Chapter 17
No One Is Born a Hero (2)
Just then, Cain suddenly asked, as if curious.
“But why the holy mage? That hooded guy in your team didn’t look very healthy either.”
“Oh my, that’s true.”
“Is it uncomfortable to be on the same team? Want to join our team?”
“Is he sickly? That can’t be helped. If Edith changes teams, it makes sense for her to join our smaller team.”
“Sister, you’re being greedy.”
“What about you?”
Cain and Camilla started bickering in that brief moment.
Rimos Therion… Is he really sickly? Or is he just pretending?
It was ambiguous to answer, so I brushed it off vaguely.
“…Don’t fight. It wasn’t that important anyway. I was just a bit curious… I won’t be changing teams.”
“Aw…”
“Ah, Prince Behemoth, do you know anything about Rimos Therion?”
“I thought you weren’t interested.”
“Are you really going to be like this?”
“I don’t know.”
Really?
As I stared at Ethan, he unsheathed the sword at his waist and began to polish it.
Is this some kind of grudge?
Cain cleared his throat and added belatedly:
“Well, I don’t know, but… Ruth has a sick younger brother. Maybe seeing him reminded him of his brother, so he offered to help.”
That would be a nice story. …Or is it?
Certainly, if Rimos Therion hadn’t used mind control magic, it wasn’t an impossible story. But…
As I tilted my head with a puzzled expression, Camilla smiled brightly and pulled my arm to sit me back down.
“Ugh.”
“Come on, let’s stop this kind of talk. Isn’t it about time for Ian to return?”
“He should be almost done.”
Camilla’s question was answered with a nod from Ethan. What’s going on?
Come to think of it, Ian Gardwin, who was always sticking close to Ethan Behemoth, was nowhere to be seen.
It seemed a bit noisy outside the tent too.
I honestly wasn’t curious at all, but out of courtesy, I asked:
“By the way, where is Sir Gardwin?”
Cain pulled up a chair next to me, sat down comfortably, and answered instead:
“He went to prepare the barbecue.”
“Barbecue…?”
…Are my ears deceiving me?
My mouth fell open. Cain Guinevere wore a smug expression as if he’d done something great.
“That’s right. Barbecue.”
“…Why?”
A barbecue right in front of the subjugation practice ground? They’re going to light such a big fire? And with meat?
If by chance it was a clever idea to lure monsters with it, I’d give them credit.
Though if that really was the intention, I’d bolt from this tent right now.
“Of course it’s for dinner. Oh, aren’t you hungry too?”
I guess I really should bolt now. Nothing’s changed.
As I couldn’t hide my horrified expression, Camilla chuckled and put her arms on the table.
“What’s wrong?”
“Do I have to explain this? If you light such a big fire right in front of the subjugation practice ground, monsters will gather, won’t they?”
“It’s fine.”
What’s fine about it? They’re going to die early. Is this also a variable because I changed teams?
Ethan Behemoth. At least you should try to stop them.
I turned to him with a sliver of hope, but he was just silently polishing his sword.
Camilla spoke nonchalantly.
“Even if something happens, the knights and professors will protect us.”
“It’s actually super safe.”
“…Gasp. Don’t tell me you didn’t know, Edith?”
Camilla asked with wide eyes.
For a moment, I was at a loss for words.
…I thought that even if they had hidden their appearance, it would be harder for the vanguard team not to notice the knights and professors moving together with us.
‘They’re using it like this?’
Ethan Behemoth must have had the same thought. That’s why he sent Ian Gardwin, who usually stuck close to him, to prepare the barbecue.
In any case, I’m still not joining in.
“…I didn’t know that. But I’m fine.”
The knights and professors would be dying because of these reckless students. Clicking my tongue inwardly, I stood up for real this time.
“Just eat and go…”
I heard Cain’s disappointed voice behind me. Light footsteps approached, probably Camilla trying to stop me.
“Edith, still-“
“It’s okay…”
Camilla’s and my voices stopped simultaneously at that moment.
