Translated: Sei, MTL-sensei-tachi
Edited: Sei, Grammarly no Danna
Source: Syosetu
Thank you for your support FrankMagri
TL Notes:
My family is facing an unexpected financial challenge. If you are in generous mood. Please support us.
We would be forever grateful for any contribution, big or small, to help us overcome this difficult time. Thank you
Chapter 330
This time, it starts from El’s point of view.
——— read on seireitranslations.blogspot.com ———
I get out of bed.
Without thinking about anything, I wash my face, brush my teeth, and change clothes.
While glancing sideways at Nono, who was mimicking my movements with a lifeless look in her eyes, we continued the movements we had been repeating for a week, which had become our daily routine.
"Ah, good morning, El-san, Nono-san. It’s nice weather again today for both of you."
Only this total pervert seems completely unchanged, but we can’t say the same for ourselves.
As someone who's been subjected to training that's relentlessly chipping away at my mental strength, I've lost all energy to even say anything about something like this.
Nono and I still had it better.
If you get too absorbed in it, you end up becoming a battle-hardened training monster like Kevin and the others, people who’ve survived one hell after another.
""Haa""
And so, another day of training that makes even hell seem mild begins.
Still, hating how we were gradually adapting even to this kind of training, we headed to the dorm cafeteria to eat breakfast.
●
——— read on seireitranslations.blogspot.com ———
"Alright! Today, everyone’s going on field exercises together!!"
"...Ha?"
We thought it would be the usual hellish training, but what was thrust in front of us was a fairly large backpack.
"Eh, F-field exercises?"
"Mm! Today we’re heading into a somewhat deeper part of the forest in the Demon King’s territory for training!!"
Without telling us anything beforehand?
And we're leaving this early in the morning?
As we stood there dumbfounded, Usato gave a wry smile and raised a finger.
"Ah, of course, we’re not going there to play around, okay? It’s proper training!"
"""Yes!!"""
This is hopeless!!
Kevin, Wol, and even the tall newcomer, Sein, don’t seem to find anything strange about this situation at all!!
That’s not even what I wanted to ask, though!
Why are we suddenly going on field exercises!? At least tell us stuff like this the day before!
"We’re leaving right now, and the members participating in the exercise are..."
"Usato-sa~n!"
Just then, a shadow came flying toward the dormitory through the air.
A girl flying with a cloak formed from dark magic, Keira-chan, arrived at the scene.
"Morning, Keira. Did you get permission from Gref-san?"
"Yes! He said that if Usato-san is with me, then there’s nothing to worry about."
"Hmm, that’s a lot of responsibility. ...Anyway, Keira will be joining us too."
This girl has seen Usato’s outrageously brutal training up close as well, yet she shows no sign of changing her attitude toward him at all.
I can’t help wondering just what happened for him to earn this much trust from her.
It must not have been an easy process.
"Other than you six, there’s me, Keira, who just got approved to join, and also Nea and Koga."
"...Where are the others?"
"I'm right here~!"
Nea, transformed into an owl, descended from the sky and perched on his shoulder.
... No one could have imagined that the true identity of the familiar belonging to the healing mage, who had been shrouded in mystery during the war, was actually a vampire.
I only found out afterward myself, and I was genuinely shocked.
Why does this human have a vampire as his familiar?
"Now all that's left is Koga. He's... yeah, looks like he just arrived."
Just as he said, Koga appeared, with Senri following close behind him as though attending to him.
"Good morning, Usato-san."
"Ah, good morning. Sorry for making the princess go wake Koga up."
"No, not at all. If anything, I’m grateful."
At this point, I was having mixed feelings about how accustomed I’d become to seeing the Second Princess of the Kingdom of Nirvarna arriving together with him, when Koga hurried over and snapped at Usato.
"Usato, why did you send Senri to wake me up!?"
"Well... because you never get up on time."
"I really don’t mind, though. Fufufu."
Seeing Koga's condition, Usato sighed and turned his body towards him.
" For someone in the position of captain, you’re way too sloppy. At least wake up properly in the morning?"
"No, you’re just up way too early..."
"That’s only for today. You’re late every single morning. You can’t set an example for your subordinates like that. ...You all think so too, right?"
