Chapter 25

To briefly explain the flow of events so far:

I was a mediocre employee at a second-rate trading company in Heisei-era Japan, but for some reason, I found myself as the eighth son of a minor noble in a Western fantasy-style world.

Since I had a talent for magic, I practiced it and studied secretly. Due to the poor diet, I also started hunting.

Gradually, my magic improved, and I learned from a former human, a high-ranking noble's personal mage, who had become an undead creature called a "talking dead" after death, to pass on his magical techniques. I successfully inherited his license and his legacy.

To prevent unnecessary succession disputes, I accepted the evaluation of being a spoiled and useless son who did not help with household chores, in exchange for gaining freedom of action.

First, I explored vast uncharted territories, practicing flying and teleportation magic, and obtained assets and materials that would suffice for multiple lifetimes.

Incidentally, I also mastered brewing magic to make miso and soy sauce, which was actually the most challenging magic to learn.

One of the village headmen wanted to make me the next lord, a small-scale but dramatic "uprising from below" scenario, which I politely declined.

To avoid such invitations, I enrolled in an adventurer preparatory school in another city at the age of twelve.

By this point, about six years and a few months had passed. Despite various events, time seemed to fly by quickly as I did my best.

It is now early April. The calendar, units of length and weight, and time in this world are almost the same as in Japan.

A year has twelve months, each with thirty-one days, totaling three hundred and seventy-two days. The units of length are millimeters, centimeters, meters, and kilometers. The units of weight are grams, kilograms, and tons. Time is measured in seconds, minutes, and hours. The days of the week are from Monday to Sunday, with Sunday being the day of rest, generally a day off.

Devout followers of the god, who is believed to have created this world, go to church on this day. The god is simply called "God," and it is considered inappropriate to give it any other name.

This is a strict monotheistic religion, and it is said that no other gods exist on the continent of Ringleia. However, in some regions, the doctrines are subtly different due to local primitive religions, and there are several sects with poor relations, which is a common story in any world.

In rural farming villages like the one I lived in, the concept of a day of rest is not as prominent. Every day involves farm work, and during free time, people go hunting or gathering, taking breaks then.

During the off-season, there are more holidays, but in our village, there were many labor duties for land reclamation and flood control projects, which had a bad reputation.

I have digressed, but I successfully enrolled in the adventurer preparatory school in Breichburg, made friends, and after a few days of classes, I decided to start part-time work.

Actually, I didn't need to do this, but I didn't want others to know about my financial situation, and I couldn't enter the realm of monsters until I was fifteen.

So, I decided to go hunting as part-time work to practice combat skills, along with my first friend of the same age, Elwin von Alnem, or El for short.

"Haah, we finally made it."

"There's no choice. The nearby hunting grounds are already taken by others."

El and I had walked for about an hour to reach the grassland we were told about at the preparatory school's office. Breichburg is a large city with a population of over two hundred thousand, and due to its size, it requires a vast amount of food.

Grains and vegetables come from many nearby farming villages. Fish are mainly river fish, as the city is hundreds of kilometers from the sea, with salted and dried fish as alternatives. Salt is a bit expensive but is cheaper than in other inland cities due to the large supply. Sugar is also slightly cheaper as it comes from the southern regions.

As for meat, the livestock in the surrounding farming villages was not enough to meet the demand. Although land reclamation has increased grain production, the population has also grown, and the amount of grain available for meat production has not kept up.

This is where adventurers play a crucial role. Some people think that adventurers only enter the realm of monsters to hunt them and obtain valuable materials and meat, but not all of them are strong enough to do so.

Many of them secure meat for people in remote areas like this. In rural farming villages, there are professional hunters, and farmers go hunting during their free time or sometimes as a village-wide effort to obtain necessary meat.

In urban areas, hunters join the adventurer guild to hunt, which is the norm. The adventurer guild also serves as the hunter guild.

Therefore, hunting as a part-time job for preparatory school students, or as a serious profession for some, is an important activity.

Wild animals are not as strong as monsters, but adventurers are still killed by bears or wolves from time to time, so it is dangerous and should not be taken lightly.

