Boy And Second Attempt

After the long vacation ended, Rudel returned to the academy with a heavy heart. All he could think about was being told by an active Dragoon to give up… and his mood only grew darker. At present, rather than sitting in the boys’ dormitory dining hall, he was brooding in the cafeteria inside the school building, which remained open during the vacation.

Izumi and Basil were worried about Rudel. Izumi’s concern was entirely genuine… while Basil’s motive was less pure: after hearing about the engagement, she wondered whether securing the position of mistress early would make her future easier…

But Rudel…

“Do Cattleya-sama and Lilim-sama hate me?”

The point he was worrying about was slightly off the mark. Yes, based on Cattleya and Lilim’s attitudes and words, Rudel had interpreted them as basically saying—

‘Stay away from us!’

To Rudel, it was practically the same as being hated by every member of his favorite idol group…

“When I become a Dragoon, how am I supposed to face them?!”

The two women watched the troubled Rudel with concern…

Naturally, however much he agonized over it, the second term still began…

“We will now begin our strategy meeting for this event!”

After classes, Rudel energetically began a strategy meeting in the classroom to achieve the goal he had set the previous year: finishing in first place.

“As before, everyone starts from the same location, but each class has a different route. The first-years of the basic curriculum will also be participating… and this year’s first-years include many talented students! On top of that, the princess’s class includes guards who have been trained since childhood! Under these circumstances, I have to say that taking first place will be difficult.”

The documents distributed to everyone contained overall evaluations of each class that Rudel had asked Basil to investigate. In addition, they listed in meticulous detail what equipment would and would not be necessary when traveling through the forest.

“And the class we need to watch out for most this time is Aleist’s. Last year, despite being first-years, Aleist’s class finished near the top… Taking that into account, our average distance traveled per day should be…”

As Rudel continued explaining, everyone listened seriously. They all wanted to erase the humiliation they had felt the previous year… That was something for which Rudel was actually grateful to Aleist’s class for provoking them. Having an opponent they genuinely wanted to defeat made for an excellent goal.

They reduced their baggage, gathered tools they had not prepared the previous year, and reviewed the route together… Rudel’s class steadily completed its preparations.

Aleist’s class was optimistic because they had finished near the top the previous time. Some students even assumed that with no upperclassmen participating, taking first place this year was only natural.

The classes containing Luecke Halbades and Unias Diade were packed with nobles, putting them at a disadvantage… Rudel’s class had withdrawn last year, so they did not even count! Meanwhile, Aleist’s class could clear the course with little difficulty thanks to Aleist’s seemingly inexhaustible magic.

As far as they were concerned, the outcome had already been decided before the event even began.

“Hey, Aleist… This’ll be easy again, right?”

One of his classmates said that while clapping Aleist on the shoulder. He was the sort of person who constantly emphasized how close he was to Aleist, though Aleist himself regarded him as little more than an acquaintance.

“Yeah, probably. The class I’m curious about is the princess’s.”

“Why? The princess’s class is full of nobles too, so won’t they be at a disadvantage?”

“…The princess has guards assigned to her as classmates. And they’re highly skilled… Do you really think people like that would allow the princess to finish in a position that embarrassed her?”

After thinking for a moment, the classmate simply replied,

“So the academy’s going to rig things behind the scenes?”

Aleist was dumbfounded… Doing something like that would only make some students resent the princess, so it would be a terrible idea… Still, the guess was not entirely wrong. At an academy that absolutely could not afford to anger the royal family, the princess’s safety came first during this event. Even if the measures were slightly unfair, they would ensure her safety.

“They won’t need to do anything like that. Her class will finish near the top anyway.”

Aleist ended the conversation there… Yet lately, Aleist has begun to feel increasingly anxious. Not only were the events failing to occur as he expected, Rudel was also far too capable.

He had started thinking that because he himself was far stronger than the original protagonist had been, that strength had somehow influenced Rudel as well. But that still did not explain Rudel’s personality. Chlust, his younger brother, was supposed to have been normal, yet he had been suspended during the first term.

Originally, Rudel was the one who was supposed to cause trouble…

Aleist was becoming uneasy because the story was no longer proceeding the way he expected. At this point in the game, romantic events should normally have been occurring one after another, keeping him busy! …That was how he saw it.

Aleist thought about Milia, Izumi, Princess Fina… and the many other characters…

It was the same forest that had been used for the academy event the previous year… and dozens of specialists were now conducting an investigation there. After all, the son of a Grand Duke had been attacked there by a monster that should never have appeared.

Since the princess would be participating this year, the academy had ordered the investigation to obtain a final assessment. The conclusion was that there were no problems… Based on their findings, the specialists determined that the forest was safe.

“Still… was the monster from that report really here? The monsters do seem a little more restless than usual… but that alone isn’t enough to draw any conclusions.”

While one specialist voiced his doubts, another with a foul mouth said,

“Most likely it was just an excuse from the Grand Duke’s idiot son… What a waste of our time. Plenty of guards will corroborate a story if you pay them enough. And if the monsters are restless, it’s probably because some idiot noble tore up the forest last year!”

The investigation team left the forest while exchanging comments like those. Their report stated, “No danger,” and even included a sarcastic note telling the academy to make sure the participants thoroughly followed the forest safety guidelines.

However…

“Gyaaaaaah!!!”

A huge bird with a black body and white markings descended into the forest. Its appearance was grotesque… it had numerous eyes, four wings, and four legs… It could hardly be called a bird anymore. Yet when it flew, its silhouette looked almost exactly like that of an ordinary bird. That was why the specialists had noticed nothing unusual.

And clutched in its beak, apparently caught somewhere in the forest… was a large monster resembling a deer. The black aberration tossed the creature directly above itself, sending the deer spinning through the air.

…Then it swallowed the falling monster whole. Though it did not appear to chew at all, sounds like flesh being crushed and sliced apart echoed from inside its mouth throughout the forest.

With preparations complete for their second attempt, Rudel and his classmates gathered on the academy grounds for a final inspection. Baggage, medicine, weapons… Although there was a slight difference in enthusiasm between them and the surrounding classes, Rudel’s class thought only about accomplishing their objective.

“Hopefully everything ends safely this year, Rudel.”

Rudel paused briefly before answering Izumi’s remark.

“…Yeah.”

Puzzled by his vague response, Izumi followed Rudel’s gaze. Noble classes were lazily drifting into the assembly area… and Aleist’s class was among them. Yet their equipment was no better than the previous year’s, and in some respects was even worse.

Rudel felt a little angry that Aleist was not taking the event seriously. But then he decided that Aleist simply did not consider them… did not consider him worth worrying about, and forced himself to let it go. For now, he would focus only on their goal…

Izumi watched as Rudel’s expression suddenly became serious… and so did one other person. The one directing an expressionless yet admiring gaze toward him was Second Princess Fina.

(Master looks so damn cool!!! Maybe with that kind of momentum, he’ll catch some fluffy creatures in the forest for me… Killer Rabbits are ridiculously adorable!!! But my guards have absolutely no sense of the mood and immediately try to kill them! …Haah, I need to replenish my fluff supply.)

The princess then looked around and spotted Mii among the class made up of commoners. Seeing Mii timidly wave to her, the princess thought…

(My little kitten!!! Pant, pant… You’re adorable again today… Once we get back to the academy, I’m not letting you escape!)

And with a perfectly expressionless face, she waved back at Mii.