Chapter 23
Four days had passed since we returned from Triden.
The wounds on my feet ford scabs and slowly healed.
I had shaken off much of the fatigue.
I rose from my seat.
There was a eting soon regarding our plans going forward.
When I arrived at the dining hall that we had designated as a eting room, everyone had gathered except Talleon.
The boy had a morning watch today.
As I stepped inside, Lucille scolded .
“You are last again. Next ti you co earlier.”
“Sis, we didn't even wait that long.”
“Late is late. Even if it is one minute or ten seconds.”
Lucille had acted like this ever since she decided to join us.
She no longer let even small mistakes pass.
It was her way of venting the resentnt she felt after being forced to swallow her pride.
It was cute.
After suppressing her temper again and again, the best revenge she could muster was sothing like this.
“I am sorry. I will be more careful next ti.”
“You should be.”
“Where are we in the discussion so far while I was gone?”
“How are we supposed to hold a eting without you?”
“Are you saying Lady Lucille cannot do anything without ?”
“W-What did you say!”
Lucille slamd the table and stood up.
Tania, who sat beside her, grabbed her sleeve to calm her down.
“Sis, you promised not to fight with him.”
“Kgh! I am letting it go only because of my sister.”
I shrugged.
Lucille puffed out air through her nose and sat back down.
“Before we begin the eting, I want to establish one rule for our group.”
“What is it?”
“Please follow the leader’s orders first and foremost.”
“Are you saying you want to beco a dictator?”
“Yes, a dictator. A kind dictator who respects the lives of the group mbers.”
Lucille glared with displeasure.
Her murderous gaze made the two students beside her tremble.
But I felt nothing.
[Cool] scoffed as if amused.
“I will listen to opinions. But it is who makes the final decisions.”
“And if soone does not like that, they leave the group?”
“I will not stop them. I will even share food with them as thanks for the ti together.”
Lucille looked around.
All of the students remained silent.
A leader in a disaster situation was far from a glamorous or admirable position.
Their authority was fragile while their burden was enormous.
One mistake could cost lives.
Even if they succeeded, they received nothing more than a few words of praise.
Leading was sothing anyone would wish to avoid.
“For reference, I am always willing to give this position to you, Lady Lucille. Would you like it? Then could you please tell us what we should do from now on?”
I asked while checking her expression.
She couldn’t say a word back.
I smiled.
“I am stepping up to take the villain’s role for a position no one wants. At least allow so advantages.”
“...Fine. I am a newcor in this group and it is odd for to order everyone around. The fact that the others obey you without complaint ans they trust you.”
She no longer argued.
I changed the topic to our plan to leave the dormitory.
“We are going to the Tower.”
“Good idea. It is safe there. With around, the knights will not ignore us.”
“Yes. However, I have sothing to ask you about that.”
“What is it?”
“Were you attacked by people along the way by any chance?”
Lucille hesitated briefly then spoke.
She explained that sothing unpleasant had happened on the way to the dormitory.
They encountered survivors.
Austin had mistaken them for raiders who wanted their supplies.
I decided we would avoid the path she had used.
She had clashed with townspeople and soone had died in the process.
If anyone rembered her armor, they might try to take revenge.
“Seems that route is better avoided.”
“I agree. But I don't know what the condition of the other routes is.”
“You don't need to worry about that.”
“Do you have a plan?”
“Yes.”
[Clever] began working.
Drawing from all the experience gained from the ga, it searched for the safest route.
The conclusion ca quickly.
[Clever] grew smug after finishing its work.
“When are you planning to leave?”
Tania asked with a bright voice.
“Right now.”
* * *
An hour passed after the eting ended.
We left the dormitory.
This ti Lucille served as our guide.
Tania stayed at her sister’s side.
The two boys and I followed from the rear.
“I am not sure if this is a good idea.”
Not everyone had agreed.
Gavinu had approached secretly and asked if we should stay in the dormitory.
The boy was anxious.
He didn't seem to believe that having many people improved survival.
“When there are many mouths to feed and many people making noise, sothing bad always happens. And if we rely on the knight order, every decision will be influenced by them. We will have no choice but to obey.”
He was a smart kid.
If Talleon was passionate, Gavinu was cautious.
As he said, relying on a knight order was dangerous.
Even if that order was the Order of the Star, the most neutral of the three.
After the incident with Austin and Zenit, trusting them would be foolish.
Gavinu had heard everything that happened in Triden from Talleon.
Perhaps because of that, he even kept his guard up toward Lucille.
“I respect your thoughts. But there wasn't anything we could do more in the dormitory.”
I answered firmly.
The boy didn't shrink back.
He chewed on a fingernail as if trying to digest my aning.
It was a good chance to test a new spell.
I cast Analysis on him.
According to its description, it revealed the target’s potential.
[Gavinu Moiran]
Level 12 (Apprentice Knight)
Grade Eight Perity
Potential C
Innate Skill - X
As expected, it was not impressive.
He was an NPC created to fill the student count in the ga.
Gavinu had been born with a fate disadvantageous for survival in this world.
[Cool] insisted he was not suited as a companion.
Realistically, that was true.
I turned my focus to Tania instead.
