Chapter 19: Beastly Battles and Lunchtime Bonds
The Sparring Begins
The instructor activated a control pad, and a thin, dome-shaped barrier enveloped the training ground.
“Five minutes. If you don’t finish in time, you’ll get ten times the delay in extra training.”
“Hah! With Patricia here, no need to worry!”
Patricia banged her massive iron shield, nearly as tall as her.
You’re the one I’m worried about.
Monica’s pretty strong in the novel, so she’s fine, but you’re like scratching a lottery ticket.
The instructor pulled a small device from his pocket.
“Good. Confidence is better than none. Begin!”
His hand worked the device, and the cage door opened.
“Bark bark!”
A wolf-like beast shot out, charging straight at us without glancing elsewhere.
Patricia leaned into her shield like a wall.
To the beast, it probably looked like just her head peeking over.
Monica began chanting immediately.
“ᚫᛝᛗᚾᛠᚦ (Aesk Ig Mann Nyd Eiar Thon)!”
As her runic chant ended, the dead rose from the ground.
Skeletal soldiers, flesh long rotted away.
Thorny vines sprouted near their ribs, replacing muscle and skin.
“―――!”
The vine-soldiers let out silent screams and charged forward.
The beast, now close, didn’t slow and crashed into Patricia’s shield.
BOOM!
“Hmph! This is nothing!”
Surprisingly, Patricia didn’t budge.
She bent her knees, lowered her center, and absorbed the impact with her back leg.
Only her pink ponytail swayed lightly.
Monica seized the brief gap from the collision.
“ᚸᚼᚸ (Gar Io Gar)!”
The vine-soldiers extended their arms, and vines shot out like living snakes, piercing the beast’s body.
“Grr! Yelp!”
The beast retreated swiftly.
Unlike its initial charge, it now circled us warily, eyes full of caution.
It’d take time before it attacked again.
My turn to earn my keep.
I dropped to my knees, clasping my hands.
“I beseech you, descend from your radiant throne to the lowliest place, and have pity on your servant.”
‘Being a saintess is hard enough, and lately, the powers you give are trash, so I’m pissed.’
“Bark! Bark!”
The beast charged again.
Patricia quickly repositioned to keep Monica and me behind her.
“Come at me!”
“Grr!”
The beast darted past her.
“What?!”
“Grr!”
It swerved, targeting Monica, who’d stepped back for a clear view—a fatal mistake.
“ᚦᛗᛒᛟ (Thon Mann Ber Eth)!”
The vine-soldiers returned to shield Monica, but the beast’s claws shattered them.
She dodged, but the beast closed in fast.
Patricia was too far to block.
“Monica!”
Patricia’s cry.
It’s fine.
I’ll protect her.
“Have mercy on your pitiful servant and drive out the wicked from your domain.”
‘Give me something to smash its skull in one shot, please… (lol)’
A pale green halo glowed behind my head.
[The God of Hunting answers your call.]
I stood, mimicking drawing a bowstring.
Except for “Swift Arrow,” the God of Hunting always grants bow-related powers, so I acted fast to save time.
[The God of Hunting grants you the power of Broadhead Arrow.]
I released the imaginary string as the power activated.
The beast moved to close the gap.
My arrow, silent, reached it in an instant.
“Yelp!”
It pierced clean through its forehead before it could react.
Thud!
The beast collapsed.
The instructor noted the time calmly.
“Two minutes, eighteen seconds… Not bad for a frontliner using only a shield. Pass!”
Clap clap clap…
The students gave polite applause.
As we left the training ground, the instructor added,
“But mind your positioning. The farther you stray from the frontliner, the riskier it gets. Relying solely on those vine-skeletons could spell trouble later.”
“Y-Yes… I’m sorry…”
Monica’s meek apology marked the end of our team’s spar.
But the next didn’t start right away—Third Prince Theo raised an issue.
“Instructor, I understand the need to fight beasts, but isn’t this dangerous? If not for the saintess, that could’ve been bad.”
“Haha, Your Highness, worried already? Thinking of losing before winning? Quite different from the days you took barbarian heads in the north.”
Theo frowned slightly, but a hint of a smile lingered.
