Let's Have a Meal
Ron wiped the sweat trickling down his chin with the back of his hand and let out a long sigh.
This was the second day of searching for the main force. As time dragged on, Gilbard grew increasingly irritable, and most of the arrows he fired were aimed at Somneri.
Somneri’s passive, self-deprecating attitude as a weakling made her easy prey for Gilbard, who loved showing off. Every time Philia watched from the side, Gilbard would stop fidgeting—but his impulsive nature never truly vanished.
Right now, as Somneri drank water, he was scolding her to save it.
Yet when one looked at total intake, Gilbard had drunk far more than she had, and everyone knew it.
Philia didn’t want to believe the old saying that a person’s true nature shows in hard times, but she had no choice but to accept it when she saw him.
Before training began, they had met several times as a team. Philia had thought Gilbard was neither particularly talented nor moody, and that he had decent teamwork.
But now, looking at him, she worried her eyes were failing. The man was completely different from what she remembered.
Was the problem with that saying…?
Philia recalled the words the headmistress Celenas had used about individual evaluation.
She didn’t understand the exact scoring system, but she knew that the score depended heavily on how well the problem was solved.
You earned points by solving the problem. That was the issue.
The belief that solving it with her own opinion would bring the best score had been troubling the entire team.
Driven by score-hungry instincts, Gilbard kept opposing Philia’s suggestions.
Philia herself didn’t believe every one of her ideas was perfect.
For example, trying to secure food had been a nightmare because the plant community in the Invariable Antipode Forest had suddenly changed, and they had made almost no progress on the first day.
Since she still felt immature, she had listened to every opinion and picked the best one. But Gilbard opposed her every time.
He claimed his objections were reasonable, yet he offered no solutions—only complaints about what others had suggested.
Every time he dismissed someone’s idea by pretending to be logically critical, he seemed convinced he was earning high marks.
Most of the time he mocked Philia’s suggestions without logic and forced Somneri’s to reverse under pressure. The remaining teammate, Ron, who showed no interest in training, stayed a step behind, never spoke his mind, and only talked wisely after the result was in.
Somneri was terrified of Gilbard and stayed silent unless Philia asked, so Philia was the one who kept colliding with him.
Philia had once been bright and gentle, but as training dragged on, stress tightened her expression. Somehow she was beginning to resemble the strict instructor Leila.
She had suffered through the suddenly hot and humid terrain, but Team 8 had still found the main force. It was Philia’s credit as leader and tracker.
“Found it.”
“Finally! We circled around because of that idiot who couldn’t find a road!”
Instead of praising Philia for locating the main force before sunset, Gilbard belittled her and strode ahead proudly. Up until now he had lagged behind because of low stamina, but now that they had arrived he pushed forward to stand out in the instructors’ eyes.
“Don’t break formation.”
“Haa… You tell me not to do anything to you. Are you trying to play leader?”
“The leader is the role you gave me. So listen properly. Remember that the Empire army you’re so proud of values discipline.”
Seeing Philia preparing for every possible situation, Gilbard often muttered things like “small-minded and lacking in grandeur—the great Empire army is nothing like that” to win the recorder’s favor. When she repeated his words, he gritted his teeth and then relaxed.
“Y-yes, well, the great leader should go first.”
Gilbard bowed his head and spread both hands toward the main force as if guiding them. Philia glanced at the back of his head.
Ron, who always watched the two of them bicker from behind, looked at Gilbard with eager eyes.
Lazy Ron hated training. He hadn’t wanted to join the army anyway and simply wanted to attend the academy comfortably and graduate. This inescapable, grueling training terrified him.
His only joy was waiting for Philia and Gilbard to fight. Since there was a recorder, a duel wouldn’t happen, but he secretly wished they would punch each other.
So when Gilbard returned angry at Philia, Ron would pretend to comfort him and subtly encourage the fight. After all, the headmistress Celenas had released the “teamwork test” poison, so he was only helping with the training. Only the stupid ones—Gilbard and Somneri—didn’t understand that.
Will he get angry? Will he explode?
To Ron, who was eagerly waiting for the explosion, Philia’s calm voice was disappointing.
“There’s only a unit we assume is the main force. Approach while on guard until confirmed.”
Ron, expecting an emotional fight, stared at the back of Philia’s head with disappointment.
Gilbard looked up with an incredulous expression.
Seeing Philia still calmly looking down, he made a dissatisfied face, but he said nothing and moved to the very back of the line.
“Don’t get too angry. You’re just faithfully doing your job.”
That’s the job you wanted.
Ron, thinking differently inside, patted Gilbard’s shoulder as if they were close. Gilbard whispered to him.
“That guy is definitely going to make a mistake commanding like that. His bowl is too small. Since he’s not a leader, he has to change.”
“To who?”
“There are people who suit him. People like you and me. I have thoughts.”
