Chapter 341: I’ll Go With You

The students went on a field trip for self-directed learning but were caught in an unexpected natural disaster.

When hearing such a story, there is only one thing one can say.

“How unfortunate.”

“Indeed.”

As expected, Fjodra reacted exactly as I had guessed.

I nodded lightly, gave a proper response, and added the following explanation.

“Since you were likely to ask, I’ll tell you in advance: even though I cast a buff, Reysir couldn’t detect the trap.

So I suspect that for now, he can only find objects containing high-density energy.”

“Since you’ve just awakened the skill, it’s inevitable that there are clear limitations.

Still, the fact that the skill you two newly acquired is very useful remains unchanged.

So don’t be discouraged; keep polishing it.”

“Yes, we will do so.”

‘The conversation seemed to be winding down, but we had only just finished the introduction.’

‘No, actually, the conversation we just had wasn’t even the introduction.’

‘It’s not like Reysir and I had entered a restricted area.’

‘We are not soldiers, just students, and even this is during a school suspension period, so we have the right to freely go anywhere at any time.’

‘In the first place, Fjodra prying into our whereabouts could be considered an invasion of privacy.’

‘If it had been Dyuf, I would have accepted it without reluctance, thinking that’s just how a parent worries about their child.’

‘If she had asked out of curiosity with a light tone rather than an interrogating one, I would have just thought she was nosy and let it slide.’

‘Just when I was feeling a mix of regret and pity,’

the other party spoke again.

“By the way, I’d like to hear what happened in the demonic realm.”

‘The topic of the demonic realm, which was the real main subject, had finally come up.’

‘If she had specifically asked about what she wanted to know, it would have been easier to answer.’

‘I pondered where to start and decided to focus on the peculiarities of this demonic realm.’

“When the precursor symptoms of magicalization occurred, I immediately sent Yor high into the sky so he could escape before the demonic realm was fully formed and request reinforcements.

But that failed.

Because the demonic realm was established in just a few seconds.”

‘First, I mentioned a fact that only Yor, Reysir, and I, who were there, could know.’

“I believe you’ve already received a report, but a thicket of thorns grew densely.

So we moved by choosing the only paths we could walk on…”

‘I explained the reason why we couldn’t escape on our own and had to wander inside the demonic realm.’

“The monster that appeared was a plant with a giant red flower.

So Reysir tried using a skill to identify its information, but it didn’t work.

Probably because unlike normal plants, it was a monster with a consciousness.”

*’Anyway, regarding Sid Bloom’s abilities, it would be enough to just talk about Reysir’s experience.

So to solidify the setting of [Identification], the camouflage skill of [Jin-Ik-Nun], I added a little lie.’*

“Moreover, it didn’t stay rooted in one place; it moved by pushing off the ground with its stems and leaves.

It swung five tendrils much longer than my whip.

And from the center of the flower, ‘seeds’ were fired.”

“Seeds…?”

“Yes.

Because they exploded on contact with anything, I thought they only looked like seeds and were just ‘bombs’…

but they really were ‘seeds’.”

“Did plants grow from them?”

“Exactly.”

*’I couldn’t have known in advance that the [Seed Bomb] skill and [Germination] skill existed separately.

There’s a small benefit to lying like this.’*

“The seeds I thought would explode upon touching the ground suddenly sprouted, grew in the blink of an eye, and bloomed white flowers.

At that moment, pollen burst out and I became drowsy; I don’t remember anything after that.”

‘I didn’t need to explain that I had shielded Reysir and fell asleep in his place.’

‘It was enough to say we were bound to lose because we didn’t know the enemy’s abilities.’

‘And I could avoid being nitpicked about not being careful.’

“Ah…!

So that’s why when Professor Caldrun arrived, you were asleep in Reysir’s arms.”

‘As expected, Fjodra showed understanding instead of blaming.’

‘She then briefly mentioned the situation when we were discovered, which wasn’t particularly surprising.’

‘Besides, Reysir’s blood was all over my clothes, and if he had set me down on the ground to fight, I would surely have died.’

‘Carrying me on his back would have been the same.’

‘Even though Reysir had taken off his eyepatch and had a wider field of vision than usual, his back was a complete blind spot.’

*[Suddenly, I realized that the person on my back no longer felt warm.

Strangely cold.

When I set them down, they had been a cold corpse for a long time.]*

‘There’s no way the original author would have passed up such a tragic development.’

‘So he would have written that an attack his protagonist didn’t notice came from behind and quietly took Carvaldr’s life.’

*’It didn’t actually happen.

It’s a development we safely avoided.’*

‘But thinking that it “could have happened” sent a chill down my spine and gave me goosebumps.’

*’Was that Yor’s advice?

