To Deprive a Deprived Person - Chapter 318: Stand side by side

“Yes!”

The cheerful voice of a child echoed under the blue sky.

“Now, Reteru, answer the question”

Sanbai, one of the three old men who are teachers in the Nameless Kingdom, guessed Reteru, a beastman girl from among the students who raised their hands.

“36”

“Umm. That’s correct”

When Sanbai said, 「Correct」, there was a round of applause.

“You did it, Reteru-chan”

Mururu, a young girl of the deprived people sitting right next to her, claps her hands together with great effort. Reteru shyly looks down and responds with a small voice, 「Thank you」. Then, as if remembering, she looked up and turned her eyes to a certain place.

(Waa. I did it!)

Reteru strikes a gut-punch in her heart. She saw a black-haired boy――Yuu, who was watching the class from some distance away, clapping modestly.

From the corner of Yuu’s eyes, she sees several groups of about ten people sitting on the grass. In one of the groups was Namari. She and Inpika, who was in the same group, were having a good time. Not even this. They were solving the problem that Sanbai had raised.

In the beginning, the school system in the Nameless Kingdom was divided into younger, middle and older children. However, because of the difference in learning ability between races and the fact that adults who couldn’t read or write were also taking classes with the children, the classes were now divided according to academic ability rather than age.

The hardest part was the three old men who served as teachers. They gave assignments, answered questions and sometimes gave advice according to academic ability. They tried to be calm and make eye contact with each student so that they could talk to them easily.

“Alright, it’s 7! Not, it’s 7”

“Correct. But, Mada, it’s fine that you’re cheerful, but don’t answer until you’ve been asked”

“Ah. I’m sorry”

Mada, the grandson of Mauno, the chief of the fallen demons sat down, apologizing. In the younger classes, simple reading, writing and arithmetic are the main subjects.

“Explain the difference between each magic”

In the other group, another old teacher, Conrad, was teaching a class for the younger class.

“Ancient magic is more powerful and therefore consumes more MP than other forms of magic”

“Good. Then, what about spirit magic?”

“Because we borrow the power of spirits, we can reduce MP consumption”

“Hmm. And what about the disadvantages?”

“Since spirits are capricious, the effect is not stable when using the same magic”

“I see you’ve been reviewing well”

A boy from the deprived people sat down and the others applauded. It wasn’t anyone’s idea to praise him for answering correctly, but it had become the norm.

“Hey, you know, the king. The king said that he almost died when he used spirit magic before, so he’ll never use it again”

“Mmm”

Conrad has a slightly embarrassed expression on the words of a fallen demon girl.

“I see. That’s possible with spirit magic”

“Teacher, what do you mean?”

As I said before, spirits are fickle beings. If they like the user of spirit magic, they will actively cooperate. In this case, the power of the spirit magic will be higher than usual and the MP consumption will be reduced. However, if they don’t like you, they will refuse to cooperate and the power of the spell will decrease while the MP consumption will increase. In order to prevent this from happening, more and more users of spirit magic――in other words, the users don’t ask for the spirit’s cooperation, but rather keep it under their control. In rare cases, the spirits have killed the users because they didn’t listen to them”

The students who had been seriously listening to Conrad’s story started to get excited.

“Eeh!? So, the king is hated by the spirits?”

“Well, well, don’t be so sure. If spirits can kill a user out of disgust or hatred, then the opposite is also true”

“The opposite?”

“Yes. It is possible for a spirit to kill the user out of goodwill. The spirit likes the user too much to listen to him. Or they may lend more power than the user needs. Hmm. In this case, it might be better to say 「Force」. You have to be careful in such cases. It’s bad enough that the spirits have no ill intentions. It’s just that they try to impose their abundant power inexhaustibly. In any case, spirits are everywhere, just like the magic elements floating in the air. Their attributes vary from place to place. Their vast power is too great for us to use. Magic is convenient and it can be very powerful. It’s a power that we can’t live without. On the other hand, if you don’t use it with the right knowledge, it is a power that will lead you to your own destruction and you must understand that well”

The students responded cheerfully to Conrad’s words, 「Yes!」. From middle school class, the lesson was about common sense and magic.

