"Lord? Ryujeen is fine—"

"Unfortunately, we found a problematic instructor."

"What?"

"I'm sorry, Iraira. The truth is, Ryujeen was an undercover investigator I sent to assess the instructors' suitability."

"What?!"

...

"Nerina! Did you know?!"

"Sorry. The lord insisted. I thought Iraira could handle it, and I thought the lord would be satisfied."

"So we were assessing them, and they were assessing us..."

"I came to this town after I received word from Ryujeen that the investigation was complete. So...what's the verdict?"

"Ah, I found one unsuitable instructor."

Ash grinned.

Everyone assumed Iraira's name would be mentioned...

"That would be...

...Ash. It's you."

Ash was shocked.

"...What? What are you talking about...?

What makes me unqualified? I encouraged and supported the trainees, taking over from the too-strict Iraira!"

"But you...

...You were demanding money from the trainees, weren't you?"

The lord glared at Ash.

"What's going on?!"

"Ash targeted trainees who were about to graduate, telling them, 'Give me money if you want to graduate.' He said he'd put in a good word for them with Iraira, increasing their chances of passing. He even threatened them, saying they might not graduate without his help."

"Ash, you..."

"Whether they paid or not, Iraira let those who were sufficiently skilled graduate, right?"

"Of course. I never even heard from Ash once."

"He only approached those who had a good chance of graduating. If they graduated, it was over. The graduates wouldn't know if Ash actually put in a good word for them, and it's not something they'd want to talk about, since it was shady, even if they did graduate. It was a good way to make some extra cash."

"Do you have proof?"

"It would be easy to get testimony from a few of the graduates."

"...It's not illegal."

"He attempted a criminal act, defrauding people into paying him. Since those people engaged in illegal activity as well, they couldn't sue even if they realized they were being scammed. But it's not something an 'instructor' should be doing!"

Nerina nodded.

"Such a shame. I thought Ash was a good instructor, supportive and respected by his juniors..."

"No...I..."

"Don't lie. But that's not important. The main point is this."

"What?"

"It seems Ash was trying to get rid of Iraira to become the head instructor.

He used the complaints about the strict Iraira to spread rumors about her, amplifying resentment."

"What?!"

"From the day I arrived, I'd heard bad things about Iraira. But when I investigated further, most of the complaints about her saying terrible things were actually hearsay—'I heard someone say Iraira said this...' When I tracked it down, it always led to the same person...Ash."

"I...that's..."

"It's true that some trainees dropped out of the training. And it's also true that Iraira thought magic users weren't suitable for conquering Wairago and failed those who lacked physical ability..."

Ryu looked at Iraira.

"...Because magic is useless against Catochrists."

"Some would disagree with Iraira's view that magic users are unsuitable for conquering Wairago, but putting that aside...

It seems Ash spread various rumors about Iraira, such as, 'Iraira hates magic users,' 'Magic users are bullied and chased away,' 'You need to win Iraira over to graduate,' and 'If you upset Iraira, you definitely won't graduate.'"

"Ash, I asked you to support those who didn't pass...What happened...?"

"What kind of support?"

"I explained that Wairago is a special dungeon...

In the past, many magic users tried to conquer Wairago, and none returned. Since then, it's become common knowledge that magic users aren't suitable for conquering Wairago.

So if you want to be an adventurer as a magic user, you should gain experience in a safer dungeon. If you want to be an adventurer in Wairago, you need to improve your physical abilities. I told them that.

Those who chose to go to other towns, I told them about the plans to conquer Wairago and that if we succeeded and made it safe, they could come back.

I used to do it myself, but I've been so busy. Then Ash volunteered, saying he could take over..."

"I went to the neighboring town and spoke to the magic users who had dropped out of training. They said that all Ash did was badmouth Iraira. He even said he would get rid of Iraira."

"B...but there are some who were treated terribly by Iraira, right?"

"Speaking of which, Leonora and Anastasia said that they were told to give up being adventurers?"

"Well...looking back, Iraira didn't say that exactly..."

"What did she say?"

"I think Iraira said something like, 'If you want to be an adventurer as a magic user, there are other, safer dungeons.' But..."

"But?"

"Then Ash came..."

"...That's right! And he said that Iraira was always saying things like, 'Magic users aren't needed,' and 'They're trash who hold adventurers back.'"

"That's it..."

"But...Ryujeen, you were treated horribly as well!"

"That's true. But I've heard that things weren't so bad before I came...

Apparently, I was being targeted by Iraira. She was probably suspecting me of being a spy from another country."

"...I suspected you of causing the stampede."

"What?!"

"The dungeon was supposed to be stable...

But thanks to you, the Catochrists were eliminated, and Raal came back. I'm sorry, I was mistaken."

"The mysterious Silver Mask defeated the Catochrists and saved Raal. Not me."

"Hmph...right, let's just go with that."

"To change the subject, or rather, to get back to the point...

It seems the stampede was deliberate."

"What?!"

Next Episode

You're the culprit!

Stay tuned!