Chapter 59

Exploration Battle (2)

“We’re pretty lucky, aren’t we?”

As Liam cut through the vines, no one could argue with his statement. Their team consisted of Liam, Emil, and Regina, and they were fortunate to have a starting point marked on their map.

“Except for the fact that the destination is so far away…”

Emil voiced his fatigue. The gloomy weather promised imminent rain, and the distant sight of rolling black clouds almost confirmed it.

“Why is Regina so low on energy?”

Emil had been bothered by Regina’s unusual silence. Even though he had guessed that she might be disappointed about not being in the same team as Ivan, he hadn’t anticipated how dejected she appeared.

“Uh? No, I’m sorry, it’s not that I’m affecting you.”

“But you really seem out of it.”

“It must be because I’m not with Ivan, right?”

Liam boldly voiced what Emil had hesitated to say. Though Emil silently criticized Liam for his tactlessness, there was nothing much to be done.

“…Actually, it is a bit like that.”

So, Emil nodded his head.

“It’s understandable…you like Ivan, don’t you?”

“E, Eh?!”

Regina nearly jumped in surprise. Now, it wasn’t just Liam offering her unsolicited dating advice; Emil had also joined in, and she glared at Liam sharply.

“No, I haven’t said anything to Emil. Counselors never disclose their clients’ information. That’s the basic rule.”

Liam spoke without a care, cutting through the vines while looking around.

“It’s not like I heard it from Liam, Regina. Everyone probably knows you like Ivan, except Ivan himself. And that’s only three of us.”

Regina’s face must have turned red. She could feel the heat rising, and it was certainly due to embarrassment.

“Of course, it’s obvious. It’s Ivan who is strangely oblivious.”

“R, Really…? Does it show that much?”

“Regina, it’s weirder that he didn’t notice.”

It hurt knowing that her attempts at hiding her feelings were more obvious than she thought. However, she couldn’t help but feel a bit resentful that everyone saw it except Ivan.

“Should we take a break?”

Liam swung the large scimitar he was carrying. The vines fell one by one, and thanks to the flaming edge of the weapon, even the weeds surrounding them were cleared away, leaving a spot big enough for them to sit.

“Let’s eat a bit of dry rations only. Stamina is important if we’re to keep moving.”

Liam folded the map and slipped it into his waistband, sinking onto the ground. Emil sat down carefully after adjusting his pants, and Regina also sat after tidying her skirt.

From the pouches on their waists, they each took out a couple of pieces of dried fruit, cutting small bites and chewing slowly. The fruit, preserved and coated with syrup, was rich in sugar and helped restore some energy to their weary bodies and minds.

“Regina, are you worried about Karla?”

Throwing out the thoughtless comment, Liam made Regina’s eyes widen; she quickly swallowed the fruit she had been chewing. The sudden coughing fit had Emil quickly offering her a water flask, and she finally calmed down after taking a couple of gulps.

“Wh, why are we talking about Karla?”

“Hmm, isn’t it obvious? Neither of you knew that Karla is actually a girl.”

Liam picked up a long wooden stick. Sweeping away the dirt with his feet revealed the soil underneath, and on it, Liam drew three circles.

“This is Ivan, this is Karla, and this is you, Regina. You were thinking of Karla as a guy, so it wouldn’t have been an issue even if you two spent time together with Ivan. But now that Karla’s true identity is revealed, you’re confused, aren’t you?”

The three circles drawn side by side were erased with his foot, and now arranged in a triangle, with one circle above and two below.

An arrow was drawn from Regina toward Ivan.

From Ivan, an arrow pointed toward Karla.

Karla’s circle had no arrows pointing out, only an exclamation mark.

“This is the problematic situation. Whether Karla’s arrow points elsewhere or toward Ivan. If it points toward Ivan, Regina, you’d be rejected.”

Regina listened to Liam’s explanation without any response. Hearing it explained by someone else made it clear—her vague worries made sense now.

“…I was worried because of Karla.”

“Just establish the fact already, Regina.”

