episode_0022

“It’s not my place to say this, but isn’t it too tough for a mock exam?”

It’s a maze that I’ve been running around until I’m sick of it in the game, but I can’t say ‘I’m a maze expert’, so I take my chances like this.

“Certainly, compared to last year, there are more traps and monsters popping out than usual.”

Lulu, who heard my words, stroked my head with an indifferent expression.

The reason is that I didn’t say anything to Elfin or Ion after I magically tied up the monsters that appeared from an angle that Lulu couldn’t cover in the previous battle.

It was clear that Lulu, with her strong self-esteem, wanted to hide the fact that she had lost her enemy in a mock labyrinth practice session.

“Something seems off, Lulu. Your Highness, have you ever tried the mock labyrinth before entering the academy?”

Ion agrees with Lulu’s words and asks Elfin. Elfin also nodded while munching on the chocolate bar I gave him.

“That’s right. But I’ve never done a mock maze of this level of difficulty.”

It’s been three hours since I entered the mock labyrinth. Since the time unit is different in a game anyway, it’s just a tutorial level that can be cleared three times.

You won’t encounter monsters very often, and when it comes to traps, there’s a literal tutorial that even teaches you how to distinguish traps.

But this place is supposed to be another reality anyway, and there are no tutorials or anything like that.

During these three hours, I encountered the monster hordes about five times, and it became my job to figure out the traps.

In the first place, I usually go through this mock maze, and I only spent the first 15 minutes or so after entering the maze figuring out the gap between the game and this place, and then I found traps that were in the game and traps that weren’t there but are here.

“It’s a good thing my junior is good at finding traps. Otherwise, I would have had a hard time.”

At Ion’s words, not only Elfin, but surprisingly even Lulu nodded.

“Ain, have you ever been to the labyrinth before entering the academy?”

Elfin asked me that, but I shook my head. If the background information that was automatically provided when creating a character didn’t state ‘experience exploring a labyrinth’, then it’s better to be honest and say no.

“No. It just caught my eye.”

This may be because I am a player, but there are faint traces in the game where I can discern traps even without skills.

These traces become harder to find as you progress through the higher difficulty labyrinths, and in the highest difficulty levels, there may be no traces at all.

But, as if to prove that this is just a tutorial dungeon, a quick look reveals that it is a trap.

Some things are faintly highlighted only to my eyes.

“My junior knows a lot about things other than healing magic, so things are okay. Shall we start again now?”

Since Ion has been tacitly appointed as the team leader, everyone stands up and prepares to depart at her words.

“Senior Lulu, are you smoking a magic herb?”

“No. …You really?”

Since I have used up quite a bit of my spell slots due to repeated battles, I take out one of the magic herbs prepared by type from my bag.

I tried all the different types of magic herbs in the store, and I have selected the ones that worked best for me.

“Oh, Your Highness. Have you ever seen a male burning magic grass? It’s my first time seeing one.”

“…I saw the second country smoke when I was young…”

No matter what my teammates say, I take a deep breath as I put a magic herb into the antique bear quill that I bought from an outside academy store last weekend. (Of course, I bought it right away because it had the option to increase the magic herb effect.)

“This, this… When you reach the level of a junior, you can make a painting just by lighting a magic candle.”

“Yes, but I become a spectacle every time I smoke.”

The last time I went to a place where they were smoking magic weed, I remembered the females staring at me as if they had seen an animal that stood on two legs and talked (of course, the people here are animals that stand on two legs and talk), forgetting that the magic weed was burning, and I made a joke about it.

“If the Empress finds out you’re smoking magic candles, she’ll drag you to the palace and make you her magic candle buddy.”

“Who in the world would smoke a magic herb in front of the Empress?”

Elfin shrugged and answered, but it was a bit creepy to think that it could happen if you were unlucky.

“You didn’t tell the Empress that I was smoking a magic herb, did you?”

“No way.”

Elfin scrunches his face as if he doesn’t even want to imagine it.

“You’d better not do that, Your Highness. If you don’t want to see this guy become a pretty doll that smokes the Empress’s magic herb.”

Lulu seemed to think the same thing, as she stared in the direction we should go.

“I’ll be careful, but I can’t guarantee anything since the Empress’s eyes are everywhere.”

“…I guess so.”

They say that a sad premonition never goes wrong. If everyone raises their flags like this, it’s almost like it’s a fait accompli.

“Ain, what time is it now?”

As I hear Lulu’s tired voice from behind me, I take my pocket watch out of my bosom.

