Chapter 164
Chapter 164
“Um, it was my first time seeing students from Yggdrasil……. I’m really jealous.”
“Is that so…….”
The freckled girl was admiring us to an almost burdensome degree.
I knew that Yggdrasil Academy was an object of envy for commoners.
In this era, wars hardly ever broke out. Since there were no merits to be gained, there were mainly two ways for commoners to rise in status.
Paying a huge sum to purchase a baron’s title, or enrolling in the academy.
“Young Lady, do you use Speltz Hall?”
“Yeah.”
When Lapin nodded, the freckled girl clasped her hands together as if praying and looked at Lapin with sparkling eyes.
“Wow, I’ve seen pictures. The inside of the dormitory is really pretty.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty. But I like Villed’s livestock shed better since it’s more comfortable and cozy.”
“Villed…… livestock shed? What’s that?”
“C, cough!”
I cleared my throat and spoke in Lapin’s place.
“You seem really interested in the academy.”
“Yes. I once thought, not knowing my place at all, that I wanted to go to the academy. Actually, I’ve even used magic before. It’s a secret from others, though.”
“You can handle magic?”
“Yes. I can use two attributes. Earth attribute and wind attribute.”
The freckled girl used wind to drain the water from the earthen floor wall and covered the scorched area with fresh soil.
“It’s extremely rare for a commoner to be able to use two attributes.”
Unlike nobles, whose attributes were maintained through superior bloodlines, commoners usually weren’t like that.
Unless it was sheer heavenly luck, a commoner couldn’t even dream of using magic.
“It’d be a shame to let that ability rot. Why don’t you try applying to the academy? There shouldn’t be many days left for registration.”
“……What? No way! I know my place. Apply? That’s absurd!”
The girl made a fuss and shook her head.
“And the tuition is so expensive…… wasn’t it a full ten thousand gold? My family doesn’t have that kind of money, and I have to inherit the family business.”
She spoke with a slightly lonely-looking smile.
“Oh, right. As academy students, could you give me some advice?”
Advice, huh…….
I didn’t particularly want to, nor was I in a position to.
To begin with, my ability to use magic was inferior even to that freckled girl.
I was practically admitted thanks to my family’s backing.
“We’re learners too. We’re not really in a position to give advice. But if I had to say something…….”
I decided to speak realistically, without being swayed by emotion.
“Apply for admission.”
Before the girl could respond, I continued right away.
“There’s a scholarship system at Yggdrasil. In fact, not many students actually pay the full ten thousand gold in tuition. It looks like a school only for nobles, but there are quite a few students from commoner backgrounds too.”
“Ah…… really? That’s my first time hearing that.”
“Actually, she’s like that too. A commoner without a family name.”
When I jerked my chin toward Lapin, the girl alternated her gaze between Lapin and me.
Then her eyes widened.
“……Ah, I really thought this person was a noble young lady too. In the novels I read, noble children secretly travel despite their family’s opposition…… ah, no! Then what kind of relationship are you two?”
She looked at us with slightly puzzled eyes.
I met Lapin’s gaze for a moment. When I curled my lips, Lapin answered.
“We’re friends. The only friends in the world who can rely on each other.”
“Pardon?”
The girl blinked.
“Well, that’s right.”
When I affirmed it, the girl gaped for a moment, then covered her mouth with both hands.
“A noble and a commoner being friends……?”
That reaction was probably natural.
This world had a thoroughly rigid class system.
I shrugged casually.
“At Yggdrasil, there’s no hierarchy among students. Before learning, everyone is equal. Of course, there are many students who act all noble, but there are also people like me who don’t really care.”
Right.
Karin was a noble, but she lived like a commoner.
Elined, too—if a commoner student had ability, she actively recruited them into the faction she led. Of course, she recruited them as subordinates rather than comrades, though.
Commoners like Ren and Keirin were recognized for their abilities and received various forms of support, and were even friends with the Princess.
Outside Yggdrasil, society ran on a rigid class system, but inside Yggdrasil, such hierarchical structures were relatively loosened.
“It’s better to try and get crushed than to give up outright and regret it. If you give up now, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life later.”
“……That’s true.”
The girl nodded slightly and added,
“Seeing the two of you makes me want to go too. It’d be better to at least apply and fail cleanly, right? I should hurry and look into writing the application. Thank you so much, Young Master, Young Lady!”
