Chapter 273

The wilderness at night is extremely dangerous. While nighttime poses threats even within civilized areas, nothing compares to the wilderness.

In civilized territories, as long as you keep a lookout, you can usually pass through unscathed, but the wilderness is a different story.

Simply watching your surroundings is far from enough. In the wilderness, you can die just by standing still.

Moreover, dense forests or mountains often see the sun setting much earlier, leaving you with very little time to act.

Therefore, it’s wise to exit quickly whenever possible; if not, it’s better to set up camp right away.

Clack! Clack!

We were in that critical moment just before the sun dipped below the horizon.

Luna and I found a wide open space to camp out.

With our spot secured, all that remained was to light a fire. Right now, Luna was working hard to get the flames going.

Normally, we would have a rock that could substitute for a lighter, but I had forgotten to bring it.

So, she was busily trying to start a fire using some flint nearby.

Clack!

“Dammit! Why isn’t this working?”

When the dry firewood wouldn’t catch, Luna got frustrated. I snickered at her.

She had claimed she could handle starting the fire herself but was just going in circles.

Maybe the fact that I had told her not to rely on me stuck in her mind.

“I’ll do it.”

“No! I can do it…!”

Clack! Whoosh!

With a simple flick of my fingers, the fire lit up in an instant.

The dry firewood, completely devoid of moisture, quickly became engulfed in flames.

Luna looked on, first with a dazed expression, then transitioned to an awkward smile.

“…How did you do that? Looks useful.”

“Friction from my fingers.”

“Can you really start a fire with just finger friction?”

I shrugged. In this world where physics doesn’t quite apply, explaining it can be tough.

Plus, this was a skill I had naturally picked up from living in the wilderness. Finding flint was surprisingly difficult.

What Luna brought was a stone that was questionable to even call flint; it was just an ordinary rock.

Crackle! Crackle!

With the fire nicely going, the next thing on the agenda was dinner. We could easily make do with emergency rations for our meal.

But the problem is, we have more mouths to feed. One of those is quite large.

‘What should I feed this one?’

I glanced at Pijon-tu, who looked back at me with a pitiful expression, probably because it was hungry.

Normally, birds can subsist on insects, but this one is more of an omnivore like a hawk or eagle. Given its size, we need to catch something big.

Though, there is another option. I asked Luna:

“Luna.”

“Yeah?”

“How about we have Pijon-tu for dinner?”

“…Are you insane?”

“Tweet?”

Even Luna thought I was crazy. Clearly, that’s out of the question.

I left the bewildered Pijon-tu behind and stepped out of the campsite for a moment.

I just wanted to check if any wild boars were passing by. At this time, most animals tend to stop being active.

If I had to pinpoint it, there might be wolves, but they taste terrible. The meat is quite tough, making it difficult even for Pijon-tu to eat.

Hiss! Hiss!

“Oh, that looks tasty.”

Instead, I found a delicious snake. As I walked quietly, focusing my ears, I spotted one by sheer luck.

It was a good-sized snake, enough to feed Pijon-tu. Neoburi can just eat insects as it passes by.

After catching the snake, I headed straight back to the campsite. Upon my return, I found Luna staring blankly at the fire.

Not sure what she was thinking, I felt a playful urge. I quietly approached her, holding the snake’s head.

Tap, tap—

“Hey?”

I tapped her shoulder, and Luna turned around with wide eyes. I presented the snake’s head in front of her face.

As I loosened my grip just a bit, the snake opened its massive mouth wide. Sharp fangs dripped venom.

“Ugh!!”

Luna jumped up in horror, her hair standing on end.

She resembled a cat that had just been startled. Luckily, she was only surprised and didn’t cause a scene.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at her adorable reaction as I walked over to Pijon-tu. That should be enough to fill it up.

Chomp!

Before offering the snake, I tore off the head completely. I didn’t want any headaches from accidental bites.

Then, I handed the wriggling body of the snake to Pijon-tu, and it eagerly started eating. It was so cute the way it munched on it.

I turned around while watching Pijon-tu and found Luna still wearing a dazed expression.

She looked like she was pretty shaken, even placing a hand on her chest.

“…Sivar?”

“Yeah?”

“…Don’t do that again. I don’t like that kind of thing.”

Not liking that kind of thing, huh? Is she referring to the surprise part?

Her tone seemed quite serious. I decided I wouldn’t do anything that people would dislike.

Anyway, with dinner all squared away, the only thing left was to quietly wait for the morning sun to rise.

I sat opposite Luna and added more firewood. She also sat quietly as if she couldn’t sleep.

“Rumble…”

“Growl…”

In contrast to our silence, Pijon-tu and Neoburi were sleeping soundly. I glanced at them.

Pijon-tu had settled into that typical bird sitting posture, and Neoburi was leaning against Pijon-tu’s body.

