Chapter 83

Chapter 83. Field Training (1)

The sealed grounds where the Heroes had joined forces during the Great War to seal the Demon King.

It was located in the eastern part of the continent.

It occupied an enormous region nearly the size of an ordinary nation, and it was a place filled with monsters that had failed to return to the Demon Realm. It was called the Demon Realm of the continent.

The boundary of the sealed grounds stretched across several nations, including the Empire. Fortunately, our kingdom was located somewhat far from the sealed grounds.

Sir Carlos the Hero, who had sealed the Demon King together with the other Heroes during the Great War, became the first king of our kingdom.

After sealing the Demon King, he discovered a spatial teleportation magic circle in this place and proclaimed the founding of the kingdom there.

Then he established an academy to manage and make use of the teleportation magic circle.

Whether that had been for the students’ education, or whether, as written in his biography, it had been so they could rush there first through the teleportation magic circle if the Demon King ever rose again, I did not know.

This teleportation magic circle became an open secret of the kingdom.

And the academy students had to use this teleportation magic circle to go to the sealed grounds and fight monsters.

This was the duty of nobles who had inherited the abilities of the Heroes.

Should I call it this world’s noblesse oblige?

Of course, as time passed, that duty had lessened, but even now, through the class called field training, all new students had to visit the sealed grounds.

The Knight Department, the Inherited Ability Department, and even the Administration Department.

That was why groups were formed with these kinds of members.

One student from the Administration Department, two from the Knight Department, and two from the Inherited Ability Department.

The group members were mostly chosen according to the students’ preferences, and if there were any problematic parts, the professors would revise and finalize them.

First, it was only natural that the princess would be in the same group as me.

And Valea immediately applied to be in the same group as me.

When my half-brother saw the princess, he seemed to be struck by some sudden inspiration and said that he wanted to be in the same group as me.

Lastly, we needed one person from the Administration Department, and in the end, because his dormitory room was next to mine, Piar ended up in the same group.

That was because no one else volunteered to be in our group anymore.

There were not many people who dared to say they wanted to be in the same group as the princess.

A few arrogant nobles who had wanted to join us changed their minds and went to other groups when they saw that I was in this group.

In the end, because of me, we ended up with this combination.

While everyone was silently looking at one another, the princess greeted us first.

“Hello. I am Aisha.”

The princess’s greeting was extremely cute, but no one showed it.

They only hurriedly returned the princess’s greeting.

“I am Manuel de Gresia.”

As always, my half-brother showed off the noble etiquette he had learned so far.

“I am Valea. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Valea stuck close to my side and performed the role of a shy female student with a fake voice.

“I am Alex.”

I greeted them normally.

“I-I am Piar.”

Piar barely spoke with his head lowered.

Once the introductions ended, silence fell again.

Everyone merely stood there awkwardly.

The other groups were busy talking, but only this group was wrapped in silence.

‘This seems ruined.’

It was not a group formed because we were close, but a group forced together here and there, and the princess was even included. There was no way anyone could speak carelessly.

On top of that, the princess, who should have been leading the conversation, was still young.

Fortunately, there was someone who spoke first in that awkward atmosphere.

“Um…….”

Everyone was slightly surprised.

That was because the person who spoke was Piar.

“Is, is it all right for me to be in this group?”

However, contrary to their surprise, his words made everyone lose their strength.

He had not been this bad before.

After losing the necklace, he had become passive.

“The group has already been decided. It is too late.”

Valea answered his words. Her voice was gentle, but there was a heavy bone hidden in her words.

At Valea’s words, Piar’s head lowered even further.

Just as silence was about to fall again, Manuel opened his mouth.

“Then who will be the group leader?”

As he spoke, Manuel looked over the others one by one. Except for the princess.

That personality of his. He had left out the princess because he wanted to speak informally.

On top of that, the way he looked around openly showed that he wanted someone to nominate him.

“Then Lord Manuel should…….”

“I think Lord Alex would be good!”

Under that gaze, Piar tried reflexively to nominate Manuel, but before he could, Valea raised her hand and pointed at me.

I was startled.

Is this woman trying to feed me poison?

No, what meaning did being group leader even have?

It was obvious how much suffering I would endure if I became group leader!

A noble ten-year-old girl, a half-brother who would not listen for anything, a woman who was half out of her mind and had killed me before, and a timid Administration Department student.

Fortunately, everyone had come properly armed, but controlling this group was absolutely impossible.

“I think the princess should do it.”

I immediately passed the burden to the highest-ranking person.

“Pardon?”

The princess was startled by my words, and the others also looked awkward.

Well, they must be worried about the princess’s age.

“I will help you from the side. You can think of it as studying.”

“……Yes. I understand.”

However, after I nudged her again from the side, the princess accepted obediently.

Once the princess accepted, the group leader was decided.

Naturally, there was no objection. Her young age was worrying, but if the princess said she would do it, who would step forward and oppose her?

I was worried too, but this was the best option.

If the princess became group leader, the others would at least listen.

The princess was mature for her age.

And it seemed I could control things by giving advice, or something close to interference, from the side.

On top of that, being group leader did not have any great meaning.

