God's Blessing and the Uncooperative Teleport Trap
God's Blessing could produce every kind of miracle that might happen on a battlefield. Just like how movie protagonists always dodge a hail of bullets, I could grant that kind of blessing through prayer.
"...This is more magical than actual magic."
"That's why they call it a miracle from God."
"No, seriously, what are you?"
"Just your average school nurse. The other priests at the temple can do this much, too."
I spoke as I walked through the arrow volley. Well, sure, there were differences in how many blessings you could grant at once. Holy power didn't get depleted like mana when you used it. It was just that the amount you could wield at a time and the scale of miracles you could pull off varied from person to person.
Back in the ancient era when the demonkin were active, there was a saintess who bestowed this kind of blessing on thousands of soldiers at once. It was a miracle where not just arrows but even magic missed their marks entirely, and the demonkin supposedly lost their minds over it.
"Anyway, looks like this group's doing fine too. What a relief."
With that, we arrived at the group with Serpia and Trius. Everyone except Trius was leaning against the wall, fast asleep from exhaustion.
"How did you make it here? There were definitely traps in that hallway..."
Trius spotted me coming through the traps and asked with a bewildered look.
"That was—"
"What do you think you're doing, figuring it out yourself? More importantly, report the situation here."
"Your Highness?!"
When Claude stepped out from behind me, Trius's face lit up in even greater shock, and he dropped to his knees in a hurry. He'd ignored the other nobles except Serpia, but a prince like Claude was apparently too much for him to brush off.
"Don't do something so pointless. Stand up and report."
Claude waved him off lazily, like it was a hassle. But Trius stayed knelt, head bowed, refusing to look up. Now that I thought about it, this didn't seem like it was just because Claude was a prince. It felt more like he was straight-up scared of him? Claude was so small he wouldn't even reach Trius's chest, so why the fear?
"...We were right behind the lead group. Then there was a massive explosion up ahead, and new traps appeared along with monsters, isolating us."
Just as Trius said, monster corpses were neatly piled in the corner. It wasn't full holy purification, but the mana used to suppress the post-mortem poison was expertly done. From the mana signature, it was Trius's work. This level of skill would get him straight into the temple's knight order.
"Hmm. And why are those guys sleeping?"
Claude listened to Trius, then shifted his gaze to the dozing students.
"Ah... Lady Serpia is resting after battling the monsters."
"Is that so? How interesting."
"...?!"
At that moment, Serpia's eyelids fluttered, and she woke up.
"P-Prince?!"
Spotting Claude, she rushed over and positioned herself protectively in front of Trius.
"How did you get here..."
"How do you think? We walked, obviously."
This was unexpected. She'd beaten Trius's lips bloody before, but now she was suddenly shielding him?
"I'm sorry. I didn't notice Your Highness had arrived. Did this idiot offend you again somehow?"
Serpia knelt just like Trius and asked. Again? Oh, right—they were both in the swordsmanship department, so they'd crossed paths before.
"If ignoring my order to stand up counts as rude, then yeah, it's rude."
Claude glared coldly down at Trius, who remained kneeling with his head bowed.
"Ha...! Still not getting it through your thick skull? You're not just ignoring me—you're treating His Highness like a joke too?"
Thwack!
"..."
At the sight, Serpia kicked Trius's shin to force him up. Even standing, he kept his head down in silence. And with Claude right there, Serpia's face had gone pale, her fear plain as day. She'd been nervous around Lucille before too, but that was social status and rank. With Claude, it felt more primal. Like she was scared of the guy himself.
"I'm sorry. I'll retrain him, so please... not like last time."
"Forget it. If you're hurt, get treated. If not, take those other two and get lost."
"...Yes, understood."
"Hold on a sec?"
I called back Serpia as she started to leave.
"Take this with you. It'll let you dodge the traps ahead and any new ones safely."
It was the paper crane for avoiding traps. Serpia silently took it from me, then hurriedly led Trius and the others away like she was fleeing. Yeah, that was definitely fear. Her hand had been trembling when she took the crane from me earlier.
"...Your Highness, what did you do to those two?"
"Nothing much?"
"Then why were they so scared?"
"Just trained an overly loyal dog by stepping on it in front of its master. Now they act like that whenever they see me."
Claude smirked and shrugged.
"You mentioned sparring with Trius before, right?"
"Freshman year, he challenged me without even knowing who I was. I graciously accepted."
Challenging a prince to a spar? Not something you'd do lightly. No idea what Trius was thinking, but I sure wouldn't in my right mind.
"What the heck did you do back then...?"
"Since he was a freshman, I held back and only broke a few bones. Oh, wait—now that I think about it, that countess's daughter was trembling and begging me to stop."
