Chapter 101
"Our schedule is very tight. Since we leave the day after tomorrow... it's better to prepare as early as possible."
At least until now, she didn't seem to have any intention of replacing group members.
Group leader Iris shared her circulatory system strategy with us.
Her method was so orthodox it could be called textbook, without any unnecessary elements.
"Our goal is simple. We go deep into the circulatory system. The deeper we go, the stronger the resistance and the higher our scores will be."
"Resistance? Does that mean... magic creatures appear?"
Iris shook her head.
"They say magic creatures can't approach that area freely, perhaps because of the phantasmal beast. Even alpha-level specimens are no exception. If it were a place where magic creatures appeared, Eternia wouldn't have sent first-years there in the first place."
Lysander, the group member with the oily parting, breathed a sigh of relief. Judging by his expression, he hadn't asked out of fear of magic creatures. Rather, he just wanted to avoid messy situations.
Iris added additional info, "And we can meet the phantasmal beast at the center of the circulatory system, which corresponds to the final stage. As for the horn... I don't know well. There's no information. We'll have to deal with it improvisationally when we get there."
Polson, another group member, spoke confidently, "Improvisation sounds good. That's my specialty."
"Haha... I like your confidence. Anyway, to enter the circulatory system, we must first understand and respect that land's rules."
Just then, several groups hurriedly left the lecture hall. Outside, the sounds of carriage wheels and hooves were noisy.
Polson interrupted Iris and muttered to himself.
"Carriages? Where are they trying to go?"
"Umm... I'll explain now. It's because of food."
"What food?"
"Think about how many people are entering that primeval forest at once. Hunting and cutting trees to survive. Due to massive resource consumption, problems will occur in the circulatory system even unintentionally."
"..."
"If that happens, we'll be considered outside invaders. If we respect the circulatory system, we shouldn't carelessly take lives there. To avoid that, we're getting a week's worth of food. Those carriages were called in advance to get travel food from Rigbed."
This meant that activities like gathering or hunting should be completely forbidden to preserve the circulatory system.
"We need to move for a week in the circulatory system with external resources. For that, we need to pack light, nutritious food. Think about all these people trying to get a week's worth of jerky and dried fruit. It'll sell out instantly, so we need to move quickly before it's too late."
Group members Polson and Lysander nodded vigorously, strongly agreeing with Iris.
Though Rigbed wasn't small enough to be unable to handle that volume, it was easy to predict some supply issues when demand concentrated in a single day.
Polson threw out a comment worthy of his family background, "Ah, I hate going around miserably like during the entrance exam. Since it's come to this, how about spending more money to pack more supplies? Like camping tents and cooking equipment."
"Ah, yes... That... let's think about it slowly."
Iris' plan was without unnecessary elements. It exactly matched mainstream alchemy schools' view of the circulatory system and presented appropriate strategies based on that theory.
The problem was that Zverev's thoughts about the circulatory system written in the recipe were completely opposite to Iris' beliefs.
***
The circulatory system was completely different from an “untouched primeval forest”. Old forests with little human presence could be found anywhere. A forest was just a forest, but the circulatory system had distinct differences.
Rain containing special components, earth's mana, spirits roaming nature, flora and fauna adapted to mana environments—all these complexly intertwined things circulated together, and after thousands of cycles accumulating, magical connections formed. This was like one massive organism.
A circulatory system formed this way reacted very elastically to external pressure. If it could collapse from a few circulation links breaking, it wouldn't have become a circulatory system in the first place.
In Zverev's records, he mentioned the enormous food consumption of large animals living in the circulatory system. Herbivores consumed tens of kilos of grass, herbs, and leaves daily, and predators ate a similar amount of meat.
Humans picking herbs and hunting in the circulatory system was minimal compared to wild animals. If that disrupted the circulatory system, animals should have been driven out first.
Zverev said that eating herbs and animal meat living in the circulatory system was actually the true way to respect it.
[You become what you eat.]
Like a primitive tribe's saying, one should become part of the circulation ring by stuffing oneself with things from the circulatory system.
Applying Zverev's theory meant ultimately packing no food at all.
And actively hunting for self-sufficiency.
Perhaps the reason for including the Combat and Magic Departments in this class was for hunting.
The absence of magic creatures meant that the domain was dominated by another powerful being.
However, I planned to follow Iris all the way even if the direction was wrong. I quite liked that despite being the top seat of the Alchemy Department, she wasn't greedy and tried to keep her original group members.
It was still just preparation period, and packing jerky wouldn't be an irreversible act.
However, it was uncertain whether I could convince group members of the alchemy theory whose source I couldn't reveal.
Rather than blindly blocking the plan, it seemed better to talk with Iris separately later. She seemed quite likely to listen to my story.
After making rough plans, we hurriedly moved to Rigbed too. It was to secure 7 days' worth of food to survive in the Soderton circulatory system.
The main items were foods with good preservation like jerky, dried fruits, salted pork, and cheese. Thanks to moving relatively quickly compared to other groups, there wasn't much trouble getting supplies.
besides Polson's greed in gathering all sorts of unnecessary items was quite unreliable, it was generally a smooth process.
Polson mocked the students who came out dumbfounded after entering food shops that other groups had already cleaned out late, calling them stupid.
We gathered in front of carriages parked in the plaza organizing luggage.
Just then, someone called my name from a distance, "Damiaaaan!"
Looking toward the sound, Trisha had spotted me and was running over.
As she approached, Iris reacted before I did.
"Oh my, Trisha?!"
"Iris is here too!"
Then looking at me she said, "You're quite talented, Damian, being in the same group as the top seat of the Alchemy Department!"
"..."
