Chapter 125
Chapter 125
‘……A deer?’
That deer was clearly different from the others.
Its whole body was snow-white, and the blue aura flowing from it was extraordinary.
Recalling my memory, I blinked.
‘I’ve seen this in the game before. It was one of the rare creatures.’
That was the animal called ‘Silent White Fawn.’
Just like the Sea Otter I was raising at the Pond Farm, it was a creature so rare that people even called it a phantom beast.
What kind of coincidence was it to encounter one here?
‘But…… what does it want?’
The deer was still staring straight at me.
‘Could it be thirsty?’
I held out a bottle filled with water to it.
“……Want a drink?”
When I spoke, it seemed to understand my intention, slowly approaching and licking at the opening of the bottle I offered.
I tilted the bottle carefully, letting it drink slowly.
“You must have been really thirsty.”
As if agreeing, the deer made a “Prrng!” sound.
Only after it emptied the bottle did it seem to have fully quenched its thirst.
Perhaps as a way of expressing thanks, it stepped closer and began rubbing its face against the back of my hand.
When I stroked it, the deer stayed still, as if it liked my touch.
After some time passed like that.
“……I have to go now, so take care.”
I withdrew my hand and walked toward the Tree House.
Rustle—. Rustle—.
But behind me, I heard the sound of leaves being stepped on.
When I turned back, the white fawn was following me.
The deer came closer to me, rubbing its face against my arm as I stood still.
“What, you want me to pet you again?”
As I placed my hand on its head, the deer closed its eyes in relief.
Strangely enough, it seemed used to human touch.
‘Was it raised by someone? ……No, normally this island should be deserted.’
Then it must be a wild animal.
And deer were creatures known to be very wary.
The ‘Silent White Fawn’ was even more so.
‘But it’s unexpectedly fearless.’
With its snow-white body, the Silent White Fawn stood out easily in the wild, which meant it had many natural predators.
So normally, its caution should have been extreme, yet it oddly seemed to love human touch.
‘……Could it be possible to bring it to the Farm and raise it like the Sea Otter?’
The thought suddenly crossed my mind as I stroked it.
Of course, I had no intention of forcing it.
‘I’ll just watch over it until the exam ends.’
It might get attacked by other cadets or monsters otherwise.
But there was something strange.
As a native of this place, the deer should have known the island’s geography well, yet it seemed unable to find water.
It had come close to me out of thirst, even approaching a human.
That must have meant it had come here while avoiding monsters or cadets.
‘But why is it following me……?’
Well, maybe it simply felt grateful for the water.
That had to be the only reason.
I arrived at the Tree House with the deer.
Around the tree supporting the Tree House, animals were frolicking.
At the center, Lapin and Karin were crouched down.
“Ah, Villed! Where did you go? Look here! There are so many animals! They must have come here because it feels safe!”
They were the animals that used to live with Ramji.
Since their original habitat was dangerous, I had temporarily sheltered them here.
‘……They’ve gotten close with the animals already.’
Judging by the squirrel perched on Lapin’s head.
The animals must have felt that this place was safe.
“But where did you bring that deer from? It’s so beautiful.”
Karin approached carefully, examining the white fawn.
“Well, I gave it some water, and it started asking me to pet it.”
“Water?”
When Karin asked, I told her about the spot where I had made a well.
“You made a well? Overnight?”
“……It didn’t take that long. I just got lucky that the water vein broke open quickly, so I finished fast.”
“Wow, I want to see it. Lapin, let’s go check it out together!”
Karin grabbed Lapin’s hand and ran to the well.
Since it was close to the Tree House, it didn’t take long.
When Karin returned after seeing it, her eyes sparkled.
“You really seem talented at building things! Maybe you should go into Hephaestus…… Ah, no, maybe not.”
Hephaestus referred to the Department of Technology, where architecture, crafts, and blacksmithing were taught.
But among nobles, it was considered a lowly profession, so it was unpopular.
Remembering that, Karin trailed off, but since I didn’t care, I answered casually.
“I did think about Hephaestus, but I figured this should just stay a hobby. That’s why I plan to go to the Common Magic Department.”
“Ah, I see. Yeah, hobby and career are definitely different things.”
Karin nodded.
“Villed has always been good at making things, but every time I see it, I’m amazed.”
At Lapin’s words, Karin eagerly agreed.
“Right? To make something like that in just a day, it’s incredible.”
While the two chatted, Lapin’s stomach suddenly growled, and Karin chuckled.
“Let’s go get some food. Villed, you must be tired from making the well, so take a rest!”
“Don’t go too far. From today, cadets can attack each other, so if you run into someone, escape right away.”
“Yeah, we’ll be careful.”
Lapin and Karin headed deeper into the forest.
I sat down behind a tree and spoke to the Silent White Fawn.
“…It’ll be dangerous elsewhere, so you should rest here too.”
Did it understand me?
“Prrng―!” the deer cried, then left somewhere.
‘Well, if it feels safe, it’ll stay here even without me telling it to.’
Watching the blue-glowing deer move away, I closed my eyes for a while.
When I opened them again, Lapin and Karin had returned with their arms full of various fruits.
Breakfast was simple.
Wild strawberries, blueberries, and various mushrooms gathered near the Tree House.
I had told them not to bring brightly colored mushrooms, so they brought mostly white and brown varieties.
Of course, even among plain-colored mushrooms, there were poisonous ones, but with the system’s help, I could sort those out.
‘But none of these look dangerous at first glance.’
They were only common mushrooms like shiitake or oyster mushrooms.
Just in case, I checked them with the system, and thankfully, they were safe.
While examining a shiitake, Karin frowned.
