Chapter 47

“…?”

The students who were suddenly abandoned also had absurd expressions.

It was naturally Roan’s job to pull their minds together.

“Did you see? Weekend service is a battlefield. Trust no one, keep your head straight, and find your own place.”

By this point, they could also sufficiently tell that the fervor of the weekend service was indeed unusual.

Demona murmured as if talking to himself.

“E-Everyone is very devoted to volunteering.”

Hearing that, Rafia suddenly had a doubt.

“Isn’t it not volunteering if you get talents for it…?”

“Oh, you realized that quite quickly.”

Roan nodded with a pleased expression.

This was how one got used to Akerandir!

***

Following Roan’s recommendation, Rafia and Riel participated in a suitable service.

Great Training Ground management service.

Although it involved quite a bit of physical work, it would suit the two well since they came from paladin families.

The pay was also quite good, at around 170 talents.

The only people left were Roan, Demona, and Sion.

All the freshmen had been sold off somewhere (?).

The other returning students didn’t seem particularly interested in volunteer activities.

Indeed, the paladins who had been taking students without rest were now down to just one or two at the end.

Roan spoke to Demona.

“…How do you plan to pay off your fine if you’ve been standing still all this time?”

In fact, the one who needed talents the most among them was Demona.

Since he had accumulated a fine of 200 talents.

“Hmm, there’s nothing over 200 talents that doesn’t involve physical labor.”

Demona said with a serious expression.

Roan couldn’t hold back and replied.

“Are you a slacker?”

Services that were easy on the body but paid a lot of talents had already been snatched up by the seniors.

What remained were mostly services under 100 talents, or ridiculously hard ones, the so-called ‘hell services’.

If you lacked skill, shouldn’t you at least do those to pay it off steadily?

Besides, no matter how hard a hell service was, it would be much better than cleaning restrooms.

Just then, a new paladin walked in.

‘Here it comes.’

Seeing the paladin’s hesitant expression, Roan’s eyes gleamed.

“Divine Tree management service. Daily wage of 500. For now… it’s for one person.”

For some reason, the paladin seemed to hesitate even as he made the announcement.

— Uh… Divine Tree management…?

— Is it already time for that?

— Ah, I should just skip this weekend.

The returning students who were waiting for announcements shook their heads and clicked their tongues.

But just one person.

Only Roan was different.

‘I will establish dominance right from the start!’

As soon as he confirmed that the paladin’s announcement was what he was waiting for.

Roan immediately raised the Abyss subtly and began to control the entire dining hall.

Rumble───

Roan’s Abyss suddenly overwhelmed the surroundings and filled the dining hall!

— W-What is this?

— It’s hard to move…

Not only the students in the dining hall but even the paladins were completely flustered by the air suddenly pressing down on their bodies.

In fact, this kind of thing happened occasionally during volunteer recruitment.

When someone strongly desired a certain service, it was a silent warning telling others to beat them if they wanted to go!

Of course, since it was a cheap and rude thing to do, one’s reputation among students would drop, but Roan didn’t care.

‘It’s actually better that I don’t have to care about others.’

Roan already had a thoroughly cheap and rude image among the students!

The problem was that in the case of the Divine Tree management service, it was the peak of the so-called ‘hell services’ that no one was interested in.

— I had no intention of going in the first place, so why go this far…?

The seniors looked at Roan with absurd expressions.

500 talents was certainly a large reward, but they already knew.

They couldn’t spend their entire weekend suffering like dogs for a mere 500 talents!

…Moreover, they had absolutely no intention of spending such a golden weekend with a junior who had a foul expression like Roan.

‘I am definitely going alone.’

But Roan hadn’t hesitated to go this far just in case.

After a brief moment, Roan checked the state of the students inside the dining hall.

‘Everyone is suppressed!’

He then raised his hand with a satisfied expression.

“I will go.”

“Uh… S-Student Darc, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

When the leading paladin asked stutteringly, Roan nodded.

It seemed the paladin also couldn’t have imagined that a freshman would apply for the notorious Divine Tree management service.

And that too, while using such high-level holy power.

Judging by that display, it was safe to see him as a third or fourth-year student bullying the juniors rather than a freshman.

“It has to be a freshman… is there no other applicant among the returning students?”

But since they were suppressed by Roan’s momentum, and since they had no interest to begin with, there was no way the returning students would step forward.

At that moment.

“F-Fi… neee…!”

Tremble— Jump—!

Demona, who had been groaning like a dog that needed to poop in the back, succeeded in standing up with powerful will.

‘…I haven’t withdrawn the Abyss yet?’

Roan turned to look at Demona in surprise.

How did that guy stand up?

Either way, Demona staggered over.

“If Roan goes… I’m going too…”

Following him, Sion also checked the situation, and though she seemed to struggle slightly, she succeeded in raising her hand.

“Could I… also go?”

‘Sion is… well, I suppose that’s possible.’

Her case was a bit unexpected, but Roan accepted it reasonably.

Since he hadn’t exerted his energy with all his might either.

Thus, the three of them stood side by side in front of the leading knight.

Naturally, as someone with underhanded motives, Roan preferred to go alone, so he raised an objection to the paladin.

“The announcement was for one person. Since I came first, for now—”

“Oho, Darc, Wicronon, and even the Saintess candidate!”

“The freshmen are very promising!”

