The day of the drill Part 1

The morning of the outdoor drill.

Armed students clad in the uniform of the Royal Academy of Erugeniagathered in a mountain forest area northeast of the capital, two hours away via

enchanted airship. There were ten people to a squad, and Kyle'ss squad was

currently holding their pre-drill briefing.

"I will now read out the drill details."

Nathon Erugenia the first prince of Erugenia kingdom was the commander and leader of Kyle's squad. Other

notable members included Annora, Collete, Eira, Steven and James.

"This drill takes place during a hypothetical war where an enemy has invaded

our kingdom. Our small squad was dispatched to stop the enemy's troops, but

we must retreat from the battlefield by making our way through the mountain

forest. In order to avoid our pursuers, speed and covertness is of the utmost

importance."Nathon opened two different maps in his hands as he explained.

"The time limit is until sunset today. If we miss that deadline, we'll lose a lot of points. It goes without saying, then, that the faster we arrive the better." " James had found us a shortcut whose passage goes from deep into the forest. What do you think everyone should we take that route." Thedrill results had no effect on graduation itself, but receiving good grades for it

would be beneficial to those entering the military afterwards.

"And so, ladies and gentlemen, we will be arriving just after noon,if we follow this route." James

announced confidently.

"Just a moment, please," Collete objected with a clouded expression. "That

might be possible if we assumed a straight route. However, this is the mountain

forest — it should take much longer to traverse. Arrival after noon shouldn't be

possible."

"Worry not, Lady Collete. I have already plotted out the shortest route using

the old roads." The confident smile on James's face did not waver.

"...What are you implying? The exam location was only announced

yesterday," Collette said with a doubtful expression.

"One of my family's private soldiers is a former adventurer, you see. He just

so happened to know this area well. There were several old shortcuts that I

simply informed James of" Steven, who had been listening silently until

now, spoke up with a triumphant look.

"That's how it is... You could say information is everything in a war. Our

grades have been essentially guaranteed with this," James said with a

cheerful grin.

"Well, my personal belief is that this is underhanded and shameful." Collette

maintained her stern expression.

"I also find it unwise to trust information from such unknown sources,"

Annora added curtly. The words of the princess herself caused James'

mood to darken slightly. "You needn't worry about that, Your Highness.

Comparing my map with this map here shows that my information is indeed

authentic and very reliable," Steven responded calmly in place of James,

who had grown somewhat nervous. Annora narrowed her eyes.

"...If we wander onto the older roads, there will be a greater chance of

encountering monsters and savage beasts. What are your thoughts on that?"

she asked James.

"This area has undergone a safety check beforehand. The drill requires us to

escape our enemy pursuers, so choosing to travel along the older roads makes

sense," James offered hesitantly.

"I see. Fine. I will leave the final decision upon Nathan l " Contrary to expectations, Annora backed down easily. She may have had

her own opinions, but she wasn't about to challenge the decision of the

commander.

"Leave it to me, Your Highness. I promise, we shall obtain the highest score in

our year," Alphonse stated respectfully with a sigh of relief and looke at Nathan for the final decision. Nathan first contemplated for some time and then asked Steven. "Steven ,are you sure the information is reliable.

"Yes , your highness I guarantee the information is definetely reliable."

"Ok then, we are going to follow this route"

After that, they moved onto the final checks of their formations and attack

plans for monster encounters.

"Hey, Kyle — you should feel honored. We've prepared a way for you to be

useful despite your inability to use magic. You're in charge of carrying the

supplies for our squad," James said. He directed his gaze towards the bags

left a short distance away from them. Two extremely large packs stuffed with

supplies were lying on the floor: a backpack and a shoulder bag. They most likely held all the supplies necessary for the drill. There was far too much for a

single person to realistically carry, but there was no point in arguing, Kyle

deduced.

"I understand," he replied, and nodded without objection.

He tentatively tried to lift the backpack and immediately realized it wouldn't

take long for his stamina to drain away... But it wouldn't be a problem if he

enhanced his strength.

Kyle quietly enchanted his physical body. No magic activation formula

appeared, which meant that no one realized Kyle had strengthened his body.

A girl suddenly appeared next to him. "U-Umm, are you all right? It must be

heavy having to carry all that by yourself..."

It was Eira.

Just like Nathan she was in the year below Kyle and Annora, but in all his time in the

academy, Kyle had only spoken to her once. Several days after Eira's

enrollment, she thanked him for his help in the kidnapping case. Ever since then, he could feel her looking at him on several occasions, but she had never

spoken to him again — until today. It was truly a surprise to Kyle to have her

speak to him now. His eyes widened subtly.

"Umm. Shall I carry some too...?" Eira offered her help as Kyle struggled to

react.

"No, it's fine. Thank you for your concern." Kyle immediately pasted a smile on

his face as he gently rejected her.

Eira wasn't a bad person — she had an unusually gentle personality for a

member of the highly prejudiced royalty and nobility of Erugenia. But because

she had been raised like a princess in a glass palace, her natural disposition was

far too soft. She was ignorant of how her actions could affect her surroundings.

In this situation, there was no possible way for Kyle to accept Eira's offer. If he

did, they'd be subjected to the criticisms of those around them. In any case, the

bags weren't even a weight Eira could have carried to begin with. Still, Kyle did

thank her for her good intention.

"Princess Eira, you should not be exchanging words with the commoner,"

James suddenly interrupted, meaning to disparage James with his words.

"Associating yourself with filth like that will only place your image in a negative

light."

"That's right, Your Highness. This barbarian has more than enough strength to

spare anyway," Steven chimed in. He stepped between Kyle and Eira to

increase the distance between them.

Kyle bowed once toward them before he walked away to wait for the signal of

their departure.