Chapter 36
The atmosphere is really tense.
The black-haired guy’s dad, who’s gripping my collar, looks like he’s about to beat the black-haired guy to death any second now, and the black-haired guy looks like he’s about to dig a hole and disappear into the ground. I could break free from his grip if I wanted to, but dealing with the aftermath would be a hassle. I subtly turned my head to glance at Linia, the main culprit who caused this mess. And Linia, in sync with my movement, turned her head to the side. That blockhead is pretending not to notice. If you’re going to be this clueless, at least step in and stop it, you salary-stealing gorilla! I hurled every curse imaginable at her with my eyes, but since she was avoiding my gaze, there was no way she’d get the message. Damn it, this is such a headache.
“Meow!”
Just then, the mackerel on my head roared.
And then—
*Slap!*
It smacked the black-haired guy’s dad with a “nya-nya punch.”
“……!”
You’re better than the gorilla. I’ll reward you with some tuna later.
Thanks to the mackerel’s slap, the black-haired guy was fidgeting like crazy, and even the usually cold-faced dad showed a hint of panic. This guy, no matter how much of a jerk he is, wouldn’t take his anger out on a cat, right?
“A mere beast.”
Turns out, the black-haired guy’s dad is even more of a scumbag than I thought. Should I start praying for the mackerel’s soul now?
But then—
“Alright, that’s enough. Surely the ‘Sword of the Empire’ wouldn’t resort to violence against children and animals, would he?”
The homeroom teacher stepped between the black-haired guy and his dad. Thankfully, the teacher’s words seemed to have some effect, as the grip on my collar loosened, and I was able to break free. After letting go of my collar, the black-haired guy’s dad glanced at me and the black-haired guy.
“Pathetic.”
He muttered indifferently and then turned to leave. What a rude guy.
“Are you two okay?”
I was still staring in disbelief at the path the black-haired guy’s dad had taken when I heard a voice. I turned my head and saw El looking at the black-haired guy and me with a worried expression.
“What? If you knew this was going to happen, why didn’t you step in earlier?”
“Sorry. I didn’t want to face Count Cliché, so there wasn’t much I could do.”
El responded to my words with an awkward expression. Well, with a guy like that, even royalty would probably hesitate to confront him.
“I get it. With a guy like that, even royalty wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“No, it’s not just that.”
“Then what is it?”
“…I’ll tell you later.”
El dodged the question. Did something happen between him and the black-haired guy’s dad? Well, they’re both high-ranking nobles and royalty, so they must know each other. Not that I’m particularly curious, so I didn’t press further.
Having lost interest, I turned my head and noticed the black-haired guy fidgeting as if he wanted to say something to me.
“What?”
“Well…”
The black-haired guy glanced at El, then leaned closer to me and whispered.
“I was wondering why you didn’t cause a scene.”
What does this guy think of me? I stared at him in disbelief.
“If I were going to cause a scene, I would’ve started with Linia, don’t you think?”
“Y-yeah, that makes sense.”
The black-haired guy nodded in understanding. What are you even understanding?!
I quietly raised my hand and smacked the back of his head.
"Ugh! Why all of a sudden?"
"Just because I'm pissed off."
"Pissed off? Why?!"
"If you don't know, just take the hit. If you feel wronged, think of it as paying for your father's sins."
"Where does that kind of nonsense come from?! Argh!"
I smacked the black-haired guy's head once more.
* * *
After the team assignments were completed, a brief inspection and waiting period passed, and we immediately began entering the dungeon.
With the ample escort forces dispatched from the Cliché family's martial academy, there was no sense of tension at all.
"Then, the mackerel team, please come forward and wait."
While I was spacing out, it was our team's turn.
When we arrived at the designated spot, there were fully armed martial artists, and the one in the center bowed politely towards us and introduced himself.
"I am Geti Naguel, the deputy commander of the Cliché family's 2nd private knight order, responsible for your safety."
Private knight orders—all knight orders originally belong to the state, but large families openly operate private knight orders like this.
They don't have the same authority over public order or administration as the government's knight orders, but they are more like private martial artists or bodyguards.
In martial arts terms, it feels like a sect or a family clan.
Thinking about it this way, the title of "knight" seems pretty cheap.
"Now, before entering the dungeon, we will demonstrate how to wear the safety gear. Instructor, step forward!"
"Forward!"
At the deputy commander's words, a disciplined martial artist without any gear on stepped forward.
"Safety gear wearing, commence!"
"Commence!"
The instructor began putting on the gear with skilled hands.
