First Hidden Piece (2)

Stepping down from the carriage, I walked aimlessly.

The sun had set a long time ago.

I walked, relying only on the light of my flashlight.

Chirp, chirp, chirp-

The tranquil forest was filled with the cries of insects.

The eastern forest was open to all students. Naturally, there were no monsters.

There is no tension.

It's rather boring.

I wish someone was walking with me.

As I thought that, I felt like something was following me.

I looked back several times, but there was nothing.

'It's not a ghost, is it?'

In this world, ghosts were real.

If one had mana, they could see spirits.

Of course, since my mana was at zero, I couldn't see them.

Gulp, gulp.

After walking for about an hour, I drank some water. There was still plenty left.

When traveling anywhere in this world, the most important thing to carry was drinking water. I brought a lot, and it should be enough until I return tomorrow.

Ever since my tenacity had increased by one, my body seemed to tire less easily.

"Ugh, uh."

After a ten-minute break, I stretched and resumed walking.

It was now 2 a.m. I had been walking for roughly eight hours since disembarking from the carriage at 6 p.m.

I should be arriving soon...

As I thought that and pointed my flashlight ahead, I found a signpost.

It was proof that I was almost there. In just three more minutes, I would reach the location where the first hidden piece lay dormant.

The first hidden piece was not a weapon or armor, but a consumable item—a potion.

It was a bound item that would take effect when consumed.

Trudge, trudge, trudge.

As expected, after about three minutes of walking, I saw an unusually large rock. As if to prove the passage of time, numerous plants were entwined on its surface.

I used my dagger to cut away the tangled plants, revealing the rock, with holes in several places.

There were more than twenty holes in the rock. In the original story, there were twenty-three.

I counted them myself, and both the number and locations were the same.

Now, I just needed to simultaneously cover three of the holes.

Whoosh!

I immediately stuck my fingers into the holes.

Soon, the rock quivered slightly and split in half. Inside, there was a small glass bottle containing a brown liquid.

The first hidden piece, Natural Power.

As the name suggests, drinking this liquid increases your inherent power.

In other words, it raises your stats.

For a certain period, you can also use a special effect that further amplifies the stat increase.

However, when your stats reach 15 or above, both the passive effect and special effect vanish, so it's only useful at the beginning.

In the Spearmaster route, Neike reaches all stats 15 by the end of the second year. Even if Neike obtains this, the effective period would be just around a year and a half.

Starting from the third year, the academy is destroyed and students and professors are killed indiscriminately.

In other words, Neike doesn't need Natural Power in the spearman route.

But for me, with a strength and endurance of 7, it will be a great help.

By the way, the hidden pieces' information does not appear in the original story.

●?? [Grade: ??] : Unable to view information. [View Details]

As expected, I can't see it.

I carefully wrapped the glass bottle with a handkerchief and put it in my pocket.

I will drink it when I return to my room.

After taking Natural Power, you will be forced to sleep for 12 hours.

There are no monsters here, so it's not dangerous, but I'd rather not sleep for 12 hours in a dark and damp forest.

Now that I've secured the hidden piece, I'll take a nap and then leave the forest.

I immediately prepared to camp.

I gathered branches scattered around and started a fire.

My body warmed up in no time.

I brought a thick down jacket and blanket in case it's cold, but I don't think I'll need the blanket.

I put on my jacket and sat down, leaning my back against a large tree. Sleepiness washed over me instantly.

Well, I did walk for over 8 hours, though I took some breaks in between.

Just as I was about to drift off,

Rustle, rustle─

The sound of rustling leaves nearby caught my attention.

One hand gripping the dagger at my waist, I shone the flashlight in the direction of the noise.

"...Ah!"

There stood a girl with long, silver hair like mine.

"...Aisha. What brings you all the way here?"

I lowered the flashlight and looked at Aisha. She couldn't meet my gaze and awkwardly spoke.

"Ah... I had nothing to do over the weekend, so I followed you. It's only natural for a child of a branch family to support a direct descendant, right?"

...There's no such setting.

I silently stared at Aisha for a long time.

As expected, she was lying. Aisha's physical condition told the truth.

Just a few hours ago, her calm lustrous silver hair, was now unkempt and tangled, and her once-neat uniform was soiled in various places.

Above all, her lips. Her once soft, moist-looking lips were now cracked like hardened soil after rain.

It was proof that she had hardly drunk any water.

Sigh.

I let out a soft sigh.

She flinched, avoiding my gaze and hung her head, as if waiting for her punishment.

"..."

I focused on the campfire as I spoke.

"Aisha."

"······Yes."

Aisha's voice trembled.

"Sit down."

After a brief silence, Aisha asked hesitantly.

"······Y-yes?"

"Sit. I don't want to repeat myself."

Aisha hesitated for a moment before sitting down right where she had been standing.

······I meant for her to sit near the campfire, of course.

The night air in the forest was chilly. If she stayed like that, even a hero academy student with exceptional physical abilities could catch a cold.

