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<1001 – High Hydra (6)>

Every organization has its betrayers.

Surprisingly, even among the ‘Butlers’ and ‘Maid’ of the Foundation, there exist those who betray.

“We are the children who owe our lives to the head of the Society.”

“Those who escaped the fate of being sacrifices to spirit contracts.”

“We swear our loyalty to the head of the Society.”

Former Chairman’s直属 Third Head Butler. Current head of the Society. And the Head of Confidential Management Department of the Foundation Investigation Bureau. Edward Richmond.

His status is directly connected to a well-known noble family acknowledged even in the public eye.

The fallen noble family Richmond introduced a strategy of safely consuming and digesting the seeds of a high-ranking monster <Shattered Branch> to wither their seeds.

This is also the most frequently used disguise that the head of the Society employs publicly.

“You will need to gather information at the Gift Academy—essentially an enemy territory. It will be challenging, and some could lose their lives if their identities are revealed. Those afraid of death or still tied to their lives may postpone their missions until their attachment fades.”

In a tough work environment, Butler and Maid, who had taken a liking to each other, blushed and stepped back.

For those trying to build a new family, death felt like a distant story. Conversely, those who had already formed families and had children, such as veteran butlers and established maids, moved forward.

“The Society will not forget your dedication.”

The betrayers, disguised as ordinary butlers and maids, gathered beneath Jonnas and Reap. They secretly collected various information from the playground organization of Oknodie and the errand-runner organization, relaying it to the Society.

“After returning from the vacation outing, Oknodie has been noticeably less frequent in roaming the campus? That’s definitely suspicious signs.”

During their schooling, records indicating their whereabouts being unknown, untraceable, and surrounded by professors rendered them incapable of being spied upon—now they were holed up in the dormitory, making it difficult to gather information.

Due to the thorough protection by Jonnas and Reap, apart from the few trusted juniors, no one increased the personnel for dormitory protection and patrol.

However, it is precisely in challenging environments that the talents of spies shine even brighter.

“Students returning from Oknodie’s main house during the vacation have been seen exchanging the phrase ‘High Hydra’ frequently.”

“An inner circle, huh? Just like the Chairman recruited scholarship students, have they recruited current students?”

Edward Richmond had a gut feeling.

This was a ‘strong bond’ that could not be overlooked. Perhaps he was witnessing the genesis of a new generation Foundation establishment.

“We will temporarily delay preparations for the Eastern Expedition. For now, focus on investigating High Hydra.”

Thus, the Foundation Investigation Bureau missed the opportunity for early engagement in the Eastern Empire.

*

At the same time, there was a reason why the High Hydra Group was suddenly exchanging greetings.

“The ownerless Mini Hydras have escaped!”

“What? Where to?!”

“It seems they chose their owners and vanished to regularly receive mana.”

An alert was raised among the High Hydra Group, who had been invited to the House of Oknodie. An incident was occurring that could severely impact the organizational discipline and morale of its members, as a priest Hydra owner was born instead of an original Hydra owner.

“Damn it. It’s like those mana snobs treat people differently based on their mana!”

“I heard there’s a spirit inside. Why are older folks acting so foolish?”

“They want to grow up fast and improve themselves, I guess.”

Thanks to this, even those not affiliated with the Secret Scholarship Society were chosen by the Mini Hydras, eventually revealing their existence among the masters.

“What’s this, this three-headed little thing? The mana and energy I feel from it are unusual. Could it be…”

The instructor, glancing closely at the Mini Hydra placed in his palm, showed a dawning realization.

The Mini Hydra dramatically showcased its three heads, proudly stepping forward with its hands on its waist.

That’s me. The Giant Monster. It’s me!

“Mini Cerberus.”

“Whoa?!”

“Sniff sniff!”

“Yap yap!”

“Hey, little guys. Even though you barely fit in the palm of my hand, you’re already feeling feisty. Show potential like a crazy pup, huh?”

What a comical misunderstanding that came with all sorts of insults! Consequently, the High Hydra Group became busier.

“This is a Hydra that we took; they are our creatures. If you want to avoid trouble with issues like feeding the Hydra, growth issues, or illegal alien breeding, join the High Hydra Group.”

It was a tempting proposition. Those unfamiliar with how to rear a Giant Monster were thrilled about the idea of what they might be feeding it.

The High Hydra Group was selling its goods well.

“Originally, we had to partner with the Dark Trading Company to supply various exclusive feeds for Giant Monsters, but our High Hydra Group offers a method of substitutive feed using mana to help poor Hydra owners.”

“Ooh.”

“How about it? Would you like to join the High Hydra Group and receive guidance on raising your Hydra?”

“Sounds good.”

“If we can better raise our Giant Monster babies, we have to join without a doubt.”

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world; why are you doing this?”

Of course, there were cautious students and instructors.

