Drip, Drip.
The crackling sound of a steady fire filled the air.
Embers sparked, giving rise to small flames that collided and spread into larger ones.
It was Luid’s expertise. Without stopping there, he brought some nearby mushrooms and placed them on a thin mana plate to cook.
As if proving that he hadn’t just been dozing off by Delin’s Lake, he seemed quite familiar with the process.
Hershey was at a loss about where and how to help. He met Luid’s gaze as he flipped the mushrooms using telekinesis.
“Mushrooms taste better when grilled.”
“Ah, yes, of course…”
“I’ve already removed the toxins with a detoxification spell, so it’s safe.”
“T-Thank you.”
“You can eat it now.”
Luid skillfully lifted a mushroom with telekinesis, shaking it vigorously. When it seemed cooked enough, he took a bite with his hand.
The delicious mushroom juice filled his mouth. It was a snack Luid often enjoyed. Originally, he used to bake them with fireballs, but since he made a campfire yesterday, he decided to try grilling them directly.
“It’s good.”
It was far better than fireball-grilled mushrooms. Perhaps it was because of the natural aroma of the wood. Artificial things couldn’t beat nature.
“Wow… It’s delicious.”
Hershey covered his mouth as he chewed and swallowed.
“Just grilling over the fire… How can it be this tasty?”
“Well, of course, it’s delicious. They’re shiitake mushrooms.”
The secret was the detoxification magic. Since there might be some toxins in the mushrooms here, they had to be treated with detoxification magic, and magic was not very flexible.
It eradicated any harmful substances in the body, like cholesterol, sodium, excessive sugar, and so on.
Especially nobles were very concerned about their health, so they even used detoxification magic on ordinary food. Luid still remembered his first meal after possessing this body.
It was a terrible experience. He couldn’t taste anything at all. It was like chewing on a tire, not steak. He even suspected if the author had set the world to be in Britain.
It took quite some time to understand that it was the detoxification magic causing the issue. He didn’t know eating sugar could be fatal.
So, Luid lied about using detoxification magic on the mushrooms.
“I’m an expert, you see. If your magical skills were as good as mine, you could make it taste like this too.”
It took six months to convince his family. How would he convince others?
“Well, I have considerable skill too, you know?”
Hershey pouted but politely ate the mushrooms. After witnessing Luid controlling dozens of pieces of wood simultaneously when making the campfire, Hershey almost fainted. He had never heard of anyone having such skill.
To top it all off, a person with such extraordinary talent protected him, and that was truly astonishing.
“….”
Hershey looked at Luid.
Luid was eating an apple. His small mouth meant that even after chewing for a long time, the size of the apple didn’t seem to diminish.
“Cute.”
Hershey stared at Luid blankly.
“….?”
Luid tilted his head and extended an apple to the side. Since Hershey was staring at it, he thought he wanted some.
“Ah, thank you.”
Hershey graciously accepted it. Luid looked beyond the valley and took a crunchy bite.
“When will they come?”
He had wanted to occupy this place, but he arrived late. He found Justin Murry, whom he had already observed, camping there.
Moreover, as seen before, Justin Murry had his long-time friend Sophia with him.
Unable to give up on such a nice spot after losing out on it because he couldn’t make a proper staff without the feathers, Hershey formed a “temporary alliance” with Sophia out of respect.
“I think it was the next day.”
This test was not just about endurance. If it were, then students who couldn’t endure and hid in the corners would end up on the top.
There were events interspersed throughout. The first event was a monster attack. They suddenly attacked at dawn.
From there, Hershey learned that Justin had phoenix feathers. That’s when their conflict started in earnest.
“…I was grateful for what you did earlier.”
At that moment, Hershey awkwardly expressed his gratitude.
Luid woke from his reverie and looked at Hershey, his face slightly red.
“Thank you to the point of giving an apple.”
“Well, it was my first time someone did something for me.”
Hershey put his hand on his knee and shyly spoke.
“Thanks for cooking something delicious for me too. As for the Phoenix feather, let’s consider it a non-issue. I never thought you would go this far for me.”
“Polite, huh?”
Luid let out a yawn.
“To think this guy will change like that.”
Indeed, people are greatly influenced by their surroundings.
“By the way, what should I do with the Phoenix feather?”
Today’s events turned out to be a delay of the inevitable conflict. It will eventually be revealed that Sophia, Hershey’s friend, was with Justin and found the Phoenix feather.
“Maybe I should have endured a bit earlier.”
I got stressed out from the commotion and just pushed him away…
I don’t know. Luid was starting to feel drowsy.
“And though it may be off-topic…”
Hershey cautiously spoke with a fake cough.
“Behaving like that can make too many enemies. Because of the Phoenix incident, you went there to confront him directly, but other students are probably grumbling silently. And the incident earlier…”
“What are you going to say?”
Hershey, the enemy manufacturing machine, said such things, leaving Luid surprised.
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Anyway, whatever.
Luid looked for a suitable place to sleep.
“Huh?”
But then.
“…What’s this?”
Near the waterfall, he discovered a Phoenix feather that was strangely hidden.
Luid scratched his head in confusion. There was no chance for it to be there. His genius brain doesn’t forget even fleeting scenes.
So, it must have suddenly appeared at some point, but that’s unlikely…
“Justin?”
