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Leo Martian, Head of the Fencing Department's Office.
"A quest request?"
"Yes."
"Hmm... It's not directly from the Fortis family, but it's still a request tied to them. Evaluating quests that involve you deeply is strictly prohibited."
"I'm just going along because Davian asked for help. Davian Naone has no connection to the Fortis family, does he?"
Davian and Head of the Fencing Department Leo simultaneously looked at Bonita.
'You asked for my help? How can you be so shameless? Bonita Fortis.'
'You're trying to use Davian, Bonita Fortis.'
Leo Martian, Head of the Fencing Department, chuckled.
Bonita Fortis.
She knows that the academy usually grants most requests if Davian asks, so she brought him along.
'That clever girl.'
Evaluating quests that involve you deeply is strictly prohibited, but...
If Davian requested the quest, that's a different story.
Of course, the decision rests entirely with Leo Martian, Head of the Fencing Department.
"Alright, go ahead. But don't take more than a week."
"Thank you!"
"I didn't approve your quest evaluation, so why are you thanking me? Bonita Fortis."
"Ah... it's because it's a quest evaluation my friend really wanted to do."
'So shameless.'
'Shameless indeed.'
"When are you planning to leave?"
"I'm planning to go right away today."
"I asked Davian."
"Davian, you're going right away today, right?"
Bonita Fortis stared intently at Davian.
'She wasn't this shameless before.'
In the end, Davian decided to go along with Bonita's plan.
"Yes, I'll leave right away today."
"Alright, off you go."
"Thank you, Head of the Fencing Department."
After Davian and Bonita left.
Leo Martian looked at the quest request form.
"Loan sharks... I'm curious to see how they'll resolve it. Davian Naone, Bonita Fortis."
Corridor in front of the Head of the Fencing Department's Office.
"What's with you? Bonita. Why have you become so shameless?"
"There's no time to worry about that. Let's go quickly, Davian. I'll repay you later."
"You still owe me for saving your life last time. You definitely said you'd repay me then too."
"I remember it all, so hurry up."
Fortis Marquisate.
Bonita's father was an outstanding swordsman, but...
He died at the hands of an assassin before he could spread his fame widely.
Young Bonita witnessed the scene vividly.
The assassin, already severely wounded, committed suicide on the spot, so the mastermind behind the assassination was never uncovered.
For some reason, even though the Marquis was assassinated, the royal family glossed over the incident.
Only the speculation that it was the work of a rival family remained.
With the royal family's tacit consent.
After that, the Fortis family's fortunes declined rapidly.
For some reason, the people of the territory were eager to leave the Marquisate.
In less than a year, the population decreased to a quarter of what it had been.
Now it's down to a quarter of that.
After the head of the family died.
Nobles and merchants with promissory notes came from all over.
Bonita's mother, whose hobbies were gardening and sewing, was not prepared to face them without her husband.
The family had accumulated quite a bit of wealth, but...
Before long, the warehouse was empty.
All that remained was the Marquis castle bestowed by the royal family.
The castle bestowed by the royal family could not be disposed of at will by individuals, so they were barely able to avoid losing it.
Even in the midst of this, Bonita's mother, unable to let Bonita's talent go to waste, somehow raised money and enrolled Bonita in Elton Academy.
This was the story of her family that Bonita knew until before she entered the academy.
"Mother took out another loan?"
"Yeah. I guess it was to send me to the academy. Damn it. I kept saying I could complete my swordsmanship without going to an academy."
"You can complete your swordsmanship alone, but it's hard to rebuild the Fortis Marquisate without an academy degree."
Bonita's mouth shut tightly.
Bonita already knew this.
That's why she argued with her mother so much about the entrance issue and eventually chose to enter the academy.
Even if she could hone her swordsmanship alone.
In order to rebuild the family, a degree from Elton Academy was needed.
Only then could she rise to a high position in the royal family.
And avoid being in a position where anyone could make a fake promissory note and come to the Marquisate.
"Haa... you're right, Davian. So in the end, I entered the academy. And my mother is once again tormented by loan sharks."
Bonita's head, which had been held high, drooped down.
"Damn... I shouldn't have come to a place like the academy after all."
"Don't blame yourself, Bonita. Both you and your mother just chose a path for the sake of the family. There's a limit to what you can protect with a sword alone."
Bonita's self-reproach turned into anger towards the loan sharks.
"How dare they occupy the Marquis castle bestowed by the royal family? Those loan shark bastards. I'm going to go kill them all."
"You're just saying that because you're angry, right? You're not really going to kill them all, are you?"
"I'm really going to kill them all."
Every year, Elton Academy receives thousands of requests.
However, not all of the requests received become quest evaluations shared with the students.
Only requests that are deemed to require the involvement of Elton Academy based on urgency, importance, etc., are selected.
And the most important thing is justification.
A request must have a clear justification to be accepted.
Elton Academy never intervenes in disputes where interests are intertwined.
The same goes for the request sent by the Fortis Marquisate's butler.
They borrowed money, and the loan shark came to collect it.
This alone does not provide Elton Academy with justification to intervene.
Rather, the party that borrowed the money and did not repay it may be morally wrong.
However, the reason the butler's request was accepted was...
