Chapter 12

Episode 12. First Class (4)

The next day.

Contrary to my worries, the makeshift bed I made using the know-how from my mercenary life in my past life (made of branches and leaves) and Iris’s blessing made the sleeping situation not too uncomfortable.

Well, it was bearable, but I wouldn’t say it was good.

‘Still, it’s much better compared to the other candidates.’

By now, they’re probably soaked in fatigue, half-dead.

Originally, camping without know-how tends to drain your stamina more than not sleeping at all.

‘Well, that’s probably one of the purposes of this class.’

It’s hard to say this class is just for learning practical tracking skills, given how evil the types of monsters released are.

Feline monsters are famous for being faster and leaving almost no traces compared to other monsters with the same number of ‘eyes.’

‘They probably expected the candidates not to capture all the monsters in one day.’

Who knows how many days it will take, so they must have warned us to prepare thoroughly.

The real purpose of this class is not just tracking the monsters released in the mountains but also making the candidates realize how to solve the necessary camping and food for survival.

So.

“Mmm.”

Waking up early in the morning, checking for any dangerous elements around, and watching Iris sleep peacefully is also part of the class.

‘Iris.’

Remembering her excited expression last night while eating ramen, cutely flapping her legs, I became more certain of one thing.

‘Even if all the memories of being with me are gone, Iris is still Iris.’

It’s a fact that should be obvious, but why does it feel so heartwarming?

‘I want to meet the others soon.’

Yuren, Berald, Senior Sophia.

How are they all doing now?

While reminiscing about old comrades.

“…Why are you smiling so creepily?”

Camila’s voice came from beside me.

“What, can’t I even smile as I please?”

“Hmph! It was definitely a smile with some ulterior motive!”

“Stop talking nonsense in the morning and wake Iris up. We need to get moving.”

“Ugh.”

Camila approached Iris and gently shook her shoulder.

“Saintess. It’s time to wake up… Huh?!”

“Haaah. Just a little more…”

Iris, in a sleepy voice, pulled Camila into a hug.

Pulling Camila closer, Iris rubbed her cheek against Camila’s chest like a child.

“Sa, Sa, Saintess! You can’t do this!”

“Mmm… What’s this…? It’s too hard.”

“Wake up, you brat.”

*Slap.*

Camila slapped Iris’s back.

Iris, who had been asleep, opened her eyes groggily.

“Are you awake, Saintess?”

“Yawn… I’m awake. But my back feels sore…”

“You slept on the ground with some leaves, so your back should be sore.”

“Ah, right, we camped. No wonder something hard and flat touched my cheek earlier.”

“……”

Hold it in, Camila.

She’s your master.

“Now that you’re awake, let’s get going.”

“Get going? Where to?”

“I found traces of a monster while wandering around this morning.”

We’ve experienced camping as per the class’s intent.

It’s time to resume tracking the monsters.

* * *

After a quick wash at a nearby stream.

Our party followed the monster’s traces step by step.

After moving for a few hours.

We spotted a monster drinking water by the stream in the distance.

‘Is it the same feline monster?’

Unlike the first monster we caught, it didn’t have a bird-like beak, but its overall appearance wasn’t much different.

The only difference was that it had four eyes instead of three.

It was a stronger individual than the monster we caught yesterday.

‘Now that I think about it, I remember hearing about it.’

One of the three monsters released in the forest was particularly agile and hard to catch.

The reason it took three days to capture all the monsters was because of this four-eyed monster.

‘Back then, our party couldn’t even catch a three-eyed monster, let alone a four-eyed one.’

Seeing this four-eyed monster in front of me made me realize how much has changed since my regression.

“…It has one more eye.”

Camila also noticed the monster had four eyes and spoke in a slightly tense voice.

“Should I catch it this time?”

“Hmph, whether it has three or four eyes, it doesn’t change anything.”

Camila stepped forward, unwilling to back down.

I shrugged and stood at the escape route as I did yesterday.

“Hah!”

*Dash!*

As I gave the signal, Camila quickly ran forward.

“Grrrk?!”

The monster, distracted while drinking water, suddenly raised its head.

It hastily turned its body to escape towards the escape route, but I was already blocking it.

The monster, hesitating, looked back and forth between me and Camila, then kicked towards Camila.

‘Is it trying to break through?’

Looking at Camila, she had a scornful expression as she drew her sword.

“Come at me if you dare!”

Camila raised her sword towards the charging monster.

The holy mark engraved on her left chest glowed, and a white aura enveloped her sword.

Just as she was about to slash the monster’s neck.

*Beep!*

[Warning. Killing the training monster instead of capturing it will result in the cancellation of bonus points.]

A red warning window appeared on her Hero Watch.

“Ugh…!”

Camila hastily twisted her wrist.

But it was impossible to completely stop the sword she had already swung.

*Crack!*

Her sword barely grazed the monster’s neck.

“Darn it! They should have told us this earlier!”

Camila angrily shouted at the red warning window on her Hero Watch.

Perhaps distracted by the warning.

She didn’t realize what she had ‘cut.’

“Grrrrr.”

The restraint magical tool around the monster’s neck split in half and fell off.

The four eyes glowed with a sinister red light.

“Grrrl!”

The monster, freed from the restraint, dashed past Camila at an even faster speed.

“Huh?!”

Camila, panicked, turned her head, but the monster had already passed her.

