Chapter 48: Master of Hellscape Island (2)
While the cadets suffered hunger under the guise of endurance training, I set out with Nell to find the ship that might be somewhere on the island.
“Ugh…”
“What? You didn’t think I’d risk going outside the barrier, did you?”
Contrary to my expectations, we roamed peacefully within the barrier—a bit boring, even.
Since this was clearly the sensible choice, I didn’t complain.
“Don’t you ever feel like catching a new monster when you see one?”
“Me? If I wanted that, I’d be a monster hunter, not an instructor.”
“Fair point.”
“You’re the one who chose the wrong path. Why not join a research society instead of the Academy? You’re a noble.”
Here, ‘society’ meant a research society, not a magical one.
He was suggesting I study monsters.
“Nah, that requires studying. Not my thing…”
“You came to the Academy instead, knowing that?”
“I knew Lansed was about physical skill.”
“Haha! True, our Academy’s for meatheads. No sane noble kid would come.”
Indeed, Lansed was where commoners gathered for advancement.
Its merit-based system and training camp vibe set it apart from other academies.
Thus, nobles who came were often outcasts from their families.
Except for rare cases like Jaina, who came to prove herself.
“You’re the top among them. You’ll go down as the weirdest in Academy history.”
“Am I that bad?”
“Yeah. But it’s a compliment. Being the best in a place full of weirdos.”
In terms of growth potential, I outshone the cadets in the Executor course.
Having possibly reached Nell’s level, my potential was even higher.
“Your potential is beyond my ability to judge.”
“Come on, that’s too much.”
Chatting, we passed the abandoned fortress in the central area.
Then I sensed a suspicious presence.
“Doesn’t it feel like someone’s watching?”
“Hm? Maybe the Hydra outside the barrier?”
As Nell said, one of the Hydra’s heads was staring at us.
But that wasn’t what I reacted to.
“No. Something’s here…”
About to brush it off, I drew my sword and thrust it into a gap in the fortress wall.
―Scrape!
Nell, startled, spoke.
“Why’d you do that?”
“Tch.”
I slowly pulled out the sword.
Seeing nothing on the blade, I let it go.
“Must’ve been my imagination.”
“Geez, kid.”
As we moved out of sight, Gaiard, hidden in the shadows, emerged.
‘Did that kid sense me?’
My strike had aimed precisely at Gaiard’s eye.
If he hadn’t been cloaked in shadow, he’d have been stabbed.
‘His instincts are sharp. That means his skill is exceptional.’
If the opponent was weaker, Gaiard would’ve attacked then and there.
But in his current state, he judged Nell and me too much to handle.
‘Since when did I hesitate against inferior species?’
Lamenting his weakened state, he now knew prey was present.
‘Academy… Are the others as strong as him? If so, the Academy’s level has surpassed wartime standards.’
Gaiard headed in the opposite direction from us.
***
Nell deduced the Viper gang’s ship was likely in the south.
The south, within the barrier’s safe zone, was ideal for landing, unlike our northern position.
His judgment was spot-on.
“There’s really a ship!”
“Aw.”
Disappointed at finding it too easily, I trailed as Nell inspected the ship.
“Not expecting a warship, but this is tiny.”
“Looks like they stole a fisherman’s boat. Those jerks, stealing a livelihood.”
The boat, reeking of fish, had nets strewn across the deck.
Inside were four oars besides the nets.
“They crossed the sea with this? What if they met a Ghost Ship?”
We found the ship, but the core issue remained unsolved.
The boat was far too small.
“Crossing the sea in this would take a week. How did they manage? They’d be exhausted.”
A boat for maybe four people at most.
We knew roughly the distance between Hellscape Island and the southern port.
The effort to row that far was unimaginable.
“Maybe they used magic?”
“Right! That makes sense. There was a mage in Viper.”
“Continuous wave magic on the stern could make it faster than a sailboat.”
“True. Magic could make crossing the sea in this possible. But…”
We knew how to cross the sea in the small boat.
But the problem persisted.
“We don’t have a mage.”
“…Didn’t the mage have a backpack? Anything in there?”
“The bag? I think there were scrolls.”
“Let’s take it back. Better than nothing.”
“You’re right. Let’s bring the boat.”
We pushed the boat into the water.
Climbing aboard, we each grabbed an oar and started rowing.