That I shouldn’t be put on the ground or carried on his back…’*

‘I’ll ask Yor later and if my guess is right, I’ll praise him a lot.’

‘I decided to let it go with that thought.’

“Reysir, you could probably confirm things about the plants that grew from those ‘seeds’ with your skill, right?”

“Yeah, the [Identification] skill worked on that.

It’s a plant called ‘Sid Bloom’s Sleep Herb,’ and its pollen contains a strong sleep-inducing substance.

And after you fell asleep, I saw a blue flower bloom; that one was called ‘Sid Bloom’s Poison Grass.’

As the name suggests, its pollen was poisonous.”

‘As I lightly started and threw a glance at Reysir, the “information I knew but couldn’t say” flowed from his mouth.’

“Then there are only three types of ‘seeds’: those that grow sleep herbs, those that grow poison grass, and those that explode?”

“Probably?

I took down quite a few monsters in one place, but I didn’t see any other color of flower.”

“After I fell asleep, the only additional things you found out about the monsters were about the seeds?”

“Multiple monsters appeared at once, and they cooperated in a way that didn’t interfere with each other.

They attacked by surprise by driving roots into the ground and springing up, or they grabbed my ankles…”

“Not only do they have consciousness, but they seem quite intelligent as well.”

*’Reysir and I traded words, unraveling information about Sid Bloom.

In chapter 326, he had even said, “I don’t know how to treat Her Imperial Highness.”

So I couldn’t just leave him to converse with Fjodra and convey information on his own.’*

“As for other things that need explanation…

Oh, right!

Covering my nose and mouth with a handkerchief filtered out a considerable amount of pollen.

But it wasn’t a perfect preventive measure…”

‘In this world, something like a gas mask didn’t exist at all.’

‘If I had prepared a snug-fitting mask rather than a handkerchief, I could have lasted longer, but even that can’t completely block the pollen.’

‘Because the particles are supposedly very fine.’

‘That’s why in the pre-remake original, people were reluctant to enter a demonic realm where Sid Bloom appeared.’

‘Someone like Fjodra, who has a wind-attribute Aether, might be able to blow the pollen away, but…’

‘That’s just theoretical, though.’

‘Because it’s not Sid Bloom itself that releases the pollen, but the plants that grow from the [Germination] seeds.’

‘The pollen would burst out from all directions, not just from one direction.’

‘It’s not easy to use an ability with perfect timing and direction in the middle of a battle.’

‘Moreover, if done poorly, the pollen blown away could end up covering your allies.’

‘It might be more effective to hold your breath with good timing instead.’

“Wear a proper mask, and if that doesn’t work, we’ll have to endure by drinking stimulants.

Or finish it quickly with a swift strike.”

‘I voiced the strategy for Sid Bloom that was presented in the original work.’

‘With that conclusion, Fjodra, who had been listening to the conversation, spoke again.’

“Just in case, I told the professors not to attempt the conquest until you woke up.

It was a good decision.”

‘That means the demonic realm hasn’t been cleared yet.’

‘I knew it.’

‘It’s common sense that knowing your enemy before fighting is far more advantageous than rushing in blindly…’

*’Leaving an unconquered demonic realm for others to solve is not Author Senna’s style, because it’s not the protagonist.

There’s no way a development where the professors handled it well on their own would occur.’*

‘Reysir will have to enter that demonic realm again.’

‘The only somewhat fortunate thing is—’

*’Sid Bloom is not a monster to be taken lightly.

The boss individual is especially dangerous.

Even Reysir, the strongest among us, could only hold his own against the normal monsters.’*

‘Because of this, they won’t be able to push in students who are inexperienced in combat.’

‘Since it’s been revealed that the monster can shoot seeds far away and launch surprise attacks with roots that burrow underground.’

‘They can’t even tell us to just watch the professors fight without joining in direct combat.’

‘So they’ll “select” personnel who can help, and that’s not fortunate at all.’

“Mr. Carvaldr.

It seems you’ll have to enter the demonic realm with the professors.”

‘…………Just as I expected.’

‘No one would fail to bring a buff ability user who enhances not only physical abilities but also Aether characteristic skills to a demonic realm where the best strategy is a “quick strike.”‘

*’Thinking I have to return to a place where I almost died is more than a little uneasy…

but I won’t be in danger again.’*

‘This is the first time I’m going on a demonic realm conquest with combat-type professors, and if casualties occur, it would only prove their incompetence.’

‘No matter how much the angst genre author has gotten a taste for killing supporting characters, she couldn’t write such a development this early.’

“…Understood.”

*’I forced myself to think positively, shook off my anxiety, and managed to move my reluctant lips to give an answer.

That was when’*

Reysir suddenly spoke up as follows.

“If Carvaldr has to go into that demonic realm again, I will go with him.”