Episode 130: Let’s Celebrate
The classroom buzzed with excitement at the name of the dungeon written on the blackboard. I remembered the name Drefon. It was the name of the black dragon written in the book Rouge was reading yesterday.
“Why…”
Rouge, who was sitting next to me, muttered. I glanced at her and saw her navy blue eyes wide and trembling. She seemed more bewildered than surprised.
“Alright, quiet down. For the off-campus training exercise starting next week, you guys will be exploring this Drefon Great Labyrinth. It’s called a Great Labyrinth, but it’s just wide and the monsters aren’t that strong, so it’s an easy dungeon.”
Alissa-san’s definition of “easy” was highly suspect, but that didn’t seem to be what my classmates were worried about.
“Um, is the curse going to be okay…?”
It was Ann Traage, Idiot’s former follower, who raised her hand and spoke. Starting with her, several students threw questions at Alissa-san about the “curse.”
What’s this about a curse…? Both nobles and commoners were talking about it, so it seemed that the image of Drefon Great Labyrinth = curse was common in the Royal Capital.
As I was wondering about this, Rouge suddenly placed her hand on mine, which was resting on the desk.
“What’s wrong?”
“Ah, um, n-nothing!”
She probably didn’t mean to. When I asked in a low voice, Rouge seemed startled and tried to pull her hand away. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently, just enough to show I cared.
To reassure Rouge, who seemed anxious, that everything would be alright.
“…Thank you, Hugh.”
My intention seemed to have gotten through to her. Rouge relaxed her stiff expression a little and smiled. Still, what exactly is this curse everyone’s talking about…?
“Ah ha ha! Curses are just superstition. It’s not a curse, it’s an epidemic. I understand why you guys want to call it a curse, though.”
Alissa-san laughed off the word “curse” as if to dispel the anxieties of her classmates. I see, the curse everyone was talking about was an epidemic. Medicine hasn’t developed much compared to my previous life… I guess the discovery of bacteria and viruses hasn’t happened yet.
It’s no wonder that rumors spread about infectious diseases being curses. …But well, this is a world where supernatural powers like Skills exist. It wouldn’t be strange if there actually was a curse.
“Don’t worry so much, the Adventurers Guild has guaranteed the safety of the dungeon. The academy has also sent people in advance to check it out. There’s nothing for you to worry about.”
Saying that, Alissa-san winked at us. Well, Rouge (Lucretia) is in our class. Even if she’s hiding her identity, they wouldn’t send the Seventh Princess to a dangerous dungeon. The Adventurers Guild and the academy, as well as the Royal Knights Order, must have confirmed its safety.
The classroom finally calmed down at Alissa-san’s words. However, Rouge continued to grip my hand tightly. Feeling a sense of unease at this, I turned my gaze to Lily, who was sitting beyond Rouge.
Lily must have noticed Rouge’s condition as well. When our eyes met, she nodded slightly. She seemed to have an idea of what was going on.
“I’ll be handing out the itinerary for the off-campus training exercise now, so please take one each.”
I received the itinerary that Cicely-san was handing out and checked its contents.
The off-campus training exercise would last about a month, starting at the beginning of next week. The Drefon Great Labyrinth, where the exercise would take place, was located in the Spen Region to the west of the Royal Capital, across Lake Reese. It would take five days to travel there from the Royal Capital, using a combination of boats and carriages. There were also plans for camping exercises along the way.
Looking at it roughly, it was a pretty tough schedule. There were rest days, but most of the month would be spent traveling and exploring the dungeon. It seemed like it would require both physical and mental toughness…
After that, Cicely-san explained the detailed schedule and precautions based on the itinerary, and the first period ended. After the regular classes from the second period, it was time for lunch break.
“It’s lunchtime!”
Rosalie stood up from her chair and her eyes sparkled as soon as the teacher left the room. Having become accustomed to the simple meals at the church, she seemed to be completely fascinated by the cuisine of the first-class chefs at the Royal Academy’s school cafeteria.
“Let’s go to the cafeteria quickly, everyone!”
Rouge and the others stood up with wry smiles as Rosalie urged them on.
I exchanged glances with Idiot and Lily, and said,
“Sorry, I’ll pass.”
“Eh? Hugh, aren’t you going?”
“I feel like my morning training was a bit incomplete. The off-campus training exercise is coming up soon, so I want to swing my sword a little more. Idiot, will you join me?”
“Hmm, I don’t mind. I was just about to swing my sword too.”
He must have understood my intentions. Idiot readily accepted my invitation and stood up, lightly rotating his shoulders. Then Lily also said,
“I’ll join you too. I feel like exercising today.”
““““““Eh!?”””””
“Why are you all surprised in unison…?”
Lily tilted her head in confusion.
Well, you know… Everyone knows that Lily hates exercising. If someone who refuses to dance at the night soiree, saying that both of her feet were fractured in a complex way, suddenly says that she wants to exercise, of course we’d be surprised.
“Can you not be so surprised…? I’m just trying to build up my stamina for the off-campus training exercise.”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
I wanted to point out that she wouldn’t build up her stamina with just a little exercise, but I knew that it was a way to separate from Rouge and the others to match me and Idiot, so I kept quiet.
“Um, then I…”
“Rouge-san, shall we go to the cafeteria?”
Lecty immediately called out to Rouge, who had been hesitant. Lecty also knew that I hadn’t told Rouge about the Brainwashing Skill yet. She must have been considerate of that.
“Okay, I understand. See you later, Hugh.”
“Yeah.”
We watched Rouge, Lecty, and Rosalie head to the cafeteria, and then we left the classroom as well.
We headed to the vacant lot behind the faculty dormitory, where we always trained in the morning. There were no students who would bother to come to such a place during lunch break, so we didn’t have to worry about the surroundings.
Even so,
“It’s hot…”
I couldn’t help but mutter at the pouring sunlight. My uniform was already damp with sweat just from walking here. I think the change to summer uniforms was tomorrow… I can’t wait for short sleeves.
We decided to settle down in the shade of a tree for the time being.