Chapter 101: The Long Path Of Growth

Late Evening - Late Spring : Kingdom of Kaelallan

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- Eulia Coletti ~

*Snoring* *Snort* "Huh… Hmm..." *tap* I rolled onto my back as I slowly woke up to an incredibly refreshed feeling. -Wow.. I slept really well...- But while I was enjoying the blissful warmth underneath the blanket, my hand touched the wooden floor beneath me. -Huh?!-

Jolting myself awake, I jumped up and threw the blanket off me. -Where am I?!- Thankfully, with a quick glance around, I found that I was still in the library, but that fact only made me more confused. -W..why am I sleeping here?-

Looking down at the unfamiliar, simple gray blanket, I tried to remember what happened before I fell asleep but drew a blank.

Looking around again, I tried to see who was nearby, but oddly enough, I couldn't sense any auras at all. -Well…- I contemplated a bit before finally reaching down and picking up the blanket to fold.

Once I finished, I gently set it on a table nearby, next to a few books I wanted to take home.

But I felt a bit conflicted. -It's a really soft blanket… Would someone really just.. give it to me?- Although I wanted to keep it, I felt too guilty to just run with it, so I sat down and took a moment to sort my thoughts.

But even after a couple hours passed, when my memories started slowly returning, no one had come to claim it. -If that is the case…-

*puff* Finally setting it onto my stack of books, I glanced around again to see if anyone was around before picking it all up and turning to the stairs. -If they wanted it back, they probably would have left a note.. right?-

But as I walked down the stairs, I slowly started realizing the library wasn't just silent, but empty as well.

"Huh?" -Where is everyone?- Even the librarian was gone, meaning I couldn't log the books I was taking home. -It'll probably be fine... He probably won't even notice…-

Pushing open the door to exit the library, I came into a long, silent, and dark hallway, with the window at the end of the hall not showing anything on the other side. -Is it.. nighttime? How long did I sleep for?-

Finally arriving at the end of the hall, I noticed a warm light emanating from one of the faculty offices and decided to pop my head in. *Click*

"Hm?" The girl behind the desk gave me a confused look as I opened the door and walked in.

It was my apprentice, Catlin Friedkin, a 24-year-old cat demihuman who was both a mage and a teacher at the academy. "What are you doing in your office this late?"

"Master?!" Quickly throwing aside the things on her desk and fixing her glasses, she straightened her slumped-over posture.

-She looks.. stressed...- "Calm down. I'm not here to make you do anything. I only came to ask about something."

"A-and what would that be, Master?"

Seeing her so overly nervous and stressed, I wanted to ask her what she was doing but gave priority to a different question. -I feel insane for asking this, but...- "When was the last time we talked? That was yesterday, right?"

But her reaction was a little unexpected. "N..no. That was the day before yesterday, Master..."

I felt like I slammed into a wall the instant I took a step. All my thoughts simply went haywire. -I SLEPT FOR A WHOLE DAY?!- With wide eyes, I glanced down at the blanket. -This blanket... Is it a gift from god?-

Catlin was quick to pull me back out of my thoughts though. "Did something happen? You seem a bit spaced out..."

Finally looking up, a blissful joy filled my mind. "I guess? I think I just.. slept really well, is all."

As if her eyes were light artifacts, they filled with energy at the flip of a switch. "I'm glad to hear that!"

Her reaction caught me a bit off guard, but it was nothing unexpected.

Ever since I first took her as a disciple, she had come to believe that the harsh training I gave her was because I vented my aggression from my consistent lack of sleep on her, but although that wasn't the case... -Since she's so busy.. I'll give her a break tomorrow…-

"Haah… We will pick back up our normal training routine day after tomorrow." As I was getting ready to leave, I glanced over at the high stack of papers on the side of her desk. "Send some of that paperwork to Judy Casas. She took a bribe from a noble brat again."

The stress in her eyes eased up almost immediately. "Again? Why don't you just fire her?"

"She is actually a pretty good teacher even if her personality sucks." -I should probably talk to her about it though.- "Well, anyways.. I'll be back sometime later tomorrow. Feel free to relax until then."

Her face brightened the moment she noticed I was giving her some leeway. "Okay! Be safe! Don't take any sweets from strangers!"

I paused as I reached for the door. "Since you have enough energy to make such a joke, maybe I should resume the training in the morning…"

I gave her another glance to see her completely stiffened up with her lips sealed.

