CH 27

I stepped into the forest and let the fresh air fill my lungs.

Phew, the forest felt good.

‘So this is what negative ions feels like!’

It cleansed my mind.

I was not sick, though!

The sun was shining through the trees in the forest, and the trees, plants, and flowers were growing tall and tall.

I was walking through the forest with Dominic in the lead.

“Gya gya gya gya!”

A humanoid demon appeared.

It was about a meter tall with a wrinkled face.

It was a green-skinned kobold goblin with an overall dirty appearance.

“Gee!”

“Gyagya!”　

And then two more appeared from the opposite tree, for a total of three goblins in front of us.

Let’s do it!

Just as we were about to get into a fighting stance.

“Fireball!”

The goblin bursts into flames.

I wondered if charred goblins are tasty.

I thought to myself.

In reality, the defeated goblins were turned into miasma stones and could not be eaten.

“Pierce it, blade of wind!”

The goblins were cut into pieces by Emilia’s magic.

“Sacred Spear, pierce the goblin!”

Farren threw a spear that pierced the goblin’s chest.

The three goblins were defeated in a flash.

Isn’t this group strong?

What could I say, Dominic was strong.

Although he was quickly defeated in the mock battle with me, he is highly skilled among the first-year students.

Hahaha, I was too strong.

It was a sin to be strong, wasn’t it?

…… I was kidding.

“I don’t have a part to play, do I?”

I thought I had experienced something similar recently. ……

A hero should only come out in a pinch.

The goblins that were defeated disappeared into ashes, and all that was left was a small transparent magic stone.

“Hahahaha. You little bastards!”

Dominic seemed to be enjoying himself even more than usual.

He seemed to be releasing some stress.

After that, there were no more strong monsters, and we continued on our way through the forest, defeating them as we went.

The path to the lake was easy and we didn’t get lost.

Because the path to the lake had already been traveled by many people, making it easy for people to walk along.

After a short walk, we arrived at the lake.

“……It’s beautiful.”

Farren muttered to himself.

The lake, reflecting the clear sky and the trees, was indeed beautiful.

“If we can just get some water from here, we’ll be all set.”

Emilia nonchalantly fetched the water.

‘She’s a bit cold, isn’t she?’

I feel like I should have been a little more impressed by the sight.

The lake was so beautiful that it would be a tourist spot in Japan.

Emilia finishes filling the water bottle that was given to her.

This lake had some magical power.

The litmus paper-like paper in the canteen reacts to the magic of the lake and changes to a pale blue color.

Even if I cheated and filled up the canteen with water magic, the color change would be different, so people would know that the water was not from the lake.

“Okay, now we just have to go back.”

Emilia tightened the lid of the water bottle, and that’s when it happened.

“Dominic! Where are you going?”

Farren shouted, and before he knew it, Dominic was on his back across the lake.

“Deep in the woods!”

“Hey, hey, hey, Chris-sensei said it’s dangerous deep in the forest.

What if a strong demon appears?

It’s too late if something happens.”

“What are you talking about?”

Emilia said in disgust.

“I’m going deeper! I’m not leaving here like this!”

‘Are you an adolescent who doesn’t want to go home?

Or are you a runaway boy?

You can’t think of anyone but yourself.’

“It’s not safe to go further! You said we had to go as far as the lake!”

“That’s right, Dominic! We got what we came for!”

“I don’t need you to tell me what to do! Stronger demons coming out of the woodwork? It’s a good thing. I’ll defeat it!”

“You’re supposed to be the leader! Act responsibly!”

“That’s right! I’m the leader! So don’t tell me what to do!”

It was no good.

I could not communicate with him at all.

“I’m telling you, that’s selfish! Think about the other guys a little more.”

“Shut up! I’ll do what I want!”

Dominic said, and ran off deeper into the forest.

As I watched him go, I said to myself

“Damn.”

“What do you want me to do ……?”

“What do we do, we have to go.”

“Yes, we do. Let’s hurry.”

Farren nodded at Emilia’s words.

“What will you do, Owen?”

“I’m going. I’ll go and bring him back even if I have to hit that idiot.”

Soon, the three of us were following Dominic across the lake and deeper into the forest.

We followed Dominic’s footprints deeper into the forest.

Strangely enough, once we passed the lake, the demons stopped appearing at all.

The forest was silent, and I had a bad feeling about this.

“Hey, why don’t we call Chris-sensei?”

“How do you expect it to ……? Dominic has the black ball.”

Emilia answered while running.

That’s what I thought.

I deeply regretted making him the leader.

“It doesn’t matter what you say now. And I think I know how Dominic feels a little bit.”

I nodded my head at Emilia’s words.

“I’ve had a lot of praise from people around me before I came to the academy. But here, I don’t get any praise at all. I’m so fed up with it and want to ignore all of it. It’s no wonder I feel that way. However, Dominique’s behavior is too much, and I wouldn’t be so selfish.”

It’s like a frog in a well wanting to be in a big ocean.

“Dominic wants to be first.”

I can understand Emilia’s words.

I’m sure that a frog who has tasted the top of a small world will want to be the best in a big ocean.

“But that doesn’t mean that you can act on your own. It’s annoying.”

“Where did he go, anyway?”

And that’s when Emilia said.

—Ouuaaaaaaaaa!.

In the depths of the forest, Dominic’s cries could be heard.