Usato turned toward us as if asking for agreement.
I mostly agreed, but answering him properly annoyed me, so I was about to ignore him———,
"The captain is absolutely right, Vice-Captain."
"Neglecting duty. Me disapprove"
"Yes, a captain must maintain their dignity."
These guys are hopeless, they're completely brainwashed...!!
They're blindly believing because the training results are so visibly apparent...?
And on top of that, Usato is the vice-captain, not the captain!!
" Isn’t the hierarchy completely flipped!? At this point, you might as well be the captain!!"
"You idiot!! Do you really think you can be entrusted with this unit with that kind of attitude?! You lack the awareness of a captain!! And you're a former corps commander?!"
"Y-Yeah... it's really frustrating to hear you say something so logical...!?"
As Koga recoiled, Usato let out a sigh and pressed further.
"Listen. You’re capable of doing it properly. The only reason you don’t is because up until now, you’ve relied on your own strength to the point where no one could argue with you. Now that even the demons are trying to change, I think you need to change as well."
"That’s right. Koga-san, you’re the type who can do much more if you actually try."
"Hey, from what perspective are you guys even talking from…? The way you’re lecturing me like some kind of parent is seriously embarrassing..."
Sometimes I really can’t tell what position Usato is even speaking from anymore.
But the fact that he’s saying it sincerely at least makes it clear that he’s genuinely trying to correct Koga.
"Haa... now that Koga is here as well, let’s get going. As for Senri-sama, as I explained the other day..."
"I understand. Given my position, I cannot leave this place."
Well, that much was obvious.
Just coming to a city inhabited by demons is pretty dangerous enough, but going outside the city on top of that is beyond dangerous.
Perhaps accepting this, Senri placed a hand on her chest and smiled brightly.
"I shall await my husband’s return in faith. That is the teaching of a good wife."
"I don’t remember being your husband!? At this point, I don’t even want to come back here anymore!"
"Then let's depart!!!"
"Hey, are you listening!? Usato!? Can you hear me!?"
Ignoring Koga, we also slung the issued bags over our backs.
... It’s pretty heavy. I guess it’s filled with food and other supplies?
Well, it seems like a fairly distant location, so they probably prepared horses...
"...Eh, wait"
Would this guy prepare horses...?
No, there’s no way he would.
Honestly, it wouldn’t be surprising if he expected us to just run there.
At least this monstrous, wicked, idiotic guy in the white coat would do something like that...!!
"Ah, right."
As I was thinking that, the idiot in the white coat turned back toward us.
He had the expression of someone who had just remembered something he forgot to say, and took six pieces of paper out of his coat pocket.
Even looking at them was starting to trigger a reflexive rejection; those were scrolls imbued with magic.
"Let’s wear these during the trip. It should make for a good warm-up exercise."
"""Yes!"""
"Vueh..."
"Waah, sounds fun..."
The men responded with loud, energetic voices.
Nono and I let out strained voices.
And for some reason, Vina looked genuinely delighted.
Why does this guy always manage to go beyond my worst expectations...?
Seriously, give me a break already...
●
——— read on seireitranslations.blogspot.com ———
Are we really going to run all the way to our destination? That's just crazy!
I’m used to running, but turning the entire trip into part of the training makes no sense at all!
On top of wearing the scrolls, we’re carrying backpacks too, so it’s not just “hard”.
And the ground is muddy too, making it even harder to run!!
"Hey, Usato. Are we almost there?"
"Yeah, we should be arriving soon..."
As usual, a sense of dread wells up inside me at the sight of Usato and Kohga's carefree conversation, even though they're carrying the same luggage as us and have powerful magical scrolls attached to them.
More than that, Keira-chan had somehow turned into a cloak and was now being “equipped” on Usato... but apparently, no one else found that strange at all?
"Haa, haa, haa..."
"Vina, stop panting and gasping like that!"
The girl next to me was, as usual, completely unfazed.
Still, it was true that we weren’t just suffering for nothing. Being put through two weeks of relentless training under Usato had undeniably improved us compared to before.
A major boost in physical ability and mental strengthening as well.
I had to admit, as frustrating as it was, the training using healing magic had produced overwhelming results.
