Chapter 418: Training Camp

―――― The 69th day of training.

The next day, courageous people gathered in the underground training ground of Nell’s mansion. I want to pay my respect to them for coming here despite the pressure Nell is emitting. Also, I want someone to praise me for coming to this place, even if it’s for the sake of my disciple.

「Well, the scheduled departure date is the day after tomorrow. There are only a few days left, so in order to make the most of the little time we have, I’m going to ask everyone who will be participating in the Maria subjugation to attend this training camp. Do you have any objections?」

「Oi, Deris, it’s too abrupt! I didn’t hear anything about it beforehand!」

「There you go again. You somehow guessed it when I told you to bring your beloved sword, Ii and the others, right? Giorgia, you even contacted the headquarters yesterday, right?」

「Since the situation is like this, of course I did! Good grief, I thought you became well-behaved as you grew older, but you’re really a selfish bastard…!」

「What are you talking about? I’ve always been well-behaved, right? I was an exemplary honor student when compared to Nell and Alezel.」

「Look who’s talking.」

Now that I’ve persuaded Giorgia, let me introduce the people gathered here again. From our group: me, Nell, Lilyvia, Haru, Chinatsu, Touko, and Gobuo. From Adelheit: Knight Therese and Mage Prime Minister Weerel. From the Adventurer Guild: Giorgia, Ii, Aru, San, and Suu. From the outside: the Great Eight Demons Hund-kun. Alezel, Zex, and Zeta aren’t here, but they will participate in the battle. I knew it from the beginning, but the Warrior King of Galdevalan won’t participate. Still, the fifth to the eighth rank of the Great Eight Demons are working together. This lineup is a historical accomplishment.

「I welcome it since Leader Nell instructed it desuwa! Since it’s called a training camp, it must be a meeting aiming for the next step, right!? Wee has already made arrangements to attend, so all left to do is to work hard desuwa! We can’t grasp victory without effort after all! Oohohohoho!」

「Ugh, I thought I was finally released from Zex-dono’s curse, but I somehow have a déjà vu….」

I don’t know if Hund-kun has a headache, but he puts his hand on his head. Well, I thought that people who always laugh loudly on a daily basis are quite rare, but you can find one if you search properly.

「Um…. What are we going to do… in this training camp…?」

「Weerel, that’s a good question. It’s a good thing that everyone has gathered here, but each of you has a different level, fighting style, and position. So, from now on, you will train according to your abilities.」

「Good grief, it won’t change no matter how I complain, huh. I hope you can take a little more care of this old man.」

「Gramps Gior, please don’t say that. Let’s do our best! Training camp is not only for training, but it’s also for strengthening the bond with your teammates! You’re younger than my grandpa, so I’m sure you can accomplish this!」

「H-Hmm. Well, if Haruna-chan insists, I might as well do my best, I guess?」

「Yay~!」

Alright, just as planned. If Haru, who has been enthusiastic since hearing the words training camp, says something like that, Giorgia will give in easily. Now he won’t be unwilling, but rather be happy to participate in the training camp. The same goes for Ii and the others who are on good terms with Haru.

「So, Danna, how are we going to divide it?」

「Is it by level?」

「As expected of Chinatsu, you sure understand well. First, the three level 7 people, Therese, Weerel, and Giorgia. I will have you open the iron door over there.」

「The iron door? Oh, it’s the one in the back desuwa!」

「……? I don’t really understand….」n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

「Deris, don’t say that our objective is to destroy that iron door. Even though I’m old, I can destroy it with a slash, you know? That’s a piece of cake.」

「No way. That won’t be training, right? The real thing is after that. Hahaha.」

Gramps Gior is awfully motivated, perhaps he wants to show off in front of Haru.

「「「Ah….」」」

On the other hand, Haru and the others quietly let out their voice at the same time, as if they guessed something from their past experience. Well, the number of people is the same as that time, three people, and the level range is similar, so I’m sure that this will be the perfect training for Therese and the others.

「U-Um, Deris-san. I don’t really want to ask this, but what kind of hell is waiting for us level 8…?」

Chinatsu raised her hand and asked another good question while trembling. However, it seems that it’s already decided that it will be hell for her. It can’t be helped then. I will answer it with a smile so as not to scare her.

「Deris, your smile is creepy. It makes you look like a scammer.」

「M-My wife sure says something pretty terrible, huh…. Oi, you disciples over there, stop nodding your head!」

I immediately stopped my smile. They are terrible, aren’t they?

「Well, you don’t have to be so scared. Haru, Chinatsu, Touko, and Hund-kun will be in the level 8 group, but what you have to do is not so different from what you did yesterday.」

「Hm? Yesterday?」

「Ah, today is the first time for Hund-kun, right? It’s sparring! We’re going to spar with very heavy shackles on both hands and feet!」

「Hou, if Haruna says that much, then it must be extremely heavy. It’s going to be a physical workout.」

「Hey, that’s a little different. The sparring part is right, but there were no shackles, you know? Instead, the pressure coming from outside was terrible! We were sparring under that much stress.」

「H-Hou, if Touko says that much, then it must be extremely nerve-wracking. It’s going to be a mental workout.」

「「…… Huh?」」

Haru and Touko tried to explain to Hund-kun, but they weren’t on the same page for some reason. They looked at each other while tilting their heads, and then they turned their eyes to me. Well, I can explain it, but Chinatsu, who’s sweating a lot next to them, seems to have already guessed what they are going to do.

「Chinatsu, what’s your opinion?」

「D-Don’t tell me, a-are we going to do both of them…?」

「Hmm….」

I purposely didn’t say anything and moved my gaze toward Lily. Then, when I beckoned to her, she approached me while skipping.

「「「……?」」」

「Then, Goshujin-sama, I will be in your care!」

「Y-Yeah, I’m ready. Come…!」

「Touko-chan, do your best so as not to be crushed in various ways. Then, good night~」

Lily jumps into my chest with her back down. Then, our position naturally becomes that of a princess carry――

――――Dun dun dun!!!

「!?」

「Whoa!? This is bad! Lily-shishō, that’s a suicidal act! Stop!」

「Ugh…!?」

The underground training ground was dominated by a great bloodlust in an instant. Haru instantly changed into the hunter mode, the strong-willed Touko turned pale, and Chinatsu was holding her mouth as if she was about to vomit.

Yes, this is the super-difficult version of sparring they will do today! They will do it while having super-gravity shackles on their limbs and while receiving Nell’s serious bloodlust up close! Lily will serve as a trigger to draw out Nell’s anger while having the best sleep in my arms, so it’s killing two birds with one stone! Well, to be honest, Lily is receiving the bloodlust directly, so I’m amazed at how she can sleep soundly in such a situation. It’s really scary…!