Chapter 357

Since the meeting between Grace and Reina, a subtle atmosphere emerged, but whether it was just my imagination or not, it passed relatively uneventfully.

Anyway, Grace was just here to support me; I took on practically all the direct roles.

Moreover, today was simply an introduction, so there wasn’t much that happened. It just ended with a brief background check of sorts.

“So, are you two promising each other a future?”

“You asked us if we’re promising a future?”

“Not quite yet. There was an incident in the past, and because of that, Sivar started escorting me.”

“Incident? Oh.”

Reina showed a vague understanding of what had happened to Grace. It must have been a significant event.

After all, it was an incident where a young noble from the Duke’s family almost faced a bad situation with a current professor. A shame that would linger on the Academy’s reputation.

It was certainly a bad incident for Grace, but she’s somewhat overcome it now. Of course, she still can’t sleep at night without me.

‘But lately, she seems a bit overly clingy.’

Well, whatever. Anyway, Grace and Reina chatted away, forging a connection.

On the surface, they seemed to be just a senior and junior relationship, but getting into detail, this was the meeting of a princess from the Frozen Principality and a princess from the Matra Empire.

Getting closer couldn’t hurt. The Frozen Principality has an abundance of rare resources, and they’re good trading partners with the Matra Empire.

Especially since the relatively resource-poor Granada Empire is trying to build a relationship with the Frozen Principality.

‘But doesn’t Reina seem like she doesn’t care that much?’

Most political and diplomatic matters are handled by her father and brothers. Reina hardly gets involved.

Moreover, her family is pretty supportive of her future. Unlike other nobles, they don’t even think about arranged marriages.

If they had considered one, they would’ve stopped her from dropping out of the academy. Born as the youngest, Reina received steady love and attention.

‘She’s excellent in character as well.’

Typically, when children grow up pampered by their families, they tend to go astray. But not Reina.

Well, she sometimes has a bit of overly enthusiastic behavior, but that can be chalked up to her personality.

She’s the kind of person who knows how to give back, because she received love in abundance. A lively personality without any sharp edges.

‘She’ll probably get along with Grace.’

If she masters the common language perfectly, making friends with others will be a piece of cake. Right now, all that’s left is to make an effort.

Anyway, with the meal and simple greetings done, we headed back to class.

Today’s lesson was held outside, in an area I knew well.

“Today’s class will be in the forest. We will divide into two groups for exploration.”

“Why are we having class in the forest?”

A student asked. It wasn’t out of complaint, but genuine curiosity.

To be honest, I was curious too; normally, it would be just a plain old class. That’s how it was when I was in my first year.

But I wasn’t sure if the manual changed, or if some anomaly was discovered in the forest, but we kicked off the class there.

‘There’s nothing really alarming, is there?’

The forest is peaceful except for the occasional external beings. The most dangerous animals are just hungry wolves.

On the other side, where I don’t manage, there are Porori, so I don’t need to worry. So why are we having class in the forest?

“The forest is a habitat for various herbs and animals. But if you can’t distinguish between what’s edible and what’s not, it’s no different from poison.”

“……”

“Today, we’ll learn useful survival techniques for emergencies, and if circumstances allow, I’ll also teach you how to butcher simple animals.”

So it was just a survival skills class. That made total sense.

Dis mentioned that if we find any good herbs, we could sell them, alongside the division into two groups.

The group I’m in is relatively weaker in combat power. It seems like they’re relying on me for strength.

Of course, that doesn’t mean we’re completely lacking. With Namgoong Seokdae in the mix, we’ve got some balance too.

‘That group should be fine with Reina and Kara.’

Just another average lesson. I took the rear and quietly followed along.

But I couldn’t let my guard down, so I kept an eye on my surroundings.

Though I manage the area consistently, I don’t spend every day in the forest. There could be unknown external creatures that have come in.

The ones to watch out for most are the internal ones. The ones that lose in the competition for food and recklessly charge in.

In the worst-case scenario, something like Usuk from a year ago could appear. Even Reina and Kara would have a tough time with Usuk.

‘Well. They have the Porori, so they should be fine as long as they don’t mess with them.’

As long as they don’t provoke the Porori first, they’ll be alright.

More importantly, the Porori has been cautious recently. After being thoroughly beaten by hunters, they’ve been raising their subordinates or something like that.

Of course, those subordinates are mostly just squirrels. Even if the squirrels got stronger, they’re just squirrels, so they’re practically family.

“Everyone, look at this. This is the mark left by an animal showing its territory. If it leaves such a strong mark, it usually means it’s very powerful. You should be careful.”

During the lesson, Dis pointed at animal droppings while explaining.

The students listened attentively, making disgusted faces. It was actually quite useful advice.

