Chapter 297 : Chapter 297

Chapter 297. The Scent of a New Slave

The ‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍second day of the academy autumn festival.

“Mom, look over there!”

“Oh my goodness! Those are lizardmen!”

“They are picking up trash!”

Visitors to the Integrated Major booth exclaimed in amazement at the unusual sight.

Lizardmen were walking around with long grabbers, collecting litter.

Lizardmen were famous as a combat race.

Seeing them quietly picking up trash was something unimaginable, and all eyes naturally turned toward them.

“Huh? The lizardmen are wearing sashes.”

“Let me see what it says.”

“Raviedel Environmental Cleanup Squad?”

Raviedel.

Thanks to the lizardmen, people learned where they came from.

Some even spoke up as if they recognized them.

“I went to Raviedel on my last vacation. I saw those lizardmen there too!”

“Raviedel? Where is that?”

“You do not know Raviedel? It is a rising resort city these days. The 3rd Empress even built a villa there.”

“The 3rd Empress?”

“Yes. There is a lake near her villa, and they say a water spirit lives there!”

Because of the lizardmen, visitors to the Integrated Major booth became aware of Raviedel.

Inette, who had come to help the booth, saw the reactions and her eyes sparkled.

“Radel, are you going to let this chance slip? Let us open a Raviedel booth too. We can promote lake tourism, the Grand Spirit, and the workshop village!”

Radel, however, remained calm.

While packing potions, he shook his head.

“If you give too much information, it actually kills curiosity. This is enough.”

“What?”

“If people discover things for themselves, it sticks better. If they are truly curious, they will look it up on their own. You will understand later.”

“What are you, some kind of elder? Sometimes you really talk like a grandpa.”

He was not a grandpa, but he had been an old man once.

Thinking that, Radel smiled.

“Please take care of things here, Inette. I will go check over there.”

With the potions prepared, Radel headed toward the chicken-cooking tent.

There were people working there in place of the lizardmen, who were assigned to environmental cleanup today.

“Boss!”

“You are here, Boss.”

They were employees of the Dice Shop.

They greeted Radel respectfully without stopping their hands.

Whip!

Slash!

Radel watched them process chickens in an instant and felt impressed.

Their skill at deboning chicken breast in particular was exceptional.

“You are all good. Have you deboned chickens before?”

“Haha, not chickens, but we have practiced deboning things much bigger.”

“That is right. Compared to that, this is nothing.”

Bigger than chickens……

For some reason, it felt wiser not to ask further.

Considering their backgrounds, that was probably the right choice.

The Dice Shop employees continued slicing through chickens.

Thump!

To think such talent might have gone to waste.

Radel smiled contentedly as he handed them stamina recovery potions.

Just then, Tunia entered the tent holding a sheet of paper.

“I found him.”

It was the information Radel had been waiting for.

***

Gillian Gard.

Brown hair, green eyes.

A priest of the Supreme Deity Order.

Until recently, he handled ceremonial vestments for bishops.

Currently dispatched to the Marcellant Grand Temple.

No notable peculiarities.

“Hm…….”

Radel’s expression grew subtle as he read the information Tunia had brought.

The priest who had cast a curse on him was utterly ordinary.

So ordinary that it was hard to believe he could use Asmodeus’s curse.

At that moment—

Ding.

[A quest has occurred!]

[The Suspicious Pouch of an Ordinary Priest]

You have come to doubt the true identity of Gillian Gard, a servant of the Supreme Deity.

The suspicious pouch belonging to him, who has offered his soul to Asmodeus, is in your possession.

Gillian Gard is attempting to recover the pouch he lost to you.

Win him over and extract information.

Condition: Reveal Gillian Gard’s true identity

Success: Core ??? of ??

Failure: Closure of the Imperial Magic Academy

It was his first quest in quite some time.

‘Failure means the academy is shut down?’

Radel’s eyes widened.

He could not even guess what kind of situation would lead to the academy being closed.

On top of that, the reward was filled with question marks.

‘The reward is uncertain too…… this is a baffling quest.’

Then again, had quests ever not been baffling?

At the very least, the quest confirmed that the priest named Gillian was after the pouch.

Radel took out the pouch he had picked up the day before and kept in his clothes.

It only contained stones, yet someone was searching for it so desperately.

No matter how closely he examined them, they looked like ordinary stones.

That was because the sigils engraved on them were spells only heretics could recognize.

After inspecting them for a while, Radel shook his head and put the pouch away.

And from afar, someone was secretly watching him.

It was Gillian, the man who had lost the pouch.

‘The 8th Prince still has it!’

Seeing the pouch in Radel’s hand, Gillian bit his lip.

He wanted to rush over and demand it back, but getting close was risky.

Gillian had already approached the 8th Prince once, at the Cryptozoology booth.

‘Do you think I would dare go near him again?’

The memory of being locked alone with a magical beast was still vivid.

Until he understood why his curse had failed, he had to be cautious around the 8th Prince.

There was also a slim chance that the 8th Prince had noticed the spell engraved on the stones.

