Chapter 252: The Oni and the Candidates (1/2)

Arc 26: What can be done for tomorrow

Chapter 252: The Oni and the Candidates

「Now then It’s good that I’ve entered the forest, but what a to do now?」(Touya)

I suppose I should start with securing water I have a canteen given to o towards the source of water, a river If I’, it should be located in the center of the forest, flowing from the north to soures of other exa ahead of h the forest Did they think of doing the sa?

Still, my field of vision is really narrow That and the nuood that I did, but I only have an ordinary sword hanging from ic here because everyone expects that the barrier h in fact, we, the people of Brunhild, are exeic However, I don’t know if so me from somewhere It’s not like I can either take a bow and a quiver of arrows froet soic beasts may come to attack here I wonder, will I be able to escape should iven the number of trees around? It can’t be helped that it will be troublesoain That ree], haven’t I? There should be water in it as well, but it would surely look suspicious for o to the river as an examinee

The current exa in battles, knights ill be defending the castle, knights ill be patrolling the town, and spy knights ill be placed under Tsubaki-san’s supervision It’s our plan to e the successful candidates of this examination if there are any Maybe we should take applications for office work next tiic corps isn’t needed at the h, I would like those with an ability to pass through this survival training It’s good to able to fight to the bitter end or to relentlessly escape For the latter though, I would like the in this forest for three days as rules dictate

I keep on walking while thinking about that when I suddenly hear the sound of a s come out of the forest, I could see the river with a river bed consisting of rolled stones in front of h to allow passage through it It also appears to be shalloell

I immediately fill the water in my canteen and try to drink a mouthful on this occasion Yep, it’s delicious

I then take a look around and notice that the exaathering in large groups This place has a good outlook, and it’s convenient since the river is here as well However, it’s easy to be discovered here by an [Oni] since this place just stands out thattheir canteens ater Those who have understood this are already going away

After all, those guys who stay here for far too long are at risk of failing

I then cli entered the forest onceSense」(Touya)

I send forth h the surroundings There are felloho huddle together and roups, and there are those whoup a tree, sanize him, but he looks just like a ninja with his co this way? It can’t be We’re being separated by a kilometer of distance, and there are obstacles on the way Yet, how is he doing that? Ah, he’s waving his hand It seems the other side was somewhat surprised as hen I waved back for whatever reason What a strange guy to wave his hand Did he want to ascertain if the other side could see him as well?

I suppose thatthat he’s a ninja Or, is he a possessor of ht be a referee sent by Tsubaki-san

『O-Oni is here! Guaaa!』

『damn! Uwaa!』

『R-Run away!』

I return to my senses towards the sudden voice that has reached ht towards the river bed where froathered at the river bed were being done in one-by-one by the two uys are persistentlythe stun rods How should I say this? Those two ata-ossan…

With the feeling as if they are enjoying the chaos they spread in the surroundings, the pair thron the exaes The way they’re doing it is the very definition of brigands They’re well too suited for soes taken away are being teleported to the headquarters, leaving no one at that place It seele one of them showed any promise

The other examinees who have heard the screams show different reactions Soo there to ascertain what has happened Still, others hide while uised fellow froer here before I knew it He’s fast As I’ve thought, he must be a ninja

The pair of oni who had eventually hunted the examinees on the river bed to exhaustion went into the forest once ht eye smashed! Surround him from there! Attack him constantly froain hear a voice co froht and see a trio of exa Ape located at a considerable distance froer than a King Ape Is it a subspecies?

『Ais! We have to first seal his movements!』(Examinee)

The one who seems to be a leader of this trio is a man with a short silver hair and who’s just past 20 years old He’s wearing an old yet splendidly good breastout quite precise coood use of the special skills of each member of the party which should’ve, perhaps, been created on the spot

I watch them hunt this fellow for a little while, and they have eventuallyApe

Further an eye on the surroundings while they’re fighting Probably, he’s cautious against an attack by an [Oni] In fact, the [Onis] won’t attack the exaic beasts, but it see quite watchful for an [Oni]’s attack That man may be able to pass this examination

I then descend the tree and walk to the south for nohen I notice so ?」(Touya)

「?! … Ah, Aah, food, I thought about securing so Man)

The youth was hed in relief after understanding that I was an exaht that I was an [Oni] initially

「Food, you say?」(Touya)

「Eh? Ah, th-this vine is a “Daidrian Ya this season Three moreMan)

「Hee…」(Touya)

「I-I cannot light a fire because an oni ht that I have no other choice but to search for stuff like this There’s also quite a lot of nuts and wildflowers that can be eaten growing in here」(Young Man)

Aah, so that’s how it is Even if soht a fire, right…? I suppose there’s no way soht not be crafty, but it’s really just another way of standing up to the current situation

There are various wildflowers that the youth has gathered on his that look like nuts and fruits as well He also has stuff wherein I’ve already seen the variations of those It looks like this guy knows about all of these quite well

「Y-You can try looking for therowing I’ve only taken a little bit fro Man)

「N~, thank you I’ll try to look for them」(Touya)

I then leave this place since it looked like the youth is only interested in those potatoes or souy, I’ve tried going south to where he has told o, and there really were Pashi+mo trees in that place Pashi+ pears, sie] and pick just one ain cli area with [Long Sense] while I pass ti some examinees here and there, while the other exaic beasts It looks like there are no injured aroups at present

Soh, but there’s still a long way to go To begin with, I want their numbers to be around 500 or less, but let’s see how this test will go

~~==~~==~~==~~==~~==~~==~~==~~==

The day ends, and the crucial part starts now

I’ve confirmed that there’s no one around here with the help of the search function of e] I then juh the forest after changinght on the opposite side of the forest catchSense] to that direction In there, I find a lot of exaa attention to their surroundings

I see Thatthat it wouldn’t be easy even for an Oni to lay their hands on theroup A s an eye on the peri a meal

That certainly looks like it will be a bit hard to take thehts of our household will still be able to annihilate all of the searched the surrounding with athered, and swiftly move there

「Good job~」(Touya)

「?! … Your Majesty, were you there all along?… Please don’t scare us like that」

「Don’t erase your presence and creep on us like that, Boss We have alathered at the place scold me after I’ve called out to thean-san, Baba-jii-san, Yaata-ossan Ah, there’s also Nicola-san In addition to several other people, their total number is 10 at most All of thesof family and coht Order is about discipline!” after all To begin with, those people who have talent but can’t do things without tying the the intervieith Yu on out here? Have you discovered any valuable people with talents?」(Touya)

「There were some ould seem to do well if trained」(Baba)