Chapter 6: Kyaa! Hugh-san, you pervert!

The three-day, two-night voyage passed in the blink of an eye. We spent our time learning the ropes—literally—helping with shipboard duties and getting a crash course in deck scrubbing. We’d fully indulged in the gourmet meals and luxurious living quarters that we never would’ve seen on a standard transport ship, and now, we were finally disembarking at our scheduled port.

From here to the Spen region, home of the Great Drefon Labyrinth, we were on foot.

My classmates turned hopeful eyes toward Prince Lucas, but the Prince simply offered a gentle, pitying shake of his head. It seemed the spoiling was officially over.

“Alright, you runts! This is where the real exercise begins!” Alyssa-san barked. “Since His Highness is here, we’re adding a little flavor to the mission! As of right now, you aren't just students—you’re the personal guard of a Prince fleein’ the capital after losin’ a political struggle!”

What a grim scenario to start with... Prince Lucas and the rest of the group could only manage strained smiles at the dark setup. Still, it did help everyone focus more than just aimlessly wandering toward Spen would have. We formed a defensive perimeter around the carriage carrying the Prince and began our march down the highway.

The trek was scheduled to take four days. We were expected to keep moving the entire time, but barely three hours into the first day, one girl was already reaching her limit.

“Are you okay, Lily?”

Lugue asked, her voice laced with concern. Lily squeezed out a response through ragged gasps.

“Y-Yes. This... is nothing...”

Sweat rolled down her cheeks, and her jaw was set so tight it looked painful. Even with the scheduled breaks, at this rate, she wasn't going to make it.

If we asked Alyssa-san, Lily could probably ride in the supply carriage as a casualty, but her pride would never allow it. She’d keep walking until she literally collapsed out of sheer stubbornness.

“Lily, let me at least take your pack,” I offered. “Can you hand it over?”

“Thank... you, Hugh... But I’m... fine...”

Man, she is being obstinate.

I figured if I could just get the weight off her, it’d be easier, but she wasn't budging. Fine, I guess I had to play dirty.

“Lily.”

“What... is it...?”

“There’s a massive bug on your rucksack.”

“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKK!!”

Lily let out a blood-curdling shriek and hurled the pack off her back. As our classmates in front turned around to see what the commotion was, I calmly picked up her bag and kept walking as if nothing had happened.

Realizing what had just transpired, a red-faced Lily scrambled to catch up to me.

“Y-You tricked me! There wasn't a bug anywhere!”

“It probably flew away when you dropped the bag,” I lied smoothly. “Anyway, I’m carrying this now, whether you like it or not.”

“...Hmph. You’re far too pushy for your own good.”

Lily pouted, though she gave my arm a playful, gentle jab with her elbow. I took the hit with a grin.

We continued for several more hours, stopping for the occasional break, and finally reached our designated campsite just before dusk.

“Good job today, Lily-chan!” Lecty cheered.

“Thank you, Lecty. Sorry for making you lend me your shoulder for that last stretch.”

“Oh, don’t mention it! This is nothing!”

Lecty, who had been supporting Lily for the final leg of the march, beamed. Her 《Saint》 skill came with a built-in 《Physical Enhancement》, giving her stamina and athletic ability that ranked at the very top of the class.

“Thanks to you too, Hugh. I really appreciate you carrying my things the whole way.”

“We’re a team, Lily. You’ve helped me plenty of times.”

“Heh. Honestly... are you trying to make me fall for you even harder?” Lily teased, taking her bag back with a graceful smile.

Now that we were at the goal, she seemed to have found her second wind. I noticed Lugue looking a bit sour next to me, so I decided it was best to leave Lily’s comment hanging.

“No time for loafin’ around, runts!” Alyssa-san’s voice cut through the air. “Get the camp set up before it gets dark! We’re splittin’ into the Construction Crew and the Food Procurement Crew!”

Following Alyssa-san’s orders, we broke off into groups. She did the assignments herself, and I ended up on the Food Procurement Crew alongside Lecty.

“Let’s do our best, Lecty.”

“Yes, sir!”

Lecty pumped her fists in front of her chest, looking fired up.