"This part here must not have any gaps, so tighten it until it feels a bit uncomfortable."
The deputy commander explained the important parts while watching the instructor put on the gear.
It felt like something that would trigger PTSD.
The instructor, diligently triggering PTSD, quickly put on the gear and then spread his arms, jumping high while shouting a vigorous slogan.
"Safety first! I love safety!!"
This triggered PTSD in a different way.
After the insane collaboration of military and construction site vibes ended, it was our team's turn to put on the gear.
"Please wear the gear as demonstrated. If you have any questions, feel free to ask, and we will kindly answer."
Fortunately, there was no rush or scolding, but it still felt kind of... weird.
Thanks to my past life experience of frequently passing through gates, I was able to finish putting on the gear faster than anyone else in the group.
After finishing, I spread my arms, jumped high, and shouted.
"Safety first! I love safety!"
"Excellent. As expected of the team leader, setting an example for others."
Why do these guys, who aren't even part of the official military, talk like they are?
After receiving what felt like a half-hearted compliment from the deputy commander, I waited.
"Safety first! I love safety!!"
After a while, one by one, they finished putting on the gear.
And finally, after El finished putting on the gear, she hesitated and glanced at me.
I looked back at her and asked with my eyes.
'What are you doing?'
'D-do I really have to do this?'
'Do you think safety is a joke?'
'Ugh...'
El closed her eyes tightly, then spread her arms and jumped.
"A-ah, safety fi-first! A-ah, safety lo-love!!"
El shouted the slogan with a red face, her voice trailing off.
This fantasy world is really something. If this were a construction site on Earth, someone would have immediately said, "Again!"
"The gear you are wearing blocks the dungeon's miasma, so please make sure to check it personally! All knights, check the students' gear for any issues!"
"Yep!!"
At the vice-captain's shout, the knights moved among the students, checking their equipment.
Just like the gate, this dungeon also seemed to have a toxic atmosphere inside, judging by its similar exterior.
In my past life, I would have needed a powered suit or full-body protective gear, but the equipment here didn't cover the entire body.
When I lightly touched my exposed skin, I could feel a thin layer of mana forming a barrier.
Mana is such a convenient energy.
It serves as both protective clothing and a sort of bulletproof vest.
"Inspection complete!"
"Then, please follow me, the vice-captain, inside! Students, absolutely do not stray from the formation!"
At the knights' announcement that the inspection was complete, the vice-captain immediately turned toward the dungeon.
Our group also followed slowly behind, with the knights surrounding us as if to escort us.
Hmm.
The dungeon entrance, as I saw earlier, still looks no different from the gate entrance.
"Now, we will enter the dungeon!
Once again, I emphasize: safety first, safety second! Please follow the safety rules!"
The vice-captain reiterated the safety rules and stepped into the dungeon entrance.
Soon after, the vice-captain's body was sucked into the dungeon entrance and disappeared, followed by other knights stepping in.
"Enter!"
With a spirited shout, the knight in front of us stepped forward, and then I also stepped into the dungeon entrance.
Hmm.
A sensation of being sucked in, accompanied by a slight dizziness, and the surroundings changed in an instant.
"E-enter!"
"Enter!!"
Following behind, El and the black-haired guy, along with other team members, entered.
But that entrance shout—we didn’t need to do it.
While the others didn’t seem to care, El, with her face red and stumbling over her words, looked a bit pitiful.
When will she ever grow up?
The others are unfazed, though.
Meanwhile, Linia is desperately avoiding my gaze.
That girl has committed quite a few sins today.
"Linia."
"Y-yes…"
"Let's do well."
"Yes, yep!!"
Linia responded as if she were about to salute, her demeanor stiff with discipline.
The kids seem fine for now, so I turned my attention to the surroundings.
* * *
A vast grassland, and a monster with a giant green eye and four hand-like legs crawling on the ground.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen that. The quadrupedal eyeball monster.
[I respect the master who officially gave it such a name.]
'Names should be intuitive. Once you hear it, you’ll never forget it.'
The 'quadrupedal eyeball monster' I discovered and named in my past life.
Its name here is different, but since 'quadrupedal eyeball monster' is so firmly stuck in my head, I keep calling it that.
Anyway, that thing, while it looks ferocious, its only means of attack is using its giant eyelid like a mouth to bite, which isn’t very threatening to battle-hardened humans.
"Eek! What is that?!"
"It’s going to haunt my dreams. Ugh."
However, while it’s not very threatening, its visual is so grotesque and cult-like that it’s quite unsettling.
