Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume2 Chapter3 (section)

===Part 2===

—A quest.

Together with official matches with fellow academy students, it was the system that supported the academy ranking system.

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A given quest could set various objectives, from kagura by a blade dance, the suppression of a rampaging spirit, the excavation and investigation of the sealed spirit, to the subjugation of elementalists gone astray.

By completing the quests that were divided into ranks depending on the danger level, the academy students could raise their team rankings just as they do by winning official matches.

"By the way, this quest's difficulty level is S rank."

"S rank?"

Without thinking, Kamito inquired back.

An S rank quest was the highest difficulty level quest in the academy's ranking.

The amount of ranking points it could net was extraordinary, but it was a dangerous quest that could even result in death, depending on the situation. It should not even be possible to sign up for it with Kamito's current ranking.

"Did you prepare things behind the scenes?"

"Your hearing is bad. I said that I don't practice special treatment. It just means that the ones suitable for this quest are Fianna and you. If you disagree, then I'll spread the word around to other teams."

"..."

It was not a bad deal. On the contrary, looking at Kamito's current team, it was a godsend.

Till the opening of the Blade Dance, there already were only two months left. No, the final examination to decide the top three participating teams would take place even earlier.

With their current pace, they could not possibly make it by the means of regular official matches and quests.

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Greyworth was somehow bent on making Kamito participate in the Blade Dance.

But as one would expect, forcing in a representative of the empire through the power of the Academy's headmistress was not possible.

Therefore, she got the S rank quest, whose danger level was high, and the completion bonus, which was also extremely high.

(If we could complete the quest, that would be it— Huh?)

He was not pleased to move in accordance to Greyworth's expectation, but??

If it was a quest to guard an important person, he had the experience of doing such things several times in the past.

Certainly, it was far better than raising the inter-school ranking steadily through the official matches.

"—I understand. Explain the details of the quest."

"That's the spirit.<!--そうこなくてはな-->"

Kamito prompted and Greyworth smiled.

"Do you know Mine Town Gado?"

"Gado? Well, I roughly know its name. It is a town with the mine that was abandoned a few decades ago."

Mine Town Gado. It was formerly a town with large spirit crystal mining grounds, but, during the second Ranbal war, spirit crystal deposits were exhausted, and it became a town with a completely abandoned mine.

It should certainly be a ghost town full of ruins nowadays.

"There have been frequent occurrences of strange earthquakes at that mine recently. I want you to go there and investigate that."

"Investigate the earthquakes?"

For the academy to bring in an investigation request meant that it was probably not an ordinary earthquake.

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It was often the case that the earth attribute spirits that rule over the land caused the earthquakes.

If that was because a spirit was angry or was in a frenzy, it could be appeased by a ritual of a blade dance. Depending on the situation, there were also cases where a subjugation unit of spirit knights was formed.

As a quest it was relatively typical, but—

"Stop joking. Why is an ordinary earthquake investigation an S rank quest?"

He did not think that such level of danger would be involved if it was just an ordinary earth spirit investigation.

Compared to the quest's risk, the assigned rank seemed too high.

"You're being distrustful as usual, can't you trust my good will?"

"Can I trust it? You never lie. However, you also never speak the truth."

"Hmm...well, it is indeed like that."

Greyworth smiled and shrugged her shoulders in resignation.

"At that mine, it seems a strategic-class militarized spirit, who was sealed by the old Ordesia Knights, is sleeping there."

"A strategic-class militarized spirit...!?"

Kamito spontaneously groaned. Fianna beside him also gasped in surprise.

A strategic-class militarized spirit— it could not be compared to the giant spirit that went into frenzy at the Academy Town the other day.

Because of its tremendous strength, it was impossible for an individual to control it. In the end, it could only be controlled by ritual kagura performed by several hundred elementalists— it was surely a weapon of mass destruction.

At the end of the second Ranbal war, the continental nations signed a treaty, and all the seven bodies should have sealed and disposed of such spirits, but—

"Don't tell me, the one causing the earthquake is that strategic-class militarized spirit?"

"At the very worst; it's only a possibility. I want to entrust you guys with this investigation. If your investigation confirms that the seal has come undone—"

"I'll perform the ritual of resealing by the ritual kagura."

Fianna calmly opened her mouth to speak.

"That's right. For you, who is the former Queen candidate, this quest suits you perfectly."

"...I see, that's the reason you called for this princess."

The Queens, who served the Five Great Elemental Lords, were the experts in the ritual kagura that appeased spirits.

They did not receive any special martial arts training, and as the result they were not suited for battle, but all forms of ritual have been driven into their bodies since they were children.

In the entire academy, there was only one former Queen academy student— a rare special skill user; the quest could only be accomplished with her, and considering that it had to do with a strategic-class militarized spirit, it might also be appropriate to set it as an S rank quest.

"..."

The terms were not bad. However, there was one more thing that he had to ask.

"...But is Fianna alright with this? With the guard being me."

If it was just about guarding her, there should have been even more competent elementalists.

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For example, Ellis Fahrengart. If it was her, whose sense of responsibility was strong and who also had the ability, there would be no shortcomings to her being a guard.

There were no merits for the princess to have Kamito, who was a boy, as her guard. If Greyworth grouped them together as she pleased, ignoring Fianna's will— he planned to reject this deal.

However, Fianna—

"Of course, I'll be relying on you, Kamito-kun."

"Did Greyworth threaten you to group with me?"

"No, after all, I was the one who nominated you."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. To travel with the world's only male elementalist, isn't it great?"

Fianna entwined her fingers with Kamito's hand and gazed with upturned eyes.

Peering into her clear black pupils, Kamito spontaneously felt shock.

"Hmm, aren't you popular?"

Greyworth said, seemingly displeased, and handed over a document with the quest's key points written on it.

"If you intend to take up this quest, then sign here. This should not be a bad deal for you."

It was not bad, far from that, it was an extraordinary deal for Kamito in the current circumstances.

However—

"I can't decide this by myself. I have to at least ask Claire too."

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"Hmm, well, that's alright. But hurry, I'll have you leave tomorrow."

"Claire?"

The one who raised her voice was Fianna.

"Ah, my team member, but—"

"Could she happen to be Claire Elstein?"

"...You know her?"

Kamito awkwardly scratched his head.

(That's right, this girl is... the Queen candidate to the Fire Elemental Lord.)

She was the princess maiden who was training at the same Divine Ritual Institute as the Calamity Queen— Rubia Elstein.

If that was the case, it would not be strange for her to know even Claire, that girl's sister.

"That person's sister..."

Fianna's lips slightly trembled.

She might be having regrets after hearing that the Calamity Queen's sister was one of the teammates.

"I'm sorry, but Claire is my teammate. I'll accomplish the quest together with her."

Kamito informed her—

"Yes, that's what I wish for as well."

As Fianna nodded, she muttered in a soft voice.

"''I don't plan on losing to even the sister''."

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