Joint Combat Practice 2 (18)
– Tak!
One firewood broke in half and rolled on the grass.
I picked up the split firewood and threw it toward a nearby firewood pile. Firewood that had been rolled a few times tumbled down the pile.
For a while, only the sound of chopping firewood echoed through the camp. After about thirty minutes, the intermittent ringing sound spread, and there was no more firewood left.
“Whoa… ”
I sat down on an empty tree stump and took a deep breath.
Spring is coming to an end.
I could already feel the dampness characteristic of summer in the early morning air. Soon, flying insects will become more rampant, and the heat will become more severe.
I have already experienced summer in this forest once.
I needed to set up a tent for outdoor activities, and I also wanted to create an environment where I could consistently secure cold water. Besides that, she also had a desire to renovate the cabin a bit, and she also wanted to finish the work on the wand she had planned to give to Yenica… There was a lot more work to do than I thought.
There were a lot of ups and downs, but I still had to do what I had to do.
As you continue your camp life, there are many instances where you become overwhelmed with so much work to do that even if you let your guard down just a little bit.
I lifted the ax and walked back toward the camp, swinging my arms around.
*
“Surprisingly, you are fine. “I’m glad to see that you’re okay.”
Two days have passed since the joint combat training day.
Since so much unbelievable commotion occurred in one day, the academic staff must have been busy cleaning up the mess for a while.
Still, there were no casualties or significant property damage. There was a hole in the ceiling of the Bachelor’s Cathedral, and the stained glass had collapsed… It will probably all be restored before the end of this month.
“It didn’t hurt too much to begin with. “Yenika had a harder time than me.”
“Is that so. In fact, the reason I came today is to see Lady Yenika.”
The position of head maid at Ofilis Hall is never idle.
There is nothing out of place in her elegant posture and neat clothing, but she must have been busy with various tasks since early this morning. Nevertheless, I think it’s characteristic of Belle Maia that she doesn’t show any signs of fatigue.
The basket she was carrying contained some fruit cut into pieces that were easy to eat, clean cloth and bed sheets, herbs that had antipyretic effects, and a change of clothes.
“I heard a rumor that you were in a lot of pain. “Master Ed is taking good care of me, but there’s something I’m worried about, so I came here to make a little fuss.”
Everything such as hearing about Jenica’s circumstances was put on the back burner. This is because her own health is quite poor.
However, Jenica herself preferred to remain in the hut rather than enter the bachelor’s medical room. She wanted to tell her to rest in a better environment, but she flatly refused, saying that she wanted her body to recover in a familiar environment.
As a result, Jenica is recovering in her cabin. It wasn’t so serious that he couldn’t take care of himself at all, so there weren’t any major problems as long as I helped him with his daily life and checked for any inconvenient areas.
It is not a disease caused in the first place. The only cure is time. There is no other way than to wait for Yenika’s magic to recover step by step.
Perhaps because of his blurred vision, he kept bumping into the edges of the furniture or the cracks in the door, so I often had to support him, but I felt great relief knowing that his vision was slowly coming back.
“I was already thinking about asking someone for help.”
“Master Ed. “If something like this happens, you must come to me first.”
Her eyes are still expressionless, but they seem to be strangely sparkling, making her look happy for no reason.
It’s not like Belle is happy to see Jenica’s condition, and it feels like she’s just glad that the opportunity to engage in housework has come.
Although I prefer practical work, it has been a long time since I stopped doing this type of work due to my higher position. He must have been itching for a while, but his attitude towards work is quite serious.
“But, Master Ed.”
“yes?”
“Are you struggling with anything else?”
When I looked at Belle with a puzzled look, she placed her chin on her chin and tilted her head.
“no. “If you do this job for a long time, you develop an occupational disease of making useless guesses.”
“Useless speculation?”
“just… These days, both the Saint and Lady Lucy are asking about Master Ed… hmm… I don’t think it would be good to talk about it in too much detail. “Right now, it would be important to take care of Lady Yenika.”
Belle slightly lowered her head and walked past me, who was sitting by the fire preparing fish and shellfish.
And before opening the door to Yenica’s cabin, he suddenly turns around and speaks.
“I’m telling you just in case, you are not allowed to come in or peek. “I need to wipe off your sweat and change your clothes.”
“To state the obvious… ”
“Well, there’s no way Master Ed would make such a mistake.”
After saying that, Belle opened the door and pushed herself into the cabin.
However, before the body completely enters… Before closing your body, you are speaking with your upper body removed.
“Now that I think about it, I wonder if there is a reason why I shouldn’t make that mistake.”
“… ?”
