A Wild Man Has Entered the Academy

Chapter 175

The demon whose name I didn’t even know summoned monsters as a final act of desperation, but it was meaningless.

The ones that swarmed into the cave were annihilated after a few Death Beams, and there weren’t many left waiting outside either.

The ones outside were dealt with directly using an axe, not a greatsword. I wasn’t sure what might happen if I swung the greatsword recklessly.

Thus, I was able to cleanly take care of both the demon and the monsters. Since so many monsters were subjugated, the food chain would likely be noisy with competition for a while.

“Phew.”

“Ugh... Do we really have to clean this up?”

It was around the time I was stacking the scattered monster corpses neatly in one place.

The priestess who had escaped the cave with me asked in a voice filled with disbelief.

Her face had turned pale, likely due to the monster corpses, which were far from intact.

A head split open with brains spilling out was the least of it. There were corpses split vertically or hacked by the axe, among others.

No matter how monstrous, such grotesque scenes were hard to ignore. And yet, I was piling these up into a mountain.

“It’s better to do it.”

“Why?”

“To avoid disease.”

Normally, I’d leave them be, but there were just too many. If I wasn’t careful, a plague could break out.

Something similar had happened in the Forest of Chaos. Monsters had waged war among themselves, leaving behind a significant number of corpses.

I didn’t know any better back then and just let it go, but a few days later, an anomalous phenomenon occurred.

When you went near the pile of corpses, it felt like being poisoned.

It turned out the corpses were releasing toxic fumes as they decayed.

Thankfully, after leaving it alone for a few weeks, it resolved itself.

‘Not here, though.’

This forest is one that the people of Unity Village visit frequently. If even one person fell ill, I’d feel guilty.

After stacking the corpses neatly, I looked around. It’d be nice to have some oil.

If there wasn’t any, I planned to light a fire regardless. It would burn just as well, even if it took time.

Of course, if the fire spread to the forest, that would be a whole other disaster, so I planned to keep watch.

“Um...”

“Hm?”

It was when I brought over the torches that had been placed in the cave.

The priestess, who had been silent while I worked, quietly called out to me.

She seemed hesitant, as if she had something to say. I threw the torch onto the mountain of corpses.

Whoosh!

Even without oil, the fire caught easily. It seemed the fat in the bodies helped.

Meanwhile, the priestess glanced at me nervously before bowing her head deeply.

“Though it’s late...! Thank you! Truly, thank you!”

The priestess bowed nearly 90 degrees. It seemed she had been waiting for the right moment to express her gratitude.

I scratched my head as I watched her thanks. To be honest, saving her had been purely coincidental.

Besides, I didn’t particularly want to get involved with this priestess. How did it come to this?

“Excuse me, but may I ask your name?”

“Sivar.”

“Sivar? Surely not the Wildling from the rumors?”

There didn’t seem to be a need to deny it, so I nodded. It wasn’t a rumor I particularly cared about.

The priestess seemed to have a rough idea of who I was, letting out a low groan. At least her reaction wasn’t negative.

Afterward, she composed herself, placing a hand on her chest, and began introducing herself.

“Ahem. Ahem. Anyway, it’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Erica Graham. I am a faithful servant of Goddess Gaia. Like you, Mr. Sivar, I am completing my first year at the Academy.”

“...”

I stared at Erica, who had just introduced herself.

Rare pink hair and eyes that were equally uncommon. Truly a unique color.

Her drooping eyes added to her appearance, reminding me of an innocent puppy.

She was the epitome of a puppy-like beauty. Her pure and innocent impression was her charm.

On the other hand, her figure was... well, average. Comparable to Luna’s or slightly better.

Because of Rize, whose Divine Power Pouch was overwhelming, I had assumed all clerics would be well-developed.

Of course, in terms of Divine Power alone, she would eventually become as strong as Rize.

‘She’s a character that really drives you mad.’

But what does it matter? Erica is a nuisance of a character. She gets things done, but not without driving you crazy first.

She often causes trouble at critical moments and has a strong tendency to be old-fashioned.

“Mr. Sivar, why did you come to this forest?”

“Hunting.”

“Hunting... you say? Surely you weren’t planning to harm lives out of personal greed?”

Like now.

As soon as I mentioned coming to the forest for hunting, she started her lecture.

Just moments ago, Erica had been kidnapped by monsters and nearly killed by a demon.

I looked at her serious expression as she stared at me. Hearing it directly left me speechless.

“They’re monsters.”

“Even monsters are lives. Unless it’s an unavoidable situation, harming lives out of personal greed is wrong.”

