Chapter 47

As the sky visible between the trees was gradually covered by dark clouds, we chose a slightly elevated spot in the forest, a bit away from the road, and started setting up camp a bit early. Soon, raindrops began to fall, and by the time we finished setting up the tent, it had turned into a heavy downpour. Although the tent was treated with tree sap to make it waterproof, the pounding rain and the dampness made the discomfort increase dramatically.

Of the fifty participants in this practical training, twenty-seven were boys and twenty-three were girls. We decided to use six of the ten tents for the boys and four for the girls. Six people would sleep in a tent designed for five, but it shouldn't be a problem with the smaller girls.

I asked Kondo and the clumsy Takayama to be in charge of the boys, and Honmi and Sagara to be in charge of the girls. I gathered them in one tent, explained the situation so far, and made sure they understood the next steps, while also ensuring that no one would act foolishly. I also talked about the upcoming rescue operation and persuaded them to cooperate.

"…That's what I've done so far and what I plan to do next… Do you have any questions?"

The moment I asked the four, Honmi bowed with a thud.

"I'm sorry, I complained and even slapped you, even though you were working so hard, Kunito..."

"Yeah, it hurt, but it's okay. I was partly to blame for keeping the plan a secret from everyone."

"That's not enough... I can't just let it go... Hit me! Hit me hard! Don't hold back!"

"No, no, no, I can't do that..."

Maybe she was a bit flustered because she had made a mistake, but there was no way I could accept such an unreasonable request.

"That... That's not the place... We need a bigger audience..."

"Right, right... Huh? Honmi, what are you talking about?"

"In front of a larger audience, I should be called a slut or a bitch and then beaten to the ground, crawling and crouching miserably..."

"No, no, wait, if I do that, I'll be seen as a scumbag."

"Or even kicked and trampled... Ow!"

"Aoi, come back here!"

"Ow... Kiko, I'm sorry."

"Sorry, I don't usually show this side in front of the boys, but Aoi sometimes goes off in a weird direction... Just pretend you didn't see anything."

Sagara finally stopped Honmi's outburst with a strong slap to the back of her head. It was a bit scary to see her lose control like that.

"And I'm sorry for saying such harsh things..."

"Me too... Even though I didn't know, I shouldn't have said those things."

Sagara and Kondo both bowed their heads in apology. As for the clumsy hero Takayama...

"Misunderstandings were bad... But Kunito, this plan is too soft. If we can do this much and get our bracelets off, shouldn't we kill all the knights, capture Camilla, and torture her or use her as a hostage to get the return method from other royals?"

Takayama's opinion was echoed by the other three and the boys in the tent. Maybe it was because they had been oppressed in the Lastock garrison, but their thoughts seemed to be getting more radical. Or maybe Takayama was right, and I was being too soft?

"According to what I heard from the people in Volzard, when a large number of monsters appear, the Demon Forest becomes active for a while."

"Active? Does that mean more monsters?"

"Basically, yes. It also means that the villages near the Demon Forest are more likely to be attacked by monsters."

"So, what are you trying to say? Just spit it out!"

"Takayama, if monsters attack Lastock, who will protect the town?"

"Huh? That's..."

Not just Takayama, but the other three also seemed to understand the point. After a moment of contemplation, Takayama spoke first.

"So what? It's their own fault, and it's none of our business."

"Wait, we've never left the garrison, but there are women, children, and the elderly in the town, right?"

"Of course, it's a normal town outside the garrison, so normal people live there."

Honmi glared at Takayama after hearing my answer.

"I'm against killing everyone. If we kill the knights and the townspeople are killed by monsters, it's the same as if we killed them, even if we didn't do it directly."

"Well, that... The skeletons could protect the town, so it would be fine to kill the knights, right?"

"What? Are you going to leave everything to the skeletons? But if Kunito is against it, the skeletons won't move, right?"

"Yeah, I have no intention of asking Reinhardt and the others to do that."

"Who are you on, anyway? Are you on their side?"

Honmi and Sagara were against the mass killing, Kondo was thinking about it, and Takayama and the boys seemed to be in favor of it.

"In this world, medical care isn't as advanced as in Japan, so even appendicitis can be fatal. It takes about twenty years of time, effort, and money to train a knight. I can't agree with the idea of killing them so easily. What should we do? Yamayama was killed, and everyone has suffered, but are you telling us to just give up and cry?"

"I'm not saying to give up and cry. But, at least, it's not something you should say, Takayama... You had a pretty good life, didn't you?"

My words changed the expressions of the boys. They had all seen Takayama being affectionate with Shira.

"Wha... I also suffered..."

"You even took baths with Shira..."