"Haah…" She reminded me of my younger self. -Her innocence still makes me jealous sometimes…- "Just.. don't be stupid with how you use your time off… I'll see you tomorrow." *Click* *Click*

After closing the door behind me, I finally started the trek home in the middle of the night.

Thankfully though, the streets were quite peaceful, so I managed to get home quickly after an enjoyable walk. -It's really peaceful with most of the adventurers gone...-

*creaaakk* Pushing open the gate to my small estate, I made my way inside, set down my things, and started taking off my shoes.

"Welcome home, Miss!" A refreshing young voice filled the room as I looked up to see a beautiful young elf showing her usual bright smile.

Her overwhelming joy was simply contagious. "Haha, thanks. Sorry it took me so long to come back."

Quickly coming to my side, she helped me take off my robe and fold it over her arm. "Did something happen while you were out?"

"Haha, let's just say I had a really excellent nap... Also, take these books to my reading room, when you get a chance."

She continued after a quick nod. "It's good to hear you finally got some good sleep!" Reaching down to pick up the books, she paused and stared at the blanket before giving me a smug look. "Did you find a man?"

*Bonk* Her smug look vanished as soon as I bonked her. "Don't get the wrong idea."

"Haha, alright, alright." After letting me take the blanket off the stack of books, she stood up and got ready to take them to the other room. "What else would you like me to do?"

"If you could, start fixing breakfast. I'm just going to put this blanket away before I head to the kitchen.

"Hehe~, right away, Miss!" She flashed me another smug look before finally leaving.

"Haah..." -She's always so energetic..- With a subtle smile on my face, I pulled the blanket close to my chest and finally headed to my room. -If only the person who left this blanket, left a note as well…-

-

- Oliver Kaelallan ~

After another day of rest to guarantee I was fully healed, I was finally out of bed and moving again.

But while I was resting, the amount of work I had continued to pile up, so once I got back to it, I was cooped up in my office, working extra late.

The problem was that the massive stack of paperwork that piled up while I was bedridden was so large that it was demotivating to even look at.

"Haah..." -Maybe I should do some of it tomorrow...- "Martha, are Helen and Lucy in bed yet?"

"Yes my lord, they both went to sleep right after dinner."

"Haah.. good..." Trying to get myself to stop procrastinating, I thought about what needed my attention most urgently before locking my eyes on one specific paper. -I guess I need to at least deal with this tonight...-

The piece of paper showed the strength index of the new coastal dungeon that appeared a few months ago.

It showed countless numbers and statistics, but the overall index stood out greatly. '8.1' [1]

It was actually so bad that I could only sit there and stare at it for a moment. -Sh*t...-

Although dungeons were cash cows for nations like Kaelallan, when they got too strong, they became serious problems.

"Haah..." After a bit more contemplation, I set it aside again and decided to use it as motivation and deal with it last.

The next few hours felt like they drained my life force, but the stack of papers steadily disappeared until I was finally on the last few sheets.

The only issue was that the only papers left were extremely important. -What a pain...-

The papers basically required me to know what I wanted to do with the nobles asking for compensation after the disaster, how much funding the guild would need to hire adventurers for general monster population control, and what to do with the dungeon on the coast, but I simply wasn't sure.

*creak* Leaning back in my chair, I turned around to look out the window and see the beautiful orange sun rising over the horizon.

It was morning already. The night had passed before I could get a chance to rest.

-I guess.. I have some time to think about it still...- "Miss, can you get me some cold.. east-leaf tea?"

The maid at the door, who had swapped places with Martha, quickly nodded before walking out of the room.

-The dungeon problem will hopefully fix itself once I absorb Zan and its neighbors since it will give their adventurers access to it.. but maybe I should send Coletti to clean it out just in case...-

*Clink* The sound of glass touching pulled me from my thoughts as the maid set a cup of cold tea on my desk.

Reaching back and picking it up, I put the fine glass to my lips and took a sip. "Mmm..." A slightly refreshed smile came to my face as I thought about the long road in front of Kaelallan. -It will take a lot of work.. but it is necessary for Kaelallan's growth...-

Although my plan was a bit greedy, I couldn't help but look forward to it. -I wonder how much we can grow...-

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[1] - Dungeon Strength index is on a scale from -1 or 10 with 10 being the worst. A negative rating just means that the monsters in the dungeon are normal animals instead of monsters, making the dungeon and incredible place to farm them.