Are you hurt anywhere?

Senior

I smiled and waved at Yuni and Rie.

Yuni frowned and looked at me, while Rie smiled.

Rie slowly walked towards me and checked my body.

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

Just a little? The injuries arent that serious.

I couldnt avoid all of Evans attacks due to low mana.

I had to escape while maintaining a safe distance, so some minor injuries were inevitable.

Look

Then Yuni came up to me.

She looked at the injuries I had.

It was surprising to see Yuni, not Rie, acting like this.

Sigh Really

Yuni looked at me with annoyance.

Why did you try to save me? It was just bad luck that I met a strong opponent. I should have just failed the assessment and that would be the end of it! It was just an unavoidable accident due to bad luck

Yuni looked upset, rambling as she gazed at my wounds.

I smiled at her.

If its bad luck to meet such a guy, its good luck to meet me. Just think of it as good luck.

Are you an idiot? Senior, dont you think about your own benefits?

"...Just living to help others is good enough."

Huh?

Rie tilted her head at Yunis behavior.

She squinted, as if something was strange.

Yunis behavior was odd, but there was no reason for such an expression.

It wasnt strange to become emotional after a significant event.

I looked around, wondering if someone else was nearby.

But there was nothing in sight.

Why is she making that expression?

I asked Rie.

Is something wrong?

No. Nothing at all.

In response to my question, Rie shook her head.

Yuni, looking confused, poked at me.

Anyway, lets go back to where we were. Emily is there, so you can get some treatment.

Oh, right. Emily knows healing magic.

That worked out well.

Getting treated by Emily and increasing our numbers would reduce the danger at night.

Shall we move then?

Yes, Senior.

Rie kept looking at me with suspicion.

I looked back at her.

Rie?

Ah, yeah. Shall we go?

Why is she acting like that?

I was puzzled, but I started walking to join Emily and the others.

Yuni! Rudy!

Emily was hiding near the valley with Diark.

It seemed they hadn't gone far because Diark was injured.

Emily, are you okay?

Yuni slowly approached Emily.

Yes, I'm fine thanks to Yunis protection... But

Emily looked at Diark, who was sitting in front of her.

Has senior arrived

Diark, wrapped in bandages, looked quite pitiful.

Can you continue the assessment in this state

"We have to try as much as we can. We can't just give up."

It seemed Diark was satisfied just to have not been eliminated.

In fact, it wouldn't have been surprising if he had been eliminated after being attacked by Evan earlier.

Evan's strikes could be fatal for first-year students.

Still, Diark had managed to hold on, likely because he was not just a wizard but a magic swordsman with physical enhancements.

Yes, youve had a tough time

I patted Diarks shoulder a few times.

This guy was also aiming for the top rank among the first-year students.

He must be heartbroken about this unlucky situation.

Yet, seeing his determined demeanor made me want to support him.

Shall we prepare to spend the night?

I couldnt do much to help, but I thought of creating a comfortable environment for them.

The first to respond to my suggestion was Yuni.

Ill go to the stream. I can quickly catch something like fish.

Oh, would you do that?

I was a bit surprised to see Yuni being so proactive, but I didnt stop her since she volunteered.

Then shall we also get ready?

We needed to make a space to sleep in and make space for a bonfire.

It would be too uncomfortable to sleep on the bare ground without anything.

We needed to gather leaves or something to make a bed-like structure.

Rudy, come with me. Emily should stay and take care of Diark.

No, its okay! You can go without me. Take Emily with you

Diark quickly responded to Ries suggestion.

Rie looked at Diark with cold eyes.

Is that so?

Diark sensed the threat and gently laid down.

He lay down gently, but his movements were swift and concise.

Then he suddenly groaned.

Ah, ah I suddenly feel unwell I need to lie down

Is that so? Emily? Could you take care of Diark?

Yes.

Diark and Emily quickly reacted to Rie's words.

It was curious that they reacted like that without Rie having to do much.

They were quick-witted, indeed.

Rudy? Shall we go?

Rie spoke to me with a smile in her eyes.

Seeing Rie like that, I sighed.

Dont be too hard on the kids

Hm? Whats wrong? Is something the matter?

Rie gave a sly smile and tilted her head, pretending to be clueless.

Since I wasn't really asking the kids to do anything but rather telling them to rest...

Its nothing. Shall we go?

Sure!

Rie left the shelter with a bright face.

We had to go a bit away from our campsite to gather short branches and leaves.

As we walked away from the shelter, Rie spoke.

Its getting darker.

Yes, it is. Lets gather quickly and return.

After hearing my response, Rie sighed and spoke again.

In a forest with no one around and with the weather turning dark it feels a bit cold and eerie.

Right. Lets gather quickly

Before I could repeat my earlier response, Rie quickly turned her head.

Thats not what Im hoping for.

It was cold, dark, and spooky, so we should hurry back and light a bonfire, right?

So, what do you want?

Sigh, you can be so clueless.

Rie sighed and reached out her hand to me.

Give me your hand.

What?

Hold my hand.

Rie extended her hand towards me confidently.

I stared at her and then firmly said,

No.

I felt like I had been pushed around too much by Rie lately.

I couldnt just keep doing everything she asked; it would spoil her.

Rie's eyes widened at my firm refusal.

You mean no?

She stepped back as if she couldnt believe it, her face full of disappointment.

Why not

Gone was her confident demeanor, replaced with a pitiful look as she gazed up at me.

Ugh

Seeing the usually assertive Rie with such an expression weakened my resolve.

How could anyone remain unaffected when someone as attractive as Rie looks up with such an expression?

I pressed my lips together and turned my head away.

I mustn't give in here.

This was just a trick of Rie's.

I turned my head sharply.

Lets gather some branches

I resisted well

Just as I was about to turn and walk away,

Rie grabbed my sleeve.

She looked up slightly with a sad expression.

Hold it

She repeated.

My resolve wasnt that strong.

~.

Rie hummed a tune while holding my hand.

One should know when to refuse, but...

How can I say no when she makes such a face and asks?

So, I ended up holding Ries hand as we went to collect branches.

However, there was a problem.

To pick up branches, I needed to let go of her hand.

It was obvious that Rie wouldnt just let it be if I simply released her hand.

I glanced at Rie, with the branches right in front of me.

We cant pick up the wood if we keep holding hands

I hinted subtly to Rie.

But Rie was unfazed.

Sylph.

She immediately summoned a spirit to gather the surrounding leaves and branches.

In no time, Sylph had collected all the leaves and was holding them.

I thought we didnt need to come out here if she was going to do this, but it was clear her aim was just to be alone with me, so I didnt say it out loud.

But Rie overlooked one thing.

Now that weve gathered everything, shall we go back?

!

After all, our purpose of coming out was to collect leaves and branches.

Now that we had everything, there was no reason to stay outside any longer.

The breeze is nice. Why dont we walk around a bit more?

Its dangerous outside. What if we encounter other people or beasts?

With you and me here, whats there to worry about?

Rie spoke confidently, but I couldnt spoil her any further.

No. Itd be a headache if we run into a strong beast. Lets go back and rest. Tomorrow is going to be very busy.

I didn't mention Sylph since it didn't use much mana, but we needed to conserve as much mana as possible.

We have a busy schedule starting from tomorrow morning so we need to conserve both mana and physical strength.

At my words, Rie tilted her head.

Whats happening tomorrow?

Yes, theres a slight change in the plan. Im moving some things forward.

Moving things forward?

My plan.

A plan known to Rie, Luna, and everyone.

Tomorrow, were going to hunt the Red Dragon Hatchling.

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