Our campsite was on a small hill a short distance from the main road, with a forest and a lake nearby. Idiot, Rosalie, and the others in our crew headed toward the lake to try their hand at fishing, so Lecty and I decided to head into the forest, where it was less crowded.

Growing up in the absolute sticks of the Pnocis territory meant I had a good eye for edible wild plants, nuts, and mushrooms. At a glance, the local flora wasn't all that different from back home.

I was thinking we should look for something like wild leeks to mask the smell of whatever fish the others caught when...

“Hugh-san! I found food already!”

I heard Lecty’s voice and turned around.

She stood there, looking quite proud of herself, holding a rather large cicada between her fingers.

...Wait.

“Are you... planning to eat that?” I asked.

“Yes! They’re bitter and don't taste very good, but they won't make you sick!”

“I—I see...” I managed to get out.

To Lecty, "food" seemed to be defined simply by whether or not it would wreck her stomach. I felt like I’d just caught a glimpse into the harsh life she’d led before we met.

Cicadas... Man, cicadas? When I was a kid, I’d spend all day running through the fields catching bugs, but I’d never once entertained the thought of eating one. Maybe if I were in some extreme survival situation with absolutely nothing else to eat, but we were in a forest. There was plenty of forageable food around. If she brought a cicada back to camp, her classmates would probably give her some very weird looks.

“Uh, listen,” I said, trying to steer her away from the idea. “The idiots—I mean, Idiot and the others—should be back with some fish soon. Why don't we focus on finding some wild greens for a side dish instead? Cicadas are... well, they’re an acquired taste. Let’s skip them this time. I think Lily’s a bit squeamish around bugs, anyway.”

“Oh! You’re right!” Lecty said brightly.

She popped her hands open, and the cicada flew off into the distance as if fleeing for its life.

Phew. I managed to course-correct without dampening her enthusiasm.

“Hugh! This grass is edible!” she chirped, pointing at a patch of green. “It’s actually really sweet and tasty!”

“Huh. Sweet grass, really?”

“Yes! Though, if you eat it, your arms and legs go numb for about half a day and you can't move,” she added with a smile.

“...Yeah, let’s stick to telling me about the ones you can eat and stay conscious after, okay?”

Using my knowledge and Lecty’s experience, we gathered enough wild herbs and nuts to head back to the campsite. The fishing party at the lake had done quite well for themselves, too. Dinner ended up being a decent spread of grilled fish supplemented by wild herb and nut soup.

We finished our meal around the campfire and settled in for the night to prepare for tomorrow morning's departure. The watch was divided into five groups on a rotation. My group consisted of the usual six, including Lugue and Lily. Since we were the last shift, I only had to wake up about two hours earlier than the rest of the class. It looked like I’d get plenty of sleep.

The tents were split by gender, two for each. We were packed in about seven or eight to a tent. Lugue and I were naturally in the same one; I made sure Lugue took the spot closest to the entrance and claimed the one right next to him. I couldn't exactly let some other guy sleep beside Lugue, after all.

I’d been a little worried about whether I could sleep in an unfamiliar tent, but as soon as I lay down, I felt my consciousness drifting into a haze. Even with 《Physical Enhancement》, a full day of walking had clearly taken its toll.

I don’t know how long I hovered in that space between dreams and reality.

When I finally snapped awake, the spot next to me where Lugue should have been was empty. I bolted upright and scanned the tent, but Lugue was nowhere to be found.

Did he go outside?

I crawled out and checked the campfire, but Lugue wasn't there either. I checked with Brown and Anne, who were on watch. They told me Lugue had gone for a walk toward the lake by himself.

The highway ran right past the campsite, and the Kingdom Knights guarding Prince Lucas were patrolling the area, so the risk of bandits or monsters was low... but it was still dangerous to be out alone at night. I had to find him.

I asked Brown which way he went and set off after him.

If he wanted a walk, he could have just woken me up, I thought.

I’d fallen asleep instantly, but maybe Lugue had found it harder. Since Idiot and the other guys were in the same tent, maybe he couldn't cuddle up to me like he usually did to fall asleep.

