abcnovels
Chapter 331
Chapter 331
Participants [Part 2]
“Your Highness? With all due respect, the most crucial thing for monster hunting is [knowledge]. It is precisely because I understand the danger that I must go…”
Emma wouldn’t give up even if Prince Edward opposed her. An opportunity to enter a forest with monster appearances didn’t come very often. Even Emma wouldn’t be allowed to tag along and observe the hunt if her father, older brother, plus her uncle, Arban, or a helper from her clan didn’t just happen to be all present. She understood the dangers, but conversely, she knew the specific methods to deal with them.
To put it bluntly, Emma was confident she could be more useful than the prince.
“Nii-sama! I want to protect rather than be protected!”
“Wha… You… You even said something that sounds like, ‘I want to love rather than be loved‘… I understand how you feel, but Marion, this is not a game.”
However, Emma’s insistence was pretty much drowned out by the arguing sound of the Bell siblings, two romantics from a lineage of knights.
Arthur didn’t seem pleased with Marion’s goal to be a female knight. To Arthur, who had been indelibly ingrained with the ‘Spirit of Chivalry,’ his younger sister Marion was among the list of people he needed to protect, so it couldn’t be helped that he felt that way.
“I know well enough that it’s not a game! Last year, I came first in the exam for Practical Skills for Hunters [Beginner level]. I’m also taking Monster Science this year. I believe I am fully qualified!”
“Uhh… Even so, it’s still a no! We can never predict what will happen if we encounter a monster, right?”
Marion refused to back down even after that, but Arthur never agreed. In the end, the girls weren’t allowed to go to the forest with monster appearances.
“……we’re screwed.”
“Screwed, indeed…”
Lord of Palace, Leonard, quietly muttered while the Acting Lord of Palace, Arban, shared the same sentiment.
The girls’ participation got canceled in the bustle and commotion.
Leonard and Arban had envisioned that with the girls at the back, His Majesty might develop a desire to protect and wouldn’t attack the monsters recklessly. But alas…
Letting the belligerent king (a layman in monster hunting) let loose was already frightening.
The problem was…
“If Emma doesn’t join…”
“She won’t come… will she?”
“She probably won’t come…”
Koumei-san.
Although the threat by the king was also part of the reason, Leonard’s compliance to let everyone enter the forest roamed by monsters was largely due to the cat’s presence. He originally intended to have Koumei follow from the shadows as it was easier to hide in the forest.
That was to be prepared for unseen emergencies.
However, if Emma had to stay at the camp, Koumei would most likely stay too.
Koumei’s priority had always been Emma, while others were only treated perfunctorily.
“Also, it isn’t going to be enough, right…”
“It won’t be enough, indeed.”
Leonard and Arban sighed.
The most dangerous thing when encountering a monster, above all else, was having someone with no knowledge of monsters on the team.
Arthur mentioned earlier about monsters being unpredictable. However, Emma’s brilliance in predicting monsters surpassed the rest of the people.
In other words, without Emma, their fighting power would considerably decrease.
Even when their physical strength was exhausted, or even when they couldn’t use their swords, just having Emma with abundant knowledge of monsters around would lessen their burden by a lot…
Many species of monsters in Skyte didn’t appear in Palace. Like so, George, whose amount of knowledge was concerning, could be considered to can only exert half of his fighting power. Without the assistance from the knowledgeable William, Leonard and Arban couldn’t rest easy taking their eyes off of George.
“Saying I want to take Emma along in this current mood… doesn’t seem plausible, huh, Arban.”
“It sure doesn’t feel so.”
The participants for the special hands-on practice in the forest with monster appearances:
The king (the problem child).
The prince (the ex-offender who cut a slime).
The Stuart family menfolk (with George’s ability halved).
Arthur (the one who reduced the group’s fighting power).
Monster Science and Practical Skills for Hunters’ teachers (the ones relied on by everyone but looked even more anxious than the rest).
“At times like these, it feels like a dangerous kind will pop out… ahahah, no way, right. Just joking.”
“Please don’t say something so scary.”
Arban furrowed his brows at Leonard, who was laughing awkwardly.
Raising a flag is the Stuart family’s forte.
???
Author’s corner:
Crisis: Serious…
Doctor: He is in a pretty critical condition.
Crisis: ?! Doctor?! Can you do something about it?!
Doctor: He has somehow managed to survive until now because the comicalization has reached the slime arc, but…
Crisis: I-It can’t be that he…?
Doctor: The comic is also about to move past the slime arc…
Crisis: No way… Serious… has no more screen time after that arc, you know?
Doctor: I am terribly sorry, but…
Crisis: UWAAAAAAHHHH!
Sir Comedy: Hm? It’s my turn? Seems like I’m gonna be busy.
Rom-Com Geeky Lady: Ohohoho. After the slime arc is the academy arc? I’m faithfully waiting for the dazzling academy lives of the male students in full illustration.
The author, who while writing, accidentally touched the smartphone screen with her finger and deleted around 1000 words, thus falling into agony for half a day: “The last backup time was last night?! You gotta be kidding me!!”