Seirei Gensouki Konna Sekai De Deaeta Kimi Ni
Field Training Part 1

Field Training Part 1

At the Royal Bertram Kingdom Institute, participating in the annual inter-class field training competition was the main goal for all final year primary school students.

Although it was called a field exercise, the participants mainly consisted of noble children.

Routes from start to finish are prepared in advance so students only need to select and follow one of the prearranged routes to arrive at their destination. There is no punishment for the slower group.

Participation is mandatory for boys, although it is optional for girls.

It should be noted that while only sixth-year elementary school students are required to participate in the event, fifth-year students are allowed to participate as supporters, as well as making it a running exercise for the following year.

「Now, we will have a meeting to discuss our training plan. I believe that we should reach first place. 」

It was Alphonse, the second son of Marquis Rodan, who was chosen as the class leader.

His goal was to proceed to the intermediate curriculum of the Royal Institute and then enroll with the Imperial Guard Knights.

Although, he was greatly defeated by Christina and Roana in terms of social standing as well as academic performance, the class leader has always traditionally been a male student.

Despite being a bit pretentious, she has good manners that are balanced with her handsome appearance.

「In our class is Her Highness, Princess Christina and the household witch Duke Fontine, Roana-sama. Both are known for their magic in magic. Furthermore, from the fifth year students, we will also receive help from the famous heavenly healer, Flora-sama. In all the long history of such a proud Institution, there has never been a student blessed with such an outstanding member. 」

The majority of the class eagerly listened to Alphonse's speech.

「We will likely face low-level monsters like goblins, but they will not match our combined strength. Everything will go smoothly if you follow my order. 」

Although the exercise was regulated by the Institute, it did not mean that it was entirely free of danger.

They will advance along the edge of the neighboring forest where various monsters make their nests.

If it happened to low-level monsters, as long as students could use magic, it would be impossible for them to fall behind. That said, it is certainly not an exercise to be taken lightly.

One of the goals of the outdoor field exercise was to develop a tolerance towards killing by having students kill humanoid monsters like goblins.

「Also, we need to be careful when choosing what to bring for our luggage, just bring what is necessary. A detailed list of important and non-essential items can be found on the board. Everyone, please look at it! 」

Everyone in the class recorded what was written on the blackboard on a piece of parchment.

Looking at the scene with a delighted expression, Alphonse then glared at Rio.

「Oi, farmer .. Rio, you .b.a.j.i.n.g.a.n.! Listen carefully. Doesn't mean you to embarrass Her Highness the Princess. I won't accept anything but first place. 」

Alphonse gave him a stern warning.

「Because you can't use magic, you will definitely hold everyone back, but heart. You just have to follow my order. You can be useful by carrying everyone's luggage. 」

「Understood. I'll obey your orders. 」

It was a pitiful way of speaking, but he only needed to last a little longer until graduation.

Since he had no reason to object, Rio obediently accepted Alphonse's orders.

Thus, the day of outdoor field practice arrived.

Over two hundred students gathered at the starting point.

Each class consists of seventy students.

All students are equipped with training uniforms, color-coded according to their classes, and light leather armor. The Rio class uniform is white.

In addition to the students' personal belongings, there were also classroom luggage to carry during the parade.

Rio is the designated class baggage carrier.

He was given the least important role.

「A— Ano, are you okay? If you carry so much luggage, it will be heavy .. 」

While the entire class agreed for Rio to carry luggage worth almost 30 kilograms, only one person anxiously called out to Rio.

That's Flora.

This was the first time since the kidnapping incident that the two had spoken to each other.

Ever since he enrolled at the Institute, he had never spoken to Flora.

He was off guard from the unexpected being spoken to.

「That, should I help bring some?」

While Rio was at a loss as to how to respond, Flora offered her help.

「No, I'm fine. Thank you, I appreciate your attention. 」

There was no way he could accept Flora's offer.

By doing so, he will receive sharp criticism from those around him.