Yeah, all good stuff. I found myself in a bit of a pickle as I looked at the droppings Dis was pointing out.

‘Oh my…’

That was a mark from when I made my territory. As I’ve repeatedly said, I regularly mark my territory.

Of all things, Dis had to point that out. Not that I could just speak up and deny it.

Why do I have to bear the embarrassment? I kept my face as impassive as possible.

“But it looks like something a person would do…”

“It could be a bear. Just a heads-up, if you have an upset stomach in the forest, it’s a good idea to clean up after yourself. Otherwise, you might be misunderstood as a competitor, and the animals could go wild.”

“……”

I just got a secret I’ll have to carry to my grave.

*****

While Sivar was experiencing a non-embarrassing embarrassment, another group was attending class as well.

However, some students were showing a somewhat indifferent reaction, and the representative of such students was the troublemaker siblings.

They weren’t really interested in the class, and their demeanor made it clear they were only half-listening.

“When’s this class gonna end? I’m dying of boredom.”

“Right? My makeup is gonna wash off from all this sweat.”

The troublemaker siblings were chatting away in the Matra Empire language. Since it was in their native tongue, no one else bothered.

What’s more, the assistant responsible for the rear wasn’t Karas; it was Kara. She didn’t care what the troublemaker siblings were saying at all.

Occasionally, Leo glanced at Kara, but it was just for a moment. When Kara shot him a glare, he flinched and focused straight ahead again.

Since there were rumors of Kara being close with Sivar, Leo had no reason to mess with her.

Provoking her could lead to another disastrous fiasco for him. Ignoring them was the best policy.

“Alright, we’ll take a 10-minute break from now!”

Finally, break time was announced. The troublemaker siblings immediately took their personal breaks.

First, Diana sat down under the shade of a tree to fix her makeup. She still hadn’t learned to correct her habits.

Leo headed towards the bushes, probably to take care of some business. Kara watched him as he walked away, looking around.

‘Squirrels everywhere.’

As she thought, this area had a particularly high number of squirrels. Most of them looked close to being cute.

Usually, wild squirrels are big and look fierce. But this forest is the opposite.

Most of the squirrels are small and cute, and some even approach people, which brought a sense of calm.

“Hey, guys. Go away. I need to fix my makeup.”

“Chirp?”

“You’re cute, so I’ll let you stay.”

Diana even found the squirrels bothering her while she was doing her makeup to be cute. Other students were the same.

Most of them were feeding the squirrels acorns or petting their heads. Thoroughly enjoying some healing time.

“Ugh, what the hell are these?”

Of course, those words don’t apply to Leo, who was more twisted than he could be.

Leo frowned as he saw a squirrel lingering around his feet while he was taking care of business. He even gave it a small kick to shoo it away.

But the squirrel didn’t care and kept circling around him, eventually climbing up his leg.

It looked similar to a kitten climbing, which was terrible for his heart, but Leo had no time for such emotions.

He was simply annoyed that this lowly creature dared to touch his precious self. Frowning deeply, he grabbed the squirrel.

“Chirp?”

“You little… Who do you think you are, climbing on me?”

Whether the squirrel looked puzzled or not, Leo didn’t care.

He stared haughtily at the squirrel staring at him, then loosened his grip.

As if he was actually going to let it go, that notion was merely underestimating his resolve. Leo pulled his right leg back.

-Kick!

“Chirp!”

And as the squirrel tumbled down, Leo kicked it away with force. The tiny little squirrel flew far away.

He kicked with all his strength, so that squirrel definitely wouldn’t survive. Leo watched the little critter soar into the forest.

“Whoa. It really flew far.”

Leo chuckled while adjusting his pants. He didn’t feel a shred of guilt.

Though it seemed like no one was around in the spot where Leo had left, this was a place where squirrels lived.

“Chirp.”

“Chirp!”

Not the one lingering by his side, but several squirrels watching from the trees immediately dashed off somewhere.

They ran to where the recently flown squirrel landed. They would soon see it.

“Chirp… Chirp…”

One of their own laying there, its insides completely torn apart and suffering. That little one wore a sad expression before finally going limp.

At the same time, several acorns tumbled out of its mouth. Those were the ones stored in its cheek pouches.

It was done for. There simply was no way for such a tiny squirrel to survive a human’s kick.

“……”

“……”

The squirrels said nothing. They simply picked up the fallen acorns and stuffed them in their mouths.

But simultaneously, they were filled with rage. What had their kind done wrong?

Did they bite him with their sharp teeth? No.

Or did they steal food from him? No.

That human simply killed one of their own for fun. That was wrong.

After gathering all the acorns, they ran towards a common destination.

“Chirp! Chirp!”

“Chirp!”

It wouldn’t be long until they confronted the one who harmed their kind.

“The terrible wrath of the forest awaits.”