Chapter 38

After much hardship, we finally reached that place.

In the game, it was called the ‘Sanctuary.’

A rotunda hall formed in a large circle.

Like a parliament chamber, the seats were arranged around the center.

White walls and large glass windows.

Through them, the sight of green plants and a white light like morning sunlight created a splendid view.

It was beautiful enough to leave me in awe.

But I quickly snapped back to reality at the sound of whispers.

“What the, those guys managed to survive at that level?”

“Don’t tell me Villed made it here on his own?”

“As if. It must’ve been thanks to his teammates… oh, maybe not.”

“Guess he just got lucky. And what’s with those clothes?”

The mockery was endless.

Karin frowned.

Meeting the cadets again in such a place gave her a moment of relief, but only for a short while.

Judging by those furrowed brows, she must have been displeased at being ignored.

She looked like she wanted to argue back.

What a waste of time.

“Stop it.”

I quietly told Karin.

She looked up at me with a face asking if I wasn’t the least bit upset.

“……”

I looked down at her with eyes that said it didn’t matter, and she eventually swallowed her resentment, following my words.

“Ha-aam…”

Lapin yawned and staggered slightly.

It seemed she had reached her limit.

I guided her to the nearest seat and sat her down.

“Get some sleep here.”

“Mm…”

Lapin and the sea otter fell asleep, faces peaceful as if unaware of the world.

I signaled to Karin, who leaned back against the chair with a dissatisfied look.

I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall.

Just then, as I was about to observe the situation around me—

“Excuse me.”

Someone brushed aside long, light purple hair by her ear as she approached the seat next to me.

A gleaming golden badge on her chest caught my eye.

“This is the first time I’m speaking to you directly. Do you happen to remember my name?”

What a shameless question.

Who in Yggdrasil wouldn’t know her name?

That golden badge was proof she belonged to one of the four great families, the ‘Finjer.’

It was like a class president wearing an armband and asking if you knew who they were.

How brazen could one be?

Not that I didn’t already know this was her character.

“Elined Finjer.”

I answered while glancing at her from the side, and she gave a wry smile.

“Then I’ll skip the introductions. I’d like to ask, what exactly have you been through until now?”

She must have been asking about our team’s first trial.

I gave her a simple explanation of what she wanted.

“I see. Thanks for your cooperation.”

Almost immediately after asking, Elined rose from her seat.

I knew she didn’t come here just for me.

This too was part of the preparations for things to unfold as in the original story.

Seeing that, Karin belatedly spoke up.

“Why did she ask something like that and just walk off?”

“She must have her own investigation.”

“Hmm…”

Karin made a vague face, clearly displeased.

I looked around at the other survivors.

‘So, they all survived as the story dictates.’

I confirmed the main characters of this episode with my own eyes.

Survivors were about one-sixth.

Roughly a hundred people.

Since only a few survived, it was all top-ranking students.

That explained why the cadets had found it strange when I appeared here.

“It’s the same again. Completely trapped like rats.”

One cadet opened the exit.

But it had turned into a cliff of pure darkness, with no place to step.

The path we came on had vanished like a mirage.

“No good. Let’s stop, just stop.”

“Damn, this thing’s solid as hell. Not even a crack!”

A few cadets tried swinging weapons and casting spells against the sanctuary’s walls.

But as they said, no matter how many times they gritted their teeth and tried hundreds of times, it had no effect.

“You idiots, if I couldn’t break it, what makes you think you can?”

Kunking laughed at them mockingly.

Heidel sat silently with his hands clasped.

Ren was nowhere to be seen.

As for the other main characters…

“You’re late.”

I heard the voice of the one I had been looking for.

I turned my gaze in that direction.

“Looks like you had a hard time getting here?”

Sharp red eyes, long black hair—Nixie.

Perhaps because of staying up late playing, all the cadets here were in school uniforms.

I must have stood out, being dressed in workout clothes.

But something even more conspicuous stood before me.

“…What are you staring at?”

Nixie was the only one in pajamas.

A beige dress-like pajama, the kind a princess might wear.

It looked very comfortable.

“Looks good on you.”

“Say that one more time and you’re dead.”