Feeling guilty for passing out so quickly, I walked along the lakeshore for a few minutes until I heard the sound of water splashing behind a large rock ahead. The sound was rhythmic—splash, splash. It didn't sound like a fish jumping.

Crap... Before going to bed, I’d switched my skill from 《Ninja》 to 《Pyrokinesis》 and walked out without my hand mirror. If I still had 《Ninja》 active, I could have told if it was a person or something else behind that rock from this distance.

If it’s a bear, a boar, or a monster, I’m in trouble. Should I go back and swap skills? No, Lugue is around here somewhere. If he gets attacked while I’m heading back, I’ll never forgive myself. At the very least, I need to see what it is.

Holding my breath, I crept toward the rock and peered around the edge.

—There, bathed in the moonlight, stood a fairy.

Gentle ripples spread across the surface of the water. The moon illuminated the mirror-like lake, and the golden hair dripping with water sparkled like stars in the light. Beads of water clung to fair, porcelain skin, trailing from the collarbone, down between the breasts, and toward the navel.

Standing in the lake like she was under a lunar spotlight, the completely naked Lucretia was a vision of such otherworldly beauty that I forgot to breathe. I was so entranced that I didn’t even realize her deep blue eyes had turned toward me.

“Eek?!”

Lucretia let out a short shriek, covering her chest with both hands as she crouched down into the water. Shaking with fear, she called out into the dark.

“W-who’s there...?”

From her position, she clearly couldn't see me well.

Wh-what do I do?! I never imagined Lucretia would be out here taking a bath. If I left right now, maybe she wouldn't know it was me...

But that felt incredibly dishonest. More than that, Lucretia would be left with the knowledge that some unknown stranger had seen her bathing. She might suspect it was me anyway. She’d have to spend the rest of the field exercise plagued by that anxiety.

“S-sorry, Tia. It’s me...”

“Hu—Hugh?!” she gasped, her voice a mix of shock and confusion. “Um, why...?”

Well, that was a fair reaction.

“I, uh... When I woke up, Lugue wasn't there, and I got worried so I came looking for you. Then I heard water, and I thought if it was an animal or a monster, Lugue might be in trouble, so I went to check... I’m sorry. I wasn't trying to peep.”

The words sounded like the typical excuse of a habitual offender, and I buried my face in my hands. I was telling the truth, but would she even believe me?

“O-oh. I see. Um, I’m sorry too. For sneaking out of the tent without saying anything... I just thought you might be... grossed out.”

“Grossed out...?” I repeated, confused.

“I thought... if I hugged you... I might smell like sweat...”

“Oh... right.”

So that’s why she was out here bathing. Before dinner, the boys and girls had taken turns bathing separately. But because of Lugue’s "circumstances," he couldn't really join either group, so he’d stayed with me to help prep dinner instead.

If you walk all day under the summer sun, you’re obviously going to sweat. I hadn't really noticed any smell, but I guess if she was going to cling to me, I might have caught a whiff. Though honestly, we were all in the same boat—I probably smelled way worse than her.

“So, um... I thought I’d wash up before I fell asleep... while hugging you.”

“I see...”

Setting aside the fact that "sleeping" apparently equated to "hugging me," I finally understood why she’d snuck out. I just wish she’d told me.

“If you’d said something, I would have stood guard for you. Isn't it a bit reckless to be out here alone at night?”

“Huh? But I asked Alyssa-san to keep watch...?”

“Wait, what?”

I whipped around. There, standing in a gap between the trees in the forest, was a woman with a side-ponytail. She was staring right at me, her lips curled into a disgusting, oily smirk.

Maintaining that creepy grin, Alyssa-san backed away, melting into the shadows of the night forest.

That’s terrifying! Apparently, she’d realized it was me approaching and decided to just let it happen. Hey, stop me! What is that woman thinking?!

I didn't know if she was still watching from the dark or if she’d headed back to camp. Regardless, I was relieved to know Lucretia hadn't actually come out here entirely alone.

“By the way, Hugh?”

“Yeah?”

“...Did you see?”

Lucretia didn't specify what. I didn't need her to. I had seen far more than enough to get the point.

“I am deeply, deeply sorry.”

“...You idiot, Hugh. Pervert!”

