Chapter 195
I was reminded of the first time I stepped inside a dungeon.
What made me truly realize that this place was a dungeon was, above all else, the smell.
The scent of damp earth and the metallic tang of blood.
Even the air itself felt heavy and stagnant.
But after staying inside the dungeon for three days, it seemed I had gradually grown accustomed to that unpleasant odor.
Maybe that was why, when I suddenly opened the door that had appeared on the dungeon wall, the difference felt even more distinct.
The air flowing in from beyond the door was completely different.
The moment I inhaled it, it felt as though my mind had cleared—fresh, invigorating air.
And instead of dark, soot-stained stone walls, my vision was filled with bright sunlight and a vivid green so clear it almost hurt my eyes.
Hesty, McGrim, and the blond young noble.
The three of them stepped through the doorway and looked around in silence, momentarily at a loss for words.
“Where are we?”
“Is this… a forest?”
Lush vegetation grew thickly all around.
But it wasn’t untouched wilderness.
In the middle of the forest was a field, and beside it stood a modest hut.
There was no need to look further to know that this was a place someone had cultivated.
But why create a space like this inside a dungeon?
As Hesty shifted her gaze with that question in mind, something caught her eye.
In front of the hut stood a ‘person.’
“……Ah!”
Hesty reflexively swallowed.
Dark blue-black hair.
Eyes resembling the midday sun.
A tall man with pale skin.
……Someone she had seen before.
Even though he wore a headband and an apron like a cook, there was no way she could fail to recognize him.
“Who are you guys?”
Billet approached and asked.
In that moment, he looked like a savior to Hesty.
“R-Riz sunbae……!”
“Lord Billet!”
Their voices overlapped.
“……?”
Hesty and McGrim blinked as they looked at each other.
“McGrim, are you acquainted with Riz sunbae?”
“Hesty, how do you know Lord Billet?”
“……Wait, Lord Billet?”
Hesty had always been deeply interested in Yggdrasil Academy.
She even faithfully subscribed to <Yggdrasil Morning>, published by the academy’s newspaper club.
That was why she knew the name McGrim had just spoken.
Billet.
The Second Son of the Dedenk Family.
One of the four great noble houses of the Empire.
The ringleader among ill-mannered noble youths.
The worst kind of villain, said to have bullied foreigners and students of low birth—anyone weaker than himself.
Not a single photograph of him had ever been printed in the newspaper, yet his name alone was enough to inspire fear.
“Don’t tell me…… the Billet of the Dedenk Family who was reported by the Crown Princess?”
Riz sunbae was that infamous Billet?
Hesty’s face turned pale in an instant.
The one who had told her that there was no high or low within Yggdrasil—Riz, no, Billet—was the same person?
How could someone who bullied commoners say such things?
But McGrim’s eyes did not waver.
“Hesty, you shouldn’t judge someone based only on rumors.”
“A-Ah, y-yeah…….”
But wasn’t it true that he had been reported to the Crown Princess?
Still, McGrim seemed to trust Billet completely.
In truth, the Billet Hesty had met in Kirhen had not felt like a villain at all.
As McGrim said, perhaps it was all a misunderstanding.
Thinking that, Hesty closed her mouth for now.
McGrim approached Billet first.
“I didn’t expect to find you here, Lord Billet.”
“That’s what I should be saying. How did you guys get here?”
“There was a door in the dungeon…… we opened it, and it led here.”
“Really? That’s strange.”
Billet stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment. Then his gaze swept over their disheveled appearances, and he blinked.
“Anyway, are you guys stranded or something?”
“No. But…… we haven’t eaten for about three days.”
Hesty stepped forward beside McGrim and explained everything they had gone through, barely suppressing the emotions threatening to rise up.
“I see.”
Billet nodded and gestured toward the hut.
“It may not look like it, but this place is a restaurant.”
They had been wondering whether they could ask him to share some food, and now he was saying it was a restaurant!
