Quit The Hero Party

EP.12 An Unexpected Encounter (1)

Apuria Academy.

The premier magic academy in the royal capital, renowned for producing outstanding graduates.

As the school year approached, dozens of academic notices were distributed daily at Apuria. Among them was a particularly attention-grabbing notice for teaching assistants.

– Basics and Transactions of Mana.

– Responsible Professor: Rosel van Trias.

– Responsible Teaching Assistant: Rania van Trias.

The assistant position filled.

Someone’s name filled in the previously blank teaching assistant slot.

Gasp!

“Professor Rosel has taken on an assistant!”

The teaching assistants were in shock.

Most teaching assistants at Apuria were graduates of the academy. Among Apuria graduates, everyone knew Rosel.

The eminent Elder of the Ashen Tower.

A sage acknowledged by the ancient ones.

A true master who raised the ‘Ashen Mage’ Raniel, a member of the hero party.

In pursuit of such a reputation, most students had at least once attempted to sign up for Professor Rosel’s class out of curiosity.

And those who did so with a ‘light heart’ soon realized.

Dun dun dun!

What did they realize?

Cue ominous music!

Nightmares.

And hell.

“The nightmare of Apuria, that Rosel professor!”

Tedious assignments.

Pervasive evil lurking within the class difficulty.

A meticulousness that caught even the tiniest speck of dust.

It was a sort of Spartan education that suggested enduring this much was necessary to become ‘that kind of mage.’

Can’t do it? Keep trying until you can.

No answer? Keep trying until you find one.

Can’t handle it? Then get out!

Extended classes were a given, and absurdly difficult assignments were a bonus. Contrary to the current trend of prioritizing quality over quantity, they boasted an insane amount of both.

Even during exam weeks, there was no respite.

So, if you barely manage to survive those nightmarish assignments?

What awaits is a hellish grading process.

“Again.”

“Yes?”

“I said do it again.”

“Uh, like this?”

“Again.”

Whimpering in despair!

Rosel professor, standing before students who submitted shoddy work, smiling softly as they screamed ‘again,’ had carved a trauma into countless students’ minds.

Was it due to that infamy?

Professor Rosel’s assistant position had remained vacant until now. There had been applicants, but they all quit within two days.

Yet, that Rosel had ‘personally’ taken on an assistant?

The notoriously finicky Rosel?

Could there really be a slave capable of assisting Rosel’s level?

The rumor spread rapidly.

“Did you hear? Professor Rosel took on an assistant.”

“That professor has an assistant?”

“Whoever it is, poor thing…”

Thus, the gossip circulated among the teaching assistants, eventually converging into one place. The initial intrigue sparked by the rumor turned into questions.

Rania van Trias.

The adopted daughter, as they said, brought in by Professor Rosel.

Who on earth is she?

Despite only ten days left until the semester begins, the rumors about her only grew each day as she remained unseen.

Nothing about her was known, but…

The teaching assistants acquainted with Rosel speculated.

“She must be living through hellish days.”

The thought of Rosel, immovable and impossibly strict, showing any leniency toward an adopted daughter was unimaginable.

—

2.

Hah-hah-hah!

“…”

Rosel looked coldly at the home. His gaze landed on the girl sprawled on the sofa.

His disciple and adopted daughter.
Raniel van Trias and Rania van Trias.

Her silky ash-grey hair flowed like waves across the sofa. The robe she wore looked wrinkled and crumpled like it’d been rolling around.

What should I say?

Rosel pondered for a moment.

He no longer viewed Raniel merely as a student. She was already an accomplished mage.

Five years had passed.

The child had returned complete after leaving his side, so he was trying to respect Raniel as an equal mage.

Thus, he had been holding back his normal nagging, but…

This calls for a warning.

As a father, he could no longer bear to see her like that. Rosel cleared his throat and spoke up.

“Raniel?”

“Ah, ha-haha! Yes? Did you call?”

Raniel shot up from the sofa, looking at Rosel. Whatever was so amusing made her tear up. Curious about what she was seeing, Rosel glanced at the book she was holding.

“The Tale of the Wandering Swordsman?”

The title seemed familiar.

“Here, read this novel. It’s a masterpiece! A martial artist from the Central Plains…”

“What’s a martial artist?”

“Oh, it’s someone who venerates martial arts and harmony…”

It definitely reminded him of that book Aaron kept pestering him about.

“…Is it interesting?”

“Yes? It was in your library, didn’t you read it?”

“Aaron lent it to you, huh? I guess I never got around to reading it.”

