The Mysterious Child: An Adventure Tale Beginning with Numerology

The first day of class arrived in no time.

According to Guild Master Dinosaur Man, since we're starting from the lower levels, it's fine to just let the students observe for the first session. We can easily reach the 10th floor in a day, so there's no need for dungeon stays, making it quite relaxed.

By the way, the dungeon in the Kingdom of Mataisa is a large-scale dungeon with 100 floors, so many ordinary adventurers also delve into it. Preventing troubles with adventurers is also part of our job.

There are up to 10 participants from each school. The Knight School always has a flood of applicants, but the Magic Academy usually has at most 5, and the Ladies' Academy even fewer, as is customary.

Normal students probably don't have reasons to want to experience dungeon conquering.

"Well, shall we go?"

After preparing and transferring from the Bargia mansion to the Mataisa house, I walked from there to the plaza in front of the dungeon.

By the way, I'm an hour early than the students' meeting time.

It's not that I woke up early, but I'm meeting at the scheduled time.

The reason is simple--

"Ah, he's here, he's here. Ruruk-kun!"

A familiar receptionist sister was waving her hand in the plaza in front of the dungeon.

Next to her were a bespectacled sister in a white coat and a sturdy knight.

First, I apologize.

"I'm sorry for being late. It's unbecoming of a gentleman to keep ladies waiting. But to have two such beautiful women here, it must be a reward for those working in this space--"

"Hey, you! Don't spout such nonsense and bow down!"

The sturdy knight raised his voice for some reason.

What's this about?

"Excuse me, but who might you be?"

"Never mind about me! Do you know who this person is! A commoner like you shouldn't even be standing shoulder to shoulder with--"

"That's rude, be quiet."

The knight was sharply rebuked.

Of course, it was the sister in the white coat next to him who silenced him.

"I apologize. There was no ill intent, please forgive us."

"Not at all, lady as beautiful as a clear lake. I'm Ruruk, an adventurer. May I have the pleasure of knowing your name?"

"I'm Mamared. Here, we'll be in the same position, so please treat me as an equal."

As I thought, this person is the other teacher.

I've heard the preliminary information from the Guild Master. The 20-year-old Third Princess Mamared... apparently a quite eccentric princess who voluntarily gave up her right of succession to the throne due to her obsession with researching monster ecology.

She's the sister who's the teacher (monster explanation role) for the dungeon class.

I bow respectfully and say,

"As you wish. However, if I may ask, is one guard sufficient?"

"I said I didn't need a guard in the first place... but my mother forced this on me. It's just for show, so please forgive me."

"It's not just for show! I would lay down my life for the princess--"

"As you can see, please think of him as a noisy dog."

The princess glares at the guard while letting out harsh words.

Rather than acting overly humble, she prefers to be treated as an equal... yeah, her personality is just as the Guild Master told me, Third Princess Mamared.

"Then, Ruruk-sama, as planned, could you please confirm the plan outline before the students arrive? I've already looked over the documents, so verbal confirmation is fine."

"Understood. However, we still have time, how about we have some tea somewhere?"

"...Tea?"

Mamared tilts her head.

I nod.

"As a gentleman, I can't allow two beautiful ladies to keep standing like this."

"Is that so? Is this your philosophy?"

"It's not quite a philosophy. It's a policy... no, it's gentlemanly manners."

"I see. Then, shall we find a shop--"

"I'll go find one!"

The knight runs off at full speed.

Really, he's like a large dog.

Having said that, the plaza in front of the dungeon is full of street stalls, and there don't seem to be many places where we can sit down comfortably. Maybe because Princess Mamared is here, the passersby are quite hesitantly avoiding us, but other places are crowded.

I ask the receptionist,

"Are there any open shops around here?"

"Hmm~ I wonder. If we say Mamared-sama is here, I think any place would open for us."

"I don't prefer such high-handedness. I'm here as just a researcher. Isn't it a desecration of scholarship to adorn authority over a white coat?"

Mamared says with a dignified attitude.

I feel like the point is a bit off, but she's quite a strong-willed sister.

Then the knight comes running back.

"Mamared-sama! I've ordered that shop over there to open, so preparations will be made immediately--"

"Again with your foolish behavior, have you no shame! Don't you lack awareness as a knight? Abandoning your guard duty to run off looking for a shop, if it were my mother here instead of me, you'd be fired on the spot--"

The knight immediately stepped on Mamared's landmine.

After that, Mamared's lecture continued at length until the knight was on the verge of tears.