"Everyone rushed to the nearby hunting grounds."

"Probably because it's safer in remote areas."

"But the competition is higher, right?"

"Indeed, many people end up not hunting anything."

Near the city, the number of prey is naturally lower due to frequent hunting, and with professional adventurers around, inexperienced students often fail to achieve results.

This is known as the "initiation for newcomers." Those who fail to hunt for several days often switch to other part-time jobs like shopkeeping or cargo handling.

"Here, there aren't many other adventurers. Right, Vel?"

"Quiet..."

I told El to be quiet and continued to use the detection magic to search the surroundings.

"Detection magic? That's convenient."

"Hunting magic. There it is..."

I pointed in the direction of the reaction, and we moved together. We encountered a large boar digging up tree roots from the ground, likely searching for wild yams.

"Big catch."

"Yeah."

Since it was pointless to just stare or make noise, El and I immediately nocked our arrows and aimed. El, who had won a scholarship at the preparatory school for his sword skills, was also skilled with a bow due to his hunting experience since childhood.

His skills were probably better than mine, who could correct the trajectory with magic.

He had earned part of the travel and accommodation expenses for his journey to Breichburg by selling the game he hunted over several years.

"Boost the arrow."

"Okay."

In the next moment, El and I simultaneously released our arrows. The two arrows deeply pierced the boar's buttocks and back.

"Boost is convenient."

The arrows, enhanced by the wind magic Boost, had a longer range and greater penetration, capable of bringing down even large prey with a single hit if they struck a vital point.

However, this time, the boar's head was in a hole, so it didn't take much damage.

"Will it run away?"

"Unfortunately, it's very angry."

I had never hunted in my previous life, but it seemed that wild animals in this world were often aggressive. Normally, it would be common for the boar to run away after being hit, but it became enraged and sought revenge on those who harmed it.

Every year, a few adventurers are seriously injured or killed by counterattacks from boars, according to the preparatory school instructors.

"It's charging."

"Actually, this is convenient."

El and I calmly nocked and released our next arrows. The two arrows, enhanced by Boost, pierced the boar's head as it charged. The boar fell with a loud thud and stopped moving.

"Is it dead?"

El cautiously approached the boar and confirmed it was dead with his sword.

"Good start. But Vel, you're also good with a bow."

"Practice pays off."

At first, I had to correct the trajectory with magic, but recently my aim had become more accurate. However, El's skill in hitting the boar's head was far superior.

"Vel, you can use magic, which is great. Put it away for me."

"Sure."

I immediately stored the dead boar in a magic bag. In the magic bag, time stops, so the boar's blood wouldn't coagulate or the meat deteriorate.

It's more efficient to process the game later, so I just stored it in the bag for now.

The bag I used was one I had recently made for practice. I thought it was a good idea to make it in advance, as I didn't want to store the bloody boar in my usual magic bag.

This new bag, like the others, could only be used by mages. It had a capacity of about a house, which was a drawback, but it should be practical for storing game.

"There are quite a few small game within a kilometer."

"Wow, that's a good spot. Let's see who can hunt more."

"The loser buys dinner."

"Deal."

El and I split up and started hunting. After two hours, we met up and announced our results.

"I got six rabbits."

"Wow."

"Focusing on rabbits was the right choice."

El was indeed skilled with a bow.

"I got two rabbits and three pheasants. Hmm, I lost."

"In terms of numbers. But you're good at hunting pheasants."

Even with excellent bow skills, pheasants are sensitive to human presence and often escape before the bow's range, making them difficult to hunt.

I could change the bow's range and trajectory with magic, making it easier to hunt them.

"The winner is El in terms of numbers. What do you want to eat?"

"We'll decide after we get back to the city. Is something wrong?"

"Two human reactions and twelve wolf-like reactions, five hundred meters east of the city."

"That's bad, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

The situation was that a pack of wolves had surrounded two people. Wolves, which form packs like dogs, are a threat to humans whether individually or in groups.

Many people are killed by wolves each year.

"Should we help?"

