Chapter 12

Stars shone brightly in the night sky. Just a few hours ago, students filled the school grounds, practicing with their clubs or doing their tasks. Now, everything had gone dark, only the sound of distant crickets filled the night. Most of the school's lights had been extinguished.

Marnas sighed, signing one last document. He was alone in the large student council room. He had far more responsibilities than the other members. Hence, such silence was not new to him. He leaned back in his chair, looking at the ceiling above. A knock came from the other side of the door.

“Come in,” Marnas said.

The door creaked as Iris poked her head.

“You haven’t gone to sleep yet?” Iris asked as she approached.

Marnas straightened up for his teacher.

“Not yet. Just a bit more.”

“Better get to bed. You don’t want to stay out too late,” she said, putting down a piece of paper. “The extra document you asked for.”

“Yes, thank you, Madam Iris.”

“Anything you need help with?”

Marnas shook her head. “You’ve helped enough.”

“I can always help a bit more. Just treat me to beer if you feel like it.”

Marnas gave her a wry grin. “I’m not sure that’s something a teacher should be saying to her student.”

Iris smiled back. “Just call me if you need help.”

“Please don’t worry. Good night.”

Iris nodded. “Night.”

She closed the door behind her. Marnas gave the document a quick read-through, something he should do before going to bed. After he finished reading, he tapped on the sword by his side and blew wind at the torches, snuffing them out. He yawned and rested his head on the table. He wanted to return to his bedroom, but maybe later. Just a few more minutes.

From the outside, one wouldn't be able to tell that someone was still inside.

Another knock came on the door, but unlike Iris, the person didn’t wait for Marnas to respond. Footsteps echoed in the room as the person approached.

“You really should turn on the torch.”

“...”

“Ah yes, I should have realized. You are trying to get some sleep.”

“Hey Eric.”

“Yes?” the boy asked, his face barely visible in the dark.

“Want to hear a joke?”

“Should I?” he said, disinterest obvious in his tone.

An audible sigh came from within the darkness. “You should have answered yes.”

The boy lit the smaller lamp on the desk. It wasn’t as bright as the torches, but enough to expose Marnas' head resting on the table.

“You're heartless,” he said.

“I thought you finished your work yesterday? Was I mistaken?”

“Say, you want to hear a joke?”

The boy groaned. “Fine, yes.”

“That's more like it. A wyron is spotted around Niat Lake.”

Marnas heard no reply. He tilted his head, trying to peek at the boy standing right next to him. The boy’s face showed no clear expression. He didn’t even look surprised.

“... You're not going to say it's not funny?”

“Is that not something we already took note of?” Eric asked.

Now that he thought about it, it was a terrible joke. The exhaustion had been messing up his mind. Maybe it's time he went to bed. A real, soft, proper bed.

“Last week, is it not?”

“It's moving here.”

Marnas heard Eric catch his breath.

“It's a joke, remember?”

“You do not seem to be someone who would joke about something like that.”

“Here's the problem, Eric. The moving to here part is a joke, for now. The hanging above Niat Lake part isn't.”

The wyron had been reported to be flying around the region, as if looking for something. It wasn't clear what it wanted, but wyrons never showed its face around this region. For a monster like it to be so far from home meant something was wrong.

“I don't like the idea of such a beast hanging so close to our place.”

A while ago, it attacked the campground. There's no guarantee it would stay away. To make matters worse, Marnas heard the reports. All sorts of spells were used to fend it off. Unlike other beasts, wyron was born with one spell in their arsenal. A copy spell. They could copy most of the spells sent at them.

“Either that wyron leaves, or we kill it.”

If things continued like this, students couldn't study in peace. If they let it be, it might decide to attack the school. Wyrons are no more intelligent than pigs, yet they possessed strength beyond what any common monster had. A bit more power and they would receive legendary status.

And the entirety of Grenary couldn't defeat a legendary monster by themselves, even if they combined all their strengths.

Marnas wouldn’t be as worried had it been a baby wyron. It wouldn’t know any spells. They could overwhelm it before it had a chance to copy. But this time it was different. The wyron flew away that day, then returned four days later and had been around since. He feared the wyron had put in the time to master whatever spell was sent at it and was now prepared to take them on for real.

“It seems you have plans in mind.”

“I've already contacted the expedition and requested assistance.”

“What is the issue, then?”

Marnas lifted four fingers.

“Four days?”

“Four weeks.”

“That long?” the boy asked in disbelief.

“Two detachments are dealing with issues up north, the rest dealing with a legendary in the western sea. Terrible timing, I know.”

Legendary monsters didn't appear often, but when they did, their destruction became a priority. Even if Marnas had sent the letter earlier, destroying that monster would still be prioritized. If the expedition was in the middle of the trip, they would turn around. It had been like that for a long time.

“People will die, Eric. Even the teachers couldn't deal with it.”

They didn’t kill it back then. He doubted they had a chance now.

The boy frowned, his gaze lingering on the lamp and the papers next to it. “What do you want me to do?”

“Contact the guards. Draft up an evacuation plan. Apply shields to the area. We should probably go with light.”

Eric wrote down his orders as he listened.

“Brief the teachers, ask for their opinions. I really hope this is just me worrying, but better safe than sorry. We'll consider making an official request to the adventurers’ guild if required, although I doubt the adventurers around here can help.”

“I shall get to it.”

The boy turned around.

“Eric,” Marnas called before he left.

He pointed at the document Iris had brought earlier.

“Where did that come from?” Eric asked.

“Madam Iris brought it over.”

The boy came over and gave it a read-through, then nodded his head.

“Good luck.”

He left. The student council room fell silent once more.