◇

Toward the evening of the fourth day of walking, we finally reached Balread, a town near the Drefon Great Labyrinth. Once a bustling hub for adventurers seeking to conquer the labyrinth, the town had been ravaged by a sweeping plague. Now, the entire place felt desolate.

The buildings lining the streets were empty, and the few residents we saw were scattered and thin. Even the rural villages I’d passed through on the way from the Pnocis territory to the royal capital had felt more alive than this.

“So this is the Drefon territory...” Lugue muttered as he walked beside me.

Seeing his mother’s dilapidated birthplace must have stirred something in him. Looking at the size of the town and the number of storefronts, you could tell it had been a thriving place before the plague hit. That only made the current reality—with almost every shop boarded up—all the more tragic.

The townsfolk weren't looking at us so much as they were staring at the extravagant carriage carrying Prince Lucas. A few of them seemed to realize who was inside, dropping to their knees and bowing their heads.

“Looks like he arrived without giving any prior notice,” Lily whispered.

“Seems so,” I agreed.

In the Kingdom, every region is governed by a noble who manages the town and surrounding lands. If royalty visits, it’s the noble’s duty to greet and entertain them. Back at the port where we’d disembarked, the local lord had prepared a grand reception for Prince Lucas. The lack of such a welcome here meant the local lord likely hadn't even been told the Prince was coming. He was probably panicking right about now.

“But why wouldn't he tell them?” I asked quietly.

“The Drefon family governs this area... specifically, Viscount Drefon,” Lily explained in a low voice, mindful of eavesdroppers. “This town and the area around the Great Labyrinth are some of the few lands they weren't stripped of, but...”

“Is there some kind of drama?”

Lily glanced at Lugue. After he gave a small nod, she continued.

“The current head of the Drefon house is the husband of the late mother of Prince Lucas’s older sister—wait, let me rephrase. He’s the husband of His Highness’s maternal aunt. In other words, he’s an uncle with no blood relation to Lucas. The Drefons had no male heirs, so they brought him in as a son-in-law.”

“So they don't get along?”

“Who knows? But the only ones left who actually carry the true Drefon bloodline are Prince Lucas and Princess Lucretia. The man who married into the family never had children with his Drefon wife before she died of the plague.”

“That sounds... incredibly messy.”

The name was Drefon, but the person inside wasn't. For nobles, blood was everything. The Drefon house was even closer to the brink of extinction than I’d imagined. If the current head wanted to keep the house going, he’d either have to adopt someone with Drefon blood or take a wife who carried it and father a child.

I stole a glance at Lugue, who was looking down, deep in thought.

Had there been actual talk of that? Regardless, it seemed Prince Lucas hadn't come here just to visit his mother’s grave.

We continued through the town until we reached our inn. The large brick building had a fresh exterior and looked well-maintained. The surrounding shops were actually open, making this pocket of town feel livelier than the rest. It seemed that as the town shrank due to the lack of adventurers, the area around this inn was the only part that had managed to maintain its former glory.

To accommodate large parties of adventurers, the inn had eight-person rooms equipped with four bunk beds. For this exercise, they’d rented four of these rooms for the students. Naturally, we were split into two rooms for boys and two for girls.

After dropping off our bags, we headed to the adjacent dining hall to eat a local specialty chicken dish, and then it was time for baths. Fortunately, the inn had private shower rooms with attached changing areas. Lugue wouldn't have to worry about prying eyes here.

Still, I figured I should stay on guard. I sat on a bench within sight of the shower room entrance and waited for Lugue to come out.

While I was waiting, I happened to spot Alyssa-san at the inn's entrance. She was talking to someone, but it didn't look like anyone from our group or the inn staff. Maybe a messenger from House Drefon? They had to know Prince Lucas was staying here by now, so they were likely either here to pay their respects or invite him to their manor tomorrow.

Well, it wasn't my business.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Hugh. What are you looking at?”

Lugue had emerged from the shower. I shook my head and stood up from the bench. “Nothing.”

“Man, it feels so good to have hot water again. I’m warm all the way to my bones!” Lugue chirped as we walked back to the room, happily drying his hair with a towel around his neck.

