“Um.” (Ivan)
“Not um… Wait a moment. Hey. Is it just me, or… can you see that too? Can you see it too? Can you all see it?” (Isabelle)
“Yes…” (Ecdysis)
“Oh…” (Oscar)
“Yeah.” (Elpheira)
Ivan scanned the injured students one by one, pondering.
There’s no need to torture the students, I need to find a priest.
They’re injured more than I thought. Still, it’s not injuries severe enough to leave lasting effects. In this amazing pre-modern fantasy world, priests can truly perform healing miracles.
Besides, iron strengthens by being struck, and the ground hardens after rain, so it’s fine. (Of course, humans are not like that.)
With everyone getting neural acceleration, this training session is remarkably successful. Within just a few days, they’ve grown, surpassing even those who couldn’t grasp neural acceleration.
If we refine this curriculum a bit more and implement it regularly, the armament level of the intelligence command will surpass that of most military organizations.
“Uncle. Are you serious?” (Isabelle)
“Hmm?” (Ivan)
“Really, seriously. Are you really, really okay? No injuries? You can move your body…?” (Isabelle)
“What do you mean?” (Ivan)
Are they experiencing hallucinations due to pain? Ivan raised his hand to send a signal. One agent who had received priestly gifts was rushing over.
Hurriedly performing a bit of healing prayer and then moving to a nearby territory, they could be fully recovered in the cathedral before the break.
Ivan had ample experience in this area. He didn’t need any special surgical knowledge. He’d experienced most injuries firsthand.
Unless it’s a complete loss of limb, Ivan, having experienced almost every kind of injury firsthand, could assess the condition of the novices just by the extent of their injuries.
It’s not severe compared to the pain. It must be thanks to the miraculous physical performance of these novices.
It’s quite remarkable, actually. Being able to step into the realm of the superhuman with just a month or two of lying in the infirmary is definitely not a loss. (Not at all.)
“Wait, hold on! Just a moment!! Stop!” (Isabelle)
“Um.” (Ivan)
“Stop with the ‘um’ too! What… what were you doing just now? Are you really in your right mind? You were just watching us?” (Isabelle)
“Oh, that’s not it.” (Ivan)
He had been consistently monitoring the situation on-site to assist with the training.
So it was a perfectly controlled, safe training. Or so he said.
His dry explanation made it all too obvious.
“Safe!! You call that safe!! Look, look at them. Oscar’s arms are broken, and Elpheira was crying blood from her eyes!” (Isabelle)
“Uncle, I got struck by lightning…” (Ecdysis)
“They were injuries within reasonable expectations.” (Ivan)
“Aaaah—!! Since when! Why!!” (Isabelle)
“From the beginning.” (Ivan)
Ivan felt the need to provide comprehensive evaluation feedback at this point. Typically, writing down incorrect answers immediately after problem-solving enhances learning efficiency. The advanced educational system of the 21st century is a sophisticated culture bestowed upon this pre-modern world.
“When was the moment you first thought ‘we’re under attack by demons’?” (Ivan)
“Um…?” (Isabelle)
“It was when the gunshot rang out. That’s when one of the agents got hit and collapsed. I saw the panic in his eyes as he fled, and that’s when the attack started.” (Ecdysis)
“No, that can’t be. A man turned into a beehive right before our eyes and collapsed?” (Isabelle)
At the edge of Isabelle’s vision, an agent was gesturing excitedly, clearly impressed.
It was the same agent who had urged everyone to flee on the first day of the attack, pouring out blood and being shot.
Ugh, Isabelle clenched her face and let out a bizarre scream.
“Were there any explosive weapons among the arms of the orcs you encountered?” (Ivan)
“…?!”
“You should have noticed it then. The orcs didn’t use guns, did they? The only ones possessing and using firearms in this forest were the agents.” (Ivan)
“Wait, what…?!”
Ivan interrupted at this point and waved his hand.
Soon, agents emerged from the forest. About fifty burly men formed a circle and appeared.
They were each smiling widely as they looked at the girls.
“What, what’s with this atmosphere?!!”
“But congratulations. You’ve all completed every course with excellent grades, learned teamwork and survival skills, and mastered neural acceleration. It’s considered exceeding performance objectives.” (Ivan)
Ivan is someone who ensures rewards are given where deserved. Naturally, every task should come with its rewards.
According to his gesture, simultaneously, and very ceremoniously.
Some even whimpered.
This was inevitable. As the spiritual descendants of the annihilator unit, the intelligence command was generally generous towards hero parties.
-Clap.
-Clap. Clap. Clap.
-Clap. Clap, clap. Clap.
The agents began to clap in a solemn atmosphere.
Isabelle heard something, a thud, cutting off.
“G-groan….”
She grabbed the back of her neck and passed out.
*
-Tap, tap, tap.
The gold-tipped fountain pen rhythmically tapped the table. (This shouldn’t be done. Fountain pen tips are very fragile.)
The ink tinged tip splattered ink, scattering on the table. It seemed to perfectly reflect her mental state.
Artistic, indeed. Elizaveta grasped the teacup with trembling hands.
Clatter, clatter. A loud noise was heard. Ah, involuntary tremors came. Well, it’s understandable.