This class was closer to a safari tour with guardians attached.

“Is this the group with the princess?”

A female teacher approached us.

“It seems I will be in charge of your group.”

A middle-aged female professor. She was the professor I had seen in the liberal arts class, ‘Fundamentals of Inherited Abilities.’

I had heard she was a professor from the Inherited Ability Department.

“Princess Aisha, I am Niel.”

“Please treat me as a student.”

“Yes, understood.”

She roughly looked us over and greeted the princess.

The princess waved her hand with an awkward expression, and the students frowned without the professor noticing.

The professor was openly violating the academy rules.

Within the academy, treat everyone equally regardless of rank.

It was a royal command from the first king who founded the academy, but what meaning did it have if even the professors did not follow it?

Was that professor a noble without succession rights? Her children had not shown inherited abilities either.

When blood mixed over generations, there came a point when the children born no longer awakened.

I, whose mother was a commoner, had also been at risk of that, and even if nobles mixed with nobles, such children ultimately became nobles without abilities.

That was why nobles tried to make children with strong abilities their heirs.

Well, thanks to that, firstborn sons also fought enthusiastically with their siblings to avoid losing their heirship.

Professor Niel would probably also end up as a single-generation noble, with herself as the last.

That was why she had overreached in order to look good to the princess.

Had she pulled some strings to take charge of this group?

Ordinarily, Katrine would have moved with us, but she was standing at a distance, talking with the esteemed children of great nobles.

In any case, each group was assigned to a teacher or a skilled knight.

Even if this field training was close to sightseeing and they did not go in deeply, there was no way the Demon King’s sealed grounds would be safe.

That said, if all the students moved around in a large crowd, they would attract all the monsters’ attention.

In the end, the guardians, whether knights or teachers, had no choice but to lead small groups.

Then the group leader’s role was little more than that of a liaison who conveyed the teacher’s instructions.

“Who did you decide as group leader?”

“I am the group leader.”

“As expected, it is the princess.”

The professor looked at the princess with an expression that said she had known it.

However, I did not know why she was trying so hard to attach herself to the princess. Compared to the First Prince or Second Prince’s side, this was an extremely loose connection.

Once the assigned supervisors had all gathered with their groups, the headmaster stepped onto the magic circle.

“Everyone, stand in position. I will activate the teleportation array. Also, the use of abilities is prohibited until the transfer is complete.”

At his words, we each stood in position according to our supervisor’s instructions. There seemed to be some kind of rule to it, but I could not tell yet.

Once everyone stood in place, mana began to move.

BWOOOOONG.

The air trembled, and light leaked from the magic circle.

“Wow, it really is a magic circle.”

Everyone was amazed by the glowing magic circle, but I was more amazed by the mana surging around us.

‘Is it a kind of mana absorption array?’

Unlike the necklace that amplified the mana the wearer possessed, the magic circle was absorbing mana from the surroundings.

I understood why the use of abilities had been prohibited.

With mana being absorbed like this, if someone used an ability for no reason, things would certainly become a mess.

“Check your equipment, and hold hands by group. If something goes wrong, you may be left behind alone.”

Once the rippling mana stabilized, the headmaster spoke to everyone.

After checking all our equipment, our group also held hands.

Professor Niel held Manuel’s hand.

Manuel held Piar’s hand.

Piar held Valea’s hand, Valea held mine, and the princess held my other hand.

After looking around, the headmaster activated his ability.

“We depart.”

FWOOOSH!

Along with his words, the magic circle emitted a blindingly bright light.

The people were wrapped in light, and I saw mana stretch far away.

It seemed to be connecting to the sealed grounds that were our destination.

‘What would happen if that mana were touched or severed?’

For a moment, I thought something frightening, and then I felt my field of vision change abruptly.

Until just moments ago, we had been inside a building, but now, we were suddenly among trees—no, inside a jungle.

The other students were nowhere to be seen.

Inside the dense jungle, only the five members of our group and Professor Niel were standing.

At the same time, intense dizziness surged up. It felt as though I had ridden an amusement ride ten times in a row.

“Urk!”

Piar immediately retched.

“Ugh!”

“Urp!”

Manuel and the other students also covered their mouths with pale faces.

It seemed to be an aftereffect of spatial teleportation. My stomach also churned, but I hurriedly raised my mana. Once the mana moved, my mind began returning to clarity.

“If you move your mana, you will feel a little better.”

Before I knew when she had moved, Professor Niel was patting the princess on the back as she spoke.

Perhaps thanks to Professor Niel’s advice, the princess’s expression quickly improved as well, and Manuel, Valea, and Piar’s pale faces returned to normal in that order.

Only then did the students look around.

“This is the sealed grounds?”

Piar muttered without realizing it.

“It just looks like a dense forest…….”

Manuel furrowed his brow.

“But it feels a little hot.”

Valea made a fan with her hand and waved it.

The princess drew the sword at her waist.

As expected, the princess was not like her age.

And I was grumbling while looking into the air.

A message window had appeared before my eyes.

[You have arrived at the sealed grounds. A new ‘save point’ has been set.]

Damn it, another save point had been set.