The practice site was a mountain located near Driesgen, and was managed only as a training ground for the academy students to develop practical experience.
When we arrived at the entrance to the training center, which reminded us of a hiking trail, a man with wide eyes stepped forward.
The silver badge on his chest revealed that he was an academy instructor.
“Attention everyone. Dave is in charge of this practice. We will disseminate what you need to know in advance for smooth practice.”
Dave’s dry words follow.
“As you may already know, a total of 20 people, 10 from the Swordsmanship Department and 10 from the Magic Department, will participate in today’s practice. Practice is conducted in groups of two, and the method of forming groups is drawing. Once set, it cannot be changed.”
Dave, who stopped talking once, stretched out his hand and pointed to the entrance to the practice room.
“Since a total of eight training sessions have already been held here over the past two weeks, it can be said that there are no safety issues worth noting. However, it is left to the autonomous judgment of individual students to accompany an escort in case of an emergency. However, in that case, you have to bear the deductions that occur.”
Do-jin, who was mixed with other attendants from a distance and watched, was pleased with Dave’s words.
‘I really want to eat this raw?’
He told me to bring him in if he wanted to accompany me, but nobility is to die for honor and live for honor.
If you say you want to escort here, the neighbors say, ‘I’m a coward!’ Like shouting.
‘Imperial nobility can’t do that.’
Come to think of it, it was highly likely that Count Licht’s hiring of him was not because he was really worried about his children.
If the count’s bloodline goes around without an attendant, the so-called ‘Gao’ does not live, so it would be correct to see it as a temporary concept.
‘It will be over if I kill time while quietly serving as a folding screen here.’
It was the moment Dojin thought so.
“I… … .”
Bill Licht raised his hand in a timid gesture.
“What is it, Bill?”
Bill flinched at Dave’s nonchalant stare and said in a crawling voice.
“Ho, I want to accompany an escort.”
“… Are you serious?”
Dave let out a deep sigh.
“Bill Licht, let me ask you again. Are you serious?”
“… Yes.”
Dave sighed and said, “Yes.” I didn’t look at Bill anymore.
‘That bastard… … !’
Dave wasn’t the only one who sighed at Bill’s choice.
Do-jin, who was expecting to rest in peace, was also very dissatisfied with the situation where he had to climb the mountain all of a sudden.
But what can I do?
There was nothing Do-jin could do.
“Is there anyone else besides Bill Licht?”
Who else would be a coward? When Dave asks, the students laugh at him.
Bill shrugged even more shabbyly.
“Then the deduction is only for the group in which Bill Licht belongs.”
At Dave’s words, the Faculty of Magic students frowned.
“Instructor Dave, are you saying that the deductions are not for Bill Licht alone, but for the students who are in groups with him?”
To one student’s question, Dave nodded as if it was obvious.
“Do I look like a god?”
“What do you mean by that… … ?”
“I don’t have the ability to look at the entire training ground. So we have no choice but to deduct points for groups that include non-students.”
The faces of all the students in the Faculty of Magic crumpled.
It was the moment when the ridicule pouring down on Bill turned into hostility in an instant.
In proportion to that, Bill’s face went white.
“Da, Instructor Dave, I will cancel the escort. I didn’t know I was harming other students-“
“stop.”
Dave cut off Bill.
“You have to take responsibility for the choices you make and the words you say. Don’t let me down anymore, Bill Licht.”
Dave’s bloody atmosphere made Bill and other students quiet.
“It is unfair.”
Except for one.
‘As expected, she’s the daughter of Muy Bondrey.’
Dojin, who was watching with interest, admired.
I wondered who else was involved in this situation, and it was Xenia Bondrey.
She said with a rebellious look in her confident eyes.
“I think it is unfair that a random group of people are disadvantaged for being cowards.”
“Never think that an ally by your side will always be useful and brave. An ally is someone who can be a burden, a hindrance, or a betrayal.”
At Dave’s words, Xenia shut her mouth.
In light of the educational philosophy of the Imperial Academy, which emphasizes actual combat, Dave’s words were all right.
After Xenia was suppressed, the group draw began.
From the 1st to the 10th, the students of the Faculty of Swords first drew the numbers.
Bill’s number is 6.
The selection of students from the Faculty of Magic began in the following order.
All of them were thinking, ‘Let’s just avoid number 6’.
10, 5, 2, 1, 4, 7, 9, 3, 8.
Did that earnestness work?
Six times did not appear during the selection of 9 people.
the problem is.
“… … .”
The main character of the last draw was Xenia Bondrei.
“The last one is decided anyway, so there’s no need to draw it. So, get ready. Groups 1 to 10 enter the practice room at intervals of one minute. That shouldn’t happen, but in case of an emergency, fire the provided signal flares.”
From now on, the number of monsters you have hunted for 24 hours and their grade will be reflected in your score, so I hope everyone does their best.
