[V3C16] The Assignment-Swamped Harpy
Translated by Jodas 3: The Fateful BrothersAfter completely missing lunch, Tia and Sevil split a cookie that Sevil had brought, then headed for this afternoon’s individual lessons.
By the time they arrived at the classroom, Wren was already seated, and he waved a hand when he noticed Tia.
“Hey, you’re late.”
……Ah. Tia noticed it. He was acting as if nothing had happened, but his voice sounded a little too hollow.
Surely, he was surprised after seeing Tia jump at Julius like that. That was definitely not a nice thing to do. Tia reflected on her actions.
Once Tia and Sevil took their seats, Hütter entered the classroom.
Hütter glanced at Tia, then spoke with his usual inflection.
“I heard you had a tussle with Julius. Make sure to talk it out with him, okay?”
“Peu……………Okaaay.”
Hütter didn’t tell her to apologize nor to get along with Julius. He only said to ‘talk it out.’ But what should she say?
She didn’t particularly want to get along with Julius, but she supposed she should at least say ‘I’m sorry.’ She did step on him, after all.
Hütter said nothing more on the subject, and quietly closed the classroom door.
“Now, in preparation for the Magic Battle that will take place a month from now, I want you all to expand the things that each of you can do……but I need to warn you first. You’re already caught in Director Hegelich’s trap.”
“Peu? Director Hegelich’s trap?”
When she heard ‘trap,’ the first thing that came to mind was the kind of metal trap that clamped onto your legs.
Tia imagined the sight of Hegelich hunched over, setting one of those traps.
That must be hard for Director Hegelich…… Tia thought in all honesty. Then, Hütter continued, keeping his voice down.
“That guy’s not going to tell you much about the details of the Magic Battle next month.”
Speaking of details, Tia recalled what Hegelich had said that morning.
“One month from now, it has been decided that a Magic Battle will occur between the twelve Apprentice Mages of the Guidance office and three mages of the Extermination Office.”
“That said, I’m not asking all of you to take up arms. In the Magic Battle one month from now as well, I expect you to divide the responsibilities according to your individual strengths, and share your knowledge to determine how you can win against a superior opponent.”
That was all Hegelich had said about the Magic Battle.
What about this is a trap? She tilted her head, while Wren and Sevil spoke up.
“I wondered about that too. Didn’t Director Hegelich say three mages of the Extermination Office? That means we’re not just fighting Oliver’s older brother.”
“I also found it curious that he made no mention of a precise time or place. In warfare, knowledge of the terrain is the line between victory and defeat.”
Tia pursed her lips into a diamond shape and whistled “Pirororororo.”
Amazing. Tia hadn’t noticed any of that.
Hütter folded his arms, and nodded reassuringly as he spoke.
“You’d think he’d tell you those things if you sat and listened for long enough, wouldn’t you? But Director Hegelich won’t tell you anything. He’s made it so you students have to figure out that information by yourselves.”
“Pyofuuu…..”
Tia inadvertently let out a nervous voice.
If Hütter hadn’t told her anything here, Tia would probably have gone into the Magic Battle without thinking about it.
Wren puckered his lips in discontent.
“What’s up with that? That’s not fair!”
“Don’t be stupid. Hegelich said it himself. Divide the responsibilities according to your individual strengths. Basically, for the sake of those who aren’t good at magic, he created a job called ‘information gathering.’ Sounds perfect for you guys, huh?”
That sure made sense. If all they were doing was fighting a Magic Battle, then the only ones who could contribute were those who could already use magecraft to a degree.
However, Hegelich left a job for those who couldn’t use magic to do. In such a way that each person could collaborate with their own strengths.
Then Sevil interjected.
“Incidentally, do you know the details of this Magic Battle, Mr. Hütter?”
“Nope, I don’t know anything. That’s true for all the Instructors. If you want to gather information, the only way is to seek out the other Offices.”
Tia only now realized why Hütter had thought it was so important for them to interact with the Protection and Investigation Offices.
If you want to learn something, it will usually be easier to get someone you already know to teach you. —Even though Tia was unfamiliar with information gathering, she understood that much.