"No wonder those monsters show up on the battlefield..."
These are the "kidnappers" of an organization called the Rescue Squad.
If they were undergoing training similar to what we were subjected to every day, then it wouldn’t be strange at all that they moved in such absurd ways.
In fact, if all the knights of the Lingle Kingdom were capable of withstanding this training, the demons might have been defeated much sooner.
"And then there’s magic circulation..."
A new magical technique alongside the system strengthening that Usato had discovered.
After going through the training that led to it, I found that my control over magic had improved far more than I expected.
How should I put it... It feels like I’ve started using parts of myself I never actually made use of before.
"Haa..."
On top of that, it seems he’s even discovered bizarre derivative techniques like magic perception and something called “system degradation”.
I don't want to admit it, but when it comes to manipulating and developing magic, this guy is insanely amazing.
...I didn't want to admit it, though.
"Usato, we’re getting close."
"Alright, everyone, from here we’ll walk. You can remove the scrolls, too, make sure you catch your breath properly."
... We’re already near? We’ve been running quite a distance since morning, but where exactly is this?
As I removed the scroll stuck to my chest and walked to catch my breath, Usato cast healing magic over us.
Eh, this is scary.
The fact that we’re actually being allowed to rest is somehow even scarier.
"What exactly are you plotting...?"
"Eh, nothing?"
That's definitely a lie...!!
What I’d learned over these two weeks was that this guy was shockingly bad at lying.
Honestly, it wouldn’t even be strange if he just kept the scrolls on us, healed us while we ran, and immediately moved on to the next training.
"Hmm, I can see it now."
"Ohh, so that’s the place."
As Usato and Koga murmured while walking at the front, we also looked ahead.
Leaving the forested path, we stepped into an open space, and just beyond it was a cliff, beneath which stretched a dense, overgrown forest.
"Everyone, this is the training site. Make sure you remember it well, so come forward."
Urged by Usato, we approached the edge of the cliff.
The cliff...it's not really like a sheer cliff.
The slope is quite steep, and if you fall from here, it looks like it would take a considerable amount of time to climb back up.
"Everyone, pay attention."
When I turned toward the voice behind us, Usato and Koga, both wearing black cloaks, were standing about ten meters away from us.
I tilted my head at the odd distance between us.
"This is a place within the Demon King’s territory called the Venoma Forest. It’s a dangerous area with many violent monsters, but as a training ground before entering deeper monster territory, it’s ideal."
"As Usato said, this is the perfect place to showcase the results of your training so far and to enhance your team's capabilities."
...I have a bad feeling about this.
No, I couldn’t explain it properly, but I had a really bad feeling about this.
While we were all being seized by that unexplained chill, Usato—wearing a smile that looked almost pasted on, raised a finger and declared:
"There's no set time limit. Starting today, the six of you will work together to survive in the forest."
"""Ha?"""
Eh? Survive in the forest?
...Wait a second, why is he deploying his gauntlet?
What is he planning to do with that fist wrapped in healing magic?
"Alright. Do it, Usato."
"Understood. Healing———"
Usato raised his fist high into the sky.
The next moment, a green flash of healing magic streaked out as his fist slammed violently into the ground.
"———Instant Strike Fist!!"
The impact of his punch, combined with the healing magic’s shockwave, released a thunderous roar.
Cracks spread from Usato’s fist through the ground, racing straight toward our feet—and the terrain beneath us collapsed———
""Wait a minute!!""
By the time Nono and I screamed, it was already too late; we were being thrown, sliding helplessly down into the deep forest below.
So this was why he told us to remove the scrolls!?
Ah, aaaah!?
"Well then, good luck!"
"You idiot in the white coat!!! You d*mn boss!!!"
"You devil!! Nooooooo!?"
"A-amazing...! This is truly, absolutely amazing!!"
We tumbled down the collapsing cliff, rolling helplessly into the dark forest below, while looking up at those devilish faces watching us from above with infuriatingly bright smiles.
——— read on seireitranslations.blogspot.com ———
Author's Notes:
Truly outrageous.
This is all done for everyone’s sake. (kindness)
Usato and Koga were scheduled to meet up with Hannah and the others later.
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