Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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>Translator: Lord First
>Chapter: 99
>Chapter Title: An Unexpected Lesson
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*
“Should we head down first?”
Esidis cautiously voiced her opinion. It was the first thing anyone had said after they'd checked the two-day supply of food they were given, only to find the 'uncle's bricks'.
These bricks, which Elfihera insisted were dog food, were sticky, slippery, strangely crumbly, and reeked of a fishy smell—truly a monstrous concoction.
“Does anyone know the name of this mountain… or at least the geography of this area?”
“…”
Everyone fell silent at Oskar's question. None of them were from Krasilov; as foreigners, there was no way they would know the layout of some mountain in the middle of nowhere.
Oskar narrowed his eyes and said,
“Then heading down blindly will be difficult. Getting lost on a mountain at night is a serious problem. We should at least wait until the sun is up so we can read the direction as we move.”
“Are humans' senses as dull as their night vision?”
“Pardon?”
“We were dropped off on our way up the mountain, so shouldn't we just go back down the same way?”
“A mountain isn't a ladder. What are you…?”
“Elves are children of the forest. You humans should just prepare to be amazed.”
Elfihera smirked and stood up confidently. She dusted off her clothes and looked down at the seated students.
Just then, Isabelle frowned and spoke.
“Hold on a minute, Miss Elfihera. Doesn't something feel off to everyone?”
“Hmm?”
“Does anyone remember what the old man said when I told him I'd 'just go back to the station'? He said, 'That could be one way to do it.'”
“He did, didn't he?”
“It sounded like he was saying, 'Go ahead and try, if you can.' Am I the only one who heard it that way?”
Isabelle said, glaring into the dark forest.
“Look. He deliberately erased the path and even took the horses. It's obvious he doesn't intend to let us go, yet he says, 'Try if you can'? This is a trap, isn't it?”
“Isn't that a bit of a stretch? Why would the old man set a trap?”
“I've never once successfully predicted what that old man was up to or what his actions meant.”
At Isabelle's words, Esidis and Elfihera found themselves nodding in agreement.
*That's true.*
“So, trying to go down blindly could also be part of some ridiculous 'training' he's planned.”
“Training?”
“Because training is about the only thing that makes sense for him to do after dropping us in the middle of a forest.”
Aside from Elfihera, who looked somewhat displeased, everyone else seemed to be convinced.
“Let's say he really did start this training out of nowhere, without anyone asking for it. Then what kind of training is it…?”
“Knowing the old man's style, this has to be about ambushes.”
“Ambushes…?”
“Yeah. The training he usually does with me is similar, in a way. So, if we try to find a path down the mountain, he'll definitely pop out from somewhere and attack.”
Isabelle took the lead, capturing the attention of the hesitant students as she continued the conversation.
Oskar silently nodded, lost in thought.
*Right, seeing her like this, that bold little kid from her court days is still there.*
“Is there any reason we should be receiving this kind of lesson in the first place?”
“The old man must think so. Hmm... since he was friends with the Hero's Party, maybe he thought we were lacking in some way...”
“That is strange.”
Oskar cut Isabelle off, raising his head.
“When the Hero's Party was our age—that is, during our parents' youth—wasn't that during the war? Is there any justification for us to possess that level of military strength?”
*Unless the Demon King is resurrected, I doubt it.*
And if the Demon King were resurrected, wouldn't the members of the Hero's Party, who were still active, reassemble?
Setting aside whether the Demon King could even be revived, the current era was one where military power was abnormally high compared to the national strength of each faction.
With the Hero's Party and all the heroes of the war era still active, each nation commanded the most powerful armies and generals in history.
That in itself served as a deterrent to war. If a war were to break out now, it would inevitably lead to mutually assured destruction.
Thus, the allied kingdoms were enjoying the most peaceful period in all of human history, because no one wanted war.
Therefore, if the Demon King had any sense, he wouldn't attempt to operate in this era even if he were resurrected. He would risk being annihilated the moment he revealed himself.
So, there was no justification for the children of the Hero's Party to possess formidable military strength.
*'Does Krasilov truly want war?'*
Unlike these clueless university students, Oskar was an intelligence agent sent from Tilles to Krasilov. With a stiff expression, he gazed beyond the forest's edge, deep in thought.
If the children of the Hero's Party were to be killed or injured, it would undoubtedly trigger a diplomatic disaster. While it might not lead to an immediate declaration of war, one could easily foresee a comparable level of turmoil.
