Chapter 27
Why did it have to turn out like this.
I was sick of my bad luck with the lottery.
There are six members in the group.
They were selected at random.
First, there's me—Ellie Golden, also known as the super handsome elite Kobashigawa.
From the Dark class, there's a fox girl named Ariana.
She's scrawny and incredibly gloomy. The air feels heavy just by being near her. Her features are well-defined and cute, but she's too skinny to actually look cute. Fox ears stick out from her head and twitch occasionally.
From the Fire class, there's a rugged human man named Wands.
He has a jutted chin and thick eyebrows. His face is intense. He looks like someone from the Middle East in Japanese terms, and the more you look at him, the more character his face shows. So I nicknamed him "Dried Squid." He has a buster sword sheathed at his waist. He probably uses it along with magic.
From the Water class, there's a human guy who looks handsome-ish, Debussy.
He's annoyingly full of himself. His hair is flaxen and his name is what it is, so I nicknamed him "That Bastard with Flaxen Hair."
From the Earth class, there's a dwarf man named Gargaine.
He spits on the ground all the time, so I nicknamed him "Phlegm Stump." It's a pun on phlegm and short legs. He's under 150 centimeters tall and has absurdly thick arms.
And from the Light class, there's a prim and proper human girl, Scarlet.
Needless to say, it's that Scarlet. She seems pleased to be fawned over by the handsome-ish Debussy. It's rare for classmates from the Light class to end up in the same group, but thanks to bad luck, that rare case happened.
The chaperone is Baldy... I mean, Professor Harshüge.
He's the only saving grace. I want to call him the Bald God.
"Aren't we at the campsite yet?"
"Just a little more, my lovely Lady Scarlet. If you follow me, there won't be any problem at all."
That Bastard with Flaxen Hair brushed his hair back and gave an affected bow. If he has time for that, he should just walk faster. He pushed himself into the leader role, so for now everyone's just letting him do it.
"Can't you just shut up and walk?"
Phlegm Stump said.
He effortlessly shifted the iron hammer from his right shoulder to his left.
"Spitting is bad manners, you know. What if it landed on me?"
"Huh?"
"So you can't behave like a gentleman?"
Scarlet shot him a look like she was staring at something filthy.
"What's with that weird hairstyle?"
Phlegm Stump frowned as he looked at Scarlet's hair.
Apparently, her ringlet curls are ridiculous.
"W-What did you say!?"
"Stop it, Gargaine. Insulting a lady is not something a gentleman does."
That Bastard with Flaxen Hair—ugh, I'll just call him Flax Bastard from now on—spread his right hand and struck a pose with his staff, looking all theatrical.
"What, you wanna go?"
Phlegm Stump held his heavy iron hammer in both hands and took a stance.
"Hey, Dried Squid. Stop them."
"Who're you calling Dried Squid?! Who?!"
"Obviously, you."
"Don't give me weird nicknames!"
Dried Squid, with his intense face and jutted chin, shouted angrily.
"If you're a man, then act like one and stop them!"
"You got it!"
Apparently, he has a thing for manly virtue. He's as easy to handle as a scooter.
Since the journey was dull, I killed time by teasing Dried Squid.
"You guys, knock it off!"
"What? You wanna go too?"
"What!? If someone picks a fight, Wands is not the kind of man to back down!"
Dried Squid also drew his staff and got into position.
He joined the fight two seconds after trying to stop it!
"Everyone, please stop fighting for my sake..."
Scarlet pretended to be flustered, bringing her hands to her mouth and looking up at the boys with wide eyes.
We're not fighting for you, okay?!
It took all I had to stop myself from blurting that out.
I didn't feel like stopping them, so I just watched, and then Ariana muttered "annoying" and swung her staff.
A black mist covered the three of their faces.
They all writhed and collapsed to the ground.
It was an advanced Dark spell: "Sleep Mist."
"Thanks, Ariana."
I murmured my gratitude.
She gave a small shake of her head. Like she was saying it was no big deal. I was starting to think this little fox girl might be the most dependable one in the group.
"What have you done?!"
Scarlet rushed to Flax Bastard and cast Heal, gently patting his face.
She ignored Dried Squid and Phlegm Stump.
