Sword, Magic and Academic Society

My blunder clearly worsened Stella's mood, however the air between us was no longer that awkward silence.

While rubbing my stomach with teary eyes, I discussed our plan from here on out.

"......Your selected route saved us a great deal of time, so we’ll most likely be joining the main squad around here, somewhere between the 7th node and the 8th. We have 24 hours starting right now, which means we should get there at around 9 PM tomorrow."

When I explained this, Stella, who had been glaring at me, made a look of confusion. It seemed like my words weren’t able to get through to her.

"Hold on for a second, Allen...... I understand how urgent our situation is, but this plan is obviously very risky. Besides, wasn't our meeting location supposed to be at the defense post on the national border?

How are you so sure that the main squad would be around there when we didn’t even talk to them about it before we left? And my word, you want to reach that point within 24 hours?! Sure, we’re not carrying any burdens but that's a whole 200 km through the mountains that we're talking about! I said this earlier too, that’s no hiking trail.”

"Relax, they have Coco. We’ve already discussed the gist of their route so there won't be any issues with the rendezvous point."

My words caused Stella's eyes to snap wide open.

"A-Already discussed...... Do you mean that you talked to him about it in that short moment? How did you even manage to settle on the meeting location in that short amount of time with such a crappy map?! Walking through the mountains is no child's game."

......Well, I reckoned it must be confusing to her indeed. And I agree, I wouldn't have been able to achieve that sort of communication if the person I was talking to wasn’t Coco.

"I have everything measured. Coco and I have been on many explorations together, and we've discussed various things related to geography.

The time was too short to discuss it in detail, but I could guess Coco’s general route at least."

Seeing my confident reply, Stella's mouth flapped like a goldfish’s as if dumbfounded, and then she protested.

"......Even if we do it your way, how are we going to get there within 24 hours? From my experience, even if we head straight for the border post, we’d still have a tight time constraint. Plus, we may encounter monsters along the way. So I believe we should head straight for the border post, and maybe we can help them out if—"

I guessed where she was heading and shook my head, interrupting her.

"But the main squad will fail to arrive on time."

"................And your reason for that? Frankly, I think you should have a bit more faith—"

I once again interrupted her.

"My reason is… you, Stella. You're with me here. Remember what I said first? We, the messenger squad, will reach the finish line first if you're with me.

Considering your experience with the terrain, monsters, and other habitats here, if you had followed the main squad, I, in my solo messenger mission, would have taken much more time to finish my mission. In the end, both sides would finish by the skin of their teeth.

I’m subpar when it comes to directional sense so I would have fumbled along the way. I believe this was what that old geezer must have planned out for us."

As Stella offered no words, I continued.

"My second reason as to why I think the main squad would be there is because...... of that gleeful look on Godorfun’s face. Just like you, this place is that geezer’s backyard and it wouldn't be a challenge if we manage to complete this task without tripping.

If we want to one-up that old geezer, we need to think outside of the box and do something unconventional. One of the means to achieve that is you being with me here. This plan hinges on how soon I can merge with the main squad.

I do trust them, and that’s why they’ll undoubtedly make it to that spot, though it would be a tough ordeal for them."

Stella sank into silence when I finished my explanation before looking back at me.

"......Alright, I understand the gist of it. So, when you said you’ll still be able to get there earlier even without me before departure, you meant the 'overall' progress, huh? But there's still something that you haven't answered yet. How're we going to cover that much distance in this short a time?"

......Phew, it was a lifesaver that she was so smart as it saved me the hassle of explaining everything.

If our perspective didn't align just now, we might have reached a stalemate and that would have been detrimental. She would never blindly accept my opinion. If I had been in her shoes, I would have surely argued against some of it.

But with the available information objectively pieced together, she likely concluded that we should act on the premise I just mentioned.

There was no hesitation on her face.

"Stella, guide us through the shortest route with the assumption that there are no monsters from here on out. That should significantly speed up our pace. Haa… and I’ll also use my wind magic."

With a grin, I told her my plan. However, her face turned pale as she looked at me as if she was looking at some molester while hiding her exposed thighs above her knee-high boots with her hands.

Huh? Hey, hey. You can't be serious!!

◆◆◆

A flock of Gigantic Crows flew in the sky above Dol and the team. They were so numerous that their appearance nearly turned the bright day into night as they covered the sky in their wake.

There wasn't any Gigantic Crow as big as the first two they had faced, but there were still plenty of decently sized demonic crows visible here and there.

With tears pooling in her eyes, Lana apologized to everyone.

"......It's my fault. In my greed to shorten the time as much as possible, we're......"

Dol, however, shook his head and called out to her with the gentlest tone he could muster.

