Chapter 18

Golden Daughter (1)

“Hello, hello!”

The corners of my mouth almost twitched, but I held back with superhuman self-control. When we returned to camp after collecting edible grass and herbs, an uninvited guest was sitting in the camp.

The girl who sat on the log, whose bark had been carved out and laid down to be used as a seat by the fire, and waved her feet and gave a lively greeting, was clearly the same Yenika, the second-year senior and a genius spiritist.

I met her by chance near Merilda’s guardian tree the other day, and since we take overlapping classes, she often says hello, but I have never actually received her greeting properly.

It’s partly because I avoid Yenika in the first place, and because people around her and her close friends appear like ghosts and chase me away.

Although I was grateful for this from my perspective, as I wanted to minimize contact with Jenica, it seemed like a huge hindrance to Jenica, who wanted to make a lot of friends.

Yenika’s friends probably told her that there was nothing good to be gained from becoming friends with Ed Rosstaylor, the bad guy in the world, but unfortunately, Yenika is also a girl with the temperament of an infantile dogmatist.

He always shows his lively side, so even though he may seem like he’s just fooling around without thinking, he actually has the side to push ahead with his thoughts when it comes to things he thinks are right.

The clear evidence was the current situation.

“Wow, this is amazing! This place feels like a secret base!”

The way they raise their hands and wave them around in admiration is as innocent as a child seeing their first snow fall.

“Can I come visit you often?”

I wonder if I’ll get hurt again if I say no straight away. Anyway, this lively girl has a knack for stimulating a certain kind of protective mentality. So, I guess that’s why my classmates cherish me so much.

“Come here if there’s something good.”

“I was excited because it felt like I was going on an adventure. Don’t you feel the same way, Ed?”

Every day is exciting. The day before yesterday, I made a mistake in managing the bonfire, and the fire went out in the early morning, and I almost got attacked by a wild boar.

But even though it was the same excitement. The result is a little different...

“I want to talk to you more... I want to ask you something... Is there something you need to discuss?”

Among so many people, why me...? I think it would seem too mean to suddenly ask that question to my face.

No matter how much you need to keep your distance, if you treat someone too rudely, isn’t that just trash...

But on the other hand, it’s also true that there’s nothing good about being too kind to someone?

“How did you find out about this place?”

This is a camp located in a corner of the vast northern forest, and is far from the academic or residential buildings where students live.

There are only a few people who know that I have a home in a place like this.

“Did the wolf tell you?”

Still, the most likely one is Merilda.

Merilda, a high-ranking wind spirit, is like family to Yenika. Moreover, since I am the owner of this forest, it would not be surprising if I told Jenica about my situation, struggling to survive in a corner of the forest.

“No, Merilda talks about you a lot... but she doesn’t tell me about the camp location or personal secrets. Those are your personal matters.”

This guy is surprisingly good at protecting his privacy, isn’t he? From what I’ve heard, I thought he would have told everything about me to Yenika because he was a talkative person.

Then who told Yenika the location of my camp?

“The correct answer is~ dugudugudugududu~.”

I twisted my hair and looked triumphant, but a conclusion had already been reached in my head through the method of elimination.

“It’s Bell... Ah...”

“Wow! Who’s quick about this!”

Belle Maia. The name, which is somewhat unfamiliar to me, refers to the senior maid of Ofilis Hall, famous for being the most luxurious of the three dormitories at Sylvania Academy.

How did she tell Yenika the location of this camp? To discuss that fact, we have to go back about a week.

* [ Name : Ed Rosstaylor ]

Gender : Male Age : 17 Grade : 2 Race : Human Achievements : None Stamina 6, Intelligence 5, Dexterity 9, Willpower 8, Luck 6, Battle Ability Details〉〉 Magic Ability Details〉〉 Life Ability Details 〉〉 Pension Ability Details 〉〉 A good weekend to do some long-overdue work.

I washed my sweaty clothes from hunting all morning and laid them out by the stream.

Almost two weeks have already passed since we successfully completed the painful joint combat training.

Once you become directly involved with the main characters of the scenario, you feel like you’ve aged 10 years. I’m doubly tired because I have to walk a tightrope and be impatient in case it might have a negative impact on the main scenario, while still carrying on with my daily life.

Still, after combat practice, I had little to do with the main characters, so it was a comfortable time.

As a result of spending time solely focusing on my studies and survival, my sluggish physical strength stat increased by an additional 1. The talent stat, which had become relatively high, gradually began to become less variable. From level 10 onwards, it will become really difficult to increase level 1.

