The next day, as Ishtar parted ways with Oknodie, she summoned the Warrior’s Guard.
“How was the dormitory, everyone?”
Having experienced the strange Adventure Department Dormitory, she began to worry about the other department dormitories!
“I, Guard Leader Vanilla, will speak on behalf of the Knight Department dormitory students!”
First up, the Knight Department dormitory.
This place had a rule: if you couldn’t take down the gatekeeper, you couldn’t use the facilities.
Using the bedroom, cafeteria, resource supply room, training room—all facilities had to be proven through strength in this might-is-right attitude!
Even worse, if someone took down a gatekeeper once, the next person had to beat an even more powered-up version.
Students had to either get stronger or defeat competing challengers, or they couldn’t even access the easier gatekeepers to use the bedrooms.
“I heard the common living facilities reset the gatekeepers’ strength once a week, but there are rumors that some hidden facilities reset every year or even decades!”
“…I don’t get why there have to be such challenges in the dormitories, but it seems similar to the Adventure Department. Yufi, how was the Magic Department?”
Playing with her curly, fragrant hair, Yufi replied shyly, “The Magic Department dormitory wasn’t a walk in the park either. You can only use the facilities by unraveling magic spells. But if you unravel too many, it becomes a problem.”
“Did the difficulty also increase?”
“The professors check the spell解除 records and give students the choice of either becoming a graduate student or getting bullied. This horror story was what the seniors told us on the very first day.”
“…”
“Considering the Academy’s vibe, we could just dismiss it as scare tactics, but it might turn out to be an actual experience later on.”
“Y-Yeah.”
While it wasn’t as extreme as the Knight Department, the potential dangers of the Magic Department dormitory were real.
“I, Sister Nise of the Thunderbolt Celestial Divine Church, thoroughly checked the Administration Department dormitory.”
“In the Production Department dormitory, I, Guard Leader Vanilla, tricked Duke Andersen into revealing information by saying there was an amazing lecture class!”
The Administration and Production Departments had their perks.
If you found a way to fill out administrative paperwork and bypass procedures, the Administration Department was easier to access.
The Production Department allowed you to use the facilities longer based on the quality of produced items you turned in.
They had one common feature: proving your abilities was necessary for dormitory use, but at least administrative paperwork and product deliveries didn’t involve an increase in difficulty or fears of professor kidnappings.
“In conclusion, if you spend a year in such a place, even a fool can’t help but improve their skills.”
Even the relatively easy-going second-year seniors couldn’t help but feel they’d reach the level of their older peers just by living here!
“Everyone be careful. Besides the classes, we have no idea how the Empire Nobles’ factions will act against me, a true warrior who toppled the Emperor. Even the new transfer students are nothing but powerhouses from the upper classes.”
“It’s alright! You are the center of humanity, a true warrior who even toppled the Emperor! We, the Warrior’s Guard, are ready to take on the entire world as our enemy!”
“Oh right. I forgot the timing to speak.”
“Uh, Warrior… could you please take this?”
Two members of the Warrior’s Guard approached nervously, handing over a white envelope.
Ishtar’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.
“Tribute? The warrior party doesn’t need things like that. Even after killing the previous Emperor, the new Emperor has promised to support the warrior party again.”
“We didn’t want to tarnish your name.”
After chatting with Oknodie, Ishtar found herself reflecting on her previous misunderstanding.
“My apologies. I doubted for no reason. Then what is this?”
“It’s a resignation letter.”
“Oh? A resignation… huh?”
Thinking it was a joke, she looked into their faces, but they were all guilt-ridden, bowing their heads.
In a moment of panic, she tore open the envelope, revealing a paper labeled “Resignation Letter.”
“What’s the reason?”
“Masugaki supports you, but the other nobles have decided to cut ties with you. Our family has warned that supporting you will sever our connections with business partners…”
“Our mana mine has been pressured by a mercenary guild to tackle the periodically appearing monsters. Although it’s said to be a mere tax audit, they are threatening to forcibly stop the guild’s operations if we don’t cut ties with your family…”
Traditional and detailed, such oppression from the noble families was all the more powerful!
Ishtar couldn’t hide her bitter smile.
“Go ahead. The warrior activities can continue even without the Warrior’s Guard. But you protecting your family can only be done by yourselves. You aren’t at fault, so lift your heads.”
“Warrior…!”
“Did you really think I’d let you go without a beating just because you were relying on the warrior’s skills? I’m truly touched that you’re handing me your resignation so easily…!”
Should I crush them?
Clenching her fists and grinding her teeth, Ishtar barely managed to suppress her anger.