“Yeah, we were just washing in lakes and rivers during the trip,” I said.

That had its own charm, but it couldn't beat a hot shower. Plus, it was way more hygienic.

Still...

“Hmm? What’s up?”

“No... it’s nothing.”

Lugue was wearing the academy-issued lounge gear—a loose shirt and half-pants. His fair skin was flushed a faint, healthy red from the hot water. He looked more alluring than usual—to the point where claiming he was a boy felt like a bit of a stretch...

“Hugh?”

“I-It’s nothing!”

I’d caught myself staring and quickly averted my eyes from the puzzled Lugue. Her birthday was in five days. Every time I reaffirmed my resolve to confess to her, my heart started racing. I was only seeing her as "alluring" because I was overthinking things.

Calm down, calm down.

Ignoring Lugue’s suspicious looks, I took a few deep breaths to steady myself and entered the room. The other guys who had finished their showers were already gathered in a circle on the floor.

“You’re back, Hugh, Lugue. Come join us,” Brown said, gesturing for us to sit.

They were apparently enjoying a chat over some dried meat and leftovers from dinner. No alcohol in sight, fortunately. For the last few nights, everyone had crashed early because of the watches and the next day’s travel. But tomorrow was a rest day, so it didn't matter how late we stayed up.

Gathering around with just the guys to talk about nothing in particular reminded me of school trips in my previous life.

It was going to be a long night.

◇　◇　◇

While Hugh and Lugue were enjoying their time with friends, a man sat on a sofa in a manor about two kilometers from Balread, irritably bouncing his knee.

The man’s name was Victim Drefon. He was the current head of the Drefon house and, to Lucas and Lucretia, an uncle by marriage.

He had been born the second son of a rural Baron. Blessed with a skill powerful enough to get him into the Royal Academy, he possessed the intellect to graduate with decent grades. Based on that potential, he had been invited to marry into the Drefon family—a house that held the Kingdom’s most glittering honor: that of the Dragon Slayer.

Though the Drefon family was a relatively new house with a short history, they had been steadily expanding their influence. The crowning achievement of that rise had been the induction of the second daughter—famed as a "Silver Beauty"—into the King’s court as a concubine.

Even to Victim, the husband of the eldest daughter, she had been exceptionally beautiful and, more importantly, a brilliant and sharp woman. It was easy to see why the King wanted her by his side.

Once the second daughter became a royal concubine and gave birth to a son, the Drefon house was truly on the ascent. That son was born with a visual impairment, but he was a candidate for the succession nonetheless.

The territory bustled with adventurers gathered to conquer the Drefon Great Labyrinth, and the economy was booming. The expansion of Balread and other towns was progressing smoothly, and everything was going perfectly. Eventually, the Drefon territory would surely outshine those of all other nobles.

As the man who would be the next head of the family, Victim had believed this with every fiber of his being as he worked himself to the bone.

That was when the people in the Drefon territory began dying of unknown causes.

The first report came from a village a short distance from Balread. In that village, where poultry farming was a major industry, there was a mass die-off of chickens, and the villagers were collapsing one after another with high fevers.

Victim reported this to his father-in-law, the head of the house, and doctors and guards were immediately dispatched. A mass die-off of chickens wasn't that rare. It was an economic blow, but it happened somewhere in the territory every few years. And even if the villagers' fever was some kind of infectious disease, they could just quarantine the village. They’d already sent doctors and guards to monitor the movement of people.

At first, neither the head nor Victim thought much of it.

But the winds changed two weeks later.

Another village reported a mass chicken die-off and high fevers among the residents. Moreover, news arrived almost simultaneously from three other villages—and from the territory’s largest town, Balread—that residents were flooding the clinics with unexplained fevers.

Something was wrong. By the time Victim realized it, it was too late.

The doctor dispatched to the first village died of the fever. The commoners were collapsing in droves, and adventurers were fleeing the territory as fast as they could. As these reports poured in, the Lord and his wife also collapsed with high fevers.

Victim desperately tried to manage the situation while nursing the two of them. But despite his efforts, the Lord and his wife died, and the disease was eventually confirmed in neighboring territories and even the Royal Capital.

