Chapter 101: This Is Impossible~
9 o’clock in the morning.
Thirty students had gathered on the grounds in front of the tavern and inn entrances.
The students were not making a fuss, but talking with their friends.
Because it was real combat, the students had been asked to come in their uniforms.
The shoes from the shoe shop Bouwers had arrived in time and been distributed to the students.
The adventurers had gone ahead to the mountain and hunted a certain number of Silver Wolves.
I gave the departure order and walked at the very front to lead, then once turned around and waved widely to Nimi.
The students following behind also seemed to imitate me, smiling and waving widely to Nimi.
Nimi responded with a gentle smile and lightly waved her hand in front of her chest back at us.
While leading the students I headed for the city gate on Tenth Street.
If you walk northwest from the royal capital for one or two hours, you reach the mountain I received.
We passed through the city gate without problems and all greeted the gate soldiers; the gate soldiers responded by waving with slightly embarrassed expressions.
After moving a little away from the gate to a distance where the gate soldiers’ voices could no longer reach, I turned only my face while walking ahead, looked over the students, and spoke.
"When leaving and entering through a gate, greet the gate soldiers as much as possible so they remember your faces! Do you understand why?"
"So we won’t be suspected when entering...?"
"It won’t take time."
Hmm, not bad answers.
But the truly important point isn’t that. If you think of the outside of cities and towns as basically dangerous, it’s simple.
"You’re not wrong. But the most important reason is so that calling for help won’t take effort."
"Effort...?"
Roy, who was walking nearby, tilted his head and asked me suspiciously.
I nodded back and simply explained to the students.
Originally, gate soldiers cannot move immediately even if asked for help.
It’s not that they won’t move — they can’t.
They must confirm the identity of the person calling for help so they don’t accidentally let thieves in.
They are sometimes resented for not being able to rush to help right away, but they are simply fulfilling their duty of protecting the royal capital or the city, so they are not at fault.
If anything, the thieves who pretend to ask for help in order to enter are the bad ones.
If you greet them and have them remember your face, they can quickly confirm that you truly live in the royal capital and move.
I have heard that for the gate soldiers as well, it is easier when a known person comes.
In terms of time it is only a small difference, but that small difference can save a life.
However, one thing that must be careful is that not all gate soldiers are kind.
Truly rarely there are idiots who demand money; in that case it is better to head for another gate.
It is more certain than dawdling.
When I explained that much to the students, they began seriously consulting while walking.
Noticing that Roy was looking at me, I turned my face and asked.
"What’s wrong?"
"What would Instructor Raide do?"
"...Hm?"
"If you ran into a foolish gate soldier, what would you do?"
At Roy’s question the students fell quiet and waited for my answer.
I smiled wryly at the students’ reaction, sighed, rubbed the back of my neck with one hand, and spoke.
After telling the students "Don’t imitate this" and confirming they nodded, I continued.
"Physically quiet that gate soldier, then tell the other gate soldiers."
"...Pfft, hahaha! Only Instructor Raide would do something like that, hahaha!"
At Roy’s voice the students also laughed, and I laughed with a troubled expression.
...With this, no students will imitate it.
There is a reason, but honestly it is a gamble, assuming there is only one guy trying to take money.
In other words the others are serious; if you silence that one, the talk will go through.
If they call companions, the time to call for help will be delayed just by that.
Rather, there is also the possibility of being put in jail for laying hands on a soldier.
Well, if asked whether I have done it, there was during the war...
Until we reached the mountain I continued walking while checking the students’ condition and surroundings, giving miscellaneous lessons and sometimes laughing.
Even though most of it was plains I did not neglect vigilance; complacency immediately connects to life.
I did not tell the students that the three adventurer girls escorting Erika were secretly following from the rear.
When the mountain drew near I explained that to the students, and they were a little flustered.
...I deliberately didn’t say it earlier, but they give good reactions.
While laughing a little so the students couldn’t see, Erika looking at me with half-lidded eyes was reflected at the edge of my vision.
We arrived at the foot of the mountain in less than two hours, and the adventurers who had been waiting waved to me.
I also waved back to the adventurers and approached with the students to join them.
I prompted the students to greet the six adventurers, and they greeted in unison.
"Thank you for today!!"
"Oh!"
"Yeees, please take care of us~"
"Amazing, so young..."
"A feast for the eyes!"
The adventurers were favorable toward the students and I felt relieved when one adventurer approached and informed me.
The other adventurers were hunting inside the mountain, and the hunting range was the area where the students and I would likely head.
Also the number of Silver Wolves — basically a mountain where Silver Wolves spawn infinitely.
But thanks to the adventurers, the amount that increases in a day could be roughly grasped.
Thanks to that we could avoid causing a stampede; there is only gratitude.
I turned to the students, instructed them to prepare their weapons, and informed them that after a break we would enter the mountain.
I told them that once inside the mountain they must follow the adventurers’ instructions and say anything they notice.
