Chapter 136
Chapter 136
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 136
Chapter Title: Kanf
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“Raise your hand if you think you can’t join the training camp because you have something to do over vacation.”
The S Class classroom wasn’t exactly peaceful.
Veronica rested her arms on the podium and propped her chin on her hand as she spoke.
“…….”
“…….”
A brief silence hung in the air.
No one even thought to raise their hand...
Until that moment.
“Dean! I have a question!”
“Wah?!”
Thud!
With a sudden shout, Seros shot up from his seat in the classroom.
As Seros sprang to his feet and thrust his hand into the air, Lapia next to him jolted in surprise and nearly flew off her chair.
“Just to check, can we just goof off during vaca—”
“Shut your mouth.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Seros swallowed his words, bowed deeply with his waist bent, and plopped right back into his seat.
But there wasn’t a trace of remorse or regret on his face.
The strangely smug look was probably just my imagination.
“Then... raise your hand if you just don’t wanna go.”
The moment Veronica finished speaking...
Rustle, rustle, rustle.
The students raised their hands in unison.
Only three didn’t: me, Lev, and Klaus.
Lev glanced sideways to check that I hadn’t raised mine, then kept his hand still as well.
And...
Veronica silently took in the sight, tilting her head slightly.
“What’s the reason?”
Whoosh!
Seros shot up again.
He thrust his arm high once more and shouted from his seat.
“It sounds boring!”
“Keep your trap shut.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Zip.
Seros sat back down and mimed zipping his mouth shut with his fingers.
He even pursed his lips to mimic the zipping sound, all with a dead serious expression.
And then...
One person quietly raised their hand.
Unlike Seros, Luphus rose slowly from his seat, politely lifted his hand, and spoke.
“Dean.”
“What.”
“I believe... Seros’s opinion that it’ll be boring is purely his own personal view.”
“And?”
“In my case... it just doesn’t excite me.”
“...That’s the same damn thing. Why do you gotta make it so complicated?”
Veronica shook her head in disbelief, her mouth slightly agape.
But...
Regardless.
Luphus steadfastly continued.
“The outskirts of the Great Forest are a spot frequented by knight orders and mage towers alike. They have proper barracks set up, and the beast numbers and activity are predictable. In that sense, it offers the advantage of safe, systematic training—”
“Ah, hold up.”
Just before Luphus could finish.
Veronica raised her hand to cut him off.
“The place you’re going isn’t the outskirts of the Great Forest.”
“...Pardon?”
Luphus wasn’t the only one blankly staring at Veronica—most of the students in the classroom were too.
The “training camp” S Class students had imagined up until now was the standard kind.
In other words, training in the outer zones of the Great Forest.
A stable area with barracks, frequented by low-grade beasts.
The spot where countless knight orders and mage towers went for training purposes.
But...
Veronica shattered every assumption.
“The heart of the Great Forest, where the World Tree resides. That’s where you’re headed.”
“......”
The depths of the vast forest.
The deeper you ventured, the more your sense of direction warped, paths looped back on themselves despite walking straight, and identical scenery repeated endlessly—an unknown realm.
But if you pierced through all that mystery and reached the depths...
A chorus of question marks floated above the students’ heads at Veronica’s words.
...The World Tree.
The colossal tree that breathed life into the world.
Or... they called it a “stroke of fortune.”
“You’ve heard the pompous old saying, right? ‘Those who reach for the World Tree shall advance to greater heights.’”
““.........””
“Still hate it?”
Whoosh.
Veronica whipped her head toward Seros, the first to raise his hand.
“Not only will it be fun—you’ll advance to even greater heights.”
Veronica’s head swiveled again.
This time to Lapia, sitting next to Seros.
“The Great Forest, you know? Where the elves used to live? Full of spirits, and who knows—maybe even a Spirit King?”
“Gasp...”
Lapia clasped her hands together and gulped.
Veronica turned her head once more.
To the corner of the classroom.
Not where Lev and I sat by the window... but the corner by the door.
There sat Erwin, book open, eyes fixed intently downward.
“A living piece of history, you could say.”
“......”
At the word “history,” Erwin’s hand paused.
“The language of spirits... the magic circles used by elves... undiscovered civilizations might still be breathing there, untouched by humans.”
Thud!
Erwin closed his book and perked up his ears toward Veronica.
“Beasts galore, super tough ones—should be perfect.”
Whoosh, whoosh.
Veronica’s gaze flicked between Charlotte and Luphus in turn.
““.........””
Before long, “I wanna go” spread across every S Class student’s face.
But...
Contrary to the class’s vibe, one being remained utterly apathetic.
“I’m not that into it...”
All the way in the back.
A cat sprawled across two desks pushed together like a bed.
Neru yawned and lifted her head.
“There’s a ton of fish in the lake there.”
“...!!”
“Super shiny fish.”
“......!!!”
“Super tasty ones...”
“Let’s go right n—!!”
Thud!
Neru bolted upright, tumbling off the desk like a rolling log.
Her eyes sparkled like stars, mouth agape with drool pooling at the corners.
Reason fled at the words “shiny fish” and “tasty fish.”
Veronica quietly curled the corner of her mouth upward.
“...Um, Dean.”