“It is said that beastmen are generally bad at magic. It’s a shame that some humans are so ignorant that they assume that beasts can’t use magic. Of course, any student who has taken my classes knows that it is a prejudice without argument that beastmen cannot use magic, right? But on the other hand, it is also true that beastmen are not good at magic. So, can anyone explain to me why beastmen are not good at magic?”

Ewald glanced at the students with a somewhat mean smile on his face. The students then raise their hands in unison, 「Yes!」. Ewald dared to guess a female beastman from among them.

“The reason is that beastmen are less efficient at converting MP into magic power than other races”

Ewald nodded humbly and the people around her applauded the beastman girl.

“The beastmen are proud of their physical prowess, but they are not good at magic. They say they don’t need magic――no, they say they can’t use it and make excuses from the start”

After saying this, Ewald turned his provocative gaze to the beastman girl and asked.

“Do beastmen have no choice but to give up on magic?”

“No”

“Then what do you do?”

“‘The first step is to recognize the low efficiency of magic power conversion. From there, you can practice converting MP into magic power on a daily basis. Like this――”

Saying that, the beastman girl chanted a magic chant and a light ball was activated at her fingertips. It was the rank 1 white magic 『Light Ball』 that was invoked. The people around her let out a surprise 「Ooh」. This is because even though it was the first rank, the beastman girl had activated the magic with only training, even though she was not employed in a job that allowed her to use white magic.

“Good”

Ewald nodded in satisfaction and urged the beastman girl to sit down. For older students, the practice of beginner magic, knowledge of demons in pharmacy and the history of the Raem continent will be incorporated into the lessons. Up to this point, education in the Nameless Kingdom is compulsory. After this, they can proceed to more advanced studies or subjects that require special expertise if they wish.

I can do that, but――

“””Why don’t we hire a teacher?”””

The three old men speak in unison and tell Yuu their request. It was now the end of the morning classes and after lunch, it was time for a nap. Each of them was taking a nap wherever they wanted, but on the knees of the old men sitting on the floor, beastly infants and young girls were sleeping comfortably. Inpika is curled up on Yuu’s lap and Namari, who doesn’t need sleep, is reading while leaning against Yuu’s back.

“‘If you were a teacher, I’d hire you. Even though you’re excellent, you’re the poor old men who can’t even flirt with your employer’s aristocrats. By the way, do you always hold your classes outside? Didn’t I build you a school building?”

“As you can see, it’s a beautiful day. That’s why we had the class outside”

“It’s boring for the children to be in the same classroom all the time”

“That’s why we’re asking for more teachers”

The old men said, 「You know that」, as they patted the children on their knees.

“In fact, there aren’t enough teachers. I don’t know where they came from, but the fallen demons, deprived people and devils came aboard the magic ship operated by Narmo. Are you there?”

“Children are also born without reservation. No, I’m not blaming you. It’s not a happy thing. Children of all races are cute and can’t be helped”

“The three of us can take care of the older ones, for now, but those who wish to continue on will be taught advanced studies. The three of us are fine for now. And that’s the problem with advanced students like Kantan and Taran’s younger brother”

“If I do say so myself, but when it comes to numbers, literature, and general knowledge of magic, I’m confident that I’m no match for the average scholar”

“Fuhyahya. Even though I say general education, the people I teach are mostly aristocrats. It’s about this Nameless. You can even educate folk grass and take classes for free. It’s not like I was trying to interrupt the conversation”

Conrad, who was glared at by Yuu, exaggeratedly said, 「Scary, Scary」 and gently scratched the chin of the beastman girl who sleeps comfortably on his lap.

“No offense intended, so please forgive me. So, the technique of making a map easily, Taran’s younger brother was a picture, right?”

“No. Taran’s brother was the sky――the weather. Recently, he’s been studying the stars on his own. The painting is done by a young child of the fallen demons and he paints quite beautifully”

“That’s right. Well, I don’t care about the details. We don’t have that kind of knowledge or skill, so we can’t even give advice. King Nameless, you’ve been giving them tools and books, but you know that’s not enough, don’t you?”

