Ch.2929 – The Taste of Trust

<29 – The Taste of Trust>

I was lucky.

If all four of us had been tagged as “it,” we would have spent quite some time searching for the runners despite having a good strategy. But in our team, only one person was tagged.

“Are you really okay with this?”

“It’s fine. I was at 0 points anyway.”

That would be me.

“This little mouse. Why are you so nice, kid? I thought all youngsters these days were weak-willed. Sometimes you need to look out for yourself to make life easier, you fool.”

“Like you look after ‘Baby Deer’?”

“……”

Hmph. No matter how much I tease you, you deserve it.

You say you tormented me first with that piggyback ride?

“Still, our plan was for all four of us to gather as many points as possible before escaping. We need to help Oknodie find the runner.”

“Ha. And how do we do that? Everyone’s avoiding contact with each other. How are we supposed to know who the runner is?”

Conscious of the tag supplementary task, the examinees who were already wary of each other for points now completely disappeared from sight, not even making eye contact.

[Thanks to your rich hiding experience, you’ve found the hiding spot <Under the Big Rock>.]

[Observation Experience +1]

[You’ve found the familiar hiding place <Up in the Tree>.]

[Observation Experience +1]

[You’ve discovered an examinee cleverly disguised as a bush.]

[Observation Experience +1]

I strode confidently toward the bush.

The examinee disguised as a bush flinched.

“Ahem~ Hmm hmm~”

“Miss Oknodie. What are you doing there?”

“Just checking if there might be some berries.”

So are you a runner or “it”?

To test the waters, I casually rustled the bush next to her with my arm wearing the ticket watch.

Thump. Thump.

I could hear her heartbeat clearly.

A determined resolve filled the eyes of the bush-disguised examinee.

“Yah!”

“Missed me, didn’t you?”

“Gasp, Miss Oknodie!”

“Um… should I dry this out?”

“Let’s just watch for now.”

The attacker had cleverly stuck pieces of cut bush into the seams of her leather armor to disguise herself as a bush.

It was a good idea.

The execution wasn’t bad either.

She probably avoided those who seemed dangerous with her camouflage and pounced on those who seemed easy targets.

But that level of skill wouldn’t work against someone with good instincts like me.

“You knew from the beginning, didn’t you?”

“Your movement pattern in the wind was different from the rest.”

“Argh, how frustrating. To think that I, a forest keeper, would have my disguise seen through by such a young child.”

“Your disguise wasn’t bad. I’m just better.”

“This is a first. Someone who could see through my disguise so perfectly. Would you accept a handshake?”

The bush woman smiled broadly and extended her hand.

As I took her hand, she exclaimed excitedly.

“Heheh! You fool. I saw you all enter for the third supplementary task earlier. A handshake is also a form of ‘touch.’ You’re ‘it’ now!”

“Pfft. Are you stupid, unnie? What’s the point of ‘it’ tagging ‘it’?”

“Whaaat?!”

“It” steals points from runners.

Here, the true identity of the <runner> is the <Black Hat Instructor>.

When an examinee touches another examinee, it’s like “it” tagging “it.”

A hidden rule not explicitly stated.

The same rule applies here.

[Before Point Change]

<Dorothy -82 points>

<Oknodie -25 points>

[After Point Change]

<Dorothy -107 points>

<Oknodie 0 points>

Even when “it” touches “it,” points are stolen.

But if the points being stolen were already negative, the negative just increases.

“Aaaagh! What is this!”

“Pfft~ You’re such a fool!”

“This is cheating! How can you calmly walk around with other examinees while being ‘it’!”

“Because we’re teammates?”

“Teammates? What makes you trust they won’t betray you without the secure interests and credit of a noble alliance or mercenary union?”

“Do teammates need a reason to trust each other?”

These people are all fools and suckers.

Even if there was betrayal, I’d be the first to do it. Would Giselle, Son Ocheon, or Isabelle ever betray me first?

Absolutely not!

Dorothy looked genuinely envious at my confident answer.

“Hah… I’ve completely lost. To be able to trust people that much. It’s enviable. I wish my teammates were as nice as yours.”

“Did you have teammates too, Dorothy?”

“I was betrayed. The one who was ‘it’ touched me saying they didn’t need a forest keeper anymore and ran away with the others. They said I should be grateful they didn’t tear up my ticket watch.”

That’s quite unfair.

“We’d been friends since our hometown, so I trusted them, but this is what happened.”

“That’s too bad.”

“So be careful. Your teammates seem to come from different backgrounds. If even hometown friends betray each other, there’s no guarantee strangers won’t betray you.”

For those three, I have no such worries, but I appreciate the advice.

There’s no reason to harbor ill feelings toward someone giving well-intentioned advice.

“Those traitors. Where did they go?”

“That way. A man and woman pair, really nasty ones. If you’re going to catch one, I’d prefer it to be the man.”

“Why?”

“He’s my hometown friend. The woman is the daughter of a merchant who came to buy fur from our forest. She’s a nice girl who helped us on adventures. I’m sure she’s being dragged around by that idiot against her will.”

“…A merchant?”

Among characters from merchant backgrounds with high appearance rates, one concerning character came to mind.

Well, I’ll know when I see them!

“I’ll remember that. Then let me give you a bonus in return.”

I whispered in Dorothy’s ear.

“Go back the way you came and look for the Black Hat Instructor near the entrance.”

