I Realized It Was An Academy Game After 10 Years – Chapter 52

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Karina will have to endure until she arrives… It seems her condition is rapidly deteriorating since she’s riding a horse.”

Renny’s voice, filled with worry, pierced through the wind.

“If she had gone with the main force, it would have taken too long and ultimately deteriorated just the same. Those bastards even destroyed the big bridge to prevent us from reaching the academy.”

When they utterly destroyed the bridge leading to the intermediate stopover village of Monte, leaving only the roots, I couldn’t help but curse under my breath.

They had completely shattered the stone bridge, which could have allowed about ten people to stand side by side and cross.

If I hadn’t pulled nearby stones to repair the stone bridge, we would have had no choice but to take a long detour.

If I couldn’t fix the bridge, it might have taken an additional week to reach the academy, so Carbonaro, no, Carbonaro had no choice but to accept my proposal that he had been putting on hold.

“…That’s true.”

Renny nodded her head, seeming to understand my words.

The proposal I made to Carbonaro was simple.

Divide the expedition and the carriages and send them to the academy by different routes.

Our purpose was not for the entire expedition to arrive, but to bring Karina to the academy, so the plan was to split the expedition to draw attention, and in the meantime, we would ride horses and quickly bring Karina to the academy.

It was obvious that even if we went safely surrounded by the expedition, the schedule would be delayed.

Moreover, Karina’s condition was deteriorating due to the curse.

Until a few days ago, she could at least have a few words of conversation and drink thin gruel, but now she couldn’t even open her eyes and was just gasping for breath.

If we couldn’t lift the curse as soon as possible, in the worst case, she might lose her life.

It was the worst outcome that no one in the expedition wanted.

That’s why Carbonaro had no choice but to accept my proposal in the end.

After parting with the expedition in front of the bridge, we put a wig obtained from the village beyond the bridge on Karina’s head, tied her to Renny’s back, and started moving on military horses with good stamina.

It had already been half a month.

Whether it was because of our quick decision or good luck, we had not been involved in any incidents for 15 days.

“Johann, I can ride a horse alone, so let’s buy one more horse at the next village!”

Gosh.

Millia, who was sitting in front of me, suddenly shouted.

Her face was flushed, and her legs were flapping like a child.

She was being particularly rebellious today.

Do you hate sitting in front of me that much?

I sat you in front because I was worried you might fall off if I put you behind.

And it’s been 15 days, isn’t it time to stop doing that every time?

It would be more comfortable to just hit her if she kept acting up.

“…Have you forgotten that you almost fell off the horse a few days ago?”

“But this is a bit embarrassing! I’m not a kid!”

Don’t thrash around. You’ll startle the horse.

“Do you want to be treated like a lady?”

“Isn’t that natural? I’m a lady!”

“One can’t be called a lady while wandering around with jerky in their mouth.”

“And bragging about catching a beetle.”

Renny and I laughed, lowering our voices.

There was an incident where Millia puffed up her cheeks and pinched my thigh, but this was nothing.

I roughly ruffled Millia’s hair and adjusted the reins.

Millia was trying to lighten the gloomy atmosphere in her own way.

I wasn’t not sure if it was intentional or not.

“You two get along well.”

“Aren’t you close too?”

“Not as much as you… I guess?”

What, why, what.

When I made eye contact with Renny, who was looking at me with a lukewarm gaze, Renny quickly turned her head and wrapped her arms around Karina’s waist, who had already loosened behind her.

Although she was tied with a rope, Renny must have been quite uneasy as she kept turning her head to check on Karina’s condition.

I should have held her if she was going to be like that.

I could have given Millia to Renny to hold.

…Renny probably wouldn’t have allowed it.

“Renny, how far is it to the next village?”

“We’re almost there. The next city is a big one, so we’ll be able to buy some more portable food. And if we ride like crazy, we’ll arrive in a few days.”

It was definitely several times faster than a carriage.

The distance, which was about 1300km when we executed the strategy, had already been reduced to just over 500km.