I told her Lapin wasn’t a young lady, though…….
But it wasn’t that important a point, so I simply nodded without correcting her.
Before long, the girl hurriedly left…….
Gurgle-.
A sound came from Lapin’s stomach.
We hadn’t eaten dinner yet while looking for a room, so it was only natural.
“Lapin, should we eat now?”
I took a frying pan out of the subspace.
I opened my eyes.
‘I should start the livestock shed work…….’
Unlike my usual mornings that began with sunrise, it was dark all around now.
Since embers still remained in the firewood, bits of information about the surroundings gradually entered my eyes.
Inside the room, which smelled faintly of earth, full of nature.
Lapin sleeping under the blanket, and even the spirit creatures sleeping beside her.
It was an extremely peaceful sight.
‘……Ah, right. We’re traveling right now.’
I scratched my head and stretched.
Whenever I woke up, livestock shed work always came to mind first. It was a habit ingrained in me.
Beep-.
Boogie, who had woken up at some point, turned his gaze toward me and slowly crawled over.
“Did you sleep well too?”
Beep, beep-.
A small cry, as if affirming my words.
I picked Boogie up and held him. Perhaps because of Lapin’s warmth, he was warm.
Holding Boogie, I got up and said,
“Shall we step outside for a bit, Boogie?”
They said temperature was important for turtles since they were reptiles. I wrapped a small blanket around Boogie and held him again.
When I stepped outside the house, the natural scenery came into full view.
At the same time that I felt the reality of having come on a trip, admiration naturally escaped me.
Beep-!
Boogie’s eyes sparkled too.
‘It didn’t show well last night since it was dark.’
An endlessly 펼쳐진 dazzling snowy landscape.
Snow-covered mountains encircled the city. Multiple peaks stood like folding screens around it.
Paired with the morning sunlight, it was beautiful everywhere my eyes reached.
‘Looks like coming on this trip was the right choice.’
I stood there, looking around with Boogie while thinking that.
This place was a village on the outskirts of Kirchen.
According to the original plan, we were supposed to stay here for just one night, then go to a bustling area where we could enjoy hot springs and snowy mountain experiences.
‘But we burned Lapin’s clothes too, so we need to procure materials here. And I kind of like this place too.’
Was it because we could stay together with the spirit creatures?
‘This is the first time I’ve taken all the spirit creatures out and slept together in one house.’
It was a meaningful experience in its own way.
‘I’d like to live freely like this at the academy too, with everything out in the open…….’
But I couldn’t yet.
The witch knew about the existence of spirit creatures.
As much as possible, the spirit creatures must not catch the witch’s eye.
‘Maybe it’s a good thing that there were restrictions on summoning until now.’
If there had been no limit on summoning, I would have released and raised all the spirit creatures. And that would have surely caught the Witch’s eye.
‘Still, there’s no one monitoring us here, so it’s better to let them roam freely at least until we start traveling.’
While I was thinking that, it seemed the other spirit creatures—and Lapin as well—had woken up from their sleep before I knew it.
Lapin rubbed her eyes, then quietly came over to my side and gazed at the scenery. The spirit creatures were together beside her.
After finishing a simple breakfast.
I headed to a small abandoned mine nearby to gather materials to make Lapin’s coat.
Just in case, I put the spirit creatures into the Animal Farm system. You never knew what might happen in a fight. I might not be able to protect them. It seemed better to keep them safely inside the farm.
When we arrived at the abandoned mine, a semi-transparent barrier surrounded the area, befitting a restricted zone.
It seemed to be something created by a high-ranking mage.
Similar barriers appeared to exist in all restricted areas of this world, and this place was no exception.
“Lapin, you have the compass, right?”
“Yeah.”
As Lapin nodded, I stepped toward the transparent barrier. Thanks to the Finders’ compass, we were able to enter quite naturally.
Inside the dark abandoned mine.
Holding a torch, I advanced forward together with Lapin. It wasn’t a very large place. If we walked for about five minutes, we’d be able to see the end of the mine, and there should be the ‘resource’ there.
“Villed, what are we looking for here?”
“There are butterfly larvae here.”
This abandoned mine was a habitat for rare larvae.