Finally, the feeling of wanting to vomit he had been holding back for days paid off. Ron nodded at Gilbard’s words to talk separately after arrival.
Indeed, I can’t hate stupid guys.
Ron walked in front of Gilbard, his expression hidden, and smiled.
When Team 8 reached the main force, Philia saw more people than expected and turned her gaze to the bulletin board. As expected, teams were listed in arrival order, so she approached Leila.
“You’ve arrived. Check how many teams.”
Leila, who was both a responsible academy student and told others to report like everyone else, Philia stood in proper posture and reported.
“Team B-8.”
“B-8. Arrived as the twenty-third. How did you find the main force?”
“We followed traces centered around water sources. The main force in training is assumed to be ten thousand, so even if they set up the main base far away, they would have had to find water sources. I expected they would locate one.”
“Good suggestion. However, training often omits details or is easy to miss, so no matter how realistic it feels, you must assume the training situation in your head. A commander must always keep every condition in mind.”
As Leila said, the main force assumed to be ten thousand was actually only ten staff members gathered. Of course they could carry water, and the traces Philia had found first belonged to another team that had made the same assumption.
A bit of luck had allowed them to find the main force, but because the detail of locating ten thousand’s water supply had been omitted, they would have missed it if they had been wrong.
“Thank you for the advice.”
“You’ve worked hard for two days. There’s no training until tomorrow morning, so rest well. You may use fire today.”
Among the academy students who had to start night marches after sleeping on the first day, no one believed the words literally, but they felt a small measure of comfort.
While pitching tents and preparing meals, the sun gradually set.
Philia looked worriedly at Cesset, who still hadn’t arrived. Unlike last time, she had arrived safely, but this time the situation was far worse.
She had already consumed her stamina and lost her food supply. Maybe she had delayed while searching for food, and a tired Cesset might drop out midway.
In fact, Leila was receiving a report that a dropout had occurred in the team with a pure mage. Every time an academy staff approached, Philia listened with worry, thinking it might be Cesset, but fortunately she hadn’t heard her name yet.
But time was running out. Philia and Leila alternately checked the palm-sized pocket watch and the dark forest, biting her lip with anxious eyes.
Especially the suddenly changed climate had been too extreme. The hot, humid air drained stamina just by walking, and even those who had trained their stamina found it a harsh trial.
Stamina kept draining, the ground was sticky and uneven, making every step difficult. Massive old trees, bushes rising above the knees, and slippery moss slowed movement and sapped even more energy.
It was unimaginable for a pure mage like her to push through such terrain and climate.
Perhaps out of consideration for the academy students, they lit fires to show their location, but crossing this terrain at night was far harder.
“We’re finally here!!!!”
As if to stop the vain worries, Cesset burst out of the bushes, raised both hands high in a V, and grinned. Her energetic posture and loud voice made everyone focus on her.
Philia smiled at the energetic Cesset, but the smile was followed by a question.
Why is she so full of energy?
It was good that her friend wasn’t tired, but it was incomprehensible. They had all struggled, yet Cesset, who had little stamina, was running around happily like a child who had come out for a picnic.
Not only Philia, but other academy students were also curious about Cesset, who looked completely unfazed.
“Make way, make way. The king is coming.”
Cesset waved her hand at the students in front and cleared a path. She didn’t look like the king, but more like a page making way for someone behind.
Following her nimble action, the academy students watched the person emerging from the bushes.
“Eh? Ah, hello?”
When everyone stared at her, Zeroa, startled, greeted awkwardly as he came out. Having suffered, his dirty clothes and disheveled posture made the students think he wasn’t the king.
Then Aria appeared behind him. Even though she had always been clean and neat, she was now soaked in dust and sweat like Zeroa, fatigue clearly showing on her face.
Yet her beauty remained untouched. Her tired face, eyes full of strength, and noble, proud posture made her look like a warrior who had broken through hardships—sharp in some way.
In the academy she had been a flower on a cliff; now she was a dangerous assassin.
“The goddess… Queen…”
“Wow…”
Each muttering in admiration at the queen’s return, Cesset shouted that she wasn’t it, dropped to one knee, and extended both hands toward the bushes.
Finally, Rai came out and met eyes with the academy students.
“What are you looking at?”
The words to start a fight right away were unbelievable, but Philia didn’t have time to think that. It was because of the burden on his back.
The academy students also stared blankly at the deer on Rai’s back.
It seemed he had cleanly severed the neck in one go; only the blood flowing down the deer’s jaw remained. During the journey here, the students had seen wild animals often, but they had never thought of hunting.
To them without mana or bows, animals were a pipe dream, and as the animals became more alert to human presence, they fled even from far away.
“If you say this, it’s a spear, no, a shovel? Ah, I don’t know! Anyway, the hunting king who caught a deer tens of kilometers away with just a shovel! Whoa, make way! The king is passing by, how dare you!”