Group members Polson and Lysander couldn't take their blank stares off Trisha.
"You came to buy jerky too. Here, I'll add one!"
She forcefully put jerky with her teeth marks in my mouth and left with a farewell.
"Gotta go, I'm busy. Everyone, please take good care of our Damian!"
Trisha acted like my guardian before rejoining Cecil's group far away.
All group members seemed deeply impressed by Trisha's appearance and couldn't speak for a while.
Polson's gaze grew unpleasantly stronger.
After loading the food and miscellaneous equipment into the carriage, Polson said, "Ah, these items are too complicated, do we really have to divide them up? How can we handle sudden situations if we're all weighed down holding something on our shoulders? I think it's right to have one person carry everything."
When no one stepped forward, Iris reluctantly answered, "That... wouldn't it be a bit much to dump everything on one person?"
Polson smiled and said, "Iris, you're the leader and a woman so you should obviously be exempt. How can we make our group's core carry luggage?"
Lysander quickly made an escape route.
"I lose concentration with anything on my shoulders. And I'm so weak that if I carry that alone, I'll collapse before long. That means becoming another burden."
"Ah shit, but I spent all this money taking care of the group. Should I carry it?"
Though he said he spent money, most items were bought just for his own convenience. Things that were bulky and unnecessarily heavy just became burdens for movement.
What Iris' plan truly needed was just jerky and dried fruit.
Seeking convenience while subtly trying to pass responsibility to others.
More precisely, he was hinting that I should become the porter.
After Trisha's visit, Polson became more blatant.
I thought about his true intentions. It wasn't simply thoughtlessness and irresponsibility. I could feel the malice within.
What kind of inferiority complex did the duke's first son have? Why is he trying to subtly put me down and humiliate me?
I bought my food with my own money and had no desire to share the items Polson had gathered. I could imagine what kind of credit he'd try to take during practice.
When I maintained no reaction, Polson spoke sarcastically loud enough for me to hear, "Ah, no sense of awareness, no understanding of teamwork."
***
When Polson invited group members to dinner, only Damian rejected and left Rigbed separately hiring his own carriage.
Seating group members at an elegant banquet with veal, Polson said, "That guy Damian doesn't seem to want to get along with us, right? I show goodwill by getting camping supplies, but he refuses to carry it, I try to cooperate, but he refuses even that. I Invite him to dinner, and he also refuses. We all saw today."
"That... I think we need to watch a bit longer to know... Damian is—"
Polson cut off Iris mid-sentence, "I thought well of you but now you're starting to frustrate me. Don't you want to maintain your top seat ranking?"
"..."
"Let's talk honestly. You know well too. Can we get first without a spirit summoner? Is this composition really okay?"
Iris of course had ambition. She didn't want to betray her parents' expectations and wanted to maintain relations with the imperial family. She was her family's only pillar.
"That..."
"I hope you realize that because of your stubbornness, team members following their leader's trust might end up at the bottom too. We need to make quick decisions to protect the remaining members. Right?"
"..."
Iris bowed her head deeply. Polson was right. Under her plan, students from the Combat Department were a surplus force with little chance to contribute significantly. It really wouldn't matter much even making them porters.
And contrary to that, a spirit summoner was absolutely necessary.
During the entrance exam, Iris had formed teams without considering abilities but achieved the best results. She vaguely believed good results would come again in this joint class if she treated people with an optimistic, bright attitude.
Hearing Polson's words felt like waking from a dream. Anxiety swept over her that such luck might not follow this time.
Knowing her position and being responsible for team members, she needed to act more realistically.
"Everyone does group member changes. No need to feel guilty. I know some spirit summoners who would come if I called. And since father frequently interacts with the Reilis family, we might even be able to bring Luna if we do it right."
After staying silent for a while, Iris said, "Alright. Tomorrow... I'll tell Damian myself."
***
Drama Club President Shady sat facing a blonde girl in the quiet theater waiting room.
It was to evaluate the final club applicant. Though the art club application period ended yesterday, they were still conducting an entrance evaluation because Eternia's administration office had made a separate request.
This was arranged for Luna Reilis, who had briefly left the academy on a dispatch mission.
"Aren't first years really busy now with joint class?"
Luna answered calmly, "I'm scheduled to join tomorrow."
"Yes, and you want to join the Drama Club?"
Luna nodded lightly.
After carefully examining her face and body proportions, Shady said, "If you want to act, to be an actress, you pass right away. I want to recommend acting, but you want something else?"
"Yes. I want to write plays."
"Playwriting isn't easy. It's the core of theater so we can't just accept anyone casually. We'll need a thorough evaluation, is that okay?"
"That's fine."
Shady bit her lips several times before continuing.
"Then, could you share any practice pieces or separate works you've done?"
"I already brought it."
Luna handed Shady a thick notebook.
The notebook had the title The Canary and the Jester. It was already a well-known famous work.
"What's this?"
"It's my adaptation."
"May I read it now?"
"Yes."
Shady opened the notebook and quickly scanned the contents.
The Canary and the Jester was a story about a mute princess and jester traveling together and healing her muteness.
The early and middle parts continued like a fairy tale, while the latter part gradually transformed into a more realistic story.
In the original's latter part, after the princess was completely cured of muteness, the jester left and the princess married a prince.
Luna had adapted the latter part of The Canary and the Jester to maintain the fairy tale atmosphere throughout.
Shady burst out laughing while reading.
"Pfft, ah sorry, I'm not mocking. The adaptation itself is excellent. But you completely erased the prince from the work? May I ask why you adapted it this way?"
As if recalling a scene from memory, Luna's eyes deepened, perhaps having some story behind it.
After staying quiet for a while like that, she opened her mouth.
"That's..."