“Everyone gather around. I have something to say.”
At the tail end of the end-of-term party, the kids who had been chatting and playing turned to look at me all at once.
Maybe it’s because of my usual good image, but they stopped what they were doing and came closer.
Feeling like a squad leader, I quietly surveyed the students around me and started to speak.
“I plan to do some dungeon training during winter break.”
“Dungeon training? Like during summer break?”
“Yeah.”
To make the most of our winter break, we should do it. Explore dungeons, hunt monsters to gain experience, and earn some money.
“Um… I want to do it. I have nothing to do when I go back anyway, so it would be better to research here with the uncle.”
First, I secured Viola.
It was almost a given that Viola would participate. Since she was working with me, going back to her hometown would be difficult.
“I-I’ll join too…”
Elisa eagerly accepted my proposal.
“I’ll go too. There’s still so much I want to learn.”
“Me too!”
I successfully secured the protagonist couple… but who’s left? I glanced at Martina. I wanted to grow her too, but unfortunately, she shook her head at my suggestion.
“I’m tempted… but unfortunately, I have to help my family. I’d appreciate it if you could call me next time if there’s another opportunity.”
Family matters can’t be helped. Since she was the heir of a high noble family, there was nothing I could do if she had family obligations.
Looks like we’re lacking a witch now. A good witch is a valuable connection, and I was really bummed about it. Should I have suggested it to Perinne as well?
Well, Lewis and Shuri were a bit awkward around Perinne, but she was a busy student just like Martina.
“Johann, what about me? Me me me?”
“…You can just follow behind me. I’ll assign you as an assistant.”
“Wow!”
I couldn’t send Millia into combat directly, and if I didn’t include her, she would definitely sulk, so I planned to put her in a rear support role along with Sif.
It would be best not to include Millia, whose combat ability is almost zero, at all. But that would be the same as leaving her out.
I felt guilty leaving Millia alone since she hates being by herself. As long as I was already bringing along a non-combatant like Sif, adding one more wouldn’t change much.
“And Karina. I’d like you to join us if possible.”
“M-Me?”
Karina looked at me in shock, as if she had no idea I would call her for dungeon exploration.
“The dungeon is a place full of unexpected variables. No matter how easy it looks, a moment of carelessness could cost us our lives, so we need insurance.”
“Insurance…?”
“Yeah. If you’re there, at least we won’t die if we get seriously injured.”
If Harpas hadn’t died, I wouldn’t have dared make such a suggestion, but now, the body of Harpas, who had marked a curse on her, was displayed with only his head stuck on the wall of my room.
In other words, Karina has much more freedom of movement than before now.
To help her gain some experience, I wanted Karina to participate.
“If I can be of help…”
“Wait a minute, why Karina?”
Renny, who had been quietly listening, asked me for the reason.
Of course, I had a justification.
“From what I felt while capturing Harpas… the future is going to be far more dangerous than now. There’s no guarantee that Harpas is the only one to worry about.”
I spoke vaguely while gauging Renny’s expression.
She looked somewhat convinced, but worry was flowing from her eyes.
“Well, if we capture it…”
“At times of emergency, we need Karina’s power. There’s no guarantee that we’ll be safe, plus whether she likes it or not, Karina will be embroiled in the chaos surrounding this continent.
…Karina is a saint.”
A saint.
Her very existence is bound to cause trouble.
That’s why she also needs to gain experience.
“Um… then I’ll join too.”
“…You don’t have to push yourself too hard.”
“Anyway, the work will be handled by the ones I selected before, so isn’t it better for me to tag along?”
Is this a jackpot?
I nodded with a satisfied smile at Renny’s unexpected willingness to join.
“Count on me.”
“Hehe, with Renny and Johann, I feel so secure!”
“Johann! Johann! I have a question!”
“Hmm, go ahead.”
“So when are we going to the dungeon?”
“That’s a good question, Millia. We’ll decide on that in a week.”
“A week?”
“Yeah.”
“I thought you’d already be prepared!”
“I thought the uncle would prepare in advance too.”