His selfless nature made it hard to believe that he belonged to a special class.

He was quite pleased with his attention.

However, he was a little ignorant of how his actions could affect those around him.

Therefore Rio could only reject his offer and express his gratitude.

「Flora-sama, it is not worth your time to associate yourself with these infantry warriors. It is best to leave small jobs to small people. 」

Alphonse, with Stead trailing, interrupted Rio and Flora from a distance.

「Hoo ~, incredible strength, as expected of uncivilized brute creatures. 」

Seeing Rio carrying his personal belongings and an additional 30 kilograms of class items for the march, Stead spat on the sarcastic line.

After getting used to such humiliation, Rio ignored her and waited for departure.

Soon after, the students began to line up.

After walking for about an hour from the starting point, they arrived at the first checkpoint located just outside the forest.

「Gentlemen, I bring good news. With the cooperation of the V class student, Stead, from Duke Euguno's family, we have found a shortcut. It lies just a little further ahead. 」

As they turned around the forest after arriving at the first checkpoint, Alphonse announced the existence of a shortcut.

The students began to excitedly talk amongst themselves.

"Please be quiet . If we use this route, we will definitely be able to get first place. According to the map, we have to walk around the forest to get to the finish line. However, with a shortcut, we can cut through the forest instead. 」

Hearing his words, Rio checked his map to confirm their current location.

Before the field exercise, the area around the arranged paths had already been carefully inspected by the Knights.

Therefore, there was almost no danger as long as they followed the prearranged route.

「I am against this idea. We will not be able to take responsibility for Her Highness Princess Christina and Her Highness Princess Flora, should it happen, a dangerous situation arise outside the predetermined route. 」

Roana voiced her objection at Alphonse's suggestion.

「What is Her Royal Highness Princess Christina thinking?」

Unable to ignore Roana's objections, Alphonse asked Christina's opinion.

「I too, don't think that we're quite ready to take shortcuts. I think we should try to avoid unnecessary danger. Still, this is not my decision because you are our leader. But know that if something happens to Flora or myself, you will be held responsible and it will be impossible for me to protect you. 」

Christina objected from a different angle.

Hearing his warning, Alphonse imagined the consequences if such a situation happened and immediately turned cold.

「Alphonse-senpai and I have already investigated with ama a shortcut. Although it is quite unclear, there is a proper path that passes through the forest. It seems like a highway. There's nothing to worry about if we stay on the road. 」

Stead, who was standing beside the pale-looking Alphonse, spoke in a confident tone.

「Alphonse-senpai. With this, we will be able to obtain Her Highness the Princess. 」

Stead whispered in an almost inaudible voice so only Alphonse could hear.

Alphonse regained his trust and his ambition returned to his face.

「Alright, as promised, we will set a record as the fastest of all time. This will be our graduation gift to Her Royal Highness Princess Christina. Understand, everyone !? 」

Thus, the class, along with their fifth year support students, cheered in approval.

Looking at the surrounding area on the map, Rio noted that the shortcut proposed by Alphonse was not detailed on the map.

Of course, if they were to continue along the predetermined route, they would be required to rotate along the outer boundary of the forest.

By cutting through the forest instead, they could shorten the distance by almost half.

However, Stead said that the shortcut was once a highway.

It is not unusual for a highway to be built through a forest.

In the mostly forest-covered kingdom, there was no choice but to establish a route through the forest.

Nevertheless, some of the old roads are no longer in use today.

A variety of reasons why highways will be abandoned exist including convenience, traffic, and topographic changes.

Furthermore, in the forest where human hands did not reach, the risk of encountering monsters and other ferocious creatures was much higher than usual.

With the exception of Rio, all the students in the group were able to use magic. Thus, even if they were attacked by a group of low-level monsters, they could deal with it without too much difficulty.

They might even be able to defeat medium-level monsters.

However, this assumption will only apply if the student can work perfectly as a cohesive unit.