Nixie blushed and spat curses.

Had I said a single word more, her fist would have flown, so I wisely kept my mouth shut.

While I briefly turned my gaze, I noticed something red in her hand.

A flower ring made of red clovers.

‘Come to think of it, there was something like that.’

The item’s name was ‘Red Clover Ring.’

Not made of metal, but woven flowers—simple yet pretty.

‘So she actually found that.’

It was an item one could find around the gardens of the Recorox Grand Mansion.

But—

‘…How did she put it on?’

It was only a ring on her finger, nothing unusual.

But in the game, it was impossible.

‘It’s not an equippable item, is it?’

In the game, that ring wasn’t classified as ‘equipment’ but as a ‘miscellaneous item,’ making it impossible to wear.

‘Well, this isn’t a game, it’s reality.’

Reality was far freer than the game.

As a result, she had unknowingly broken free from the rules set by the game.

That said, the ring was only pretty in appearance and had no functional value.

Judging by the sword and sheath she held in her left hand, she had managed to bring her weapon too.

“Nixie was just staring at the door, as if waiting for someone, you know?”

Arowell followed along, her blonde hair swaying.

Nixie quickly replied.

“A–Arowell. Who would I be waiting for, Villed?”

“Hm? What do you mean, Nixie? I just said you were staring at the door.”

“…Ugh.”

Nixie couldn’t raise her head.

Arowell only smiled brightly.

“……”

And another familiar face stood beside Arowell.

One of the princess’s bodyguards, Curio, avoided my gaze and gave a slight bow.

Nixie saw this and asked me.

“Do you know Curio?”

At that moment, Curio’s eyes briefly turned toward me.

Was she a little tense, hoping I would keep his role as a bodyguard a secret?

“It’s nothing. I just happened to see him once before.”

When I answered, Curio quietly nodded as if relieved.

“What a coincidence. She’s on our team, actually. When we ran into that monster earlier, we survived thanks to Curio.”

“Monster?”

When I asked, Nixie blinked.

“Didn’t you guys run into it too? A monster made of snow. It was so persistent, we really struggled with it.”

During the first trial, there had been a mission to defeat snowman-type monsters.

It seemed they had completed that mission.

“After defeating that monster, we heard a sound. I’m certain of it… it was a dog barking.”

…A dog?

That was sudden.

“I didn’t hear anything. Curio said he didn’t either.”

Arowell gave me a wry smile as she said it.

Nixie folded her arms and furrowed her brows, insisting.

“I really did hear it. I can still hear it clearly even now.”

“You’re a swordswoman with sharp senses, Nixie. Maybe your hearing’s just that good?”

“It’s not that good, but…”

Nixie scratched the side of her head and answered again.

“Anyway, after defeating the monster, a door appeared. We opened it and kept walking, and that’s how we ended up here.”

“Did you see any ghosts?”

When I asked, Nixie chuckled.

“Ghosts? You really say the strangest things. There’s no such thing as ghosts in this world.”

Hearing that, I fell into thought.

‘A dog barking was never depicted in the game.’

Reality had far more freedom than the game.

Situations that hadn’t been described in the game could unfold anytime, and we might face them.

‘She didn’t see a ghost but heard a sound…’

It was a little unexpected.

But it could also simply be an auditory hallucination.

‘This won’t be the first or last time something like this happens, and I can’t waste time dissecting every detail.’

What mattered was to preserve the one great pillar—the ‘fixed story.’

Arowell looked around and spoke.

“Anyway… where exactly are we?”

It wasn’t just Arowell.

Every cadet here had passed the first trial.

But they questioned the strange phenomenon and were confused.

‘It was practically a life-threatening real battle, after all.’

And on top of that, the unfriendly, inexplicable method of moving places.

None of them could have guessed this was all part of the test.

“Before you came, Villed, that idiot kept pounding on the wall like crazy, but it was useless.”

Nixie gestured toward Kunking.

Arowell spoke with worry in her voice.

“Maybe the only way is for the professors to come find us…”

Like Arowell, most cadets must have been hoping for help from the outside.

‘…So it begins.’

Even as conversations went on, one thing kept catching my eye.