Actually, tapping the table with the fountain pen wasn’t intentional. Her hands were just trembling.
[The training process was under the control of the supervisor at all times, and injuries that occurred during the situation were transferred to follow-up treatment centers after on-site treatment.
Isabelle: Full-body contusions, 2 fractures, long-term care recommendations due to neural overload attached.
Elpheira: Internal circuit damage due to accumulated magic fatigue, proof of receipt for medicinal herbs required for recovery in Attachment 2.
Oscar: Fractures in both upper limbs, fracture in the left foot, strained left lower limb, at least 15 muscle tears, long-term focused treatment recommendations attached.
Ecdysis: Exposure to medium-range attack spells (estimated 6th grade), at least 5 burns, muscle tears, severe left forearm ligament strain, long-term focused treatment recommendations for over 5 weeks attached.
Further margins.
Reporter: Ivan Petrovich Yermov.
Examiner: Dmitri Cherkatov.]
“….”
Elizaveta struggled to swallow the tea with trembling hands, spilling it on the saucer twice before giving up.
As always, Ivan’s reports were remarkably succinct. They were so dry it felt like chewing on dry wood.
Unlike usual, she felt a slight craving for something sweet. If Ivan had known, he would have diagnosed it as a lack of glucose in the brain.
Sadly, due to Krasilov’s status as a country boasting a steady cold climate year-round, they had to rely entirely on imported sugarcane. As a modest ruler, Elizaveta once again resisted the temptation of sugar.
Instead, she embraced another temptation.
“How many did you count?”
“One thousand five hundred thirty-two, Your Highness.”
“Maintain the posture for two thousand.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Only then did she lift her head and place the report on the table.
In one corner of the spacious chamber, two men were doing push-ups, standing still as ordered. Due to strict instructions to refrain from using magic and rely solely on physical abilities, both Ivan and Dmitri were drenched in sweat, creating puddles on the floor.
“Stop. Stop. Stop!! Stop!!!”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Aaaah—!! Ahh… ahh—why! Why did you do that, why!”
Ivan quickly composed his slightly ragged breaths and knelt with a firm posture, awaiting further orders.
He was the epitome of a loyal servant, always setting the perfect example. It was so perfect it made her want to chew on something. Instead, Elizaveta nibbled on the end of her trembling fountain pen.
“Did you ask for too much? Is it your fault? No, it’s your fault. Vanka. Your failure to teach manners and common sense is your fault. Well, considering you’ve lived on the battlefield since childhood, your ignorance and rudeness are not entirely your fault. It’s your fault. You’re a liability!!”
Ivan bowed his head silently, listening to Elizaveta’s words.
Honestly, isn’t it strange for a dictator of a quasi-Imperial Russia in the pre-modern era to talk about common sense and manners?
Ivan was a freshman at a four-year university in the quiet morning country, South Korea, which had blossomed for over five hundred years with strict Confucian culture, morality, and etiquette. (He was even a living moral textbook, boasting a grade 1 in ethics in the social studies area.)
However, being a rational person, Ivan didn’t elaborate on the parts that couldn’t be explained. He simply nodded quietly.
Watching him, Elizaveta felt her heart wrench.
“You… just… I commanded you to report on what thoughts led you to carry out the purge of the nobles and domestic power reform during the tournament without consultation. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“But instead of giving a preliminary report, you took the students… without even consulting the principal, claiming it was a special class, and trained them in a remote area.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“It’s not ‘yes, Your Highness,’ it’s outrageous!!”
Elizaveta groaned before covering her face.
“The need for training… the talk about needing training… I understand. I understand.”
Elizaveta looked at Ivan through her fingers. Despite feeling frustration and anger at his stoic face, she suddenly felt a pang in her chest.
Yes, that man was still living on the battlefield.
So, in this peaceful era, it made sense that he would attempt harsh survival training with students. Even if the method was excessively harsh, it was understandable.
They weren’t ordinary students. They were descendants of hero party. It’s said that they are the most sought-after targets for causing confusion, including demons, ambitious people, and resentful nobles.
So, this man must have acted to minimize the impact of their return to Krasilov.
He had always been like that. For the sake of this country.
But still.
“Aaaah—!!”
Elizaveta couldn’t bring herself to believe the situation where she had to deliver a national bulletin to dignitaries from various countries: ‘Your precious children have been injured, but fortunately, they are being treated without any aftereffects. Unfortunately, it seems difficult for them to return home during this semester break.’ (It may be hard to believe, but Krasilov never uses foreign dignitaries as hostages.)
She whimpered softly before speaking haltingly.
“When Isabelle woke up, she had a message she wanted me to convey to you.”
“I will listen, Your Highness.”
An evaluation of the lecture.
Ivan raised his head satisfactorily. He was quite confident. His educational process had taken place in an environment where every variable was meticulously controlled.
“She asked for approval of an independent assassination attempt against you. I granted it.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Ivan nodded expressionlessly then frowned somewhat.
“You are now on probation…. Consider yourself fortunate it’s not…. ah forget it.”
Dismissal.
Elizaveta struggled to swallow the last word and waved her hand to dismiss the matter. (Dmitri felt unjustly treated.)
It was around the end of the first week after the start of summer vacation.