With a stamina stat of around 6, it wasn’t that bad anymore. Of course, it may be a new blood compared to the overwhelming combat specs of the students in the combat club, but as an ordinary person, it is at a level where they can do their part.

Ultimately, the standard for high performance stats is 10. Whether it’s the proficiency level or basic stats, once you exceed 10, the volatility becomes extremely low and each step requires a lot of effort.

Considering that the end spec is formed around 20, there is still a long way to go.

Still, the standard is an extraordinary playable character that exceeds the standards of ordinary people. If this is enough, it is enough to be worth it at this point.

Thanks to the results of my efforts, I gained some fine muscles in my body.

I stood by the stream with my top off and looked at my body.

“As expected, the physical strength stats are quite meaningful.”

Over the past two months, my body has begun to evolve to adapt as I have been forced to continue to work on a schedule that tests human limits.

Even though he could never become a macho man who boasts bulging muscles, small muscles of daily life began to appear on his stomach, shoulders, and forearms. Considering Ed’s original state, which went beyond anchovies and was just a straight body, this is a huge improvement.

Coming from a body with little to no physical talent to this point means that there has been quite a bit of progress.

However, my bow mastery level is still very low, and I have not been able to properly master the dagger, which is considered the most useful of secondary weapons. The road I have traveled has been quite long, but there is still a longer way to go.

“If you train now, it will be easier later... Let’s not be lazy for no reason.”

It is a fairly significant achievement, but we should not be satisfied with this level of achievement alone. I waved my arms from side to side and arched my back to loosen up and move my body to take care of all the work I had done during the week.

Since I’m out of firewood, I plan to chop up some logs again and use my spare time in the afternoon to sew a net. This involves mobilizing all the remaining silk threads, layering them in a diagonal pattern, and twisting them at each section where the two diagonal lines meet to create a complex net.

Why are you making a net? It was for net fishing, but more importantly, it was for the preservation of fish.

Meat was stored in dug holes for preservation, but the preservation time was not very long, so it would spoil quickly. However, if we salted everything, the amount of salt that could be obtained from rock salt was not sufficient.

So the method I came up with was to lightly smoke the surface with wood smoke and then dry it. After doing so, the preservation period of the meat was extended to several days or more, allowing the time that would otherwise have been spent hunting to be invested in studies or other survival activities.

However, even if the preservation period of fish was extended through smoking, the efficiency was not as good as that of meat. In addition, the taste deterioration was much more severe, so it was not easy to properly cook the fish that had been caught for so long.

That’s why we’re planning to make a net, tie it to tree branches, and then install our own fish farm near a stream. If done well, the fish caught can be preserved in a live state. This allows you to capture both the freshness and taste of the fish.

It was a worthy attempt. During the week, I was busy taking classes, so all my energy was spent on gathering resources to survive each day, so if I was going to try something like this, the weekend when I had some time left was the right time.

After quickly chopping down all the firewood and making sure that the school uniforms I had washed earlier were dried well, I was ready to start working on weaving the net.

“Zzz... Zzz....”

“I have no intention of doing it.”

These strange tribes are born with an unknown temperament that makes them uncomfortable with respect. What kind of education and upbringing did you have that allowed you to have that way of thinking?

Anyway, the thing that caught my eye the most from my point of view was the basket held by the senior maid Belle.

It is full of all kinds of mushrooms, edible herbs, and fruits.

I was feeling the limitations of my self-taught knowledge of edible plants by borrowing books from the student library. The contents of that basket are all edible, so if you can get just one piece at a time, the types of plants you can collect will dramatically increase.

In particular, mushrooms and fruits are quite toxic, so they are not edible at all. Since this is an opportunity to be able to discern that, I can’t help but get my mouth watering.

Well, even though Belle Maia looks so cold, she has a pretty good personality, so if you ask for help, she will gladly accept it.

As mentioned from the beginning, the maid of the Ofilis Hall is a side character who does not have much influence on the scenario, and she is not someone for whom anything major will happen if she interacts or becomes friendly with her.

In fact, there may be more benefits than losses. If I get to know you a little, wouldn’t I be able to get surplus food ingredients, fabrics, and various work tools from the Ofilis building?

At this point, wouldn’t it be more foolish to coldly push him away?

These are the maids of Ofilis Hall whose faces are rarely shown throughout the scenario. Yes, just because we are somewhat close, how much of an impact will it have?

With that conclusion, I calmed my voice, smiled comfortably, and spoke to Belmaia again in a welcoming tone.

