Only I Know the War Hero’s Secret Chapter 14

The following afternoon, Mona went to submit a leave-of-absence application, since she wouldn’t be able to come to the research institute for the time being once the project got underway.

It seemed the Dean of Academic Affairs had already issued instructions. Her application was approved in an instant, without anyone even asking why she wanted to take a leave when the second semester was nearly over.

Mona left the department office with mixed feelings.

Honestly, the thought of no longer having to deal with some of the irritating people at the research institute, including Senior Jake, made her feel like she could fly.

And she was more than happy to finally quit that hopeless hair-loss treatment research.

However, she couldn’t help feeling sad and regretful at the thought of parting with the slimes she’d carefully looked after all this time.

She had already handed over instructions on how to care for them to her junior, but she headed to the cultivation room to check their condition one last time.

“……Hmm.”

The moment she stepped inside, Mona rubbed the tip of her nose.

As the weather grew colder, the air inside the cultivation room had become noticeably drier than usual.

‘I should write a reminder on the board to keep an eye on the humidity.’

Mona sprayed water around the room with a mister, then dampened some clothes and spread them out here and there around the slime containers.

Once she’d made the air sufficiently humid, she checked the slimes’ conditions one by one, examining their colors, transparency, and movements.

Since it was her last day, she also handed out some salt moss, the slimes’ favorite food.

Salt moss got its name from its resemblance to salt crystals. Since it contained a tiny amount of demonic energy, it was only distributed on the black market.

It was quite expensive for someone in Mona’s financial situation. However, thanks to the research funding that had recently been deposited into her account, she now had enough money to buy plenty of special treats for the slimes.

‘Now, all that’s left is to feed that little guy.’

Carrying the remaining salt moss, Mona walked toward the center of the laboratory table.

While the other slimes were about the size of a child’s fist, the one in the middle of the table was as big as an adult’s fist.

It was large, a picky eater, and extremely sensitive to its surroundings.

In a word, it was a fussy little thing.

On the other hand, it had the largest and sturdiest slime nucleus, excellent regenerative abilities, and was the most interactive with Mona.

Even now, upon recognizing the delicious food in her hand, it was bouncing up and down so enthusiastically that the cultivation fluid inside its container was sloshing around.

“Do you know how much this salt moss costs? It’s way more expensive than one of my meals.”

Blorp, blorp—

((^o^)) oO○

The slime let out a large bubble, almost as if it understood what she was saying.

“So don’t be difficult while I’m gone. Behave yourself, okay?”

The slime had been greedily absorbing the moss, but at Mona’s words, it suddenly spat it out and began rolling its round body from side to side.

……Was it just her imagination?

It looked just like a child throwing a tantrum because it didn’t want her to leave.

Mona watched the slime rolling around on the bottom of its container with a curious expression. Then, she suddenly flinched and turned around.

Someone had entered the cultivation room.

“Huh……? Senior Mona!!”

Her junior, who had taken over the task of preparing cultivation fluid from Mona, brightened as soon as she spotted her.

“You came to help me!”

No, I didn’t.

“Senior, whenever I mix the cultivation fluid, it keeps separating. What else should I add to it……?”

Her junior pointed to the ingredients in the cultivation room as she asked.

“Ah, that might be because of the temperature of the purified water, or the order in which you mix the ingredients. Adding something else won’t solve it.”

“Could you come to the lab and demonstrate it one more time?”

“Sure.”

The junior had initially looked delighted when Mona agreed, but soon let out a sigh and spoke with a gloomy expression.

“What am I going to do without you, Senior Mona? The other seniors don’t do anything except keep ordering me around. It’s driving me crazy. Seriously.”

Having experienced that misery firsthand for quite some time, Mona swallowed a bitter smile and followed her junior out of the cultivation room for a little while.

And then……

Squish~!

While Mona was away, she briefly left her bag behind.

The slime stopped rolling around and its button-like round eyes began to sparkle.

((+ㅅ+))

Then, its translucent mint-colored body began to wobble as it squeezed through the gap in the cultivation fluid container’s lid.

Slither—

Moving swiftly and silently, the slime slipped away and hid itself.

Inside the large merchant’s bag Mona always carried with her……

 

***

 

……Was it just her imagination?

Her bag felt heavier than usual today.

Perhaps it was because her heart was weighed down by tension and fear.

“Damn it……”

Just thinking about the terrifying man she was about to meet made her heart tremble and her hands and feet turn cold.