“Professor!!!”
As soon as I lifted the tent flap, something heavy and sticky collided with me, falling weightily into my arms.
The murmuring sounds from outside poured in like red hailstones through the opened tent.
“Prince Behemoth! Sir Guinevere! The professor…!”
“Why is the professor here…?”
“What? What’s wrong?”
Among them was Ian Gardwin’s voice, heard nearby.
“Ethan! The professor… …Edith Crowell?”
I glanced down at what was leaning against me.
The smell of blood was strong. Ian Gardwin, with a pained expression, was awkwardly supporting the professor’s other arm.
The professor had collapsed towards the side Ian couldn’t support.
“…Tsk.”
Quickly approaching, I slipped my hands between the professor’s limp arms and supported him firmly.
I saw Ian momentarily look surprised at how I handled the injured person without hesitation, but there was no time for that now.
With the professor on my back, I turned around and shouted to those far away.
“The professor is injured.”
🥀
All the students gathered around the bonfire.
When they were lined up on horseback, they seemed quite numerous, but huddled around the fire, there weren’t even a hundred.
However, for a gathering of about a hundred people, it was eerily quiet.
Only the sound of the large bonfire burning the firewood could be heard.
Most of the students were sitting down with blank expressions.
The reason none of these self-conscious and arrogant students raised their voices was that they were all overwhelmed by extreme fear and helplessness.
Half of the students were lost in thought, staring at the ground, while the other half anxiously watched the vanguard team’s tent.
The cause was a blood-soaked professor who had stumbled into the camp.
The title of ‘Academy Professor’ carried such meaning.
To teach at the Academy, being simply strong or capable wasn’t enough.
They had to be figures that even these arrogant noble students would sincerely follow and learn from.
At the very least, they shouldn’t be so miserably defeated by the monsters in the practice grounds.
Yet here was a trusted professor in such a miserable state.
“This should complete the emergency treatment, right?”
“Yes, roughly…”
“I-I’m sorry. With my abilities, I c-couldn’t bring him back to consciousness…”
“It’s okay. This is probably the best we can do for now.”
The largest tent of the vanguard team was hastily turned into a treatment room, where skilled students worked on tending to the professor’s wounds.
The emergency treatment team consisted of another student trained in healing arts, Camilla the spirit mage, and Rimos Therion, who was urgently called in.
The three of them put their heads together to treat the unconscious professor until it was completely dark.
Thanks to their efforts, the professor had passed the critical stage but was still unconscious.
Meanwhile, Ethan Behemoth led the students outside the tent to prevent any rash actions, while Ian and I guarded the tent entrance.
This gave me a chance to observe Rimos Therion as he performed emergency treatment on the professor, and from what I saw…
‘Was my suspicion unfounded?’
He was simply fulfilling his role as a holy mage diligently.
He put so much effort into healing the professor that I could see his hair soaked with sweat under his hood.
I felt a bit sorry for having suspected Rimos Therion briefly.
‘Ah, come to think of it.’
I remembered the blood soaked into my uniform.
The blood that had seeped into my clothes while supporting the professor was still damp and heavy. It would be more troublesome once it dried.
‘Is it almost over?’
As the students were discussing how to finish dressing the wounds, I slipped in between them and raised my hand.
“Excuse me, if you’re mostly done, could I go out and tidy up my clothes? They’re quite bloodstained.”
“Oh, yes!”
Camilla nodded readily from amidst the busy emergency treatment team. Confirming this, I turned around, and Ian lifted the back of the tent for me, putting his arm around my shoulders in a friendly manner.
“Ah, I’ll go out and wring out my clothes too.”
Given our height difference, his arm around my shoulders was probably more uncomfortable for him. Of course, I was uncomfortable too due to his weight.
“Ah, you’ll get blood on yourself.”
“You’re already damp anyway.”
That’s true.
As we came out through the opening he made, a cool breeze blew in, now that the sun had set.
🥀
Thank you for reading! ♡