[Tania Rainwood]
Current Level 21 (Apprentice Mage)
Grade Seven Mithios
Potential A
Innate Skills - Fire’s Blessing, Spirit Affinity, Mana Sensitivity Enhancent
Tania was a character who had significant influence on scenario progression.
Many players had desperately tried to recruit her for one reason.
She was strong.
She possessed abilities vital to survival.
Once she accepted soone, her personality softened and she was easy to work with.
Comparing the boy and the girl, it was obvious whom I should favor.
I fell into thought.
If all of this was just a ga, I could be as ruthless as needed.
My best record had been achieved that way.
If soone was useful, I would swallow them no matter how unpleasant the taste.
If soone was useless, I would spit them out no matter how sweet they were.
I would be forced to choose eventually. What would I do when the ti ca?
A month had been enough to strip away the consciousness I had when I lived as Kang Minhyeok.
The people here were not simply artificial intelligence.
They were living beings.
Could I dismiss them simply because I had transmigrated into a ga?
I didn't know.
Feeling uneasy, I swallowed my discomfort.
A chilly breeze passed, and the people ahead of us stopped walking.
We caught up before we realized it.
“Is sothing wrong?”
I asked carefully, hoping it was not a monster.
“Soone was there.”
Lucille answered with a trembling voice.
I lifted the light orb I was using in place of a torch and examined the surroundings.
Everything outside the light was pitch black.
I doubted it was a zombie.
Zombies didn't stay silent or hide.
They would have attacked right away.
A mutant was possible but unlikely. Mutants didn't reveal themselves easily in places like this.
If I could not find them imdiately, I needed to track their traces.
Since it had rained heavily the day before yesterday, the ground was still wet.
Footprints ford easily in the mud.
I soon found footprints that were not ours.
Judging by size and shape, they belonged to an adult who was not a knight.
“If they wanted help, they would not have hidden.”
Tania whispered her deduction.
No one disagreed.
“Maybe they want us to stay here. If so, remaining in place is a bad idea. We either hide in a building or keep moving. Joshua, what do you think?”
Lucille asked for my opinion.
Our eyes t.
She no longer saw as just a student.
She had no knight companions anymore.
Given her rank, she needed to protect the students.
I alone was the exception to that rule.
“This path is long. There are many houses where people can hide and many places where we could be ambushed.”
“So you think the person we missed is an enemy.”
“I don't know who they are, but I’m sure they are not innocent. Otherwise they would have no reason to hide and observe us.”
“Then what do we do? Maybe take another route and…”
“No. Wandering around trying to find a safer path will bring greater danger. And I don't want to sleep out in the open like an idiot.”
“Then what?”
“Do you rember what the person looked like? Anything is fine.”
Lucille stayed silent until Tania raised her hand and answered.
“They had a crossbow or a bow slung over their shoulder.”
She was proud that she noticed sothing her sister had not.
However, Lucille and I didn't smile.
Our expressions hardened. We realized what the person had been doing.
“They are a guard.”
Lucille spoke with certainty.
I closed my eyes and recalled the ga mories.
[Clever] helped piece the situation together.
I identified the group that controlled the area between Dormitory Building Four and the Line Tower.
The townspeople here had turned into bandits who attacked survivors.
They had no special na.
The number varied but rarely exceeded ten.
The larger group was bigger, but only a small number were fighters.
They targeted specific kinds of prey.
They don't attack soone strong. That is the most important thing.
No matter how hungry they were, no one foolishly attacked a knight.
They risked losing their supplies or their lives.
Of course, ordinary commoners could not distinguish knights from non knights.
They judged by armor.
Lucille’s chain mail was expensive at a glance.
Plate armor existed in this era but had not beco widespread. Wearing chain mail was enough to intimidate most people.
“As long as Lady Lucille is here, they will not attack first.”
“Are you sure?”
“They know they will lose more than they gain. Even if they want our food, weakening us makes it harder to secure future prey.”
“So we are not the only possible victims.”
“Correct. They will target weaker and easier people.”
Lucille nodded.
She dropped interest in the missing guard.
The students looked nervous.
Even if they were more skilled than average people, they were not strong enough to block attacks in the dark.
“Let us put out the light.”
I extinguished the firefly in my palm.
“This way they cannot attack until they are close. They are not stupid enough to waste their few arrows on a risky shot.”
“But who will guide us without light?”
“I will. My night vision is excellent.”
We shifted the formation.
I moved between Lucille and Tania. The boys stayed in the back.
Everyone’s pale faces softened a little.
We continued forward.
The ground was uneven and slippery with mud.
Behind , Talleon seed to be rembering the terrible experience of heading to Triden.
He grimaced and muttered sothing to Gavinu.
“When we arrive at the Tower, will we et other students or professors?”
Tania asked her sister.
I thought it was dangerous to speak now, but letting the gloomy atmosphere linger felt worse.
“There are about forty knights among the three hundred people housed there. The rest are students or townspeople who help run the leadership.”
“Are you including the knights who died recently?”
Lucille frowned at the question that cut into her.
“I am not including them.”
“Then the leadership’s influence might be weaker when we arrive.”
“I don't know. We will see.”
I stayed quiet.
No one knew who was correct until we arrived.
It was clear Lucille wanted the leadership to remain strong.
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