“Let’s stay close to shore. Monsters might pop up.”
“I’m fine with that.”
“I’m not. What if our only boat gets damaged?”
We rowed vigorously, leaving the coast for the northern Bentram Fortress.
―Splash, splash.
The awkward silence of facing each other prompted Nell to speak.
“So, Evan, what do you plan to do after graduating the Academy?”
A question I hadn’t deeply considered.
“I was thinking of living off my parents’ inheritance.”
His brutally honest answer made Nell chuckle.
“Wasting your talent, huh? I’m not a recruiter, but I’d draft you if I could.”
“That’s a terrifying thought. We’re not at war, right?”
“Hm? We are, though?”
Unfamiliar with the kingdom’s affairs, I quickly racked my brain and recalled a fact.
“Oh, I meant our mainland hasn’t been invaded.”
“Right. In that sense, no. Duke Theron’s holding the north tight.”
Duke Theron, closely tied to me.
I remembered why the Duke, who promised to protect me, wasn’t by my side.
‘Almost slipped up.’
Luckily, I recalled the Duke’s offhand remarks and covered it.
Nell, unsuspicious, moved on.
“If you’ve got nothing to do, come back to the Academy. They’d welcome you with open arms.”
“I’m good. Once things are settled, I want to rest.”
“Shame. You’d elevate the Academy. That ‘settling’ won’t be easy.”
Nell vaguely knew the Lafard family’s situation.
“I was a bastard in my family, so I cut ties, but I know internal power struggles well.”
“Oh… I see.”
“What’s with that face? Shocked I’m a bastard?”
“Yeah. Honestly, I’m surprised.”
I’d talked with Nell often but never about personal matters.
His illegitimacy was unexpected, especially with his refined speech.
“It’s not something to brag about.”
“Fair enough.”
“Anyway, the more wealth and branches a family has, the harder it is to endure. You’re a victim too.”
At Nell’s sincere advice, I smiled warmly.
“But I’ll prune those branches myself someday. It’s not beyond me.”
I planned to cut down the branch family upon graduating the Academy.
With my own hands.
“I trust your skill. You’re not one to fall to riffraff. But if it’s too much, come to the Academy. We’ll always welcome you.”
He’d be my ally.
In this life, I received kindness from many.
To receive such favor so easily, after a lifetime of fighting for the nation without it, stirred complex feelings.
But I didn’t dislike it.
“Let’s solve the starvation issue first.”
“Haha! Right.”
We rowed with vigor.
***
Returning with the boat, I headed straight to Bentram Fortress.
In the basement, I upended Lina’s backpack.
―Clatter.
Among the spilled items were scrolls for inscribing magic formulas.
I examined them to see if any could move the boat.
‘This woman drew her own spells, huh.’
But there were only attack spells, no wave magic.
Just a pile of blank scrolls.
“Sigh…”
“Find anything?”
I shook my head, showing Nell a blank scroll.
“Nothing to move the boat. Just blanks.”
“A half-success, then, with a useless boat.”
As we lamented, a thought struck me.
“…There’s still a way.”
“Hm? You’re not planning to row, are you?”
Instead of a dragon, I suggested a chicken.
“We use the boat to catch fish. There were nets, right?”
“Oh!”
“I saw plenty of fish in the water. If we catch enough, we might solve the food issue.”
Unlike the land, Hellscape Island’s seas had few monsters.
Fish were easy to spot, so we’d floated the boat rather than dragging it.
I aimed to exploit this.
“At least until the next ship comes, we’ll be self-sufficient. Not full, but the Academy will likely send another ship soon.”
With a plan set, it was time to act.
Hires from port towns took the lead, boarding the boat.
They set out to catch fish.
By night, they returned with beaming faces, carrying nets.
Nets filled with everyone’s hopes.
“We caught this much!”
“Wooo!!!”
My plan was a resounding success.
“Fish party!”
That night, a feast of various fish adorned the tables.
Of course, the cadets, still in endurance training, couldn’t partake.
“Kill me…”
“Ugh…”
They could only drool, smelling the savory grilled fish.
‘This fish is quite a delicacy. Mm, delicious.’
The next day, two port-born hires went out early with nets to catch more fish.
They didn’t return.
Concerned, some instructors searched but found only the boat washed ashore
and bloodstains presumed to be the hires’.
‘See? I knew something was off. Something very bad.’