While Derkyu was lowering his evaluation of Gainando, Nilia began to list the necessary preparations for a long night of wandering.
"First, since we don't know how long we'll be moving, we need to prepare as best as we can. Sturdy boots and a few pairs of good-quality socks would be nice, but..."
"We don't have those," Ihan said, and the atmosphere grew somber.
The headmaster had deliberately given them rough, old clothes, so it was no surprise they didn't have such things.
Nilia, as if she had expected this, pulled out her bag.
"I made some spare boots using the hide from the beast we caught last time. I also tore some curtain fabric from the lounge to make foot wraps. Here, give me your feet." "......" "......"
When Ihan and Yonell remained silent, Nilia realized her mistake. 'Did I act too pitiful again?' Since she had brought them meat, Nilia had grown quite close to the students of the <Black Turtle Tower>, but there was still an unavoidable distance between them.
Nilia, born and raised as a member of the Shadow Patrol in the cold northern mountains, and the students born and raised in the great merchant families of the empire's center, naturally had a gap between them. -Wow! Do you see that red flower over there? -Yeah.
That flower is delicious.
Sweet and sugary. -...
Ah, no.
Isn't it pretty? -It's pretty and delicious, so isn't that even better? Of course, Nilia wasn't a fool, so she couldn't help but notice the awkwardness.
Once the atmosphere turned awkward, she had kept her mouth shut and swallowed her words.
But now, she found herself speaking again.
It was a mistake.
"This, well... I sewed it myself... but it's not like I had a choice..."
"This is amazing!" "Right! It's amazing!" "!?" However, Ihan and Yonell's reactions were the complete opposite of what Nilia had expected.
"This is amazing?" "Of course. You made this yourself."
"Not everyone can do this. Did you sew this by hand?" At Ihan and Yonell's reactions, Nilia's lips and the corners of her eyes twitched with pleasure. "... It's nothing special."
"Nothing special? What are you talking about?" "Right. Who else here could do this?" "Nilia, you should go into business."
"Yeah, let's sell these to the other tower students for money."
As Nilia basked in the praise, the conversation took an odd turn, and she waved her hand dismissively.
"I don't want to do business."
"Why not?" "Why? Nilia, why don't you like money?" When Ihan and Yonell asked with genuine curiosity, Nilia was dumbfounded. 'Isn't it normal not to want to do business with friends!?' Anyone watching would think Nilia was from the Blue Dragon Tower.
"Why would I take money for something like this? I don't want to!" At her words, Ihan and Yonell turned serious.
"That's nonsense. Whether you can take money or not isn't up to you; it's up to the market."
"That's a really good point. Nilia, do you understand?" "... Can I just finish explaining? Huh?" "Ah, sorry. Go on."
Finally freed, Nilia cleared her throat.
Still, her expression was much brighter than before, and her long ears perked up happily.
No matter how much she tried to downplay it, being acknowledged was undeniably pleasing.
"But what's so amazing about this?" Gainando asked, clearly not understanding.
Thwack! Yonell smacked Gainando's back.
Ihan kicked Gainando's shin.
"Nilia, don't give it to him. He won't appreciate it until he's tried it himself."
"Right. He needs to suffer a bit first."
"You... Isn't this too much?! I'm still a prince...!" 'A prince?!' Nilia was shocked.
While Ihan and Yonell, coming from great families, didn't think much of the royal family, to Nilia, it was an overwhelming concept.
A direct descendant of the emperor.
Just the name alone carried such majesty... '...
Not really.' Seeing him get smacked by Yonell and kicked by Ihan, he seemed more like a patient than a prince.
"Hey, don't you realize how precious those boots and foot wraps are when you don't know how many hours you'll have to walk? You'll have blisters all over your feet after just an hour."
"Let's just leave him behind."
"Ah... No! I get it! Don't leave me behind!" As the situation settled, Ihan apologized to Nilia on behalf of Gainando.
"Sorry, Nilia. You worked hard to prepare, and Gainando here was rude."
"Ah, no, it's really fine."
"You seem bothered. Should I hit him again?" "It's really fine!!" Nilia quickly stopped him, alarmed.
She truly didn't feel any displeasure.
It was clear that Gainando had never walked long distances in his life (especially as a prince), so it was natural he wouldn't understand.
"Here, I brought a coat I made. It's spring, but it'll be chilly at night. The wind around here is pretty strong too."
"Nilia..."
"Really..." "... Can you stop reacting like that every time I say something?" While it felt good, their over-the-top reactions were starting to annoy Nilia.
"A leather backpack. You'll need it when we enter the village. A leather water pouch. I made this too." 'She's really amazing.' Ihan was honestly impressed.
With just leather, a needle, and thread, she had made all this by herself. 'Why isn't she in business?' If it were him, he'd be making a tidy profit.
Looking over, Yonell seemed to be thinking the same, wearing a regretful expression.
"To move in the dark for a long time, you need to wrap your feet well, prepare a coat for unexpected cold, and have enough to drink and eat..."
Nilia hesitated.
She was worried about the food.
Nilia could go a day without eating while climbing mountains, but would the others be okay? "I brought food. Sausage, sliced bread, goat cheese, and dwarf honey candy. Will this be enough?" "!" Nilia was startled.
