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Chapter 122

I felt an intense sense of wrongness as I wondered who this was.

The main problem was that my eyes were not so bad that I couldn’t recognize someone standing in front of me.

Isn’t she Sellen?

Surprisingly, she couldn’t even handle me staring at her and squirmed beneath my gaze...

It was refreshing to see her act like that while looking like Sellen.

“What is it? Why are you speaking so politely now?”

“Uh, uh... Right...! Yeah. Haha.”

Haha?

“The weather, today. It’s, good?”

“...”

How am I supposed to take this?

If I wasn’t hallucinating, if the person in front of me really was Sellen...

Then there were only two possibilities I could think of.

Either her personality had completely changed in the last four weeks...

Or she was acting.

Of course, if that was the case, I couldn’t tell whether the act was her timid and gentle behavior now or her rough and rude demeanor before.

“Hey, you—”

“Ah...! I-I just remembered something I have to do! I mean, I’m going! See you later!” Sellen said before quickly scurrying off.

It wouldn’t be hard to follow her...

But it would be way too rude of me to chase after her when she was obviously trying to get away from me.

Though, if someone asked how long I’d cared about being polite, I wouldn’t be able to give them an answer.

“I don’t know.”

My head felt numb, maybe because of the hunger.

Since Sellen was still here, the competition ceremony clearly hadn’t started yet, so I decided to go to the main house and eat something first.

***

The training camp.

That hellish event, also known as the Six Weeks of Despair, had finally come to an end.

“So this has day finally come...”

“Are you crying?”

“Yeah, I am crying. Fuck... I’m crying tears of joy.”

“I’m going to treat my mom and dad so well from now on.”

“That resolution won’t even last a month.”

The young heroes, who had endured those six weeks that had felt like six years, let out tears of joy and gratitude as the training camp finally concluded.

They were now being treated with a feast in the garden of Bednicker’s main house.

“Ah... I’ve missed this. Juicy steak...”

“What’s this? Are these fish eggs?”

“Woah... You can usually only eat this in port cities!”

“I heard this is butterfly wine. Did they put butterflies in it?”

“Ew. Definitely not drinking that.”

“It says here that this is great for recovering from mana exhaustion.”

“Woah.”

The grand feast presented on the table was befitting the name of Bednicker.

Even the nobles—with their picky tastes—went wide-eyed at all the food.

Of course, being forced to eat whatever was laid before them in the training camp was a factor.

Although the feast was smaller than the Blessing Ceremony’s afterparty had been, the energy and excitement were beyond even that event.

Most of the people here were descendants of Great Houses and thus nobles...

But, perhaps because of the six-week training camp...

Most of the young heroes present had stopped caring about etiquette.

No one was around to look down on them, so most of the young heroes laughed loudly and enjoyed the mood.

“...A drink for Rex.”

“He was a good guy. Damn it...”

Of course, some of them had lost people, either their teammates or just friends.

They stood a bit away from the feast, to not get swept up in the mood, and quietly mourned those they’d lost.

It’s really over.

Evan Helvin was still in a bit of disbelief.

He couldn’t believe that he had completed the training camp.

In truth, this feast was actually a trap prepared by the instructors, and there was one final test still left to complete!

...Evan still wasn’t convinced that wouldn’t happen.

Woosh.

The night winds, which had become a little warmer, caressed his cheeks.

The light from the lamps, the scent of the food, the voices of the young heroes... it all seemed pleasant to him.

Although he didn’t drink any alcohol, he felt a little drunk on the mood.

He heard Sharyl say, “What are you going to do now, Evan?”

Her face was a little red. It seemed she’d drunk some of the wine.

“What do you mean?”

“After the training camp. There are a lot of paths you can take.”

“Ah... Aren’t we just going to go back to our own homes?”

“Right, you’re from the frontier territories.”

He understood now that she wasn’t trying to insult people when she spoke like that.

As Evan quietly nodded, Sharyl began to explain.

“A young hero who completes the Bednicker training camp has three choices. First, they can immediately join Heroes. Of course, only the top three can start as official heroes; everyone else will begin as a provisionary hero.”

A provisionary hero was to a regular hero as a squire was to a proper knight.

They worked with and supported a hero to learn the trade. If they received that hero’s and the institution’s recognition, they could become a proper hero.

Evan nodded.

“That sounds nice.”

Joining Heroes had been a goal of Evan’s even before he’d entered the training camp.

He believed that he needed the identity of a hero to accomplish his dream.

“What are the other two?”

“One is to just return home.”

“Ah.”

Thinking about it now, he understood why many young heroes would choose that option.

Even Evan, who had held on to his firm determination, wanted to see his home and his father’s face again.

“The last is to receive additional education in the Imperial Academy.”

“...Really?”

Evan was a little surprised.

It wasn’t like he was looking down on the academy, but after the training camp, the idea of going to another educational institution wasn’t particularly appealing.

From what he’d heard, the Imperial Academy’s educational period lasted at least three years.

There were a few geniuses who managed to finish everything within one or two years, but they comprised a small percentage.

“It doesn’t take years—rather, the special course only lasts three months. And there are benefits you can only gain from the academy.”

“Such as?”

“Even though the Bednicker training camp is the best for real-world combat, what about theory? Although Bednicker’s grand masters were amazing, their lessons weren’t much.”

“Hmm.”

Evan agreed with that statement.

The training camp’s lessons had all been focused on real battles.