"It's on our way back. If they die, it will be a bad start to the day."

"But will we make it in time?"

"There's no choice. Emergency measures."

I quickly cast body enhancement and speed-up magic, picked up El, and rushed to the scene at an incredible speed.

"You! At least explain what magic you're using and the procedure!"

"I didn't have time. Let's go."

"Okay."

In just a few seconds, I ran five hundred meters with El and confirmed the situation. Two students from our preparatory school were surrounded by wolves.

One was using a spear, and the other, unusually, was using hand-to-hand combat with gauntlets on both hands. In this Western fantasy world, hand-to-hand combat is a popular fighting technique.

It was developed as a battlefield martial art to enable combat without weapons and has spawned many schools. However, most of them have declined.

Hand-to-hand combat is ineffective against aggressive wild animals and monsters.

Some schools are designated as mandatory training for security forces in urban areas, and the most famous among adventurers is the Magic Combat School.

The Magic Combat School uses magic power as fighting energy. To use it, one needs a certain level of magic power, typically between beginner and intermediate.

However, not all members of a school have magic power, so the focus is on teaching techniques and training methods.

Using magic power for combat means other magic cannot be used simultaneously. It is generally seen as a technique for those with low magic power and limited magic skills.

However, with training, magic power consumption efficiency improves, allowing for prolonged superhuman combat, making it a popular choice among adventurers who have left their mark in history.

"Do you recognize them?"

"Yes."

Of course, the two surrounded by wolves were classmates from the same special class at the preparatory school.

One was using a spear, a girl our age with long, fiery red hair tied loosely behind her. She had a slender build and a cat-like appearance, Eina Zuzane Hirenbrandt.

Her family runs a spear training dojo in Breichburg, teaching soldiers. Despite the noble-sounding name, her family is not officially a noble but a vassal appointed by the Margrave of Breichreiter to teach spear skills to soldiers.

Official nobles are only those appointed by the kingdom and their families. Therefore, the Margrave of Breichreiter and his family are nobles, and minor knights like my family are also considered nobles.

High-ranking nobles have large households and vassals, earning more income, but they are still vassals and not officially nobles.

They are treated as semi-nobles within the noble's domain.

Recently, the difference between vassals and commoners has become less clear, but it doesn't cause any problems.

The tragedy of vassal children who cannot inherit the family is common.

Eina Zuzane Hirenbrandt, as she introduced herself, is the third daughter. She aims to become an adventurer to make a name for herself, as it is difficult for a third daughter to marry into another vassal family.

Many women become adventurers for similar reasons. The military is not open to women, so they naturally turn to adventuring.

The other girl, also twelve but looking like she's ten, is a skilled Magic Combat School user and a beautiful girl with short, light blue hair and a slightly raccoon-like face, Louise Yolande Aurelia Ophelweck.

Her family teaches the Magic Combat School to soldiers in Breichburg and is a vassal family of the Margrave of Breichreiter. Like Eina, she is the third daughter and aims to become an adventurer to make a name for herself.

The special class at the preparatory school has a significant number of such students, and there are many in regular classes as well. This shows that being a noble is not always easy, and the world can be harsh.

Even if a noble child were to make everyone a noble, the kingdom's budget and land would not suffice. Therefore, children outside the designated line become commoners.

Recently, even royal families have faced similar situations, and being born into the royal family does not guarantee a secure future.

While I was explaining, El, whom I had put down, shot two wolves in quick succession with her bow, and the remaining ten were silenced by a complex magic spell.

First, I used an earth wall to separate the two girls from the wolves, then fired multiple magic arrows to quickly kill the wolves.

"My efforts are meaningless! Besides, Vel! With that magic, you don't need a bow and arrows!"

"They are necessary. Using a bow and arrows conserves magic power."

As I answered El, I removed the earth wall surrounding the two girls, who were still in shock.

"Um, are you okay?"

"We're fine... You must be Vendelin from the same class, the eighth son of the Baumaster family, right?"

Will I be able to become friends with these two beautiful classmates I accidentally helped? It feels like it's been six years since I last talked to a girl my age.