It was more welcome news than they could have imagined.
“If you’re hungry, come inside.”
“Yes!”
The three followed Billet into the hut.
It was a small space, simply furnished with a single table.
“Sit down and choose what you want.”
They sat at the table and read the menu.
Wild Boar Cutlet, Hash Brown Toast, and…… Steamed Eggs?
“Hesty, do you know this one? Is it steaming a round egg?”
“I’m not sure either. It sounds like some kind of custard dessert…….”
“Ugh, whatever it is, let’s just order everything. I feel like I’m really going to die at this rate.”
“Yeah……. Hey, what about you?”
Hesty asked the blond boy sitting with them.
He remained silent for a long moment, then placed his palm over the menu.
“You mean you’ll eat everything too?”
The blond boy slowly nodded.
McGrim let out a dumbfounded sigh and glared at the young noble.
“Wow, you’re on the verge of starving, and you still won’t speak. Do you have to be like that? Do you hate us that much?”
Even so, the boy said nothing.
McGrim clenched her fist.
“Fine. After this exam, I hope I never see you again. Ever!”
“M-McGrim. We’re in a restaurant, so let’s not make a scene.”
“……Hmph.”
McGrim turned her gaze toward the window, as if she couldn’t even bear to look at him.
Hesty gave an awkward smile at the two of them, then raised her hand toward Billet.
“Excuse me, Riz…… no, Senior Billet!”
“In here, call me Boss.”
“Ah, yes. Boss Billet! We’ll have three of each—Wild Boar Cutlet, Hash Brown Toast, and Steamed Eggs.”
“Three of every item. Got it.”
At that moment, the boy’s gaze shifted to the notebook and pen in Billet’s hand.
He stood up and approached him, tapping Billet’s arm and pointing at the notebook and pen.
“What, you want to borrow them?”
At the question, the boy nodded silently.
“Sure. Use them if you need to.”
Billet handed him the paper and pen.
The blond young noble returned to his seat and began writing something.
What was he trying to do? Hesty’s eyes trembled as she watched.
「Now I can finally convey my thoughts.」
“……!”
Hesty swallowed.
She couldn’t take her eyes off the words the boy wrote.
「There were no writing tools in the supplied items. I didn’t have a chance to communicate through writing, so I apologize for not responding to you until now.」
“H-Hey, McGrim!”
Hesty urgently shook McGrim’s shoulder.
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
“Look at this…….”
「I cannot speak.」
“…….”
Their eyes widened at the same time.
“You… can’t speak?”
At Hesty’s question, the blond young noble slowly nodded.
“Ah…….”
The two were too shocked to speak for a while.
McGrim covered her mouth, her eyes shaking.
She had never once imagined he might have a speech disability.
And yet she had pressed him and criticized him.
She suddenly felt unbearably disgusted with herself.
“……I’m sorry. I had no idea.”
McGrim bowed her head and apologized sincerely.
Because of her prejudice—that nobles didn’t even want to speak with commoners—she had assumed he was simply arrogant.
Pressing a hand to her forehead, McGrim let out a slow breath.
……I messed up again.
After realizing the sincerity of the Crown Princess she had once misunderstood.
After meeting Billet during the winter festival.
She had sworn to herself again and again to abandon prejudice when dealing with others.
Yet she had repeated the same mistake.
“I truly apologize…….”
The boy shook his head.
Calmly, he wrote a reply.
「It was my fault for not preparing properly and causing a misunderstanding. You did nothing wrong, so please lift your heads.」
The blond boy possessed a noble character.
McGrim once again reflected inwardly on having cursed him.
While waiting for the food, they sat together and talked.
The tangled misunderstandings between them slowly unraveled.
“Hey, you don’t have any points. Are you okay with that?”
「You don’t need to worry about me. I deliberately gave you the points.」
The reason he had merely watched during the Purification Work was because he had yielded the points to McGrim and Hesty.