“I don’t want to increase the number of humans too much”

“Hmmm. I understand. Many of the people here are those who have been persecuted by humans”

“I don’t care if they’re old men with short lives. Why should they be sad to come to this remote island country where there is nothing?”

Ewald and the others said, 「Eh? What you’re talking about」.

The Nameless Kingdom was a heavenly place for Ewald and his friends. The children who adored them were so adorable that it didn’t even hurt to put them in their eyes. After school, they would spend happy hours with the children and the Black Wolves that came with them as guards, fishing in the river or walking in the mountains. When the sun goes down, they go to a tavern run by a former con man named Frang for a few expensive drinks. He may be an unsavory man, but he is a connoisseur and the alcohol he buys from the merchants tastes wonderful. On their days off, they visit the museum that Yuu built and the library. The museum displayed items that ordinary people could not even see and Ewald and his friends could spend the whole day just admiring the many works of art. And it was a library. The director of the library, Hisui, was a bit overzealous and a bit spinning, but they guess that’s to be expected. As proof of this, the air in the library, which should normally be stuffy and heavy, felt light. This is not only due to the presence of children who come to the library for picture books. In addition, the library’s collection is so large that no other library in the country can compete with it. Furthermore, the museum and library were free of charge, which was a surprise to Ewald and his friends. In other countries, they would have to pay a lot of money and have letters of guarantee from powerful people of a certain status. For academic idiots like Ewald and the others, is there any reason not to move to Nameless Kingdom? It was such an ideal country. Even if Yuu were to tell them that they could leave the Nameless Kingdom now, these old men would never leave.

“Are you serious?”

“Why should I joke with the old men? I remembered. I don’t know what Isaiah is thinking, but he wants me to stay on the island forever and I’m sure he consulted his wife and kids before he said it”

“H, Hmm. I think it’s a good decision. So I know you don’t want to increase the numbers of humans. But in five years, the babies will start going to school. What are you going to do about that problem?”

“In five years, we’ll have teachers other than you old men――ah”

“Hmm? What’s bothering you?”

Ewald and the others look at Yuu with a suspicious look.

“No, it seems that the old men will be picked up first”

“What!”

Normally they’d say, 「Gaaa! What are you saying!!」angrily, but now they had the children on their laps. Ewald and the others could only suppress their anger and snarl, 「Gununuu」.

“Hua~”

A cute little sneeze could be heard. The owner of the voice was Inpika, who was sleeping on Yuu’s lap. She stood up and stretched with a 「U~mm」.

“Hey.”

Did it feel good to stretch? Her tail swished vigorously from side to side, hitting Yuu’s face and chest as she sat up.

“King, what’s wrong?”

Inpika turned around and looked into Yuu’s face, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

“What’s wrong? Your――”

“Aa~h! King, your eyes are all red! Why? Hey, why are they red like a rabbit? Hey, tell Inpika~”

The king’s eyes were red like a rabbit’s! Ewald laughed at the sight of Yuu’s frustration.

“Because there are only bad guys who don’t listen to me. I’m crying in the middle of the night”

As if struck by lightning, Inpika stiffened her body. Namari, who had been leaning on Yuu’s back while reading, also looked surprised, 「Really?」.

“King. Is Inpika that bad child, nuu! Raise?”

Yuu looks back at Inpika’s face with a serious face.

“Perhaps……do you think you are a good child?”

“Yes! Inpika is a good girl!!”

Inpika, who doesn’t think she’s a bad child, replies with a big smile. Yuu was even more sick of that figure.

———————————————–

『Insect Kingdom』. It’s an A-rank labyrinth in the territory of the Set Republic. As the name implies, most of the monsters living in the labyrinth are insects. It was also the ruling class of the labyrinth. The difficulty level of this labyrinth was such that it would be extremely difficult for a party of half-hearted adventurers to penetrate even the tenth floor. It’s not uncommon for a party of promising adventurers who have just risen to the C rank to wonder how far their abilities will take them or for them to go exploring and not come back, thinking that the shallow levels will be fine. No, it wasn’t just a common story. There were so many deaths that the Adventurer’s Guild of the Set Republic once restricted the exploration of the 『Insect Kingdom』 by those with C rank or lower. A notice was posted within the guild and the Adventurer’s Guild dispatched staff to the entrance of the 『Insect Kingdom』 to check the guild cards of adventurers who wished to explore. Thanks to their efforts, the number of adventurers who recklessly try to challenge or test their strength has been drastically reduced.

