72 – External practice (1)

Time flies, the day of the external practice day.

I arrived with Elaine at the rendezvous point Bella had told me about.

Since it was Elaine, who had been waiting for me with porridge in front of the dormitory since morning, I couldn’t pretend I didn’t know.

‘by the way… .’

“I have no words. Elaine.”

“… .”

Unlike usual, he doesn’t smile or talk.

‘Why is he doing this again?’

It has been like this since arriving at the academy yesterday.

He didn’t promise anything in particular, and he didn’t do anything that would offend him, but he was openly giving off an uncomfortable look.

When I ask why, he just turns his head away and doesn’t say anything.

Whatever it is, it will have to be solved before practice takes place.

“Everyone is here. Miss Elaine and you too.”

“Did you say Reina, Hans, and Hilda? You came a little early.”

“Whoops, hello.”

“Since the wagon wasn’t prepared by the academy, I had no choice but to apply early. You’re not too late either.”

At the carriage stop, which was the assembly point, all the members of the crew except for Elaine and I had arrived.

At the bus stop on the other side, Siegfried, Heinz, and Jed, who were heading to Empsted, were listening to Bella explain something.

In the meantime, Jed doesn’t listen to the explanation and only looks this way.

It’s probably because they can’t be in the same group as Bona Mana and Reina.

“you.”

“Well?”

Elaine was also ignored, so I had no one to talk to, so I was leaning against the wall.

“Why?”

“… I didn’t see you yesterday.”

“yesterday? ah.”

Originally, I was planning to come back for a day trip, but I stayed overnight at Risha’s request.

But I don’t usually come to visit you, so I know it’s not there.

“But what happened? You say it as if you were looking for it.”

“I went to talk to you about practice. It has no meaning.”

Took-

“… right.”

“Miss Elaine?”

Elaine, who puffed up her cheeks, approached me before I knew it and stabbed my side.

Why don’t you just talk

I didn’t talk to him because he looked like he was mad, but I think I’ll laugh at how he can’t win against me with his small pride.

Shall we play a little bit to see how long this is going to be?

“By the way, Reina. Haven’t you seen Elaine? I haven’t seen you since this morning.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I asked if I hadn’t seen Elaine.”

“… I am by your side.”

Reina sighed and pointed at the angry Elaine next to me.

I looked at the bench next to Elaine and asked Reina with a puzzled expression.

“What are you talking about? Elaine is not here.”

“Sigh… .”

“Bae, Countess!”

Elaine, who was worse off, intervened with a scream.

The sight of her trying to appeal with her tiptoe was a sight that made her smile.

But the sin of ignoring me is never light.

“Strange. Let me tell the instructor.”

“What are you doing? you.”

“Is this a new kind of bullying? Kun Altane is slowly revealing his true colors.”

“Whoops… .”

Despite the continued accusations, I pretended to look for Elaine, looking around as much as I could.

Every time my gaze passed, Elaine’s expression changed dynamically every moment.

She was restless, rolling her eyes here and there, probably because she didn’t want to be ignored by me after showing off her pout just a moment ago.

“Ooh, ooh!”

Then, he rolls his short legs and tries to appeal in his own way, but there is no way.

Ignored me like that, until today one of the two of us sheds tears–

“Black… .”

oh it’s over

“Altein. You are such trash.”

“Huh, Ms. Elaine. I’ll lend you this… .”

The 17-year-old was defeated so easily.

I’m still at an age where I’m full of emotions, so there’s no way I can win against me who’s been through a lot of battles.

As soon as I put on a satisfied smile, Reina passed me with a disgusted look on her face.

no what did i do wrong

I only made fun of one kid.

“Huh… ugh… .”

“Miss Elaine. It’s over. Originally, that person had a bad personality. Don’t take it too seriously.”

“yes. he’s such a guy Even in aristocratic society, don’t get too frustrated if you’re ignored by someone who has no friends.”

“Whoops… .”

“Have you all gathered here?”

As I was getting embarrassed, Bella approached me.

