Disappointing Teleportation Magic ~ Even Though The Movement Distance Is Only 1 Millimeter, I Will Rise Through Ingenuity ~ - Chapter 5.1

After finishing the task of cleaning the portrait, I was assigned to clean the interior of the castle. Previously, I had been cleaning parts of the castle that were out of sight of the royalty and nobility, but now I was cleaning visible areas.

Therefore, cleaning was done during the night to avoid encounters with royalty and nobility. The work started just before midnight and continued until right before the royalty woke up.

After having breakfast and reporting to the guardroom, I would return to the dormitory to rest. In the evening, I would go back to the guardroom to check the schedule for that night, have dinner, and wait until the guards gave permission to start working.

Basically, conversation was forbidden, and making noise was prohibited. Except for me, the team members were all experienced veterans who worked silently. Working silently in the decoration workshop on the portrait had prepared me for such an environment.

Having experienced the detailed work of cleaning the portrait, general cleaning tasks became significantly easier. I could now remove dirt from a large wall in one go with teleportation magic.

Even the handrails of the intricately carved stairs were a breeze compared to cleaning the delicate brushstrokes of the painting. Since I could clearly distinguish between the material and the dirt, there was no hesitation.

The walls of the castle hallways became so clean after I worked on them that the guards were astonished, as if they had been freshly painted. This new life was so fulfilling that I almost forgot about my classmates.

Three days after returning to the general duties division, Tarik invited me to dinner one evening while I was checking the schedule at the guardroom. Usually, Tarik had a carefree smile, but now he wore a strangely stern expression and pulled me to the most secluded table in the dining hall.

“Eight.”

“Huh…?”

I was bewildered by the sudden number but quickly understood what it meant. I understood, but I didn’t want to believe it or accept it.

“Your classmates were ambushed by a group of orcs in Neifa Forest and were thrown into disarray. They retreated to the base they had established in the forest and, with the support of the knights waiting there, went back to search for those who didn’t return. Eight people are missing.”

“But if they’re just missing, there’s a chance they’re still alive…”

“No chance. What do you think orcs attack humans for? If they’re missing, it means…”

During their first battle, my classmates had achieved better results than expected, so they were given the higher-level task of hunting large monsters on their own. Among my classmates, some could only use healing magic and specialized in support from the rear, but with over thirty people participating in the battle, they should have been able to handle orcs without much trouble.

However, acting on their own, they neglected reconnaissance and fell into a trap set by multiple orcs. Even after the eight went missing, the combat training continued, and they hunted orcs with knights leading them, but some of them seemed to have suffered mentally.

“Do we know if the missing are men, women, or both?”

“I don’t know that much. All I heard was that there are eight missing.”

“I see… Sorry.”

Tarik only picked up rumors from the knights’ facilities he cleaned, so the details depended on who he talked to.

“Yuto, you’re not thinking of going to the dormitory to check on your classmates, are you?”

“Honestly, I’m conflicted…”

“Don’t do it. It won’t do any good.”

“I know, I know, but… I’m worried about who didn’t come back…”

“What will you do with that information?”

“Well…”

Even if I found out who the casualties were, there was nothing I could do.