Chapter 6.03

Translator : PolterGlast

In an office in a section of the Solminati Academy, the owner of the room and his assistant were facing each other. The owner of the room, Jihad Raundel, had a bundle of papers in his hand, and he looked at it intently. Jihad's gaze, narrowed so he wouldn't miss a word. His expression was stern, and the room was filled with a tense atmosphere. Perhaps exposed to the tension that Jihad gave off, a bead of sweat trickled from Inda's forehead as they faced each other.

"Nozomu Bountis ... Ms. Inda, is what was written here true?"

"'Y-yes. At the very least, that document is Nozomu Bountis's report card at Solminati Academy.

Amid Inda's voice, which sounded choked with nervousness, Jihad ran his eyes over the paper in front of him again and again.

What was held In Jihad's hand were the documents of the students who managed to get to the top team in the last special training.

Their grades and exam results at the school so far were described in the documents.

Jihad's gaze had been fixed on Nozomu's documents for a while now, and he occasionally put his hand over his mouth as if he was pondering about something. Inda, who was standing beside him, didn't say anything either. Even for her, the results of the last special training were unbelievable.

"Jihad-dono..."

"Alright. Thank you, Ms. Inda. You can go back to work."

"Y-yes ..."

Inda looked at Jihad as if she wanted to ask him something, but she bowed and left the office. Jihad slowly leaned his body against the back of the chair. The chair made a creaking noise, and his shoulders were somewhat relaxed. Jihad looked at the ceiling of his office and was thinking about the contents of the document he had just read.

"'Overall rank D-. At the very least, a person of this rank should not be able to survive against a dragon, even though it was an undead one. ......"

Rank D-. This means that his ability is at the level of a novice adventurer or an ordinary soldier.

At the time of the battle with the Undead dragon, he had the best students of the third year by his side, including Irisdina Francilt and Lisa Hounds. However, even though they have grown, they were still not good enough to take on a dragon.

Young people are prone to breakdowns due to their mental immaturity. It was inevitable, but it was certain that boys and girls of their age still need more time and experience to become mentally mature.

Under the circumstances at that time, it would not be strange if there were deaths. In the worst-case scenario, they could have been wiped out.

However, no one was missing. Many of them were injured, but all of them were rescued and not in an irreversible condition. Looking at it that way, we can say that the students are growing up, although there are still many things to be improved.

Among them, the one that stood out the most was Nozomu Bountis, the student mentioned in the document Jihad had seen earlier.

Jihad remembers, Nozomu had fought and survived a battle with the black demon beast, which is now named [Abyss Grief]. It happened before special training. Strangely, he is in D- rank, considering he had survived a direct confrontation with an Undead Dragon.

"It's just a test, after all. You can't get the real picture of a person just from a document alone."

Jihad muttered as he gently placed the documents in his hands on the desk.

"The Abyss Grief can't be ignored, either. Though there are many other concerns as well. ......"

He sighed as if to organize his thoughts. After he collected the documents scattered on the desk, Jihad stood up and left the office.

Many concerns were running through his head, but he had to deal with them one at a time.

"First, I need to talk to Mauzu-dono, and then I need to talk to Ms. Anri about him..."

Jihad's muttered voice melted and disappeared into the office, as the warm sunlight shined contrary to his tone.

***

Speaking of lunchtime, it is the busiest time of the school day.

It is probably the most lively time in the school building.

Students rush to cafeterias and shops to simply satisfy their raging hunger and to find energy for afternoon classes.

Although it is a common sight in school life, it is also the most troublesome time of the day, sometimes causing fights between students.

Despite the hustle and bustle, Nozomu was quick to get what he was looking for at the store.

In his hand, he still had the cheapest black bread, fresh vegetables, and grilled pork intestines.

After buying a lot more lunch than usual, Nozomu walked towards the school building with his feet.

A small room in the white-colored school building. Nozomu, who came to the front of the infirmary, opened the door, being careful not to drop his lunch.

Inside the infirmary, Nozomu's friends had gathered ahead of him and were chatting. He gave a small wave, and his friends responded with a wave of their own.

He walked up to them and sat down on a chair that was empty.

"Hello, Nozomu. You're early."

"Well, I guess so. This bread is still unpopular as usual."

While exchanging a few words with Irisdina, Nozomu tossed some of the b