly God.
The other girls, who were briefly trying to grasp the context of the words ‘his voice,’ were able to realize that the ‘voice of the Heavenly God’ roughly meant the doctrines of the religion.
“Well, the Heavenly God said that we are all equal.
And that we must love each other.
So people do what is needed for each other…
And share the results, dividing them as needed.
This is called…”
“Altruistic?”
“That’s right…!! Altruistic!!
Anyway, that’s why if there’s something that needs to be done…
You could say it’s like asking someone who can do the request…
Wouldn’t you agree?”
“I guess you hardly have any greed?”
“In a way… it could be an ideal society.
But then someone would always be at a loss, wouldn’t they?”
However, as they had lived as nobles in Groden, a hierarchical society from the beginning, where commoners, nobles, and royalty were divided and treated differently, there were bound to be parts that were difficult for them to understand.
Above all, it was only natural that they would be particularly sensitive to gains and losses, especially when it came to the well-being of their family and household.
The girls began to feel a strange interest in the story of a society that was in some ways totalitarian and close to communism.
Roxanne smiled at such girls and then continued in a serious tone.
“Loss…… You could see it that way…?
If there’s one thing that surprised me here, it’s that some people live in magnificent mansions and eat delicious things.
And others live without a home and eat only bread crusts, don’t they?
That would probably be unimaginable in Sistina.
We all share the daily sustenance and live together.
Even if we are poor, we will all be poor together.”
“Too idealistic, I guess.
I can’t even imagine it…”
“Anyway, there’s a limit to the wealth that humans can embrace, isn’t there?
So you could say that we don’t bother being greedy.
By not being greedy…
Someone else can be happy with me.”
The atmosphere around them became slightly solemn at Roxanne’s answer, which she gave as if reciting a prayer.
“Oooooh……”
“Good words.”
In a way, wasn’t that what they had felt while living with Enic?
Under Enic’s tentacles, they were all just equal ‘females.’
Under the pleasure he gave, there was no such concept as you being a dirty beastman female hole and me being a sacred human female birthing hole.
If they monopolized his tentacles, they could of course feel a little better, but even if they didn’t, they could still enjoy the night enough by kissing the Henia who was being violated and rubbing their breasts against each other.
Then, the tentacles would always dig into the space between the good females who got along well, violating both of their clitorises at the same time and showing them heaven together.
That way, as members of the nest, the females didn’t need to be greedy.
They were already receiving everything they needed from him.
‘The one and only thing we have…
But something so big……
I think I know what it feels like.’
They just wanted to live happy days without any worries, immersed in the pleasure given by him, who grew by drinking their shameful bodily fluids and one day became a global existence, an existence that no one could stop.
For that day, Vivian and Ranieri, as well as the Henias, were doing their best to help each other for the sake of ‘Master.’
Perhaps that was why they could understand Roxanne’s words as a paladin of the Heavenly God, centered around the Heavenly God.
“Well, it’s not exactly a substitute, but there’s also this.
There are blessings that come down to devout believers?”
When Roxanne snapped her fingers together on the table, Vivian and Ranieri’s eyes widened at the sight of the light flickering slightly from her fingertips before suddenly cutting off.
‘That’s… divine power…?’
A blessing given by God, a miracle that responds to the prayers of his followers.
Roxanne had shown them a fragment of it, but she didn’t seem to want to use a miracle for something trivial.
“If you believe, trust, and follow, you will one day be called.
Then, as someone who has been called, you will serve with even more pride.
I’ll consider what I just showed you… as part of evangelism.”
Roxanne, who then grabbed the handle of her teacup and flicked it, was the one who did it.
Accordingly, Vivian, who had unconsciously grabbed her own cup, felt the sweet flavor wafting from the teacup and looked down at her cup in surprise.
“This is……?”
“A… alcohol……? Uh……?
Until just now… it was… tea…”
Ranieri’s surprised voice as she looked at the contents of the teacup, which had turned into a sweet fruit wine, and sipped it.
Similarly, Vivian, who sipped the contents of her teacup and felt the tingling sweetness spreading across her tongue, burst out laughing.
“Ha… Haha……
Really… unbelievable……”
“It’s roughly like this!!
Then, would you like to tell us your stories too!?
To be admitted to the Academy as commoners.
There must have been many hardships!!”
“Ahaha… Well… yes……?”
“Don’t be shy and tell us!!
Take a shot and tell us your story!!”
Was it from that moment?
Roxanne, who had been holding her teacup elegantly until just now, emptied it in one gulp.
At that, Vivian and Ranieri were able to realize that something had gone wrong.
Roxanne’s actions of constantly snapping her fingers whenever her cup was empty, and the fact that the teacup continued to fill up each time.
It was a matter of course that their cups were no different.
“Let’s drink and die!! Yahoo~!
Let’s talk about work later!!
Let’s run for now!! Run, run!!”
Even though she had only tasted alcohol, Vivian and Ranieri’s dazed expressions were already turning to astonishment at the feeling of dizziness.
‘This is…… a clergyman……?’
