Ch.13Dungeon Practicum – 1

“Yes. It’s true.”

As I immediately affirmed, the Crown Prince’s eyebrow twitched slightly. He looked as if he hadn’t expected me to respond this way.

“I didn’t quite anticipate such a straightforward admission.”

“If you’re asking me such a question, you must already know all the circumstances, so what would change if I tried to think differently here? I don’t wish to lie to Your Highness.”

It wasn’t just anyone, but the Crown Prince himself who wouldn’t ask such questions without basis. From my experience, and from what Priscilla had told me, the Crown Prince was far from the type to be vague or imprecise.

In that case, rather than denying or trying to deflect, the correct answer was to confront it head-on. As if proving my thoughts correct, the Crown Prince smiled pleasantly and chuckled.

“You’ve hit the mark. Can you also guess how I came to know this fact?”

“…In my humble opinion, I believe it might be related to the news that Miss Priscilla Agnes caught a magical beast.”

At my answer, the smile on the Crown Prince’s face deepened. He looked like he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

“Once again, you’ve hit the mark. When I heard that Miss Agnes was the one who caught the magical beast, I found it curious—she has been extremely reluctant to go outside, always confining herself to the dormitory or magic workshop. Wouldn’t you find it strange that she was in such a place? So I gathered some information and concluded that she went out with you, Aria April, and the Hero.”

The blood-red eyes that had been alternating between Priscilla and me fixed on me again.

“Being too good at maintaining appearances is not a good habit, Mira Crate. Barely a week has passed since the entrance ceremony, yet you’ve already won the hearts of three women.”

“…If I may be so bold, Your Highness, I believe you’re misunderstanding something. We are—”

“What misunderstanding? I merely used the expression ‘winning hearts’ to mean becoming close friends. Could you explain what kind of misunderstanding you thought I was making? Unfortunately, I cannot fathom what you might be referring to.”

“…”

It was an expression that would be enough to cause misunderstandings for anyone who heard it. Seeing how he spoke as if he had been waiting for this moment, he must have anticipated my negative reaction.

Since it was a situation where any response would be futile, I simply kept my mouth shut. The smile on the Crown Prince’s face showed no sign of disappearing.

“That’s a good expression. Strangely, I find it hard to contain my excitement when I see you flustered. So I’ll give you something in return. Did you know that there was an opinion that your family’s department store should be investigated?”

“…Pardon?”

That was something I absolutely couldn’t let slide. Priscilla was also startled beside me.

If the Crate family was being suspected of having connections to magical beasts, I needed to clear up those suspicions here and now. Otherwise, I couldn’t guarantee what would happen next.

“The suspicion arose because the store suddenly closed the day before the magical beast appeared. It could be seen as a mere coincidence, but there were opinions suggesting it might not be.”

So that was it. As I slightly bit my lip, the Crown Prince met my gaze.

“I’ve already put my foot down and said not to make an issue of it, so don’t worry. Some extremists even claimed that you or your family must be the culprits who summoned the magical beast and should all be arrested… but I personally revoked the investigator qualifications of those who made such claims. Can you guess why?”

“…I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

“Because I took a liking to you.”

“What?”

I felt my hair stand on end and quickly stepped back. The Crown Prince was still chuckling.

“That was a light joke. There’s clear evidence that you headed to the department store with the Hero, so if you were the culprit, it would mean the Hero wielding the sacred sword was also an accomplice. The Empire’s intelligence agency is not an institution permitted to fools who cannot grasp such simple cause and effect.”

Fortunately, he seemed to have done it for a somewhat sensible reason. I tried to calm my startled heart.

One reason was because the Crate family had nearly been implicated with the magical beast, and the other was obviously because of the joke the Crown Prince had just made.

‘Of all the jokes to make, why that kind?’

Priscilla had also been squeezing my hand tightly since hearing about the magical beast earlier. I could see her grip turning white.

“With that, I’ve finished everything I needed to convey. From now on, it’s a personal aside, so listen or not as you please.”

Though he said I could choose whether to listen or not, I wasn’t foolish enough to take that at face value and stand up. I quietly waited for his next words.

“I’ve been extremely greedy since childhood. When I set my heart on something, I would do whatever it took to obtain it.”

His blood-red eyes glanced at the hands Priscilla and I were holding.

“And I’m also extremely jealous of things I cannot possess. The fate of objects I’ve set my eyes on has always been one of two: either they come into my hands, or they become broken so that no one can have them. For reasons no one can know.”

Just when I thought he was finished, the Crown Prince added briefly at the end:

“If it hadn’t been broken, there would have been many things I wanted to possess. Truly a pity.”

“…May I ask what you mean by saying such things to me, Your Highness?”

“No particular meaning. I simply wished for us to become closer, so I explained a bit more about myself. Well? Have you learned a bit more about me?”

I’m not sure. If there truly had been no particular meaning, he wouldn’t have told me in the first place.

I had heard about it from Priscilla. Though Priscilla had heard it from the Crown Prince himself. In the bloody power struggle for the position of next Emperor, he had reduced his siblings to practically death row inmates.

Not to mention completely tearing apart the support bases of the siblings who had been pushed out of the power struggle.

‘This is truly maddening.’

I couldn’t understand why such a person was acting this way toward me.