Suddenly, a scene flashed through Luid’s mind.
Hershey’s furious attack.
And fallen Justin.
The shock caused a feather to fall from his pocket—
“….!”
“I’m sure this is my feather. Just to be safe, I enchanted it with magic.”
And Hershey also quickly reached the same conclusion as Luid.
Thump.
“That commoner…!”
Seeing through everything, Hershey was enraged.
Luid approached him with a worried expression.
“Glad you found the feather.”
“This is definitely my feather. Just in case, I put a magical mark on it.”
And it didn’t take Hershey long to draw the same conclusion as Luid.
“Urgh!”
“That attitude might be arrogant, but…”
Hershey grumbled.
“I’m thankful for your anger toward my actions, but you don’t have to go that far. I mean, really… It’s just too much.”
“??”
‘What’s going on?’
Luid couldn’t understand how he, the bad guy, could end up in such a situation.
“You stole the feather, touched a noble’s possession. Aren’t you angry?”
“That’s arrogant, but…”
Hershey sniffed.
“I’ll let it pass, but… Well, whatever. In the end, thanks to you, I could make a connection with you. I even ate the food made by a lazy genius and a high and mighty elf who refuses anyone’s touch.”
For Hershey, this moment of conversing with Luid felt like a dream.
“If that’s what you want, then… I won’t say much, but… Let’s get well-prepared. It’ll take time to gather things like leaves.”
Being near the waterfall made the ground damp. Luid couldn’t just sleep like usual; he tried to collect things like leaves.
However, curiosity got the better of him. Lloyd expressed his curiosity.
“Just because you seemed friendly with Sophia, were you upset?”
“Huh?”
“Aren’t you two friends? There was a dispute earlier, and you didn’t take either side. You’ve only known Sophia for a day as a commoner.”
Hersey’s expression slightly stiffened.
“I was a bit disappointed, yes. But that’s how nobles are. They divide and conquer people as needed.”
Hersey smiled sardonically.
“I may have a friendly relationship with them, but right now, what’s important is the party members. Sophia must have felt awkward.”
‘… She’s an adult, after all?’
The fact that she was considered a villainess was unbelievable. How considerate had she been to the child? Lloyd tried to turn away his perplexed gaze, which had been directed at Justin for no reason.
“And one more thing.”
It seemed Hersey’s words were not yet over. Lloyd looked at Hersey.
Hersey tilted her head slightly to the side.
“… It’s okay because Lloyd understands.”
Only then did Lloyd realize why Hersey’s reaction towards Justin was different from the original.
All Hersey needed was someone to empathize with her.
In the original, that person was absent, but now she had someone.
That was the difference.
**
The night in the forest was cold.
Using magic would solve the problem, but without a medium, magic couldn’t be maintained even while sleeping.
But Lloyd and Hersey’s night could be warm. Lloyd was a con artist who could keep the magic going with the thought, “I hope it stays warm until morning.”
Hersey, who wanted to be helpful, had set up alarm magic around them. Yet she apologized five times for her weak magic.
They were sleeping in locations that were reasonably distant from each other. But then, Lloyd opened his eyes.
‘The monsters will be coming soon.’
He couldn’t know the exact time since he didn’t have a clock. But it was clear that the darkest part of the night had passed, and dawn was approaching.
Lloyd sat on a large rock, rubbing his eyes. He was naturally nocturnal because he slept a lot during the day.
“Lloyd…?”
Hersey’s sleepy voice could be heard.
“It’s still early morning. Go back to sleep.”
“What about Lloyd?”
Despite Hersey’s urging, she got up sluggishly.
“I couldn’t sleep. So I’ll rest more. What about you?”
“I can’t sleep either.”
Hersey clearly looked drowsy.
But she stubbornly stood beside the rock where Lloyd was sitting.
Then, something in Hersey’s mind rang a bell.
“Someone is coming.”
“Really?”
Lloyd responded nonchalantly, but Hersey was different. As the one who had cast the alarm magic, she was aware of the seriousness of the situation.
“It’s the intense aura of a demon! If it’s that feeling, it must be an ogre!”
“Don’t be so scared. Whoever it is, I’ll defeat them.”
Lloyd poked Hersey’s cheek while sitting on the rock.
Hersey blinked her eyes and answered as if she were a wooden doll.
“Four.”
Lloyd narrowed his eyes and looked into the forest on the other side. The ground was shaking so much that one could feel it even without using the alarm magic.
The demon revealed its form. It was a giant troll with a huge green skin.
When Hersey confirmed the identity of the demon and froze, Lloyd did some light stretching while thinking to himself.
“Goblins seem to be a bit bigger…?”
Seeing something in text and seeing it in reality felt different indeed.
Lloyd curled his thumb and index finger into a circle, aiming at the troll.
“Alright, this is going to be fun. I’ve always wanted to try this.”
He imagined a memorable scene from an anime he used to enjoy during his unemployed days.
In a childish voice, Lloyd said cynically, “Boom.”
At the same time, he clenched his hand.
Kwak—!
A blue dragon made of mana shot out and swallowed the troll.
“Wow…!”
Hersey gasped in disbelief.
She blinked her eyes to make sure that what she just saw wasn’t a dream.
And when she opened her eyes again—
Half of the forest had disappeared.