Although Cesset’s words were exaggerated, they had to admit Rai’s skill in catching the deer with just a shovel.
“Quiet down.”
Leila approached and scolded. Cesset immediately ran to Rai’s side. Rai, carrying the deer with a proud posture, looked at Leila’s face and smirked.
“You lit a fire? Why didn’t you use it yesterday?”
“It’s training to see how you act when there are few given conditions. Now it’s to reduce the number of dropouts.”
“Disgusting. Our leader was really angry.”
“No. There’s no such thing.”
When Rai said it outright, Cesset shook her head quickly in denial. Leila didn’t care about his words and read the record sheet Brown was showing, then received the report mechanically.
After Cesset finished reporting, Leila repeated the same words she had said to Philia without changing a single syllable and sent Team 7.
Rai carrying the deer and the cheerful Cesset walked among the academy students, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Phili riririril~~!!”
Seeing Philia who had already set up and was resting, Cesset ran over and hugged her. When Philia gently stroked her head, Cesset laughed “hehe” and said,
“Philia arrived early as expected. I…”
“Don’t joke, work, slave.”
From behind, Rai said it. Cesset jumped up and ran to him to set up the tent. Although called a slave, she was happily setting up the tent without any dissatisfaction.
Thinking it was only natural since they had caught the deer in a situation where food was precious, Philia looked at the other two.
Zeroa and Aria were simply sitting there doing nothing. Since they had just arrived, there were many things to do—setting up camp, processing the hunted deer. Especially Team 7 had abandoned most of their equipment, so they had even more to prepare than the others.
Yet the two were just resting without doing anything. Zeroa seemed uncomfortable that they were the only ones resting and was checking the atmosphere, but he didn’t move.
Even though they had come here with a lot of stamina consumed, the two were exhausted to the point they couldn’t hide it. It should have been Cesset, the pure mage, who felt that way, but instead the two were tired and Cesset was energetic. The academy students expected what trick Team 7 had pulled.
Two people… No, Aria carried Cesset instead.
It was an unimaginable thing from the image of Aria Philia had seen at the academy, but there was no other answer. When reporting, it had been said they had gone past the main force to find the base and reached high terrain.
Philia had thought about it but immediately shook her head because it consumed too much stamina. The high terrain was too far, and unless the team had stamina, they wouldn’t even try.
But Team 7 had done it. Even carrying a pure mage on a forced march.
What made it possible was that Rai had discarded almost all the items in the backpack on the first day. Whether he had discarded them expecting this or acted according to the situation, Philia was curious.
Either way, they had produced results even with the pure mage Cesset included. Among the teams currently at the main base, only three included a pure mage, including Team 7. Out of fifteen teams, ten had dropped out or hadn’t arrived yet.
Philia hadn’t liked Rai when she first saw him.
She didn’t like the term “shameless,” but sometimes the word came to mind when she saw his light talk.
His instructor-like appearance that combined awkwardness and freedom was distasteful.
She didn’t know if she was responsible or not, and she had come into the class and been embarrassed. In the first lecture she had irresponsibly just said “do it” without any explanation.
Of course she had been shocked and done something rude. Just thinking about that day made Philia’s face turn red and she couldn’t bear it.
But she had no choice but to admit his skill.
She ruined the first lecture, received feedback from the academy students, made a good lecture, and was recognized. The appearance he showed in training was something anyone could recognize as skill.
A wonderful instructor qualified to be at the academy. She was only grateful to Rai for completely denying the words she had said at first.
Deep in thought, building affection for Rai, Philia lifted her head at the smell stimulating her appetite. Rai was squatting with a smug expression, looking at her.
“Um, um, instructor? Really?”
“You have to, bro. This is when you show off a bit.”
Zeroa, who had been far away, asked with a trembling voice, but Rai answered without looking back.
In his hand was a plump hind leg of a roasted deer. Not only Rai, but all of Team 7 was holding one leg each.
They were looking in different directions around the tent, showing off the thick deer’s thighs everywhere.
Aria sat in proper posture, looking only at the legs she held with both hands, while Cesset drooled and shouted to start quickly to Rai.
Receiving stares from the academy students mixed with disbelief, surprise, and jealousy, Team 7 simultaneously bit into the meat.
“Huuu huuung huuung-!!”
Cesset, who had eaten the meat, threw her head back high and let out incomprehensible sounds.
Zeroa, who had been blushing under the sharp gazes, also closed his eyes with a moved expression and trembled his body small. Aria didn’t change much, but her eating speed gradually increased.
And Rai and Philia’s eyes met.
Unlike the other three, although not with a moved expression, the sight of silently meeting eyes and chewing the deer meat vigorously was more irritating.
A smile appeared on Philia’s face. The slightly twitching corners of her mouth were the point.
This man really couldn’t be acknowledged.
Phil ia was aggrieved that she had once thought positively about him for a moment and felt like a fool.