Ch.49Midterm Exam Preparation – 2

“Well, let’s take a short break…”

“Y-yes, me too… just a moment… I think they’re not chasing us anymore…”

Brunhilde and Aria stopped in their tracks, practically collapsing onto the ground while panting heavily.

I moved behind them protectively, scanning our surroundings. Only after confirming with my presence detection magic that no more monsters were pursuing us did I finally stop.

“Alright. I think we can rest now. This place is reasonably spacious. Let’s take a break here.”

At my words, the two who had been barely holding on with their last reserves of strength finally sat down. I could hear them catching their breath with rough “hoo, hoo” sounds. I took out water from my backpack and handed it to them. The water bottle was emptied by half in one go.

Even after drinking water, Brunhilde continued panting for a while before looking up at me.

“Wait, why don’t you look tired at all? You fought more than any of us!”

The reason we had been fleeing so desperately was because of a trap room. You know, those rooms designed to simulate dungeon geography where mana accumulates naturally, attracting many monsters.

We had been making good progress downward when we encountered a fork in the road. There was an arrow pointing to the right path, so thinking twice about it, I chose to follow the arrow—which led us straight into a trap room.

If the archmage who designed this dungeon or Professor Jeina had seen us, they would have been cackling with glee. Their trick had worked. A nasty trick indeed.

As soon as we entered the trap room, we faced a terrifying number of 6th Legion Commanders. Yes, those centaurs—the same ones who had their arms cut off by the Demon Lord, got beaten to dust on a rainy day, and then retreated.

Since they were just degraded versions, not the originals, I probably could have handled them alone somehow. But with witnesses present and having to protect two people while fighting, I simply chose to flee with them.

During our escape, I had taken down all the monsters blocking our path, which was probably what Brunhilde was referring to. I calmly drank some water before answering.

“This much is necessary if you want to hold the top rank for all three years.”

“Fine. Just do everything yourself then.”

“I will, even without you telling me.”

After taking a couple more sips, I put the water bottle back in my backpack and took out a magically cooled blanket. We could use other blankets for warmth.

Brunhilde took the blanket, immediately spread it on the ground, and lay down as if going to sleep. Aria, on the other hand, carefully arranged her skirt and sat with her knees together. It was a scene that perfectly illustrated their personality differences.

“Aren’t you uncomfortable? You can relax, you know.”

“N-no, I’m fine.”

Aria’s face turned slightly red as she adjusted her skirt again. Well, if she tried to sit more comfortably here, her underwear might show given the length of her skirt. Especially since it was quite flowy.

Brunhilde was remarkable for not caring about such things at all. While lying down comfortably wasn’t exactly vulgar, she was essentially in a sleeping position.

“…”

After our conversation ended, both of them silently caught their breath. Meanwhile, I tossed them another blanket for warmth and checked our remaining supplies.

‘I wonder how much further we need to go down.’

We had been descending for just over four hours now. Since we weren’t given a map—supposedly because this was meant to simulate exploring a newly discovered dungeon—I could only guess how far we were from the dungeon core.

“How far have we come?”

I felt something heavy press against my back. Brunhilde had approached silently and was now hugging me from behind, resting her chin on my shoulder. Aria was still sitting and resting.

“About halfway? They said it would take around 8 hours to clear, and we’ve been going for about 4 hours, so it’s fair to say we’re halfway there.”

“…We still have to go that much further? I’m dying here.”

Brunhilde jabbed my shoulder with her chin repeatedly as she grumbled.

As expected from a country girl who had been living an ordinary life until suddenly being chosen by the holy sword, she still seemed to lack awareness of her role as a hero.

It probably didn’t help that I had already handled most of the combat events that were supposed to help her grow and awaken in the original story.

“But, Miss Mira, how did you do it? You weren’t pushed back by those creatures at all. If anything, you seemed to overwhelm them. Even if they were degraded versions…”

Aria trailed off without finishing her question.

As she said, even though they were degraded versions, they were still Legion Commanders after all. Brunhilde and Aria had struggled tremendously even when facing just one each. Unlike me.

“Well. I just did it and it worked.”

Since I couldn’t tell them that I had nearly defeated the original version in battle before, I gave a vague answer. Brunhilde playfully jeered that if I didn’t want to answer, I should just say so honestly.

“Hmm…”

“What is it?”

I asked when I noticed Aria making a slightly ambiguous expression. She looked like something was troubling her.

“It’s nothing. You’re just much more impressive than I expected. I had no idea you were this skilled.”

The expression on Aria’s face as she said this had become peculiar enough that anyone perceptive would notice immediately. I couldn’t figure out why she was acting this way. Surely she wasn’t upset about never being able to take the top rank from me?

