Chapter 39: A mission
Hanley’s face darkened when he heard that, but he simply couldn’t refuse what Carl had already said.
Hanley couldn’t do anything to Carl because he’d publicly appointed him — so if he wanted to expel Carl from the student council, he’d have to force Carl to break the council’s rules.
He’d thought he could make Carl leave with a few well-chosen words, but he was wrong. To begin with, Carl had set a trap for Hanley. Hanley had made himself look foolish by trying to control Ceillia without noticing a vile fox by him.
"I shouldn’t have agreed to his request... but it’s too late to change it."
He clicked his tongue in irritation, then, for a moment, began to smile. "Yes, you’re right. I can’t do anything — you haven’t done anything wrong in the student council."
Carl frowned as Hanley’s polite words slipped from his lips. It felt wrong, and he began to imagine what might happen next — like déjà vu. Hanley blinked, noticed a yellow paper on his desk, and picked it up. He handed it to Carl.
"I have a mission for you... There’s a wanted criminal. You’re going to bring me his head."
Carl’s eyes twitched for a few seconds. He said, "But this isn’t a proper mission for a student like me. This should be for soldiers from great families."
Hanley snorted in contempt.
"You’re a member of the student council, so you have to be stronger — this mission is for you. Don’t worry. This criminal’s just Rank C, a renegade from the Ortega family. This fits you entirely."
Carl grimaced.
"Fits me? That criminal’s Rank C, while I’m just a Rank F student."
"I can’t skip lectures at the academy — I’m still a student. What will happen to my grades?"
Hanley scoffed, glancing at Marsh for a moment before answering.
"You hurt Marsh, nearly killed him, and now you say you’re not strong enough to catch a weak criminal?"
"And your lectures and scores — I’ll handle them. Under my authority, all your class exams will be graded 100."
"See? I’m a great manager."
He added.
"Don’t try to refuse my order. If you don’t accept this mission, you can quit."
Carl pressed his forehead for a moment, hesitated a few seconds, then pursed his lips and nodded.
"I accept."
He looked at the wanted poster and the notes below. His face grimaced.
"Is he hiding in the Brother Quarter? What the fuck?" Carl nearly wanted to tear the paper to pieces.
The Brother Quarter — a den of hookers. The mission seemed almost impossible for him; he couldn’t even hold a normal conversation with any woman except his sister and his wife. He didn’t want to be tormented by his wife’s thorned jealousy.
He asked reluctantly.
"Might you change the mission?"
Hanley smiled, went back to his paperwork, and answered coldly,
"Sorry, but no."
***
"Fuck!" Carl smashed his desk, cracks and rifts spreading across it.
Forcing down his fury and letting his mana settle, Carl leaned back in his chair and glanced out the window of his dorm room. It was midnight.
He picked up the badge on the table Hanley had given him that morning. It would let him cross into Ortega territory. After digging deeper into the details, he finally understood the hard level of the mission. It wasn’t just about capturing the criminal — he had to find him first.
But there was one thing he couldn’t figure out. Why would a mere Rank C criminal but make the Ortega soldiers lock down the area, as if he’d already broken some forbidden law of the world?
"I’m sure that bastard’s hiding something crucial about this mission."
"On top of that, Slater’s prophecy about me... tons of monsters surrounding me... If I step foot in the Brother Quarter... Damn it. Those have nothing to do with each other."
"Sigh... In the end, that place must be crawling with monsters. I’d better prepare properly for them."
Carl exhaled and began readying all his equipment in his [Inventory].
[Inventory]
Slot 1: Mana Bombs(x2)
Slot 2: Smoke Bombs(x5)
Slot 3: Invisibility Cloak
Slot 4: Cinder Cloak
Slot 5: 1002 Chicken Legs
Slot 6: 1 F-Rank Healing Potions
Slot 7: 2 F-Rank Mana Potions
....
Carl looked at the screen system and nodded in satisfaction.
"It’s too much...but, I still should buy some more potions."
Just like that, the night was over and the sun rose. Carl left the academy and headed to the tavern near the lawless land, where he had set up a meeting with Roy. But for his mission, he decided to adjust his plan a bit.
He needed someone capable of talking with women and plus, Slater’s prediction about the near future made Carl worried about the monsters, so Roy’s power would be really useful for this journey.
"Give me two big beers." Carl flicked two coins at the tavern owner, grabbed the mugs, and carried them to a nearby table.
He sat down, took a sip, and muttered, "Taste’s not bad."
After about ten minutes, the slender boy finally came into the tavern.
He slipped past some rough-looking men and sneaked over to Carl’s table, trying to climb onto the chair, but with his short height, it was a struggle.
After a few seconds of effort, he managed to sit on the high-legged chair and asked, "So, when do we go?"
Carl sighed, gave Roy a look, ignoring the noise in the tavern and answered, "There’s a bit of a change in my plan. We should head to the brothel quarter in one of the Ortega family’s lands."
Roy nearly choked on his beer when he heard that. He put the mug down on the table and stared at Carl in shock.
"Brothel? I don’t have money to hire hookers. And even if I did, I wouldn’t want to. Look at me—I’m too thin. If one of them sits on me, my pelvis will snap."
"I’m not doing it. It’s just a waste of money for cheap lust."