Chapter 174: Darkness. (1) (1/2)

Under the starry night sky, a fire was crackling. Beyond the barrier, the energy of the Great Tiger remained, but some peaceful conversation was being exchanged at the Reccordak training field near the forest.

“I have two favorite ways of trading stocks, trend and general affairs.”

The Deputy Director of Security, Primienne, provided a lesson on stocks. Julie, Syrio, and Reylie were sitting on the ground and taking notes while recovering from their sparring.

“Trend is about adapting to whether the entire market is on a rise or falling.”

All three of them were quite serious, their eyes sparkling as they wrote down Primienne’s every word.

“General affairs is what’s popular. A year ago, it was toys. Six months ago, it was the distribution of food, and so on. Some stocks soar or plunge depending on the situation of the continent.”

Julie was laser-focused on the Deputy Director.

“But in the short term, excessive investment… severely overheated events are accompanied by an inevitable plunge. So you always need to be cautious when jumping into what’s popular, and if you gain some profits, you need to be realistic.”

Primienne bit her lips while talking, suddenly remembering an experience from her past. One of her stocks rose by ten times, but she held on to it and didn’t sell, and in the end, she ended up selling it at a loss of -25%. The moment she sold, it rose by five times again.

“Please keep that in mind. No matter how much a stock price rises, it’s not a profit until you sell it and receive more than your initial investment.”

Julie nodded. It felt like her empty head was slowly filling up.

“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind, teacher.”

“I have a question!”

Reylie raised her hand.

“Yes.”

“How much have you earned?”

It was an innocent curiosity.

“…”

However, it was a difficult question to answer.

“What?”

“…”

‘Shut up.’

“What?”

“…”

‘I told you to shut up.’

Anyway, that’s what Primienne wanted to say. It hurt her pride to say that she had lost everything that she had earned over ten years. It wasn’t that she lost it because of her lack of skills. She just wasn’t lucky. Who would have thought that the Imperial family would suddenly open Marik?

“Knight Deya, how will Reccordak deal with the Great Tiger? I can’t help but ask you, a member of the Freyden clan because the Security Department asked me to take charge of Reccordak.”

Primienne asked Julie. Julie, who was still scribbling notes, looked serious again.

“…I’m still thinking about it. Professor Deculein said that he would take care of it by himself….”

Julie looked at Syrio. He was mumbling about trends, general affairs, accumulated profit, distribution of stocks, and the like.

“Lord Syrio, please spar with me again.”

“Again?”

Fortunately, she succeeded in changing the topic. Primienne sighed with relief, and Syrio grinned.

“…Hahaha. I don’t mind. But, you plan on following him, right?”

Julie didn’t say anything. For a while, there was only the crackling of the fire.

“…”

Primienne and Reylie were wary while Julie fiddled with her sword.

“Deculein said he is going alone.”

Syrio spoke. Julie glanced up.

“You can’t send him by himself. He’s still a comrade. He’s also a nice friend.”

“Nice?”

Reylie twisted her face. Syrio grinned and nodded.

“We’re comrades~.”

“Excuse me, we went to the same school. Not everyone is nice just because they’re your schoolmate.”

“Eeh~, you’re his junior.”

“Ah, seriously. Then, that nice person, is he insulting our knight by calling her injured? He told everyone to shut up and get lost. Ahh, that!”

“Eeh, Deculein used to be bad, but he’s been better now~. Also, she’s indeed injured.”

“No, you can’t say it even though it’s true! Injuries are crucial for knights.”

The words that Julie heard gradually dwindled. Julie looked toward the brush and focused. The world was moving further away like it was being pulled into a vacuum, and she was lost in her thoughts.

“…I still.”

Julie spoke. Deculein is bad, not bad; Deculein earned money from stocks; what does Deputy Director Primienne think… the three who were busy talking suddenly paused. All three of them stared at her.

“I still have a lot to ask him.”

She grabbed her sword; a chilly spirit rose from her.

“Ahaha.”

Syrio smiled, jumping up and pulling out his blade.

“That’s right. He shouldn’t die so that you can ask him~, so let’s go train.”

“…Yes.”

Julie followed him. Primienne tended to the fire and buttoned her jacket to her neck.

“I’m coming.”

“You go first.”

“Yes. Hup—!”

If Julie used her mana, this whole area would freeze over in seconds.

Clang—!

In the night sky, in a northern field below the full moon, there was only the sound of swords clanging.

*****

There were 11 seriously injured people in the temporary ward. Each had been missing a limb, but now, miraculously, those lost limbs had been stuck back to their bodies.

“You’re amazing.”

The doctor that the Imperial family dispatched spoke in awe after seeing the Duct Tape in action.

“I’ve never seen magic like this before. I thought healing magic doesn’t exist anymore.”

“Technically speaking, it’s not healing magic. I just stuck it on.”

“That much is amazing enough. Look, the bones and flesh are stuck back together.”

“Isn’t it because they’re knights?”

Once attached, they would recover by themselves. It was a knight’s characteristic to have excellent physical regeneration. It was interesting to see. Even regular knights were like this; what would it be like if I added that to the Iron Man in my body?

“I don’t see anyone dying.”

“Yes, the first aid was good, so if you administer antibiotics and medicinal herbs on time, they will recover.”

I nodded. Then, the doctor looked at me with obvious worry.

“By the way… are you going to hunt the Great Tiger by yourself?”

A Great Tiger. In terms of difficulty, it was impossible to fight it. Even if I used the wood steel and the Snowflake Obsidian simultaneously, I wouldn’t be able to win. But.

“There’s a way.”

The tiger and the north had a natural connection. The main quest was designed to let me meet a tiger at least once. So, I knew their weak point. Maybe I was the only one in this world who did.

“Just focus on their treatment.”

“Yes, I will.”

The doctor nodded.

*****

…There’s a way. Just focus on their treatment.

In the window of the temporary ward in Reccordak, Lia, who was looking through a telescope, found Deculein.

“…What is it? Why is the Professor like that?”

Because of his added setting as a fiancée to her, she could now understand him. Even so, it was a Great Tiger this time. Based on the pattern of its body, it was the Named Besillita.

“Lia, what you just said, is it true?”

Ganesha, having returned, was surprised the moment she heard what Lia said.

“Yes, I was also surprised when I heard it.”

“The Professor will take on the Great Tiger alone? This Professor… did he take his medicine?”

“I’m also amazed. Has Professor Deculein always been that strong?”

“…”

Ganesha tilted her head without saying anything like she had absolutely no idea.

“Lia! What are you talking about? Deculein is strong! You know that!”

Leo shouted, and Carlos chimed in.

“That’s right. I was scared. I don’t ever want to meet that Professor again.”

“…”