Chapter 35: An experiential learning that becomes bones and flesh Part 3

Northern Military Camp.

The place, filled with a bone-chilling cold, was home to faces that had long since grown accustomed to it.

That didn’t mean there had never been newcomers.

Rather, it was simply that inexperienced recruits found it nearly impossible to endure the harsh frontlines of the North.

Out of ten, three would die, five would give up and leave, and only two—those who barely managed to persevere—would remain on the northern front.

Perhaps that was why.

***

“I am Professor Letter Yurt of Primus. I look forward to working with you.”

When a girl, who introduced herself as a professor, arrived at the camp with students from Primus…
When she even went so far as to set up a new tent in an empty lot and have the students stay there…

‘Let’s see how long they last.’

‘What kind of joke is this?’

Most of the soldiers in the camp regarded Letter’s actions as nothing more than the eccentric behavior of a strange child.

It wasn’t that they looked down on the dragon emblem embroidered on her pristine white robe.

They simply couldn’t understand why she insisted on having students live alongside the soldiers.

Even so, no one dared to interfere—because the order had come from Belgard Lionheart himself.

“The lord’s guests. Don’t do anything foolish. If the students ask you something, answer them as best as you can.”

Strictly speaking, Belgard himself didn’t understand Letter either.

However, since Theodor, the head of the household, had personally instructed him to let Letter do as she pleased…

For now, they had no choice but to allow Letter and her students to stay at the camp as she requested.

***

Thus began their shared life.

They took part in routine tasks, inspecting the camp’s various facilities.

They ate the same tasteless meals.

Unexpectedly, they even wished to accompany the scouts on missions beyond the camp.

“Professor, no matter what, it’s difficult to move with such a large group. It’ll only increase the risk of exposure to them.”

Reconnaissance was typically conducted by small, discreet units to gather intelligence on enemy movements, terrain, and troop deployments.

Since gathering information on the enemy was the most critical aspect of warfare, it was hard to justify taking an inexperienced girl and her students along.

And yet—

“In groups of three or four at a time. I will accompany them as well. Please allow the students to witness the frontline situation firsthand.”

Letter refused to back down.

Eventually, a compromise was made: they would retreat immediately at the first sign of danger.

With that condition in place, her request was granted.

As a result, a handful of nervous students gathered in the center of the camp, receiving instructions from Letter.

The sight of them drew casual remarks from the soldiers.

“A field trip with kids now? The North really is a strange place.”

“Don’t scare them too much, Vector. You never know, we might run into them again later.”

“Yeah, try to keep them on our side. They’re from Primus, after all—some of them might actually be useful.”

To the soldiers, this reconnaissance mission with the students was of little importance.

To put it bluntly, they were nothing more than extra baggage.

***

But when they crossed the camp’s perimeter— And when they stepped into the dark forest near the frontlines of the demon army—

—Clatter, clatter.

—Sssk… Sssk, sssk…

“…!”

They discovered creatures moving through the shadows.

Skeletons, stripped down to bare bones.

Chimeras, grotesque amalgamations of corpses and golems.

All of them.

Just as Letter had been warned, the situation carried a genuine risk.

The veteran soldiers’ expressions hardened.

Fortunately, the number of enemies wasn’t overwhelming.

However, fighting while also protecting the students meant an increased chance of unpredictable complications.

That alone was enough reason to—

—Tap.

A hand reached out, stopping Letter as she attempted to approach the monsters without hesitation.

“Let’s go back, Professor.”

“No, this is a suitable opportunity.”

“It’s dangerous. There could be more of them nearby.”

“There aren’t.”

“…What?”

Ignoring the soldiers, Letter turned to her students.

Her youthful voice calmly asked how they should respond in this situation.

The students, caught off guard by the sudden question, only blinked.

But after a brief moment of realization, they managed to recall Letter’s prior lessons and answered to the best of their knowledge.

“In that case, let’s put it into practice.”

“…What?”

Another question.

Another statement that sent a cold chill down their spines.

The students’ faces paled.

