episode_0107

At the entrance of the mountain where we arrived after leaving the brief meeting with the Crown Prince behind, many students were already waiting for the practical exam to begin, with their most familiar weapons in hand.

I thought I was late because there were so many students gathered, but seeing as there were no other teaching assistants to evaluate the practical skills, let alone Sir Germa, I was definitely not late.

It was just that students who were nervous about their first practical exam gathered early and prepared to take the test.

okay. We left with about 30 minutes left. There’s no way you’d be late just because we talked for about 5 minutes.

“Charles.”

Just as I was thinking about going to choose a weapon, Hermel, who had become less talkative after meeting the crown prince, called me and tugged on my sleeve.

Hermel… … . Lately, every time he calls me, he keeps pulling my sleeves, and I wonder if he’s starting to stretch them… … .

Putting aside the random thoughts that came to mind, I looked at Hermel and tilted my head slightly.

“What’s wrong?”

Hermel, who was mumbling at my words, smiled brightly and shook his head.

“Ugh, no! Just, let’s do our best for this practical exam!”

If someone who didn’t know him saw it, he might have overlooked it, but I could see the underside of Hermel’s eyes trembling.

Are you paying attention to what happened with the crown prince earlier? Is that why I’m intentionally pretending to be bright to lighten my mood?

Hehehe, Hermel laughing out loud looked really stupid, but at the same time he looked really cute.

“Thank you for your concern.”

“Ah, that… … .”

“Because I am also human, I was in a bad mood, but thanks to Hermel, I felt a little better.”

With a small smile, I hugged Hermel lightly and stroked her head.

Hermel flinched and trembled, then wrapped his arms around my waist and laughed.

I looked down at the sight and smiled for a moment. I thought it was time to move on, so I tapped Hermel’s arm.

“I have to go quickly. Don’t you have to choose a weapon?”

“Ah, yes. That’s right.”

Hermel nodded and released her arms, and I walked with her to the weapons rack where all the cold weapons were displayed by type.

The weapons hanging on the weapon rack are different from the weapons in the training ground that have been worn out from use over and over again. They were clean, new items.

“I guess they supplied new weapons for the practical test.”

“That’s right.”

“Are you going to use dual swords like before?”

“No. I’m not going to use dual swords anymore.”

Hermel said that, picked up a broadsword, and reached for the broadsword next to him before lowering his arm.

As I was looking at the Pole Arm series of weapons, I shivered when I saw Hermel, who had been contemplating for a long time in front of the sword, raising his shield.

“Shield?”

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“No, are you trying to carry a shield now?”

“Yes.”

Since the exam was held in a forest, it was understandable if both a broadsword and a parrying dagger were used for balance.

No, at least I would have understood if it was a Zweihander like the Crown Prince or a greatsword like Claymore. By the way, shield? Not a one-handed sword or a two-handed sword, but a shield?

It was quite surprising that Hermel, who had always been serious about his sword, suddenly made such a choice. I don’t know about anything else, but I thought that one thing would never change.

As I blinked and watched Hermel tapping the shield, Hermel, who was moving his arm holding the shield around, suddenly looked in my direction and smiled.

“Why? Can’t you believe I’m holding a shield?”

“I can’t believe it. I can still clearly see him attacking me with his dual swords from the first day.”

“Ugh… … . That story is a little embarrassing… … . That was a time when I rushed at him without any hesitation… … . Hehe.”

Hermel, who was stroking the back of his neck and muttering, smiled awkwardly, his cheeks turning red.

“You mean it’s different now?”

Hermel quietly lowered his arms at those words and nodded with a small smile.

“Yes. It’s different now. Because I have regained my purpose of pursuing power.”

She said, stroking the shield carefully.

“If you want to protect someone, rather than holding a sword in both hands. Wouldn’t it be better to hold a shield in one hand?”

As I looked at him raising his shield and smiling while showing his teeth, I grinned and shrugged my shoulders.

“Unexpected.”

“What?”

“I thought what you meant by protecting was not stopping the opponent, but first eliminating the source of damage.”

“Ah.”

Hermel let out a short sigh, put down the arm holding the shield, looked at the sword again, shook his head quickly and shouted.

“Even if you tempt me with words like that, I will raise my shield!”

“Yes, yes. okay. Sorry for teasing you.”

To ease his mood, he stroked Hermel’s head, which had his lips sticking out about five feet.

