Chapter 11: Top and humiliation

“Ahem, ahem……”

While I was quietly walking lost in thought, the Regressor approached my side and cleared her throat.

When I pretended not to hear and kept walking forward, she cautiously moved even closer.

Although I feigned ignorance, I actually knew that the Regressor had been glaring at me for a while.

Her gaze was especially intense when I was looking at the booklet with another team member because I didn’t have one.

It wasn’t a murderous glare, but more like… she was staring at the team member next to me with a chillingly blank expression.

Unlike Hestia’s empty, expressionless face, I could feel that hers was filled with some kind of emotion.

Honestly, it was scary enough to remind me of when she secretly broke into my dorm room before.

“Hmph, ahem.”

The Regressor diligently signaled that she was next to me and had something to say.

Yet, when I remained silent, she seemed frustrated and finally spoke first.

“We… since we’ve become teammates, isn’t it fate? Shall we introduce ourselves?”

“Yes, well……”

“I’m Elisha. We’ll probably see each other often from now on, so make sure to remember it. Got it?”

“I’ll remember.”

When I answered curtly, Elisha slyly poked my side with her index finger.

I tried to ignore the ticklish sensation, and she poked my side again, whispering.

“You… don’t really need to know the other kids’ names. You only need to know mine anyway. Right?”

“……”

I only moved my eyes to glance at her and saw her with her head bowed low.

Though not in detail, I could faintly see her expression from the side.

‘…It’s the same chillingly blank expression as before.’

‘……What exactly is that expression that occasionally appears whenever she talks to me…?’

‘Yet, as soon as our eyes meet, she pretends it’s nothing and just smiles, but does she really think I won’t notice?’

‘It seems Elisha is getting stranger with each regression.’

‘Certainly, up until the second regression, she would personally introduce the other team members, including their names, telling me to get along with them.’

‘But from the third regression, she started skipping introductions for other team members besides herself… and now she’s just telling me to remember her name.’

‘She might not be aware of it herself, but judging by her tone and expression, it’s almost like a threat.’

‘Her expression is one thing, but if she speaks like that, anyone would be scared…’

‘Especially how her words become strangely fast whenever her emotions intensify… I seriously suspect mental instability due to regression.’

– Poke! Poke!

“……”

I moved one step to the side to avoid Elisha’s hand, which had been poking my side for a while.

In any case, it’s clear that Elisha’s condition has been strange recently.

She has clearly grown enough to approach information about the black cross necklace, but for some reason, she’s obsessing over strange things…

– Poke!

‘Ah, she’s really persistent…!’

Recognition.

[Interferes with the mind of the entity it touches.]

Perception.

[Senses are felt, but no physical entity exists.]

I deceived Elisha’s senses, who was bothering me.

She might be under the illusion that she’s poking my side, but in reality, her finger is suspended in the air slightly away from my body.

‘Stay like that for a while.’

Unfortunately, this is just a trick, so if I get too far away, she might notice.

I need to maintain exactly this distance.

I continued to ignore Elisha, who was poking her finger into thin air, and slowly surveyed my surroundings.

The sound of leaves rustling in the wind, the sound of Elisha and her team members stepping on dirt and broken twigs.

These were common sounds of nature that anyone could hear by listening in any forest, but to my ears, which had better hearing than others, something else was also audible.

– Sniff!

A dog searching for prey, or… the sound of a wolf sniffing.

Although it was a bit far away, if it picked up our scent, it would rush over in the blink of an eye.

It was a stronger monster than freshmen might be able to handle, but I wasn’t particularly worried.

Because our team had Elisha, of all people.

Elisha, whom I encountered while fleeing after stealing the Holy Maiden’s necklace.

At that time, she was much stronger than expected, and I was certain that she had found the secret martial arts manual containing the ‘forgotten martial arts’.

Still, accurate confirmation was needed, so I managed to successfully retrieve the necklace and later investigated separately.

And just as I expected, the secret manual, which should have turned to dust on the first day of regression, had vanished completely without a trace, leaving not even a speck of dust.

It seemed Elisha had succeeded in preserving the secret manual through some method.

Elisha, having learned new martial arts, had become strong enough to rival Hestia, if not quite as strong as the Holy Maiden at this point.

‘……That monster, which just picked up our scent and is rushing over, can probably be handled easily.’

“Huh? It looks like something’s coming from over there?”

I pointed my finger in the direction the monster was coming from.

The team members walking with me immediately reacted.

“What? Where?”

“M-monster?”

As soon as they heard me, their quick movements to arm themselves were quite impressive.

As expected, the Combat Department is indeed the Combat Department.

Just as I was about to draw the sword I had prepared…

Elisha suddenly grabbed my wrist tightly.

“Why suddenly……”

I tried to pull my hand away with a little force, but it didn’t come loose easily.

She didn’t seem to have any intention of letting go of my wrist.

I looked at Elisha, and Elisha also looked at me.