“Isn’t it a time of gale and fury? If not at a time like this, when would you make such a mistake? It’s not a sin to be curious about these things, so I think it’s okay to listen to your inner voice sometimes… ”
“Don’t say anything strange, go in quickly and help Yenikana…” ”
“It’s unfortunate. Oh right. Master Ed.”
It’s not often that Belle’s expression changes dramatically, but just before she enters and closes the door, she feels strangely refreshing.
“You just spoke informally.”
The tone is somewhat refreshing and refreshing. What looks relieved is the face of a gladiator who won one round.
– Bang
“… ”
Inside the hut, the sound of Yenika making a fuss was heard. There was a long pause between Yenica’s screams asking her to quickly lock the door, asking “What on earth are you talking about?” and Bell’s struggling to keep the door open somehow, saying that she didn’t know how important ventilation was in a room with a patient.
– ‘Are you struggling with anything else?’
I just sat quietly and flicked my dagger around.
As I stared at the crackling campfire, I thought back to Belle’s meaningful question.
Belle is the person who manages the students living in Ofilis Building. Such a question was probably asked after several guesses based on the reactions of the students in the Ofilis Hall, mainly the saints Clarisse and Lucy.
Bell himself says that he has too much ingenuity, and dismisses his habit of thinking deeply and trying to get involved unnecessarily as his shortcoming. However, from the perspective of seeing the benefit, I am just grateful. One way or another, I received a lot of help from Bell.
-‘Lady Yenika! It is just a crime to leave a patient in such a dusty environment! In this case, it would be better to go to the bachelor’s medical room! Even if you don’t like it, there’s nothing you can do about it! First, let’s open the door and let it ventilate! ‘Here we go!’
-‘Why are you doing that now?’
I couldn’t help but feel very confused when I heard the noise of a commotion going on inside.
*
“Well, maybe… Can I ask you a really presumptuous question… ? If you feel like a line has been crossed, you can immediately punish them with your fist. No, I think it clearly crossed a line… As a guy myself, it’s really hard for me to let this go without asking. I’ll just squeeze my lower stomach and ask. “I’m stubborn, so don’t worry about it.”
The person who came to see me after the class schedule was over was Ziggs.
“Did you two perform your rites today?”
“… ”
“… Breathe… !!”
“… ”
“… crime… sorry.”
As the cool evening breeze blew, I brought Jenika in and sat her down to get some fresh air.
Belle’s actions, such as opening the door wide and cleaning Yenika’s body and changing her clothes, were also insane.
It felt like he was sending me some kind of signal, but I didn’t make a mistake in the end because I wanted to maintain a smooth relationship with Yenika. He’s not really an adolescent boy, and there’s no reason for him to have a big crush on me just because he wants to take a peek at a woman’s body.
Still, Yenika, who cannot see well, must be very anxious, as her ears have been turning bright red and she is unable to make eye contact.
I want to ask her if she’s seen it, but it’s hard to ask directly, so I just hesitate and blush. It’s definitely a strange feeling that they can’t even make eye contact.
Even though I believe in myself, I am still anxious because I am anxious. However, if you ask directly, it seems like you are suspicious of the other person.
I must have fallen into a state of overload while worrying alone like that. I don’t mind if I just ask her directly, but it’s an overly kind Jenika-like response.
I’m ready to answer that I didn’t see it, but the other side is sinking on its own. However, coming forward and making excuses without even asking would only make the atmosphere strange, so this strange stalemate continues.
From a third party’s point of view, it’s a situation where there’s nothing to say even if you wonder if there was really a big deal today…
“Actually, I came here after receiving instructions from the student council president. “He said he wouldn’t be able to visit in person because he was so busy, so he sent me instead.”
“Tanya?”
“yes. You are very worried. Actually, there were some rumors going around in the Ofilis building. “Because the people who were close to senior Ed are strangely worried about him.”
“That’s funny. What do I have to worry about? “Thank you for your concern, but I really don’t mind, so don’t worry about it.”
Ziggs tilted his head and looked at me.
It seems as if he is gauging my expression for a moment, but if you look at my face with open eyes for a long time, you won’t be able to find anything unusual.
In the end, Ziggs nodded and agreed.
“You must have been a bit behind on your camp work. Is there anything I can help you with?”
“There is nothing right now. “I am grateful, but you have a lot of work to do, so there is no need to worry.”
“Well, these are things I can handle at the same time. Well, since you said it’s okay, I’ll go take care of my business.”
Ziggs shook off his clothes and stood up.
“Oh right. “Did Lortel come and go?”
“Lortel? No, I didn’t really come to the camp.”
“Hmm… ”
Ziggs tilted his head at my answer.
“Is there any problem?”
“It’s not particularly great. Senior Ed said he was quite worried, but I was a little surprised to hear that she didn’t come to see him in person. I was so worried right away that my complexion was pale, but he didn’t come to visit me… “I’m sure it’s because I’m so busy.”