After confirming that Hermel’s mood had calmed down to some extent, I and Hermel passed the swords standing in a row and stood in front of the polearm type weapon.

“Are you trying to use the halberd again?”

“Yes. Because it’s the weapon I’m most familiar with.”

“You might get caught on a tree?”

“It’s okay as long as you don’t swing it.”

After all, I can’t hold a long sword against a gryphon that’s twice as big as me. Well, there is no guarantee that the griffon will really appear. It’s better to get insurance than to gamble.

He smiled, swallowing back all the words he couldn’t tell Hermel.

“If that’s the case with Charles, I have nothing to say. Instead, after you lose to me, you won’t listen even if I blame the weapon?”

“Huh? Losing?”

“You said this practical exercise was about hunting monsters. Isn’t it natural to compete to see who can catch more?”

Oh yeah. The burning competitive spirit in these useless areas hasn’t changed.

I chuckled as I saw Hermel looking at me with sparkling eyes.

“Okay. Okay.”

As I said that, I took the halberd I liked the most in my hand and checked the condition of the weapon.

The smooth hilt of the halberd had no scuffs on it, and the blade was so close that even without touching it, I could feel the cool air of being cut.

Well, actually, all the weapons here are brand new that just came out of the blacksmith shop, so there isn’t much of a difference.

“Shall we go.”

“Yes!”

After choosing our weapons, Hermel and I joined the place where other students were gathered, and soon after, Sir Germa and his assistant instructors arrived.

Sir Germa, who stood on a simple platform made of stacked supply boxes, captivated the audience with his unique soft charisma.

“As I mentioned before, today’s practical activity will be hunting the monsters released on this mountain. For safety reasons, most of them are low-level monsters, but even low-level monsters are still monsters. It is not a beast that can be judged from a human perspective, so it is impossible to let down your guard.”

As Sir Germa looked to the side and nodded, an assistant who appeared to be a knight brought a portable blackboard with a picture of a monster drawn on it and began to explain.

“There are a total of seven types of monsters released on the mountain. Flopbloop, also known as the pulp spider. Its characteristic feature is that its belly is round and red like an apple. The fur surrounding the entire stomach is coated with paralyzing poison, so don’t touch it carelessly.”

“Next is Goblin. This is the goblin you are familiar with. However, since the goblins were brought in from another location and released, it is probably a 1:1 situation. If you happen to find four or more goblins grouped together, cooperate with others as much as possible.”

“Next is the ghoul. There are only a few entities themselves, but unlike other low-level monsters, they will be difficult to deal with. It would be good to get help from theological students.”

The other four types of monsters that came out after that were kobolds, horn rabbits, ghosts, and slimes.

As soon as the instructor finished explaining the parade of low-level monsters who were too exhausted for the test, Hermel sighed and lowered his head.

“They are just low-level monsters… … . It’s no fun competing like this… … .”

“It’s because of the barrier that covers the entire mountain. Monsters of intermediate level or higher will run away because of the barrier, and things will become complicated in one way or another.”

I told him an extremely obvious story, and although Hermel said he knew, he seemed unconvinced.

As if this wasn’t limited to just Hermel, the other students also started to chatter a little.

The small murmur grew louder little by little, and the murmur ended when Sir Germa, who was standing on the platform, lightly tapped the platform with the great sword he was holding like a cane.

thud–

It was clearly just a light action, but the loud sound that made my heart pound loudly stopped the surrounding murmur in an instant.

“It seems that there are people who think that the monsters that appear in this practical episode are too weak… … . I would like to say this to you.”

As Sir Germa looked around with calm eyes, those who were overwhelmed by his gaze naturally cowered.

“Don’t underestimate practical skills. If you stay in a place where you don’t know when and where the enemy will appear, with that kind of attitude, it won’t be the monsters who fall, but you.”

The students who were relaxed by his serious words swallowed dry saliva and adjusted their posture. Seeing that, Sir Germa nodded heavily and continued speaking.

“And although it is not explained on this board, there is only one on this mountain right now. A mid-level monster is hiding. I won’t tell you what species it is or where it is. So make sure you never let go of your tension.”

As soon as Sir Germa finished speaking, someone cheered right next to me.

“Wow!”

When I reflexively trembled at the voice I heard right next to me and looked to the side, Hermel’s brightly smiling face caught my eye.

“Ah.”

The owner of that cry was none other than Hermel.

I pretended not to hear and looked ahead.

okay. I didn’t hear anything.