Her sky-blue eyes, meeting my black ones, were somehow flickering slightly.

“You, why do you keep avoiding me?”

“Huh……?”

“Is it because I suddenly rushed at you on the orientation day? Are you still angry about that?”

“……”

“I-I was just happy to see you! W-we were actually friends a long time ago! Don’t you remember…?”

‘……Whether I remember or not, we’d never even met before I entered the academy, so why are you trying to distort someone else’s memories?’

‘And when did you deactivate my ability?’

I swallowed the sigh that had risen to my throat and spoke softly to Elisha.

“A monster is coming right now.”

“Huh, huh?”

“I need to prepare to fight too, you know. Elisha, you should also get ready for combat quickly.”

“Ah…! Got it!”

She hastily pulled out the spear she had slung on her back.

Unlike her hurried and flustered appearance, as soon as she held the weapon, she adopted a proper stance.

As expected of the Regressor, she looked skilled in combat.

I also took a stance and waited, facing the direction the monster was coming from.

From now on, I just needed to follow Elisha’s orders as the team leader.

Soon after, she stood in front of me and gave a loud command.

“I’ll take the vanguard! Lena and Tiara, take the rear!”

“Phew… Got it!”

“Ugh, I’m nervous……”

As soon as they heard the team leader’s command, the two took their respective positions.

Elisha was still standing in front of me, and the two called Lena and Tiara stood behind me.

But……

‘Why did it turn into a formation where three people were surrounding me?’

“Just in case, stay close behind me. If it gets dangerous, just run away, even if it’s by yourself. Understood?”

“Okay!”

“Understood.”

Lena and Tiara nodded at Elisha’s words.

It seemed she was speaking to everyone, implying that if it got dangerous, she’d handle it herself, and safety was the top priority.

“……”

“……”

‘……Okay, I get it, just stop staring at me.’

“I will.”

“Good!”

Only after hearing my reply did she turn her gaze forward.

As I waited under Elisha’s protection, the sound of an animal’s footsteps soon became audible.

– Woof!

Simultaneously with the faint bark of a wolf, the monster emerged from the bushes at terrifying speed.

It immediately opened its maw wide, aiming for Elisha’s neck, but she wasn’t easily caught off guard.

Elisha lightly swung her spear, forcefully striking the side of the monster’s head as it charged at her.

– Yelp!

Its head snapped violently, and it was sent flying far away.

I wondered if she had defeated it in one blow, but the creature quickly regained its senses and began to eye us warily.

It seemed to think it had been ambushed after attacking first, looking thoroughly enraged.

“That is……”

“Why? What does the booklet say?”

“Dire Wolf. It says it’s more aggressive and has superior physical abilities than a regular wolf. It’s also a bit larger than the average size.”

Compared to the monsters other students would catch in this practical training, it was strong, but for our team, it wasn’t that dangerous.

Dire Wolf.

At most, it was only slightly stronger than an ordinary tiger, meaning it was a monster that students of the academy’s Combat Department, who surpassed ordinary people, could handle without much difficulty.

The students participating in this class were freshmen, so they might find it a bit challenging, but our team had Elisha.

A mere Dire Wolf couldn’t possibly be a threat to her now.

– Thwack! Thwack!

As expected, the Dire Wolf was beaten like a dog by Elisha.

The two team members in the rear occasionally assisted.

Under their offensive, the Dire Wolf eventually breathed its last.

As for me……

I couldn’t do anything.

Yes, it wasn’t that I didn’t do anything, but that I couldn’t.

Every time I tried to step forward, Elisha kept pushing me back with her arm.

As a result, I achieved the remarkable feat of contributing 0 to the Dire Wolf hunt.

“……”

Standing behind Elisha, who was cutting off the deceased Dire Wolf’s head and putting it into a sack, I let out a deep sigh.

It seems my sighs are only increasing as time goes on.

I have no idea what that woman thinks of me.

****

I had been on the same team as Elisha in every regression.

So, were the monsters we faced in practical training always Dire Wolves?

To get straight to the point, that’s somewhat correct.

In the immediately preceding regression, Elisha’s team and mine also faced a Dire Wolf.

However, in earlier regressions, it was a bit different.

Sometimes we found small slimes, and other times we encountered golems that were hard to find.

The reason the monsters encountered differed with each regression was that Elisha’s path was different each time.

I don’t know what kind of change she wanted to make, but she kept looking for different monsters.

However, this regression was a bit peculiar.

Elisha chose the same path as the previous regression and is facing the same Dire Wolf.

Did she see something special in the last regression?

Although I was curious about the reason, since it was a small change, I thought it might be fine not to worry too much about it.

“O-oh no! I accidentally got caught in the vines… It’s okay if you inevitably touch me all over, so please help me quickly…!”

“……”

“……”

“……”

“Oh, Lena and Tiara, keep an eye out for monsters.”

‘……That was until just now.’

‘In my opinion, she definitely has a mental problem.’