From the beginning of Dave’s words to the end, Xenia glared at Bill quietly but fiercely.
Looking at Bill, who was trembling like a criminal who committed a mortal sin, Do-jin thought.
‘Then why are you disturbing my rest?’
Whew.
Do-jin prepared to act as a nanny for the cowardly young master.
* * *
Group 6’s practice was friendly from the start.
Xenia was very angry and declared an independent action.
“Where are you following the subject of a cowardly illegitimate child? It’s disgusting, so stay out of sight of me.”
She even said this after kicking Bill in the chest coolly off the slope.
Do-jin shook his head as he watched the boy go away and stood up the boy who had rolled in front of him.
“it’s okay?”
“… yes.”
Bill’s pathetic answer, smeared with dust and rotten leaves, seemed to be completely absent.
“What would you like to do?”
Asked while looking in the direction Xenia disappeared, Bill said with a bitter smile.
“You have to work hard. I don’t want other people to suffer because of me.”
In a word, it was a message that he would make up for the points deducted as much as possible by hunting monsters diligently.
‘Thanks to that, I have to climb the mountain.’
Dojin swallowed a sigh and walked along with Bill.
While on the move, Bill did something hard.
Looking at the floor, looking for monster footprints or excrement.
It was to think of a method to track the traces of monsters learned at the academy and put it into practice.
“Can I help you?”
Do-jin asks because he is bored with following him around.
“no. This is a test that is reflected in grades, so you can’t commit cheating.”
But Bill shook his head and refused.
He was timid and weak, but seemed to have a good heart.
‘It’s not a good thing to be kind, but it’s still better than having a bad personality.’
The face of Xenia Bondrey came to mind automatically when I saw her ‘good-natured personality’.
‘I’m sorry for Muy Bondray. The one and only child is like that. no In this case, should I just call the parent the child?’
But something was strange.
One side of my chest feels like it’s tickling.
‘Did I forget something important?’
I’m trying to organize my thoughts in the middle of the day.
“uh!”
Bill’s exclamation prevented Dojin’s accident from continuing.
I wondered what was going on, and he said it seemed like he had found footprints, and he liked it.
* * *
In conclusion, Bill couldn’t find the monster.
He wandered through the mountains until the sun went down, but he did not even see the shadow of the monster.
‘Isn’t this enough to be seen as just avoiding monsters?’
Filling his stomach with dry food, Dojin admired Bill’s bad luck.
This isn’t just a mountain.
It’s a training ground where the academy manages the monster population.
It was normal for a suitable monster to stand out after walking around for a while.
However, that boy did not see a single monster even though he turned on the light in his eyes and chased the traces.
‘Tomorrow, I just have to sneak a look for one.’
It was the time when I thought that because I felt sorry for Bill, who only stared at the bonfire with a sullen face in the world.
“Kyaa-”
Hear someone’s scream.
Bill looked in the direction the screams had come from with frightened eyes.
Reflexively grabbing the sword bottle and trembling can be seen.
The good heart is trying to run right away, but it must be that it can’t move because it’s scared.
But it wasn’t Dojin.
‘If I just go to sleep after hearing this, only my dreams will be disturbed.’
As soon as he heard a scream, Dojin woke up and looked at Bill.
“Stay calm here. It might be dangerous if you just wander around.”
“Me too-”
“anemone.”
What are you going to do? People like you are just a burden.
Ignoring Bill’s words, Dojin summoned Anemone.
Seeing a large wolf that suddenly appeared, Bill hid and let out an ugly scream.
Either that or not, Dojin moved right away.
“Anemone, please!”
While passing Bill to Anemone.
【… … .]
Anemone looked at Bill with disapproval.
“Hey!”
Bill got even more scared and backed away.
Anemone, who didn’t like him even more, said, exposing her fangs.
【Noisy. Ask?]
Bill prayed. I hope the adventurer comes back soon.
The spirit of being surprised at the fact that wolves were talking did not remain in him.
* * *
‘It’s been a while since I’ve been looking for monsters at this time.’
Running in the direction of the sound, Do-jin clicked his tongue.
Darkness is not on people’s side.
Because I am the one who has the “red night”, I can travel the mountain roads like this comfortably.
Ordinary humans could just see the dark mountain itself as a mass of disaster.
‘Even if I screamed because of the monster, I wouldn’t have died.’
From what I heard from Bill, the student who participated in this practice was a sophomore.
There was no way he would have released a strong monster against a sophomore, so even in the worst case, it wouldn’t have ended at the line of injury.
‘Or maybe he just screamed as he rolled down the slope-‘
As I was running, a familiar smell crossed my nose.
‘Blossom.’
blatant bloody scent.
It was a thick smell of blood when a very large amount of blood was collected, not just a little blood.
‘sh*t.’
Feeling that something was wrong, Dojin ran carefully but quickly.
where it arrived.
“… … .”
Only two corpses with their heads torn off remained.