“You must have gone through a lot of trouble to come all the way to this deep forest to procure food ingredients. But about that basket...”

Yes, we can be friends!

And I end up regretting this choice until the end of the scenario.

*

“Yes, yes. I tell Belle a lot about you, Ed. So Belle often chimes in with my stories, and suddenly she also tells me that she met you here.”

You go around like this spreading the privacy of someone who protects not even a human but a mere wind spirit?

No, the person I know named Belmaia is quiet and talks little, so she doesn’t go around talking about others carelessly. In the first place, a heavy mouth is the most basic of all basic qualities for an experienced maid.

The Belle Maia I know is an elite maid who is clearly well-equipped with those basic skills.

“He asked me to come see you since it’s the weekend. He tied my hair up so pretty today, right? Look, isn’t it pretty with it braided on one side like this?”

Look at this kid??

“Oh, okay...”

“So, about the concern I mentioned earlier...”

Yenika sat down, hugging her knees as if she was about to get to the point. While looking at the crackling bonfire, Yenica found it difficult to tell a story.

At first, I wondered why they bothered to ask me out of so many people for advice on their concerns.

“Ed went out first so you might not have seen him, but me... I hurt someone during joint combat training last month.”

The event that summoned the high-ranking fire spirit Tarkan and covered the nail tube with flames must have been particularly large-scale among the events taking place this semester.

It is obvious without even looking at who the person who hurt is. First of all, considering the fact that she broke the rules and used intermediate magic, it would have been self-sufficient, but for Jenica, who has a good heart, such things are just secondary facts.

Why am I the one to consult about my concerns?

This is because from the beginning, all the students were on Yenika’s side.

The lovely and lively Yenika is a precious treasure to all second grade students. So, if someone feels guilty or blames themselves, everyone will come forward and encourage Yenika and take her side.

But Yenica knows. All of their evaluations are made on tilted scales.

Since they are people who care so much about Yenika, they do not make objective and fair judgments. I am very grateful that someone takes my side unconditionally, but that doesn’t mean the mistakes that were made go away.

So it came to me. I, who is relatively less inclined to take Jenica’s side, will not blindly judge only on Jenica’s side.

It could be said that she is a very kind and upright-minded girl, but because of that, she is not a good match for Lortel.

“You know. Even though I keep trying to forget, the thought that doesn’t go away, wondering if I was too harsh... or if I overreacted to hurt you that much?”

“I see...”

“Shall I go apologize?”

“That’s right.”

“But then my friends tell me never to do that because it was her who did something wrong first.”

“Then do it. If you think it’s right.”

“Umm~.”

He just left Yenika alone, hugging her knees and resting her chin on them.

I decided not to hastily force my value judgments on Yenika. This is because she is not sure what will affect her and how. The importance of the character Yenica Palover is too heavy to influence her actions by hastily judging right and wrong.

Even though I thought it was a bit harsh, I ended up thinking that there was nothing I could do about it.

“As expected, it’s Ed.”

However, the response that came back was more unexpected than expected.

“Ed never... unconditionally takes my side.”

“There’s nothing I can do if I’m in a bad mood.”

“Huh? No, no, it’s wrong.”

The tension seemed a little lower than usual as he smiled while basking in the crackling bonfire.

“I don’t feel bad at all. Absolutely not at all. On the contrary, I feel relieved.”

However, he only continued to say meaningful things.

“I wish everyone in the world were like Ed.”

There was no time to think about the meaning of those words that passed through one ear. Because there was a lot of work to do today.

*

“I’d like to purchase two hours of your time, Senior Ed.”

The next day, after the elemental science class, I went out for lunch.

At first glance, she looks polite and elegant, but her bright turquoise eyes are full of greed for wealth.

Her reddish-brown hair, neatly combed and neatly tied around her shoulders, was flowing down her shoulders.

There were small bandages sticking out from around the neck and forearms, as if they had been injured during joint combat training. It’s been a long time since the joint combat training ended, but looking at the small wounds that still remain, I can easily imagine how badly the injuries must have been at the time. That kind Jenika should have stamped her feet.

I know that girl who was sitting on the bench with a humble attitude facing me as I came out of the teaching building, as if she had been waiting for you.

One of the four failed swordsman heroines of Sylvania who later entered into conflict with Princess Fenia and later became her companion.

The only daughter of the continent’s greatest merchant, Elte Kecheln, and a rare female merchant who climbed to the top of the Tower of Gold Coins solely through her desire for wealth.

Later, people called the girl...’Golden Daughter’ out of respect.