Therefore, assuming Krasilov was preparing for war with someone.
The children of the Hero's Party must possess the strength to protect themselves in a crisis. This would be a kind of safety measure that Krasilov could prepare.
Because the easiest way for this 'hypothetical enemy nation' targeted by the Krasilov military to secure a multi-front war would be to assassinate us.
*'This peaceful world has barely lasted four years.'*
Oskar closed his eyes with a somber expression. It had only been four years since the Demon King was killed and the demons driven back. It was a period better described as a desperate struggle for reconstruction than a return to peace.
In that short time, his home country had been forced to plant spies in neighboring nations. Every human nation was still pouring its growth potential into its military.
The allied kingdoms now were like a parched field. Wretchedly dry, having forgotten their prosperous past, ready to go up in flames at the slightest spark.
*So, I must see what they are preparing for.*
Whether Krasilov was truly preparing for war, or if not, what this mysterious man, Ivan Petrovich Eremov, was scheming.
*Training, he calls it.*
Fine. He had trained his whole life as the eldest son of the Lord Protector and a knight of the Hospitaller Order. The traditional training of a Tillesian knight was closer to this than to the gentle environment of a university.
*So, playing along with his tune should be no problem.*
Oskar stood up, raising his head with a determined expression.
*
“Aaaaaah—!!”
It hadn't even been five minutes since they'd decided to split up and gather some branches for firewood.
At the scream that echoed deafeningly through the forest, Oskar instinctively shot to his feet, drew his sword, and ran.
“Heeeelp meeee—!!”
“Miss Esidis…?”
At the source of the sound, Esidis was hanging upside down from a tree. Seeing her flailing, pressing down on her fluttering skirt with both hands, Oskar let out a deep sigh and headed for a nearby tree trunk.
He saw a trap made of rope tied to the trunk. Oskar cut the trap and caught Esidis as she fell.
“Thank you! Thank you!!”
“What happened here?”
“There was a neat pile of branches, so I went to pick them up, and suddenly...”
After setting Esidis down, he looked over and saw, just as she'd said, a large pile of branches that looked 'perfect' for firewood.
And near it, signs that the fallen leaves had been swept away.
A trap, set in anticipation of someone going out to gather firewood. Oskar gave a hollow laugh and turned his gaze.
A small note was attached to the tree trunk where the trap had been connected.
-There are no straight lines in nature.
*What is this...?*
Oskar tore off the note to examine it and took a step forward.
With a *ping* and the sound of a string snapping, a rope instantly coiled around his ankle.
“Uwaaaaaaah—!!”
“Mr. Oskar!!”
*
*Oskar, you read the field survival manual and still fell for a trap. One point deduction.*
*Esidis. When the very thing you need appears before you without any warning, you should be suspicious. One point deduction.*
*Elfihera. You suggested making a campsite and then went back to the carriage to rest. Lack of cooperation, three points deducted.*
*And...*
*
*Can I eat this?*
*I'm hungry, but I have absolutely no desire to eat the 'old man's dog chew.' First, I need to secure some ingredients.*
*It's not like I can just go hunting in the forest in the middle of the night, so it has to be gathering.*
The problem was, Isabelle had never once in her life gathered food from the wild. The children of the Hero's Party were all descendants of noble houses, after all.
In Isabelle's case especially, she had never experienced life outside the Tillesian royal court.
Her idea of food ingredients was limited to familiar items that came to her well-prepared. She was confident in her cooking skills, but that didn't mean she knew how to source and prepare ingredients directly from their origin.
*So, first things first.*
“It looks... like a button mushroom.”
*Start by securing something that looks familiar.*
*It's dark, so I can't see any berries, and I have no way of distinguishing edible wild vegetables.*
*Isn't it common sense to start with mushrooms that look edible?*
*It smells similar, too, and even if there's something bad in it, cooking usually takes care of it.*
Isabelle smiled as she picked and gathered a large handful of the big mushrooms.
*
-Bang—!!
Ivan glanced over to confirm his shot, then lowered the muzzle of his gun. After tucking the steaming barrel into his belt, he took out a notebook.
*Isabelle, attempted to consume a wild mushroom. Lack of common sense. One point deduction.*
-I told you I'd kill you, old man! I swear!!
From the distance, he could hear Isabelle's voice screaming as she clutched the mushroom that had been shattered by the bullet.
The first night was passing.
They should have learned the basics of the survival tutorial by now, so he figured it was time to start the line-of-fire detection training.
*