In the end, I got up with my complicated feelings, offering a perfunctory bow. The Crown Prince stared at us intently until we disappeared from his sight.

More precisely, at my back.

“Are you alright, Mira? You don’t look well.”

“I’m fine. For now.”

“You’ve had that expression since yesterday. You were summoned by the Crown Prince, right? Did he say something unpleasant?”

If Aria and Brunhild were saying such things, the Crown Prince’s final words must have affected me critically.

It made sense. The Crown Prince’s unusual sexual preferences were practically confirmed, and it was also almost certain that he was targeting me.

‘In terms of appearance, he does look more like a woman…’

He might be called an androgynous beauty, but his appearance was such that he could pass for a woman. However, regardless of that, if his actual gender was male, it meant nothing.

“Well, if you say you’re fine, then I guess you are. Or maybe it’s something difficult to tell us. Let’s just get going. The next lecture is dungeon exploration practice, right?”

Brunhild pushed both of us into the dimensional gate. When our eyes met, she grinned at me. It seemed to be her own way of being considerate.

As we emerged from the other side of the dimensional gate, we saw an open space filled with well over a hundred students.

Beyond them stretched a forest. It was an artificially created forest within the grounds of Bellium Academy, so vast that it would take a full 12 hours to traverse even in a straight line.

‘And it’s also a place connected to the demon realm.’

Although in the original work, that event happens next year, I can’t let my guard down. I don’t know how events might twist.

“Alright, alright. It’s time. Focus.”

Thump, thump. A female professor standing on a high rock struck the ground with the sword and staff in her hands to get everyone’s attention. The chattering stopped as all eyes turned to her.

“I introduced myself last time, right? But some of you might have forgotten, so I’ll briefly say it again. I’m Jeyna, and from now on, I’ll be conducting the dungeon exploration practice. Any questions?”

No one raised their hand.

“Good. I was planning to deduct points from anyone who raised their hand, since it would mean they didn’t listen properly last time. First, I’ll divide you into two large teams.”

The professor who had casually threatened to deduct points drew a magic circle. A doppelganger that looked exactly like her appeared right beside her. The professor handed the sword to her doppelganger.

Jeyna and her doppelganger jumped down from the rock and climbed onto a slightly lower one. The Jeyna holding the sword tapped the rock with the tip of her blade.

“If you want to finish by 5 PM, which is the regular lecture time, come to me.”

As she finished speaking, the Jeyna holding the staff tapped the rock.

“If you want to add three hours and continue until 8 PM, come this way. But remember, if you choose this side, you don’t have to attend next week’s lecture.”

One side would proceed normally, while the other would add three hours to cover two weeks’ worth of classes at once. As she had explained on the first day, choosing the lecture method was itself a key evaluation element.

This was about choosing which option suited your style better. Whether it was better to finish short and intense, or to go longer but less intensively.

Naturally, the dungeons to be conquered were also set up accordingly. You had to gather all the information, make a judgment, and choose the dungeon optimized for your style.

“What are you going to do, Mira?”

“Me? I’m going to the side with the staff.”

“You’re staying until evening? That’s unexpected. I thought you’d dislike troublesome things. Do you have a reason for choosing that?”

I do. I need to check out the place where a dimensional gate directly connecting to the demon realm will open later. Three hours might not be enough, so I chose the option that would give me more time.

‘Better to have too much time than too little.’

But since I couldn’t say that openly, I made up a different excuse.

“The sooner we finish, the sooner we can rest.”

“As expected, you’re full of confidence. I don’t dislike that about you.”

Aria smiled brightly. Brunhild also had an expression of agreement. While we were talking, Jeyna, who had finished dividing the personnel, tapped the rock again.

“Everyone’s chosen? Alright, let’s start by giving each of you one of these. It’s a one-time location marker. The duration is about 12 hours, so it’s enough to last until the end of the lecture. As for how to use it, well, if an emergency occurs, just activate it. Then your location will flash red on my monitoring magical tool, and I’ll check the coordinates and come find you.”

“However, you must write a statement explaining why you judged the situation to be dangerous, and if I determine after running a detection spell that it wasn’t serious enough to use this, you’ll lose points. The place is thoroughly managed by monitoring magic, so I don’t think there will be much danger, but you never know with people.”

“Lastly, the most important thing: don’t be reckless. Overestimating your abilities or underestimating your opponent is a perfect way to get yourself killed. Always underestimate yourself and overestimate your opponent. That’s how you survive longer.”

“All the dungeons in this forest are artificially created by us, but they’re very similar to real dungeons. About 95% similar? You can actually get hurt, and if you’re careless, you might lose a limb. We can bring in priests or nuns to reattach it, but until then, it’ll hurt like hell. Remember that, and remember it again.”

After the Jeyna with the sword and the Jeyna with the staff alternately finished their explanation, an order was given to gather with our assigned groups, and I approached the teammates randomly selected by the professor.

Originally, people would form groups with those they got along with and submit them, with the remaining people being paired up, but there had been a statement from the professor that I, Aria, and Brunhild were exceptions and could never be in the same group.

The reason was that the balance would be too skewed. It was such a perfect reason that all three of us could only nod in agreement.

“Ugh.”

And in the randomly formed group, I encountered the red-haired woman from the first duel, Scarlet Diana. The short groan she let out echoed softly.