“Aaron… Oh, the headmaster we met last time? He has great taste! I should ask him for recommendations next time.”

That guy’s taste stinks, and I remember the students teasing him for it.

Swallowing that thought, Rosel approached Raniel and brushed the dust off her robe.

“I know you want to rest after five years of hardship… but what about the paperwork I left with you? Didn’t you say you’d finish it by tomorrow?”

“Oh, it’s over there.”

Raniel pointed to one side of the table.

There was a neatly stacked pile of documents.

…You didn’t even touch them?

“What? You finished it that fast?”

“That was quick. That pile couldn’t have been that easy to finish!”

Having assigned a somewhat substantial amount of work, it was hard to believe she could complete it that quickly.

“Master.”

Seeing doubt flashing in Rosel’s eyes, Raniel smiled.

“Weren’t I the next Mage Tower Master until I left?”

“…That’s true.”

“What do you think I did from that position?”

Paperwork.

Organizing an avalanche of research data and compiling quarterly research results.

Raniel had managed that all by herself without an assistant. She had no choice but to work fast.

And though I didn’t mention it…

While Rosel was unaware, Raniel had to deal with countless paperwork during her time in the hero party.

It was rare for her to respond to personal letters or fan letters from her followers, but she was used to the paperwork.

Kyle had never filled out paperwork.

Sara and Remia had offloaded it onto Raniel because they found it annoying.

Summarizing the situation from every battlefield, figuring out where the party should go next, the costs, and what to do…

Raniel had organized that every time.

Compared to that workload, the paperwork assigned by her master now seemed like…

“Well, still shouldn’t you go out to the academy a bit instead of just hiding in here?”

“Once school starts, I’ll be out every day anyway, right?”

“It doesn’t have to be the academy; just go outside. Seeing you cooped up in here is oddly stifling.”

Finnish it all; letting her lounge around seemed fine, yet… Rosel felt that it just wouldn’t do.

What would keep this kid interested…

What bait could he offer to lure her outside? Rosel briefly considered what Raniel might be interested in.

…Books?

Then suddenly, his gaze landed on the pile of books stacked beside Raniel. In an instant, one thought struck him.

“Raniel.”

“Yes, Master?”

“Wouldn’t you like to visit the Royal Library?”

—

3.

– Continuous retreat on the front lines.

– Repeated defeats.

– Formation of a wide-area barrier by the Four Heavenly Kings, ancient lich ‘Skebal,’ isolating the knight order.

– Heroes not appearing on the battlefield.

…

– The ‘Karn’ gorge, which had previously led to a major victory and successful reclaiming, fell back into the demon’s hands again.

– The crisis on the battlefield.

– The advance of the black knights.

Screech!

– To the Fourth Princess, Ayla.

– Princess, please consider requesting the Second Prince to withdraw from the front lines…

Thud!

– Currently, continuous retreats are being made on the front lines.

– This is a crisis.

– To be frank, I cannot guarantee the safety of the prince.

Thud!

– Princess.

– This is Knight Order Leader Heinkel.

Stuck.

– There is continuous pressure on the Fourth Front, where the Second Prince is stationed. We have already deployed troops, but they cannot hold out for long.

– I must apologize for the imposition.

– The investment of troops on the Fourth Front is causing all fronts to be pushed back.

Ayla squinted as she read the letter.

While others’ letters might carry conspiracies and political intentions, Heinkel’s sincerity stood out.

– I implore you.

– Can you ask the Second Prince to withdraw from the front lines?

“Will he listen to me, that brother of mine?”

Ayla pressed her temples.

She fully understood Heinkel’s sentiments. No matter how urgent the front lines were, she couldn’t just let the prince be abandoned. Hence the troops were being deployed, but…

“What a nuisance.”

Despite his roundabout way of saying it, the crux was this: it’s a bother, withdraw from the front lines.

“I wish it were that simple…”

Ayla knew very well what kind of person her brother, the Second Prince, was. He was inherently just, even at odds with the royal family’s ways.

Always brimming with enthusiasm, though slightly dull-witted.

“He’s probably trying to fill the void left by Raniel, causing all this chaos…”

A sigh escaped her lips.

With so many matters to think about already, her brother was also in chaos. Ayla felt a dizziness creeping in.

“Haa…”

The retirement of the Ashen Mage Raniel. Just the absence of one mage began to dismantle the front lines. This was merely the prelude.

More fronts would crumble, and even more knights would perish.

There was nothing stopping her brother from joining that procession of death.

…

Ayla bit her lip hard.

Just imagining such a future made her feel like her insides were being squeezed.

---