"How do you know that..."

"Hey, Takayama, tell us more about that..."

"Right, Kunito is right, you have no right to say anything..."

"While we were suffering, you..."

The boys' eyes were scary... I wonder what would happen if they found out that he had crossed the line with Shira.

"Alright, alright, let's put Takayama's execution on hold. I just want to put the knights to sleep. We can kill them anytime, but I chose not to. I want to use them as leverage in negotiations. The most important thing is to get back, and then we can seek financial compensation. What do you think?"

"I agree."

"I think that's fine."

"I mostly agree, but we should explain the plan to everyone and get their approval before implementing it."

"Understood. In any case, it's impossible to gather everyone with this rain, so we'll explain in detail after we reach Volzard."

With Honmi, Sagara, and Kondo agreeing, the boys... well, they were only thinking about how to execute Takayama. Takayama, who was taken to a corner of the tent, was being interrogated, occasionally being punched in the side, but I had no intention of helping him. While I was watching his interrogation with a smirk, Sagara asked me a question.

"Hey, Kunito, how did you know about Takayama's lifestyle?"

"Ah, that's through the advanced use of the dark attribute magic, Shadow Move..."

I explained that I had been using the shadow world to scout the Lastock garrison and communicate with the committee chair, which surprised her.

"To be able to use light attribute magic as well, that's quite overpowered... But, you didn't peek at Yui's bath time, did you?"

"Wha, no, no, of course not... I wouldn't do something like that..."

"Right, you wouldn't do that, would you?"

"Of course not..."

"But, Yui's quarters have a proper bathtub, right? We only have a large bucket of water. It's terrible, especially in this weather, don't you think?"

"Indeed, it's miserable in this season..."

"Right? So, how do you know it's miserable...?"

Oh no, I accidentally said too much, remembering the situation where there was no bathtub in the cold weather.

"Wha...? That's... Yes, since the boys are like that, I thought the girls would be the same..."

"Are you saying you were actually peeping at the girls and memorizing each one's nude form?"

"No, I wouldn't do that, no matter how much I wanted to go home, I'm not a monster who would get excited by seeing crying girls..."

"Hmm... What did you see...?"

"Wha...? No, no, what are you talking about?"

"Kunito, can you come to our tent...? No, come here!"

"Y-Yes..."

After that, I was dragged to the girls' tent and, after a harsher interrogation than Takayama's, I had to admit to peeping on the committee chair and Camilla's bath time, causing my reputation to plummet.

"Kunito, you're the worst..."

"Ugh..."

"This will be reported to Yui when she comes, right?"

"Wait, that's..."

"Using your powers for such trivial things is really over the top."

"Ugh... I can't deny it."

"Maybe it's a bit cool... but what about my feelings?"

"That's... I'm sorry..."

"Would you do the same in Volzard, our refuge, wouldn't you?"

"No, I didn't, I didn't do it in Volzard."

No matter how much I denied it, I only received cold stares.

"Kent-sama... it's time for dinner..."

"Oh, right, I asked the garrison's cafeteria to prepare dinner this time."

Last time, the five of them were deeply moved by a proper meal, so I decided to have warm food delivered from the Volzard garrison's cafeteria using Shadow Move.

"The stew meat is so tender!"

"The bread... the bread is so fluffy!"

"Fruits... it's been so long, I can't help but cry..."

Thanks to the powerful support of warm and delicious food, my plummeting reputation seemed to stabilize. After distributing the food to everyone, I hurriedly ate at the garrison's cafeteria and reported the progress to the five left in Volzard, then headed to report to Donovan.

"Donovan-san, good evening..."

"Hmm, what is it, Kent? Did something go wrong?"

"No, it's just... I got something in my eye."

"Is that so? Then it's good... Is everything going smoothly?"

"We've rescued everyone, but..."

Large raindrops were hitting the guild window.

"I see, you're being held up by the rain..."

"Yes, we haven't gained as much distance as last time, and if the weather doesn't improve, it will be the same tomorrow..."

"I see. But usually, they don't enter the Demon Forest on rainy days, so there's no need to worry about pursuers. The roads will be muddy, making it difficult to track us on horseback."

"So, we should wait for the weather to improve without rushing?"

"At least, it's better to wait until the rain stops and we're not drenched."

"Understood, I'll report again tomorrow night."

"Very well, understood."

After reporting to Donovan, I went to report to the committee chair. When I entered the garrison room, I heard the committee chair shouting.

"What do you mean, summoned as soldiers, don't joke with me! Fifty people, fifty of our comrades... What's the point of this practical training? This is just sending them to be killed by monsters!"