She saw Elaine sobbing and those comforting her and demanded an explanation from me.

“Before we went, we built our trust in each other. There are no problems whatsoever.”

“No matter how you look at it, there seems to be a problem. Is Elaine okay?”

“Yes, yes… .”

As if she had calmed down a bit, Elaine, who sniffed and approached, answered.

“Then Iistin student. Take this.”

“This… Is it a letter?”

“Exactly, these are the assignments you will have to do in the practice field. It is written there, so please open it when you arrive.”

What Bella handed over to Reina was a letter paper slightly larger than a letter.

Is it a way to write down tasks in advance, just like in the game, and then solve the tasks written there while staying in the field?

‘I know a little about the assignment over there… I wonder if this one is similar.’

Siegfried’s Empstead tasks are relatively simple and easy, considering that they are in the early stages of the game.

Catching runaway animals, exterminating demons around town, and doing simple errands.

I think this one will be of similar difficulty… .

‘The problem is Mephisto.’

Unlike the original work, the attack of the demons has returned to nothing, so it is unknown how they will retaliate again.

At the earliest, we may encounter them again in this practice.

It would be good to at least prepare for it.

“You may have investigated separately, but Belgrove is a town with developed agriculture. There, you will have various experiences as academy students while solving the requests the town has requested from us.”

“When it comes to agriculture… Do you have anything to ask for help with farming?”

“As far as the villagers go, they were selected after selecting what they needed, so it would be better to check it on the spot. Oh and.”

Bella stops talking and looks at me.

“This assignment, of course, requires students to cooperate with each other. We must not put our members at risk by acting selfishly.”

“I am well aware of it.”

“Then, how about student Elaine?”

“Okay, it’s okay… .”

glance-

Elaine looks at me.

He shrugged lightly and turned his head again.

‘Is it the time of the storm?’

I want to know where you got mad, but it was obvious that asking would make things worse in the current situation.

I have no choice but to release it somehow as an elder during the practice period.

She is an indispensable talent in the battle against future demons.

You can’t damage a relationship like this.

Besides, in my previous life, my dad said, when women get angry, they just blindly pray for it.

I felt Reina’s uncomfortable gaze from the side, but I tried to ignore it.

“We have given each leader a crystal ball for communication, so if you have any questions during the assignment, feel free to contact us.”

“A communication port?”

“What is it? Your name is Count, don’t you know that?”

“Do you know?”

“under! the obvious.”

Hans’ voice grew louder.

“It is a telecommunication device recently announced by the Magic Lab. If you put the user’s mana in the crystal, it’s an invention that can detect that mana from a long distance and talk to each other.”

“So-called phone.”

“telephone?”

“It is nothing. Then, with that invention, can we be in touch no matter where we are?”

“Not necessarily.”

Reina said while holding the crystal ball she received from Bella in one hand.

It was shaped like a pearl with bright colors.

“It’s said to be long-range, but beyond a certain distance, you can’t detect magic power. Since it is still a prototype, there is potential for future improvements, but it is still impossible to achieve ultra-long distances.”

“You know a lot.”

“We have several in our family. It seems that it has been sent to several families to use for performance tests.”

The place Rayna looked at was where Zed was.

“It is safe to say that all influential families are using it.”

“That’s it.”

After that, Empsted Joe left in the carriage that had arrived on the other side, and our turn came.

“Are you really not coming?”

“If there is nothing special about it, it will be here.”

“What is it, Altein? Are you afraid to go out?”

“Sounds that don’t sound like words.”

The wagon we rode in while having trivial conversations was wider than I thought.

The seats are spacious, probably because of the long-distance operation, and above all, there is no shaking throughout the trip, so I felt as comfortable as if I was in a car.

It’s a carriage, but it’s only driven by a single horse.

And next to it, the coachman used magic to lighten the wagon.

I haven’t seen it in the game, but seeing it in person makes me feel like I’ve really entered the game world.

As I stared out blankly like that, something stabbed me in the side again.