Humanities Exploration (1)

The day after discovering that Princess Mezlen had developed feelings for Harold.

At first, I had considered how I could help Mezlen find the person she fell in love with, but ultimately, I didn’t end up interfering with her first love as she wished.

Well, to be precise, even if I wanted to interfere, I couldn’t. While I did manage to create some alone time for Mezlen and Harold, unfortunately, the very next day, I had to leave the academy again for the ‘Humanities Exploration’ class.

‘Lately, it feels like I’m leaving the academy once every two weeks.’

But given how the curriculum of 『Luminor Academy』 was structured, there wasn’t much I could do about it.

From a game development perspective, it was probably an inevitable choice. No matter how well-made 『Luminor Academy』 was as an academy-themed game, there were limits to the events that could take place solely within the academy.

Four years couldn’t be filled entirely with events inside the academy, so in Part 3, the students were sent outside to experience various kinds of events.

While this increased the game’s overall volume, it did slightly dilute the academy game atmosphere, which was a bit disappointing.

‘Still, wandering around the empire with Ethan like this every two weeks isn’t so bad.’

Having an external event that takes us outside the academy every two weeks means I get to go on dates with Ethan outside the academy that often too.

Nature Exploration class meant forest dates. Geology Exploration meant dungeon dates. And this Humanities Exploration would likely be something akin to a volunteer date.

Rebuilding village facilities destroyed by bandits, comforting those who lost family members, and creating shelters for orphaned children-it definitely felt closer to a volunteer date.

On top of that, we’d also be defeating bandit groups, doing some environmental cleanup, and replenishing our experience points. In terms of difficulty, this was probably the easiest exploration class so far.

Not that the bandits were weak, but compared to other exploration classes, there was much less preparation required.

The Humanities Exploration class wasn’t primarily about survival or combat-it was more about deduction, figuring out who among the villagers was colluding with the bandits. And for that deduction, Gyeotmwa Josyegigot would handle it, so I didn’t need to lift a finger.

‘That’s also why I made sure to confirm that Gyeotmwa Josyegigot was taking this Humanities Exploration class.’

As a mere baronet’s daughter who was practically Ethan’s personal maid, shouting something like “The culprit is among us!” wouldn’t draw any attention anyway. In events like these, the spotlight naturally belonged to the protagonist, both in the original game and here.

All I had to do was sit back, enjoy the show, and then rush in during the final bandit subjugation event. Along the way, I’d gain some experience and practical combat skills.

‘I can test out the basics of Sword Expert that Harold mentioned in real combat training.’

Being able to foresee an opponent’s sword trajectory is just the beginning of becoming a Sword Expert.

Generally, eight or nine out of ten bandits were armed groups wielding swords or daggers, so there would be plenty of practice opponents.

Thinking about how I could engage in sparring similar to my fight with the Hobgoblin Swordsman multiple times made my heart race.

“You look happy, Lilith.”

“Huh?”

“Did something good happen? Oh, by the way, what did Father say yesterday? I think he called you for training.”

“Ah, well…”

…Well, I guess it’s fine to tell Ethan. It’s not like Harold would keep it a secret even if I tried to hide it.

“Actually, Master Harold told me that he sees potential in me to become a Sword Expert.”

“…Really?”

“Of course, I’m still just at the very beginning stage, far from reaching Young Master Ethan’s level with the sword. It’s obviously impossible for me to match your swordsmanship skills, and right now, I can only occasionally predict an opponent’s sword trajectory.”

“That’s still impressive. The fact that Lilith, who isn’t even in the Swordsmanship Department, is showing potential to become a Sword Expert is amazing.”

“…Though I can’t say for sure until I actually try it in real combat. After all, even you, Young Master Ethan, who specializes in swordsmanship, took nearly a year after entering the Sword Expert path to fully master it. It’ll probably take me until after graduating from the academy to fully get used to this power.”

“I wouldn’t say that’s necessarily true… Anyway, congratulations on entering the path of a Sword Expert, Lilith.”

“Thank you, Young Master Ethan.”

After exchanging such words, we spent nearly half a day traveling by carriage from morning to the location of the Humanities Exploration class.

Even though we took a break to let the horses rest and had a late lunch, we still had to spend the night camping on the road as evening fell.

“Lilith, did you tie all the ropes on your side?”

“I finished tying them long ago, Young Master Ethan. Now, just pull the stake on your side as hard as you can to secure it.”

“Got it, Lilith.”

Ethan pulled the rope tightly on his side to secure the tent.

…Come to think of it, I’ve gotten completely used to camping like this now.

Since I plan to become an adventurer later, getting used to it now isn’t a bad thing. But Ethan, despite being the son of a ducal family, has also become quite accustomed to roughing it outdoors.

Probably because he kept following me to events I considered essential, like “Lara’s Secret.”

Depending on which subjects you choose for Exploration classes, you can reduce the number of outdoor classes or pick ones with locations closer to the academy.

But those subjects usually offer mediocre rewards and don’t give much experience, so I tend to avoid them. What I want is to progress while maximizing the resources available in 『Luminor Academy』, just like when playing the original game.

To avoid regrets later, I had to squeeze out every possible resource. Even if I returned to the academy later for missed events, the lost experience wouldn’t come back.

When I eventually register as an adventurer at the guild, there’s a big difference between starting at Level 20 and Level 40, so I always had to keep that in mind.

“For dinner, I’m planning to make chicken risotto by simmering rice in the broth from the chicken. Is that alright?”

“Anything you cook is fine with me, Lilith.”

“Understood. Then I’ll start preparing the meal right away, Young Master Ethan.”

Lately, with so much camping, outdoor meal prep has mostly fallen to me.

Of course, Ethan would help if I asked, but cooking requires maintaining a steady flow without interruptions.

So I usually have Ethan handle other tasks while I take charge of cooking-things like keeping watch for monsters or gathering firewood if we’re running low.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve prepared a proper outdoor meal with all the ingredients.’

Given that recent camping locations weren’t exactly ideal for proper cooking.

In the Hobgoblin Forest, we had to forage for all our food and water, so meals mostly consisted of grilled fish and wild vegetables. In dungeons, we couldn’t even light fires due to suffocation risks, so we just chewed on dry rations.

But today, we had the luxury of bringing ingredients, and I happened to be craving a particular dish, so I decided to put in some real effort.

With the weather getting warmer, this was the perfect season for boiled chicken-more appealing than in other seasons.

In this world, I couldn’t get ingredients like ginseng, dried jujubes, or angelica root, so I had to simplify it with just garlic and potatoes, but even this much made for a decent outdoor meal.

-Bubble bubble bubble…

Another hour of simmering the chicken should do it.

Now, the remaining issue was the rice. This was where things got tricky. I wasn’t sure how much rice to add to this amount of chicken broth to make something resembling chicken porridge.

‘I think I once heard that the ratio of rice to water should be 1:1.’

The pot currently had chicken stew filling about two-thirds of its volume. If I added rice at a 1:1 ratio, the pot would obviously overflow, so that wouldn’t work.

‘I’ll wait for the broth to reduce by half, then add rice up to the remaining height and simmer it.’

Even then, the ratio would still be 1:1. No need to overthink it.

With that in mind, I removed the cooked chicken meat when the contents were about half gone, then added rice until the pot was nearly full again and simmered it for about 20 minutes.

-Bubble bubble bubble…

“……”

At some point, I realized something was wrong when the contents of the pot refused to reduce.

“Lilith?”

“…Yes, Young Master Ethan.”

“Can we… really eat all that?”

“……”

…Where did I go wrong?

I’m pretty sure I got the rice-to-water ratio right.