Heal has slight detoxifying effects. Since Ariana held back a lot when casting Sleep Mist, they'll wake up quickly with Heal.
I grudgingly chanted Heal on Phlegm Stump and Dried Squid.
"Where am I?"
"Why am I lying down?"
And so, this kind of exchange has happened three times already.
I can't help but wonder if anyone here even wants to accomplish the goal. If this were the business world, they'd all be fired.
Bald God... I mean Professor Harshüge, sighed as he watched the whole sequence unfold. He's been sighing non-stop. I'm starting to think I should warn him that too many sighs will make him lose more hair.
○
We finally arrived at the campsite.
It took us twice as long as usual.
We couldn't cook properly, so we just had some simple soup and bread before heading straight into the tents. I felt oddly tired. Scarlet didn't want to share a tent with me, so she had Flax Bastard pitch her one and slept alone. The three guys seemed to be sharing one tent.
I was with Ariana, just the two of us.
She appeared to be awake but said nothing. Her eyes looked dead, like a fish, as she read a book. I cast the beginner Light spell "Light" to help her see better, so she seemed at least a little grateful. Still, I wished she'd talk. Not knowing how to fill the silence, I stepped outside.
Outside, Professor Harshüge was warming himself with arms spread by the campfire.
The firelight made his forehead gleam.
Even though it's summer, nights on the great plains are chilly.
"Ellie?"
"You're not going to sleep yet?"
"It wouldn't be strange for monsters to show up soon. I'm on watch."
"Then we should probably take turns on watch too."
"That kind of instruction should come from Debussy, the leader. I'm just the chaperone and evaluator."
This training camp uses a scoring system.
○ Time taken to reach the assigned location. (10 points)
○ Defeating the designated monster. (10 points)
○ Coordination with randomly assigned members. (10 points)
○ Individual evaluation. (20 points)
The highest score possible is 50 points.
"Mind if I vent a bit, Ellie?"
"Go ahead, Professor."
I sat down by the campfire.
Looking up, I saw a crescent moon about three times the size of Earth's shining eerily, and the scent of grass tickled my nose on the breeze. To the right or to the left, it was grassy plains as far as the eye could see. Sitting around this small fire made me feel like we were stranded on a deserted island.
"This is the worst group I've ever had to chaperone."
"I bet it is."
I nodded, feeling sorry for Professor Harshüge.
It really is awful.
"Hah... You'd make a far better leader."
"That wouldn't work. Everyone here seems to have too much pride."
"I've thought this for a while now, but you're really mature. You've brightened up lately, and it seems you're working hard in your studies too. Wonderful."
"Thank you very much, Professor."
"Also... this might be a bit rude, but let me say it. You've gotten quite slim. You've become more beautiful than before."
"Not quite there yet."
"It's good to see you're giving it your all. I like students who try hard. The other members of this group are trying too, but... well, they're all a bit too headstrong, or something like that..."
I nodded repeatedly.
"Ellie..."
Ariana came out of the tent, her fox ears twitching.
"Light..."
The light had gone out, and it seemed she wanted me to cast a spell. Apparently if your aptitude is Dark, learning Light Magic is difficult. Opposite elements in the basic spell hexagram are tough for anyone—Light vs. Dark, Water vs. Fire, Earth vs. Wind, and so on.
"Ariana, let's have a little chat."
I invited her, figuring it couldn't hurt.
We're in the same group, so socializing is important. Besides, I figured Ariana was the calmest and most skilled with magic.
Surprisingly, she obediently sat down next to me.
"The wind feels nice."
"Yeah, it does..."
"Where do you live?"
"Outskirts of town..."
"Wow. Must take a while to get to school."
"An hour..."
"That's far."
"Not really..."
"Do you have siblings? I have three sisters."
"Seven siblings..."
"So you're the oldest. Must be tough taking care of them."
"Not really..."
This is the same pattern as a girl totally refusing to go to a hotel!
Damn, I can't keep the conversation going.
No wait, maybe she's just embarrassed!
Push forward, me!
"Still, you're so slim. I wish I could give you some of my fat!"
Now let's see if that lands well or bombs. Talking about body shape is taboo for girls.
But it's a self-deprecating joke I poured my soul into. Come on, bite on it!