The probability was extremely low, but for now, caution was the right choice.

The Black Order’s plan had to proceed in secrecy.

To that end, the pouch had to be recovered through covert means.

A humiliating incident from the previous day resurfaced in his mind.

***

The first day of the festival.

A secluded corner of the academy.

There, executives of the Black Order, hiding their identities, gathered.

Some had already infiltrated the academy, while others had entered during the festival.

All of them were wrapped head to toe in robes, unable to see one another’s faces.

Only one person had revealed himself.

Kier Iern, a confidant of the 4th Princess Estina and a servant of Leviathan.

He was also the key figure of this plan, personally selected by the cult leader.

Looking arrogantly over the executives, he spoke.

“Did everyone bring it?”

The executives each took out a pouch.

Most of them were empty.

Proof that they had carried out Kier’s instructions properly.

As Kier inspected them, his expression hardened when he spotted someone holding nothing.

He walked toward the executive standing empty-handed, his gaze icy.

“Where is your pouch?”

“……I left it behind.”

Kier immediately recognized who the hesitant speaker was.

Gillian Gard, a servant of Asmodeus and a known failure within the cult.

“I told you to keep the pouch with you at all times until the final day.”

“That is…… I was in a hurry…….”

“Is that head of yours just for decoration?”

Disdain filled Kier’s eyes.

“Can you not think? This is an opportunity that will never come again. Our great lord’s resurrection is right before us. If you behave like this, I will have no choice but to report it to the cult leader.”

At those words, Gillian’s eyes trembled.

He had already failed twice.

If Kier reported him now, he was finished.

Realizing that, Gillian dropped to his knees and begged desperately.

“Please, not that……! I will never make such a foolish mistake again.”

Seeing the once-proud Gillian flattened on the ground seemed to ease Kier’s mood slightly.

Staring down at him coldly, Kier spoke.

“I will overlook it this once. We will gather here again before executing the plan on the final day. You must bring the pouch then.”

A greasy smile crept across Kier’s lips.

“Otherwise, I wonder what your fate will be.”

***

To kneel before that wretched bastard!

“Damn it…….”

Gillian muttered under his breath as he replayed yesterday’s events.

Just because he had failed a little, did it warrant such humiliation in front of the other executives?

Dark emotions boiled up inside him.

He glared at the 8th Prince.

It was all his fault.

If that man had not created such a ridiculous booth……!

He would not have dropped the pouch while riding some strange attraction.

He would not have been seized by a trainee holy knight and forced into labor.

He would not have spent an entire hour being chased by a magical beast.

He had even ended up walking back into the Integrated Major booth he had sworn never to return to.

All for the sake of retrieving the pouch.

He planned to steal the pouch from the 8th Prince at the right moment.

Of course, he had no intention of getting close.

He would just linger nearby, like this……

“Brother?”

Gillian’s body stiffened.

Someone had greeted him while he was hiding behind a tree.

Convincing himself it could not be him, Gillian slowly turned his head.

Creeeak.

His head turned at an agonizingly slow pace.

‘Impossible. I even changed out of my priest’s robes on purpose!’

Yet what met his eyes was a trainee holy knight with an unmistakably confident look.

Worse still, the trainee greeted him cheerfully the moment he saw him.

“You came without your priest robes today. I can really feel your determination to work harder than yesterday.”

No?

I am absolutely not here to work……?

Gillian’s pupils wavered.

The nameplate on the trainee holy knight’s chest gleamed clearly.

Gusto Zebro.

The man who had dragged him away and forced him to cast heals like a madman.

Based on yesterday’s experience, this trainee holy knight was someone reason could not reach.

“Come to think of it, you suddenly disappeared yesterday…… Did something happen?”

“N-no. Nothing happened. It was just time for me to return to the Supreme Deity Order booth…….”

“That works out perfectly. I actually sent an official request to the Supreme Deity Order booth earlier, asking them to provide brothers to help spread the word of the Supreme Deity at the Integrated Major booth.”

“Pardon……?”

As he spoke of having formally requested manpower, Gusto raised one corner of his mouth.

“Then there is no need for you to go back anymore, Brother. Is that not so?”

Gillian found his mouth hanging open.

‘How much work does this lunatic plan to make me do?!’

This was not what he had anticipated.

At this rate, he might truly be drained of divine power all day.

As Gillian panicked and desperately wracked his brain—

Someone asked Gusto a question.

“Gusto, who is the brother next to you?”

Gillian’s face went pale.

Of all people, it had to be the 8th Prince.

“You are here, Your Highness. This brother is the kind soul who helped me yesterday.”

“Is that so?”

Of course, Radel had recognized Gillian and approached deliberately.

He calmly asked Gusto,

“What kind of help did he provide?”

“He was excellent at healing. He revived collapsed students several times.”

Radel’s eyes began to sparkle.

A heretic who was good at healing?

He had been needing someone to rotate shifts with Gusto anyway.

Radel caught a sweet scent and smiled.

It was the scent of a new slave.