Blood Will Flow (1)
The other professors' opinions on this field training exercise were unanimous. It was far too soon after wrapping up the matter of Yohan's death to even consider self-reflection, let alone something like this. They believed the training was nothing more than a half-baked affair rushed through solely on the chairman's orders. As a result, most professors found the entire exercise deeply distasteful. Of course, they respected the students' desire to participate, but several professors who opposed the training had already declared their absence. Their numbers amounted to well over half the faculty.
Instead, they decided to record the training using the latest technology called "Video Memory Cartridges" for later judgment. Even so, someone still needed to take responsibility for leading the personnel on-site. That role fell to Sayer.
Professor Sayer wasn't exactly a low-ranking faculty member, but he wasn't senior either—just a mid-level professor. Yet when the participating professors gathered, even he became the most senior among them. The appointment was essentially a promotion in all but name, but Sayer accepted the position gladly. He had no reason to refuse. No matter how chaotic the political climate was, if he could successfully complete this field training… standing out among the other professors and receiving a favorable performance evaluation wasn't just a dream.
He thought to himself: Yohan's death? Let the dogs have it. Of course, there had been a moment when Sayer felt responsible for Yohan's death. But that had only been him going along with Babalk's fury and the general atmosphere of mourning. Not long after, what he came to feel was…
…Yohan's death wasn't my fault, was it? Damn it, I felt a bit guilty at first, but I don't owe that kid anything. There's no need for that. He just happened to die at the hands of some assailant.
That was the kind of thinking it was, and he believed it was right. In truth, this was nothing more than the choice of a petty man who felt repulsed by being pushed into a morally weak position. But perhaps that choice would become the greatest mistake of Professor Sayer's life.
"The thing is, none of the gamekeepers who were supposed to hold their positions have shown themselves!"
The gamekeepers were the guides and guardians who had been pre-arranged to supervise the students' safety. When one of his subordinate instructors was sent to make contact with them, the news he brought back was nothing short of disastrous. The path to the rendezvous point was covered in gruesome corpses and spilled entrails. And there was no one there.
"…What in the world happened?"
"W-well, I don't know either…."
The reporting instructor tilted his head in confusion.
"Professor Sayer, wouldn't it be better to cancel the field training even now? We've followed the chairman's orders so far, but now I have nothing but a terrible premonition! M-maybe something's already gone wrong…."
But at those words, Professor Sayer's mind raced. If he canceled the training schedule right now just because of one lowly instructor's words, the chairman who had forced this through would lose face, and it was obvious his own neck would be on the line for taking charge as the senior professor.
Ah, I can't…!
That was a choice that would block his path to advancement. For Sayer, it was something he absolutely could not back down from. So Sayer forced himself to act composed.
"Hmm, blood and entrails are certainly strange, but it's not like the entire hunting ground is like that, is it?"
"What?! W-well, that's true, but…."
"…Then it must mean His Imperial Majesty the Emperor came hunting and left."
With that, Sayer casually patted the instructor's shoulder, as if praising him for handling things properly.
"I understand your anxiety, but we can't delay or cancel the schedule now. Let's just proceed. As for the gamekeepers… even without them, the students will control their strength just fine, won't they?"
"Still, something feels terribly wrong!"
"No."
But to the instructor who showed no sign of accepting this and backing down—
"Just do it, will you? Are my words not worth listening to?"
He poured out a furious rage that was half anger and half threat—the very same treatment he had always received from Professor Babalk.
"…Ugh, if that's the case… I understand."
Yes. If this operation succeeded, getting a good performance evaluation and entering the Imperial Research Institute to draw a pension would be no trouble at all. To achieve that, all he had to do was push forward no matter what happened. Everything would work out fine.
After all, there has never been a single accident in the hunting grounds until now.
For Sayer, who knew nothing of the full story, that was all he could think.
If Karalin and Cryan filled the A-rank and B-rank positions respectively, then Jurchen and Eclipse were C-rank and didn't even count as combat power by the rules. That was why Jurchen could drag Eclipse along, form the same team, and drive out Bancite. Of course, if they fully bloomed their abilities, both Jurchen and Eclipse were capable of aiming higher… but Eclipse, as everyone knew, had barely passed the entrance exam thanks to Yohan after botching the modified test, so she remained at C-rank. Jurchen, just as he had said when first meeting Yohan and begging for help, was an "Academy bottom-ranker"—someone who had also sabotaged the preliminary entrance exam and barely scraped in near the bottom. Unlike Eclipse, who had genuinely failed through pure skill, Jurchen had simply come here only wanting the degree, so he had no motivation whatsoever to do well on the exam.
Anyway, after Professor Sayer gave the order to begin the training, Karalin and the three children—well, if they had anything in common, it was that they were all connected to Yohan, making it awkward to even give them a proper name… the so-called "Yohan-less Yohan Team"—received the magical carrier pigeons from the instructors, equipped the wrist guards, and scattered into the forest. This was to position themselves in areas that wouldn't overlap with other parties before the professors issued their directives.
The natural environment they reached was truly magnificent. Vast primeval forest. Abundant ecological resources.
"Waaah…! It's beautiful. I-I'm so moved!!"
In short, it was a breathtaking view. Eclipse let out pure admiration at the beautiful natural scenery of Karlandel.
"Kahaha, how about it, kid? You were covering your mouth with your hands when I brought you here, but you don't regret coming with us, do you!"
"Y-yes, Jurchen! I've never seen anything like this in my territory…."
"So you were from Laghound Territory too. Well, Laghound is certainly desolate. That's because the World Tree nearby died…."
"B-but it's fine! I like my territory."