“Then what are you going to do……?”
Even if he yielded them, no one would acknowledge it. The exam was, after all, a strict competition.
To give all his points to others essentially meant giving up the exam.
But…….
「I have my own method.」
A method?
What kind of method?
「And I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Kaiel Kuman Barkus. Please take care of me for the remaining four days.」
“Kaiel…… Kuman?”
“Kuman…?”
The Kuman Ducal House.
One of the Empire’s four great noble families.
A house that had greatly influenced medical magic and magitech.
His refined attire, fair skin, handsome features, and dazzling blond hair.
They had assumed he must be a noble, but they had never imagined he belonged to one of the four great houses.
“Here. Enjoy.”
Right then, Billet set the dishes down on the table.
A delicious aroma spread through the air.
Swallowing hard, the three immediately began to eat.
When the fork cut through the crispy coating, a bright ‘crunch!’ sound delighted their ears first. From between the golden crust, faint steam rose.
They dipped the piece into sauce and placed it in their mouths.
After the brief crunch, the meat immediately melted tenderly on their tongues.
Savory juices overflowed, and the more they chewed, the more the natural flavor of the meat spread.
There was none of the greasiness typical of fried food. Instead, it was clean. The coating fulfilled its role and then gracefully retreated.
Then came the richness of the sauce.
Sweet and salty notes blended with the meat, stimulating the tip of the tongue.
The flavors did not overlap but arrived in sequence—strangely perfect.
Without even realizing it, Hesty lifted her fork again.
Before she had time to think, the next bite entered her mouth.
“It’s… so good…….”
That one sentence was enough. No further explanation was necessary.
It was enough to make her forget all the hardships they had endured in the dungeon.
From deep within her heart, a wave of emotion surged.
This was bad. She felt like she might be swept away.
“Hic…… sob…….”
In the end, Hesty burst into tears.
The relief of being alive, the sorrow of struggling in a foreign place, and food so delicious it seemed to erase the exhaustion accumulated in her body.
All those emotions combined and returned as sobs.
“Don’t cry, Hesty.”
McGrim patted her back.
“But, hic, I can’t stop the tears…….”
“Hesty, if you keep crying……!”
McGrim had already clenched her fist.
Soon, tears welled in McGrim’s own eyes as well, and she too broke down like a child.
“Now I feel like crying too……!”
Last year, McGrim had been helped by the Black Knight inside the red barrier.
Ever since then—whether she was singing, writing lyrics and composing at dawn, or exercising in the morning to maintain her weight—
she always thought of the Black Knight.
And she wanted to become someone who could help and support others, just like him.
That was why she had applied to Yggdrasil Academy.
Candidate No. 834, whom she met here—Hesty—reminded her of her own anxious past self.
So in front of Hesty, she deliberately acted strong.
Just as the Black Knight had helped her without expecting anything in return, McGrim tried to become someone others could rely on.
But she was still lacking for such a role.
She was tired. She was afraid. She was sad.
Yet she hid those feelings desperately, fearing Hesty would grow even more anxious.
But in the end, she couldn’t hide them and cried just like Hesty.
So…….
She had to pass the academy.
She had to grow at that finest educational institution and become like the Black Knight.
Not acting anymore—but truly becoming someone others could rely on.
No, she would definitely become that person.
“Huaaang…….”
“Uwaaah…….”
Hesty and McGrim embraced each other and cried.
“You were eating just fine. Why are you crying so miserably?”
When Billet asked, the two wiped their tears and turned toward him.
“The food you gave us is…….”
“It’s so delicious……!”
“So you like my cooking that much?”
Billet let out an amused chuckle at their reaction, then poured a purple liquid into three cups and set them on the table.
“I blended blueberries grown in my field. This drink is on the house.”
“Thaaank you……!”
“Th-thank you……!”
Even as they marveled at the blueberry juice, their tears refused to stop.