No matter how skilled or talented Trius was, he couldn't beat Claude. The Astrian imperial family might look human, but they were practically another species. Just seeing Claude shrug off that rain of magic arrows like actual rain explained it. Not a metaphor—he was a demon in human skin.
"...Sigh. While I'm the school nurse, please hold off on stuff like that."
"I usually don't bother 'cause it's a pain."
I sighed. For a kids' fight, that was way too brutal. Arcanum students might be nobles or royals, but they were still just middle and high schoolers. What was this, some delinquent manga? Breaking bones?
"Anyway, if these guys were right behind the lead group, Lucille's should be up ahead."
Right now, priorities were elsewhere. Trius said his group had been following the leaders directly. That left only Lucille's group.
"Probably."
And the passage to Lucille's group...
"Now what?"
"Beats me."
...was completely collapsed.
This must've been the source of that roar—the rubble was still radiating heat. Only one way in, and now it was blocked. No getting through.
"Wanna punch through?"
Claude clenched his fist.
"Unless you wanna get buried alive, I can't recommend it."
"I don't care, but the other students might."
Cracks spiderwebbed the pillars and ceiling nearby. One wrong shock, and the whole dungeon could come down. Worst case, it'd trigger a massive landslide outside. Too risky.
"...Guess we wait for the rescue team, then. They should've arrived by now."
"But it'll take them time to reach the center. Not sure if the injured can hold out that long."
No teleport magic? Claude and I didn't have that in our kits. Dungeons restricted it heavily anyway.
......Wait, teleport?
Oh, right—that existed.
"Your Highness, I've got a great idea."
"What?"
"Using a teleport trap."
"Teleport magic? You know high-level stuff like that too?"
"Nope. Spent my whole life in the temple, no clue about magic. But I know dungeons inside out."
Dungeons had all sorts of traps.
"You know dungeons have tons of traps, right, Your Highness?"
"Seen plenty on the way here."
Step wrong, arrows fly. Ceilings, walls, floors shift. Ground gives way. Straight out of a fantasy game. Some were outright "die" traps—but if used right, they were shortcuts to dismantle the dungeon fast.
"Some traps teleport you elsewhere. And some send you straight to the monster-packed core."
"...You're not saying we use one of those, are you?"
"Exactly!"
Claude gave me a "are you insane?" look, but I was perfectly sane to think of it.
"Can't guarantee this dungeon even has one."
"We can check. The supervising teachers gave me the map, traps included."
I pulled out the map. Parts were useless now with collapses, but it marked every trap type and position.
Teleport trap... teleport trap...
After scanning, I found one flagged with a warning.
"Found it! And it sends right past here."
"Guess it does."
The advance survey team had kindly noted locations and destinations. Conveniently close, too.
"Still a trap for a reason. Expect nasty monsters waiting."
True. Warnings existed for a reason. And with the dungeon's monster threat level and numbers amped up, real dangers could be lurking.
"Your Highness."
So I gently gripped his shoulder.
"You can handle it."
"...You want me to clear all those monsters?"
"Not a big deal for you."
"Isn't it shameless, dumping everything on a student?"
"Means I trust you that much."
The current emperor soloed dozens of dungeons as crown prince. Claude had that blood—he could manage alone. If it got dicey, I'd buff him with blessings. Unless a dragon or the Demon King showed up, no problem.
What actually worried me was if Claude's magic resistance bounced the teleport too. But nah, academy teleported here fine. Even Emperor Uncle used it without issue.
"Here it is."
"This box the teleport trap?"
"Yup, map confirms. Open it to activate."
We reached it quick. Open the box, trap triggers, sends us past the collapse. Monsters galore, sure—but my barrier protects me while Claude cleans up.
"Opening it. Ready?"
"Yeah."
I carefully opened the box. A teleport magic circle lit underfoot, blue mana enveloping me and Claude.
Crackle!
But right before it kicked in, something weird. The mana wrapped me fine, but Claude? Not a bit. Just like those magic arrows bouncing off him earlier.
Flash!
"...Your Highness?"
Teleport done, I called out. No answer.
Grrr...
Instead, drooling, massive, vicious monsters glared at me. Goblins, orcs, werewolves... a whole variety assortment. Regular monster gift set.
"Ahaha..."
I just laughed. Barrier first. Who knew his resistance would no-sell a teleport? Stronger than Emperor Uncle?
Meanwhile, Claude, left alone...
"?"
Perplexed by Erdel vanishing and him remaining, he...
Screech!
...closed and reopened the box. Even curled up inside it, just in case.
"What the heck."
But nothing happened.