episode_0219

“Eve, do you have someone you like?”

“…No.”

“Aw, come on. How long are you going to keep hiding it?”

“…….”

A sharp sword and a heavy shield. Hidden within the trembling, moist voice is a sharp intention. Behind the silent answer lies a firm conviction as it appears.

Yuri and Eve’s conversation seemed like a display of such attacks and defenses. Even with her characteristically friendly tone, subtly probing, she shows not the slightest wavering. Now, she’s asking directly.

Trickle, trickle, trickle—

The sound of the flowing river resounds quietly. Yuri, having stopped her barrage of questions, quietly hugged her knees, only turning her head slightly to look at Eve.

“…….”

This time, it was Yuri’s silence. She hasn’t given up on the conversation. Instead, she deliberately creates a stillness that contrasts with the previous commotion, making the halted conversation even more uncomfortable—a strategic move.

Yuri held the initiative. As time passed, Eve, lacking control, grew increasingly anxious. And beside her, Yuri sent a warm gaze, intending to wear her down.

It was the moment Eve parted her lips to speak.

“I—”

“If you don’t want to, I’ll go first. The person I like is my older sister!”

As if rendering Eve’s arduous effort to speak futile, Yuri cut in first, smiling brightly.

Eve’s brow furrowed deeply. A sigh escaped her lips, like air leaking from a balloon. Though immense frustration welled up, she didn’t even feel like getting angry. You can’t bite the hand that feeds you, so to speak.

“Since you’ve already heard our whole story, I’ll tell you. I was born far away… in the Hinata Duchy.”

Whether pleasant or not, Yuri’s story had begun. Why did talking about someone she liked require going all the way back to the day she was born? With a half-hearted attitude, she propped up her chin and stared blankly.

Blah blah blah. From her childhood helping her parents at their inn, to the moment she fled to the Knipflanz Kingdom after experiencing war. Even while pretending not to listen, Eve couldn’t ignore such an unfortunate story. Because it felt like her own.

“When did you first meet the Princess, you know?”

“Someone like that… must have had a pretty good life, I guess.”

“Hee hee, not at all. The first time I met the Princess, she was a total wreck. She didn’t bathe at all, she smelled awful.”

Eve’s gaze wavered slightly. She hadn’t heard such stories before. She always thought of her as a flawless being born with everything. Except for one thing—lack of control over her sexual desires. Even that, however, was understandable as a ‘heroine who loves men’.

Yuri recounted the events of that time in detail. She described the princess’s picky eating, her ignoring her attendants’ requests, wielding her sword while her skirt swished dramatically—really, a complete account of her unruly behavior.

“But even in the capital or the Venetian market, she always received the people’s welcome. Do you know why?”

“…Because she was pretty?”

“Yes, that too. But the important thing is—”

Swish—

Yuri twisted her body slightly, leaning on a river rock. Then, she leaned close to Eve, who sat beside her.

“When you meet people, always look into their eyes. It’s not about their appearance, but what’s inside. Their emotions, thoughts, values, habits, and so on.”

Her eyes, bathed in moonlight, shone brightly. Looking into those eyes, Eve felt something pass through her heart. As her heart stirred, Eve’s eyes began to tremble uncontrollably, betraying her emotions.

“Actually, I don’t remember what was around me when I conveyed my true feelings to Her Highness. It was probably a cold winter, but it was such a warm moment. Even though my body and mind were frozen, something inside… something burned so fiercely.”

Yuri clasped her chest with her small hands. Her hands trembled violently from the sheer force applied. An unhidden, genuine feeling. It was a complete outpouring of her heart, something even Eve, who wasn’t good at relating to people, could feel.

In the end, she surrendered.

“…Right. I felt that emotion too. I don’t remember it clearly now, but… it was similar, I suppose. I’m on an adventure to rediscover that feeling.”

“Right? I knew it. Eve just looks like a girl in love.”

Their conversation blossomed under the moonlight, tinged with affection. They exchanged meaningless words for a long time, until yawns escaped and their eyes grew heavy.

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The sun rose.

The morning in the mock dungeon arrived just as it did outside. The bonfire, completely burned out during the night, left only embers, silently emitting smoke.

One by one, the cadets opened their sleeping bags and got up. Thanks to the mild climate, they had slept well despite camping. They started to tidy their space, stretching to loosen their stiff bodies.

「Good morning, everyone.」

As they were simply drinking something to quench their throats, Nari’s voice echoed through the communicator.

The reason the cadets had been able to sleep peacefully was all thanks to her. By taking turns using her spirit clones to guard the perimeter of the safe zone, they didn’t need to station guards inside the dungeon itself.

