The entrance to the Secret Realm opened.
I left the hesitating students behind and strode forward.
There were no traps set up by the entrance.
“It’s okay to come in.”
Only when I waved my hand from inside the Secret Realm did the students start to move.
Soon, all the students entered the Secret Realm.
Fron looked around and exclaimed in admiration.
“It’s bigger than I thought.”
“Of course. This Secret Realm is a place where all the students of a class take the test.”
“O-oh, I see.”
Fron nodded as if she understood my explanation.
However, she looked as if she didn't understand which class was taking the test.
I guess I don't have to explain it to her.
Anyway, Fron wouldn't understand what I said with that head of hers.
Thud, thud.
Like that, the students began to walk through the Secret Realm with me in the lead.
That was when.
“I have a question.”
Samuel asked a question.
It would take a while to get to the place I wanted to go, so I decided to answer his question.
“Go ahead.”
“If this Secret Realm is a place for testing, as you said, then it must be full of monsters and traps, right?”
Hoo.
I was impressed inwardly.
Samuel seemed to have doubted my decision.
I could guess what he was trying to ask.
“Are you asking why I didn’t wait outside and came into the Secret Realm?”
“Yeah, it would be better to set up a formation outside if you’re going to deal with humans.”
“O-oh, I see.”
Fron nodded again as if she understood.
……She looks a little pitiful like this.
I looked at her with a regretful gaze and said.
“Miss Fron, it would be better for you to just listen to our conversation quietly. For both of us.”
“…….”
“I-it’s okay, Fron. Cheer up.”
Luna comforted the depressed Fron.
But Fron just pouted her lips even more.
I left the two of them behind and answered Samuel’s question.
“You’re not wrong. As Mr. Samuel said, if we were to launch a surprise attack, the best time would be ‘right after the test’ when the humans are exhausted and relaxed.”
The problem that Samuel raised is this:
- The Secret Realm for the test is a place where the students of the Imperial Academy will face demons and traps.
- Wouldn’t it be better to attack when the humans are exhausted?
However.
He was puzzled because we had entered the Secret Realm even though the Imperial Academy students hadn’t arrived yet.
Because we had entered the Secret Realm first, we would have to deal with the monsters and traps that the human students were supposed to face.
Of course, there was a reason.
“There is a reason why I insisted on entering the Secret Realm.”
There are as many as three of them.
First,
“I know all the ways to avoid the traps without touching them. Then the humans will be hit by all the traps as planned and suffer damage.”
I also had no intention of digging up the traps, which are one of the weapons that can incapacitate humans.
Rather, what if we set up more traps?
And the second is,
“Anyway, we will go back outside before the humans come.”
We will not stay in the Secret Realm for long.
I plan to enter again when the students of the Imperial Academy enter the Secret Realm.
Samuel frowned at my explanation and asked.
“Then there was no need to enter the Secret Realm?”
Samuel’s point was not off the mark.
I knew he would ask that question.
“Hoohoo.”
“……Don’t laugh when I’m annoyed.”
Samuel immediately frowned and rebuked me.
It’s unexpectedly fun to tease him.
But I didn’t want to tease him anymore because Samuel might not be able to hold back his anger.
So I obediently explained.
“Where do you think this is?”
“Isn’t it a Secret Realm owned by the Imperial Academy?”
Samuel wondered why I was asking something he already knew.
I smiled and affirmed Samuel’s answer.
“That’s right. This is a Secret Realm.”
I looked at Samuel with a smile, who still seemed to not understand.
“What is in the Secret Realm?”
“Hmm……”
Samuel was lost in thought and touched his chin with his hand.
His pupils soon began to tremble.
He must have figured out what I was going to say.
“This Secret Realm was created so that humans could figure out how to successfully raid the Secret Realms that remain in the Demon Realm.”
“……I see.”
Secret Realm.
This is a type of vault created by the prestigious clans of the Demon Realm to store something.
‘That thing’ commonly exists in Secret Realms that occur naturally as well.
“Do you need further explanation?”
“No, I understand. That’s what you were after.”
Samuel quickly grasped the true intention of my presence here.
The thing in the Secret Realm.
Of course, it would be ‘treasure,’ wouldn’t it?
“Well, since it’s a Secret Realm made for first-year students, the quality of the treasure is bound to be low, but it wouldn’t hurt to obtain it.”
“I agree with that.”
Samuel agreed with my words.
However, there was a lie in what I said to Samuel.
That is,
‘The treasure in this Secret Realm is absolutely not low quality.’
It was an artifact, no less.
In the case of a low-level Secret Realm, there is often no reward at all, or if there is, it’s usually just gold coins.
So, wouldn’t it be a profitable deal if you could obtain an artifact with just a little effort?
That doesn’t mean I’m going to touch the traps or structure of the Secret Realm.
I just plan to use a ‘shortcut’ to extract only the reward.
In the process, the students of Satan will be able to familiarize themselves with the interior of this Secret Realm.
It’s truly killing two birds with one stone.
Also, the artifact we need the most, who have to camp in the forest for several days, exists here.
I was picturing the artifact I would soon obtain in my head when,
Creak-.
I stopped walking and stood still.
The students also stopped and stared ahead.
“A fork in the road.”
Samuel muttered.
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