A request board had been installed inside the dormitory, and students gathered around it while noisily examining the mission request papers posted there.
Four different boards, each marked with distinct colors, could be seen clearly.
It was the same classification system as before.
A method used to determine mission difficulty and danger levels based on color rankings.
White – Missions within Roke Mountain. Little to no chance of encountering priests.
Blue – Missions within the Dark Alliance. Extremely low probability of priest encounters.
Red – Missions within the Neutral Zone. High probability of priest encounters.
Black – Missions within the Holy Federation. Priest encounters are guaranteed.
Knox stood in front of the request boards while quietly scanning the countless mission papers posted there.
"Hm…"
At first glance, most of the missions looked fairly ordinary.
Escort missions.
Subjugation requests.
Resource gathering.
Investigation tasks.
Knox casually moved from one board to another, looking around almost like someone leisurely window shopping inside a mall.
Unfortunately, nothing really caught his interest yet.
"Too normal."
"Too boring."
"This one sounds troublesome…"
Meanwhile, nearby students secretly glanced at Knox curiously while whispering among themselves.
Not long after, however—
Knox's hand suddenly stopped on one particular request paper.
"Oh?"
A small grin slowly appeared on his face.
Without hesitation, Knox immediately pulled the request form off the board.
The mission paper belonged to the red-ranked area.
A mission located within the Neutral Zone, an area known for its high probability of clashing with priests.
The difficulty of red-ranked missions was high enough that first-year students required direct permission from a supervising professor before being allowed to participate.
Yet after reading the contents briefly, Knox showed no hesitation at all.
Instead, he casually folded the mission paper and immediately headed toward Jane's office.
Knock knock knock.
Three gentle knocks echoed from outside Professor Jane's office.
Before Jane could even answer, a familiar voice was already heard from behind the door.
"Professor Jane, this is Knox Aznable."
"Hmm? Knox? Alright, get in," Jane replied.
After hearing her permission, Knox opened the door without hesitation and stepped inside.
The first thing that caught his attention was the countless bookshelves packed tightly against the walls without leaving even the slightest empty space.
Meanwhile, towers of documents and research papers were stacked everywhere across the room.
Despite the overwhelming amount of materials, however, the office itself was surprisingly organized overall.
Well—
Except for the chaotic pile of scattered papers covering Jane's desk.
"…..What kind of black company are you even working at, sis?" Knox asked while staring at the mountain of papers.
"It's called Kizen," Jane answered expressionlessly.
For a brief moment, silence filled the room.
Then both of them let out a short laugh.
If other students saw Jane acting like this, they would probably suspect someone had cast an illusion spell on them.
After that, the two immediately moved on to the main topic.
"Alright, Knox. I'm still busy, so let's skip the small talk and go straight to the point, shall we?"
"Okay, sis."
"The reason I came here is because of this."
Knox handed a red-colored mission request paper over to her.
"Hm? A mission request…"
Jane glanced at the paper briefly before narrowing her eyes slightly.
"And on top of that, it's a red-ranked one, huh."
"Let me take a look."
Request: Hunt a Heretic Priest, dead or alive
Request Grade: Red Rank (Estimated minimum threat level)
Request Reward: 1000 Gold
Location: Ruins near the Neutral Zone Desert
Additional Information: Numerous mercenaries and bounty hunters previously assigned to this mission have gone missing without a trace.
"Hmmm…"
Jane looked at the request paper quietly for a moment.
"Normally, I would reject any first-year student trying to take a red-ranked mission."
"Especially a mission like this."
Then she lifted her gaze toward Knox.
"But… if it's you, I'll grant permission."
Before Knox could even respond, Jane continued speaking.
"Moreover, Kizen actually has another mission for you."
"...This is child abuse," Knox said immediately with a deadpan face.
Jane completely ignored his complaint.
"Let me finish first."
"Although I called it 'another mission,' based on the information we currently have, this additional assignment is actually connected to your red-ranked mission."
"Huh?" Knox blinked.
Jane leaned slightly against her chair before continuing calmly.
"A spy from Holy Federation recently stole classified information from Dark Alliance."
"The problem is, that spy was later found dead."
"And according to our investigation, several days before his death, the spy had contact with the very same heretic priest you're targeting in this mission."
Knox's expression gradually became more attentive.
"The stolen information itself has also disappeared."
"So we suspect the heretic priest either took it personally… or is somehow involved with its disappearance."
Jane then looked directly at Knox.
"Your mission is simple."
"Capture or eliminate the heretic priest."
"And retrieve the stolen information."
"..."
After hearing the explanation, Knox could only stare blankly for a moment before speaking.
"…This seriously sounds like the plot of a novel."
Then, after a brief pause, Knox grinned slightly.
"But before that, sis, can I ask something?"
Jane immediately narrowed her eyes slightly.
"You want to know what kind of information was stolen?"
"Hehe. Sis really knows me best."
Knox leaned forward slightly with interest.
"So? Can you tell me what kind of information it is?"
"Well, normally, I wouldn't be allowed to tell anyone this."
Jane rested her chin lightly on one hand.
"But if it's you, even if the elders found out, they probably wouldn't object much."
Then her expression turned more serious.
"The stolen information contains records regarding covert agents, classified operations, and several secret facilities."
Knox quietly listened.
"But the most problematic part…"
Jane paused briefly before continuing.
"The files also contain confidential information regarding several remains retrieved from the Holy Federation."
"…Oh?"
Knox's eyes narrowed slightly.
Jane calmly continued.
"The identities of the deceased."
"Where the remains are currently stored."
"Their conditions."
"And how Dark Alliance is currently utilizing them."
The atmosphere inside the laboratory instantly became heavier.
After all, the "remains" in question were not ordinary corpses.
They belonged to famous knights, priests, and influential figures once revered within the Holy Federation.
Heroes.
Symbols.
People worshipped by countless citizens.
"And if this information falls into Holy Federation's hands," Jane continued coldly, "they could use it to pressure us diplomatically."
"And if warmongers obtain it…"
Jane's eyes sharpened slightly.
"They would gladly use this as justification to attack the Dark Alliance."
"…Yeah," Knox muttered while rubbing his forehead lightly. "…Can everyone please stop trying to start a war for at least one day?"
Then he looked at Jane again.
"So basically…"
"I need to retrieve the information before the situation escalates into international chaos?"
"Precisely," Jane answered immediately.
"Sigh… alright. I'll accept the mission," Knox said while scratching his cheek lightly.
"Good choice."
Jane nodded calmly.
"Then I won't see you off."
"Harsh as always, sis."
"Get out. I still have work."
"Haha, alright alright."
After that, Knox waved casually before leaving Jane's office.