Field Trip (1)
Field Trip (1)
The Seal Grounds, where the heroes joined forces to seal the Demon King during the Great War.
Located at the eastern end of the continent.
A vast territory roughly the size of a decent-sized kingdom, it was filled with monsters that had failed to return to the Demon Realm. It was often called the continent's own Demon Realm.
The borders of the Seal Grounds spanned multiple nations, including the Empire, but fortunately, our kingdom was located a bit farther away.
Knight Carlos sealed the Demon King alongside the other heroes during the Great War. After the Demon King's sealing, the founding king of our kingdom discovered a spatial teleportation magic circle here and declared the Kingdom's founding.
He then established the Academy to manage and make use of this teleportation magic circle.
Whether that was truly for the students' education...
Or whether, as recorded in official chronicles, it was so they could be the very first to charge through the teleportation array if the Demon King ever rose again, remained unknown.
Regardless, the teleportation magic circle became an open secret within the Kingdom.
Using this magic circle, Academy students were required to travel to the Seal Grounds and battle the monsters there.
This was the duty of nobles who inherited the abilities of the heroes.
One might call it the noblesse oblige of this world.
That duty had faded over time, of course, but even now, all freshmen were required to visit the Seal Grounds as part of a class known as the field trip.
The Knight Faculty, the Inherited Ability Faculty, and even the Administration Faculty.
That was why our team ended up with this particular mix of members.
One student from the Administration Faculty, two from the Knight Faculty, and two from the Inherited Ability Faculty.
Team formation depended primarily on the students' own choices, and if any issues arose, the professors were supposed to adjust the teams and finalize them.
First, it was only natural for the Princess to be on the same team as me.
Balea immediately applied to join my team as well.
My half-brother caught sight of the Princess, had some sudden change of heart, and announced that he wanted to join my team too.
Lastly, we needed one member from the Administration Faculty, and since his dormitory room happened to be right next to mine, Piar ended up on our team.
Simply because no one else volunteered to join us.
Not many had the audacity to join the same team as the Princess.
And a few pompous nobles who initially wanted to join changed their minds and went to other teams the moment they saw me on ours.
In the end, our team had turned out this way because of me.
As everyone stood in silence, staring at one another, the Princess took the initiative and greeted us.
"Hello. I am Aisha."
The Princess's greeting was immensely adorable, but no one dared show it.
They merely scrambled to return her greeting.
"I am Manuel De Gracia."
As always, my half-brother put the aristocratic etiquette he'd been drilled in on full display.
"I am Balea. Nice to meet you."
Balea clung close to my side, playing the part of a shy schoolgirl with an utterly fake voice.
"I am Alex."
I gave a plain greeting.
"I-I am Piar."
Piar barely managed to get the words out, his head bowed low.
Once the introductions were over, silence descended once more.
Everyone just stood there, staring blankly at one another.
While the other teams were busy chatting up a storm, a heavy silence hung over ours alone.
'We're doomed.'
We hadn't formed a team because we were friendly; we'd been thrown together at random. On top of that, with the Princess among us, no one dared say anything reckless.
Besides, the Princess, who ought to have led the conversation, was still young.
Thankfully, someone spoke up to break the awkward tension.
"Um..."
Everyone was a little surprised.
Because the one who'd spoken up was Piar.
"I-Is it really alright for me to be on this team?"
Contrary to their surprise, however, his words instantly deflated the mood.
He hadn't been this pathetic before.
Ever since he lost his necklace, he'd turned completely timid.
"The teams are already set. It's far too late now."
Balea replied to his question. Her voice was gentle, but there was a sharp, heavy barb beneath her words.
At Balea's reply, Piar lowered his head even further.
Just as silence was about to settle over us again, Manuel spoke up.
"So, who's going to be the team leader?"
As he spoke, Manuel glanced around at everyone—except the Princess.
What a personality. He excluded the Princess just so he could speak informally.
And the way he looked around made it blatantly obvious that he wanted people to pick him.
"Then Manuel should..."
"Alex would be great!"
Under that gaze, Piar reflexively tried to nominate Manuel, but before he could, Balea raised her hand and pointed at me.
I flinched in shock.
Is this bitch trying to sabotage me?!
No, what was the point of being team leader anyway?
Anyone could see what a hassle it would be!
A noble ten-year-old girl, a stubbornly disobedient half-brother, a half-insane woman who had once killed me, and a timid Administration Faculty student paralyzed with anxiety.
Fortunately, everyone was properly armed, but leading this ragtag crew was an absolute impossibility.
"I believe it would be best for Her Highness the Princess to take the role."
I promptly dumped the burden on the highest-ranking person present.
"Pardon?"
The Princess gasped in surprise at my words, and the others wore troubled expressions.
Well, understandable—they were probably worried about her age.
"I will assist you from the side. You can think of it as a learning experience."
"...Yes. All right."
But when I nudged her once more, the Princess meekly accepted.
With her agreement, our team leader was decided.
There were no objections. Her young age was a concern, but who on earth would step forward to oppose the Princess when she'd said she would do it?
I had my concerns too, but this was the best outcome.
Only if the Princess became team leader would everyone actually listen.
She was mature for her age, after all.
And I could just control things from behind the scenes by offering guidance disguised as advice.
Besides, being a team leader didn't carry that much weight anyway.
