My Beloved Princess ~The Boy Called Incompetent Rises with Only a Sword and the Princess's Devotion~ - Chapter 017: Survival Begins

“Kishō-kun. That’s rude, you know. You can’t just ignore your teacher like that!”

A strangely drawn-out voice came from around his navel.

A tiny person stood there.

“Ah. You just thought ‘tiny person,’ didn’t you?”

A little girl in a bun hairstyle, dressed in a magnificent green dragon robe, puffed her cheeks in dissatisfaction.

“No, I thought there was a lost child.”

“You’ve got the nerve to tease your teacher. Stand at attention right there!”

Instructor Fūga, who taught wind magic, was indignant! She pumped both arms up and down with a huff. She looked exactly like a girl under ten, but she was a legitimate mature dragonkin lady. Meaning she was over a hundred years old.

Instructor Fūga was the Lower School first-year vice administrator, and she and Instructor Mi’on had accompanied them as supervisors. Among the six female instructors, she was also the only one who treated Kishō kindly.

With familiar ease, Kishō held out his hand.

“Understood. Here, take this.”

“What’s this?”

“A bribe.”

He handed her wrapping paper. It contained candy.

“Muu? Do you think you can buy your teacher off with mere candy? Really, Kishō-kun, you’re so sweet. Like candy.”

Though she said that, she was already sucking on the candy.

He slipped past the little girl who was making pleased crunching sounds.

“Wait right there! We’re not done talking yet!”

“You took the bribe, so please overlook this.”

“I can’t do that. What do you intend to do with the equipment?”

He’d done nothing shameful. Explaining the reason logically was simple.

“The magical beasts around the main base will be hunted out on the first day. Which means the travel distance to hunting grounds will gradually increase day by day. Plus competition will be fierce. So it’s more efficient to advance deep into the forest from the start and make that our base. How about giving me credit for being a diligent student?”

“However, you see, the teacher has to manage safety too.”

“It’ll be fine. The academically excellent Princess is coming too.”

He’d tried dropping the name on a whim, but the effect was remarkable.

The little girl teacher fluttered about flustered.

“Oh right, you’re in the same group as the Princess, aren’t you?”

“Yes. So there’s no need to worry. Do you think the Princess would fall behind against mere magical beasts?”

Instructor Fūga, who’d look like a western doll if she kept her mouth closed, asked with a face like she’d eaten a pickled plum.

“How far do you plan to go?”

“Let’s see. I’m thinking of heading west through the northern part of the forest. Once we’ve walked a good distance for a day or two, we’ll make that area our base for activities.”

“Understood. Then please return once after about a week. That’s as far as the teacher can compromise.”

From a safety management perspective, she apparently wanted to confirm their well-being once.

Given the food situation, they’d have to return somewhere along the line anyway. A week seemed a bit short, but it appeared to be a reasonable span.

When Kishō agreed, Instructor Fūga said something teacher-like while making crunching sounds with the candy in her mouth.

“Be careful not to get hurt. The field trip isn’t over until you’re home, you know.”

◇◇◇◇◇

Leaving the barracks, from the dead fallen tree, south two hundred paces, west one hundred paces—he arrived at the designated meeting point. The two hadn’t appeared yet. Girls’ preparations took time. With time to kill, Kishō tossed his luggage aside, drew the practice sword at his waist, and swung it horizontally at a slight angle. The tree severed in a single stroke fell with a loud crash.

Resheathing the practice sword at his waist, Kishō sat on the fallen tree.

“Still, entering the Beast King Forest with just a practice sword in hand—how’s that supposed to work?”

For Kishō and the Princess who could use sword aura, it was no problem. Dealing fatal blows to magical beasts would be easy. But for ordinary students wielding practice swords, while they could inflict damage, delivering fatal blows would be difficult. From dragonkin with their robust bodies’ perspective, magical beast combat ability wasn’t that high, but getting bitten would hurt, and taking special skills would cause injuries.

“They could at least let us carry real swords.”

Within academy grounds, possession and bringing in of real swords was prohibited to prevent escalation to lethal incidents. That said, this was outside the academy, and it was supposedly the dangerous Beast King Forest. If humans entered without countermeasures, even those confident in their skills wouldn’t last three days. Entering there with wooden practice swords was absurd.

“This isn’t some picnic.”

Just then, a rustling sound of shaking branches and leaves reached his ears from behind. Kishō acted without hesitation. Kicking off the fallen tree’s trunk, he leaped sideways while simultaneously drawing his practice sword. An instant later, a black shadow passed through where Kishō had been sitting. With ample reserve, he slid the blade imbued with purple-flame sword aura into its belly. Snapping his wrist from bottom to top—

—Slash!

Like a heated knife through butter. The black shadow’s torso was severed without resistance.

Fresh blood scattered. Split in two midair, it collapsed powerlessly to the ground.

It was a magical beast.

“A canine magical beast. No, a wolf?” 

White fur and red eyes. A horn grew from its forehead.

A magical beast called a White Wolf.

Among magical beasts, it ranked low. Just right for warming up.

And then—

“Grrrrrrr.”

Five of the same species of magical beast appeared from among the trees.

They closed the distance with ferocious fangs bared and hatred exposed. Drool dripped from between their fangs, and their wet tongues licked in anticipation of prey.

Kishō moved first. Judging it easier than being jumped simultaneously if they got the initiative. Closing the distance at once, he cut down the White Wolf at the front. Instant death. Not even a death cry. The White Wolves flinched for a moment. He didn’t miss that opening. One on the right, three on the left. Kishō leaped right. He swung the practice sword. Easily dispatched the second.

Of the remaining three, the left and right two jumped simultaneously.

“Stupid. Coming from the front together is pointless.”

He swept the practice sword in a wide horizontal slash. Cut both White Wolves apart in a single horizontal stroke.

One left. The battle was fun. The dragonkin blood stirred.

Perhaps terrified by Kishō’s madness-tinged smile, the White Wolf turned tail and fled at full speed. This became troublesome. Kishō had no means to pursue fleeing enemies. He didn’t feel like chasing on foot. He clicked his tongue.

But after the White Wolf sprinted several meters, something black like a spear pierced its body. The black spear that had sprouted from the ground penetrated the White Wolf’s magic core and vanished without a trace. Simultaneously the White Wolf’s body also decomposed and dissolved into the air.

“Impressive swordsmanship, Kishō.”

“Kuroyō, huh? Your magic’s impressive too, but let me say one thing. You can’t destroy the magic core.”

Magic cores were aggregations of miasma that formed magical beasts’ main bodies. Destroying or removing the magic core made magical beasts unable to maintain physical form, decomposing into particles of energy and disappearing. And magic cores could serve as proof of magical beast extermination due to that property.

“Listen. If you destroy the magic core, it’s the same as not defeating the magical beast. You might not care about reward money or academy grades, but if you’re accompanying us, please cooperate.”

“Muu. I apologize for that.”

The Princess’s shoulders drooped dejectedly. Kishō felt awkward at her meek reaction too.

“Ah, no. As long as you understand. I went too far too. Sorry.”

“Ahh, Shō-kun’s bullying Yō-chan.”

“A troublesome person arrived at a troublesome time…”

“Ahh, you just casually said something terrible in a small voice.”

Kishō scratched his head and sighed.

At any rate, this meant everyone was assembled.