For an unorganized group that could not even line up properly, it was almost impossible for them to operate at their peak potential.

However, they still had baseless confidence.

They were all raised as nobles so they never thought there was an obstacle they could not overcome.

One could say that since the nobles claimed that they were the elite of the Bertram Kingdom, they tended to be overconfident in terms of their abilities.

And that tendency makes them make stupid decisions.

Still, the group was only adversely affected because their leader did not allow any other alternative.

He wanted to impress the Royal Family by showing off his dedication.

However, Alphonse was a typical example of a military man, inflexible and only able to execute orders faithfully. He was more suited as a soldier than as a commander.

That was Rio's assessment of Alphonse.

He has no leadership qualities.

In fact, he was easily persuaded by anyone of higher rank.

Unfortunately, he was chosen by the consensus of the class so Rio was unable to intervene in his decision.

He doubted he would be ignored if he did anyway.

「Your Highness Princess Christina and Roana-sama, I understand you are worried, but I will expel them once we are on the road. Please, this way. 」

Stead, along with Alphonse, took the initiative and began to lead the way.

As soon as they entered the forest, the path began to be seen.

The path is certainly wide enough for some to walk side by side, but lush vegetation grows along the sides that limit their vision.

Unless one knew about the shortcut beforehand, it was doubtful that anyone would enter the forest.

It was a very quiet road.

"…What do you think? The kingdom once tried to build a road through the forest. The project seems to have been abandoned but adventurers still regularly use this path. 」

His voice is a bit stiff.

Upon seeing the state of the road, Alphonse and Stead lost a bit of their confidence.

However, they could no longer change their minds since it was too late to return.

Looking at their current state, Rio guessed that they only got information from the rumors and did not make a proper investigation before the practice.

They had already declared that the road was safe so that they could go back on their words and lose face.

Maintaining their reputation was really difficult for the nobles.

For those who are obsessed with their reputation, displaying mistakes will bring unbearable embarrassment. Therefore, they prioritize their reputation above all else.

Maybe it's part of their nature.

Sighing deeply in his mind, Rio could only watch in awe as they struggled to maintain their reputation.

Judging from the expressions of Christina and Roana, the two girls seemed to have the same opinion as Rio.

Rarely do they fit.

Adjusting the weight on his back, Rio could not help feeling anxious and prayed that no problems would arise.

Somehow the burden feels heavier.

Finally, the group went into the depths of the forest.

As they advanced, the male students competed with each other to kill the occasional low-level monster that appeared.

「With this, I have graduated to become a complete killer. 1 」

「Congratulations. 」

The children were overjoyed by their first murder.

Rio felt they were acting too carefree in such a situation.

Although he had yet to truly feel the urge to kill a human or animal, he had already experienced the battle for his life when he saved Christina and Flora.

At that moment, Rio was only able to freely move his body thanks to the mastery of martial arts in his past life. But it is far from ideal.

The mental tension caused by the coordination of his movements was clearly visible.

One had to experience battle with their lives on the line to appear adequate on the battlefield.

Killing weak monsters using large amounts would not give them valuable battle experience.

Judging from the one-sided slaughter, he could tell with confidence that none of them had ever experienced a life or death situation before. They could only futilely cower in fear on the real battlefield.

As long as they were nobles, the chances of them being given command of military units were quite high.

In a place where human lives could be stolen in an instant, the day when they paid for their mistakes was bound to come.

Nevertheless, whether they lived or died on that day had nothing to do with Rio.

Although he shouldered an absurd amount of baggage and entertained random thoughts, he did not neglect to remain vigilant of his surroundings.

He had long since become aware of the sporadic approach of a group of goblins.

And, even though they had walked for quite a while, the endless sea of trees would not end.

Fatigue began to accumulate in the overly energetic students as they continued along the sloping path.

Speech becomes rare because they no longer have enough energy to speak.

By quietly carrying the heaviest burden among the students, the dire situation became increasingly clear to Rio who was observing them from the side.