“Sorry, but until recently, I was fighting on the battlefield, so I didn’t have the time to look for a suitable dungeon. I’m planning to start looking now.”
I had some potential candidates lined up, but I needed to confirm whether any of the dungeons had been explored or not.
Considering the original story had twisted so much, the dungeons I had in mind might have already been completely looted. If that happened, it wouldn’t mean anything to go there.
As long as they’re at least in the hidden dungeon level, it should be okay?
“Karina. Can we stay at Yeomyeong-gwan for the students participating in this exploration?”
Karina turned momentarily to look at Yeomyeong-gwan and then looked back at me, answering.
“It’ll be busy in Yeomyeong-gwan.”
“Is it really okay to stay there?!”
Seeing her tail go up, it seemed she was startled. After all, staying at the residence of a saint isn’t a usual occurrence.
While Millia, Elisa, and I could get in easily, originally, Yeomyeong-gwan is the most heavily guarded area in this district. That’s why uninvited guests can’t just waltz in.
“Of course. I heard the dorms are under construction, so they’ll need to rent an expensive inn.”
“That’s true…”
Viola nodded in agreement with Karina’s words.
It seems like some parts of this are proceeding similarly to the original story.
In the original, during the winter break of the first year, the protagonist couldn’t stay at the dorm due to construction and had an event where they would change accommodations based on their affection/progress level.
If the affection level with Karina was high, they could stay at Yeomyeong-gwan.
And…
“The dungeon exploration will be set for a week from now, so you can spend this time freely. If something goes wrong, talk to either me or Karina… do you have any questions?”
I scanned the students all around.
As expected, no one… oh wait, there is one?
“Okay, Lewis. What’s your question?”
“Can we have a duel?”
“A duel, huh… with who?”
“I want to duel with Sir Quartz.”
At that, I stared straight into Lewis’s eyes. Eyes filled with ambition. Is it typical of a protagonist to challenge a strong opponent to grow stronger?
I nodded at his request.
After all, I needed to check how much he had progressed before heading to the dungeon.
…Oh, no,
“Given the circumstances, it’d be more efficient to practice mock combat.”
“Yes.”
I could see confusion appearing on everyone’s faces. It seemed they were taken aback. Well, I’d be surprised too if someone suggested a one against many duel.
Nonetheless, it didn’t take long for the commotion to settle down. They seemed to have some awareness.
But what these kids needed right now wasn’t a one-on-one duel.
It was a one-on-many duel disguised as actual combat.
In other words, training for raid responses.
I planned to give them more practice on how to deal with bosses in dungeons.
Usually, one-on-one against people has hardly any meaning, but starting from second year, the beings that popped up were almost all bosses that wouldn’t have a chance in a one-on-one.
“All of you will pair up and conduct mock combat.”
“Four?”
“Yes…”
“Mock combat, you say?”
I could hear Karina’s voice from the back.
“Yeah.”
One-on-one duels are pointless.
This isn’t a game or a comic; who would be crazy enough to engage in a ritualistic duel? Honorable fights?
True battles are about surprises, gang-ups, and schemes.
Just look at the comic X-Ruto; they’re beating one person while bringing thousands along. Not to mention that crazy Wind Style Mouth Jutsu. It’s ridiculous how they almost lost after all that.
So, even in reality, one-on-one duels with almost no practical application would be far less useful than setting an expectation for a single strong monster in a one-on-many duel. Luckily, it’s vacation, so we can borrow the academy’s outdoor combat training ground.
“Even so, that seems a bit…”
“There are four of us, not just one or two!”
“Right. Four of you will need to fight me.”
“Fine, I’ll give it a shot.”
Yeah, that’s the spirit I was hoping for.
“It’s going to be a tough fight.”
“I trust you’ll go easy on me.”
Lewis joked playfully.
“We’ll hold the duel in two days.”
“Yes!”
Hearing Lewis’s enthusiastic response made me smile contentedly.
This is going to be fun.
Thus, a duel with me and the freshman quartet was arranged.
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