It’s a strangely fitting yet bizarre combination—an oversized baby bird and a smart raccoon.

I wonder if this is how things are in the Chaos Forest. After all, there are even squirrels that can talk.

“Sivar.”

“Yeah?”

“You mentioned there would be a demon invasion soon, right? You said that last time.”

In the peculiar silence, Luna was the first to speak up. Maybe there was nothing else to talk about.

I nodded, and Luna bowed her head again. She looked like she was lost in thought for a moment.

Neither of us had anything to say, and I’m not exactly a talented conversationalist, so I silently waited.

“Then what happens after that?”

“Yeah?”

“What comes after that?”

Luna raised her head and asked me. What happens after the demon invasion?

To be honest, it’s a difficult question to answer right away because classes continue even after the Academy collapses.

Although many lives would be lost and there would be manpower shortages here and there, it wouldn’t completely halt everything.

Moreover, the monuments would only be temporarily incapacitated, but they would eventually be restored to function.

‘The crucial part is which country blows up first…’

As I’ve mentioned steadily, the world is on the brink of exploding due to accumulated tensions.

In the West, the problem lies between the Matra Empire and the Granada Empire, while in the East, the situation is problematic in itself.

Tartar isn’t any different. Conflicts between tribes have escalated as the nation was established.

As for the country of science, Santia, well… it has long been a troublesome place. The revolutionaries are already lurking there.

“There will be many.”

“There will be many?”

“Yeah. For now, there will be a lot to do.”

Based on the Academy’s life, we are scheduled to go experience various countries for field trips.

The likelihood of getting caught up in unwanted events there is quite high. It all depends on how well Luna and I can coordinate.

If we can’t coordinate… the chances of the worst-case scenario occurring are high. For instance, inter-country war.

Even if a war breaks out between nations, the Academy won’t close its doors. It’s just that the students cannot enter.

If a war breaks out between the Matra Empire and the Granada Empire? Then those involved will be expelled immediately.

That means Grace, Karas, and Antonio would disappear from the Academy.

‘Wars could last until graduation, so we have to stop it beforehand.’

This is exactly what the demons want. To ignite the tensions that have amassed in the world.

Thanks to the existence of the Academy, the world could temporarily keep the conflicts in check, but it’s been far too long.

Even Earth has been holding back since World War II; it’s really cumbersome, right? Of course, the existence of nuclear bombs plays a huge role.

But the more tensions build up, the more various side effects emerge, and this world isn’t any different.

‘A peace that doesn’t match the times.’

Normally, a significant war that impacts history should occur every ten years.

This clearly shows that having prolonged peace isn’t good either. It also indicates that demons know humans far too well.

“Is it going to be okay?”

“It will be okay.”

“No, that’s secondary…”

Then what are we worried about? Just as I was pondering this, Luna hesitated slightly before speaking.

“It’s you being a demon’s child.”

That sounded a bit strange. Hearing Luna say it made it even quirkier.

It is true that this body is a demon’s descendant, but I’m not sure what the problem is.

When I tilted my head in confusion, Luna began to explain.

“If it’s determined that the presence attacking the Academy is a demon, you would be in danger too, right?”

“Uh… I don’t know?”

“The ‘I don’t know’ part is what you should consider too.”

Honestly, I never anticipated I’d hear such words from Luna. I scratched my head.

What she said does have merit; the main reason the protagonist can freely operate is that they are common folks.

They can blend in anywhere and naturally slip away with their status. As long as they have strength, they possess a certain degree of political freedom.

In contrast, I don’t have that luxury. Although only a few people know me now, things could become tricky if my lineage as a demon were to be exposed.

Luckily, I’m surrounded by people who keep their mouths shut, but you never know what could happen.

‘If there’s anything that can be exposed, it would only be aligning with Gaia’s Divine Power…’

Maybe I just need to avoid the followers of Gaia as much as possible. It’s a concerning question.

Rustle—

“Hey?”

Just when I was lost in thought, a noise broke through my reverie.

The sound of rustling in the bushes. Normally, it wouldn’t be worth noting, but it sounded too close.

“What’s wrong?”

“…”

I reached for Ragnarok on the ground. I intended to throw it without hesitation if necessary.

But was that too late? Could it have been that I got distracted by Luna’s words for just a moment?

Chills!

“…!!!”

In that instant, an icy chill ran down my spine. My wilderness instinct was sounding an alarm of danger.

It wasn’t just a simple warning. I felt the blood all over my body go cold, prompting me into action.

Whoosh!

I immediately hurled Ragnarok towards the source of the disturbance. But there was no sound of the object hitting anything.

Instead, someone shouted from behind me, not in the direction I was facing.

“Chains!!”

With that shout came a flash of light above my head.

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