The Test (Part 3)
We arrived at the spot where Karib had spotted the Scrammer’s tracks.
“This is the bastard’s footprints.”
“They’re strangely shaped.”
Who would dare claim it wasn’t a demonic beast.
They looked almost animalistic, almost avian—anyway, bizarre.
According to Karib, the Scrammer settled in one place and lived from that base.
“Then Karib, let’s search for the bastard’s nest with me. Nadia, please go find the supplies I asked for.”
“Understood.”
“Yeah.”
“Scott, tell us the location and we’ll dig.”
“Dig? That’s the hardest job.”
“Want me to go look for the demonic beast instead?”
“... No. This dirty work suits a strong guy like me.”
Scott, who had been muttering, immediately changed his attitude.
“If you happen to run into the Scrammer, climb a tree and get high up. The creature can’t climb.”
Finally, Karib gave everyone advice.
“Let’s go.”
Accompanied by Karib, we set out to find the demonic beast’s trail.
We weren’t professional hunters or anything, so we figured it would be tough, but we stumbled upon it surprisingly easily.
“There are so many footprints?”
“It seems he doesn’t try to hide his tracks. Ordinary animals around here can’t be threats, so he shows off his presence freely.”
“Arrogant bastard.”
“Are you sure, Dorn? If you’re unlucky, you might encounter the creature.”
“Then I’ll have to climb a tree.”
Karib and I were confident we could climb trees because of our small frames.
We followed the footprints and soon found what looked like the Scrammer’s nest.
Piles of desiccated animal carcasses confirmed it was the right spot.
“It’s pretty close to a trap.”
Perfect.
Once we set it up, we could lure the creature there.
“Position confirmed. Let’s head back.”
Now that we knew the nest, it was time to prepare in earnest.
We plunged into trap-making, and time flew by in the blink of an eye.
Especially Scott suffered a lot digging a pit with his bare hands and stones without proper tools.
“I really thought my arms were going to fall off.”
He grumbled the whole time, but thanks to that, we got a wide pit exactly the depth I wanted.
“This should be about two meters deep.”
I looked inside myself; if you fell in, you’d struggle to get out without help.
Now it was time for the test…
“Nadia, I’m counting on you.”
This trap’s most important role was hers.
“U-um… okay…”
Nadia nodded, slowly unwinding the bandages wrapped around her body.
-......
The rest of us watched in silence.
It was just unwinding bandages, yet there was something oddly hypnotic about the sight.
“Ah, not enough yet?”
Nadia asked after removing all the bandages from her limbs.
“I think we need a little more.”
“Uuu… okay.”
Moaning, she started unwinding the bandages around her head and face.
Her face, hidden until now, was revealed.
-......!!
The men present froze silently.
The cause was Nadia’s beauty.
“......She’s extremely beautiful?”
With her face exposed, she was a breathtaking beauty.
Black bob hair, snow-white skin like snow. Large brown eyes with dark circles underneath hinted at fatigue, yet somehow she was undeniably cute.
Was I really going to fight this girl to the death, kicking her in the crotch…?
A late guilt made my chest ache.
“Why, why are you all looking at me like that?”
Nadia asked in surprise as everyone stared blankly.
“Ah, it’s… because you’re so pretty it surprised me.”
The truth slipped out before I could stop it.
“......Eh?”
At first Nadia didn’t understand, but her face slowly turned redder with each passing second.
“N-not even m-m-m…”
“Nadia, wait!”
She was about to wrap the loosened bandages again, but I barely stopped her.
It wasn’t a hijab; why hide such a pretty face?
“Is there any religion besides the one I worship?”
I didn’t understand, but the trap came first, so I decided to ask later.
The trap we painstakingly made passed the test successfully.
Tomorrow was the big hunt day and the fifth day of the test.
We went to the shelter early to sleep before dawn.
“Dorn.”
“... I’m awake.”
As expected, the guard duty time had come.
Today was the third turn.
Nadia was fixed as the first, but no second turn had ever come up yet.
“Why is my luck so bad?”
I sat by the campfire, where Scott—the one who had done the last turn—sat quietly instead of going to sleep.
He kept glancing at me as if he wanted to say something.
“... Why are you looking at me?”
Since there was nothing to do while on guard, I agreed to listen. Scott spoke as if he’d been waiting.
“Actually, I can’t sleep because I’m nervous about tomorrow’s hunt.”
That made sense.
He nodded for me to continue.
“This is my first time hunting a demonic beast. If I mess up and get hurt…”
“You’re a troll; you heal from almost any wound quickly. What’s there to worry about?”
It was the other members who had to worry about messing up.
“B-but what if it’s scary?!”
Scott, already tense, looked like he might back out.
“You shouldn’t quit tomorrow.”
“That’s not an option. Even if you’re a coward, your strength is real.”
“I have no choice.”
“It’s been a while since I used Thought Encroachment.”
This power, which rarely shone in the Cradle filled with mana users, would be different now.