“!”

“If you don’t give up and luck is on your side, you’ll definitely find a way to pass somehow.”

“…How can I trust that’s true?”

“I’ve just given you information. How you use it is up to you to decide.”

There’s no reason for me to be this generous.

Dorothy is almost certainly eliminated already, and helping her won’t benefit me in any way.

But her situation moved my heart.

‘I don’t dislike people who try hard.’

The “shortcuts” veterans use to deal with events are all byproducts of effort and research found after countless trials and errors.

Dorothy didn’t give up on the test even after experiencing the shock of being betrayed and abandoned by her hometown friend.

I admired that tenacity.

*Bow*

Dorothy bowed her head and headed toward the entrance.

Giselle showed curiosity.

“Is the instructor really at the entrance?”

“Yes.”

“Your intelligence gathering is impressive.”

“This much is basic!”

“Hehe. It seems I’ll need to work much harder to be of help to Miss Oknodie.”

Isabelle also spoke.

“Good girl.”

“Then give me a snack!”

“Want to know a snack adventurers like to eat?”

“I want to know!”

“When it’s hard to find food in forests like this, they sometimes eat black ants.”

Ew. Ants?

“The formic acid they produce has a sour taste, and the acid made by small ones is quite tasty in moderation.”

“You’re lying!”

“It’s true. But don’t eat ants bigger than your index finger. The acid becomes too strong. It’s dangerous too. This size is just right to eat.”

Isabelle picked up an ant with her finger and held it out.

“Isn’t that too barbaric?”

“Hahaha. Has our employer been raised too delicately? In nature, you eat whatever you can.”

“Has Uncle Ocheon eaten ants too?”

“Only until I was three. After that, I grew too big and no matter how many I ate, I couldn’t fill my stomach.”

“Huh. So everyone eats them.”

I closed my eyes tight and put Isabelle’s finger in my mouth.

It had a strange taste like a tangy candy.

“It’s a bit salty too?”

“That’s the taste of sweat from my finger.”

Isabelle withdrew her hand, looking embarrassed.

“Ah! It’s sour! I know this taste!”

“Didn’t you say you’ve never eaten ants before?”

“It tastes like blue candy!”

“…Right…”

“Want some? This one also has an interesting taste if you roll it around in your mouth.”

“I’ll just appreciate the thought.”

Son Ocheon and Giselle, who had been poking the ground with their fingers saying they wanted to try eating ants again after a long time, stood up with solemn faces.

“Let’s get going now.”

“Right. Ants don’t fill the stomach after all.”

“Huh? Can’t we eat more before we go?”

I don’t think the cooking codex collection judgment has appeared yet.

If I collect formic acid and process it all at once, would it somehow count as “cooking”?

“Let’s quickly go somewhere with proper ingredients.”

“I’m also worried about Miss Oknodie’s points.”

I put aside my experimental urges for now.

If they’re hurrying for my sake, not someone else’s, I can’t argue.

[You’ve tracked the leading group’s movement pattern.]

[Tracking Experience +1]

Large-scale traces visible without needing observation.

The footprints of examiners and the leading group who skipped the third supplementary task were noticeable.

Dorothy’s mentioned direction was mixed in with these, but with so many overlapping footprints, it was nearly impossible to find traces of Dorothy’s teammates.

‘What a shame.’

Instead, I found another interesting trace.

A fork in the road appeared.

The swamp direction was the path to the fourth supplementary task.

The flat direction was the path following the examiners.

While many had attempted the supplementary task at the third challenge, this time most of the remaining leading group headed toward the swamp.

It was a case of examinees who couldn’t bear the pressure of points finally taking action.

“Additional task, huh? Mouse, want to try it?”

“No!”

“Even though your penalty points were reset once, wouldn’t more points be better?”

I’ll say it again: points aren’t the issue in this forest.

There’s something more important.

“There are lots of mosquitoes in the swamp.”

“How much do you hate mosquitoes?”

“Ah. I think that’s a wise decision too.”

Isabelle understood my intention.

“You might be proud of your thick skin, but if it weren’t for Oknodie, you’d have suffered badly.”

“Me? Because of mere mosquitoes?”

“In humid swamps within forests, mosquitoes gather in hundreds or thousands. Didn’t you have such swamps in the forest where you lived?”

“That gives me chills. Is that place hell?”

“Something like that. Plus, when they bite, mosquitoes that have grown on the swamp’s decaying gases evolve into disease-carrying mosquitoes, and their bites can cause illness or poisoning.”

Giselle suddenly turned to look at me.

“Resistance training…”

At those words, Son Ocheon and Isabelle’s eyes also showed disturbance.

“This time I’ll carry you on my back. Quickly get on, Miss Oknodie.”

“Wow, really?”

“I’ll be the guide.”

“Oh, well then, I’ll handle the heavy lifting.”

For some reason, our teamwork suddenly improved dramatically.

“The examinees who attempted the tag game will likely follow the examiners to identify the destination and take a rest, rather than increasing their risk by attempting another task.”

“Ah, that sounds like a good idea! As expected, Giselle, you’re quite smart for a mature student!”

“…Consider yourself lucky that I’m carrying you on my back. I don’t have a free hand to give you a knock on the head, so I’ll let it slide just this once.”

Seeing how quickly we moved away from the swamp at full speed made me feel sorry for Dorothy, but I was grateful for my reliable team.