Although we were adjusting the pace to some extent considering the fatigue of the horses, we had traveled a much greater distance than riding in a carriage for a whole month.

“The end of this tedious journey is in sight.”

“I hope so. Those damn Halphas bastards, what a hardship this is because of them. What did Lady Karina do wrong…”

It sucks to be targeted in real-time.

So the next time I encountered the Halphas Cult, I planned to thoroughly retaliate for the anger accumulated during the journey.

Those damn bastards.

We traversed the plain, ruminating on our anger towards the Halphas Cult.

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“Sir Carbonaro. This time too, there’s a trap on the way.”

“Hah.”

Carbonaro pressed his fingers to his brow and looked at the road.

The situation was that, as Johann had suggested, the expedition was divided into four units and moving separately.

Every time he heard news of attacks from the messengers located in each unit, Carbonaro got a headache.

‘If we hadn’t secretly sent Lady Karina away, we would have been held up for a long time.’

In half a month, they had only managed to move 150km.

There had already been five attacks, and the intermediary stopover village had also been attacked and turned into ruins, making it difficult to replenish supplies.

As a result, the soldiers and priests were barely moving forward with exhausted faces.

“Take the soldiers and dismantle it. And send scouts around to see if anyone is nearby.”

“Yes, sir! Understood!”

Carbonaro sighed and looked up at the sky as he watched the back of the soldier who ran far away while saluting.

“I don’t know what the hell is going on.”

The Halphas Cult suddenly started to act up.

The subtle atmosphere they exuded.

Their incomprehensible purpose.

Why?

Why were they targeting Lady Karina?

It was the moment Carbonaro’s mind became complicated.

“Commander Carbonaro! Enemy attack!”

“…What was coming has come. Soldiers! Form a defensive formation!”

He drew his cherished sword that had been with him for half his life.

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“Why is the city’s atmosphere like this?”

Renny blurted out as soon as we entered the city.

At her words, I turned my head left and right and looked around.

The many people passing by on the street all wore dark expressions on their faces.

Did something big happen in the city?

I needed information.

“Let’s get an inn first.”

“Yeah. Let’s get an inn first. We can resupply later…”

We dragged our tired bodies and entered an inn with a fancy exterior.

We left the horses in the stable, paid a high price to rent a room, and laid Karina down inside.

“Eat first and come back. I’ll eat when you return.”

“Okay! Renny! Hang in there!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

A small smile formed on Renny’s lips.

Leaving Renny and Karina behind, we took a seat in the corner of the restaurant attached to the inn.

“Will Karina be okay?”

“Let’s hope so.”

Both personally and officially, it would be really sad if Karina died.

I tapped my fingers on the table and looked around.

There were quite a lot of people.

If I listened carefully, I might hear some good information.

“Millia. Be quiet for a moment, I’m going to eavesdrop on what people around are saying.”

Millia nodded her head with a serious expression and rested her chin, looking out the window next to the table.

I hope some good information reaches my ears.

“When will the ban on the trade routes be lifted?”

“I know, right.”

The trade routes are blocked?

The person’s words were cut off.

I slightly turned my head and listened to the other side.

“Damn it. It’s been a week already. Those damn bastards blocked the trade routes, so the goods aren’t coming in on time. At this rate, my belly will stick to my back.”

“I have a load of goods to take to the academy and sell, but these days, monsters are popping out like crazy. The academy should send out an extermination team. Why are they so quiet?”

“Don’t even mention it. I heard rumors that the academy itself is under attack.”

“Even so, that can’t be.”

“No, it’s true. I heard it from Hans, who came from the academy.”

“It hasn’t been long since I got married… and the world is already ending. ”

Amidst the countless sighs, I frowned at the information that flowed out.

It was information that could not be ignored.

There were rumors that the academy… was attacked?

The Kalon Academy, which was no different from a sacred place?

Was that even possible…

Ah.

Damn it.

A fragment of my memory came to mind belatedly, as if mocking me.

A memory I had completely forgotten.

A fixed event in the early part of Survival Academy.

The hellhound appearance incident.

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