Each Answer #1

 

Wagner walked silently through the wilderness.

It’s already been a week and four days, and I haven’t spoken to anyone.

There was no need to talk to anyone, but it was also because Wagner was naturally reserved.

Clatter, clatter.

With every step, the weight of the armor pressed down on my body.

The sweat that had flowed down stung my eyes.

‘I wish I had taken off my armor a long time ago.’

Wagner gazed vaguely at the heath where the azaleas were blooming, and thought of such things.

‘no.’

He shook his head.

The human mind is weak and deceitful.

Once you give them an excuse to get comfortable, they will never be satisfied and will demand more.

Once your body feels lighter, you may want to sit down and rest for a bit.

What’s next?

Since you’re resting anyway, you might want to avoid the sun and go into the shade.

Let’s rest for just one more hour, until the afternoon, or let’s make up our minds and start doing it tomorrow.

Laziness will continue endlessly.

You have to accept the hardship.

That’s the warrior’s path. The shortcut may seem close at first glance, but it’s actually a long, winding road.

Wagner decided to think of the body-squeezing armor as a form of practice.

‘Maybe this exam will be a little difficult.’

Although he did his best, it was not easy for Wagner to catch Nitro Bird.

Another problem is that I am heavier than others due to my natural size.

For him, honestly, it was easier to fight on the front lines and take out enemy attacks.

It was a difficult task to use my head like this and solve a difficult problem.

‘But I never give up until the very end.’

Wagner knew his chances were slim, but he decided to chase Nitrobird until the very end.

At least, even if I failed the exam, I wanted to be confident in front of my colleagues.

I felt like I wouldn’t be able to hold my head up if I gave up halfway.

Thud, thud.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps on the sand of the wilderness was heard from behind.

‘Another adventurer?’

I’ve encountered competitors many times during exam periods. It wasn’t anything new.

However, this was the first time that our paths overlapped for so long.

Thud, thud.

The sound of footsteps had already been heard for over thirty minutes.

And it got closer and closer.

Clatter, clatter.

Thud, thud.

The sound of Wagner’s armor overlapped with the sound of unidentified footsteps.

Wagner stood frozen in place.

And then I looked back.

In one hand, always ready to grab a mace.

“⋯.”

A slender silhouette with a cloth wrapped like a cloak to block out the sunlight.

Judging by her build, she’s probably a woman.

‘That doesn’t change anything.’

Wagner was not a man of gender bias.

There is no reason why you should not be wary just because you are a woman.

A knife held in the hand becomes a weapon, regardless of whether its owner is a woman, a child, or an old person.

“Do you have any business with me? If not, don’t come any closer.”

Wagner said, lowering the visor of his helmet.

The next moment.

Flutter—

The mysterious pursuer threw off the cloth wrapped around his body.

The sky blue cloth fluttered into the sky, and the woman began to run towards Wagner.

“⋯Hmm?”

Wagner narrowed his eyes.

“Hey, you little bear!”

Mitchell came running through the sand.

A face distorted as if smiling or crying.

Mitchell’s eyes were faintly dewy and sparkling.

“What are you doing alone in a place like this?”

Mitchell choked up and blamed Wagner.

For a moment, he spreads his arms wide and seems to be hugging Wagner’s arms, but stops precariously at the last moment.

Mitchell barely came to his senses and coughed awkwardly.

“Ahem- well- well- how have you been?”

“Long time no see. You too.”

“Wow – I just happened to come across this in the vast wilderness. It’s quite interesting. Huh?”

Wagner also found this reunion strange.

But I thought it was unlikely that Mitchell would have gone out of his way to find him.

That’s not the kind of person he is. He’s so different from the Mitchell personality Wagner knows.

“Did you catch the bird?”

“yet.”

“But I knew it even before I heard the answer. Judging by the way you were limping along, drooping, it was obvious something was wrong.”

“⋯I think it’s the same for you too.”

“Hey.”

Mitchell pouted.

She hesitated, digging the dirt on the floor with her toes.

It seemed like he had something he wanted to say, but he seemed hesitant to say it himself.

“Mitchell.”

Wagner spoke first.

“uh?”

“We each said we would pass the test, but now that it’s come to this, won’t you cooperate?”

“⋯I, I guess so?”

Mitchell’s face brightened.

Wagner was secretly surprised by Mitchell’s reaction.

It was an offer I made, half without much expectation. I figured it couldn’t be helped if it was rejected.

But, I didn’t know that Mitchell would accept the offer so quickly, as if he had been waiting for it.

“I guess there’s nothing I can do about it- so, do you have any plausible plan?”

“Not yet. But if we put our heads together, I’m sure we’ll come up with a good idea.”

Wagner and Mitchell decided to move to a meeting to discuss operations.

During the trip, Mitchell was more talkative than usual and laughed often.

***

Here we go again.

I was conscious of the gaze as I watched the cauldron hanging over the campfire.

‘I can tell it’s Maria even without looking.’