“…It’s 9:40 PM. Maybe we should get ready for camping.”

Ion, who had been walking ahead of our conversation, nods his head.

“Let’s prepare for camping as soon as a suitable space appears.”

After wandering around for another 30 minutes, we came across a nice space that seemed like it could fit three or four tents, and we all started taking out our tents from our bags.

“Junior, I prepared a standard camping tent. The males are like…”

“Are you preparing a uselessly fancy tent?”

“Haha, I didn’t mean to say anything bad about the male. If it’s a standard tent, you can set it up with your eyes closed, so can you please prepare some food for me?”

Accepting Ion’s offer, I leave the tent with her and take the campfire kit out of my bag.

“Senior Lulu will do the alarm magic, right?”

“Go eat. I’ll take care of it.”

Having become accustomed to Lulu’s rudeness, I answered her by asking her what she wanted to eat.

“Meat, definitely meat. If you’re going camping, that is.”

“Yes, I understand.”

If there are any advantages to this over reality, there are many, including the fact that your bag doesn’t get bigger than a certain size even if you carry a lot of luggage, and you don’t need a cooler or anything for your groceries.

My bag isn’t that big, but it’s been expanded a lot thanks to the space expansion magic, and the food is as fresh as if it had just been in the refrigerator thanks to the food preservation magic.

“I’ll grill it generously.”

“How much food did you bring?”

“About 10 days worth? Just in case.”

“That won’t happen, so let’s eat a lot, junior. Haha!”

Team members who have quickly finished setting up their tents gather around a fire pit on top of a campfire kit.

I thought it might be a game made in Korea, but there were a lot of Korean meats (like pork belly, pork neck, and ribs) in the medieval fantasy setting, so I brought them all.

“The smell of meat is incredible, junior!”

“All meat is the same, right?”

“I guess you want to say that the meat cooked by a male is different.”

When Lulu snorted and said that, Ion just laughed awkwardly, perhaps because his next line was taken away.

“The labyrinth progress feels slow. Is that true?”

As I spoke, taking out the utensils and other things to eat while the meat was cooking, Ion nodded.

“Originally, this labyrinth would be finished in about two days. But at this rate… if I’m unlucky, it might take more than four days.”

I nodded at Ion’s answer and turned the meat over.

I look at the meat cooking with a sizzling sound and wonder what on earth could possibly happen.

Up until now, my life at the academy has been half as I knew it and half as situations I encountered for the first time, so it was possible that this labyrinth would be the same.

I should have at least thanked my past self for bringing enough supplies just in case.

After a while, the meal is ready, and while eating, you put aside your worries about the situation and enjoy the taste.

“After going camping… slurp slurp… This is the first time I’ve had such delicious food.”

“Really?”

When asked why, Ion swallows the meat he has stuffed into his mouth.

“Gulp… When we were first-years, our recovery magic professor never sent males to the mock labyrinth. That professor became a second-year professor following us… and the person who was our fifth-year professor at the time is now our first-year recovery magic professor. That professor always sends males to the mock labyrinth.”

“The unlucky old man went around saying that males are dangerous. Now, the professor is also a male, but he is on the side that insists that males should have this experience.”

Lulu, who was eating meat, also adds a word.

“I like it. I’m interested in mazes.”

To be exact, I was interested in the experience points, status, and rewards that could be gained from the labyrinth.

In fact, I have gained quite a bit of experience and status from fighting all day today. At this rate, even if I go all ten days with the food that allows, I will still feel good just looking at the status screen.

“I didn’t know that. It’s surprising that you’re interested in solving labyrinths, considering how hard it is to do so, junior.”

“There must be a male like that somewhere.”

“It’s right in front of you.”

Lulu, who was patting her stomach after finishing her meal, said with a sly smile.

After everyone finished eating, Lulu used her cleaning magic to neatly organize the cutlery and even the grill, and I put them back in my bag and got ready.

“How do I keep watch?”

“Three females can take turns doing it.”

“I’ll do it too.”

When I declared that I would also participate in the night watch, Ion smiled awkwardly.

“When males don’t get enough sleep, their fur becomes dull.”

“That’s the same for females too.”

I’m speaking as if Elfin is saying something, but as a team, it’s only natural that I participate in things like night watch.

“Instead, I’ll go first. Is that okay?”

“…haha…do as you wish, junior.”

“Oh my, if I told you that I went to the labyrinth with a male and that he insisted on being on guard duty, even my one-year-old nephew wouldn’t believe me.”

Lulu muttered as if she was annoyed.