Chapter 76

“…Peace sure is nice…”

My morning routine. I was just on my way to ‘Fluffy Bouloire.’

It was as I advanced through the shadows of the underground waterway that such thoughts entered my mind.

“Peace is the best.” The outcome of that terrible fight had shown me that.

In spite of the ‘accident,’ the military exercise continued as if nothing had happened.

We could still expect Moon Beasts to wreak havoc on the Shadow Moon Road.

And getting attacked by some elite assassins was not an excuse for Dragon Masters to run away, instead of protecting the country.

“…Well, that’s what they said, anyway.”

They were probably buying time so they could get their story straight.

But it was also true that not a single Dragon Master had died.

And since it was determined that the attack could not be covered up, it was ultimately used as a trump card, diplomatically speaking.

The country officially sent its condolences to those who died in the attacks and used it as ammunition to denounce Makoku.

In order for their deaths to not become a waste, it was important to make it public so that it could benefit Ryukoku.

So they needed time.

There were talks between the palace and the Dragon Masters.

And the following scenario was constructed.

The Makoku attackers had come over the walls and entered the lodging facility, where they attacked the servants who had been temporarily hired.

Their aim was the assassination of the Dragon Masters, but as it was so dark, they attacked the servants.

The soldiers were then alerted and came out to fight the assassins. Thanks to their bravery, the matter soon came to a close.

Upon hearing this version of the story, the soldiers had expressions of disbelief. After all, they were also people who had been hired temporarily.

However, they were forced to assume that it must have been some other soldier who did it.

As for their reward for destroying the assassins, it was decided that ‘the darkness of night made it too difficult to determine who was there,’ and every soldier was rewarded equally.

After that, none of the soldiers made it their business to find out which of them had really fought.

As for the Right Hands that were actually there, four of them died in the black mist.

Fiver others died during the fight, resulting in nine deaths in all.

Only three out of the original twelve returned.

That was quite significant.

After we mourned the dead, the military exercise continued. But it was apparently not our lucky year, and we encountered many Moon Beasts.

That being said, apparently, getting us through the Makoku and Moon Beast attacks really helped build names for the veterans who overseed us this year.

But that didn’t have anything to do with us students.

“Oh, you came.”

“Good morning, Mister Rob. I’m looking forward to working here again.”

“Aye, good morning. It’s good to see you back safely. Mira and Kuchino were worried about you.”

“Because of the attack? It finished while we were sleeping in our beds. I didn’t even notice that it was happening.”

“I see. Still, it’s a great relief. I’m sure you’ve already heard about what happened at the palace? It was terrible as well. It’s the only thing people are talking about now.”

The people of the Royal Capital sure liked to talk… Well, maybe they just liked to keep up with the latest information.

“By the way, when I returned to the academy, I saw that they had blocked the road again.”

It was like during the opening ceremony. There were soldiers guarding the road that led to the academy.

“Well…everyone is starving for more news. But we rarely hear anything from the palace. However, students aren’t so tight-lipped, are they? As people knew what day they would be returning, they would probably try to wait for their return.”

“I’m surprised people have so much time to waste just to gather information. I feel bad for the guards that have to fend them off.”

“Well, that just shows how much attention this is getting. The Second-Years already have their dragons, and the First-Years will be next. As you are the students that survived the Makoku ambush, the competition over who becomes your Patrons should become even harder.”

“That’s not what I wanted to hear. …By the way, we have a long break from school starting today.”

“Aye, I know.”

“So, can I stay here all morning?”

“Aye, I don’t mind… But you only just got back. You really are a strange one.”

Am I? I thought I was pretty normal.

I looked at him with a puzzled expression and he patted me on the shoulder.

For some reason, he was looking at me warmly.

“Well, we should get started then.”

“…Yeah.”

I followed him to the kitchen.

It had been a long time since I was last here.

“…Finally.”

Oh, how I longed for this day. After all, the military exercise had been nothing but incredibly stressful.

Having to ride dragons for so many days and watch them fight Moon Beasts.

We had to stay up and patrol at night and then move the next morning. This lifestyle had gone on and one.

The stress was just building up.

While it had been a while since I last kneaded dough, my body remembered how to do it perfectly.

Eventually, I shut out all the noise around me.

From today, we would have a whole thirty days of rest.

Well, the Second-Years would still be quite busy taking care of their dragons, but most First-Years would go home.

In my case, I had made a promise to my sister, so I would have to go back at some point. But considering that a round trip would take ten days, I felt less enthusiastic about it. Do you know how much bread I could bake if I had ten days?

“Maybe I should just ask the queen to send me on a dragon…”

No. Even if I had complete absolution, that was asking too much.

I had no choice. I would make as much bread as I could until I was satisfied and then rush back home.

…Satisfied? How much was that?

“Good work.”

I suddenly heard Mister Rob say.

Before I knew it, I had finished all my work. But no time had passed at all?!

“Well, the military exercise was just a lot of bloody work. When I am kneading dough, I can forget everything, including my negative thoughts.”

“What? You sound like some tired old man.”

Mister Rob said with a chuckle.

But it was true. The military exercise was more mentally exhausting than physical.

The fact that some of the Right Hands had not returned caused a disturbance at the lodging facility.

They had been hired as servants, and so they were treated as civilian casualties.

As the Dragon Master Society managed the facility, someone from the higher ranks had to come and make arrangements.

I still remember the somber looks of the students as they watched.

“With so many deaths, we won’t be able to hire any new people next year.”

As this decision was now made, it was clear the military exercise would be very different next year.

Up until now, I had never really had comrades. So this was the first time I saw people die who fought alongside me.

Perhaps that was the reason I had fallen into a dark mood, just like the other students.

As I helped arrange the freshly baked bread, Mira got up.

She saw me and came running.

“You! You should have told us that you were alright!”

She grabbed my collar with both hands and launched her overblown complaints at me. I didn’t see how I was in the wrong.

It’s not like we were allowed to send letters… But I just swallowed back those words.