In the lower floors of the vicious labyrinth――the 80th level, where even monsters are silent――Nina and her friends were there.

“Haaa!”

Nina slashed at the blue and purple shells as she ran across the slightly visible earth. However, the two daggers made from black dragon’s fangs and claws are repelled by giving off sparks.

“Waa, Waa~!”

Nina, who was blown back by the shock, repositioned herself in the air, but she screamed unintentionally at the terrifying sight that spread under her eyes. It could not be helped, she supposes. After all, the majority of the earth was covered with a huge number of bugs――centipedes. They were huge, each of them several meters in length.

“Nina-san!!”

Marifa creates a tree at Nina’s fall point with tree spirit magic.

“Mari-chan, thank you!!”

Nina, who landed safely on the tree, looks up at the opponent she slashed earlier-a two-headed centipede, who is the master of the 80th floor. It’s a subspecies of the 500-year old centipede, a rank 7 monster and taking into account the fact that it’s named the floor boss, it’s certain to exceed rank 8. It’s about twenty-nine meters long. If it raises its body, it’s no wonder that Nina in the tree looks up at it. The centipedes that wriggle on the ground are centipedes that are subordinates to the two-headed centipede, but the violence of that number has been in the way of Nina and others.

“I don’t like it”

Marifa murmured while glaring at the two-headed centipede. The reason for this is that the two-headed giant centipede doesn’t give a damn about Marifa and the others. The two huge heads have thirty-eight compound eyes, each of which can only see Kuro, not Nina and the others. When the poisonous venom dripping from the jaws hits the wriggling giant centipedes, they writhe in agony as their shells melt and die.

“It’s a nasty bug”

Kuro mutters as centipedes wrap around his body. Although the usual poison doesn’t work, the centipedes entwined around his body are trying to thrust the chin limbs into Kuro’s body. Ignoring them, Kuro does not avert his gaze from the two-headed giant centipede. It’s not that he can’t look away. It was such a powerful enemy. He had attacked many times before, but hadn’t been able to do much damage to the two-headed giant centipede. Even if Kuro hits it with his hammer or axe with all his might, the two-headed centipede blue-black shell will dent but will not crack.

“Kurocha~n, don’t worry about breaking the shell, just aim at its head!”

Can he hear or not hear Nina’s screaming? Kuro shows no reaction.

“Mou! You never listen to me at all, Kuro-chan! Tell him too, Momo-chan!”

Momo, sitting on Nina’s shoulder, just shakes her head. If Kuro’s attack can’t break through the two-headed giant centipede’s defenses――Nina and the others’ gazes will be focused on the sky.

“……Leave it to me”

Lena, standing on her broom, dexterously double-pieces to Nina while holding her wand.

“Lena, don’t push yourself too hard!”

“……Don’t worry, trust your older sister”

It was Lena slamming, but Marifa’s eyes saw Lena wearing enormous magic power. Did she detect the strange sign of her? One of the two heads of the centipede turns from Kuro to Lena.

“I won’t let that happen”

As he kicked away the tens of thousands of giant centipedes writhing on the ground, Kuro plunged into the two-headed giant centipede. Even though there was no signal, Nina and others also launched an attack in conjunction with the movement.

“……Guu”

Lena begins to release the power of the Ryubosei cane, Pentagram. When it is infused with enormous magic power, the jewels embedded in her cane――among the jewels embedded in the shape of a pentagram, the jewels of wind and water react. Frighteningly, even with Lena’s magic power, she can only release her power from two of the five jewels.