The food Ihan had brought would be more than enough as emergency rations.
"Where did you get this?" "I snuck it from Professor Thunderstep's cabin." "......"
Are you really from the Blue Dragon Tower?
"Today, the honorable friends gathered here. The knights who have sworn to follow my orders."
At Giselle's words, the sturdy students nodded.
They were the White Tiger Tower students who had decided to trust Giselle and attempt an escape together.
Though they hadn't heard any specific plan, the fact that they had gathered like this showed Giselle's influence.
There were students taller and bulkier than Giselle, and others who looked much more intimidating.
Despite her slender and delicate elven appearance, Giselle stood confidently at the front.
And with an arrogant, sharp voice, she said, "Don't worry about the idiots and traitors who aren't here. They'll find out soon enough."
"Of course!" "You're right, Moradi."
"We leave in ten minutes."
Giselle's confidence wasn't without reason. 'If we follow the map, four hours should be enough.' Surprisingly, Giselle had an escape map.
A map she had found while still with the Moradi family before entering the school! -A beginner's guide to magic, What is Magic, The Legends of Einrogard...
Is this all you have? -I'm sorry, Lady Moradi. -Bring as much as you can.
I don't plan to be looked down upon by other mages.
Those from knightly families all had similar worries before entering magic school.
Can I really keep up? Unlike those from other families, who had spent their lives wielding swords, it was natural to have such concerns.
Giselle, with her strong pride, had no intention of being looked down upon.
Before entering magic school, she had studied as much as she could by reading various books.
And among those books was the escape map. -An Einrogard escape map...? What's this? A map detailing how to escape the school.
When she first saw it, Giselle was dumbfounded.
Einrogard wasn't a school just anyone could enter.
It was the empire's top magic school, accepting only the most talented.
What kind of fool would waste such an opportunity by thinking of ways to escape? But just one day after entering the school, Giselle understood why the map had been made.
Ah, it makes sense! -On Escaping Einrogard- I truly tell you, the path marked on this map is the only way to escape.
You, the juniors, shall use this path, honed by me and my friends, to leave the school...
The map had been meticulously prepared by the seniors for the juniors.
With this map, they could definitely escape!
"We're moving to the mountains."
"As expected..."
Hidden in the bushes, Ihan's group watched as torches flickered and moved in the distance.
The White Tiger Tower students had begun their move. 'So it was the mountains after all?' In Ihan's view, there were two main routes to escape the magic school.
One was the massive wall or gate at the front of the school.
It was close, and once out, they could quickly reach the imperial road leading to the village, but breaking through the wall or gate wasn't easy.
The other was the vast, majestic mountain range behind the school.
The long wall would likely end deep in the mountains, so if they could get in, they could bypass it and escape.
Ihan had thought that if Giselle knew a way, it would be the latter.
The expansive mountain range behind the school was densely forested, making it daunting to enter, but with a map, a capable person could surely break through.
His guess had been correct.
"Let's move. Follow them!" "Huh? Why are we going to the mountains??" Gainando panicked as he followed.
He had naturally assumed they would go through the gate.
"We'll climb the mountain and break through."
"Huh? Why?!" "Because there's a path there. Derkyu, take care of Gainando."
"Got it."
Derkyu nodded readily.
Nilia was the best at climbing mountains among them, and Ihan and Derkyu, as knights, were well-trained.
Yonell, having wandered around collecting alchemy ingredients since childhood, was confident in his walking ability.
The biggest concern was Gainando! "Huh? What are you asking me to do??" "I'm behind you, Prince. Breathe through your nose and don't stop walking. Go!" "Huh? No, wait..."
Gainando tried to voice his confusion, but soon he was too out of breath to ask any more questions.
"Huff huff huff huff."
"Go!" "What... Go... Huff huff."
"Go!" 'Stop it...!' Under the faint moonlight, walking an unfamiliar mountain path in the dark was exhausting.
Even with Nilia leading the way, checking the path, and clearing obstacles, the entire group was drenched in sweat.
Ihan, meanwhile, tried to record the path.
Thanks to the harsh training under the crazy professor, Ihan could sketch a map on paper even in the dark. "???" Yonell, walking beside him, looked at Ihan in disbelief. 'Did he use some kind of night vision magic?' If it wasn't something he had learned from the Wodanaz family, it was an inexplicable feat.
"Ah, look at this."
"What is it?" "Sleepweed. Grind it into powder and mix it with water to help you sleep."
"Let's take it."
"Huh?" "Let's take it. You never know when it might come in handy."
"Will we need this?" Yonell tilted his head as he took the sleepweed. 'It's been at least an hour.' "Nilia, how far do you think we've come? It feels like we've been walking for an hour."
"An hour and ten minutes."
Nilia answered and then looked at Ihan with newfound respect.
Even though he wasn't a hunter, he hadn't lost his sense of time in the mountains.
At that moment, Ihan felt a chilling sensation run down his spine. 'A monster!? No, Nilia would have noticed.
Did she miss it?' Hahahahahahaha! "......"
It was the familiar laughter of a skeleton.