Other parties probably couldn’t all get enough sleep without an observer outside the dungeon. Even in a safe zone, you never know what could happen outside. It was too dangerous for everyone to close their eyes.

Yuri stretched, looking somewhere in the sky. She probably sensed the presence of the visual magic illuminating the inside of the dungeon. Using her sensory abilities, she found the transparent camera and cautiously waved.

「Good morning, unni.」

「Good morning. Check on each of the kids. Are you feeling alright anywhere?」

「Uh… except for ‘that’…」

「We’re in the middle of an exam, Yuri. Just bear with it a little longer.」

For the record, the Nari communication network was a shared communication network. There weren’t any direct words in their conversation. But the moisture in Yuri’s voice made the male cadets busy packing up their morning tents.

Rest ends here.

As the sun rose, new supplies arrived through the portal. The cadets quickly finished their meals and began to prepare for their work.

Day 2 of the inter-class competition. About 20 hours had passed, and the exam was about a third of the way done. Nari explained the night’s reconnaissance to everyone.

「As expected, everyone was working hard, even at night. They’re probably trying to seize this opportunity now that the number of competitors has thinned considerably. I couldn’t count them all, but several parties went out hunting at night. They’ve probably started to rest by now.」

Generally, moving around at night is unsafe. But by flipping that perception, it means that the hunting grounds are empty at night. You can get lots of points freely without conflict with other parties.

Therefore, numerous parties had divided their personnel to occupy the night hunting grounds. Many pristine monster areas still remained around 1-A’s safe zone, but the opposite side of the hemispherical dungeon was different, apparently.

Of course, Nari pointed out the issue of rest. Rest is essential during an adventure. No matter how much you camp, you can’t fully recover from fatigue while outdoors. In fact, several parties failed to manage their stamina and had dropouts.

「We don’t need to rush. Let’s rest properly when we need to, and work properly when we need to.」

Not all of the cadets had slept undisturbed, but most had recovered from the first day’s intense battles. Their stamina was also fully restored.

They all clenched their fists, full of motivation.

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Nari outside the barrier had also had enough rest.

Although complete recovery was impossible as long as her spirit clones were split, her vastly reduced number of clones and reduced ether consumption made it much better. Nari’s not just eyes. As long as she just had to watch the area around 1-A’s safe zone she could save a lot of power.

It was all for the second day. Parties that suffered heavy losses the previous day would probably seek revenge, while those who didn’t suffer losses would start to act freely. Either way, there was no room for complacency.

Returning again to four people, Nari took her place and focused on the broadcast screen.

“Good morning, everyone! It seems that many of you have gone to sleep and are slowly returning. I also had a good night’s sleep and kept watch with Reti-unni. I promise to deliver the best broadcast to you all today! The moment I said that, many parties have started their activities! Everyone, tighten your belts again—!!”

Mety and Reti had stayed up all night. When Shuti, the eldest sister, went to take a rest, Mety switched places with her. While nothing particularly exciting, such as a battle between Pita, happened, Mety did her best to broadcast the night hunting.

“Let me explain it again for those who just arrived. Many parties hunted monsters during the night. It’s mostly because it is less likely to clash with the other parties. It was a good choice for those who are confident in their stamina management and combat skills. That’s because one party has already earned close to 1500 points.”

Mety’s passionate commentary and Reti’s cool commentary combined. Each of their strengths complemented each other, making for a well-balanced combination. The audience was able to understand precisely what was happening, whilst also being swept up in the heat of battle.

And that was true for Nari as well.

Most of the night’s action took place on the opposite side of 1-A. This meant that there were still quite a few monsters left in this area.

Naturally, it would take some time for other parties to notice this. Their approach would have to be proactive. This opportunity has to be used before they become aware of it.

“Yuri, Delta, let’s also stick to hunting. Even if we find treasure areas or boss areas, we can’t get points right away. Let’s finish the easy hunting quickly.”

“Have you identified the defenses? It’s 8 AM now. Use the shadows and do it intelligently. Alpha starts in the north.”

“Beta is east—”

“And Delta is south. Let’s split into three groups and make a big circle around here.”

“Gamma, keep a low profile, keep an eye on the other squads. I’ll signal if something happens.”

The systematically divided personnel began to perform their roles.

‘Today only. Let’s go all out.’

At first glance, it looked like they were working hard according to regulations. However, Nari never intended to follow the rules.

“Kuku…”

Her head was filled with vicious schemes concocted with Nix before the exam.