Chapter 573 (1/2)

Our convoy is longer than I imagined』

「Nn. Lots of carriages」

「Woof」

Fran and Urushi muttered in agreement to my unintentional comment.

We were currently outside the Lady Blue, about 20 meters up in the air. Fran, riding the Thoroughbred-sized Urushi, was looking down at the long line of carriages.

(TLN: Thoroughbred > name of a horse breed)

Today was the start of our off-campus survival training. We were traveling to Lake Vivian with 40 carriages, including those for transporting our supplies.

Over 200 students were participating in the event, and 30 instructors were accompanying them as their guards. In Fran’s case, she was given the role of a scout, so she could keep an eye on the entire group and respond to any dangerous magic beasts that might appear.

On the other hand, if it was a small fry, the students were supposed to handle it by themselves, and we were not supposed to help them.

Senior students such as those in the Special Battle Class would take turns escorting the carriage as it moved. However, some students rarely got off the carriage and were just escorted to their destination.

About thirty new students were accompanying them on this off-campus survival training. This seemed to be a tradition of the academy, and the students of the Special Battle Class had also experienced that when they enrolled in the academy.

Even on Earth, there was a joint school activity with the upperclassmen, and I guess, this event was similar to that.

In one of the carriages that don’t have a roof, we saw Khanna chatting with her classmates.

There were three freshmen and three upperclassmen in each carriage. However, there were always two upperclassmen guarding the carriage outside, and they took turns to rest.

Charon and her group were the ones who were guarding Khanna’s carriage. In case Charon and her group couldn’t handle the situation later, they had an instructor sitting on the coachman’s seat, and if that wasn’t enough, they had Fran and Weena Rhyn as support.

『Well then, Let’s get going too』

「Nn. Urushi」

「Woof! Woof!」

By riding on Urushi, we were going to keep an eye from the sky.

As Urushi ran out by leaping in the air, I could see that the students below us were looking up at us.

It was not every day they got to see a giant wolf running in the sky. Urushi was particularly magnificent, and I’m sure that this sight would make a great picture.

『It’s going to be more troublesome if we get a bunch of the small fry than just a big one』

「Like goblins?」

『And maybe a bandit, or a swarm of bug types monster』

It would be a disaster if a large magic beast were to run into them. So, it might be better for us to defeat the big ones as soon as possible.

『Let’s keep looking for the enemy!』

「Nn!」

「Woof!」

…

Six hours after our departure.

The convoy had passed the first rest stop and was now entering the forest area from the plains. From here, the visibility was very poor, and we need to be more vigilant than before.

It must be a difficult place for the students playing the role of escort, as I could clearly see the tension in the whole group increasing.

As for Fran, she was now a little further away from the convoy. We were not slacking, okay?

Rather, we were currently doing our job.

「Haaa!」

「Gii! Gigii!」

We were in a battle with a magic beast that lived in the forest area. Our opponent this time was a Tall Mantis. It was a giant praying mantis with unusually long arms and legs. Its body was seven or eight meters long, but its legs were probably more than ten meters long. It was a magical beast with a threat level of E. It used its arms and legs to move dexterously through the deep trees.

It must have sensed the signs and smells of the many prey moving. It was approaching the convoy at a fairly fast pace, so Fran went out to intercept it.