“Ah, I don’t think we can eat this one. It has some weird mold on it.”
As she said, something white was growing underneath the mushroom.
Recognizing it at once, I blinked.
“……Mushroom spawn.”
“Spawn?”
Taking the mushroom from her, I inspected it more closely and answered.
“Think of it simply as the seed used to grow mushrooms.”
I brought the spawn closer to my nose.
It didn’t smell spoiled.
‘The color’s white too. No black or dark brown streaks.’
If dark brown lines appeared, it meant contamination, but the streaks on this one were only faintly brown.
‘This should be good enough to use.’
I scraped the spawn into an empty bottle and sealed it.
“With this, I can start farming.”
“Farming……? But we’re leaving in three days. We won’t be able to harvest anything before then.”
At her words, I smiled faintly.
“Well, who knows? We might see it.”
“……What do you mean?”
Karin didn’t know that this place was connected to the Livestock Shed.
When I gave Lapin a secretive smile, she spoke.
“Yeah, Karin. I think we’ll be able to see it.”
“Eh, what? Lapin, you know too? Why am I the only one left out!”
“I’ll tell you after the exam ends.”
When I said that, Karin pouted and crossed her arms.
Her sulky face made me chuckle, and eventually she laughed along too.
……After the laughter faded, my gaze naturally fell on the fruits and mushrooms before me.
“But, are these really edible? We can’t cook, so we’ll have to eat them raw.”
While Karin picked up a raw shiitake mushroom, sniffing and examining it, Lapin brought one to her mouth first.
She chewed and swallowed, then took another bite.
Watching her eat raw mushrooms so easily, Karin swallowed hard.
“……So it must taste good for Lapin. How is it?”
“Yeah. A little chewy, but tasty.”
“Tasty? Really?”
Karin hesitated, but seeing Lapin keep biting into the mushroom, she seemed convinced.
Closing her eyes, she finally brought the shiitake to her mouth and bit down.
At that moment, Karin’s eyes flew wide open.
……It seemed to be in a bad sense.
“Ugh, ueegh. It tastes awful……”
Karin spat out the mushroom she had bitten into.
Well, eating shiitake mushrooms raw wasn’t particularly tasty, and since they were tough, people could dislike them.
“I can’t eat this at all……. It would taste good if grilled.”
It seemed it didn’t suit human taste.
For wild animals, shiitake mushrooms were a top meal.
Lapin must have eaten them well because she was a Chimera.
“It’s really inconvenient without fire. We can’t even light one in the forest……”
As someone who had lit campfires daily at the Livestock Shed, I sympathized with Karin’s words and silently nodded.
……And then, at that moment.
Was it because it was an extension of cultivating the Forest Farm?
‘Huh?’
Information from the system flowed into my mind.
In this place filled with nature, there was a way to light a fire safely.
“……It seems there’s a way to light a fire after all.”
“Eh, but this is a forest. And we can’t because of the smoke, right?”
“That’s why I said there’s a method.”
I looked around the ground nearby.
After finding soil that was good for digging, I pressed my shovel into it and began to dig.
Meanwhile, on the southern beach of the island where the exam was being held.
Sitting on a large rock there, Lahan was performing the duties of the Exam Overseer.
In front of him, a magic circle formed of blue mana floated in midair.
At its center, an image of the island was being projected in real-time.
As if overlooking the entire island, the circle constantly changed its scenes, showing different situations.
The island was a dense jungle filled with trees.
So, while it was impossible to grasp everything perfectly, he could still see the general state.
In particular, a series of crimson-black explosions bursting in the center of the island caught his eye.
There was also a red-haired male cadet with a sadistic smile, attacking indiscriminately.
His assault swept up not only monsters but also cadets, who trembled in terror.
“Impressive, that student is.”
Among the first-years praised as the Golden Generation, only three displayed skill on par with graduates.
Heidel, Kunking, Keirin.
And in this exam, the one who stood out the most was undoubtedly Kunking.
「……」
「4th place 1650 points – Keirin」
「3rd place 2420 points – Heidel」
「2nd place 2490 points – Elined」
「1st place 10780 points – Kunking」
He was in first place with an overwhelming lead.
“It’s almost excessive.”
While other cadets moved in teams, Kunking was acting alone.
Even so, no one could match him.
Even groups who tried to restrain him were annihilated in an instant.
When cadets fled at the sight of him, Kunking relentlessly chased them down to steal points.
“How desperate must he be to get into a department to go this far.”
It was practically a massacre.
Fortunately, thanks to Ruber’s protective spell, any physical damage from Kunking’s attacks was converted into mental damage.
Because of that, the defeated cadets were able to survive.
But…… Lahan imagined.
If.
If, by some chance, that protective spell were destroyed?
If cadets were no longer shielded by Ruber’s magic, and the physical damage was passed onto them directly?
Most cadets wouldn’t attack each other in such a situation.
Fighting without protection would literally mean taking lives.
But……
‘What about that cadet?’
A refugee from Hetarion.
Someone considered a threat simply by existing, treated like a monster, an outsider.
Even outside the Academy, some called Hetarion people a criminal race and despised them.
Moreover, there had been the recent Jed Rubin incident.
With Kunking’s eccentric nature added to that, distrust and hatred toward Hetarion had begun to flare among the first-years.
“They say even rats running away will band together and fight back when truly threatened by a cat.”
You never knew what someone else might do to you.
When a person with such anxieties was cornered, things beyond reason tended to happen.
“That student must also be hated quite a lot by others……. It might be interesting to see what choices the cadets make.”
Lahan touched the ring above his head lightly and let out a smile.