Kairo rode hard on Wind, the wind whipping past his face as the forest blurred around him.
"Are these guys joking or something? They think this is an illusion-type test? No, it's real... Uhh, I know this is a test because of that illusion. And yeah, I think I've passed. Not only that, the remaining thirty-eight groups of people..."
He muttered to himself, mind racing through the situation.
Well, let's think about my ability. So I can summon around ten illusions for now. And yeah, the distance is way too far, so I used my authority as a prince and told them to form a group, which will be easier for the illusion. So yeah, 38 members which contains 76 kids of my age, where each group had 8 to 9 kids. So yeah, we actually went out and went for the supplies. So my friends were the only ones who got hit by the illusion of the forbidden forest ghost tales. So yeah, I think those groups will be getting it right now, as I have already made leaders of those specific groups too.
So yeah, let me think... Most of the kids have hunted down deer, but my friend Akio... he seems to be able to get rabbits or some low-grade animals, which should be passing enough. But in this test, you pass not because of the animals you hunt — it's how you handle the situation. Yeah, I need to praise my dad. And also there are examiners here who are exactly around one kilometer range, noticing our teamwork. And yeah, the toughest test is mine... Uhh, I think I have used a lot of energy. Well, I will release my illusion. Let them handle it themselves. If they ask me, I will tell them due to the reason of knowing the purpose of the exam, I removed those illusions. If my father asked me why I abandoned them, I will tell him... well, I was training them to think for themselves. As sometimes we need to break rules to survive. And yeah, if they believe in me instead of their own brain, how will they survive?
"Wind, let's go. I am kinda sleepy. I will just have a firecamp and eat some sweets after my daily protein meat. Ohh god, I love this place. Well, it was fun. Let's go."
The real Kairo soon met the examiner waiting at the edge of the hunting grounds. He slowed Wind to a stop and gave a tired but genuine smile.
"Sorry for self-sacrificing myself again."
Akio, who had just arrived with the others, crossed his arms and smirked.
"Uhh, don't act cool like that, man. I wish I was the main hero, but it seems like I am just a nobody."
Renji chuckled.
"Don't worry, you can be a jester."
"No way! I will be a jester or a clown, making myself a laughing stock. And you were able to get four rabbits, huh? How did you even manage to keep them safe?"
Akio shot back.
Renji shrugged with a grin.
"Uhh, skills issues, I guess."
Leonhart raised a hand, trying to calm them.
"Woah, woah, calm down you two. Aren't we supposed to give attention to Kairo?"
Akio waved him off.
"Yeah, as if I care. Uhh, anyway... you lied to us. Why did you do that?"
Kairo scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Well, my magic... I used a lot of illusions, so I needed to get closer. So yeah."
"How does your illusion work?"
Akio asked, genuinely curious.
"Ohh, it's just a puppet, that's it. I need a craftsman to make it look similar to me, then I use a skill to control my puppet. I control it like that. And yeah, the more far I go, it's too hard to control it. So yeah."
At that moment, the illusion version of Kairo stood up and casually removed its clothes, revealing a mechanical interior.
Akio recoiled instantly.
"Woah! I don't want to see a butt in this situation! Ohh wait... it's a robot!"
Renji rolled his eyes.
"Didn't you hear Kairo? He just explained it."
"Hey, don't ignore me like that!"
Kairo protested, waving his hands.
Akio laughed.
"Sorry, my bad."
Leonhart smiled warmly.
"Well, let's keep that aside. Kairo, congrats for winning the test."
Akio and Renji both grinned and chimed in together.
"Yeah, congrats!"
Kairo turned to the examiner, eyes bright with hope.
"Am I really passed?"
The man, with a completely stoic face, gave a small, equally stoic smile and nodded once.
"Yeah, I did! Yess!"
Kairo pumped his fist in victory.
The scene shifted to a warm, crackling campfire later that evening.
Kairo, Leonhart, Renji, Hina, Mika, Akio, Liana, Ayaka, and Daichi sat together around the flames, the soft glow lighting their tired but relieved faces. The night air was cool, filled with the scent of roasted meat and the quiet comfort of friends who had survived the day's chaos.
"Why did you guys forget about me and just left me there?"
Daichi grumbled, rubbing his eyes as he finally caught up to the group.
Leonhart scratched the back of his head with an awkward smile.
"Sorry. Even I forgot that you were sleeping there. Even your horse was sleeping, so yeah… I bet you had a very good sleep last night."
Akio crossed his arms, trying to look serious but failing.
"Well, it's your fault. How can you sleep like that with no noise?"
Renji held up several rabbits he had caught, a proud grin on his face.
"Well, let's just grill these rabbits I caught. They gave us some of my rabbits. We can enjoy it now."
Daichi looked around the group.
"So, anybody knows fire magic?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"No."
Daichi sighed.
"How are we supposed to cast the fire then?"
Leonhart shrugged.
"Through rocks??"
Kairo, however, pulled out a small device he had made himself and quickly sparked a flame. The fire crackled to life in moments.
Leonhart's eyes widened.
"Woah, no way! How did you…?"
Mika leaned in closer, her face lighting up with excitement.
"No way, Kairo! How did you? My mom would be so happy when she sees it!"
Ayaka nodded eagerly.
"Yeah, my mother too!"
Liana tilted her head, genuinely surprised.
"So casting fire is so difficult… I didn't know that."
Hina smiled softly, her eyes sparkling with admiration.
"That's our Kairo."
Akio leaned toward Renji, speaking in a loud whisper filled with jealousy.
"Isn't this guy getting a lot of attention?"
Renji scratched his cheek, looking slightly embarrassed.
"Uhh… damn it. I can't lie… I'm a bit jealous too."
Daichi yawned loudly, stretching his arms.
"Well, I am too tired to get jealous."
Leonhart chuckled.
"Yeah, me too. Why are you two even jealous? It's just a fire. Why is your ass on fire because of his fire techniques?"
"Shut up!"
Akio snapped.
Renji smirked.
"Language."
Meanwhile, Kairo patiently explained to the girls, holding up the device.
"You need wood, then a sharp pointy metal. This thing, in addition to the torque which causes friction due to this rope, helps this pointy steel to rotate easily without rubbing."
Mika blinked, tilting her head.
"I didn't understand what you said, but I can understand what you are trying to tell. While it works…"
Hina looked equally confused but curious.
"Friction… torque… What is that, Ayaka?"
Ayaka shrugged.
"Yeah, what is that, Kairo?"
Kairo waved his hands, looking slightly uncomfortable.
"Well, I don't wanna be a teacher of physics because I hate physics… but teachers gonna handle that."
Daichi suddenly narrowed his eyes, a lazy but sharp grin forming on his face.
"So it was you who destroyed harmony by making this academy, huh?"
"Hey Daichi, relax man. It will be easy, am I right?"
Akio said with his usual bold grin, trying to lighten the mood.
Renji crossed his arms, looking confident.
"Well, I am disciplined enough to be able to handle any kind of mental exhaustion."
Mika shrugged casually.
"Well, whatever. I just went out hunting with my dad too."
Hina nodded gently.
"Yeah, me and Ayaka did go out, but Liana didn't go with us."
Liana rubbed her arm, looking a little embarrassed.
"Sorry, but I am kinda afraid of nighttime… am I right? So you guys went to the forest last night. Tell me, how was it?"
Kairo shook his head firmly.
"Well, we are forbidden to reveal the secret."
Leonhart nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, we have a magic oath which will never be exposed. Even if I wanted to, I would never."
Liana smiled softly.
"Well, thank goodness I am a girl. We can live happily with my friends, and yeah, I can also join the war if I wanted to. If not, it's up to my choice. Well, you guys have to go to war or else it would be an embarrassment to be born as a man."
Mika puffed out her chest proudly.
"Well, to be honest, I want to go to the war, you know. I ain't afraid of war."
Hina tilted her head thoughtfully.
"Well, me and Ayaka will be nurses. What about you, Liana?"
Liana blushed slightly.
"Well, I think I am fine because I suck with both. I don't know, but I just want a man who will take care of me and not talk back to me… something like that."
Akio couldn't resist.
"Well, he will have pretty bad luck if someone marries someone like you."
"Hey, that's rude!"
Mika snapped.
Daichi sighed loudly, waving a hand.
"Well, here we go again. Why don't we just relax and have a talk? Akio, just don't mind them and also don't talk like that."
"Ok, fine. If you say so,"
Akio replied, backing off with a shrug.
Mika crossed her arms with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"No cake for Akio. Except him, I will give it to everyone else."
Akio dramatically clutched his chest.
"Well, isn't it weird to eat cake? Well, if it's made by Mika, I would consider myself lucky because those cakes can be used as assassination tools against the king. No one would realize that this sweet-looking thing can be so deadly."
Mika's face turned bright red.
"Akio, how dare you!"
She started chasing him around the campfire.
Akio laughed and scooped up some small pebbles, throwing them gently toward her.
"Stop throwing your burned cake! Uhh, damn it, it's even harder than steel!"
After some time, both of them finally relaxed, breathing heavily from the playful chase.
Hina smiled warmly and offered half of her cake to Akio.
"Hey, Mika was very angry, but here… you can have it. You fought very well last night."
Akio's face turned slightly red. He accepted the piece with a shy grin.
"Ohh, thank you, Hina. You are so sweet. You cared for me, and yeah… thank goodness you are not like other girls. Yeah, I am gonna eat it."
He took a huge bite in one go.
Mika walked over, still a little pouty.
"How does it feel to not get any cake, huh?"
"Uhh… kinda bad,"
Akio admitted.
Mika then held out a piece of cake.
"Well, eat it already. I didn't want to make you sad or anything. Renji felt a little sad because you didn't get any, so he told me to give it to you and apologize. Even though you bullied me."
Akio took the piece with a soft smile.
"Well, it's fine. I forgive you. And if I said anything bad, forgive me too."
Hina watched the exchange with a gentle expression.
"Well, it seems like the war is over."
After everyone was busy eating and chatting, Akio quietly broke off half of his piece and offered it to Hina.
"Well, take it. Thank you for your kindness."
Hina blinked in surprise.
"Isn't this bigger than I gave you?"
Akio scratched his cheek, a bit embarrassed.
"Well, when you help someone, God gives you in return a huge blessing. So take it as that."
Hina smiled brightly.
"Well, thank you. I guess."