The direction the monster, now free from the restraint, was running towards with its blood-red eyes was…

“Ah, Irisuuuu!”

Camila shouted, forgetting the honorific ‘Saintess.’

“Ugh!”

Iris tried to dodge the charging monster, but for someone whose specialty isn’t close combat, avoiding such a sudden charge was impossible.

When the monster’s fierce teeth were about to reach Iris.

“Tsk, I said I’d catch it.”

Berald Martial Arts.

Sky Flip.

*Crash!*

“Gahak!”

The monster, charging forward, fell to the ground with a scream.

I swung my sheathed sword and struck the flailing monster’s head.

*Whack!*

The monster’s eyes lost their red glow as it was hit on the head with the sheath.

“Are you okay?”

“Ah… yes.”

Iris nodded with a dazed expression and took my hand to get up.

“Ah, Iris!”

Camila, who had run over, approached Iris.

“Are, are you hurt anywhere?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

“Haah.”

Camila let out a sigh of relief and bit her lip, bowing at a 90-degree angle.

“I’m sorry, Saintess! I will formally report this to the Holy Kingdom and ensure punishment…”

“No. That’s not necessary.”

“Bu, but!”

“I said it’s fine.”

Iris smiled faintly and grabbed Camila’s shoulder, straightening her bowed posture.

“I didn’t know we weren’t supposed to kill the monster.”

“……”

Camila, with a gloomy expression, bit her lip and turned towards me.

“…Thank you. I will definitely repay you for this later.”

“Hmm. What kind of repayment are we talking about?”

“Anything I can do.”

“Oho. Really? Anything?”

“Just, just not eating poop!”

“No.”

What does she think I am?

“Well, forget the repayment… let’s call it even.”

“Call it even?”

“For sending you flying last week.”

“Ugh. Tha, that was…!”

As Camila flusteredly started making excuses like ‘I was careless back then, what could I do…!’ I walked over to the split restraint magical tool lying on the ground.

“Will it still recognize it like this?”

Tilting my head, I held up the Hero Watch, and with a clear chime, a hologram window appeared.

[The capture of the ‘Iris, Camila Bediche, Dale Han’ party has been confirmed.]

[All monsters have been captured, and the ‘Combat Training Class’ has ended.]

[Candidates, please promptly return to the training ground entrance.]

“Looks like another party caught one.”

I clicked my tongue at the hologram window floating in the air.

If I had given up camping with Iris yesterday and moved more diligently, we could have caught all three, but what’s done is done.

“Let’s head back.”

“Got it.”

Camila nodded and followed.

As we walked towards the training ground.

‘Huh?’

Two?

“Iris?”

“Ah, sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment.”

“Yo, you must be hurt from earlier…!”

“It’s not that.”

“What do you mean it’s not that! Your face is all red!”

“I, I said it’s not that!”

Iris, hiding her cheeks, quickly walked ahead with her head down.

“Ah! Saintess!”

Camila ran after her.

“…What’s going on?”

I tilted my head, watching Iris’s retreating figure.

Why is it?

For just a brief moment, Iris’s gaze resembled the one she had when we were lovers in my past life.

‘Stop with the unnecessary thoughts and let’s go.’

I pushed away the thoughts rising in my head and followed the two women.

* * *

The reason I proposed a party to him was out of pure curiosity.

– Really… I’m glad.

Why did he.

Cry so sorrowfully in front of me, someone he had never spoken to before.

At first, I was filled with nothing but discomfort, but as time passed, that feeling subsided.

And as curiosity rose from the settled emotions, my mind was filled with the man who had said ‘I’m glad’ while looking at me.

‘What exactly was he glad about?’

I kept questioning, but the answer didn’t come easily.

Instead, as I continued to think about him, a completely unrelated thought came to mind.

‘He feels familiar.’

Even though I knew I had never spoken to him before.

The way he looked at me.

The way his voice sounded.

It all felt strangely familiar.

No.

Not just familiar.

It felt so welcoming that my heart started pounding.

‘Why am I feeling like this?’

It’s as if I’ve met a lost lover from a past life.

When even such an absurd delusion popped into my head.

– In this class, we’ll form parties of three, so feel free to gather your party members.

As soon as I heard that.

I found myself standing up and approaching him without thinking.

‘Thinking about it now…’

It felt like I acted too impulsively for a Saintess.

But I didn’t regret it.

Even though it was just a day, the time spent with him… wasn’t so bad.

No.

To be honest.

– Are you okay?

I was happy.

More than I thought.

When we tracked the monster through the forest together.

When I ate ‘ramen’ for the first time.

When he blocked the charging monster for me.

When he reached out his hand to me after I fell and asked if I was okay.

With a tingling sensation running through my body, I felt an emotion I had never felt before.

An emotion that a ‘Saintess’ shouldn’t dare to feel.

“Haah. What should I do from now on…?”

As I sighed and continued to ponder.

Memories suddenly flashed through my mind.

– Hey, why are you speaking casually to me? Do you know me?

– Well, since we’re in the same grade, casual speech is fine. But what was that yesterday? Huh? Why did you lay hands on my friend, you jerk?

– Ah, right. You must forget what happened today, okay? Otherwise… you’re dead.

– Kyah! What is this? It’s so delicious! Are you insane?!

“Ah, damn it?”

What should I do?