Chapter 72
“Ahh, it hurts…”
Daphne tilted her head as she watched Bunny whimpering.
Where have I seen him before? His face looks familiar somehow. After racking her memory for a moment, Daphne soon recognized Bunny.
“What? Aren’t you that stamina beggar I saw earlier?”
“S-Stamina beggar…?”
Bunny stared at Daphne with eyes as round as a rabbit’s, but Daphne couldn’t care less if he was surprised or not, so instead of responding, she scrutinized Bunny’s appearance.
Her gaze landed on his cheek, swollen red from being hit. Seeing even his tooth knocked out and blood trickling down, Daphne raised her voice.
“But why are you like that? Who hit you? They did hit you!”
To hit such a weakling—what a rotten bastard! Flames ignited in Daphne’s eyes.
“Who is it? Who dares commit violence right in front of me? I’ll beat them to a pulp!”
“…”
Bunny was utterly bewildered, but to avoid getting swept up, he steadied himself and slowly raised his finger. Then, he pointed his index finger at Daphne.
“Hm?”
Daphne looked around here and there before pointing at herself with her own finger.
“…Me?”
“Yes.”
“Aha!”
Only then did Daphne realize that in her sleep, she had smacked something hard. So she quickly bowed her head.
“I’m sorry. I have bad sleeping habits.”
Then she pointed at Bunny’s fallen molar on the ground.
“That… I’ll definitely get your molar treated later. There’s an elf doctor at the mansion. He might look like a quack, but he’s decent enough, so you can trust him with it.”
Treatment was a given, but she felt like she should think about additional compensation. Even if it was unintentional, it was undeniable that she had hit him.
How should I compensate him? As Daphne’s mind raced, Bunny, who had been sitting slumped, suddenly stood up and rushed toward her.
“An elf… You mean that elf? The elf will treat me? You’re talking about the elves who live in the mountains, right?”
Daphne tilted her head before answering.
“Yeah. He’d even play dead if I told him to.”
“Then!”
Bunny grabbed Daphne’s hand tightly. His eyes sparkled brightly, unlike before.
“Then, instead of my molar, could you help my mom?”
“…Huh?”
“M-My mom is sick. The local clinic doesn’t know what’s wrong, and we don’t have money for a city doctor. So, instead of my molar, could you have them look at my mom… please?”
Daphne’s large eyes blinked several times. So, he’s saying his mother’s health is more important than treating his own tooth?
“You…”
Daphne closed her slightly open mouth and gave him a thumbs up.
“You’re a promising kid.”
“Huh?”
“You’re a good boy. So I’ll help.”
“Huh?”
“What’s your name?”
“Bunny… that’s me.”
“Alright. I’m Daphne.”
Daphne grinned and extended her hand to Bunny.
“Grab it.”
Bunny was curious about what Daphne meant—whether she’d treat his mother or not—but… he knew for sure that he had to grab this hand. It was instinct and intuition.
So Bunny grasped the hand Daphne offered.
“Yeah, yeah. If you live kindly, you should receive blessings. Isn’t that right?”
He still didn’t understand what she was saying… but Bunny started walking along with Daphne anyway. She didn’t seem like a bad kid after all!
“Ah. You’re subordinate number 3. Remember that.”
…Probably?
***
“Dormitory…!”
“Training ground!”
The kids who got off the carriage before Daphne walked along behind the instructors, each with excited faces.
It was a fairly steep mountain path, but it was somewhat maintained, and since a stark white building stood tall not far away, the kids couldn’t suppress their anticipation.
“That’s where the guardians do their group training, right?”
“Then we’re getting the same training as the guardians?”
“Ah. This is awesome. I’m totally going to brag about this.”
The Hero Academy, established with the grand ambition of creating a second hero.
They had finally entered after beating out hundreds of competitors.
So, high-quality education awaited them! Just graduating from the academy would let them live better than now! The kids’ eyes gleamed with aspiration and expectation.
And so, the children began walking step by step.
When they reached the pure white building they had been eyeing since getting off the carriage.
“…”
The kids could only gape in silence.
They had no choice.
The ‘white’ exterior they saw from afar was just the peeled-off paint making it look white due to weathering.
Several windows were broken, and ivy vines climbed up to the second floor. That wasn’t all—some parts exposed the dilapidated pillars. It was so rundown that they worried it might collapse.
Moreover, the sandy ground that looked like a training area was completely unmaintained, with pits dug here and there.
“This…”
Doubt and anxiety filled the kid’s eyes.
“Isn’t this a ruin?”
“A haunted house. It’s a haunted house at this point.”
“What’s going on? We’re not really living here, right? There’s another place, isn’t there?”
At that moment, Nike walked up onto the platform right in front of the building. On the surface, Nike had a smiling, gentle demeanor, so the kids looked up at him as if he were their hope.
But.
“{Everyone. Attention.}”
The voice coming through the amplification device was not gentle at all.
“{As you know, I am a first-class guardian, Nike. This instructor is in charge of your overall education, so I expect you to follow my words unconditionally. Understood?}”
“…”
The confused kids rolled their eyes. Nike’s pale face cracked as he watched them.
“{No response. Drop and give me push-ups.}”
Even at Nike’s commanding order, only one or two moved, while the rest just hesitated, glancing around. Nike’s face hardened even more.
“{Drop and give me push-ups now!}”
Sensing something amiss, the kids finally started dropping down hesitantly. Nike infused his voice with mana, spreading an oppressive aura widely. The kid’s bodies shrank under the pressure.
“Heup…!”
“{In this place, you obey my words unconditionally. Understood?}”
“Yes, sir!”
“{In this place, you all are nothing. Understood?}”
“Uh… what? Yes, sir?”
“{Do 30 push-ups.}”
Some kids still didn’t understand properly this time, but thanks to Nike appropriately using mana to pin them down, everyone started doing push-ups diligently.
“{What was the first test?}”
“It was to react immediately to the instructor’s command!”
The silver-haired girl who had dropped second shouted loudly. Nike looked at the child with a satisfied expression and said.
“{Silvia. Plus one point.}”
“Th-Thank you?”
Murmurs arose about there being points, but Nike suppressed the kids with mana once more and spoke.
“{I didn’t give permission to open your mouths—who’s talking?}”
Nike ground his teeth with an unusually angry face.
“{Everyone stand up.}”
Then he unleashed a sharp, menacing mana storm toward everyone.
“{Drop down.}”
“Heup…!”
The kids couldn’t think straight, but feeling that messing up here would make Nike go even crazier, they moved their bodies briskly.
“{Stand up.}”
“Urk…!”
“{Drop down.}”
“Hoo!”
After repeating this several more times, Nike withdrew the mana storm and growled lowly.
“{This instructor.}”
“…”
“{Is greatly disappointed in you all.}”
Ah, what? Why is he like that? What exactly is he disappointed about?
The kids squeezed their eyes shut, trying to make sense of this absurd situation, while Daphne, who arrived late and stealthily joined the ranks…
“Wow, these guardian folks know what’s up.”
Her eyes sparkled, thinking this was exactly the kind of training she wanted.
Of course. Training starts with rolling around.
☆▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎☆
