Chapter 25: Attention

The sound of sand crunching underfoot resonates.

A sweltering heat surrounds and envelops my entire body.

Just as I thought the wind was blowing, the gentle breeze exposed to the heat turns into a scorching gust that passes by.

I look around, hoping to find a cooler place, but unfortunately, there is nothing but sand in the surroundings.

Golden sand stretches to the horizon, and the sun’s reflection is starting to hurt my eyes.

In such a harsh environment, Mil and I are battling a “mass of rocks.”

“Groooaaaah!!!”

The roar, resembling the sound of grinding stones together, comes from a beast that looks like a pile of rocks—a Rock Golem.

This violent beast, known as the “Golden Desert Golem,” appears in this “Golden Sands” and immediately attacks anyone it sees.

Rumor has it that it strongly yearns for a flesh-filled body and launches attacks to take over the physical forms of its victims.

So, are these creatures in front of us attacking us out of envy for our bodies?

As I vaguely pondered such thoughts, I heard Mil’s voice next to me.

“Icebound Land of Niflheim!”

In response to her voice, a burst of cold air emanates from her feet, creating ice on the golden desert.

Soon, the ice races across the ground like lightning, entangling the feet of the Rock Golem standing there.

With the sound of crackling ice, the body of the Rock Golem quickly freezes.

“G…Goooh!”

Although it would probably be settled with Mil’s ice magic alone, I don’t want to spend too much time in this heat.

To finish it quickly, I raise my right hand and…

“Life or death—Grim Reaper’s Scythe—Reap the enemy’s head with a single thought.”

I activate instant death magic.

“Death’s Notice.”

A suspicious black light radiates from my right hand, faintly staining the Rock Golem’s body black.

Suddenly, the Rock Golem, which was twisting to free itself from the ice, stops abruptly.

“G…Goooh…”

The feeble voice escaping from the Rock Golem is its last, and its rocky body crumbles to pieces.

In the blink of an eye, it turns into multiple chunks of rock, and a momentary silence envelops the area.

I glance briefly at Mil beside me, who also turns to me at the same time, smiling with relief.

And we congratulate each other, happy that we have successfully defeated the magical beast.

It has been a month since we enrolled in the Royal Harvest Academy of Magic.

As students of the magical academy, Mil and I dedicate ourselves to the study of magic every day.

I’m not particularly good at studying, but I enjoy learning about magic, so it’s not too much of a struggle.

However, achieving the goal of graduating and becoming a national mage seems to be quite a challenging path.

That’s because the magic academy has various quotas and exams, and if you can’t overcome these obstacles, you’ll be expelled without mercy.

The sieve-like period is approaching in two months, which is the end-of-term exam, and Mil and I are completing the academy missions we’ve taken on like this.

To take the end-of-term exam, we need to earn 100 points from defeating magical beasts by the end of the semester.

It’s only possible to earn these points by undertaking missions to defeat magical beasts.

Well, if we make use of holidays like today, we can complete three missions in a day, so we can earn a considerable amount of points.

“With this, we’ve probably earned around 70 points, right?”

“Yes, I think we’re fine.”

We take out the mission sheet and reread the details.

[Rock Golem Extermination]

Location: Golden Desert (Kogane Sabaku)

Target Quantity: 5

Reward: 10,000 ruushi

Extermination Points: 10

Difficulty: C

Upon reconfirming the mission details, I couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.

“Just 10 points for this mission, even if we split it, it’s only 5 points. It makes me nostalgic for the times when we climbed mountains and worked hard to chase away birds for just 1 point.”

“But that was just last month.”

Mil and I were born as commoners, so we didn’t have much credibility compared to the noble students. As a result, we hardly received any recommended academy missions and could only take on low-level missions with low scores.

However, now we’re able to receive somewhat decent missions and referrals.

It’s all thanks to me…

“I have nothing but gratitude for Sachi-san, who changed our situation. If it hadn’t been for you, I’m sure we wouldn’t have reached the target points.”

Just recently, I dueled with a boy from another class. He was a prominent magician from the renowned magician family called Kaien, and even as a first-year, he was one of the top performers. By defeating him, I gained a bit of recognition and started receiving missions and referrals like the other students. It was an unexpected stroke of luck. I never thought that the duel would resolve our issue with earning enough points.

But this is not solely my achievement.

“It’s not just me, but Mil also worked incredibly hard.”

“Huh?”

“Mil went to take on the missions for me, and that led to the argument with that pampered aristocrat. If it weren’t for that, we probably wouldn’t have had a mock battle in the first place, so this is also thanks to Mil.”

“…?”

As I conveyed that again, Mil smiled with a sense of relief.

So, in this way, the two of us strive together towards graduation.

Today, we have successfully completed the extermination mission and taken another steady step toward graduation.

“By the way, why are the missions located in such hot and remote places? It’s sweaty and uncomfortable.”

I sighed, fluttering the collar of my uniform.

Doing magical beast extermination in a place like this feels like it’s not benefiting anyone.

As I thought that, Mil proudly explained with a hint of pride.

“Caravans from neighboring countries pass through this Golden Desert. If dangerous magical beasts aren’t exterminated, the caravans could be attacked, and valuable goods won’t be able to be imported.”

Now that she mentioned it, I vaguely remembered hearing something like that from the receptionist.

I haven’t been paying much attention to the details of the missions, so it slipped my mind.

Ensuring the safety of such remote places is also important.

“Speaking of which, it was Sachi-san who said we should take on this mission, right? Even though we were being referred to various other extermination missions, why did you specifically choose this location?”

“Well, I didn’t know the Golden Desert would be this hot, you know? And the reward and the number of points were tempting, but above all, it was the receptionist…”

As I began to explain, Mil nodded in understanding.

“Yeah, she did seem really troubled. I think initially, other students were taking on this mission, but they failed to defeat the Rock Golems and ended up abandoning it.”

Failing to complete a mission not only falls on the students but also puts responsibility on the receptionists. In fact, the penalties for the receptionists might be even more severe. That’s why they carefully assess the students’ abilities and recommend suitable missions.

The receptionist with the straight bangs, who had failed once before, seemed to be in a state of deep despair, so I took on the mission to help her out.

“You’re really kind, Sachi-san.”

“Nah, I think I’m just easily swayed.”

We exchanged such words as we made our way back.

Since we had successfully completed the extermination mission, we should return to the academy as soon as possible and report. Or so I thought…

“But anyway, it’s time for dinner, right? Sachi-chan seems tired, so I feel like we should have a hearty meal……..” 

“Wait, where’s Mil?”

Mil, who was supposed to be next to me, had disappeared without a trace. Even when I looked around, I couldn’t find her anywhere. There couldn’t possibly be a hiding spot in such an open area, so I furrowed my eyebrows and tilted my head.

Where did she go?

“W-What is this?!”

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, a voice came from my left rear, and I instinctively turned around. However, there was no one there, just the golden desert stretching to the horizon.

Or so I thought, but as I walked a little closer in that direction, I noticed that the ground there had unnaturally sunk. The sand sank deeper and deeper in a reverse conical shape. Within it, Mil was flailing her arms as if drowning, desperately trying to crawl back up to the surface.

“I-I’m being sucked in!”

As I looked, I could see a strange fish-like face at the center of the sinking ground. I vaguely remembered the receptionist saying that there were giant fish swimming in the sand in this Golden Desert. They could swallow both the sand and creatures on the surface whole. They were particularly dangerous magical beasts that required special caution.

But recently, they rarely appeared, and the chance of encountering one was extremely low, or so I was told. Yet, somehow, it had managed to lurk right under Mil.

And now, except for me, Mil alone had been swallowed by the sand hell.

She really has no luck.

“Mil’s magic can defeat it in one shot. Hurry up and defeat it and come back up!”