"No thanks..."
DOOOOOMED!
"Come to think of it, Ariana, you're from the Grantino family, right? How's your father doing?"
Bald God, that was a clutch assist.
This should get the conversation rolling. Nice move, Professor!
"My father passed away..."
NOOOOOOOOOOO!
"Oh... I'm terribly sorry to hear that."
"Not really..."
The professor patted his head in distress, looking troubled. That's not good. When you're in trouble is exactly when you should pretend you're not. You'll never make a good salesman acting like that, Professor!
The vast grassland shimmered like velvet in the wind.
A log cracked in the campfire with a snap.
"Ellie... Light..."
"O-oh, right. The Light spell."
I felt disappointed in myself for being relieved.
My conversational skills still need work.
Ariana started to head back to the tent, then stopped. Her ears twitched left and right, then froze facing forward, trembling with spasmodic flicks.
"It's coming..."
She drew the staff from her waist.
"Hmm."
Professor Harshüge also drew his staff, placed one hand on the ground, and used the advanced earth spell, Ground Search (Earth Sonar). This spell detects animals or objects moving on the ground. In towns it's almost useless due to the sheer number of people, but in open areas like this, it's highly effective—you can tell where, how many, and how big the life forms are.
"It's a monster. Probably Wolfcats. The number is... ten—no, eleven."
"That many?"
"Ellie, go wake up the rest of the group immediately."
I ran to the guys' tent and splashed the beginner-level water spell, 'Water', onto the three of their faces.
For the record, the staff I carry is just a stick.
Since people get surprised if I have no staff, Clarice and I decided I'd carry some random stick.
"Wake up! It's a monster!"
They were about to get mad at being splashed with water, but quickly realized the situation, grabbed their weapons, and burst out of the tent.
I didn't bother calling out to Scarlet, figuring that damn flax-head would wake her anyway.
Everyone gathered around Professor Harshüge.
"The Wolfcats are just about here."
"Hah! Just some Wolfcats? I can handle them on my own."
"As expected of Lord Debussy. If by some chance you're injured, I'll be sure to heal you."
"Oh, lovely Scarlet! Just having you behind me fills me with courage."
"Save the comedy for later. They're coming."
The dwarf had a good point.
The Wolfcats were now just ten meters away.
They looked like slightly oversized cats—not particularly frightening.
But the drool dripping from their fangs showed they were monsters. Beasts that act purely on desire and instinct. Supposedly animals turned into monsters by gathered mana. This was my first time seeing them.
Eleven Wolfcats circled around us.
"Lightning!"
I immediately cast an advanced Light spell.
A glowing orb hovered in the sky, illuminating a wide area. This negated the monsters' advantage of night vision.
"Not bad, Ellie Golden!"
The sharp-chinned squid-face leaped out and shouted, "Fireball!"
The spell hit one that couldn't dodge in time, charring it black.
He followed up by sheathing his staff, drawing a buster sword, and slashing. The nimble Wolfcat leapt into the air and dodged the strike.
Behind him, the flax-head flipped her hair and knocked back two Wolfcats at once with 'Water Wall'.
The dwarf swung his Iron Hammer like he was at a batting cage, smashing a leaping Wolfcat. Where's the magic, huh!?
Scarlet pretended to be scared and hid behind the flax-head.
Do something, damn it!!
There's no coordination at all.
It only works because everyone is strong on their own.
Ariana accurately cast 'Sleep Mist' at the enemies the three men missed. A Wolfcat charged into the one-square-meter black fog and emerged fast asleep. Ariana had read its movements and precisely launched the 'Sleep Mist'. Impressive.
I stayed alert, ready to respond if anything happened.
The Wolfcats were wiped out in under five minutes.
I dispelled 'Lightning' so other monsters wouldn't spot us.
Darkness returned to the area.
"We should move..."
Ariana offered her opinion, which was rare.
"The smell of blood will attract other monsters."
The dwarf spat and nodded.
"Then let's pack up the tents and move deeper in!"
"Some fatso around here didn't do a thing, though."
The flax-head eagerly took charge, and Scarlet muttered that as they passed each other.
Hey now, you didn't do anything either.
Professor Harshüge let out a sigh with a weary expression and began packing up the tent.