Chapter 145: Hey, How About Becoming a Wildlife YouTuber?
The two-night, three-day boat trip passed by in a flash as we helped with shipboard tasks and experienced cleaning duties. We fully enjoyed luxurious meals and ample living space that we probably wouldn’t have experienced on the originally planned transport ship, and disembarked at the port town we arrived at, right on schedule.
From here, it’s travel on foot to the Spen Region, where the Drefon Great Labyrinth is. My classmates turned expectant gazes towards Prince Lucas, but the Prince just shook his head with a gentle smile. It seemed we wouldn’t be coddled any further, as expected.
“Alright, you fledglings! This is where the real training exercise begins! Since we’re graced with Prince Lucas’s presence, I’m adding a scenario! From now on, you guys are the Prince’s escorts, fleeing the Royal Capital after losing a political struggle!”
That scenario is way too ominous… Prince Lucas and everyone else could only offer a wry smile at this.
That said, it’s true that this helps us get more into it than just vaguely heading for the Spen Region. We formed a column centered around the carriage Prince Lucas was riding in and started walking along the highway towards the Spen Region.
The travel on foot was scheduled for four days. We’d be walking continuously along the way, but about three hours after we started, there was already a girl nearing her limit.
“Are you alright, Lily?”
“Y-Yes. This is… nothing at all…!”
When Rouge asked worriedly, Lily answered, her voice squeezed out between ragged breaths. Sweat trickled down her cheeks, and you could tell from her expression that she was gritting her teeth.
Even though there are rest breaks scheduled along the way, at this rate, she doesn’t look like she’ll last…
If I told Alissa-san, Lily could ride on the supply wagon as an injured person. But Lily’s pride probably wouldn’t allow that. She seems like the type to stubbornly keep walking until she actually collapses.
“Lily, let me at least carry your bag. Won’t you let me?”
“Th-Thank… you, Hugh… But, I’m fine…!”
She’s being stubborn, this one. I thought it would be a bit easier for her if she didn’t have her bag… Oh well.
“Lily.”
“What… is it…?”
“There’s a huge bug on your backpack, you know?”
“Kyaaaaaaaah!?”
Lily shrieked and threw off the backpack she was wearing. While the classmates walking ahead turned around wondering what was going on, I nonchalantly picked up Lily’s backpack and kept walking.
She probably figured it out from my attitude. Lily’s expression changed, and she chased after me.
“Y-You tricked me, didn’t you!? There isn’t any bug anywhere!”
“It flew away when you dropped the backpack. More importantly, I’m carrying this bag from now on, okay?”
“…Honestly, you’re so forceful.”
Lily pouted, her lips pursed, and gently nudged me with her elbow. I willingly accepted it. After several hours of walking with a few breaks in between, we reached the planned campsite before dusk.
“Good work, Lily-chan!”
“Thank you, Lecty. Sorry for making you lend me your shoulder.”
“Not at all! This is nothing!”
Lecty, who had been supporting Lily while walking from partway, praised Lily with a smile. Her Holy Maiden Skill includes Physical Enhancement. Her stamina and athletic ability are top-level in the class.
“Thank you too, Hugh. It was a big help having you carry my bag the whole way.”
“We help each other out in times of need. You’re always helping me, Lily.”
“Fufu, what do you plan to do, making me fall for you even more?”
Lily smiled as she took her bag. It seemed she had finally recovered now that we’d reached our destination. Rouge was pouting beside me, so I decided to ignore Lily’s comment for now.
“No time to rest, fledglings! If you don’t hurry up and start preparing the camp, night will fall! Split into a setup team and a Food Procurement Team!”
Responding to Alissa-san’s call, we ended up splitting into a setup team to prepare the camp and a Food Procurement Team. The team assignments were made by Alissa-san, and I was assigned to the Food Procurement Team with Lecty.
“Let’s do our best, Lecty.”
“Yes!”
Lecty looked fired up, clenching her fists tightly in front of her chest.
The campsite was on a small hill a little way off the highway. Nearby, there was a Forest and a lake. Since Idiot and Rosalie, who were also assigned to the Food Procurement Team, went off to fish in the lake, Lecty and I decided to enter the Forest where there were fewer people.
Thanks to growing up in the boondocks of Pnosis Territory, I’m familiar with edible wild plants, nuts, and mushrooms. At a glance, the wild plants here seem mostly the same as in Pnosis Territory.
For now, hoping they’d catch fish at the lake, I was thinking about looking for wild plants like wild onions that could be used to remove gamey smells… when,
“Hugh-san, I found some food already!”
I heard Lecty’s voice say, so I turned around. Lecty, looking somewhat proud, was holding a rather large cicada.
Ummm…
“Are we… eating cicadas…?”
“Yes! They’re bitter and don’t taste good, but they won’t upset your stomach!”
“I-I see.”
For Lecty, “food” is probably determined by whether or not it upsets your stomach… I feel like I just got a glimpse into the harsh environment she grew up in.
Cicadas… Cicadas, huh. When I was a kid, I used to run around the fields and mountains catching bugs all the time, but I never once thought of eating them.
If it were an extreme situation where there was nothing else to eat, maybe. But there are plenty of edible things in this Forest. If we brought back cicadas, Lecty would probably get cold stares from our classmates.
“Ah… Idiot and the others should be bringing back fish, so why don’t we look for some wild plants to go with them? I think cicadas are an acquired taste, so let’s skip them this time. Besides, Lily seems to dislike bugs.”
“Oh, you’re right!”
When Lecty quickly opened her hand, the cicada flew off somewhere as if escaping. Phew, I somehow managed to correct her course without dampening her enthusiasm.
“Hugh-san, this grass is edible! It’s properly sweet and delicious!”
“Oh, there’s such a thing as sweet grass?”
“Yes! Though, if you eat it, your limbs will go numb for about half a day and you won’t be able to move.”
“…Right. Just tell me about the ones that were safe to eat.”
Alissa’s character design has been released on my activity report!