“okay. “He’s expensive.”
“Yes, but… “When I look at the documents reported by Elte Trading Company these days, I wonder if there is so much work piled up.”
Now that I think about it, I saw it when time was rewinding.
A scene where Elte Company’s carts were filling up the Maxes Bridge. They must have been carts transporting supplies delivered to the Elte Company.
“Well, since I became a member of the student council, I can’t help but pay attention to Lortel’s actions. Anyway, since you say you’re fine, I’ll report it that way. Please take good care of yourself.”
“Okay, good luck.”
*
After that, I spent the time taking care of Yenika until the sun set. It felt like time went by quite quickly.
And, the person who came late at night was Clarisse.
I appeared fully dressed in a robe, and I was in the middle of cleaning a wild boar carcass by the fire.
When she puts down her robe hat, the face she sees is that of a noble girl with cute chestnut-colored hair.
As soon as he takes off the pendant around his neck, the heavy tone disappears, turning into elegant white hair.
Her hair shining softly in the moonlight makes us intuitively understand why she is considered the most noble girl in the Telos Church.
I quickly threw the blood-stained dagger behind the boar’s carcass, and tried to push the internal organs sticking out here and there with my foot to move them to a place out of sight. In fact, it was a bit late to react.
However, Clarice does not seem particularly surprised or embarrassed by the sight. He just sat on the opposite tree stump, as if relaxing his body.
“hello.”
I washed my hands in the floating stream and sat down on the other side. I handed Clarisse a mug that was on the workbench. It is an herbal tea made using herbs brought by Belle.
The sound of insects lingers in the cool night air. So we sat quietly for a while.
As I was wondering when the silence would be broken, Clarice spoke first.
“Archbishop Vertius has been officially excommunicated.”
“Is that so.”
“Holy Emperor Eldain acknowledged his complacent attitude. They say they are giving serious thought to the changes of the times and the direction of our denomination to respond to those trends. I guess this is correct. “Rather than being swayed by the voice of one powerful archbishop, everyone moves in unison under the voice of the Holy Emperor who rules over Saint Carpea.”
“Do you think that’s okay?”
Clarisse gently closes her eyes, looks at the starry sky spread out in the distance, and speaks.
“You must have struggled for a long time between your faith and your cause. “It’s unfortunate that you spent a long time as a bystander, but this incident may serve as an opportunity to suggest a new direction.”
“… ”
“So, I’m going to try to believe it just one more time. Holy Emperor Eldain has always been a devout believer since he lived in a monastery in the Rameln Mountains. “I think it’s too early for him to fall into a swamp of distrust.”
Clarice said that and lowered her gaze.
In the herbal tea at the end of the line of sight, there is a single unfiltered tea leaf floating around. The bright moon rises above the teacup, and the tea leaves sway across it.
“and… Adele… ”
After talking to that point, Clarisse said nothing more. Silence continued for a while again.
I sat quietly for a while, waiting for Clarice’s next words. Still, Clarisse seems speechless and just looks down at her teacup.
“I died laughing.”
I didn’t bother to look at Clarisse’s face.
“One thing is certain. “You, Saint Clarice, were the meaning of her life.”
To begin with, Adele was not a minstrel or anything. The reason he decided to wander the world and become a bard was because he didn’t want to turn out that what he had said to Clarice was a lie.
In a life without family, proper friends, or relationships, all you need is a reason to survive.
“I’m not sure if you realized it or not, but you gave me a reason to live in a world without connections.”
“… ”
“So, there’s no need to struggle or feel guilty. “You did your best.”
After saying that, I closed my mouth again. Clarisse looked down at the teacup for a long time… Eventually, his shoulders trembled little by little.
Beneath the sound of grasshoppers, the sound of a girl swallowing her breath is heard softly.
I sat in front of it… We stayed together for a while without saying anything.
“It’s almost summer vacation.”
Clarice stood up, ready to go back. If you spend any more time at the camp, the way back will get too dark.
In fact, it was already dark. I soaked a cloth in oil and made a torch.
Clarisse accepted the flaming torch and said thank you.
“Are you still going to stay at camp during summer vacation?”
“I guess it’s because I don’t have anywhere to go.”
“I will visit often. At that time, it wouldn’t be Clarice, but Kylie Ekne… ”
“Do whatever you like. “I don’t care.”
Clarice watched the torch for a moment, then asked hesitantly.
“Well, I have a small favor to ask.”
“Do you mean a favor?”
“When I was Kylie and not Clarisse… that… I was wondering if you could treat me like a junior… ”
Nowadays, she may be a saintly girl with pure white hair and red eyes, but when she was living her life as a bachelor, she was the aristocratic girl Kylie.