The knight was just trying to serve as a guard and probably had no ill intentions, so before he develops trauma, I step in to stop it.

"Mamared-sama, let's leave it at that. We're starting to attract attention."

"...Ahem. You're right, I apologize for the inconvenience."

"No, no. And since it seems no shops are open yet, if we're going to wait here anyway, let's take over this corner... 'Synthesis'."

I transform the ground, creating three chairs and a table. I made sure to add luxurious details to the design. We are dealing with royalty, after all.

Then, placing handkerchiefs on two of the seats,

"Now, ladies, please have a seat."

"Amazing! Ruruk-kun is amazing!"

"...I'm impressed. As expected of the 'Child of Mystery'."

Come on, you could do the same thing with earth magic.

As I'm thinking this, the knight clicks his tongue.

"Tch. Getting cocky..."

"You go apologize to the shop you just spoke to. Don't forget to buy something as an apology."

"Y-yes, understood!"

Glared at by Mamared, the knight immediately runs off.

Now that it's just the three of us, we immediately start discussing the lesson plan. It's just confirmation, so I report and that's it.

"Heh~ So if it's just Ruruk-kun's party, you could easily reach the 50th floor in half a year~"

After I finish talking about the lesson plan and we start chatting, the receptionist immediately lets out a relaxed voice.

By the way, her name is Tanya.

Originally, the class was supposed to be handled by someone from the Dungeon Management Department, but apparently, she pushed to be put in charge because she knew me from before.

Well, it seems the previous person in charge was always reluctant to go into the dungeon, so they were happy to hand it over.

Mamared tilts her head at Tanya's comment.

"By the way, Tanya-san, what's the usual pace for normal adventurers?"

"The A-rank adventurers I'm in charge of took about a year or two to reach the 50th floor. The difficulty suddenly increases from the 40th floor, you know. Right, Ruruk-kun?"

"That's right. Reaching the 50th floor feels like becoming a full-fledged adventurer."

"I see. So monsters after the 40th floor are..."

"But Ruruk-kun was normal five years ago too, you know."

"Back then, I was still just a kid."

Come to think of it, Tanya, you're not nervous at all in front of the princess. You're just chatting like normal girls.

This receptionist has nerves of steel.

"By the way, Mamared-sama, why did you volunteer to be a teacher? I heard it was partly for monster ecology research, but..."

"I heard my sister would be participating in this year's class. She was apparently selected by lottery, and she seemed so happy talking about it."

"Your sister, you mean Princess Margaria?"

"Yes. She just transferred to the Knight School this year."

"I see. You're worried about your sister, aren't you?"

As I was impressed by what a caring older sister she was, Mamared herself denied it.

"No, that's not it. My sister has a talent for swordsmanship, so since she was young, I've had her accompany me in my monster vital point research under the guise of training. It seems she awakened a skill to accurately identify vital points... I've always wanted to research whether the materials dropped by monsters change depending on how they're defeated in the dungeon. If it's my sister, it would be easy to have her help with the research under the pretense of instruction."

"I-I see..."

I didn't expect her to participate just to have her sister kill monsters. This princess has a strong mad scientist vibe.

Well, she's enough of a pervert to throw away her royal rights for monster research. I guess she can do this kind of thing without batting an eye...

"Hey Ruruk-kun, is it true that Margaria-sama is rumored to be a knight princess?"

"That's right. I met her face-to-face at the royal castle the other day. She did seem strong."

"Not as much as Ruruk-sama. She's weaker than me."

"Mamared-sama, you can fight? That's unexpected~"

"The prerequisite for monster research is to first defeat the monster in front of you."

Mamared pushes up her glasses with a proud face.

Indeed, she's already at level 55, which is considerably higher than Margaria. Her stats are on par with A-rank adventurers, so she's really a flawless pervert to level up that much just for monster research.

"Oh, then I have some information that might interest Mamared-sama~"

"Is it about monsters?"

"Of course! Actually, I'm in charge of mediating special individual subjugation requests at the Adventurers' Guild. Special individuals have slightly different ecologies from normal monsters, you know~ So mediation is quite difficult."

"!?"

Mamared's eyes widened.

"...Could you tell me more about that?"

"I'd love to talk about it, but... It's not something I can talk about loudly to people who aren't part of the Adventurers' Guild, so what should I do~"

"I understand. I'll register as an adventurer after today's class."

"Really? Yay, I'll be in charge of you then. I'll tell you the rest after that!"