The caretaker Elna seemed at a loss for words as the committee chair, with disheveled hair, shouted.

"This time, it seems the knights were also caught off guard and didn't expect this to happen from the beginning."

"This time...? So, the previous practical training was intended to kill them from the start? Murderer... You're a murderer!"

"No... That's a misunderstanding... They didn't intend to kill them last time either."

"But they died... Not a single one returned. Including Kunito and Yamayama, fifty-seven people have died. You didn't mean to? Don't joke with me! Murderer!"

"Really, I didn't mean to..."

"Shut up! Get out, I don't want to see the face of a murderer! Get out!"

Elna bowed and left the room, pushed by the committee chair's intense outburst. The committee chair knows about the rescue operation, so this must be an act, but it's so convincing that it's a bit scary.

After seeing Elna off, the committee chair turned off the lights and glared at the wall where the bed was placed. Elna moved from the living room to her room and, peering through a peephole, quickly pulled back her face. The next moment, a loud thud echoed from the wall.

"Stop peeping like a mouse!"

The committee chair's shout was heard even through the wall, and Elna, sitting in her room, sighed deeply and held her head.

Her words also pierced my heart. If the peeping incident is found out... I wonder what will happen.

On the other hand, the committee chair, sitting on the bed with her back to the wall, was shaking her shoulders, trying to suppress her laughter. Yeah, the committee chair's acting skills are amazing. I wonder if she was also acting when she was with me...

Elna, sitting in her chair and holding her head, sighed deeply again and looked at the wall. After a moment, she quietly left the room, passed through the living room, and went down the corridor, probably to report to Camilla.

"Fred, can you check on Camilla as well?"

"Understood..."

I asked Fred to keep an eye on Elna and then called out to the committee chair.

"Yui..."

"Kento, where are you?"

"Shh, keep your voice down. Elna left, but there are knights at the stairs, so be careful."

"I'm sorry..."

As I emerged from the shadows and lit a lamp, the committee chair, with light steps, approached and hugged me tightly.

"Everyone was rescued, right?"

"Of course, but we're being held up by the rain..."

"Is everyone okay? Are they getting wet?"

"Yes, the tents we borrowed from here are quite good, so there's no leakage."

"Really! You're using the garrison's supplies?"

"Yes, because it would cost money to buy them."

"Hehehe... Amazing, Kento is really amazing."

"No, it's not me, it's the ideas of the people around me."

"But, if Kento wasn't here, it wouldn't have been possible, right? Kento is really amazing."

I... I'm blushing from the direct praise from the committee chair. But, this might be a chance.

"Um, Yui..."

"What is it...?"

Ugh, the committee chair, hugging me and tilting her head, is so cute... No, this isn't the time to think about that.

"I have to apologize to Yui for something..."

"Kento? To me? There's no way, you've supported me so much..."

"No, there is... It hurts to think about betraying your trust."

"Ah, that time... when Takayama came, right?"

"Yes, that time, I was actually watching from the shadows..."

"Really... But, it was for my sake, right?"

"U-Um, of course, and... when you were talking to Takayama, Elna had a very hostile look..."

"That's because I said I would participate in the practical training, right?"

"Right... and it bothered me..."

"Bothered you?"

"Um... I was curious about what Yui and Elna talked about and what kind of relationship they would have..."

"Ah, I see... But, we can't tell Elna about the rescue operation, so we have to keep up the act, right?"

"R-Right... But, it bothered me..."

"Hmm? What's wrong, Kento?"

"Um... I was so bothered that I... watched what happened after that..."

"After that... What!?"

The committee chair's face turned bright red as she remembered what happened after Takayama left, and then she grabbed my side hard.

"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, I'm sorry, it was just a moment of weakness..."

"Kento, how much did you see?"

The tone of the committee chair's voice dropped an octave.

"Um... almost everything... It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!"

"Did you peek at the other girls?"

"Ugh... a little... It hurts, it hurts."

"Even Camilla?"

"Ugh... Y-Yes... It hurts, my side is being torn..."

The committee chair must be using a body strengthening spell, it's incredibly painful. Her beautiful eyebrows arched, and her eyes glinted ominously.

"Will you take responsibility...?"

"Y-Yes...? It hurts, it hurts, what kind of responsibility...?"

"If you cheat, I won't forgive you..."

The committee chair's smile was completely fake, and I felt the blood drain from my body.

"Kento... Elna is coming back... When the rescue is complete, I'll hold you to it..."

"It's a promise... okay!"

Our farewell tonight was not a kiss but a hard grab on my side as I was pulled into the shadows by Fred.

Oh no... This is bad. If Manon and Beatrice get involved... The committee chair is really scary.