Liam’s statement made Regina’s eyes widen. Not understanding what he exactly meant by “establishing the fact,” she waited for him to explain further.

“Establishing the fact. Girls have their own weapons, don’t they?”

Liam waved his fingers around. After a long moment during which neither Regina or Emil understood what he meant, realization dawned on them, and their faces turned bright red.

“Ri, Ri, Liam…”

“What’s so surprising? It’s a weapon that girls can use. It’s quite common in our country… If you get pregnant, Ivan will belong to you. Isn’t that so?”

Liam’s nonchalant statement was incomprehensible to Regina. No matter how you looked at it, that was something to be done after marriage.

That kind of thinking was extremely perverted—the idea of forcing things to happen was too immoral!

“The Empire is too old-fashioned. Nothing interesting happens here.”

Regina intended to tell Liam that wasn’t something fun. But before she could, Liam suddenly looked up and gripped his scimitar tightly.

“Interesting things are happening. This is more like it.”

Liam raised his scimitar. Seeing this, Emil quickly made his hand signs. Meanwhile, Regina managed to float some frost flowers around her just as a large rock erupted from the ground exactly where Liam had been sitting.

“Earth mage Wilhelm.”

Flames flared from Liam’s scimitar. Before him stood a large man with brown hair, a relaxed smile on his face.

“Liam Puko. Let’s settle the disgrace from the team battle.”

“That disgrace just grew with today’s.”

Then slowly behind Wilhelm, two students from the western region revealed themselves. Seeing them, Regina’s face stiffened slightly. However, Kiara and Lucas were nowhere to be seen.

*

“The event has occurred. We should head there first.”

The moment Karla saw the name of the Abzetti Cave, she was ready to rush off. She needed to find it immediately and confirm the entity inside.

But Karla was a trained academic, and she knew she was not equipped to handle anything significant alone. Therefore, she carefully and thoroughly explained to Ivan about the Abzetti Cave, the log she found that mentioned it, the contents of that log, and a brief description of Venere.

Upon hearing her explanation, Ivan nodded shortly. It was unexpected for Karla. She had anticipated that Ivan would prioritize finishing the exchange battle—especially this exploration phase offering the highest points—before continuing on to the cave.

But surprisingly, Ivan agreed to go to the cave first, even before the exploration battle.

“…What about the exploration battle?”

Karla asked back, surprised. Even though Ivan had the capability to reach the endpoint with sheer strength, no matter what the instructors might think, Karla knew he had that kind of power.

“Because the other classmates are there. I think they’ll handle our share as well. Also, if we prioritize the exploration battle, it would be difficult for you, Karla, to concentrate. I think it would be better to visit the cave and then rejoin the competition.”

It didn’t seem like the other three could cover for Ivan’s absence, but truthfully, Karla didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

The eastern coastline, far from where she lived. She didn’t know when she’d have the chance to visit the Abzetti Cave again. The place she had deliberately set aside time to visit was now easily found, making her feel increasingly restless.

“…Alright, let’s do that then…”

“Then let’s go, Karla.”

Karla appreciated Ivan’s willingness to leap into action.

Before she could respond, Ivan suddenly scooped her up.

Like a princess, or something valuable, Ivan’s action of picking her up startled Karla, who unknowingly cried out.

“What are you doing?!”

“Isn’t it better to go fast? Look at the weather, it’s already getting cloudy. It will be a disaster if it rains.”

Indeed, what was sunny moments ago had already turned cloudy.

“I kind of get the direction. So, let’s move fast. It’s faster like this, right?”

Without waiting for her reply, Ivan swiftly moved forward.

“Well, it is faster…”

Karla said nervously, but Ivan didn’t even turn around.

“It’s better to hurry, isn’t it? You said the cave is important.”

Ivan’s tone was firm. As if, at this very moment, what was most important was reaching the Abzetti Cave.

And his words made Karla’s face flush without realizing it.

‘T, This guy…does he usually act this…decisively?’

Feeling flustered, she turned her head.

However, somewhere in her chest, she felt a strange sense of relief.