"We all agreed to your suggestion so it's not your fault...... Anyway, we can reflect on our actions later. We need to first hold these guys down until our classmates get here. Also, we have Jeu with us and we brought some potent potions as well. I doubt these crows have so many elemental variants among them, so we should be able to deal with them once the others join up with us."

On the other hand, Parry stood up using his spear as a clutch while gritting his teeth.

"......It was my incompetence that led to this. You don't need to look after me. I...... I can still fight!"

Having her leg flattened and with sweat dripping from her forehead, Sophie also used her naginata-like weapon as a clutch, albeit with a pale face, and distanced herself from Lala.

"......My right leg's been fractured. I can't fight, but I can handle myself so you help them out, Lala. I fear it would be too late even if the others catch up if you waste time in protecting me."

"Alright. Coco, don't move! I’m here! Sophie, you also stay close to me! They should have already noticed what’s happening and must be heading here at any moment!...... Prepare for the attack!"

Dol had just finished speaking when the demonic crows immediately lunged at them from all directions.

Lala clutched the leather whip tied to her waist. She took it into her hand, and her earlier apologetic expression disappeared and was swiftly replaced by a sharp aura.

Then, with blinding speed, she lashed out with her whip and struck down the incoming gigantic crows momentarily.

Fresh blood splattered around like rain.

"......These chicks are not that good at flying, unlike their parents. I, Lala Von Liancool, called 'Shining Radiance eclipsing the moon, when I have a whip in my hand' by Granny Muh of Doco village, will now whip them into order!"

Lala said and, snap!, dramatically cracked her whip.

Lala’s transformation was so contrasting from her previous appearance that Dol suddenly found himself looking at Sophie and asking 'Who the hell is that girl? What's going on? Do you know?'

Though, Sophie looked just as astonished as she shook her head at Dol's question.

"As long as we're here, not even a single talon will be able to touch our comrades, right, Dol?"

Lala continued to whip down the incoming demonic crows, turning them into meat splatters, as she ran her tongue over her pretty lips in a ghastly manner and shot a smile at Dol.

"......Absolutely!"

Though Dol had questions he wanted to ask, like how was she going to discipline the meat splatters, they had their tasks to complete and so, without looking into her eyes, he backed off.

◆◆◆

"Sorry, I’m late! We suddenly encountered a group of stray demon foxes below the cliff! Leo is handling it so don't worry! What about you?!"

"Timely save, Al! That crow's magic is dangerous and counters our style! I can't do anything with my magic, so you take it down! Jeu, focus on Coco and Sophie first! And rest of you all, take care of the tiny ones!"

Dol momentarily assigned the roles of Al, Jeu, Dan, Viz, and Elena who had just arrived, and they acted on it immediately. (T/N - So, it wasn’t Pis but Viz. I forgot until the author added the Class A’s student list in his notes. I apologize about it, and will correct them asap.)

"Come on, come on, is that all?! If ya don't improve now, then you never will!"

For now, it was better if they also turned a blind eye to their comrade Lala, who normally used sophisticated words like a princess out of a fairy tale.

With the arrival of backup, the group had enough leeway to calmly decide that.

"Ice Barrage!"

Al swiftly targeted the demonic crow with rapid-fire ice pebbles.

Typically, the magic in this world normally didn't need any incantation or spell name to work. However, as Allen had often exercised his authority as honorary advisor of the Magic Research Club and stubbornly corrected everyone to make sure they called out their spell’s name, the habit had now been somehow ingrained into them.

Ice pebbles the size of chinquapin seeds — the shape was suggested by Allen to further increase their piercing power — shot out of Al’s wand at lightning-fast speed.

The wand was made of Anju tree wood, a local specialty of his family-managed territory, and was quite small compared to Dol's two-handed wand. The tip of the wand was affixed with a shining jewel-like ice element magic stone.

As the president of the Magic Research Club, which had unparalleled geniuses like Leo, Jeu, and other talented members, he knew how to lead by example.

It wouldn't have been surprising to face a negative setback from the pressure of leading such talented people, but Al… got pumped up instead. Just like the others, he also polished himself and made rapid advances while studying and researching magic.

The ice pebbles struck true at the parent crow. Flying at the high vantage point, the demonic crow's supposed safe haven and a strategic spot to drop rocks from, the crow was easily pierced by the rapid fire of Al's Ice Barrage.

Blood-soaked jet-black feathers of the parent crow flutter down.

Facing a threat to its life, the parent crow dived down while spinning to mount an attack on Al.

Al was about to greet it with an Ice Lance, one of his top magic with high lethality, when Parry’s voice came from behind, "Leave it to me, Al! Don't waste your mana on such a small fry!"

Al stopped and dodged to the side after baiting the parent crow to the lowest point possible. Replacing him, Parry lunged with his spear and pierced the parent crow, the boss of the flock.

When the Gigantic Crow's fledglings saw that, they raised a cry and scattered.

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