“On the other hand, the academy has experts on theory, and there are connections you can only make there as well.”

“It sounds like you’re planning on heading to the academy.”

Sharyl nodded.

“That’s right. And to be honest, I want you to come to the academy as well.”

“Me?”

“As a noble, you are too lacking in etiquette and manners.”

“...”

“I’m joking. Don’t you want to fix your father’s bad name?”

“I do.”

“The imperial capital truly is the heart of The Empire. It’s where news spreads the quickest from. If you show off in the academy, your name might become known throughout The Empire in just a couple of months.”

* * * * *

* * * * *

That was enticing.

Thanks to the training camp, his wanderlust had faded somewhat and he had even become more confident.

He was sure he wouldn’t lose to any of his peers now.

...With a few exceptions, anyway.

“Thanks for that. I’ll seriously consider it.”

“Sure. By the way, where did that kid go—”

“He really was there!”

Evan heard a loud shout not too far away. Sharyl furrowed her brow and looked in the direction of the noise.

As expected, they saw Mir surrounded by young heroes.

“And I’m telling you it had to be an illusion.”

“That’s right. You probably made a mistake because of the barrier around the forest.”

“I was shocked too when I saw my older sister.”

Pam was among the young heroes, and she shrugged while looking at the others.

“Look at everyone present. All the surviving young heroes are here at the feast, but Luan isn’t here.”

“B-but still...”

“Or maybe...” Pam began, her voice low with mock horror, “you really did see a ghost.”

Mir flinched.

“Well, the true ghosts of this training camp were Charon and Hector.” Karis shivered while hugging himself. “I think it was on the fourth day...? Around then, they entered an alliance or something, and they just went around stealing all the balls.”

With a dejected expression, Skull mumbled, “I-I was completely stripped of everything...”

“That’s because you hid the balls in your underwear like an idiot... With Charon’s blessing, you shouldn’t even think about hiding anything.”

“Argh. Stop talking about that while we’re eating.”

Evan’s expression was subdued as he listened in on the conversation.

Sharyl asked, “What do you think? Was what we saw a hallucination?”

“I don’t think so.”

The Luan Bednicker they’d suddenly met in the forest had given them three blue balls before disappearing.

During that exchange, he’d conversed with them.

Evan didn’t know much about magic, but he didn’t think that had been an illusion.

At least, that was what he’d felt when he’d seen and talked with Luan.

But later, he’d learned...

Other than his group, not a single young hero had met Luan in the forest.

It’s like a ghost story...

Evan shook his head.

“We can tell just by the results. It doesn’t make sense unless he was a hallucination.”

“That’s true. We don’t even know whether the balls he gave us back then were real or not.”

Charon and Hector, the two strongest people in the training camp had suddenly formed an alliance in the final test.

They had swept through the Forest of the Butterfly and stolen the balls of all the young heroes...

I understand Charon acting that way, but why would Sir Hector...?

Sharyl was confused by that.

The fact that the two of them had stolen all the balls meant that they’d wanted the ranks to remain unchanged...

Although it was understandable for Charon, who was in first place, it didn’t make sense for Hector, who should’ve been aiming to overtake Charon in the final test.

Yet the two of them had worked together to clear the forest.

It was as if they’d suddenly developed a sense of kinship.

According to witness testimonies from the young heroes who’d run into them, even when they’d quarreled, they’d still seemed rather close.

A young man with brown hair cleared his throat to reveal his presence.

“Ahem.”

It was the Instructor of Swords and Blades, Calzark.

He climbed the platform in the middle of the garden and shouted to the crowd, “Attention, all young heroes! We will now announce the final results of the 61st Bednicker Training Camp!”

The raucous crowd settled down as every young hero present gave Calzark their full attention.

Only the instructors knew what the point distributions were like after the final special test.

Right now, not a single young hero knew what their points were.

I know that Charon and Hector went around stealing everything...

But who knows? Maybe someone held on to theirs to the very end.

If I’m lucky, I might have made it into the top ranks...

As the young heroes nervously looked up at the platform, Calzark spoke.

“As you all know, the top three will receive a hero plate from Heroes and a gold reward. Now, I shall announce first place! Charon Woodjack!”

That meant there hadn’t been an upset.

Sharyl, who had been quietly rooting for Hector, was a little disappointed, but as a noble, she needed to be polite, so she offered her congratulations.

“Next second place! Hector Bednicker!”

“Ah.”

Sharyl was a little surprised.

Before the start of the test, Hector’s rank had been third.

So he did get to bounce back.

Although it was regretful that he hadn’t gotten first place, second was still pretty good.

Sharyl was clearly happy for him as she clapped.

It seemed to Evan that she was clapping louder for Hector than she had for first place.

“Maybe third place changed too?”

“Yeah.”

Sharyl thought about who could be in third place.

Probably Zeros or Sinbar.

Charon’s two subordinates.

If she excluded them, then maybe Sellen?

Sellen was sitting alone at a table, wearing a calm expression.

Sharyl was a little amazed.

Sellen’s classy etiquette hadn’t suffered at all despite the six weeks of training. She was so refined that even as a fellow noble, Sharyl couldn’t help but be amazed.

Look at her.

Even just the smooth movement of the wine up to her lips...

“Third! Luan Bednicker!”

“Yep!”

The moment Luan walked up to the platform from behind with energetic steps...

“Pfft!”

Sellen coughed up her wine.