Maria must have gotten the hang of getting food, because now she comes to our camp every night.

“Wow- this looks delicious today too.”

Flora, who was preparing a meal, looked into the cauldron and smiled brightly.

Tonight’s dinner menu is gamjatang.

This is a wild soup dish made with the tender and sturdy meat of wild boar, bone in.

It’s made with plenty of healthy herbs for your health, and the spices are used to remove any fishy smell, so it’s going to be incredibly delicious.

“Should I add a little spice?”

Finish by sprinkling red pepper powder, pepper, and perilla seed powder.

I took a spoonful and tasted it.

“hmm-“

This is it.

It’s the taste I knew.

The taste is about 82% similar to that of a restaurant that serves good gamjatang near Seongshin Women’s University Station.

Flora swallowed hard.

And Maria, who may have already been discovered and is hiding at the cave entrance, must be swallowing her saliva.

“Shall we start eating now?”

“yes!”

The gaze felt more intense.

It’s like a laser is shooting at me, and the back of my head feels hot.

“Senior, call the test tube. Tell them to come and eat.”

“Huh? Was the examiner here?”

“I’ve been here for a while now.”

bang.

As I spoke, I heard something hitting the cave wall.

After a while, Maria appeared, rubbing her forehead.

“No, don’t get me wrong. I didn’t come here with any other intentions—I’m the examiner, so I need to see firsthand how the participants are doing—”

“Stop whining and sit down. Let’s eat.”

“Ugh⋯.”

Maria swallowed her discontent and sat between me and Flora, pretending to be helpless.

Appetite is a scary thing.

No matter how much food you fill your stomach with, hunger strikes without fail the next day.

Whether a noble saint or a king, no human being can escape this fundamental desire.

There’s no way I could resist a topic like Maria.

“It seems like Wagner and Mitchell have decided to join forces starting today.”

Maria now reported the movements of her party mates naturally, without being asked to do so.

I guess I think it’s give and take in my own way.

“Wow! That’s great. I feel safe now that you two are together.”

“hmm.”

I frowned for a moment as I distributed the meat to each person’s bowl.

It’s a good thing, just as Flora said.

The risk is reduced and the chances of passing the test increase compared to when each person acts individually.

But is this something to be happy about?

‘Perhaps there are lingering feelings between the two.’

I mentally raised the alert level by one level.

No, I really don’t want to see it.

I can’t stand to see the two of them flirting next to each other throughout the adventure unless I get dirt in my eyes.

“What, what is this taste?”

Maria opened her mouth wide as she tore at the meat.

Even if you try hard not to show it, the joy of gastronomy that cannot be hidden is clearly evident on your face.

“This meat has been simmered for six hours over low heat. The meat is tender and falls off the bones easily.”

“⋯Well, it’s delicious.”

Maria averted her gaze slightly, then finally acknowledged my cooking.

I feel like I’m slowly taming a cat that was so disobedient and wary of people.

“I have a question.”

“⋯Ask me anything. Unless it’s related to the exam.”

“I mean, Nitrobird. Did one die on the way here?”

“How do you know that?”

Maria glared at me, her eyes narrowed.

“There’s a way to find out. Where is that body buried?”

“⋯.”

Maria did not answer immediately.

I tilted the bowl, drank the soup, and fell into deep thought.

I guess I shouldn’t rush things too much.

When taming a cat, gentleness is important.

Sometimes I tease them a little, and sometimes I ignore them a little.

“Putting in the noodles. Are you all going to eat?”

“Okay! Give me a lot!”

Flora, her cheeks swollen, raised one hand.

I put the dried noodles into the spicy broth.

For Koreans, noodles, fried rice, and porridge are desserts. Even when you’re full, there’s always room for dessert.

“ah!”

Maria let out a surprised voice just as the noodles were almost done cooking.

“Okay, I get it. Why are you asking that? Are you trying to pluck feathers from a corpse?”

Maria smiled triumphantly, like a detective who had discovered the solution to a difficult trick.

“Hmph—it’s all for naught! It’s true that one Nitrobird died on the way to Garden. But I knew someone would resort to trickery like yours. I plucked out all the feathers before I could ask. Hahaha—”

Slurp—

Maria was excited, inhaling the noodles briskly.

“Is it true? It’s a shame.”

“Idiot, idiot! How do you think you can pass the test with such shallow tricks? This body is above your head—”

“I don’t believe it. I have to see it with my own eyes.”

“If you’re curious, go dig it up yourself!”

Maria told me where she buried the Nitrobird.

‘fool.’

Of course, it would be best if you could get the feathers from the corpses of dead Nitrobirds.

I didn’t have high expectations anyway.

Because what I was aiming for from the beginning was Nitrobird’s corpse itself.

“Estelle, was that all you had secretly hidden? Too bad—”

I silently drank the remaining gamjatang soup while listening to Maria’s chattering.

Well then, should I go and slowly clear the test tomorrow?