My Glasses Will Be Able to Conquer the Whole World, I Suppose

Chapter 208 – Glasses Boy Becomes Interested in Caro-something’s Story

“No, that won’t do. Duty is duty. The person assigned must fulfill the task.”

“Well, you know…”

“I won’t mind if it’s something you’ve made for yourself and are enjoying. It’s okay to showcase your skills on someone else’s turn. But changing shifts for duty is a different story. We have to follow the instructor’s orders.”

It could be described as either seriousness or loyalty.

After skillfully butchering a massive deer and smoothly transitioning into a cooking position, Belge received a calm reprimand from Hydra.

The cooking duty includes training to retrieve smoke signals, so those not assigned shouldn’t interfere, it seems.

That’s the basic idea.

“Hydra! Check out this meat!”

But Belge persists.

He’s the kind who pushes forward stubbornly, which I don’t particularly like.

Well, that’s not the main issue.

After cleaning the blood and wiping the moisture off the huge thigh meat of the deer, he shows it to Hydra.

“The vibrant red color! The glistening fat shimmering through! Large creatures often tend to have a bland taste, but what about this densely packed lean meat!? It’s absolutely delicious! This meat has fattened up just before winter, with a perfect balance of lean muscle and flavorful fat! Do you think any chef wouldn’t want to cook this!? And do you think it’s acceptable for an amateur to toy with such meat!? Look at this lean meat! And it’s fresh!”

Passionate and persuasive words pour out towards Hydra, who maintains an extremely cold expression. But—

“And then? What’s your point?”

Hydra remains ice-cold. It seems like none of that passion is getting through to him.

“The foundation of communal living, and ultimately the most difficult aspect, is adhering to the rules. If someone deviates from this, everything starts to fall apart. Slowly, but surely.

Don’t disrupt my training routine with your selfish whims and self-indulgence. I came here to become stronger. I didn’t come here to indulge your whims.”

…Anyway, the contrast in attitudes is stark.

Since all the candidates pitched in, the processing of the deer meat is already complete.

There’s quite a substantial amount, so it’s prudent to store it in the underground pantry and allow it to settle for a while.

However, I’m uncertain if we’ll manage to consume it all, so it might be wise to evaluate the situation and consider either donating it to the orphanage or selling it in Krozheit.

Well, that’s assuming we receive approval from the instructor.

Transporting goods from here to Krozheit isn’t exactly encouraged, so it’s unclear how that will unfold.

Regardless, it’s still too early for dinner.

The sun is setting, but it seems we have a little more time.

However, there are plenty of others, myself included, who are curious about what will happen to the deer meat from now on.

Many of the candidates are silently observing the exchange between the two.

In particular, Caro-something, Marion, Geodine, and Florentine, who were assigned cooking duties in the previous training, might struggle to make future plans if the situation isn’t resolved promptly.

…I don’t feel like intervening between them right now, so I’ll just watch. I won’t get involved under any circumstances. I’d rather run away than do that.

“Um, excuse me.”

Hm? Oh, it’s Caro-something. …What was this person’s real name again? Carlon? But we’re not really close, so using a nickname feels awkward.

I’ll ask Hydra later, when he’s not so intimidating.

“What’s up?”

More importantly, the reason she approached me was about the deer’s antlers.

“What are you going to do with the deer’s antlers? If you don’t need them, I, um, I kinda want them.”

Ah, the antlers.

They’re absurdly large. It’s as if a pair of them would fill your entire arms.

Originally meant for intimidating males and attracting females, but now they’re just antlers.

Antlers and bones can serve as components for weapons or adornments, depending on the item.

This time, since Belge expressed interest in the bones, I agreed to give them to him. However, no one has mentioned anything about the antlers.

At this size, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them displayed in the mansions of wealthy individuals like Adyll or Beckenberg.

Anyway, besides selling them, I can’t think of any other practical use for them.