But the paladins seemed deeply impressed.

Without listening to Roan’s words at all, they began to make a huge fuss.

Roan frowned deeply.

‘This is why paladins are—!’

Since transmigrating, Roan had never experienced anything good when getting involved with paladins.

However, the paladins soon spoke with worried expressions.

“Still, three freshmen is quite worrying. Will you really be okay?”

Before they knew it, it seemed to have become a foregone conclusion that three people, not one, would participate.

Demona boasted as he stepped forward and spoke.

“Of course! Roan can do anything!”

The listening paladins and Sion gave him slightly pathetic looks.

‘Is this guy really that Wicronon?’

No matter how they looked at it, he was far from the family of sages they had heard of in rumors.

Naturally, Roan was openly disgusted.

“What do you plan to do if you follow along?”

“Me? I naturally can’t do anything. But you are here instead!”

Smack—!

Ultimately, Demona only backed off whining after receiving a slap on the back of his head from Roan.

Watching this, the paladin began to consult with his colleague in whispers.

— Won’t it be fine?

— Hmm, well, since Student Darc’s energy was decent… and the Saintess candidate is here too.

— Yes… either way, he is a Wicronon…

The discussion was not very long.

Not to mention Roan’s overwhelming presence from earlier.

The fact that their name value was extremely high for freshmen seemed to have worked effectively.

“The announcement was for one person, but valuing your high spirits, we will take all of you. The pay is 500 talents each as announced.”

“Wow!”

At the paladin’s generous decision, Demona rejoiced, raising both arms.

‘I got entangled again.’

And Roan let out a small sigh behind him.

***

The Divine Tree was located halfway up the mountain on the eastern side of Akerandir.

The area around the Divine Tree was managed in its own way, but to get there, they naturally had to climb a mountain without a proper path.

‘As expected, it really is a mountaineering school.’

Roan confirmed once again.

Meanwhile, the paladin leading them turned back and asked.

“Of course there is a caretaker, but the Divine Tree management service is not easy. Will you all really be okay?”

Since Sion and Demona naturally had no idea what managing the Divine Tree entailed, they tilted their heads.

Was managing a tree really that difficult?

They couldn’t really picture it.

But Roan nodded with a determined expression.

“I know very well what needs to be done. I just need to lead the two of them.”

A reliability that made him seem like a returning student who had managed the Divine Tree several times!

Furthermore, since the paladin had witnessed a bit of Roan’s power in the dining hall, he naturally nodded.

“Then I am somewhat relieved. …Wait.”

Then he suddenly felt something strange.

“Uh, has Student Darc managed the Divine Tree before?”

“What are you talking about. I just enrolled last week.”

“Ah, right.”

Then how did he know?

At that, Demona smiled brightly and spoke.

“What did I tell you! I said Roan can do everything~”

The paladin lost his words and looked at Roan and Demona with strange eyes.

A Wicronon who casually declared a free ride, and a Darc who claimed to know all about the notorious Divine Tree management despite being a freshman.

It was because both felt extremely strange.

Furthermore, why did Darc bother to apply if he knew about it?

It was highly suspicious.

“…Saintess candidate Beatrice, please take good care of us.”

Ultimately, the paladin left this request with Sion, who had been quietly following along.

“? Ah… yes. Of course.”

Sion didn’t quite understand why the paladin said that, but she nodded anyway.

Only then did the paladin let out a true sigh of relief.

But he did not know.

‘Roan will handle everything anyway…’

That Sion was actually not thinking very differently from Demona!

Before long, they arrived at the site of the Divine Tree.

“Now, that is the Divine Tree.”

“Wow…”

The three students gasped simultaneously.

‘Seeing it in person, it is incredible!’

In fact, the Divine Tree itself could be seen from anywhere in Akerandir.

Since it was dozens of times taller than other trees and fluttered golden leaves, there was no way it wouldn’t stand out.

But the Divine Tree they faced in person boasted a truly massive majesty.

The size, which didn’t show the top even when bending the neck completely backward, was overwhelming enough to be compared to a building on modern Earth.

Furthermore, the sight of numerous spirits flying around it like a school of fish could not be truly felt without seeing it in person.

Even Roan, who had seen the Divine Tree through the monitor, was at a loss for words, so how grand must it be.

…Of course, the emotion was somewhat halved when he recalled that the staff Harden had stuck in the ground during his lifetime had become the Divine Tree along with his transformation into a holy spirit.

‘Well… that is also quite moving in its own way if you know it.’

Meanwhile, the paladin smiled, finding the freshmen cute.

Then he suddenly glared at Roan.

“Didn’t Student Darc say he knew all about it?”

Shouldn’t Darc, at least, not be surprised among the three?

Such a doubt had arisen.

“…I know.”

Roan replied, hardening his expression.

‘If a person says something, he should believe it. He’s terribly suspicious.’

Of course, Roan did not realize that he was saying things that were hard to believe.

Just then, Demona, who was blankly looking up at the Divine Tree, asked Roan.

“Hey, hey, Roan. Is this the Divine Tree?”

“Yes.”

“Then is there a black magic tree too?”

It was a question typical of Demona.

‘But it’s not a question to ask next to a paladin, is it?’

Roan subtly glanced at the leading paladin.

Sure enough, he was glaring at Demona with an extremely displeased look.