"I look forward to it."

Isn't the receptionist Tanya too good at sales?

Mamared is easily swayed into becoming an adventurer, but Tanya's personality of not being intimidated even by a princess matches perfectly with her.

I feel like I've introduced two people who shouldn't have met...

"Mamared-sama! I've returned!"

The knight comes back at this point.

He's holding a bag overflowing with sata andagi.

"...What is this?"

"As per Mamared-sama's orders, I bought fried balls as an apology to the shop owner! Please enjoy them everyone!"

"That's a commendable attitude. ...And?"

"And what?"

"You brought these sweets without any drinks?"

Mamared is exasperated.

Indeed, sata andagi completely sucks out all the moisture in your mouth. The knight hurriedly turned on his heel saying, "I'll go buy some!" He didn't even ask what we wanted to drink.

He'll probably buy some sweet drinks and be frowned upon again... can't be helped.

"Mamared-sama, Tanya-san, would you like some tea?"

"It's my favorite."

"Of course!"

"Then, here you go."

I take out a tea set from my item box and,

"'Boiling'"

I change water into hot water.

This is one of the uses of the "Synthesis" skill, a version that limits state changes to temperature. It's a magic formula I'm familiar with because I've been using it since before it was integrated into "Synthesis".

"Oh! Ruruk-kun can even make tea with mystic arts... Hey, want to marry into my family?"

"I'll pass as I might end up being a convenient cat."

"You even casually have an item box. How many monster materials do you have in there?"

"A decent amount."

Her focus on monsters is too strong.

After letting the tea leaves steep for a while until it's ready to drink, I pour the tea into the warmed cups.

Both of them smiled as they took a sip.

"What a nice aroma! Where is this tea from?"

"It's delicious. Is this tea available in Mataisa?"

"It's a specialty from Bargia. It's a favorite of the Guild Master there. Shall I buy some for you next time?"

"Please do!"

"By all means."

They both seemed to like it.

After that, as expected, the knight came back with sweet fruit water and got lectured by Mamared, and I prepared a chair for the knight too, forcing him to sit down and eat sata andagi together.

We spent just under an hour like this.

"Ah, it looks like the Knight School students have arrived."

Tanya noticed first and stood up.

She had some crumbs on her mouth, but Mamared wiped them off for her.

It's time for us to end our break too. I stored away the empty dishes and restored the space that had been chairs and a table back to normal.

Walking from the east were 10 students clad in leather armor and carrying swords.

At the front was their teacher, a heavily armored knight with a stern appearance.

They walked straight towards us, keeping their formation perfectly aligned. Of course, Princess Margaria was among them, though at the rear.

"Everyone~ This is the gathering place for the extracurricular class!"

"Everyone, halt!"

With a snap!

The knight candidates lined up beautifully, even their footsteps in sync. So these are Knight School students... they're quite military-like.

The escort teacher looked at Tanya, me, and Mamared in order, then immediately knelt before Mamared.

The students behind him took the same posture.

"The Knight School has arrived. Mamared-sama, please forgive our informal greeting."

"Stop that. I'm here just as a teacher. Besides, you know I dislike such attitudes, don't you?"

"Yes. I apologize. Then from now on, I'll act as usual."

They must be acquainted.

The teacher turned to the students,

"Now I'll be returning. Make sure not to cause any trouble for Mamared-sama, and stay alert!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Then, Mamared-sama, I'll take my leave."

"Yes. Please come back to pick up the students in the evening."

"Understood."

The teacher immediately turned back.

"Margaria."

"Yes, what is it, sister?"

Mamared approached Margaria at the rear.

She seems to be the newest among the knight candidates, but they're real sisters. Her attitude towards Mamared was as if it was business as usual.

"Today, I've been dispatched as a teacher. Please treat me not as your sister, but as just another instructor."

"Understood, teacher."

"The same goes for everyone else. I've already given up my rights as royalty, so please act considering excessive respect as rude."

"Yes, ma'am!"

The students saluted.

They're quite athletic. I have a feeling they might be a type I'm not good with.

The knight students remained at attention, just waiting silently.

I'm being sized up by some of their gazes, but I guess that can't be helped. There are some younger ones here and there, but none shorter than me.

"The next group has arrived too. It's the Magic Academy students."

Tanya notices again and waves her hand.

Approaching with an atmosphere like they're out shopping on a holiday were 10 students dressed in Magic Academy uniforms. And of course, one teacher at the front.

