Unexpected News

The year turned and it was now March.

Allen was in the middle of a match in the garden of the Granvelle estate.

Clang! Clang!

'Damn, he's still completely overwhelming me.'

Since it was March, Cecil's oldest brother Mihai had returned home from Academy City again. The boy had readily agreed when Allen—whom he had thoroughly bested last year—asked for a rematch.

The reason Allen wanted to do this was to gauge how fast someone in Normal Mode could grow. After all, information was extremely crucial for someone like him.

Since October of the previous year, Allen had shifted to hunting Rank C monsters. His kill count over the past six months was over two thousand, making him now Lvl. 28.

His stats had gone up quite significantly, but apparently he was still inferior to Mihai in swordsmanship. Every move he tried was handily seen through, evaded, and parried. Mihai was smiling the entire bout, indicating that he was not even trying his best.

'Ugh. I've worked so hard on both my levels and Sword Mastery, and I still can't win. At least, not when I have twenty Grass E cards in stock.'

For each single point of XP in Normal Mode, Hell Mode required a hundred. The curriculum at the Academy likely placed a lot of emphasis on helping students raise both their base and skill levels. Regardless of the details, their methods were effective. And as someone who needed a hundred times more XP to level up, Allen keenly felt how the gap between him and Mihai had opened up even more compared to last year.

The Baron, Baroness, Thomas, and Cecil had all gathered to spectate.

Despite being the one who had requested the match, Allen lost quite quickly. Just like last time, his sword was knocked out of his hand, signaling the end.

"How wonderful! Master Mihai, you have grown yet even more skillful."

In accordance with Mihai's request, Captain Zenof had started calling him "Master" instead of "Young Master."

"Thank you, Zenof. Allen, you have grown a lot as well."

"No, no, I still have a long way to go in comparison to you, milord."

When Allen replied to the praise modestly, the other boy extended a hand as if asking for a handshake. Naturally, Allen accepted it.

'He did this also last year. I wonder if it's a custom from the Academy?'

"As expected of Cecil's attendant. Allen, take care of my sister."

"Of course, Master. I will serve her to the utmost of my ability."

Mihai smiled, seemingly satisfied with Allen's response.

"Which reminds me, you fought with a murdergalsh, right? How did it go? I want to hear all about it."

'I didn't so much fight it as played tag with it. But being chased the entire time sucked; I wish I could've had a turn at being it.'

Wondering which family member had told Mihai about that, Allen asked for permission to tell the story over lunch, as the lunch hour was near.

Just as everyone was about to turn and head back indoors, a knight suddenly burst onto the scene.

"U-Urgent report, sir!"

'Uh-oh, don't tell me...' A sense of foreboding rose in Allen's chest.

The last time a knight had rushed in to give an urgent report was when the murdergalsh had shown up.

Was the game of death tag about to begin anew?

"Mm?" The Knight Captain stepped up to his subordinate. "Speak."

"Yes, sir! The White Dragon has moved, sir!"

The Baron cut in, his tone ecstatic. "Is that true?! Where?! Where has it moved to?!"

Zenof said, "Your Lordship, considering the time, how about we head inside to hear the details?"

'What?! I wanna hear all about the White Dragon's movement too!'

Allen was worried that the conversation would be moved to the conference room, but everyone headed to the dining room instead. He followed along happily, as this meant he would be allowed to hear the details as well.

In the year and a half he had served at the Granvelle mansion, Allen had seen multiple people bring in important information related to the management of the fiefdom. Depending on the degree of confidentiality of that information, the Baron would at times order the room cleared.

Information at this level was for the ears of the Baron and his direct family alone. Allen, along with all other servants, would be ordered to leave the room, even if it meant dropping whatever they were in the middle of doing. This had in fact occurred a few times during Allen's service.

Discussions considered even more confidential would not be held in the dining room. The Baron, butler, and Knight Captain would instead gather by themselves in the conference room, which was located next to the Baron's study on the third floor. At that time, no would be allowed on the floor, much less near the room.

This time, however, the information was not considered especially sensitive. In this case, everyone who normally served the Baron's immediate family as their personal attendants would also be privy to what was being said.

The Baron opted to have lunch while receiving the knight's report. Once everyone was settled, Zenof told the knight, "Continue your report."

"Yes, sir. The adventurer party Silver Fang of the Gale reported finding that the White Dragon has disappeared from its lair. They spent three days attempting to trace its tracks to no avail. Then they decided to return to Granvelle City to inform the Adventurer's Guild first thing."

"So, it's finally moved away! It's been so long!" Despite being in the middle of a meal, the Baron was so overjoyed that he leaped to his feet with both hands clasped together, quivering. He was the very picture of a man overcome with emotion.

"We intend on requesting that Silver Fang of the Gale continue their search. That is all for my report, sir."

After being dismissed, the knight exited the dining hall. The Baron and Knight Captain promptly burst into discussion.

"I have been dreaming of this day for so long. Zenof, send men to confirm the state of the mithril mines."

"Of course, my lord. However, we still do not know where the White Dragon is. Should we not first prioritize confirming the location of its new lair?"

"Mm, I hear you. However, mithril mining is a duty of our realm. We must find out what has become of the mines as soon as possible."

The two seemed to be having trouble seeing eye to eye. On one hand, the Knight Captain wished to prioritize locating the White Dragon, whereas on the other, the Baron wanted to reopen the mines that had lain dormant for over a hundred years with haste.

Mihai joined the conversation, his interest piqued. "Does this mean all the monsters between the city and the mines need to be cleared?"

"Indeed, Master Mihai," Zenof replied. "Once we are able to confirm that the White Dragon has completely left our realm, we will need to immediately begin securing the four mines and the surrounding areas."

"I still have a bit of time left here. I'll help out."

"I'm afraid I cannot allow that, Master Mihai, as the White Dragon may still be out there somewhere. Your safety is of utmost importance to us."

The reason the Knight Captain had turned down Mihai's offer to join the investigative effort was because he had determined that at his current strength, even Mihai would be in danger should he encounter the White Dragon.

'If I remember correctly, there are goblin and orc villages at the foot of the mountains.' Allen recalled what he had heard from Raven while listening to the ongoing conversation.

The foothills of the White Dragon Mountains were supposedly covered in thick forestland and dotted with villages built up by goblins and orcs. Allen faintly remembered spotting something that might have fit that description when he was running away from the murdergalsh.

Raven had also said that within those settlements were variant monsters that were a rank higher than their counterparts—that meant Rank C goblins and Rank B orcs.

As these superior species had much higher reproductive capabilities, villages with them would eventually overflow. The surplus population would then move from the mountain foothills toward Granvelle City or assault human villages and travelers. If the monsters got too numerous and caused too much damage, the chivalric order would have to be mobilized to fight them alongside the adventurers.

The area beyond the tree line farther up the mountain was supposedly filled with armored ant nests. Within these nests dwelled countless armored ants and, of course, individuals of the superior species: queen armored ants.

'I see. So, the chivalric order might be dispatched to wipe out the goblin and orc villages. Well, I can't have them beating me to the punch.'

Allen was resolute to not allow the knights "steal" what he saw as "his" XP.

...

Through the investigation carried out over the next few months, it was confirmed that the White Dragon had moved to the Carnel side of the White Dragon Mountains.