After eating lunch with Cedric in the cafeteria, I briefly returned to my room at home to prepare.
Not that I had much to prepare—without any weapons or armor, all I needed to do was change into my training uniform.
“Alright, let’s go…”
After changing, I headed back to the dorm and quickly made my way down the hill.
“Ah!”
“Hey.”
Thinking I couldn’t afford to be late, I was hurrying down the hill when I bumped into Noel at the fork between the Boys’ and Girls’ Dormitories.
“You’re heading outside of town, right? Ilmera and Yuika are still at the dorm, so don’t worry about rushing.”
Noel smiled as she informed me.
“Oh, really. Then I’ll slow down a bit.”
I stopped jogging and began walking at a normal pace, continuing down the hill with Noel.
“Sorry about Ilmera and Yuika dragging you along like this.”
Why was she apologizing?
Was she representing the rest of the group?
“It’s fine, I have time, and I’m excited to head outside. I like fighting, anyway.”
“You really do like it, huh?”
“I’ve been practicing martial arts since I was a kid. I enjoy physical activities over all the theory lectures, anyway.”
“I’m the opposite. Martial arts aren’t my thing, and my coordination isn’t great either.”
Ah, just like Sharl. Indeed, Noel didn’t look like someone who’d excel at sports.
“Is your family into martial arts, Noel?”
“No, my family works in research.”
That’s good to hear.
“Oh, right. Is it true that monsters are more likely to appear if you have a lot of magic?”
“…………”
Noel silently stared at me like I was some sort of creepy creature.
“What?”
“Sorry. It’s just a theory—there’s no proven correlation. There are ideas suggesting creatures might be drawn to magic, though.”
-Huh.
“So we might run into another bear, huh?”
“Yuika and Ilmera are probably looking forward to that.”
“While Yuika seems to love fighting, is Ilmera really that into monster hunting? I thought Frank, who also comes from a martial family, sounded bored of it.”
Frank certainly didn’t seem keen on rushing into any combat.
“Yeah, so does Ilmera.”
“Normally, when we go out, it’s because Yuika initiated it, and Ilmera and I tag along. Yesterday, though, it was Toko who invited us—she managed to get permission from her parents to go outside.”
I’m aware.
We had discussed it together.
“So Ilmera’s not as proactive, then? She seemed really eager today, though.”
“Well, that’s because she heard from Tsukasa that an impressive bear had been taken down. Apparently, it was a big one, wasn’t it?”
“It was enormous. One of those Grizzly Bears, I think?”
I’ve heard the name, but all I know is that it’s a very large bear.
“After hearing that from Frank, Ilmera decided she wanted to hunt one. Bears stay deep in the forest and are hard to find. They’re timid animals and usually run away when they sense humans nearby.”
I know that much.
Generally speaking, most animals that aren’t carnivorous tend to be cautious.
“So she’s pretty pumped up?”
“Yes, yesterday we spent the entire day looking but only managed to spot a wolf.”
A whole day…
Noel must’ve been pretty tired…
“Well, no guarantees we’ll find such a bear, but we can at least give it a try…”
As we continued talking and walking, we finally made it down the hill to the front of Building D.
“Alright, I have class, so I’ll leave here. Good luck out there.”
Noel stopped with a smile.
“You too, work hard in class. See ya.”
After parting ways with Noel, I headed towards the building containing the teleportation magic array and used it to transport myself to the safe point by the lake.
Just ahead of the magic circle, I found myself gazing at the tranquil lake, not thinking about anything in particular.
“Tsukasa, what are you doing?”
“Daydreaming, maybe?”
I turned around after hearing a voice from behind. Sure enough, there stood Yuika and Ilmera.
“Hey. Aren’t you two still in your uniforms?”
They were dressed the same as they had been during the morning.
“It’s too much of a hassle to change. Besides, I don’t wear heavy armor anyway.”
Ilmera said this as she pulled out her spear.
“Spear?”
“I can use a sword, but this is my specialty. Though, in the forest, it’s not really practical since you can’t swing it around due to the trees.”
True, the forest would make using a spear complicated. Spears would mainly be used for thrusting.
“And you?”
Now I turned my attention to Yuika.
“My combat wear isn’t something I want everyone to see. Our family’s specialty isn’t assassination, but something more akin to ninjutsu.”
She almost said ‘assassination,’ didn’t she?
The Akaba family certainly has a dangerous reputation.
“Is it a secret?”
“No, it’s just… a bit risqué. It’s kind of like a mini yukata.”
Ah, I see.
That’s why she didn’t want to show it.
“You prioritize speed, so it doesn’t really matter what you’re wearing anyway.”
“Exactly. How about you, Tsukasa? Isn’t that a training uniform?”
She’s making the same observation Toko would.
“This is fine for me. I don’t have a weapon anyway.”
“Hmm…”
Yuika grinned as she pulled out her twin swords. They looked pretty cool.
“Nice… Can I try them out for a bit?”
“Sure, but they’re short swords, so I doubt they’ll look good on a guy.”
Even as she said that, Yuika handed them over to me.
“Hmm, so how do I look? Do I look dangerous?”
Having no idea what I was doing, I mimicked a stance I imagined Yuika might use.
“You don’t look right at all.”
“You’re completely amateurish. Your stance is terrible.”
Alright, that’s not working then…
“I’ll return these. Men were meant for tridents.”
“Tridents have no practical use! Stick with nunchucks, like yourself.”
“Nah, they’re too uncool.”
It just doesn’t have that cool factor.
“You’d look better with a hammer or an axe.”
“Can’t you think of something cooler that might suit me?”
“「No.」”
Cedric was right.
These two are brutally honest.
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