496 Chapter 496: Summer Camp (1/2)

Summoner Sovereign Tomoyuki 48920K 2022-07-21

”…are we really having a summer camp?” I asked, not at all happy about the idea.

”Yes, we are.” Teresa Taylor smiled from behind her desk, her hands clasped atop the surface. ”For the middle school students. And I want you to help out in it. We're more than willing to pay you, of course.”

The talk of money caught my attention and I straightened up. Swallowing, I stared at the headmistress.

”Tell me the details again,” I said.

”As you know, we are a mage academy. It is our goal to train Paladins, Sword Saints and warrior mages. As such, every summer we would camp out in the wild, to expose our students to controlled risks and have them gain experience from fighting monsters. Weak ones, of course. But it wouldn't do if we get them hurt or killed, so we need a lot of experienced supervisors who have actually seen a lot of combat. People like you.”

”I'm flattered,” I responded dryly. ”But I'm sure there are more…appropriate people for the job. So why me?”

”Because you already have a connection with the middle school students, and also…if I'm allowed to be frank, you're cheaper to hire than professional mercenaries.”

That was true. If she was going to pay the same rate, she might as well hire real professionals, not a kid like me.

”All right. The details?”

”It'll be taking on the edge of Flandor City, next to Flandor Forest. It's well known for being home to low-ranked monsters. Of course, these monsters aren't in very high numbers, and we still have a barrier protecting the campsite when they go to bed. We're training middle school kids, after all, and they are no use to us dead.”

”Okay…”

I wasn't sure how to respond to that, but at least we weren't doing that whole ”only the strong will survive” or ”we'll make this training as realistic as possible, and real monsters will not show mercy!” nonsense. Even in the military, we had something called conditioning, and all training prioritized safety first. Dead soldiers were no use to anyone, whereas those who dropped out of training and didn't make the cut could excel somewhere else, such as administrative roles. There was no need to kill them off in the name of ”training.”

There was a difference between training and actual combat, after all. Nobody expects you to go straight into a real battlefield without any training, and if they did, they were just being stupid. Carrying out a training regimen where 90% of the trainees ended up dead was incredibly inefficient, and you wouldn't have an army to fight when the real war began.

”The training camp will be held next week, from Monday to Friday. It will be five days and four nights. We'll gather in school on Monday morning, and take a bus to the campsite. From there…” Taylor conjured a holographic image to display the schedule. I received a notification from my smartphone, informing that she had sent a copy to my email. ”As you can see, this will be our training program. There will be night combat training as well, so be prepared.”

”All right.” I saw that two of the nights – Tuesday and Wednesday – were dedicated to night training. Oh, this was going to be fun. Not. I wasn't a fan of activities that sacrificed my sleep, but then again I was a night owl and could stay up pretty late. Unfortunately, that only counted when I was allowed to sleep the day off…which wasn't exactly what the training schedule had planned for us. And if this was tough on the kids, then it was going to be a lot tougher on us trainers.

After all, how could we demand of kids things that we couldn't do ourselves?

”Your job is to provide security,” Taylor elaborated, spinning another holographic window around to display the details of my contract. ”We already have teachers…professional trainers from the Global Federation military, who will take charge of the teaching. But we don't have enough manpower to watch over everybody. That's where you come in. You will stick close to the middle school students and make sure no one gets hurt. Even with all the safety precautions in place, there will still be…unexpected things happening. It's your job to deal with the unexpected.”

”Unexpected, huh?” I tried not to roll my eyes. Taylor chuckled.

”Stuff like stronger monsters showing up, appearing out of nowhere. Or assassins from the dark guild. Or even the Dark Church. I heard you have fought against them before. Your experience will be greatly appreciated here.” She steepled her fingers and leaned over to stare at me closely. ”This is why I believe you will be a great choice for this job. In fact, there are rumors that Grimaldus might be seizing this chance to launch an attack, with all the students so far away from the city. I'll feel more assured if someone like you is around to keep watch on them.”

”I'll do it.” I was planning on returning to Jing Tian City for the summer, go home to see Dad and all that filial piety thing, but the opportunity to make a bit of spare cash was too tempting an offer to resist. Besides, it might help me with my own training. Every chance I could get to pit my skills against monsters or assassins or dark priests, I would be more than happy to take. It would definitely improve my ability for the future.

”Excellent.” Taylor rose to her feet and stretched her hand out to shake mine. ”We have a deal then.”

”Yes, ma'am.” I shook her hand before signing the contract.

*

Monday came, and I was accompanying the kids to the school, where we were supposed to meet up to board the bus and everything.

”Eh? Brother Richie, you're coming along too?” Adrian was surprised. I glared at him.

”I told you the other day, didn't I? Have you already forgotten?”

”I didn't.” Melina raised her hand, looking smug. ”Sensei is accompanying us as security! He's coming to make sure we don't get into any trouble with high-level monsters and assassins.”

”That's right.” I was glad that Melina remembered. Adrian laughed sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head.

”Oh, yeah. Sorry. I forgot.”

”More like you weren't paying any attention!” Melina chided him. Before they could get into a further argument, I waved toward the entrance.

”All right, let's go!”

”Have a safe trip,” Amelia said behind us, sending us off. We waved back at her, and then we continued onward.

The buses were already all lined up in the square, and the middle school students were milling around, chattering excitedly amongst themselves. There was no sense of danger present – the kids were viewing this camp trip as a fun one, and were really looking forward to it. That was fine – kids didn't have to worry about adult stuff.