If I had to consider another purpose, perhaps giving them to Tatsunami would bring him joy. He’d probably process them into some kind of component.

“It’s alright if I give them to you, but what do you plan to use them for?”

I can’t quite picture Caro-something being interested in something like that.

“You see, deer antlers can be used in a special concoction to create medicine.”

Huh.

…Deer antlers, for medicine?

“First time I’ve heard of it. Really?”

“Y-Yeah. …It’s classified under alchemy, so it’s a bit distinct from regular concoctions.”

Alchemy… That name sounds familiar.

I think it’s about ancient magical tools that are impossible to replicate or restore—ancient magical tools or alchemy created by ancient sorcerers and alchemists, or something along those lines.

“The thing rumored to turn iron into gold?”

“Exactly, although it’s not exactly iron, but there were supposedly great people in the past who could do things like that.”

Wow. That’s impressive… Alchemy.

“I’m genuinely intrigued. Could you share more about it with me sometime?”

“Uh, well, yeah, sure, but…”

“Thank you. You can do as you please with the antlers.”

Alchemy, huh.

It’s a realm entirely unfamiliar to me.

I’m not sure of its capabilities, but if it means avoiding wasting prey more than I already do, I’m all for it. I’d definitely be interested in learning about it.

Especially when it comes to something like deer antlers, which have limited utility.

If there’s a way to turn them into medicine, it would also be a form of gratitude and respect for the lives sacrificed. There are people who survive thanks to those lives. I wouldn’t want to waste even a single bit of it.

…

Anyway, Hydra and Belge are really going at it.

…Or rather, Hydra’s cold expression is so intimidating that if I were in Belge’s shoes, I’d probably just shut up by now. Even if I weren’t at fault, I might find myself offering an apology.

In that regard, Belge demonstrates strength. Not only physically, although he certainly possesses it, but also mentally. I wouldn’t have the resilience to endure that. However, such mental fortitude is not my strong suit.

“–You two are beyond irritating! How much longer do you plan to keep this up!”

Oh, Chace is losing his temper.

It seems he’s been watching because he was curious about the meat as well, but I guess he’s getting tired of just observing.

“–Lisse! Say something!”

“Huh, me!? Um, about what!?”

Whoa, that was quite unexpected.

He really should stop catching Lisse off guard with such unexpected requests. She looks genuinely surprised.

“…Huh? What? Huh?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

I’ll just take a step back and position myself behind Caro-something, who’s still nearby.

Both Hydra’s intimidating glare and Belge’s fiery gaze are now focused on Lisse.

Lisse, who got dragged into this unexpectedly,  might lose it and drag me into this mess.

I definitely don’t want to get involved in that. Absolutely not.

“Oh, uh… I’ll deal with Chace later.”

Yeah, that seems reasonable.

“Um, I see both of your points, but what about finding a middle ground? We don’t have to pick one over the other.”

Yeah, that sounds like a reasonable compromise.

“Everyone wants to enjoy tasty food, don’t they? Even Hydra, right? No one wants to eat something unappetizing. So, what if the cooking duty team prepares the soup or something, and Belge handles the main dish with the deer meat? Or perhaps Belge could oversee the cooking duty while they prepare it. Something like that could work too.”

Wow… That was a neat wrap-up for someone who got dragged into this out of the blue. As expected of Lisse.

Hydra and Belge seem to be considering it, so it seems we might agree on this approach.  Phew, that’s a relief. Mainly because I didn’t get dragged into it.

Oh, Chace just got slapped. Yeah, there’s no dodging that kind of slap. But I don’t think he didn’t deserve it, even if he did get slapped.

After that, each of us goes about our individual training or plans, and the first day of training comes to an end.

And then, the second day arrives. We are faced with a choice.

“Now, based on your own judgment, we will divide the classroom. Choose whether to pursue the path of an assassin or the other path. Choose the course you desire.”

This decision will undoubtedly have a significant impact on our future.