The Return Journey (2)

After completing the three-day Humanities Exploration class, we boarded the carriages we had arrived in and began our return journey to the academy.

Compared to the original game’s difficulty, this assignment was at least two to three times harder.

Had Ethan and I not been there, I genuinely wondered how the eight members of the Hero’s Party would have managed to resolve it. No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t picture those eight defeating Hankerton and Mel without us.

‘Later, I heard that Village Chief Rombel’s boss fight was omitted, but still.’

It made sense, given that the original bosses-the Ocam Twins and Bandit King Hyuma-had already died during the bandit raid event. Unless something absurd like “Village Chief Rombel turned out to be a necromancer” happened, there was no way dead characters would suddenly reappear as bosses.

Still, the betrayal and death plot remained unchanged-it seemed the remaining bandits stabbed him to death during the battle. In any case, the three collaborators from Bridget Village all met unfortunate ends.

‘I’m exhausted, seriously.’

At least I could take some comfort in the fact that no one died.

By the way, the report cards for this class and the bandit subjugation rewards were placed outside our dormitory door at the village hall when we woke up. The professor never once showed their face to us until the very end.

「Class Grades – All: A+

Grading Rationale: Difficulty Adjustment Error

In the professor’s judgment, this class contained an error in difficulty adjustment, acknowledging that the current academy students were not at a level where they could handle such a challenge.

Therefore, all surviving participants who completed the primary objective of this class will receive the above grade. Class dismissed.」

「Bandit Subjugation Bounty

Bandit King Hyuma – 100 gold coins

Ocam Twins – 50 gold coins

Human Hunter Berry (alias Hankerton) – 80 gold coins

Black Witch Lanatel (alias Mel) – 50 gold coins

Other Bandit Subjugation Bounties – 20 gold coins

Divide the bounty among party members based on individual contributions. The professor will not interfere with the distribution.」

…For a moment, I was furious at the professor who had put us through such a near-death experience without even showing their face, but the hefty leather pouch containing 300 gold coins was enough to soothe that anger.

Money is always right. Besides, under normal circumstances, we would have had to identify which bounties were valid and then take the bandits’ heads to the guild to claim the rewards-a tedious process the professor had kindly handled for us.

In fact, I should probably be bowing 108 times in gratitude toward the Humanities Exploration professor. Though, with my calf still sore from the injury, I doubt I could manage even if asked.

“First, the Ocam Twins were taken down by Lil… Lady Rosewood and Prince Ethan, right? So we’ll set aside 50 gold coins for you two… Ah, and Mel was defeated by Lady Rosewood and Agnes, so…”

“Is there really a need to divide it so meticulously? The bounty totals 300 gold coins, and there are exactly ten of us, so I think we should just split it evenly-30 coins each.”

“…Are you sure? Lady Rosewood, you alone could claim 50 gold coins just for defeating the Ocam Twins and Mel.”

“I don’t consider myself solely responsible for that much of the reward. When we fought the Ocam Twins, the Hero’s Party was holding off Hyuma, allowing Prince Ethan and me to focus entirely on our battle. The same goes for Mel.

Besides, if we calculate it that way, then Saint Celista-who essentially saved Prince Ethan and me-could rightfully take our entire share, and neither of us would have any grounds to complain.”

“Th-that’s absurd…! I-I barely did anything-just praying while everyone else risked their lives in battle and healing afterward. I-I don’t even need a share…”

“Alright, Lady Rosewood has a point. Let’s split it evenly-30 gold coins each. Any objections?”

“None here!”

And so, the final reward that ended up in my hands was 30 gold coins-practically equivalent to a year’s salary.

A punctured calf for 30 gold coins. It was a tough ordeal, but not a bad trade in the end. Though I wouldn’t want to go through it again.

‘Adding this to what I’ve saved up, I should have around 120 gold coins now. That’s probably enough to buy a decent-sized building in a moderately large town, if not the imperial capital.’

With that much, I could either invest in a two-story building and start a business using my past-life knowledge or buy a reasonably spacious house to use as a base for adventuring.

Of course, real estate investment in a fantasy world was far too risky, so I’d have to consider alternative methods.

‘At this rate, I should be able to save up to 200 gold coins by the time I graduate from the academy.’

Lost in these happy thoughts while driving the carriage, my gaze unconsciously drifted toward a slightly reddish field.

Perhaps because it was the same place where Ethan, the Hero’s Party, and I had stayed before being ambushed by bandits a few days ago, I couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy looking at it.

Gyeotmwa and the others must have felt the same way, as they deliberately passed by the open plains-perfect for camping-and traveled a bit farther.

After moving a little closer to the academy, we stopped the carriages in a suitable grassy area and began setting up camp.

“Prince Ethan and Lady Rosewood, where will you pitch your tent?”

“…If you don’t mind, I was thinking of setting up closer to you all this time. Last time, camping separately nearly led to disaster.”

“Good idea. Then let’s arrange them in a circle around the same bonfire. Usually, we set up three tents around the fire, so you can take the fourth spot. But you’ll have to take a turn on night watch, Ethan.”

“…Fine by me.”

Ethan, who would have outright refused such an offer just a few days ago, readily agreed and set up his tent alongside the Hero’s Party.

It seemed nearly dying had given him a lot to think about.

‘This almost makes it feel like Ethan and I have become part of the Hero’s Party.’

In fact, judging by our actions over the past few days, we were practically no different from actual members.

Men and women split into separate lodgings, participated in information gathering and meetings, worked together to defeat common enemies, and received healing from Celista afterward.

And while the original game had limited the party to eight members for balance reasons, this world-now reality-likely had no such restrictions.

‘Honestly, in this insane world where multiple bosses spawn at once, I don’t even know how eight people could overcome such crises.’

At least from Part 4 onward, there were hardly any branching episodes, so multiple bosses wouldn’t appear again. The real problem was Part 3’s storyline, where branching paths occurred once or twice per semester.

This time, we somehow managed to overcome an episode with two bosses through sheer luck, but if something similar happens again, we’ll need to be far better prepared.

‘Maybe I should push myself to follow Gyeotmwa’s route no matter what.’

But if I’m too blatant about tailing the Hero’s classes, Ethan might find it suspicious.

On the other hand, I couldn’t just leave the Hero’s Party to face similar dangers on their own.

‘…Well, there’s still some time before the next semester, so I can think it over and decide later.’

I’d already finalized my schedule for this semester, so it wasn’t like I could change it now anyway.

As I was organizing supplies for dinner, the pink-haired devil-no, the saint-quietly approached me.

“O-oh, Lady Lilith… You’re here…”

“…Saint Celista?”

“U-um, if it’s not too much trouble… could I ask for your help with dinner tonight? Lady Agnes and Silena said they really wanted to eat the meal you made last time…”

“I don’t mind… but do we have the ingredients? The dish I made last time required chicken and garlic…”

“W-we got some before leaving Bridget Village… A-and we have plenty of rice too…”

“Understood. Then I’ll prepare the same meal as last time. I’ll also teach you how to make it, Saint Celista, so you can use it if you ever need to cook for the Hero.”

“A-ah, yes, yes… Th-thank you very much…”

For now, I’ll just be content with the peace we’ve earned-where no one died.

Worrying about problems that haven’t even happened yet will only make the anxiety last longer.