Another characteristic of this eyeball monster is that the eyeball inside the eyelid it uses to attack is its weak point.
Squelch!
Right on cue, one of the knights stabbed the eyeball of the quadrupedal eyeball monster—shortened to 'quadrupedal eyeball'—with his sword.
"Ugh, my, my eyes are bleeding red liquid..."
"It doesn't seem too serious, but it's hard to look at. Ugh."
As soon as he said that, along with the gruesome sight, the four-eyed creature let out a bizarre, metallic screech—though it had no mouth, it was unclear where the sound was coming from—and then it died.
"Combat Academy students, please follow the knights around you and exterminate the monsters!"
At the vice-captain's words, the three bald guys and the delinquent, who had been chewing on something with a blank expression, quickly sprang into action.
"Die, monsters!!"
Rinia, who had been glancing at me, let out a spirited battle cry and charged straight at the monsters.
It felt less like she was going to fight and more like she was running away from me.
Given how weak the monsters were, the bald trio, the delinquent, and the gorilla-like guys showed a near-massacre level of combat.
Well, they were doing their thing.
I approached the corpse of one of the dead monsters that was relatively intact.
Then, I carefully flipped open the eyelid of the eyeball creature.
"Wh-what are you doing?!"
El was horrified by my actions.
I chuckled at her reaction and replied, "It's fine. The eyelid has poison, but it's not strong enough to penetrate the protective suit."
"Th-that's not the point! How can you touch that so casually?"
"It looks grotesque, but in a way, you could say it's one of the weakest monsters. As a creature with a clear weakness in its attack method, it's one of the worst forms a monster can take."
"Ugh, it's not about it being weak or not, it's just too creepy."
I glanced at El, who was gagging, and the black-haired guy, who didn't look too pleased, and continued, "The ones who can fight are busy fighting right now. What should we do, since we can't fight?"
"Support from the rear?"
The black-haired guy said with a lack of confidence, and I immediately shot back, "Does it look like we need rear support right now?"
The black-haired guy, who had brought it up, looked around and shook his head.
I calmly said to him, "Rear support is necessary."
"Didn't you just say it wasn't necessary?"
"Monsters are unknown enemies. Collecting samples from these unknown enemies and understanding them is also part of rear support."
"Now that you mention it, that makes sense."
The black-haired guy quickly nodded at my explanation. Well, it seemed like he understood.
Both El and the black-haired guy looked pale. But what we were about to do next would make them even paler. Would they be okay?
"Anyway, since we're already involved with monsters, it's something we'll have to do eventually. It might be tough now, but it'll all be experience later."
I continued explaining as I pulled out a dagger and a translucent sealed container from the dimensional storage.
"Pay close attention. To dissect this creature, first, you need to make a cut along the seam of this eyelid, like drawing a line..."
I continued explaining as I dissected the eyeball creature.
"As soon as you dissect it, quickly store the parts in the sealed container. For later analysis, the fresher, the better. I don't need to explain that, right?"
"Ugh."
"Ugh, got it."
El kept gagging, and the black-haired guy, his face pale, nodded at my words.
"But Raniel, how do you know all this? Do these kinds of monsters appear often in Leventhesia?"
Why is El asking such unnecessary questions? I thought for a moment about how to respond, then decided to go with my usual approach.
"My brilliant mind just knows these things. Isn't it more strange if I didn't know?"
"R-really?"
The black-haired guy next to me seemed to take unintended damage, as he hung his head low. It's not about the hair color, it's about the brain, you idiot!
Meanwhile, El was still looking at me with a puzzled expression.
Hey,
I turned my head away from those clear, refreshing eyes, and in my line of sight, I caught sight of some bald guys in the middle of a fight.
At times like this, changing the subject is the best move.
"Hey, you there! Hold the line, you baldies!"
"Why are you suddenly picking a fight, huh?!"
"Tsk, you guys are just as empty-headed inside as you are outside."
"What? Why are you saying that?!"
The baldies expressed their frustration, and El's gaze shifted from confusion to utter disbelief.
Not missing the opportunity, I quickly placed a dagger in El's hand.
"Alright, let's get straight to practice. Since it's just practice, no need to store it in the Courage Vault. Just dismantle it."
"W-wait, you mean us?!"
"Who else would I be talking about?"
I stared straight at El, who was wide-eyed and panicking.
Good, it worked.
El looked at me with trembling, hamster-like eyes in front of a cat, but there was nothing I could do for them.
Blame this world that doesn’t separate magic engineers and biologists.