When I told them, one of the students raised a hand and asked me a question.
"Are the opinions of us who have no experience reliable?"
I smiled at the student’s question and looked at the nearby adventurers.
When I appealed with my eyes for them to answer, they began answering with troubled expressions.
"You see, there’s no absolute with monsters... how should I put it?"
"Get it together already! Look, any opinion is a reference; if you don’t think, investigate, and grasp it you’ll die."
"In real combat~, there’s no amateur or expert, you know~?"
"If you find one, defeat it immediately — that’s it!"
"...Apparently so. Understood?"
There was one who was not useful as a reference, but let’s let it slide.
The students nodded with serious expressions and for some reason were patted on the back by the adventurers who had approached from behind.
...What is it, what’s wrong, looking at me with half-lidded eyes like Erika.
I tilted my head, rubbed the back of my neck, and also rested to rest my legs.
Even while resting I looked over the students and confirmed whether there were any with serious fatigue, but for now there seemed to be none.
After ending the break we entered the mountain; as always the trees were amazing.
Sunlight coming in made it a little better, but because no path exists, if you neglect confirming the direction you will get lost.
I quietly told the students that if you get lost you become Silver Wolf feed.
Thankfully the grass is not growing long; even if it grows it is only about ankle height, so Silver Wolves are not hiding.
But we cannot relax; Silver Wolves sometimes hide among the trees and attack.
Therefore mages and those who can sense presence must always stay alert.
While giving that lesson to the students as we advanced, the adventurer walking ahead suddenly stopped and made a "wait" gesture.
"Instructor! A pack! There are many!"
"Hmm, then shall I go out front?"
"You heard that!? The Instructor is going out front!"
"Kids who can use weapons to the front! Kids who can use magic with me in the back! Hurry!"
"Yes yes~, look left and right too~? Always keep presence sensing and mana sensing up~~?"
"Those who can use weapons, when a Silver Wolf approaches, kill it!!"
Tension ran across the students’ faces from the atmosphere of the place.
Even so, the fact that they somehow followed the adventurers’ instructions is still a good sign.
I went out in front of the two leading adventurers, focused my eyes ahead, and asked.
"Are the other adventurers also likely to gather?"
"It’s almost noon, so yeah. Besides, they’d notice a group this large."
"No doubt about it, Instructor... Your weapon?"
"Hmm, no, I won’t use one."
""As expected of the Instructor!""
...No, why are you laughing there?
I smiled wryly at the adventurers’ reaction and confirmed white shadows running this way.
Without readying myself I calmly confirmed the numbers and checked the students’ condition.
Seeing that although they were flustered they were managing to respond, I nodded and smiled, thinking it was excellent for a first time.
Roy looked at his surrounding companions while cutting with his long sword at a Silver Wolf that had come rolling from the front with its posture broken.
The Silver Wolves slipping past Instructor Raide and the others all had their postures broken.
Therefore even Roy and the others who had no real combat experience could easily defeat them.
While dealing with the Silver Wolves that kept slipping through, Roy looked at Instructor Raide’s movements and doubted his eyes.
Even though that Instructor had spoken so much to them about safety, danger, and the fear of real combat.
That Instructor Raide was fighting bare-handed.
An adventurer who noticed Roy’s state came beside him and spoke while dealing with a Silver Wolf.
"Listen good!? Don’t you dare imitate that!"
"I can’t!"
"Gahaha! That’s fine!"
The surrounding students were also thinking the same while watching Instructor Raide’s fighting style — that casually dodging and throwing Silver Wolves larger than a person was abnormal.
Even the adventurers were responding with weapons, yet Instructor Raide even had the leeway to glance this way.
While desperately responding to the Silver Wolves coming from left and right while avoiding the instructors, Roy clenched his teeth.
Behind Roy and the others, Erika was exasperated at the figure of Raide that was slightly visible.
The him visible through the gaps between people was showing leeway, enough leeway to check on the students.
Many of the Silver Wolves were individuals larger than a person.
Grabbing them by the scruff of the neck and throwing them was something she had no choice but to call abnormal.
"This is impossible~"
"It’s better not to use the Instructor as a reference, you know? Kids whose mana is about to run out, come near me!"
The muttered voice was picked up by a nearby adventurer, and the adventurer also spoke to Erika with exasperation.
The adventurer seemed to be a mage; the instructions were accurate and useful as reference.
It might look like there is no tension in the rear, but the adventurer’s words make one realize that is not the case.
"Listen good! If our support is interrupted, a hole will open there! Monsters aren’t stupid, so they’ll aim for it!"
"Left side~~, the sensing is weak~~. It’s fine because I defeated it, but be careful~~"
At the words of the two adventurers the students responded with tightened expressions.
All the students including Erika were probably thinking the same thing.
This is real combat — a battle where lives are on the line...
While firing magic and looking around, Erika let out a big sigh.