And then...
Luphus, who’d been standing there dazed listening to Veronica, raised his hand again.
“How exactly are we supposed to get to the depths...? No one’s ever reached it, right?”
“Correct.”
The depths of the Great Forest.
Where the miracle known as the World Tree breathed.
But...
No one had ever crossed that mystery, and there was precedent of explorers vanishing after attempts.
“So how...?”
“There are ways.”
Tap, tap.
Veronica tapped the podium with her fingers a couple times as she replied.
“Anyway, we leave tomorrow, so keep that in mind.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Huh.”
“I haven’t even packed...”
Everyone exchanged bewildered glances at the sudden schedule.
But...
Not a single one looked displeased.
“See ya~ Have fun~”
With that...
Veronica vanished in her usual poof!
***
Was this... another trick of fate?
‘...Great Forest.’
I mulled over the word.
The site of the third calamity, the Calamity of Greed.
Where I’d face the “Fool” Mormot.
‘Hmm...’
That horrific name circled my mind, gradually taking vivid shape.
Whoosh.
I leaned back against the clubroom sofa and tilted my head backward.
‘What was it again.’
I dredged up my memories.
Recalled the story of Arka Rejang.
In that tale starring Klaus as the protagonist, how had Klaus encountered the Calamity of Greed?
Definitely...
The Great Forest.
But the exact motivation escaped me.
Just the vague word “stroke of fortune” floating in my head.
‘...Stroke of fortune.’
The mystery slumbering in the World Tree’s heart, the depths.
That had drawn Klaus there—and led him to face Mormot.
And...
That stroke of fortune was something I absolutely needed too.
To look back on my life and open the path to advance further.
For “me.”
For “Adel.”
...That was the moment.
Creak.
Delphine entered, opening the door.
As always, dark circles hung heavy under her eyes.
Flop...
She threw herself into a chair, let out an exhausted breath, and met my eyes.
“Student Adel... what on earth did you do out there?”
[Why?]
“The hallways, the stairs—your name was nonstop on every passing student’s lips.”
[?]
“No spit spared, gnawing at you, sucking you dry.”
What kind of bizarre phrasing was that?
What had I done to get “gnawed” and “sucked”?
“You even snagged the title of ‘Hero of the Commons.’”
[Eh?]
“The prince who vanquished the wicked noble... the prince who defeated Albatross saved the prin—Pfft!”
Unable to finish, laughter exploded out.
Delphine covered her mouth, trying desperately to stifle it, but her shoulders were already shaking uncontrollably.
“......”
I stared at Delphine wordlessly.
With eyes sharp enough to do justice to “axe glare.”
“Don’t look at me like that. It’s not my fault, I swear.”
Delphine brazenly kept a straight face as she spoke, but...
I saw it.
Beneath that rigid expression, her stiffly set mouth corners trembling.
“Oh, right—heading to the Great Forest, I hear.”
...Having barely quelled her laughter, Delphine looked up again.
[Yes.]
“Most unfortunate... I’ve been roped into joining the trip.”
[Yes?]
I widened my eyes and stared at Delphine.
She shook her head with a sigh.
“It was a semi-coerced measure.”
[Hold on.]
“What is it, Student Adel?”
[“Semi-coerced” means half of it was your own will, right?]
“Correct.”
Casually.
Utterly shamelessly admitting it.
“I initially refused flat-out, of course. True scholarship shines in the quiet confines of a study...”
[Yes.]
“But here’s the thing.”
[But?]
“As a mage... passing up a chance to see the World Tree? My conscience wouldn’t allow it.”
[?]
So, in the end... that wasn’t “semi-coerced” at all...
It was voluntary from the start, wasn’t it?
“My regrets, Student Adel.”
[Really.]
***
“Big trouble, Mormot.”
【What is it.】
“There are no carriages heading to the Great Forest.”
【.......】
Caden had scoured high and low across the Empire.
Yet...
He still couldn’t find a single carriage bound for the Great Forest.
【How much more foolish do you plan to get, Caden.】
“What do you mean?”
【Why go to the Great Forest in the first place.】
A forest stripped of light, laid waste.
Teeming with beasts, where losing your way meant the end of your life.
Who in their right mind would willingly march off to die?
“Is that so?”
【That’s right.】
Caden climbed onto the roof of a nearby building and flopped down.
Whoooosh—
The wind blew, lifting his robe and revealing the sleek ears beneath.
“How sad.”
【...Caden.】
“At times like this, a little empathy would be nice, Mormot.”
【That’s not—】
Whoosh!
The next instant—
Caden’s nape was snatched up by something...
—and
BOOM!!
His body was hurled straight into the ravine.
“Urk...”
Caden tumbled through the trees, ending up covered in dust as he barely dragged himself upright.
A moment later, as he brushed off his dusty robe and looked up—
“That Kanf punk’s still alive and kicking, huh.”
The voice of the culprit who’d grabbed his nape and flung him reached his ears.
“Koff... To be precise, I still can’t die yet.”
Coughing once, Caden waved away the flying dust.
And beyond that—
In his faintly clearing vision stood one figure.
...No, one dragon.
The moment he confirmed her appearance, Caden let out a chuckle and called her name.
“Veronica.”