Chapter 89
The training institute building where all the children had left.
Nike, Fiona, and Kenrick were sprawled out in the second-floor lounge like laundry hanging to dry.
That was because the week-long training had been no easy task for them either.
“Still, the kids were pretty good.Better than the previous trainee guardians, right?”
“Ah.I thought so too.”
“There were a few I really wanted to recruit as guardians.”
The children had followed the training better than expected, so the instructors were unanimously praising them.
“Then, shall we raise the difficulty a bit for next week’s classes?”
“Sounds good.”
Having discovered raw gems after a long time, they were excited and casually saying things that would make the children weep if they heard.
“Oh.”
At that moment, Nike let out a short exclamation while looking at the video orb.
“Want to take a look at this?”
He brought the video orb to the center.
Kenrick and Fiona also peered into the video orb.
“Oh my.There’s already a group dropping competitors.Usually, they wake up to that around evening.”
“Let me see.Who’s in this group…….”
“It’s Daphne, right.”
“How did you know?!”
Nike asked in surprise, and Kenrick smirked as if it was a pointless question before answering.
“Among the trainees, the only one who would do something this sneaky first is Daphne.”
“Aha.That’s true.”
Whether “sneaky” was a fitting adjective for the only duke’s daughter was questionable, but anyway, they were purely admiring her.
“She’s really impressive.She was the first to realize and act on the fact that completely blocking other groups’ movements makes scoring much easier.”
“This kid is truly born for it.Born sneakiness.I love it.Maybe the rumors of her being a spoiled brat are distortions of this kind of behavior?”
“…….That’s probably not it.No, no.Definitely not.”
Kenrick shuddered, recalling Daphne’s old bratty temper.
Nike snickered and shrugged.
“Anyway, this exam will likely go smoothly with Daphne’s group taking first place.”
“Isn’t it a bit early to be sure?I think Morris’s group is no pushover either.To be precise, Morris and Cilia.”
“Ahh.Those two are pretty good, yeah.”
At Fiona’s words, Nike pondered for a moment before firmly shaking his head.
“Still, I don’t think they compare to Daphne.I’ll bet on Daphne’s group.”
“What, betting money on kids’ fights?I’m in for 100,000.”
“100,000 on Daphne’s group?Hah……. I like upsets, so I’ll bet 150,000 on Morris’s group.”
“Ooh.”
They took money from their wallets and placed it on the table.
Very commendable behavior.
“But, can I make a bold statement?”
At that moment, Nike slyly raised his hand and said.
“I want to recruit both Morris and Daphne as guardians.”
“Ah.I agree with that.”
Fiona chimed in.
“Both are exceptionally talented kids.Daphne is still young, so we can wait and see a bit more, but Morris is older, so wouldn’t it be good to make an offer first?”
“While proposing to Morris, why not include Joshua too?”
“Ah, that guy’s good.”
If Morris and Joshua joined the guardians, they would undoubtedly become a great asset.
Nike and Fiona’s eyes sparkled.
“Hmm.Daphne.Daphne.”
However, Kenrick was fixated on Daphne.
“Hmm.I wonder if Daphne would join.Rache, what do you think……. Hey, where’d she go?”
Only then did the instructors realize Rache was missing and stood up.
Just in time, Rache entered the lounge and tilted her head at the awkwardly standing instructors.
“What are you doing?”
“…….We were debating whether to go look for Rache or not.”
At Nike’s embarrassed answer, Rache smiled gently.
“Sorry.I stepped out to contact my father briefly.”
“What’s there to be sorry for……. What, who?Father?His Grace the Duke?”
Kenrick asked with wide eyes.
No, why all of a sudden?
She had whined so much about hating it when told to contact him even once before—what wind blew this time?
Kenrick wanted to ask Rache the reason right away, but with Nike and Fiona present, he couldn’t and glanced cautiously.
Rache smiled again as if understanding Kenrick and whispered lowly.
“I’ll tell you later.”
“Ah.Yeah.Uh-huh.Okay.”
Kenrick sat back down after his flustered reply, and Rache asked with a nonchalant expression.
“So, why?Why were you looking for me?”
“I was going to ask if there’s a chance Daphne would join the guardians.”
“Ah…….”
A shadow fell over Rache’s face in that instant.
“I wouldn’t like that…….”
“…….”
Come to think of it, Rache and Daphne didn’t get along very well.
Recalling their circumstances, Fiona and Nike exchanged glances.
“If it’s one or the other, I’m for Daphne.”
“I vote for Daphne too.”
“Wow.You guys are too much.”
They giggled and continued joking.
How much time passed like that?
While chatting, Nike’s eyes fixed on one point as he glanced at the video orb.
“…….Huh?”
Nike shot up and grabbed the video orb.
“Wait a second.”
He trembled his lips with an incredulous expression.
“This……. what is this?”
***
Shwaaaa-
The sound of river water flowing refreshingly echoed through the valley.
“It’s a paradise on earth.”
Sunlight sparkling through slightly open bushes, cool river water, and the gentlest breeze.