The occupation of the Marquis castle bestowed by the royal family.
No one can buy, sell, or arbitrarily occupy a castle bestowed by the royal family.
"But it's strange, Bonita. Even if a war breaks out between two Marquis families, you need to get permission from the royal family before the war to occupy a castle bestowed by the royal family, right?"
"That's right."
"But just a loan shark illegally occupying the Marquis castle? And yet the royal family is doing nothing?"
An illegal occupation of the Marquis castle by a mere loan shark.
As Davian said, it's impossible.
Rather, it's strange that the royal family didn't step in before the request was even submitted to Elton Academy.
"Maybe... our family's opposition is holding high positions in the royal family."
Davian nodded.
"That makes sense. You don't know who, though?"
"I don't know."
The head of the family is dead.
The royal family completely ignores the Marquisate.
A place where all sorts of jackals endlessly prowl around to see if there's anything to eat.
In the midst of all that, a place that reached out to the jackals itself in order to enroll its child in the academy.
That was Bonita's family.
"Bonita, how much further do we have to go?"
"We should be able to arrive by tomorrow afternoon."
"No, I mean the village we're going to stay at."
The Fortis Marquisate is located on the west coast of Kanzar City.
After warping to Kanzar City, Davian and Bonita are traveling in a shared carriage.
A distance that takes a full day by carriage.
The plan is to stop at an intermediate village, stay overnight, and then depart again at dawn.
Bonita looked at the sun in the sky.
"I don't know if we'll be able to arrive before sunset. Why, are you hungry?"
"Yeah."
"Should I have brought someone else?"
"Do you think the Head of the Fencing Department would have given permission if it wasn't me? Even if it wasn't me?"
"Wow... Davian. You're very honest. You don't know what humility is."
"I don't know anything like that on an empty stomach."
Bonita rummaged through the bag next to her and took out some jerky.
"Here, eat this and become humble again, Student Representative."
Davian accepted the jerky.
"You're blatantly using me. Someday, you'll pay the price for this, Bonita Fortis."
"I said I'd repay you for everything, including the past."
Davian chuckled and took a bite of the jerky.
Lately, academy life has been increasingly uncomfortable thanks to Latia and Luna.
But being able to go on a long-term outing with Bonita made Davian feel lighter somehow.
If the air in the academy was like the sticky and heavy summer air.
The air he felt on the running carriage felt like the refreshing and light autumn air.
About halfway between Kanzar City and the west coast.
A small inn located in a secluded village.
It's small in scale, but it has a restaurant on the first floor.
Davian and Bonita booked two rooms and then sat down in the first floor restaurant to order a late dinner.
"Bonita, instead of going and killing everyone, wouldn't it all be over if you just paid the loan sharks?"
"We don't have any money at home."
Speaking of money.
Davian already has more than enough.
He could pay for all of Bonita's academy tuition and it wouldn't even make a dent.
"I'll lend it to you."
"What?"
"I have quite a bit of money from Marquis Espin. I'll lend it to you, so pay me back when you graduate."
"No. It's my problem and our family's problem. If I pay back the money, I'll pay it back. You don't have to do that."
Davian nodded.
If that's what she wants.
There's no need to poke at her pride any further.
"Okay, then. So, what's the plan?"
"To go and cut them all down."
"Don't joke around."
Bonita's shoulders drooped.
"I'm not joking. But I can't really do that. If we borrow money and then cut down all those who lent us money, what would our family's reputation become?"
"So what's the plan?"
"I'll have to rewrite the promissory note, right? If they stop occupying the castle right away and leave, I'll pay them back after I graduate."
"Do you think they'll do that willingly?"
Bonita stroked the handle of the sword propped up on the table.
"If they don't, I'll have to do it by force. Who dares to occupy a marquis castle?"
That's right.
They did something they shouldn't have done first.
Even if some conflict arises in the process of rewriting the promissory note, the justification is on Bonita's side.
The problem is.
'Who is behind the loan sharks...'
Davian thought there was definitely someone behind this.
Even if the Marquisate has lost all its power and wealth.
A mere loan shark can't just openly engage in illegal debt collection.
Even if all its teeth have fallen out, a tiger is still a tiger.
The Marquisate.
Jackals may gather to try to steal some wealth.
But they can't dare to try to cut off its lifeline completely.
Unless there's someone behind them.
Steaming food was placed on the table.
A stew with lots of meat, well-cooked brown bread, and fragrant tea were prepared.
"Let's eat first, Bonita. We'll meet them tomorrow and hopefully something will come of it."
"Okay."
When the meat stew was half empty.
Davian and Bonita exchanged glances silently.
Bonita moved her lips slightly and whispered.
"...This is poisoned, right?"
Davian nodded slightly.
"I think so too."
"Who on earth..."
Thud.
Bonita's head drooped forward and fell onto the table.
'Your acting has improved a lot, Bonita Fortis.'
Thud.
After taking all the strength out of his body.
Davian also collapsed onto the table.
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[Item: Green Dragon's Elixir]
―Rarity: ★★★★
―A long time ago, the Green Dragon, who conquered all poisons in the world, made this elixir for a human friend.
―It is imbued with the Green Dragon's magic and provides immunity to all poisons.
=====
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