Chapter 66
“Yes.”
The moment I answered, I thought the atmosphere would sour again because of me. After all, if you’re Trash Martin, there’s hardly anyone in noble society who doesn’t know you.
“Wow, really?! That’s you! I heard all about it from Matthew!”
“…Pardon?”
Matthew? Matthew von Yulha Animas? The animal communion ability user I know?
“My introduction’s late. I’m Willow von Baiden Animas. Matthew’s mother.”
Good heavens.
“Ah, um, my greetings are late. I’m Martin. I owe a great debt to Cadet Matthew from before.”
Camp Leader Willow grinned broadly and patted my back with a loud thump!
“Haha! Debt, my foot! I heard you made waves in the Petrak Kingdom! Matthew played his part too! Where’s that dog, Sebastian?”
“It’s the desert, so… just in case.”
Come to think of it, when I left at dawn, Sebastian somehow knew and whined to come along. I was worried he’d wake everyone, but I barely escaped by tossing him some jerky Lilac had made.
“Anyway, I hope it’s a good journey, Cadet Martin.”
“Yes, thank you.”
As Camp Leader Willow went to check elsewhere, I turned to board the baggage cart again.
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
Faris and Elisha were staring at me with shocked eyes. Elisha was holding back, probably due to some noble pride, but Faris wore his emotions openly.
“Man, that’s impressive! Getting praised by Camp Leader Willow!”
“Is she stingy with compliments?”
“Heh, let’s just say she’s a bit like Professor Hectia in the sharp-tongued category?”
I understood immediately.
“Professor Faris!”
From a distance, Club Leader Nelson called out to Faris. Faris excused himself and headed that way.
I climbed onto the tent-covered baggage cart. Elisha followed, but there was enough space to lie down comfortably.
“Well, the ride’s not bad.”
After a short wait, I felt the camel caravan start moving slowly forward.
“….”
“….”
An awkward silence settled in.
***
The incident happened a week ago. A terror attack by the Marquis Vistavern that plunged me and my friends into despair. By the time we arrived, everything was already ablaze. The marquis' mansion, the marketplace, the slums—here, there, everywhere. Reports said there was no explosion at the grand plaza, but with thousands already dead, did that even matter?
In a daze, I found Bord and Mary, who were in the same state, and joined them.
“We failed…”
“…Sob, sob!”
“….”
Where had Gilbert and Lina gone? I couldn’t see them. Did Gilbert perhaps stop the explosion at the plaza? But… it was Gilbert who shouted to head to the marquis' mansion to neutralize the core.
Then Mary pointed to a back alley.
“Oh! Over there, Elisha! Gilbert and Lina are coming!”
“…Where?”
From the dark shadows, the two were walking slowly. Lina was expressionless as always, and Gilbert…
“Gilbert!”
I ran toward him in shock. Bord and Mary, wondering what was happening, followed. My archer’s eyesight, far superior to others, was the reason.
As Bord and Mary saw Gilbert up close, they were equally stunned.
“You fought?!”
“With who…!”
Gilbert’s body… was a wreck. His academy uniform, reinforced with protective magic, was riddled with holes, and blood was seeping out. The moment I saw the wounds, one person came to mind.
“It’s fine. No fatal injuries.”
“Could this be…”
“I’m heading back for today. Everyone… I’m sorry.”
Before I could voice my suspicions, Gilbert turned away. Being a righteous person, today’s events must have hit him hard. Bord, known for his kindness, scowled.
“Hah! Where did things even start going wrong…? It feels like we’re being dragged around.”
“I’m furious too…”
Mary’s eyes welled with tears—not of sadness, but of anger.
Dr. Keren, Helaine, the Marquis Vistavern. We were being led around by all of them. Not once had we taken the lead in resolving anything.
“For now… let’s head back.”
I desperately needed time to think. As soon as I returned to the mansion, I sobbed uncontrollably.
The proud daughter of the Harmadun family, one of the Four Great Ducal Families that protects the emperor… what did it matter? In the end, I couldn’t save anyone.
‘It’s no different from ten years ago. Just like when I was a child, powerless to do anything as my brother sacrificed himself to save me from a monster’s attack.’
All the blood, sweat, and tears I’d poured into ensuring such an ending would never happen again felt utterly meaningless. I cried my heart out from the sheer sorrow.
I vividly remember the torrential rain and thunder that night. At the joint funeral, she was grateful for the weather. No one would have noticed her tears or sobs.
But as they say, humans are creatures of adaptation. In the end, I overcame it.
The conclusion I reached after my grief was a conviction that my direction hadn’t been wrong. So I resolved to become stronger. To be able to respond to any situation. As I overcame my sorrow, my realm broke through a wall, and I became far stronger than before.
And as the sadness cleared, one question lingered.
‘Who did Gilbert fight?’
The puncture wounds I saw weren’t from arrows. They were smaller, from a spinning object… a bullet.
‘Martin!’
Gilbert and Lina seemed to want to keep it hidden. But… why? Why did they protect him?
‘Martin… is trash!’
Truly trash. Trash. Listing his crimes would take at least an hour.
‘But… he wasn’t that much of a trash.’
Since his return to the academy, Martin’s actions leaned more toward ‘good’ than ‘evil.’ He even accomplished things we couldn’t. Sure, he openly disliked us, but his essence was closer to that of an honorable knight. A Peacemaker, hunting demons and tackling the Time Chaos Dungeon. Or the Black Knight of the Princess, whose name echoed across the empire.