“Looking at me like that won’t make me give up my top rank. Sorry. I made a promise at the entrance ceremony that I have to keep.”

“…Pardon?”

Aria’s eyes widened.

‘Huh?’

That wasn’t it?

While I was confused, Aria’s face, which had seemed to be struggling to maintain her usual kind smile, relaxed into a natural one again.

“Ah, yes. That’s right. I don’t want to take that from you either. I’m sorry, I was being thoughtless…”

“Stop bullying Aria, Mira. I warned you. If you’re going to do that, do it to me instead. Why pick on someone so nice?”

“Would you stop bullying me too? What are you doing? Aren’t you hot?”

Brunhilde was practically climbing on top of me now. Her chin was pressing down on the top of my head, and I could feel something soft near my neck. Aria fidgeted awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

“I-it’s fine, Leona. I like perceptive people…”

“See? She likes you, Mira.”

“What are you saying? Stop saying weird things. You’re not even skilled.”

“…”

Brunhilde’s expression immediately changed to one of disbelief. She probably hadn’t heard anyone call her unskilled since obtaining the holy sword.

But what could I do? It was the truth. She had struggled desperately just to defeat one degraded Legion Commander, and in the end, I had to step in and help her.

At least Aria knew her limitations and played defensively to buy time, but Brunhilde, emboldened by the holy sword, had focused solely on attacking, which led to the situation.

Honestly, if I hadn’t intervened, she might have received a serious injury judgment and been forcibly teleported out of the dungeon. She was only here in one piece because of me, even if she was a bit tired.

“Well… I’m not that unskilled… I’m confident I can beat anyone except you, Mira…”

Brunhilde seemed to know this fact as well, as she could only mutter weakly without making any real rebuttal. Maybe I should tease her a bit more.

“As soon as we entered, you stepped forward saying to trust you, and then the slime—”

“Okay, okay! Enough! Stop!”

Her healthy, robust body pushed against me insistently. She had successfully recalled the incident when she fell into a slime trap less than 10 seconds after we entered this dungeon.

Thanks to that, her stockings had half-dissolved and she had to take them off. If I hadn’t pulled her out quickly, the rest of her clothes might have dissolved too.

After about 30 minutes of rest, we started moving again. Brunhilde faced the Legion Commander with a very determined expression. Her gritted teeth were evident in her movements.

Still, she was no match for me. Brunhilde finally managed to completely defeat one Legion Commander and came to boast to me, only to find me already finished with my battle and watching her, which left her with a dejected expression.

“Why don’t you just be the hero instead?”

“Not a chance.”

Judging by her grinning face, it was probably a joke, but making such jokes wasn’t exactly a good sign. I wondered if I had used too much power in my determination to keep the top rank.

‘I should probably boost her confidence somehow.’

I wondered if there was a good way to do that.

Our ultimate goal was no longer the Demon Lord anyway. The Demon Lord was likely a possession victim too. If confirmed as a possessed person, there would be no reason to fight or kill them unnecessarily.

They were probably being controlled like Priscilla or Rosaria, forced to follow the original storyline.

With these doubts in mind, I continued downward, and after a total journey of 9 hours, we finally reached the last floor where the dungeon core was located. Brunhilde panted heavily as she put her empty water bottle back in the backpack.

“…Wow, this is seriously tough. And you’re saying these will eventually last two nights and three days?”

“Next time, I’ll need to manage my stamina better.”

Even considering that only our team’s difficulty had been unreasonably increased, Brunhilde and Aria’s stamina had reached their limits. Especially Brunhilde, who had been pushing herself since the middle, looked like she could collapse at any moment.

“Good job, both of you. I’ll handle the last part.”

A knight covered in black armor was guarding the dungeon core. Black mist leaked from the thick armor covering their entire body, enveloping the surroundings in darkness.

It was Durahan, the 1st Legion Commander of the Demon Lord’s army.

Sensing our approach, he began walking toward us, dispersing black mist. I drew Eternity and walked directly toward him.

“One moment, please.”

Just as I infused Eternity with mana, an elderly voice came from somewhere. Simultaneously, Durahan froze in place. As we stood there confused, someone appeared in midair.

It was a woman who looked to be at least 80 years old. The elderly woman leaned on her magic staff like a walking stick and smiled kindly.

“Now that you’ve come this far, I believe further fighting would be meaningless. This place was never designed with the expectation that anyone would reach here. So why don’t you put down your weapons first and let’s think this through?”

“…Who are you?”

I asked, maintaining my vigilance. The old woman chuckled and answered.

“I am the archmage who created this dungeon. And…”

She paused slightly, narrowing her eyes.

“I am also the crown prince’s mentor.”