However, thanks to secretly providing physical reinforcement and body reinforcement to himself, Rio was the most calm member of the group.

「At this rate, can we really reach the finish line first?」

No matter how far they progressed, the forest refused to end. One of the students finally voiced his doubts.

「As it stands, won't we be the last?」

「Shouldn't we go back to the normal route now?」

The first complaint opened the floodgates for various other complaints from across the group.

With everyone voicing their dissatisfaction at will, the sounds they produced attracted additional monsters.

「Goblin others?」

「Are there no goblin upgrades since a while ago?」

As a result of their considerable population, goblins were examples of low-level monsters.

Their high fertility rate is marked by a popular saying, “If you find one, you are guaranteed to find thirty others. ”

To alleviate the group's growing anxiety, Alphonse and Stead enthusiastically went to kill the goblins.

「Si— Shut up! E— Everyone calm down! Like I said, we'll be fine! Everything went according to plan. Right, Stead? 」

「Ri— True. Everything went according to plan. Alphonse-senpai is our leader so shut up and follow his orders. Moreover, the monsters that appeared were only goblins. They are no match for our magic. Not only that, but we can also collect goblin magic stones to earn a dime right? 」

Exterminating the goblins, Alphonse and Stead noticed the panic in the classroom and desperately tried to find a reason to reduce everyone's fear.

The students immediately calmed down after hearing their words.

The Alphonse household was quite influential, but the Household of the Duke of Euguno had a greater influence.

No one among the group dared to oppose them.

However, the group's morale remains low.

The number of goblins they encountered gradually increased as they ventured further along the way.

Finally, there came a time when they could not go any further.

The endless sea of trees suddenly stopped.

What appeared in front of them was a vast open space.

Unfortunately, it was not the opening they had expected.

「Oi .. This is not the way out. 」

「Re— Really? Look, the goal is there! 」

「You can't be serious! How can we get there !? 」

The group was currently standing on the edge of the cliff.

The area around them had become a slightly higher hill, 30 meters high.

Having no proper preparation, it would be a suicide that was almost close to trying to get down to the cliff.

That was the reason why the Kingdom had to abandon the construction of the highway.

The existence of the cliff was only discovered after they cut down part of the forest for the highway.

They would only be able to descend to the cliff if they had the necessary courage and skill.

Unfortunately, the majority of the group is lacking in both departments.

Even if one or two of them could go down, there would be no meaning if the other could not.

Suddenly, the encased frustration exploded.

They did not dare to voice their dissatisfaction at Stead, who was the son of a highly influential noble, so many of them directed their anger at Alphonse.

「Nee ~」

In a situation that quickly spiraled out of control, a student who had kept him quiet until finally raised his voice.

The owner of the voice was Christina.

His voice was gentle but carried a majestic power that no one could ignore.

「Until now, I refrained from questioning your order because you are the leader of this group, but how can we end up in this situation? I've obeyed your orders obediently, even if the person who issued it is stupid. Our group is now close to collapsing under your leadership. 」

「Tha— Namely ..」

「Honestly, now that it has reached this point, even if nothing happens, it is already impossible for me to come up with an excuse to protect you. I think I've given you enough warning about this. 」

Receiving his icy gaze, Alphonse could not give a decent excuse no matter how hard he tried.

「And Prepare, don't you have something to say? You have intervened a lot despite only participating as support for our class. I wonder why that is? 」

Christina turned her gaze to Stead and questioned his behavior.

「I— I...」

Under his motionless gaze, Stead's face became extremely pale.

「The command of a commander is absolute for his soldiers. It may be a field exercise but it's true we are no different to a military unit. We have no choice but to pay attention to your words because you are the commander. 」

After losing interest in Stead, Christina again reprimanded Alphonse.

「I understand that you greatly appreciate your reputation as a noble. However, understand that with great power comes great responsibility, Commander-dono2. 」

Everyone fell silent and simultaneously accused the gazes gathered at Alphonse.