She must really dislike me. Was she that upset about being rejected for dinner?

"······I meant for you to sit near the campfire."

"Oh, yes······ Yes!"

Aisha hurriedly approached and sat near the campfire.

The flickering flames illuminated her face.

Her cheeks appeared to be quite hollow, and her lips were dry and chapped.

I stared at Aisha for a moment before speaking.

"You didn't prepare at all to support me."

Aisha's face flushed noticeably.

"······I-I-I'm sorry─"

"Drink."

I handed her the water container.

"······Huh?"

Aisha blinked her eyes, looking back and forth between my hand holding the container and my face.

"My arm is getting tired."

"Ah, yes, yes!"

Aisha hastily took the water container.

And then.

Gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp─

She drank the water so greedily, without any manners, sucking down the water from someone else's container.

After drinking water for a while, she finally let out a sigh of relief and removed her lips from the water bottle.

"Th-thank you, Theo······sir."

Aisha handed the water container back to me.

······.

A brief silence followed.

What broke the silence was,

Grrrrr─

The sound that came from Aisha's stomach. She widened her eyes in panic and began to babble.

"Ah! Th-this, this isn't! It's just that, um, uh······"

Her face turned not just red, but as red as a strawberry.

······In the original story, Aisha was a rational strategist wearing a composed smile, manipulating those around her.

But the flustered girl before me was quite different from the Aisha Waldeurk I had pictured in my head.

How could such a timid girl possibly kill me?

As I listened to her rambling, I took out a frying pan and some food from my bag.

"Have this and wait for a moment."

I handed Aisha a biscuit and began to cook some sausages and bread over the fire.

Family business.|

Aisha couldn't forget the words Theo had spoken earlier.

Although it seemed like an excuse, bringing up the family's business was unusual.

There was definitely something more to it. She didn't know what it was, but her intuition told her so.

She had to figure it out quickly.

After Theo left the classroom, Aisha promptly followed him and boarded the same carriage.

Cautiously, she got off one station further than where Theo disembarked. Fortunately, traces of his footsteps remained.

Although it was only one stop away, it was a 20-minute walk, and following his trail took even more time than she had anticipated.

At this rate, she would lose him. Drawing upon her mana, Aisha enhanced her eyes and legs and began to sprint.

However, she was still inexperienced in body enhancement. She wasted more mana than she utilized effectively.

Her mana rapidly depleted. Nonetheless, she persisted in her enhanced form and continued chasing Theo.

'Where on earth is he going...?'

A few hours later, Aisha reached a state of mana exhaustion. She felt like collapsing but barely endured with her willpower, keeping her eyes wide open to not lose his traces.

But a limit that couldn't be overcome with willpower came. She hadn't prepared any water or food since.

Her throat was parched, her stomach ached with hunger, and her body trembled due to mana exhaustion. It wouldn't be unusual for her to faint at any moment.

There was no way she could maintain her speed.

Before she knew it, Theo disappeared from her sight.

'Alright, I'll just take a short break and follow him again. His footprints should still be there.'

With that thought in mind, Aisha leaned against a large tree and closed her eyes.

That's when Theo discovered her. Although she had intended to close her eyes for just a moment, she had fallen into a deep slumber.

When Theo shone a flashlight on her, her only thought was, 'It's over... I've failed.'

She couldn't think rationally. She blurted out whatever came to her mind.

Yet, Theo didn't scold her. Instead, he took care of her.

His tone was as cold as usual, but his actions were incredibly gentle. With a full stomach and the warmth of a fire, drowsiness quickly overtook her.

'Ah, this... this is nice.'

Aisha had a taste for fine food, just like Theo. She ate high-quality lunch boxes prepared by her servant instead of the school cafeteria, and had dinner at restaurants.

Delicious food was a great source of vitality in Aisha's life.

The sausages and bread that Theo grilled for her were more delicious and heartwarming than any other food she had ever tasted – so much so that she almost shed tears as she ate.

She glanced at him.

Aisha turned her head slightly to look at Theo. He was busy wiping a frying pan with a leaf.

"Oh, I-I can do that!" she stammered.

"No, it's fine. Just rest," he replied.

He gave her a brief glance before continuing to clean the frying pan.

'Was he always capable of such tasks?' Aisha wondered as she sneakily observed him. Theo pulled something out of his backpack and handed it to her.

"Here."

It was a blanket.

"Thank you, Theo."

"I'll get some sleep now. Goodnight."

With that, Theo leaned against a tree and closed his eyes.

Soon, he fell asleep. His rhythmic breathing was audible.

Aisha silently gazed at Theo's sleeping face.

Though they were distant relatives who shared a striking resemblance, they were practically strangers. Her family had branched off from the direct line hundreds of years ago, and only a few drops of blood connected her to Theo.

Aisha wrapped herself in the blanket, which carried his distinct smell.

"Goodnight to you too," she whispered.