Mona was currently on her way to the second project meeting.

Held four days after the first meeting, this gathering was taking place in the same old military headquarters building as before.

Mona entered the conference room with heavy steps, like a prisoner being dragged off to jail.

Unlike the stiff, quiet atmosphere of the previous meeting, the participants were already chatting among themselves today.

“Hello.”

Mona forced herself to muster what little sociability she had, barely managing to offer a greeting.

“Nice to meet you.”

The person who returned her greeting so she wouldn’t feel awkward was the handsome man everyone had welcomed so warmly last time, addressing him as ‘Sir Noel.’

Mona still didn’t really know who Noel was, but his manner and expression made him seem like a kind person. Feeling a little more at ease, she took a seat.

“It seems everyone except Sir Richard has arrived.”

Noel began speaking gently as he looked around at the investigation team members seated at the table.

Mona also counted the members through her glasses, taking a good look at their faces.

There were eight people in the project team, including Richard, the leader.

However, those eight weren’t the only ones going into the Forest of Chaos.

According to the imperial official, four guards would be assigned to ensure the investigation team’s safety.

‘Honestly, aren’t twelve people a bit too many?’

Didn’t they say that too many cooks spoil the broth?

‘……So, I wish Richard would just keep not showing up.’

Just as she was making the rather selfish wish that the ship’s captain would be absent, someone spoke up.

“Since Sir Richard informed us that he would be late due to official duties, how about we introduce ourselves first?”

“Sounds good, Sir Noel.”

Noel, who had suggested the introductions, readily volunteered to go first.

“My name is Noel Lotus. I’m affiliated with the Magic Tower, where I research teleportation magic. I look forward to working with you all.”

It was a brief introduction, but Mona’s eyes widened.

……Lotus?

Even someone as ignorant of high society as Mona knew the Lotus surname, thanks to her history general education exam.

The House of Duke Lotus.

A family of the empire’s founding contributors.

‘No wonder I was the only one who didn’t know who that man was.’

He had been the one to make the painfully shy Mona feel a little more comfortable, but after hearing his introduction, he suddenly seemed so far out of her reach……

After Noel Lotus finished introducing himself, the others followed one by one in a clockwise direction.

“I’m Enoch Marder, and my specialty is healing magic. I’ve also studied herbalism, so I can provide first aid.”

Enoch was a slender man with a pale complexion, giving him a somewhat frail appearance.

“I’m Farmin Ellman. I’m affiliated with the Department of Magical Formula Studies. I previously studied ancient barriers and seals in the Department of Archaeology, and I earned my master’s degree this year. I hope my abilities will be useful in sealing the rampaging monsters.”

‘……Is double majoring a trend in high society these days?’

Healing magic and herbalism were one thing, but studying both magical formula studies and archaeology?

Should she have at least pretended to consider Professor Jerome’s suggestion that she join the Department of Magical Formula Studies to keep up with the trend?

While Mona, who wasn’t accustomed to the high-society way of speaking where people acted like experts after merely dipping their toes into a subject, inwardly gaped in disbelief, the impressive introductions continued.

And finally, it was Mona’s turn.

“I’m Mona Veloz. I conduct research on monsters in the Department of Monster Studies.”

Since she didn’t have anything else to say, she ended her introduction there. A brief silence fell over the room.

“……Ahem!”

Just then, the sharp-looking man who had introduced himself as Farmin cleared his throat before speaking.

“You’re from the Department of Monster Studies? I see……”

“……?”

“I heard it took the Imperial Family quite some time to find a monster researcher. I suppose they didn’t have many options to choose from……”

Farmin was indirectly implying that Mona wasn’t there because she was an outstanding talent, but because there were so few people specializing in monster studies that she’d gotten lucky and secured a spot on the investigation team.

He was also subtly showing off his connections to the Imperial Family.

However, Mona wasn’t familiar with the roundabout, indirect way high society communicated. Taking his words at face value, she calmly sympathized with the Imperial Family’s predicament.

“I had trouble finding it, too.”

“Pardon?”

“The Department of Monster Studies building wasn’t marked on the academy map……”

“Pfft!”

It happened then.

A sound, as if someone were desperately holding back laughter, burst from near the entrance.

Everyone who turned toward the sound widened their eyes.

Richard was entering the room alongside four of the Black Knights’ elite members, who had recently become the four most popular men in the empire.