“Pake Hiuqmag. While toppling that mad Emperor who tried to outdo the last one, I felt this—an Emperor who turns many people into enemies can’t fully wield his immense power, and it was with a lot of help from many that I, a warrior still lacking, could defeat the Emperor.”
If even a little situation had shifted.
If there had been slightly fewer supporters.
Ishtar could have never defeated the Emperor.
So how could she blame anyone for suffering from unfair oppression while trying to help her?
She gently patted the shoulder of the sobbing Guard member.
“Warrior!”
“Warrior!”
Overcome with emotion, more members rushed forward.
Though some had left, others remained.
She vowed to take revenge for those whose spirits had been broken.
Someday, she would show the noble factions a lesson.
The warrior thought this while her teammates gathered, raising their fists in solidarity, only to feel a sense of unease as they took out something from their pockets.
“Actually, I also have a resignation letter…”
“I didn’t expect you to accept this so easily, so I was just watching.”
“Me too.”
“Please take mine too!”
“Uh, sorry, Warrior.”
In an instant, the ordinary members scattered, leaving behind a pile of resignation letters!
“Ishtar… a-are you alright?”
“Ugh. I’m feeling a bit dizzy. I never expected to get hit like this on the first day of school. I just thought of fried chicken, potato pizza, and iron charcoal barbecue as tasty nonsense, but that’s changed.”
Until now, she had thought poorly of Oknodie and the Foundation, but this incident clearly exposed the truth.
Oknodie and the Foundation might act suspiciously, but they had never done anything harmful to others.
While she handled power that could threaten her life and cause serious incidents if it ran rampant, the stability of that power was astonishingly high.
Terror from Foundation scholarship students on campus?
There had been nearly none since Oknodie enrolled.
“Yufi, Skola, Nise, Xenia, Vanilla siblings. This year, we will define the enemies of the Warrior Party. Our enemies are the Three Great Meritorious Families of the Empire and all the Empire Nobles who disbanded the Guard.”
The Warrior Party and the Empire Nobles.
A new competitive relationship was formed.
—
After finishing her daily activities, Ishtar returned to the dormitory and ran into Oknodie in an unverified area once again.
Occasionally, she heard echoes from the unverified area, worried about the departed members, and felt anger toward the nobles, leaving her in a restless state.
Instead of the sleep that wouldn’t come, Ishtar struck up a conversation with Oknodie for some counseling.
“Today there was this incident, but how about you and the Organization that Plays with Oknodie over in your third-year?”
“We? Ah. Right now, it’s not particularly boring, so we’re fine. We don’t have to play anymore, so we’re not looking for you!”
There were even sadder creatures than the half-disbanded Warrior’s Guard.
Ishtar felt pity for Oknodie’s friends and protectors.
“Aren’t you being too negligent towards them? I know I shouldn’t say this, but if you don’t appreciate them when they’re around, you’ll deeply regret it once they leave.”
“What kind of regret?”
“That you should have paid more attention sooner. You could use the warrior’s power and Masugaki’s strength to ensure outside pressures don’t threaten your friends. Those sorts of regrets.”
“Wow. Ishtar, you’ve become quite the adult, haven’t you?”
“I was an adult from the start, even more than you.”
“I’ll let you think of me, a merciful veteran, as such!”
Suddenly, Ishtar recalled the doubts she had faced during her conversation with Oknodie the day before.
“Remember. Be careful of children, women, and the elderly in the Adventure Department dormitory!”
“The extreme Mana concentration can turn people into children! They can be both a child and an elder at the same time. Both Revered Sages and ghosts who died young but lived long could be like that. So no child can be presumed innocent before observing their true age!”
Could Oknodie really be just a child?
Is it 10 years old or 11? If you ask, they get confused like it doesn’t really matter.
What if it’s not genuine age causing the confusion?
‘What does it matter.’
Playing with the Mandragora hand-shaped twig she had brought from the first-year dormitory, Oknodie’s behavior was nothing but childlike.
If the Foundation was not a threat, then it wasn’t an enemy for sure, and if the Nobles cut off support and exerted pressure, they became an enemy. So too could Oknodie be perceived as a child as long as they acted childlike.
“Hey, Oknodie.”
“What?”
“Why have you been taking care of me so often since last year?”
She found herself suddenly curious.
If she saw Oknodie as a child, what did Oknodie see her as?
“Of course, I see you as a warrior!”
“What does warrior mean to you?”
“Someone who dies in place of someone else?”
That was a chilling response that utterly doused the little sparks of friendship she’d begun to feel.