“They’re so timid that they make cocoons that are too thick and sturdy, so even after becoming adults, most of them die because they can’t break out.”
Out of a hundred cocoons, only about ten survived.
And even among those, not even half managed to fly out of the mine. It was only natural for them to be rare.
……After walking for some time inside the mine,
The moment a dead-end wall came into view, the air changed.
Strangely, the ceiling was abnormally high, and the space was several times wider than the path we had taken.
Between the cracks in the ceiling, dazzling pure-white sunlight poured down like a waterfall. The scenery transformed into something close to a hidden sanctuary.
And at its center…….
Three white larvae were slowly crawling along the wall, soaked in sunlight. Even their silhouettes, moving along the paths touched by the light, seemed to shimmer.
They were as beautiful as crystallized jewels.
However, as if it were destined, a bear-shaped monster was standing right beside the larvae.
It was the exact same structure as in the game.
‘So you’re not going to give it up easily after all.’
Monsters that lived inside the academy were under the professors’ magical control, so they were no more than training targets.
But monsters outside the academy were under no such restrictions. The difficulty of subjugation increased.
I positioned Lapin beside a large nearby rock.
“Lapin, it’s dangerous, so hide here. And if it gets dangerous, shout right away.”
“…….”
Lapin looked like she wanted to say something to me.
“……Okay.”
In the end, she simply closed her mouth and quietly nodded.
After hearing her answer, I walked toward the bear monster.
From subspace, I took out my Buckler and Titanium Sword.
‘It’ll take a bit of effort…… but it’s not that hard. Someone at my level should be more than enough to take it down.’
On top of that, it was a beast-type monster. Since it lived in a cold cave, it was obvious at a glance that the Flame Attribute would be its weakness. The compatibility was excellent.
When I clenched my hand in midair, two cards appeared between my fingers.
‘Fusion technique.’
I mixed the abilities of Hwayo and Shurk.
Fwoosh—!
A burning black mask covered my face, and black flames clung to my entire body.
Fusion Technique, current fusion rate 34%
This was the highest fusion rate I could produce right now.
‘If the fusion rate reached 100%, I’d have power on par with when I defeated Verdi.’
Right now, it was about one-third of that time.
But even this alone was considerable strength. It was probably stronger than an imperial knight.
‘Let’s finish this quickly.’
Grrrrroar!
When I got close enough, it seemed to recognize me, letting out a roar as it charged.
It was the moment it raised its forepaw.
……Tick-, tick-.
It felt like I could hear the ticking of a clock’s second hand from somewhere, but what I needed to focus on first was its attack.
Because the attack range was extremely wide and large, I judged it would be awkward to dodge.
‘Anyway, it’s an attack I can block well enough with my shield.’
I decided to block the attack with my Buckler.
Bang-!
A tremendous boom rang out.
……But I felt no vibration or force at all in my arm.
The shield hadn’t blocked it.
Instead, the vibration traveled up through the soles of my feet.
When I turned my head, I saw that the monster had smashed the ground beside me.
‘……The attack missed?’
Bang-!
Kwang-!
As its attack mistakes repeated, I realized it wasn’t a coincidence.
‘Is there something wrong with one of its eyes?’
As if it couldn’t focus properly, its attacks kept missing.
‘……Something’s strange.’
But whatever it was, if it was easier to win, that was all that mattered. I stopped paying attention and focused on counterattacking.
From that point on, it didn’t even take a few minutes for the battle to end.
After taking my strike, the fallen monster turned into black ash.
……That was when it happened.
“Kyaahaha, hooray! Villed won!”
The moment I turned my gaze toward the sound, someone suddenly hugged me tightly.
……A blonde girl wearing a silk hat and a clock necklace.
Between the holes of the silk hat, white rabbit ears were sticking out.
Judging by her face, it was definitely Lapin…….
‘……No, is that really Lapin?’
For Lapin, she was excessively lively.
She gave off a completely different atmosphere from her usual calm and gentle self.
As if enchanted, I opened my mouth.
“Who…… are you?”
“Huh? Why would you ask that? It’s me, it’s me—Lapin!”
“What……?”
At that moment, I turned my eyes to the newly appeared system message with a pink background.
✿ Class Change! ✿
Faster! More exciting! More lively!
Time Leap Lapin!