‘That makes it even more puzzling.’
Why, and how, did Gilbert and Martin fight? What exactly happened there?
‘To know for sure…’
There’s no choice but to ask directly.
***
On the rattling baggage cart, Martin carefully disassembled a hunting rifle and began cleaning it. Even these brief moments had to be used efficiently.
“Hey. You.”
Breaking the long silence, Elisha, the one who invited me, called out.
“Speak, Cadet Elisha.”
Why she invited me—I was curious about that myself. I hoped she’d clear it up without leaving any bad feelings.
“…Never mind.”
“….”
Wild Instinct (Lv 3) is certain that Elisha finds it difficult to approach you.
Know-It-All (Lv 3) has analyzed Elisha’s intentions… There’s an 87% chance she’s curious about the reason behind your fight with Gilbert a week ago.
What’s going on? Know-It-All actually did something.
‘Now that I think about it, it makes sense.’
Gilbert tends to bottle things up rather than share problems. He probably didn’t tell anyone about our fight.
‘Neither of us had exactly honorable reasons.’
I glanced at Elisha, who was fidgeting nervously. She must want to ask me about it. What happened, and what kind of trashy thing I did this time.
‘Hah, I got worked up for nothing.’
I thought it was something important. As the tension melted away, I felt sleepy.
‘I’m drowsy.’
Even with the sun high in the sky, my body clock was stuck at dawn.
But I couldn’t just sleep. The Eudialyte Desert is a dangerous place. You never know when or where something might pop up, so you have to stay alert.
‘I need to wake up.’
I pulled out the coffee I’d brewed earlier. As I opened the lid, the sweet aroma of Caramel Macchiato wafted up.
“Hey, Cadet Martin.”
Elisha, eyeing me suspiciously, pounced with a question.
“That’s not drugs, is it?”
“….”
Does this person not know what coffee is? Or is she pretending not to know?
“It’s not. It’s coffee.”
“It seems like drugs. Smell that sweet aroma.”
“Does adding a ton of sugar make everything drugs? If it was really drugs, would I pull it out in front of you?”
“Hmm…”
Elisha thrust out her hand.
“Give me some! I’ll check it myself!”
Ugh… It’s not like it’s coffee Lilac brewed; it’s just something I made.
Rather than getting on the bad side of someone who’ll become a big shot in this country, treating her to a cup of coffee was the better deal.
“Here.”
Elisha took the Caramel Macchiato, grumbled about drugs or whatever, and then downed it in one go. It was a pretty generous portion too.
“Ah!”
Elisha’s eyes sparkled.
“D-Delici…!”
She started to say something but flinched and stopped. The most annoying thing is when someone cuts off mid-sentence.
“Delici—what’s next?”
“Delici, delici, delici… It’s not not delicious! Hmph! Well, it’s memorable! A unique drink!”
Then she glanced at me and held out her cup.
“…One cup isn’t enough to tell if it’s drugs.”
“….”
She must’ve really liked it. That’s kind of pleasing. Acting generous, I refilled her cup, which she eagerly took.
“Hmph, it’s not like it’s that delicious…!”
Cute. Very 17-year-old behavior.
I decided to ignore Elisha’s pointless pride. The Eudialyte Desert is full of dangers. The reforestation project doesn’t make it a safe place by any means.
Sandstorms are the least of it. A mana storm can tear through steel, monster attacks in the desert’s harsh environment are near-catastrophic, and there are hidden ancient empire ruins—step in the wrong place, and your life ends in that perilous realm.
Of course, I’m even aiming for those ruins.
Because there…
***
“All right! We’ve arrived!”
The caravan stopped at a camp with hundreds of large tents. Plants were growing without an oasis, and the place was bustling with people tending to the vegetation.
“Okay, let’s assign spots first. Women over there, men over here. Luggage will be stored collectively in a sturdy warehouse. We can’t risk it getting damaged or lost if a storm hits.”
Faris skillfully directed the shooting club.
He explained, as if describing a ride, that we’d plant plants, deal with some monsters, and do shooting practice here.
“Hey, Faris! Long time no see!”
“Oh, Supply Officer! It’s been a while! I’ve been slacking, haven’t I?”
“Haha, you’re an academy professor now, so you can’t come often!”
The middle-aged man called the Supply Officer laughed heartily.
“But… there are fewer people than before…? I don’t see the Greenery Team or the Combat Team.”
At Faris' question, Willow shot him a sharp look.
“Do you think we’re just playing around? Everyone’s out on the reforestation project, spread out from the base camp.”
“Aha! But usually, they’d all be back by now, right?”
“That’s the worry, but I’m sure we’ll hear from them soon…”
Just then, someone shouted.
“It’s a distress signal!”
Far off, red smoke was rising.
Faris' expression turned grave. But Camp Leader Willow was even more serious. She immediately mounted a camel.
“Damn it! I sent the entire reserve to escort the Greenery Team!”
Willow urgently looked at Faris.
“Gold Knight Faris! Can you help?!”
“I can, but I still don’t know how to ride a camel!”
“Hah! Fine! Get on behind me!”
Camels, raised among mana storms and beasts, are rarer than horses and have foul tempers.
Willow and Faris prepared to mount the camel.
“I’m going too.”
“You…”
I appeared before them, already on a camel I’d swiftly detached from the baggage cart.
These small events were perfect for earning points.
Riding (Lv 1) makes the camel docile.
The camel sped toward the rising red smoke in an instant.