“… ”
“Is this such a strange request?”
“no. In fact, since there are people around you, it is natural to treat them as juniors. “It’s been like that from the beginning.”
“I guess so, right?”
Clarisse smiled softly, wondering what made her so proud.
Clarisse lowered her head and spoke for the last time, wondering if it was really time to go back.
“Actually… “I was also worried about my senior.”
“Are you worried about me?”
“Actually, you were the one who worked harder than anyone else to save Adele. In the end, it all ended like that… ”
I heard that there are many people who are worried about me, especially around the Ofilis Hall. One of them was Clarice.
Same goes for Bell and Ziggs. She comes to them one by one and asks if they are okay.
In fact, my answers were all the same.
“it’s okay. Actually, it’s not something that should be that difficult.”
“Then that’s a good thing… ”
“I tried my best, but it didn’t work out. If you worry about each and every one of them, you will only have less time to work. So don’t worry too much.”
Clarisse looked at my face intently, then nodded and came closer to me.
And then he buries his face in my shoulder. Is it really embarrassing to say this to your face?
“Others may not know, but I remember it clearly.”
“… ”
“I know how hard Ed worked and how hard he gritted his teeth. Even if everyone else forgets, I will never forget. “I will remember it until the day I die.”
The sight of him burying his face and not lifting his head… It became difficult for me to react.
“It’s not much I can do, but be sure to ask for help if you need it. I don’t have the confidence to give back as much help as I received… “I will do everything I can.”
“I will accept it with gratitude. “It’s almost curfew, so you have to go back.”
Clarice lifted her head from her deep sleep… He smiled with difficulty.
She laughed as hard as she could.
– fluff
After picking up Clarisse, I sat alone on a tree stump next to the campfire.
I am grateful that one of them comes to visit and cares for me. Everyone was anxious, fearing that I might have hurt their feelings.
I just shook my head and said, “It’s nothing to worry about.” I repeatedly said it was okay. There is no benefit in worrying or showing weakness.
What we need to do right now is add more firewood and chop it up with a poker to make sure this bonfire lasts as long as possible. And it was necessary to first cook the trimmed meat.
As I pick up some firewood and throw it in, I take in the early summer night air.
Then, you feel a heavy weight on your back.
There is no need to look back.
I can feel the blood flowing down my spine.
The figure of the girl leaning against me on the other side of the tree stump was the same bard I had seen many times.
He smiles softly and lies still, leaning on my back, just as he did when he ended his life. Feeling the weight being carried towards my body, I strengthen my back, pick up a few more piles of firewood, and throw them away.
If things had gone as planned, this girl would have died anyway.
The reason I tried to save her was because I couldn’t just leave someone who was about to die alone.
You can give as many reasons as you want for not being saved.
The last regression was Time Attack. Since I had to hurry up and run away even a little further, I didn’t have time to take care of Adele first.
From Clarice’s perspective, she would have no idea where Adele might be. The fact that Adele’s starting point was the hallway of Glokt Hall was a fact that only I knew. He was pressed for time and could not even announce the fact in advance.
In the first place, it could not have been predicted that Adele’s sexual power and vitality would reach the end of this regression. Since she said it would be possible at least once, I just assumed she would head to the Bachelor’s Cathedral like she always did. Because she’s done it dozens of times.
However, I am aware that these reasons are all just self-defense mechanisms.
No matter what happened, Adele Seris faced death. Although he may have met his death with a smile, the fact that he met his end does not change.
I didn’t have a particularly special relationship with Adele. The reason I tried to save her was simply because of her weak conscience. That’s true, but…
Anyway, I tried to save him, but the fact remains that I couldn’t.
I threw the firewood pile in for a while, overcoming the weight pressing down on my back.
“Ed.”
Suddenly, I looked up when I heard my name being called.
“I put in too much.”
When I looked at the fire, there was a lot of firewood piled up and the fire was burning.
Beyond the fire, there was Yenika sitting near the campfire.
It would have been difficult to move on his own due to blurry vision, but it was probably possible because he had some idea of the camp structure in his head.
“Ed.”
Yenika called me softly.
“are you okay.”
“okay.”
While fighting the fire with a poker, I quietly looked up at the rising flames.
“Still, it’s an experience I don’t want to repeat. never.”
“huh.”
Someday… I remembered looking up at the sky side by side with Yenika from the half-destroyed nail pipe.
Was it early summer back then?
Joint combat training has been completed, and it is now summer vacation.
There is still a lot of work to be done.
Yenica did not hastily comfort her or offer words of encouragement.
We just sat together, looking up at the flickering fire, until the darkness of the long night passed.