Director Diehl of the Investigation office, his subordinates, and also Otto from the Protection Office. If she asked those people nicely, they would probably tell her anything she wanted to know.
Networking. That was definitely important.
“What you should be focusing on right now are two things: thinking about what kinds of magecraft you might be able to use, and gathering information for the Magic Battle. Considering that, I’ll tell you where you need to go this afternoon.”
Hütter first turned towards Wren.
“Wren, you’ll receive some personal guidance from Ms. Röhm. I already asked Ms. Röhm to make time, so you should head straight there.”
Wren made a skeptical face in response to Hütter’s directions.
Tia and Sevil did as well.
Just as Hütter had the three of them as students, Röhm had three students of her own. At this time, those three students should be in the middle of their individual lessons.
Representing all three of their thoughts, Wren questioned.
“Why Ms. Röhm? In the first place, did I do something that requires personal guidance?”
“You’ll understand when you get there. Also, Röhm is a former ace of the Extermination Office. You should try to ask her about Frederik Lange’s fighting style.”
Anneliese Röhm, one of the Instructors for the Apprentice Mages, was a kind, gentle young woman known for her short bangs.
Tia was surprised to learn that she used to be the ace of the Extermination Office.
The Extermination Office were pros at killing Monsters. That meant Tia, who was a Monster herself, should keep her guard up around her.
“Also, if you have any questions regarding the fundamentals of magecraft, you should try relying on Ms. Röhm or Director Hegelich. Those two are kind of amazing.”
“Couldn’t we ask you those questions, Mr. Hütter?”
Wren prodded, then Hütter placed his hand on his own chest.
“I am a man who loves illusions, is loved by illusions, and studies nothing but illusion magic, so you shouldn’t ask me.”
Mr. Hütter sure loves illusion magic, Tia thought.
Continuing, Hütter spoke to Sevil.
“Sevil, you should go to the Protection Office in the Second Spire: Golden Needle, and train with Otto. He’s already made time for you. Ask him what the secret is to using magic swords.”
“I had intended to do as such regardless, but I am grateful that you took the time to get his approval beforehand. I thank you, Mr. Hütter.”
“Of course, I’m your teacher, after all.”
Hütter lightly brushed off Sevil’s earnest thanks, then lifted the corners of his lips into a slight smirk.
“You can also try to gather some information on the Extermination Office while you’re there. The Protection and Extermination Offices frequently do joint training, so he probably knows at least what kind of magic they use.”
“Now that you mention that, I’d heard Sir Otto was once a member of the Extermination Office……I do not know whether his time there overlapped with Frederik Lange, but I shall attempt to broach the subject.”
Wren would receive personal guidance from Röhm at the First Spire.
Sevil would train with the Protection Office in the Second Spire.
Finally, Hütter looked to Tia and told her:
“Tia, I want you to go to the Management Office in the Third Spire: Water Bubble, and ask to see if there are any magical devices you can use. You have issues controlling your mana, don’t you? You never know if there might be a magical device there that could help with that.”
“Peuu…..”
Tia was a bit troubled by that.
She was aware of the existence of the Management Office that engaged in the creation of magical devices. She’d also heard it said that they were developing a magical device to let you use flight magic.
Despite knowing that, there was a reason Tia had yet to visit the Management office even once.
—Tia had a bad impression of magical devices.
If you asked her why, she could only answer ‘Just because.’ She couldn’t express the reason for her distaste in words.
If she had to say something, it would be that Monsters just didn’t use magical devices. The conception that magical devices were things that humans used was too strong.
When they were attacked by the Snow Boars and Jack, they had been able to escape the danger by using Sevil’s brooch, which was a magical device. She fully understood that magical devices were useful tools.
However, unless she was backed into a corner in such a situation, she would never think to reach for a magical device.
She couldn’t control mana very well.
She had a fight with Julius, but didn’t know what to say to him next.
She had an extremely hard time getting used to magical devices.
And she didn’t even want to participate in the Magic Battle next month in the first place.
…….Swamped with assignments, Tia groaned. “Pevuu……..”