Chapter 77: The Graveyard X

By the time Rian returned to Base Camp D, the other groups were still out hunting.

Only his three teammates had arrived ahead of him.

Julius and Eliza had already settled inside their tent with a few dismantled devices between them. Julius supplied a steady stream of affinity-less mana while Eliza adjusted something with a screwdriver.

Apparently, whatever strange connection the two had developed was still going strong. Well, Rian decided not to look for too long.

Marie, meanwhile, had somehow ended up helping Martin near the cooking area. The butler had been struggling with several wooden crates when they returned. Marie, being the most physically capable person of the group, decided to help him out.

"You really didn’t have to help me, Young Lady," Martin said politely.

"It’s fine. Everyone else is still hunting, and I have nothing to do."

"Then you have my gratitude."

Marie placed the crate beside several sacks of grain. The butler thanked her once more before backing off and studying her for a while.

"Marie Bell, was it?"

"That’s right."

"I don’t recognize the family name. Are you from the Capital?"

"No sir, I came from a small village near the southern border."

"I heard that you’re quite accomplished, being personally scouted by the Headmaster of Eidelgard herself is no joke."

"I was just lucky, that’s all."

Martin maintained his pleasant smile, but for a moment, Rian could see the man’s eyes dart toward their tent, their group number, and finally back to making eye-contact with her.

"Could you place this final crate inside the staff tent?" Martin asked. "It contains several...precious ingredients that I don’t want anyone digging into."

"Of course, sir."

Marie accepted the final crate and carried it through the tent flap without hesitation. Several seconds later, she emerged empty-handed.

"Thank you again," the butler bowed gracefully. "I’ll make sure Instructor Klein knows you were kind enough to help with our supplies."

Marie smiled happily before returning toward Group Thirteen’s tent. But when watching the conversation, Rian couldn’t help but feel like something was off.

At that moment, Orion’s team had just returned from their hunt at the Northern Gate. His eyes caught a glimpse of Marie returning to her tent from the staff’s, before turning away.

’Whatever, I have bigger fish to fry.’

Rian waited until Martin returned to the cooking fire and for Orion to stop paying attention, while also confirming that Instructor Klein had remained on the opposite side of camp before moving.

With everyone occupied, Rian slipped behind the Academy staff tent, where he felt something tugging at him.

Crouching low to the ground, he placed a palm against the dirt.

〈Alter Terra — Solum Ocular〉

In an instant, Rian sensed several thick conduits running underneath Base Camp D, carrying mana a few meters away from the staff tent and into the teleportation mirror.

’Found it.’

The entire reservoir had been buried several feet underground. No wonder Orion had failed to find it until the camp was already being overrun.

Unless someone understood the mirror’s construction, they would never realize its power supply was hidden beneath an ordinary tent. More importantly, accessing it required entering an area where students weren’t supposed to be.

’Now that I think about it, someone could easily pin the blame on me...’

’Ugh...better be careful.’

〈Alter Shade — Gardine〉

Rian felt a bit better now, but as soon as he was relatively safe, he thought about the implications a bit more.

’Whoever stole the cores either belongs to the staff...’

Rian glanced toward Marie.

’...Or finds some reason to enter their tent.’

But just as he was about to move toward the reservoir, a few voices echoed from inside the tent that caught Rian’s attention.

"I don’t care how you do it. I refuse to spend another day trudging through corpse-infested mud!"

The voice belonged to a young woman, that much was certain. Rian shifted closer to the back of the tent and peered through a narrow opening between fabric and the ground.

Inside stood one of the girls who had returned alongside Orion. Her honey-blonde hair remained in perfect princess curls despite the morning’s hunt.

However, the hem of her uniform was stained with mud, and she stared at it as though the dirt was a personal insult to her dignity and appearance.

’Lillian Arkens...’

A heroine from the original novel, House Arkens controlled several of the kingdom’s private banks and were quite influential. More importantly, they were among the most prominent financial supporters of First Prince Magnus.

Lillian herself was remembered for her talent with Light Magic, and for possessing enough elitism to illuminate the entire kingdom.

"Lady Lillian, please lower your voice," an older man pleaded. "If Instructor Klein hears you—"

The man wore the plain gray uniform of an Academy custodian, evident by the badge by his side. His shoulders were hunched, and his hands remained clasped in front.

"I cannot simply guarantee your admission, Young Missus..." he said. "Your group must collect the required number of cores. Those are the examination rules."

He then stared outside at the crate positioned right in front of Orion’s tent. "And besides, your group has already collected more cores than any of the others. You only need two more...So what’s the problem?

"The problem..." the girl raised her tone. "Is that I don’t want to spend another goddamn minute of my time out here! Do you not understand that?!"

"Lady Lillian...please...calm down—"

"My father’s money was the reason why your family still has a home," Lillian replied coldly, cutting him off. "Or have you forgotten about that fact?"

"If so, maybe raising the interest by...I don’t know, twenty-percent? Would that jog your memory?"

The custodian’s face went pale. "No...no please—"

"Then find a way."

The man lowered his head, thinking hard about his options. Then a second later, the man looked toward the tents outside.

"I could..." he began reluctantly. "I could move several cores from another group’s crate into yours. Would that suffice?"

"...Are you stupid?"

The man flinched.

"Every group knows how many cores they collected," she continued. "The moment any disappear, they’ll report it. Then the Academy will investigate all of us."

"I—I apologize."

"You should. Think of something else."

The custodian looked increasingly desperate, and in his nervousness, the man looked directly back. Rian thought the man had caught him and started moving away quickly.

But the custodian wasn’t looking at him. His frightened gaze had dropped toward the ground past him and underneath the tent—

The only other source of monster cores in this camp.

"There is...another source."