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There were plenty of Lethe members who had generously ‘gifted’ me their coins. I stared at the ground, feeling a bit guilty for not meeting their expectations.

“Damn, I have no face to show. Even after you all helped me so much…”

When I expressed my regrets, Rendal, still with some swelling, gritted his teeth. Fortunately, it seemed he had managed to reattach his lost teeth.

“D-Don’t be ridiculous! Who, argh!”

He probably still had toothache.

“You’d better brace yourself, Hersel! I’ll show you hell throughout your academy life!!”

“This place is already hell, Rendal. You must have gotten an idea of what it’s like after staying here for a day, right?”

“…”

Unable to find the right words, Rendal glanced at the Lethe members behind him. When I glared at them too, those who still had bruises on their faces avoided eye contact nervously. Having experienced it themselves, they were cautious. In a way, Rendal was admirable for being the only one to put on a brave front.

“Tch.”

I clicked my tongue as I watched him lead his group away. This wasn’t an exam, it was a class, so I couldn’t take their harvests like I did their coins.

“Um, excuse me…”

“Hmm?”

“If you’re done talking, shouldn’t we start too?”

I looked at the girl who was my partner. She kept her distance, looking scared.

Her name was… I clearly heard it but I’m confused.

“What was your name again?”

“K-Klabe Don Gravel.”

Ah, Klabe. I recognized her face, but names often slipped my mind. Understandably so, given her timid nature and lack of presence. Yet, she was an acquaintance of a playable character from Schlaphe Hall’s magic department.

“Everyone else is moving now, you know?”

I glanced at the man with the ponytail. He looked at Klabe and me with wary eyes.

“Right, let’s get moving too.”

First-year Schlaphe students were not entirely without hope, unlike the second and third-year losers. The condition for passing the third exam was being among the top 70 teams, so they hadn’t yet proven their abilities. About a fifth of them would move to Burger Hall next semester, and that guy was expected to rise directly to Adelle Hall.

Since this girl was his friend, I needed to make a good impression.

“You’re quite pretty, aren’t you?”

Her indistinct features suggested otherwise, though.

“…”

Klabe flinched and stepped back. Maybe that compliment was something a more flirtatious guy would say…

“Ahem, no, nothing. Follow me. I have a rough idea where the Merilly root is.”

When I pulled out the prepared rope, Klabe turned pale.

***

Rendal frowned as he watched the three of them.

“Are you that scared of that guy?”

These guys were truly pathetic. After suffering that much, they should be thinking about revenge.

“Rendal, you were unconscious back then, right? You didn’t see how cruel he was…”

One of them crossed his legs. The other two hadn’t even been hit by him.

“Ugh, I still tremble at the thought of that barbarian.”

“Rendal, if you saw your helmet get crushed like we did, you wouldn’t want to get involved with them again either.”

Rendal spat in disbelief.

‘These idiots. If we handle that bastard, we could become officers immediately.’

There were ranks within the Lethe members. Explaining Hersel’s actions to the first-rank officers had earned Rendal permission to handle him and a promise of promotion if he succeeded. These guys knew that too.

“Did you forget the benefits of becoming an officer? You could build connections with the Imperial family! Don’t you realize how great that is?”

Every noble child had a longing for the Imperial family. Even if they were cast out by their families, having those connections guaranteed success. And Lethe made that possible.

“If you don’t want to, leave. I’ll handle him alone.”

Rendal angrily followed Hersel’s tracks in the snow. The others, unable to resist the temptation, slowly followed.

The cold wind bit at their noses. As they walked, breathing out clouds of vapor, they reached a place filled with Merilly roots.

– Hersel, the girl behind you has been aiming her staff at your back for a while.

…I noticed too.

As expected of a snowy mountain, the cliffs were scattered everywhere. I stopped at the edge of a drop-off.

“We’re here.”

I pulled out the rope and checked Klabe’s expression. She looked terrified and started drawing a spell formula in the air. I frowned.

“So, you really brought me here to… There aren’t any roots, right?”

“Stop talking nonsense and just keep watch.”

Ignoring the misunderstanding Klabe had, I drove a large stake with a loop into the ground. After securing it tightly, I tied the rope to it and threw it over the cliff.

Below was a fairly wide area, the entrance to a cave.

With a thud, I grabbed the rope and descended the cliff. I had overcome my fear of heights long ago after falling off cliffs twice. Sliding down almost effortlessly, I looked at the cave filled with Merilly roots.

At that moment, Klabe’s scream erupted from above.

“W-Wait, what are you doing… Aaaah!”

Klabe, tears streaming, fell towards the ground. Just before she was about to hit, I quickly activated the lightweight magic in my gloves.

Her body, feather-light, landed gently in my arms.

“I warned you to brace yourself, Hersel.”