Especially for Eclipse, the reason she liked it so much was clear. The worries she had felt while coming to the field training had been completely resolved! Unlike in the original history, because she had gotten involved with Yohan, Eclipse hadn't made many friends. She had struggled greatly when forming teams. There were people she met while passing by, but did she have any close friends she could team up with? Honestly, aside from Karalin, with whom she had built a small connection, there was no one. And after Yohan's incident, Lady Karalin had been in such a bad state that… even approaching her to speak was extremely difficult. Moreover, Eclipse wasn't particularly sociable, so she couldn't bring herself to approach strangers either.
Just as she was in great distress, Jurchen—who had only met her when saving Lady Karalin last time—approached her first and took her hand. At first, she thought she was being kidnapped and was quite flustered, but when she arrived… lo and behold, Lady Karalin was there! On top of that, there was a mage she was "meeting for the first time" and others who seemed quite remarkable… her honest impression was joy. It felt like an introvert waiting to be chosen had been picked up by an extrovert.
"…Eclipse is still innocently playing around as always. For some reason, it reminds me of when I was young."
And for Karalin as well, spending time with them put her at ease. Since she thought there wouldn't be anyone to team up with, she had been vaguely preparing to do it alone when Bancite came over and insisted on being on the same team, which she found physiologically repulsive. Moreover, the children who ended up on the same team weren't complete strangers to Karalin. Except for one person—Jurchen. But after talking a bit, it seemed they weren't entirely without connection either.
"From what I've heard, Jurchen, you were also Yohan's friend?"
"Ah, well, something like that."
Of course, he hadn't received permission—it was something Jurchen had unilaterally declared—but he nodded.
"Come to think of it, the more I look back, the more I realize I never really understood that person. How could he make friends like this without me even knowing…."
Cryan, who had received great help from Yohan. Jurchen, who had been Yohan's friend. And Eclipse, who despite having every reason to dislike Yohan, had approached Karalin first out of pure admiration for his strength and asked to be taught swordsmanship… and herself, whose life had been saved by him.
All of them are connections that Yohan brought together.
Thinking that, even though he was dead, why did it feel like he was still around? She missed him so much.
"H-huh? L-Lady…?"
Then Eclipse, who had been riding on Jurchen's shoulders and looking around energetically, cried out in surprise.
"Are you… crying right now?"
"Oh."
Karalin hurriedly wiped her cheeks with her hands, only to find them filled with nothing but droplets that could only be tears. The fact that she, who had never been like this in her life, could become this way still didn't feel real every day. So Karalin expressed it like this:
"Sorry. I think I'm broken…."
She thought she herself was in a state of not functioning normally.
"……Here."
Then Cryan immediately held out a handkerchief. True to his quiet nature, he had simply been silent until now before doing what needed to be done. This was the only kindness that could be offered by someone who knew of her loss. But Karalin had to maintain her dignity. It was true she had suffered a great loss, but she was the one who had read Yohan's "letter" with her own hands and resolved to live on somehow, coming all the way here. If she showed such an unsightly appearance any longer, she wouldn't have the face to meet Yohan after death.
"No, it's fine. I'll just accept your kind intentions."
"Hmm… Understood."
So Karalin waved her hand and declined the kindness. She lightly wiped away her tears with her cloth gloves, raised both hands, and slapped her own cheeks a couple of times before speaking spiritedly.
"Since it's come to this, just as I said at the entrance ceremony, I should do my best. It might be tiring, but I ask for your cooperation, everyone."
Naturally, everyone had been feeling awkward because they couldn't help but watch her reactions, but at those healthy words, the first to brighten up was Eclipse.
"O-of course! That's only natural. I'm not much of a person, but if there's anything you need me to do, just leave it to me!"
Jurchen also seemed to think it wasn't so bad.
"I was feeling damn annoyed about coming, but now that I'm out here getting some sun, it feels pretty good."
Cryan merely smiled slightly.
"……You're strong, my lady."
Coo—.
At that moment, as if blessing Karalin's efforts, the cooing of a pigeon could be heard from the sky. A pigeon's blessing was rather undignified, but—
"It's a directive."
It was clearly a directive spread by the professors. That was a magical carrier pigeon used by Sigmund Academy. Since there weren't many ways to spread directives or various announcements across the vast Karlandel, the faculty had brought the ones used at the academy. The usage was simple. When you heard the pigeon's cooing, you extended the pre-distributed wrist guard toward the sky to catch it, then listened to what the pigeon had to say.
The only one here who had experience handling birds was Karalin, who had raised hawks in the North. So Karalin, who had agreed to handle receiving the directives, skillfully raised her wrist guard high into the sky and guided the pigeon down. But the pigeon's behavior as it spoke was… strange. She had clearly guided it well, yet instead of landing on her arm, what was it doing in the air?
["C-coooOOoOooaaagh—"]
"Huh. Did that thing always sound like that…."
The one who noticed the strangeness of the sound faster than anyone was Jurchen, who had good instincts. As he said, whenever there was an important announcement at school, they released carrier pigeons like this, and the voices they made at those times were clear and pure. But now, rather than that… wasn't it making a blood-curdling sound like a beast driven by terror? Horrifically so.
"U-uegh…? You're right. Something's weird! I-I don't usually notice these things well… but even I can feel it."
"……Quiet. Listen."
Karalin calmed everyone down. It was a Karalin-like action, automatically becoming the leader of the Yohan-less team even though no one had said anything. The carrier pigeon circling in the sky tried to deliver the directive that the faculty had planned to play.
["Coo!! H-students— By sunset, the, the base—"]
But then, suddenly flipping its voice, it screamed.
["R-run away—!! Run, run, run—!! You're going to die, you're going to dieee! Co-cooooo—!!"]
"…Ugh?"
A chill ran down everyone's spine.