We’d traveled together enough for Scott’s favorability to rise, and I knew his personality and tendencies.
I quietly moved mana toward his head, pulled out blue threads, and connected them to his forehead.
I planted a suggestive piece of information in his mind and spoke lazily.
“Scott, do you remember what I told you about Bogar getting a girlfriend recently?”
Even though he was crushed by Gail from the second class, Bogar was still a powerhouse in our class.
Everyone in the class knew he’d started dating recently.
“Yeah, I remember.”
Scott nodded, looking at me with a “why are you asking this?” expression.
“You said back then, honestly, that Bogar’s face has no business getting a girlfriend.”
“No, it was just a joke…”
He waved his hand as if he thought I was trying to blackmail him over what he’d said about Bogar’s back.
Even though he was my friend, surely not that much.
“Don’t be nervous.”
“Eh?”
“I think the same.”
Objectively, Bogar was ugly.
Broccoli’s ugliest champion, not as bad as Jugo, but a level where plastic surgeons would laugh with dollar signs in their eyes.
But what girl would date an ugly guy like that?
Surprisingly, it was a pretty girl from our class.
I asked Scott.
“Honestly, did that girl start dating Bogar because of his face?”
“... No way. She has eyes, right?”
Scott started opening up to my story.
“But your words are a bit harsh.”
No matter how ugly Bogar is, what do her eyes have to do with it…
Just like before, when he talked about his friend’s back, malice was completely transparent.
“He’s a friend, but I have to be careful.”
I continued questioning.
“Then what do you think is the reason that girl is dating Bogar?”
“Um.”
Scott thought for a moment.
There are many things that attract a woman to a man besides his face.
Like outstanding wealth and good personality.
“First, Bogar has neither.”
His personality is trash.
Just the number of male students who’ve been beaten senseless and taken to the infirmary is countless.
Having the habit of observing people because of my ability, I saw that his wealth was also ordinary.
So what charm does he have?
“... Being stronger than others?”
Scott gave the answer.
“Yeah. Women are attracted to a man’s strength.”
Here, strength meant physical, not mental, which matched my suggestion to Scott.
It was a biological instinct for females to be drawn to strong males.
I was confident that the girl dating Bogar was also influenced by it.
Scott tilted his head.
“How is that related to what I said?”
“Listen more.”
This was the main point.
“Did you see Nadia’s face earlier?”
“Yeah.”
“What do you think?”
“What do I think? Well…”
“Pretty, right?”
Nadia was a beauty hard to find anywhere, short as she was.
Plus, her figure was so curvaceous it looked like it had jumped out of an adult webtoon—any man would feel attraction.
“Honestly, Nadia is prettier than Bogar’s girlfriend. You agree, right?”
“……”
Scott nodded quietly as I grinned.
“He’s acting tough on the surface.”
Even if he looked that way, the physical strength he’d shown so far meant he was already head over heels for Nadia in his mind.
I decided to use that aggressively.
“Scott, the Cradle is an academy, but it’s also a place where young men and women gather. You must have wanted to date someone properly after coming here.”
“……”
He didn’t answer, but his eyes sparkled at the word “date,” and I couldn’t hide it.
At this point, he was probably running a virtual simulation in his head.
His imaginary love interest was likely Nadia, who left the strongest impression today.
I put on a serious expression and said to Scott, “If you want that, tomorrow’s demonic beast hunt is the perfect chance for you to develop a good relationship with Nadia.”
“A chance?”
“Men and women getting close after going through tough times together is normal.”
Plus, for Nadia, who had to avoid failing this test, it was crucial.
“If you show a good side tomorrow, Nadia will naturally like you more, right?”
“W-well…”
“Exactly! What can’t you do if even Bogar can date? You have nothing to lose.”
With the positive frame of “hunting demonic beasts is the shortest path to romance” and the “what makes you think you’re worse than her?” tactic, Scott went along smoothly.
“Your personality is too kind, but you’re not the kind of troll that gets beaten for strength anywhere. Plus, you have money at home and a better personality…”
I paused.
I should have said his looks were better too, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it.
Looking at their faces alone, they were evenly matched…
Well, I didn’t need to say it out loud.
“This should be enough.”
“... You’re right, Dorn!”
Look at that.
Scott was looking at me with sparkling eyes, completely absorbed in self-affirming self-improvement.
My suggestion “Women like strong and reliable men” now seemed like a truth he’d realized himself.
“I’ll try it!”
Scott clenched his huge fist.
If a demonic beast appeared right now, he’d want to smash its head immediately.
“Good thinking, Scott.”
“If I date Nadia, Dorn, I’ll treat you to dinner! A really big one!”
“Haha, I can’t wait.”
Unbelievable.
Even if his true feelings were different, I honestly cheered for him on the surface.
Looking at his happy face, he was already planning the wedding in his head.
Seeing him gulp down the kimchi stew, guilt hit me unavoidably.
“Nadia, sorry…”
But it was all for the test. Please understand.