After all, this class was basically more like a chaperoned safari tour.
"Is this the team with Her Highness the Princess?"
A female teacher approached us.
"It seems I will be in charge of your team."
A middle-aged female professor. She was the professor I'd seen in the general education class, 'Basic inherited abilities.'
I heard she belonged to the Inherited Ability Faculty.
"Princess Aisha, I am Niel."
"Please treat me as a student."
"Yes, understood."
She gave us a quick once-over before offering the Princess a polite greeting.
The Princess waved awkwardly, while the students frowned behind the professor's back.
The professor was blatantly breaking school rules.
Treat everyone equally regardless of status within the Academy.
It was a royal decree issued by the founding king who built the Academy, but what meaning did it hold when even the professors ignored it?
Was that professor a noble without succession rights? Her children hadn't awakened inherited abilities either.
As generations passed and bloodlines thinned, the time inevitably came when children were born unable to awaken their powers.
With a commoner mother, I faced that risk as well, and even when nobles intermarried, children like that ultimately became powerless nobles.
That was why nobles strove to appoint children with powerful abilities as their heirs.
Well, thanks to that, firstborns often fought viciously against their siblings to avoid losing their heirship.
Professor Niel would likely end up a single-generation noble, the last of her line.
That was why she was overreaching just to get into the Princess's good graces.
Had she pulled strings behind the scenes just to supervise this team?
Normally, Katrin would have been assigned to us, but she was chatting with some high-and-mighty high noble children a short distance away.
At any rate, each team was overseen by either a teacher or a skilled knight.
Even if this field trip was closer to a sightseeing tour that didn't venture deep inside, there was no way the Demon King's Seal Grounds were safe.
But if all the students swarmed around in one massive group, they would attract the monsters' full attention.
Ultimately, the chaperoning knights or teachers had no choice but to lead small groups independently.
So in truth, the team leader was nothing more than a messenger delivering the teacher's instructions.
"Who did you select as the team leader?"
"I am the team leader."
"As expected, Her Highness."
The professor looked at the Princess with a face that said I knew it.
Still, I didn't understand why she was trying so desperately to kiss up to the Princess. Compared to the First Prince or Second Prince factions, this was a terribly tenuous lifeline.
Once all the supervisors had assembled with their respective teams, the Headmaster stepped onto the magic circle.
"Everyone, take your positions. We will now activate the teleportation array. Also, using any abilities is strictly forbidden until teleportation is complete."
At his command, we followed our supervisor's directions and took our assigned spots. There seemed to be some pattern to them, but I couldn't tell what it was yet.
As everyone settled into place, mana began to surge.
Vrrrrrrrm.
The air vibrated, and light spilled from the magic circle.
"Woah, it's a real magic circle."
While everyone else marveled at the glowing magic array, I was far more astonished by the raging torrent of mana.
'Is it a kind of mana absorption array?'
Unlike the necklace, which amplified its wearer's own mana, this magic circle was sucking in ambient mana from the surroundings.
I now understood why using abilities had been forbidden.
With it siphoning mana like this, using a power recklessly would undoubtedly cause a catastrophic mess.
"Check your equipment and hold hands within your teams. If you aren't careful, you might get separated and left behind."
Once the undulating mana stabilized, the Headmaster addressed everyone.
After double-checking all our equipment, our team held hands as well.
Professor Niel held hands with Manuel.
Manuel held hands with Piar.
Piar held hands with Balea, Balea held hands with me, and the Princess took my other hand.
After surveying the surroundings, the Headmaster unleashed his ability.
"Departing now."
Whooooom!
With those words, the magic circle emitted a blinding flash of light.
Everyone was enveloped in the radiance, and I saw the mana stretch far into the distance.
It seemed to connect straight to our destination, the Seal Grounds.
'What would happen if I touched or severed that Mana Thread?'
Just as I entertained that terrifying thought, I felt my vision shift violently.
A moment ago, we were indoors, but in the blink of an eye, we found ourselves surrounded by trees—no, deep inside a dense jungle.
None of the other students were in sight.
Only our five team members and Professor Niel stood in the thick jungle.
Instantly, a massive wave of dizziness rushed over me. It felt like riding an amusement park ride ten times back-to-back.
"Ugh, blegh!"
Piar immediately started dry-heaving.
"Urk!"
"Oof!"
Manuel and the other students covered their mouths, their faces pale as sheets.
It was the aftereffect of spatial teleportation. My stomach churned too, but I hurriedly rallied my mana. As the mana circulated, my mind began to clear.
"Circulating your mana will make you feel a bit better."
When had she moved over? Professor Niel was patting the Princess's back as she spoke.
Thanks to Professor Niel's advice, the Princess's expression quickly recovered, and one by one—Manuel, Balea, then Piar—their pale complexions returned to normal.
Only then did the students begin looking around.
"Is this the Seal Grounds?"
Piar mumbled unconsciously.
"It just looks like a dense forest..."
Manuel frowned.
"It feels a bit hot, though."
Balea fanned herself with her hand.
The Princess unsheathed the sword at her waist.
As expected of the Princess, she was remarkably sharp for her age.
Meanwhile, I was staring into empty air, grumbling under my breath.
A message window had floated up before my eyes.
[You have arrived at the Seal Grounds. A new 'Save Point' has been set.]
Dammit, another Save Point had been set.