“I-I… Sand is entering my mouth, so I can’t chant properly…”

It seemed like it would take some time.

Thinking that, I quickly aimed my right hand at the giant fish and chanted rapidly.

“Life or death—Grim Reaper’s Scythe—Reap the enemy’s head with a single thought—Death’s Ominous Notice!”

Just like with the Rock Golem earlier, black light emanated from the fish, and the sand hell immediately came to a halt.

Upon checking, the giant fish had its mouth wide open toward the sky, already lifeless and petrified.

Soon, Mil crawled out from the sand hell, barely catching her breath, and lowered her head.

“I-I’m saved! Thank you so much!”

“You’re still as unlucky as ever, Mil. It makes me nervous just watching.”

Accidents like this happen every time without fail. It’s probably all thanks to Mil’s luck score of zero. How many times have I seen her teary-eyed?

“On the other hand, Sachi-san is really amazing. Despite being with unlucky me all the time, you never get caught up in any of it.”

“Well, uh… That’s…”

I confidently stated something that was already obvious, for no particular reason.

“Because I have a luck score of 999.”

Even if I’m with the unlucky Mil, I’ll never experience misfortune. Good things happen to me on a daily basis, and I never get injured or sick. And as I just mentioned, my “Instant Death Magic” always succeeds.

After saying such a pointless thing, I suddenly had an idea and proposed it.

“Ah, then how about we hold hands from now on? Maybe that way, Mil won’t be caught up in any misfortune.”

“…Even so, I still feel like I’ll be the only one who trips and gets injured. Plus, it’s kind of embarrassing, so I’ll pass.”

As I said such absurd things, we finally started our journey back.

The next morning.

The holiday was over, and it was a school day. We, as usual, left the dormitory and headed to school. And we immediately made our way to the reception desk to report yesterday’s mission to exterminate the Rock Golem.

There was a small red glowing rock among the collapsed parts of the Rock Golem’s body, which served as proof of extermination. When we presented it, the receptionist with the straight bangs expressed her gratitude.

It seemed that if we had failed another mission, we would have faced even greater penalties. Thanks to that, the trust in us seemed to have grown stronger, and we were given even better mission recommendations.

As I thought about how fortunate we were this morning, Mil and I headed towards the classroom. While walking down the hallway, I noticed some lingering gazes.

“Hey, isn’t that the commoner from the first-year who had the mock battle?”

“…The one who fought against the noble’s son?”

“…”

I glanced in the direction of the voices and saw two male students. Their uniforms had green accents. It seemed that the story of my battle against Kaien had spread to students in other grades as well.

It’s annoying to be stared at like this. I thought as I walked confidently down the hallway. Mil, who was next to me, smiled wryly and spoke.

“You’ve become quite famous, Sachi-san.”

“…Yeah.”

I couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh. I didn’t want unnecessary attention. It seemed like everyone wasn’t too pleased with the commoners receiving attention.

And…

“I never thought this attention would last for a whole month. I thought it would settle down relatively quickly…”

Since the mock battle against Kaien, I had been constantly subjected to these indescribable gazes for a month. Well, it had only been a month since I enrolled, and there hadn’t been any other notable events, so that might be why.

“It will probably settle down soon. As we approach the end-of-term exams, classes will become more challenging, and everyone will be preoccupied with their own affairs.”

“I hope so…”

As long as we were commoners in this academy where only noble sons and daughters attended, we would inevitably stand out. I hoped for the day when we could naturally blend in at this academy. Despite starting the morning in high spirits, I felt a bit melancholic as we reached the classroom.

Soon, it was time for the morning assembly, and Professor Lezan arrived. Unexpectedly, she conveyed something to us. 

“There will be ‘Physical Measurements’ tomorrow, so make sure to be in perfect condition.”

“Physical measurements?”

Upon hearing the announcement, Mil beside me trembled. I glanced at her, and she had a pale face as if it were the end of the world, pressing her own chest.