"We're from the Magic Academy. We have a full quota this year, thank you for having us."

"Yes. We'll do the reception here, so students, please line up behind the Knight School students! Teacher, will you be coming back to pick them up in the evening?"

"A dormitory staff member will come to pick them up. Please take care of the students."

"Understood! We'll look after them~"

The Magic Academy teacher is a staff bearer. Surely a skilled magician.

However, unlike the Knight School students, the students are quite relaxed. They were chatting among themselves, creating a friendly atmosphere.

Right next to them, the Knight School students stand motionless. You can relax a bit more, you know?

"There are a lot of participants this year~"

"Seems so. Well, I'm sure there won't be many from the Ladies' Academy."

"Ruruk-kun, that's what they call a flag, you know."

Indeed.

However, I couldn't think of any reason why someone from the Ladies' Academy would come for a dungeon experience.

My casual prediction was greatly betrayed.

"That carriage is from the Ladies' Academy. Over here~!"

What came drawn by horses was a luxurious carriage with the Ladies' Academy crest.

And there were three of them.

And from the front one, a girl like a delicate flower stepped out.

"Good day to you all."

As soon as she got off the carriage, she pinched her skirt in a noble-like greeting.

Then she smiled brightly and looked straight at me.

-- It's Lilith!

She had grown much taller than I remembered and had become more adult-like.

But traces of her old self remained, with childishness still present in her lily-like upright posture. Ah, it's Lilith, no doubt. That elegant stance... truly my angel!!!

"Nice to meet you all, I'm Lilith Muuteru."

Lilith introduced herself to the students from other schools.

Both the Knight School and Magic Academy students were stunned by Lilith's beautiful manners.

See how cute my sister is!

"Mamared-sama, good day to you."

"Good day to you, Lilith-san."

"Good day to you too, Tanya-sama."

"Good day! Nice to meet you, Lilith-chan."

"...Nice to meet you, teacher."

Lilith said that to me with a slightly mischievous expression.

Of course, I immediately nodded.

"Nice to meet you, Lilith-san. I'm Ruruk, an adventurer."

Despite meeting again after more than 5 years, we have no connection.

So this is a role-play after a long time.

"It seems everyone is here now. Tanya-san, please proceed."

"Okay~ Then, Ladies' Academy students, please line up at the very front. Ladies first, you know."

The students quickly lined up in three rows.

"Now, let me introduce myself. I'm Tanya from the Adventurers' Guild. I'll be in charge of this year's practical training."

"I'm Mamared. I research monster ecology. If you have any questions about monsters in the dungeon, please ask me."

"I'm Ruruk, an adventurer. I'll be teaching dungeon conquest. Nice to meet you all."

When I introduced myself, the Knight School and Magic Academy students started to stir.

Especially the male student at the front of the Magic Academy group had a dubious look.

"Um~ Mamared-sama. Is this person really our teacher? He's about the same age as us, right?"

"That's right, Savey-san."

"No, no, you must be joking."

The male student speaks quite frankly to Mamared.

They seem to be acquainted.

But it's not just him, the surrounding students also look uneasy. Only the Ladies' Academy students maintained calm expressions without saying anything.

Tanya clapped her hands.

"Alright, alright, no chatting. Ruruk-kun is an S-rank adventurer, you know. He's still a minor, but he's incredibly strong. Now, let's have the students introduce themselves too. Starting with Lilith-san."

"Yes. As I mentioned earlier, I'm Lilith Muuteru. I serve as the student council president at the Ladies' Academy. This is my second time participating in the extracurricular class. Pleased to meet you all."

Student council president!

She's working hard, isn't she.

As I nodded vigorously with a big smile, Lilith's expression became slightly embarrassed. So cute.

After that, the Ladies' Academy students introduced themselves, followed by the Knight School students.

When Margaria gave her introduction last, about half of the Magic Academy students stirred, but otherwise, things proceeded without any problems.

The problem came with the Magic Academy introductions.

The first to introduce himself was the male student at the front who seemed acquainted with Mamared.

"I'm Savey Akuninaru. I'm the second son of the Akuninaru ducal family, and I've been unofficially accepted to join the 'Central Magic Association' after graduation."

"Wow~ That's amazing~"

Tanya was impressed.

Savey smiled smugly.

But his next words froze my time.

"And I'm the fiancé of Lilith Muuteru standing over there. Gentlemen, even if Lilith is cute, don't try anything."

"...Huh?"

Dear Dragon King,

I think I understand how you feel now.