The adventurers fleeing the Drefon territory had likely spread it. Victim had ordered the highways to be closed to contain the disease, but the guards were also falling ill, leaving him short-handed. Worse, the adventurers tried to force their way through the blockades, leading to skirmishes and even deaths.

The situation was beyond control. Victim sent a letter to the King pleading for aid.

But aid never came. The disease had already begun ravaging the entire Kingdom, and the King no longer had the resources to send help.

The plague finally subsided a year later.

Victim himself had hovered between life and death with a fever and a racking cough, but he had miraculously recovered and continued to fulfill his duties as the sole remaining representative of the Drefon house.

The result was a demotion in rank, held responsible for allowing the disease to spread throughout the country. Their former honor was replaced by a curse, and the Drefon territory—once so prosperous—was largely confiscated, leaving them with only the Great Labyrinth and a Balread whose population had been cut in half.

Victim looked back on those days and believed he had done what had to be done. He had lost his wife, lost the man he loved like a father, and as an outsider, he had still shouldered the Drefon name and done his absolute best.

If the reward for that was a demotion to Viscount and the loss of his lands, he could never accept it.

Nursing his dark emotions, Victim worked himself to the bone for the revival of the Drefon house and the restoration of the territory. He bowed his head when he didn't want to, and endured heartless insults and slander.

All so that one day, he could restore the honor of the Drefon family.

“—Well then, why don't you just become a hero yourself?”

He’d heard that voice when his spirit was on the verge of breaking.

A tall man wrapped in a dark green robe, calling himself a traveling merchant, had visited the manor. He possessed a strange, magnetic charm, and Victim had found himself pouring out his life story to him. After hearing about Victim’s life, the robed man had made that suggestion.

“The Drefon family’s honor came from the first head slaying a dragon, right? Then you just have to kill the Black Dragon Drefon again. You kill the Black Dragon, break the curse, and revive the Drefon house as a new hero. It’ll be the birth of a new epic.”

Victim had thought the man’s proposal was absurd. He knew the limits of his own talent. His skill wasn't nearly powerful enough to defeat the Black Dragon, and his swordsmanship wasn't at the level where he’d be recruited by the Kingdom Knights.

And above all, the Black Dragon Drefon had been slain long ago.

“No, no, no. It wasn't slain. It just got beat up a bit and went to sleep. That thing will keep coming back unless you crush its heart into paste. That’s just how it’s made.”

The man spoke as if he had seen it with his own eyes. He reached into his robe and pulled out a pitch-black sphere. The sphere had a dull luster like a crystal ball, but inside, a lumpy mass of flesh was pulsing like a heartbeat.

“And this here is the Black Dragon Drefon’s heart. If you keep feeding it human blood, the Black Dragon Drefon will be resurrected. Then, while you’re pretending to fight it, I’ll destroy this thing, the dragon dies, and you become a hero. Simple as that. So? Don't you think it’s a great idea?”

When the man asked, Victim had nodded immediately. It sounded like the perfect, once-in-a-lifetime plan. If he killed the Black Dragon and became a hero, the lost honor of the Drefon house would be restored, and the baseless curse would be broken.

From that day on, Victim entered into a partnership with the hooded man. The hooded man collected the blood needed for the Black Dragon’s resurrection in the Royal Capital. Victim kept feeding the heart blood while taking extreme care to ensure the plan didn't leak to the outside.

The plan should have been proceeding perfectly.

So why did Lucas have to show up now of all times?

The image of his brilliant and sharp sister-in-law flickered through his mind. If Lucas was the son of that woman and the King, perhaps he had sensed the plan through some means. He couldn't help but worry.

Had he arrived without notice because he was afraid of evidence being destroyed? Or did he have some other purpose?

“They even got in the way of my blood collection in the Capital. That Prince is a real pain, honestly,” the robed man sitting across from him on the sofa said, shrugging his shoulders. “It’s a bit earlier than planned, but isn't this actually perfect?”

the man’s deep red eyes narrowed as he broke into a smirk.

“An epic needs a tragedy and a storyteller. Right?”

Victim also smiled, as if drawn in, and nodded in agreement with the hooded man.

The seeds of malice were about to sprout.