Of course, they knew— In theory, they understood how to handle monsters like these.

But actually confronting them was an entirely different matter.

The truth was, they were afraid.

The creatures standing before them belonged to the demon army—beings that lived for the sole purpose of killing humans like them.

Desperately, they tried to argue.

Fighting them was impossible.

‘Shouldn’t they just return to camp, as the soldiers had suggested?’

“…Professor…”

A voice trembling with fear, laced with a faint hope for escape.

But Letter, her expression as composed as ever, merely replied:

“Did I not promise that no one would be harmed?”

She continued, her voice unwavering.

“Let’s start by facing them. I will lead. You don’t need to worry too much.”

There was no option to return to camp.

Sweat began to trickle down the students’ foreheads.

And yet—

“First, please wait here. I’ll call you when the time comes.”

• Step.
• Step, step.

***

“Professor…!!”

As Letter’s footsteps finally carried her toward the monstrous beings beyond, the students could do nothing but watch.

The soldiers who had been leading the students were no different.

“Damn…!”

“He’s completely lost it!”

• Tatatat!

Aside from the two who urgently followed to protect Letter, everyone else watched her with serious expressions.

They knew a professor from Primus wouldn’t be weak, but Letter’s characteristically youthful appearance
sparked more concern and doubt than trust.

Then, the monsters noticed Letter’s presence.

Their subsequent movements made it clear—they saw him as an enemy.

And at some point, small points began rising from the surrounding soil.

***

『Bind』

Ssshhk.

As soon as the single-word spell was cast, the dots turned into lines, and the lines into planes, rising into the air.

What unfolded next was a precise movement, as if delicately pinning down insects for preservation.

Letter’s fingertips traced the air, and those tiny lines followed his gesture, soaring toward the monsters.

Then—crack.

With the sound of twisting joints, the creatures were impaled.

They could only tremble in place, unable to move any further.

Another magic circle appeared.

The threads of mana that now streamed down wove even tighter around the creatures.

The thin threads burrowed between the monsters’ joints, leaving no room even for trembling.

***

Step. Step.

“Hmm…?”

A small figure approached the immobilized monsters, close enough to reach out and touch them.

Letter examined the creatures she had bound, then turned her head.

And then—

“You can come now~!”

She called out loudly to the students, who had been watching her all this time.

Yet, their feet remained planted.

They still didn’t seem convinced it was safe.

So, to make it absolutely clear that the monsters were completely incapacitated—

• Swish.
• Smack!

She gave a casual high-five to the hand of a glaring skeleton.

The students went beyond mere shock—they were horrified.

However, it seemed as if Letter would do something even riskier if they didn’t go to her.

“…Let’s go.”

“Haa…”

In the end, they had no choice but to walk toward Letter.

There was no other way.

As soon as they reached her, her small mouth opened once more.

“What do you think?”

“What… do you mean?”

“Do you think you can do it? Fight.”

Her face was as calm as ever.

And with that, the students finally realized that fighting the monsters was their inevitable fate.

Still, as long as Letter had them completely restrained like this…

“…We’ll give it a try.”

They thought at least taking them down might be possible—

• Clatter.

“?!”

The moment they stepped one step closer to the monsters, the creatures flinched.

For a split second, it felt like Letter’s binding had loosened.

‘Was it just their imagination?’

“It’s fine, really. Don’t be scared. I’ll stop them before they ‘touch’ you.”

“…What?”

No, it wasn’t their imagination.

This insane professor was clearly using the monsters and students as pieces in some kind of puppet show.

Not just the students, but even the soldiers, who had been watching Letter with bewildered eyes, were left speechless.

“Alright, everyone—good luck!”

‘…She’s insane…’

***

“I heard we had visitors from Primus.”

“That’s just a rumor, sir. Why would anyone come to such a dangerous place?”

“Hmm, I heard a professor bearing the insignia of an ancient dragon arrived.”

“Wait… hold on.”

“We should at least give them a proper welcome. Let’s go, Sharne.”

“Ah, no! You can’t!!”

“Tch.”