Daphne hummed a tune.
“We have dropped a total of 12 competitors.Now victory is on our side.”
Daphne said, spreading both arms wide, and Richard, sitting nearby, began clapping.
“Daphne!Daphne!”
“Hehe.”
“Daphne!Daphne!”
“Hehehe!”
Daphne giggled with a proud heart.
But Joshua’s expression was stiff.
Of course, thanks to Daphne, they had dropped competitors from the start……. but somehow.
Joshua felt oddly uneasy.
It was because he wondered if this was okay.
“Isn’t this like breaking the rules or something?”
At his question, Daphne’s eyes narrowed.
“Why are you so timid?If it were against the rules, the instructors would have said so from the beginning.Don’t worry.”
“It’s not that I’m timid, it’s that you’re sneaky…….!”
Somehow it felt like noble and commoner roles were reversed.
Joshua ruffled his bangs.
“Are you really a noble?Is it okay to be this sneaky?”
“What are you saying.”
Daphne turned her head sharply to look at Joshua.
“You seem to have some prejudice about nobles.Look at this one.How messed up he is.When there are nobles this chaotic, why wouldn’t there be sneaky ones?”
“…….Why are you only picking on me since earlier?And Joshua, why are you convinced?This is ridiculous.”
Teppy, suddenly attacked, pouted his lips and vigorously rubbed branches together.
He was growing splendidly by making fire on his own without being told.
“Just watch.As more time passes, the others will act just as sneaky.”
“…….Is that so.”
Joshua decided to nod for now, putting aside his unease.
Nothing had gone wrong so far.
“Come to think of it, where’s Bunny?”
“I’m here!”
Bunny ran over from the riverside as if waiting.
His pants were rolled up to his thighs, and though he had gone into fairly deep water, they were still somewhat wet.
“I caught fish.Its look a bit weak and lack energy, but it should fill our stomachs anyway.”
“Ooh.”
Daphne raised her thumb.
“Very excellent.”
“Hehe.Thank you.”
As soon as Teppy saw the fish in Bunny’s hand, he began frantically rubbing the fire-starting branches.
Food, food.
Gotta eat food…….!
“Oh, ooh!I made fire!Let’s grill!Grill!
I’m hungry!”
“If you were that hungry, why didn’t you start a fire yesterday.”
“Shut up!Food!Let’s eat food!”
Teppy, shouting for food faster than anyone, was indeed growing splendidly.
Daphne smiled satisfactorily.
“It would be good to eat and rest a bit.Then, search for balls while dropping the other guys.”
“Good!”
They huddled closely around the campfire.
Then Bunny spoke again.
“Ah, but this place felt a bit strange.”
“Strange how?”
“There weren’t many fish.Normally in a river this size, there should be several times more, but it was empty like they all fled.It was weird.”
“…….Really?”
Joshua’s eyes narrowed.
It could be overlooked, but his instincts were ringing alarm bells that he shouldn’t ignore it.
Joshua looked around.
“Ah.Come to think of it, I didn’t see many animals either.That’s why I only picked berries.”
At Richard’s words, Joshua muttered with half-conviction.
“Is there a magical beast nearby?”
“That’s not it.”
Daphne answered immediately.
“It’s not a magical beast.There’s no aura felt.”
“Huh?”
Teppy, who had been smacking his lips at the grilling fish nearby, tilted his head.
“How do you know that?You can’t even handle mana.Really.Can you stop pretending to know?”
“…….?”
Daphne made a slightly puzzled expression, then realized she hadn’t used magic even once since arriving at the institute.
So she lightly created a fireball.
Hwarrrk!
A fist-sized ball of fire leisurely floated in the air.
“…….Huh?”
“M-Magic…….!”
“For real?”
All the children were startled.
No, “startled” wasn’t enough.
Richard nearly fell backward.
“You……. can use magic…….?”
Joshua rubbed his eyes in disbelief, but the clear fireball told him this was reality.
He became even more confused.
“Wow……. Damn.Daphneee!”
Teppy shouted resonantly.
Joshua instinctively lunged toward Teppy.
Throughout training, he had shown inferiority toward Daphne, so Joshua thought he’d do it again this time.
…….He definitely thought so.
“You jerk!If you could make fire, I wouldn’t have had to rub wood like crazy!”
“…….”
Joshua recalled how many prejudices about nobles had been shattered since coming here, then shook his head.
There were too many to count.
“Magic is wasteful.And you did very well.From now on, I’ll leave fire-starting to you.”
“Are you insane, really!”
Teppy rolled his eyes, then scratched the back of his head and slyly asked.
“Hey.But how do you know how to use magic?You seemed good with swords too.”
“That, well.It’s possible because I’m a genius.”
“What are you saying.If you’re a genius, what am I.”
“An idiot.”
“You kidding?”
As they exchanged sharp jokes, that was the moment.
“…….Huh?”
“Ah, what.Smell!”
“Did the fish rot?!”
A rotting stench strong enough to make noses fall off began to spread.
“…….This is.”
Daphne’s face turned pale.
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