“……Guguuu”

A black cloud formed in the sky above the labyrinth, swirling and covering the sky. A lightning bolt occasionally shot out from the black cloud, illuminating the giant centipedes crawling on the ground. Of course, the person who created this black cloud was Lena. Lena’s body could not withstand the high load of magic power and the skin on both of her arms was torn, blood running down her arms and coloring her cane red. Her body was covered with lightning patterns, as if lightning had rushed through it and her whole body was covered with magic power and gray smoke. There was a reason why Lena, who had the passive skill 『Chant Canceling』, had to take so much time to activate a single magic. This is because the magic that she is about to cast is of a rank that the current Lena cannot use. This is why she combines multiple spells and uses the power of her cane to compensate.

“……Move away”

Lena signaled with a light ball that changed its color to red. Seeing the flashing red light, Nina and the others all moved away from the two-headed centipede. At the same time, a huge lump of steel broke through the black cloud and appeared, clad in purple light. The two-headed giant centipede immediately sensed its own death and curled its body into a defensive stance. It can be said that the speed of the judgment, the high ability to detect the crisis and the fact that it is the 『Insect Kingdom』´s 80th floor boss.

But――

“!! ……!!! …………!!?”

The two headed centipede disappears with an unvoiced scream. All that was left was a huge hole in the ground with an invisible bottom and a wreckage that was thought to have been part of a two-headed centipede. They don’t know how the different floors of the labyrinth are connected, but it would not have been surprising if the hole had continued to the next floor. The giant centipedes that had been subordinates acted quickly. Tens of thousands of giant centipedes immediately began to flee to another floor. It proved that the two-headed centipede was dead.

“……Haahaaa”

Lena was so exhausted that she couldn’t maintain her levitation even with the help of her mithril broom and she descended to the ground breathlessly.

“Lena~, it was amazing magic! But I don’t think we can expect any more magic balls or materials from this. I’m going to see if there’s anything left. Mari-chan and the others should keep an eye on Lena”

After Nina confirmed that Lena was safe, she ran towards the huge hole.

“Lena, when did you learn all this magic?”

Marifa was amazed at the power of the magic that Lena had used. What’s more, despite being so magical that it pierced the shell of the two-headed centipede, which was not so terrified by the attacks of Nina and others, the damage was very small in and around the two-headed centipede. This is because Lena controlled her range while maintaining her power so as not to involve Nina and others.

“……I, I……haahaa……”

Lena’s body leans due to the wounds and fatigue she received from her own magic recoil. Marifa tries to support her in a hurry, but Lena supports her body with her cane.

“……I will stand alongside Yuu”

Despite being so exhausted that she can’t stand without her cane, Lena declares to Marifa with straight eyes.

“Why?”

Marifa asks, unsure of herself.

“……Because it is a party. I want to be on an equal footing with Yuu”

Marifa couldn’t follow Lena as she staggered toward Nina. However, all she could do was to instruct Koro to reach Lena with her hands. Kuro has a track record of defeating the wood dragon and has slaughtered a number of monsters up to the 80th floor in this 『Insect Kingdom』, so he has the ability to be isolated within this party. Nina was also improving her ability as if to match Kuro. Koro and Ran have grown steadily as servants and although Momo doesn’t actively participate in the battle, she protects the party from a crisis at key points. Marifa herself was also helped many times. And Lena. Marifa was aware that her talent was beginning to bloom, but she wouldn’t have come here to achieve such rapid growth――no, it’s still on the way. Maybe she’s the one who’s pulling her legs at the party the most. This was something that Marifa had been acutely aware of during her exploration of the 『Insect Kingdom』.

“I’m……I’m――――”

I am――Marifa could not say the words that followed.

———————————————

Author note:

The three old human teachers

Ewald: An old man who worked as a tutor for the children of noblemen.

Conrad: The second old man who was tutoring children of noblemen.

Sambai: The last old man who was tutoring children of noblemen.

Isaiah: A farmer’s slave brought in by Yuu. His wife is Laurier and his son is Stark.

Frank Abagnair: A con man. He is abhorred by merchants for his nickname 『Black Swan』. He now teaches frauds and runs a liquor store in the Nameless Kingdom.