"Everyone…"

Alphonse was at a loss for words and was almost crushed under the pressure. At that moment, many spears came out from the brush and pierced some students.

「Eh ..?」

Unable to understand what had just happened, the student who was hit could only let out a puzzled voice.

「Lo— Look, over there! Horde of goblins! 」

One of the students noticed the difficulty and pointed towards the forest.

Although the interior of the forest was dark, the pieces of sunlight that were able to pierce through the trees allowed them to clearly see ahead.

Therefore, the students can understand what is in front of them.

The forest was filled with goblins, surrounding the students who retreated against the cliff.

「O— Oi .. is that all goblins ..?」

「O— Ogres too!」

Generally, goblins only grow as tall as human children. Their individual strength was extremely weak and most would lose the fight against an adult human.

While they were difficult to deal with in numbers, as long as an adult human was armed, not even an amateur would lose in a one-on-one match.

However, giants are much more dangerous than goblins.

Standing over 2 meters tall, and with a physique far surpassing that of an adult human, the giant acts as the leader for the goblin pack.

Right now, in front of the students stood a group of mixed goblins and giants.

Before the students processed the fact that they were ambushed, several more spears flew towards them from the forest.

It was the giants who threw spears.

「The giants are there! Those who throw spears at us! 」

「Understood! Fortunately, there were no Orcs present! Alphonse, hurry, your order! Kuus! 」

Christina quickly analyzed the situation while Roana passed on the information to the rest of the students.

「Uwaaaa! 」

However, the students who were hit by the spear were unable to contain their panic and began to behave violently.

Stead was among the hit.

Although one could potentially die if a vital was exposed, they currently only suffered minor injuries.

However, most of the students present had never experienced any pain or injury before.

Therefore they had no reason to panic even when attacked by spear3.

「Pull! PULL IT OOUUUTTTTT !!! 」

Remain howling furiously regardless of shame or dignity.

「Uwaa! Stop that!"

「O— Oi, stay back!」

He tried to approach the other students in order for them to pull his spear but only managed to make the other students panic.

「Mommyyy! Daddyy !!! 」

With his shoulder pierced by a spear, Stead thrashed about violently, colliding with the surrounding students. He finally hit Flora blowing it.

「Kyaa!」

Flora, who was standing near the ledge, was knocked down to the edge of the cliff.

「Flora!」

Seeing Flora on the verge of falling off a cliff, Christina shouted loudly.

The sound of shifting ground could be heard followed by the ground beneath Flora.

"Hi Me!?"

Experiencing the sensation of weightlessness, Flora's face was tinged with despair.

"A-A-!"

Watching the terrifying scene unfold before his eyes, Rio's body moved on its own.

Before he knew it, he had thrown away the items on his back and ran forward, providing physical reinforcement and body reinforcement.

At that moment, he grabbed his hand to the sky and Rio grabbed it.

If only he was one second late, Rio would definitely miss his hand.

Their eyes meet.

He could tell from his expression that he was astonished.

He rushed out to save her without considering the consequences. A moment later, he came to regret his hasty decision.

Nothing good will come by acting heroically.

He had already experienced it from an event that happened five years ago.

Despite that, he somehow managed to repeat the same mistake.

Didn't he once again succumb to stupid hypocrisy?

Or is he acting impulsively?

If he had not considered saving her, he wondered why her body was moving on its own.

Whatever the reason, he was already committed and could only follow through with his actions.

Grabbing Flora's hand, Rio twisted his body to pull her.

Using the momentum of his powerful body, he threw Flora back up the ridge.

「Kyaa!」

Buk, Flora fell onto the opposite ridge.

Confirming his safety, Rio's trivial thoughts entered his mind.

He wondered if he would forgive her for making him suffer some scratches from a rough landing.

And now, he had to pay the price to save her.

Rio's body plummeted to the bottom of the cliff.