“Austin, this isn’t a battlefield. It’s not Kalda Plateau, where we had to stop barbarians to save the empire’s people.”
No wonder the instructor was so rude to Theo—they knew each other.
The empire student who protested earlier looked shocked at the name.
“Austin? As in ‘Executioner’ Austin, who beheaded the barbarian chief Alyukov at Kalda Plateau?”
“Correct. My old war comrade. I apologize on Austin’s behalf for his earlier rudeness.”
“N-No, how could I accept Your Highness’s apology!”
What a circus.
After the warm exchange between Theo and his follower, the instructor spoke again.
“Your Highness, that wasn’t dangerous. It’s treatable. If it was truly risky…”
As he spoke, a cage opened.
A crouching beast leapt out, charging straight at our group.
“Kyaaa!”
“What are you doing?!”
The students screamed, but the instructor didn’t flinch.
Orphe drew his sword and stepped forward.
Just as the beast reached us and Orphe swung—
“Yelp!”
The beast dropped dead.
Its momentum sent the corpse tumbling awkwardly.
Orphe sliced through the massive remains with ease.
“One Strike, Two Halves! Worthy of a hero’s name. Quite a show.”
The instructor clapped for Orphe.
Theo stared, bewildered.
“Your doing?”
“Yes, Your Highness. Every beast has a conditional instant-death spell in its head. One gesture from me, and they’re done.”
“I overestimated you. You’re sneakier than your bulk suggests.”
“I’ve been off the battlefield a while. I’m not the swordsman you remember.”
The dead beast was assigned to Orphe’s team, and the instructor moved on.
Only three teams, including mine and Orphe’s, finished within five minutes.
Lunchtime Shenanigans
Those exempt from extra training were sent off, so I quickly led the group to the cafeteria.
Having learned from the tour what happens if you’re late, I didn’t dawdle.
Luckily, Patricia, who witnessed that chaos, agreed with me.
We secured a spot in the cafeteria with a relatively calm vibe.
“Fifirel, your plate’s all meat?”
‘Aren’t elves supposed to be vegan?’
“Duh, of course it’s meat. Trees, grass, and flowers are my friends.”
So, you only eat meat because plants are too dear to consume?
A carnivore elf? What hipster came up with this?
[The God of Entertainment says they referenced a game.]
Oh, really?
Then Patricia, munching salad, must be your sworn enemy.
“Here, Miss Monica. You need vegetables too. Come on.”
“L-Lady Arkis, I can eat on my own… And it’s not M-Monica, it’s Monica…”
“Tch! Listen when people talk. There’s no green on your plate!”
Patricia scooped a handful of her salad onto Monica’s dessert-filled plate.
Monica’s face turned miserable.
“Veggies taste bad…”
“I’ll check if you ate them later.”
Monica nibbled tiny bits of vegetables with her desserts, swallowing reluctantly, like a ten-year-old forced to eat hated side dishes.
“Ugh… so gross…”
“Hm, Monica, was it? Not to meddle, but some meat builds muscle and keeps you healthy. Here!”
Fifirel plopped a few lamb ribs from her plate onto Monica’s.
Monica stared at her plate, exhausted.
“I can’t eat all this…”
“Skip the desserts, and you’ll manage. Hurry up!”
Fifirel even speared a rib with her fork, pushing it toward Monica, who couldn’t refuse and ate it.
‘Like raising a big dog…’
But this peaceful vibe wasn’t bad.
“Elf, meat just weighs you down. To make Monica’s big, clumsy body leaner, she needs vegetables, no?”
“Hm, I grew up on mostly meat and I’m super fast. And it’s not Elf, it’s Fifirel. Here, Monica, try this too.”
“…It’s not M-Monica, it’s Monica…”
The two shoved vegetables and meat into Monica’s mouth.
Not quite the girls’ gathering I imagined, but it’s still girls hanging out, so that counts.
A secret garden of girls, right?
[The God of Affection says all-girl scenes are boring.]
Go find your crazy obsessive saintess then~
Why ruin our fun?
Clack.
The table’s chatter stopped.
All eyes turned up to a tall figure with black hair.
“Excuse me.”
[The God of Affection says a guy’s gotta crash the girl party.]
The harem king, Orphe, invaded our table.