Not far away, Elined and a dozen of her followers were speaking together.

Soon, as if reaching a conclusion, they began walking toward the center of the hall.

Just like the scene I’d seen in the game, it unfolded in reality.

“Attention!”

Her followers shouted loudly.

Everyone’s eyes turned toward them.

Elined stepped forward and spoke.

“Everyone, this is a test.”

A clear, weighty voice that lodged itself in the mind.

“…A test?”

“What do you mean?”

The cadets began whispering.

Most of them hadn’t even realized this was a test.

They let out exasperated groans.

A few students, however, looked composed, as if they had already figured it out.

“I did hear something about there being tests at the training camp…”

“So this is the test? Hard to believe.”

“Then where are the professors?”

As the students grew restless, one of her subordinates shouted again, “Quiet!”

The hall immediately fell silent.

“I shall call this test a ‘trial.’”

Only Elined’s voice remained in the hall.

“Some of us faced monsters, while others encountered mysterious figures, fought over certain topics, or solved riddles. There were many different trials.”

From asking all the students, myself included, it became clear.

Each of us had gone through different types of first trials.

And not only that.

“Some cadets even went through the same trial.”

The trials were predetermined, randomly assigned.

Thanks to students who had overlapping trials, this was confirmed.

“Not only were there trials beyond simple battles, but there were also duplicates. And the professors still haven’t come to rescue us… doesn’t it all add up?”

It was an easy conclusion to reach.

“This must be the test that Yggdrasil set forth, in line with the theme, ‘Hellish School Trip.’”

Hearing that, the cadets nodded.

“…Now that you put it that way, it makes sense.”

“If even these bizarre phenomena are part of the test… I can accept that.”

“If we were truly in danger, the professors would’ve come by now.”

Confirming they had accepted it, Elined spoke again.

“These trials will not end here. There will be more, over and over again. However.”

Elined gave a faint smile.

“Simply knowing this is a test will ease the burden on your hearts. You will surely survive the next trial as well.”

Some cadets muttered, seemingly impressed.

“Come to think of it, we’re all competitors here, yet she gave up her advantage to tell us.”

“A test, huh? What a relief!”

“She’s admirable. No wonder they follow Elined.”

They began siding with Elined’s opinion.

She had built the image of someone willing to sacrifice her own gain for the sake of others.

And being trapped in an unknown world, shaken and anxious, made it all the more effective.

The atmosphere quickly shifted to one that defended her as a leader.

‘Things are unfolding just as she wants.’

Elined was a skilled fighter, ranked fifth in combat power.

And on top of that, she belonged to the most prestigious of the four noble houses, the ‘Finjer.’

‘Though it was the branch family, not the main one.’

Regardless.

Thanks to that, she already had strong followers under her wing.

Politics, skill, prestige.

Because she had all three, her words carried weight.

‘She only said it was a test, something that seemed trivial.’

But this was the stepping stone toward gradually ‘dominating the first years.’

Elined was looking far into the future for the sake of her ambition.

“Bullshit.”

Kunking sneered at Elined.

Elined paid no mind to Kunking and the few cadets she couldn’t sway.

She must have judged that winning over the majority was more than enough.

“Well then…”

Just as Elined was about to add another word—

Bang!

The door suddenly burst open.

They say the protagonist always enters last.

“Phew… Now I can breathe easy, Remi.”

At last, Ren, who had been absent all this time, appeared.

The princess and Ren were panting, and Keirin was carried on Ren’s back.

“I thought I was going to die, Ren!”

“But Remi, if only you hadn’t touched that music box.”

“Oh my, so you’re pinning all the blame on me? You were the one who said it was fine to open it, Ren. Such an irresponsible statement for a man…”

They had been bickering like it was just the two of them, but only now did they seem to notice all the stares.

“……”

They stopped for a moment and slowly scanned the hall.

“…Why is everyone gathered here?”

Maybe because I was seated closest to the door?

Before I knew it, everyone’s gaze was directed at me.

“Oh! The young master is here too, how nice!”

Even Keirin, waving his hand while carried on Ren’s back.

Our eyes met from an uncomfortably close distance.

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