Chapter 270: The Strength of Will!
With everyone's efforts, especially with several people among them who were good at cleaning, the large training camp was quickly cleaned.
What remained was the search for the giant.
However, first they had ridden to Okutama, then they had cleaned the training camp. By now, it was almost noon.
And so, everyone ultimately decided to split into two groups.
Student council treasurer Toutokubara Kanata and secretary Saijou Ikazuchi went to the training center's management office to learn about the situation regarding this mission and see whether they could gain anything.
As for the others, they began preparing lunch.
Luke and the others carried out the cooking utensils they needed from the training camp one by one and placed them on the open ground together with the ingredients Touka had prepared in advance.
Although there was a kitchen inside the training center that could be used, since they had rarely come all the way into the deep mountains, they decided to have a curry picnic.
This seemed to be one of the traditions here in this country.
"Mm～ The air is so nice."
Stella placed the kitchen tools such as the kitchen knife and cutting board one by one on the brick stove, then stretched and took a deep breath.
"There are very few asphalt roads here, and the temperature is relatively cooler too."
"Japanese cities are full of concrete buildings everywhere. The air is damp and sticky, and it's hot enough to kill some people."
Stella's homeland, the Vermillion Kingdom, was a country located in northern Europe.
The temperature there was much lower than in the subtropical Far East, and the air was also much drier.
Born in a country like that, the summer of an Asian country like Japan was extremely uncomfortable for the princess, who was experiencing it for the first time.
In fact, recently, Stella often tossed and turned in bed at night, unable to sleep because of the heat.
Speaking of it, this matter was rather amusing. She was clearly a fire mage, yet she would feel uncomfortable because of the high temperatures of summer.
This made Luke feel more and more that this world's magic power was somewhat strange.
The more he used and experienced it, the more he felt that compared to "magic power," this power was more like so-called "internal energy" or "spirit power."
But if it really was "internal energy" or "spirit power," then the fact that one's physical condition could be affected by the external environment did not quite make sense.
In that regard, it was more like "magic power" instead.
Because of Luke and Stella's existence, the amount of lunch was shockingly large.
Clearly, Touka and the others had investigated their group beforehand. The ingredients they had prepared could be said to be extremely sufficient.
Making curry was not difficult. Aside from Touka, who was responsible for cooking the curry, the others were basically just cutting ingredients and preparing rice.
This kind of work was not difficult at all for Luke, Stella, and Ikki. Very quickly, the three of them finished processing this batch of ingredients and prepared to send them over to Touka.
But on the way, the three of them stopped in their tracks at the same time.
"Mm～ hm～ hmm hmm～"
It seemed that in their field of vision, Touka's figure, wearing an apron and humming a song, was especially attractive.
She was like a painting, blending into the surrounding environment and possessing a unique beauty.
"Oh my, oh my～ Are the three of you all staring at Touka in a daze?"
Misogi Utakata, who had leaned close to the three of them, first teased them. Then he looked at Stella with a surprised gaze and said,
"But I really didn't expect this. I can still understand Luke and Kurogane staring at her in fascination, but to think the princess is into this too～"
"Eh?!"
Misogi Utakata's sudden appearance startled both Ikki and Stella.
One had to say, this ability to appear and disappear unpredictably by relying on a causality-type ability was truly frightening. Even Luke had not been able to sense his appearance immediately.
As the main target of the teasing, Stella hurriedly denied it in a panic.
"N-n-n-no, that's not it! My orientation is perfectly normal! I'm not into that at all!"
"I-I just felt that Todo-senpai's presence suddenly seemed a little hard to ignore."
Although Ikki felt somewhat subtle about the fact that Stella had almost instantly understood the meaning of "into this," he also nodded in agreement and said,
"Indeed. Just now, Todo-senpai's figure also drew my gaze away in an instant."
"How should I put it… it was as if there was something there that I absolutely had to pay attention to, as if I absolutely could not look away."
"Hehe～ As expected of the 'Another One.' You really are extraordinary. To think you noticed it at a glance."
Misogi Utakata looked at Ikki and Stella with great interest.
But afterward, he looked at Luke, who still had not said a word, with slight doubt.
He did not know whether it was his imagination, but vaguely, he seemed to have sensed an aura similar to Touka's from Luke.
"Maybe it's just my imagination?"
Misogi Utakata forcefully shook his head and temporarily threw this matter to the back of his mind.
"What you felt is precisely the source of Touka's strength."
"Touka and I both grew up in an orphanage under the Toutokubara Group called 'Wakaba House.'"
"Touka is very gentle. Clearly, everyone met in that orphanage because they all had painful memories, but she still did her best to take care of each and every person."
"Touka once said, 'I want to let the other children smile happily and give them beautiful memories. I hope these memories can become their support in the future.'"
As if showing off, Misogi Utakata, as Todo Touka's friend, seemed to want everyone to know her greatness.
"What Touka has done is exactly the same as what she once said. Even though she has already left the orphanage now, she still continuously brings smiles and courage to the children of Wakaba House."
"She then became a nationally famous student knight and proved to all the children that even if we lost our parents, we could still become great people."
Hearing this, both Ikki and Stella understood what Misogi Utakata meant.
Not for herself, but for others.
The path walked by the swordsman named Todo Touka was precisely the path of protection praised by the world.
It was precisely because she walked upright and openly on a righteous path that she could display incomparable strength.
Touka's will was the source of her strength.
"You really are very strong. The three of you have all exceeded my imagination."
"But Touka is different. You can't beat Touka."
"She knows very well that if she loses, many people will feel sad, so she absolutely cannot lose. The heavy burden Touka carries is something the current you completely cannot compare to."
After listening to Misogi Utakata's words, Ikki and Stella entered two completely different states.
Stella was moved, because a Touka like this could be said to be a senior on her path.
The direction of their efforts was extremely similar. One was for the children of the orphanage, and the other was for the people of her country.
But there was one decisive difference between them.
Touka had already managed to protect the entire orphanage. She was already advancing rapidly along her own path.
But Stella still had not been able to start moving forward. She still could not protect an entire country behind her. The one doing that now was her royal father.
On the other side, Ikki fell into silence.
"…I truly have never carried the expectations of others."
This was the only thought in Ikki's mind.
It had always been like this. He firmly believed in himself, never relied on others, and had no thoughts of fighting for others.
Ikki had simply walked step by step to where he was today in order to become the ideal version of himself.
Stella and Ikki—one believed that the burden she carried could not compare to Touka's, while the other believed that he had never carried a burden at all.
The atmosphere gradually grew heavy. The weighty truth transformed into some kind of invisible black mist that gradually spread, tightly coiling around the hearts of the two of them.
However, at this moment, a voice suddenly broke the solemn atmosphere.
"Misogi-senpai, you really are quite mean."
Luke looked at Stella and Ikki, whose emotions were gradually sinking, and sighed somewhat helplessly.
There was no helping it. Even if their strength was powerful, in the end, they were still boys and girls around fifteen years old.
This age was precisely the period when one's mind and spirit were most easily shaken.
Looking at the firm back of an excellent senior and hearing that person's moving deeds, it was very easy to feel ashamed of oneself.
"Although it's a bit tactless, if this continues, it won't be good for the two of them."
"So I'm sorry, Misogi-senpai. I think what you said was wrong!"
(PS: Vote for more chapters this week. If this fanfic reaches 100 powerstones, I will upload 5 more chapters next. So, hurry up!)
---
Read more than 20 chapters in advance, with pictures, to enhance your reading immersion:
patréon.com/tom22
Replace "é" with "e" on your web browser.
---
For Audiobook:
youtube.com/@animefic22