The Goddess Granted Me the [Hatching] Skill and Somehow I Became the Strongest Tamer, Commanding Mythical and Divine Beasts - 31

Currently, I am at a certain place in the royal capital. It’s closer to the center where the royal castle is located than Celia’s school and is situated on a vast piece of land—the largest academy in the royal capital, the “Stessia Kingdom Royal Academy.”

This academy trains future leaders of the nation, nurturing knights, mages, alchemists, blacksmiths, and other key figures for the country. Specialized instructors provide dedicated guidance in these fields.

The academy has an enrollment of 1,000 students, but with an admission rate of 50 times the number of applicants, it is extremely competitive. Nobles and merchants’ children often have private tutors from a young age to prepare them for admission.

Near the entrance of such a place, 15 carriages, 15 teachers, 30 adventurers as guards, and 30 students were currently gathered.

We adventurers stood behind the carriages, listening as the teachers explained things to the students.

According to the information I got from Celia beforehand, the Stessia Royal Academy conducts an annual outdoor class for top-performing students. Celia had provided me with as much information as possible about the meeting place and schedule mentioned in the letter, as well as rumors circulating among the students.

Thanks to that, I was mentally prepared in advance and could wait without getting flustered.

I looked around at the other guards. Half of them were examinees like me aiming to obtain the National Adventurer qualification, while the other half were active National Adventurers.

From now on, we would be divided into groups to protect these 30 students. Since these students were elites selected from among the 1,000 in the academy, they were capable of handling some combat. Our main role would be to ensure they didn’t get into any real danger.

“Now, we will begin the outdoor class. Please board the carriages as instructed.”

The teacher’s explanation ended, and the students began boarding the carriages. Their expressions showed no sign of anxiety about going outdoors; they boarded with relaxed smiles.

“Tch, those students have it easy. They get to learn safely with their parents’ money,” muttered the adventurer standing next to me. His name was Blaze, probably in his late thirties, and he supposedly fought with a sword.

“Well, it’s better to learn safely when you can. Our job is to ensure their safety, so let’s do our best.”

“You’re not much older than those kids. I bet you’re taking this exam through some connection, right?”

It’s true that I’m participating in the exam thanks to Marguerite’s arrangements, even though I didn’t have to gather sponsors. In that sense, I couldn’t argue with his point.

“Man, after finally getting the chance to take the exam at this age, I’m stuck babysitting and cleaning up after kids. I’ve got no luck,” Blaze said as he moved next to a carriage. Each carriage was assigned two people, and I was paired with Blaze.

I felt movement in my chest as Purple squirmed. According to the pre-communication, tamers were allowed to bring only one monster to the exam, so I chose Purple over Feni to avoid drawing too much attention.

(This might indeed be a different kind of challenge from combat.)

Celia had given me various tips beforehand, and those warnings were starting to seem more realistic. I sighed and prayed to the goddess Muse for the safe completion of this escort mission.

“Ugh, why do we have to sleep in such a cramped carriage?”

Melissa grimaced at the discomfort, lying down on a makeshift bed fashioned from the carriage seats.

The academy group had left the southern gate of the royal capital and followed the highway, arriving at the campsite by evening as scheduled. The students of the academy would spend the night in the carriages, while the adventurers were preparing to camp outside.

The guards were responsible for preparing the meals as well, so the students had nothing much to do and were chatting about the day’s journey.

“Adventurers, huh? They’re not that impressive,” Melissa remarked, reflecting on the day.

During the journey, they had encountered goblins and kobolds several times. Blaze and a few other adventurers had engaged the monsters with swords and spears.

“If it were us, we could have taken them out with magic before they even got close. It was a waste of time.”

Since it was an educational experience, the students were required to observe the battles, and the carriages had to stop, causing a delay in travel time.

“Melissa, you’re being too harsh. Those people have honed their skills independently. Unlike us, they didn’t have specialized teachers guiding them, so it’s not fair to criticize them,” a female student, who had been listening, closed her book and reproached Melissa.

“Well, yeah, but Lorraine, aren’t you dissatisfied with the situation?”

Melissa asked Lorraine with a sullen expression, questioning if she was content.

“…Well, I do feel a bit stressed,” Lorraine admitted. Though not as much as Melissa, Lorraine was also fed up with the boredom of being cooped up in the cramped carriage all day.

“In that case, how about this?”

Another female student in the carriage, Lucia, suddenly sat up from the makeshift bed with an enthusiastic voice.

“Do you have a good idea, Lucia?”

Lorraine tilted her head, curious about Lucia’s suggestion.

“Yeah, let’s get the other groups involved too—”

The next day, Klaus and the other examinees would face the real test of the exam.