Since it was common for the Gift Academy to lure people in with free bait into various fraudulent contracts, higher vigilance naturally followed.

“It builds connections.”

“Are there any regular events where members gather on weekends to raid a Giant Monster hunting party and loot their spoils?”

“No.”

“Then, do you plan to establish independence by getting ready for an outing to raise those in the wild?”

“No.”

“Then what do you all do together?”

Good question. What do we do?

While the ordinary members of the High Hydra Group were left confused, Jonnas, taking matters into his own hands, stepped forward.

“We hold socialization times to enhance empathy and awaken spirituality with the Hydras, facilitating social skills among the Mini Hydras by mingling with each other.”

“What? That’s too wholesome.”

“As for well-trained High Hydra members, when their Hydra’s education evaluation scores reach a certain level, there might be rewards to accelerate their growth or events to borrow power from the Hydra. But all participation is entirely voluntary with no restrictions.”

New recruits of the High Hydra Group were amazed by the freebie event like a clearance sale.

“If you give out so much, what do you have left?”

“A splendid Mini Hydra owner remains.”

“…!”

“Would you like to participate in an experiment showing that even a Giant Monster can grow kind and loving if treated well?”

“Absolutely! I’ll definitely participate!”

Success in recruiting new members to the High Hydra Group! It was the reason why the secret of the Mini Hydra did not unnecessarily spread widely.

However, there were still some troublesome owners that even Jonnas couldn’t handle. The Giant Monsters demanding large amounts of mana. Naturally, if you were to rank the mana levels in the Academy, you couldn’t leave out the professors.

“Professor Jonnas. I heard that caretakers chosen by the Mini Hydras have formed a secret organization named the High Hydra Group.”

“…That’s correct.”

“It’s burdensome for someone like me, a fear magician, to join a gathering where children play, but I would regret missing out on such a sociality-focused organization. Can I also join?”

The professors showed unexpectedly favorable reactions. Spawned from Giant Monsters’ latent potentials.

Unbeknownst to them, spirit swordsmen, who had trained for hundreds of years, were occupying the core heads.

Beasts possessing human intelligence. Their cleverness and learning abilities were vastly superior to other beasts that can be frustrating.

The Mini Hydra was already cute, and how much more endearing would it be to nurture them more cutely by not engaging in silly antics but running a proper sociality circle?

With the meticulous care introduced through his experiences managing the fickle Miss, Jonnas’s skills made him appear even more like an expert.

With the Mini Hydras gently shaking their three heads in delight, they received a perfect score of 10 out of 10 for customer satisfaction, as he finalized the guidebook on rearing Giant Monster pets.

The satisfaction of other professors who received the guidebook also ranked high.

Yet, not every professor readily accepted the guidebook given by Jonnas to raise their Hydras.

“Hmm? Student. Isn’t that a Mini Hydra hanging off your clothes? Follow me to my private room after class ends.”

“S-sorry, Professor…”

“Forget it, just come here.”

The professor whispered in the ear of a student kneeling in front of him, apologizing.

“High Hydra.”

“?!”

A professor with a strong independence who secretly raised Mini Hydras without consulting anyone!

Now, the student could finally see the sight of the Mini Hydra munching on food inside the secret breeding ground on the professor’s desk.

‘The professors were originally part of the High Hydra Group! Oknodie is impressive. They spread Hydras to the professors before distributing them to us!’

‘Well, I sort of picked up on the campus vibes and followed suit, so thankfully it was accepted.’

Those unnecessarily secretive and cautious eccentric professors!

Unlike the admiration of existing members of the High Hydra Group, Oknodie had no idea.

Even Jonnas, who was supposed to be teaching the professors, was left in the dark.

The professors decided to keep the good things hidden from sight and initially stayed alert, observing the trends of other professors and students, subtly mimicking each other.

Thanks to this, a culture where all members of the High Hydra Group, regardless of seniority or class standing, could stick together flourished.

New recruits turned out to be more formidable than they realized!

Those looking out for the situation acting like reluctant impostors!

What a strange organizational culture formed where everyone had to behave politely as they avoided each other’s gazes!

The High Hydra Group expanded its influence without even realizing it.

And this culture was caught in the eyes of the spies of the Society within the Gift Academy and was reported.

“The vigorous activities of the new subordinate organization <High Hydra Group> of the Secret Scholarship Society, whose beginnings and ends are unfathomable, have been detected? They even haven’t revealed their true motives behind the sociality activities yet?”

There’s no way they could purely be engaging in social activities with such an impressive lineup.

“Increase support. It’s alright to spend more time. Focus on uncovering everything about the High Hydra Group!”

Thus, the Foundation Investigation Bureau’s enormous network of information shifted further away from the Eastern Expedition, wasting effort on intel about the social gatherings of the High Hydra Group.

 

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