Looking up, I saw Rendal arrogantly raising his chin. His group was murmuring behind him.

“Rendal… Even if it’s Hersel, what about the girl? What if something happens to her?”

“Don’t worry, it’ll be treated as an accident.”

Rendal lit the end of his staff with a flame and brought it close to the rope. Watching his infuriating face, I pulled out my staff.

Ah, magic.

Grant me the power to drag that bastard to hell.

With my mana nearly depleted from the lightweight spell, I could still cast my specialty magic. I weakly pulled Rendal’s ankle with it.

He slipped on the snow.

“Huh!”

Rendal began sliding down the cliff, grabbing the rope. The flame at the end of his staff…

Whoosh!

“Aaah!”

Halfway down, Rendal screamed, clinging to the burning rope. It snapped under his weight.

Thud!

I approached the snow-covered Rendal. Though injured, he raised his head, looking grim.

“As a captive, I have one request.”

Captive. Though his actions were foolish, he understood his situation well.

“Let’s hear it.”

“…Don’t hit my face.”

“That’s easy.”

I stepped on him repeatedly and gave him a solid knock on the head. With each strike, he curled up and whimpered.

Feeling much better, I shouted to the people above.

“If you want to save Rendal, bring another rope immediately!”

“Isn’t he already dead?”

“N-no, he’s alive.”

“Okay, we’ll bring one. Wait there.”

While they fetched the rope, I decided to gather the roots.

“Klabe, over here. Help me out.”

“Huh? Oh… okay.”

Klabe, more terrified than ever, followed slowly. As we entered the cave, a sound like a beast snoring echoed.

Snort.

A giant white fox was hibernating. I stopped Klabe, who was aiming her staff at the fox.

“Klabe, don’t provoke it unnecessarily.”

“But what if…”

“It won’t wake up even if we make noise. Just don’t touch it.”

Walking confidently, Klabe seemed relieved and followed me.

The cave grew darker as we went deeper. I was about to pull out a torch when Klabe swung her staff, and flames erupted.

Whoosh.

The size of the flames was no joke…

“Oh? It really is here! Just like the professor showed us.”

Klabe’s eyes sparkled at the sight of a single sky-blue flower. She was thrilled over such a small thing.

“Bring the fire closer.”

Maybe she was starting to trust me. She hesitated less. After a few more steps, Klabe’s jaw dropped.

“Wow… Is this all?”

“Yes, it’s Merilly flowers.”

Flowers hidden all around. There must be about 15 in total. At 100 coins each, they were worth 1500 coins. I’d give the worst one to the professor for grading, and another to Klabe as a reward for her help.

“You stay here and light the area.”

“Okay…”

Carefully, I packed the roots into my collection bag. As I was about to leave, I heard the sound of static electricity.

Crackle.

Looking towards the entrance, my jaw dropped. Rendal was crawling on the ground, holding the staff in his mouth, a rope wrapped around his waist.

‘Determined bastard.’

…Rendal is as tenacious as you are.

His poorly drawn spell shot off-target, but the static seemed to flow through the ground, waking the giant fox.

“It’s awake! What do we do…”

As Klabe panicked, Rendal smirked.

“Heh heh, I’ll explain to the professor that you were killed by a monster. Goodbye.”

As his group pulled him up, Rendal began ascending. I quickly grabbed a rock and threw it.

Thwack!

“Pull… Ooof!”

It hit him right in the crotch. He went limp and was dragged out of sight.

-Damn you…

‘It was an accident.’

But what about this yawning fox? As it sniffed the air, it growled, baring its teeth.

Standing on its hind legs, the 3-meter-tall creature wasn’t a sandbag like the Lethe members, but a real monster. I was genuinely scared, having never faced a monster alone.

“Hmm.”

Glancing at Klabe, who was now crying and sitting on the ground.

‘Don’t count on her.’

I had to rely on my magic.

***

While the servants swept the garden path, watching the changing seasons filled my lonely hours. The mistress set down her teacup on the terrace.

“Without them, it feels somewhat empty.”

Aol bared his teeth in a faint smile.

“Now that they’re gone, their absence is keenly felt.”

“I wonder if they’re doing well…”

“Erucel is a child taught by Sir Kaulro. Hersel, even if isolated, will manage on his own.”

The mistress smiled.

“That’s true. There can’t be anything more dangerous than the giant bird there.”

Seeing her relieved expression, Aol blinked slowly.

“Speaking of which, as Mircel wishes-“

“I told you he’s still too young.”

The mistress’s response was cold. Showing no signs of compromise, Aol left the terrace. Mircel, who had been waiting eagerly, brightened.

When Aol shook his head, Mircel’s hopeful expression turned sullen. The mistress’s voice startled them.

“Mircel? How many times do I have to tell you that it’s too early to go to the academy?”

Aol patted the despondent Mircel on the back.