Oh, sure. By that logic, cancer cells are lives too.

I easily ignored Erica’s sermon. This is why I dislike her.

She’s fundamentally overflowing with old-fashioned tendencies and, as a believer of Gaia, cherishes life.

To an extreme degree. She even advocates for sparing monsters that harm people, considering them living beings.

As proof of this, she’s a strict vegetarian. Eating meat, she claims, is no different from taking a life.

To top it off, I’ve heard she even prefers to gather vegetables directly from the forest whenever possible.

It’s already scary when an ignorant person holds convictions, but with her extremity, it’s pure madness.

“Enough about me. What about you?”

“W-What? It feels like my mana is being drained!”

“Yeah. It absorbs mana.”

“It absorbs mana? Then what about you?”

“...Good question.”

Now that I think about it, it’s strange. Why doesn’t it absorb my mana?

While I tilted my head in confusion, Erica, who had been reciting her prayer, finally looked up.

It seemed her prayer had ended. The fire consuming the mountain of corpses was now burning steadily.

It felt like it was about time to return to the village. Erica spoke first.

“Hello. May I ask your name?”

“Ah, yes. I’m Luna Estelle. And you are?”

“My name is Erica Graham. I am a Servant of Gaia.”

After a brief exchange of introductions, we shared our respective circumstances.

Why Erica was here, why Luna had come, and so on.

Finally, we even touched upon the topic of the demon, bringing the conversation to a close.

“To think there was a demon near the Academy...”

“I couldn’t have imagined it either. If it weren’t for Mr. Sivar, I would’ve disappeared from this world.”

“What was the demon like? I heard demons are categorized by their colors.”

“Blue.”

If it had been left alone, it would’ve grown to a Mid-Boss Tier in the future.

Thankfully, I dealt with it quickly. If it had dragged on into a prolonged fight, it could’ve been risky.

“Demons don’t possess life, do they? At least that part can be overlooked.”

“What do you mean?”

“Mr. Sivar harming life, of course.”

Here we go again.

I frowned deeply and subtly distanced myself. Naturally, I ended up closer to Luna.

Luna gave me a puzzled look as I moved closer. Meanwhile, I issued a warning, albeit indirectly.

“Luna. She’s weird.”

“Weird? How so?”

“Just weird. She makes me uncomfortable.”

“Hmm...”

At my warning, Luna glanced at Erica. Outwardly, she might seem perfectly normal.

But the madness lurking within her was beyond words. Luna would probably shake her head in disbelief, too.

“Ms. Luna. What do you think about life?”

Right on cue, Erica’s attention shifted to Luna. I subtly stepped aside.

This naturally placed Luna in the center. From here on, everything was up to her.

“Life? Oh, now that I think about it, you mentioned being a believer of Gaia, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then, what do you think, Ms. Erica? I don’t have much connection to religion myself.”

“I think...”

What followed was a lengthy speech from Erica. Much longer than the one she gave me earlier.

To someone like me, who had survived in the wilderness, her beliefs sounded like nonsense philosophy.

When you’re struggling just to survive, talking about the sanctity of life feels absurd.

‘Only those who have can afford to say things like that.’

Or perhaps they’ve grown complacent in peace. Maybe their perspective would change if they had to save the wounded during a war.

At least that person was a genuine “religious person.” A person’s true nature always reveals itself in moments of crisis.

“So, what do you think? Do you feel like valuing life more now?”

Erica, having finished her entire speech, asked with a proud expression. She looked like a puppy eager for praise.

“Wow. Honestly...”

Truly impressed, Luna remarked.

“You’ve had a hard life.”

“...Pardon?”

She offered a brutally honest assessment. Erica’s expression turned to one of pure bewilderment.

She probably never expected to hear something like that. But Luna’s mouth kept going.

Without a hint of malice, she continued.

“Do you pray even if you accidentally step on an ant while walking?”

“Huh? No, not exactly...”

“Hmm. That might be going too far, right? All life is precious, but some things just aren’t.”

“··· ···”

It was a metaphor that left her speechless. Erica probably had no idea how to respond.

This alone would have been enough, but it didn’t end there. Luna put on an expression of genuine pity.

“I don’t think I could live like that. Saying something like that would probably get me stoned.”

“Uh······ what?”

“No, I mean, if you said that to someone starving to death right now······ wouldn’t they stab you instead of throwing stones?”

A follow-up strike after the initial blow.

“Life is precious, sure. But for me, tomorrow’s lunch is more important.”

She even wrapped it up with a finishing touch.

“Oh. So, do you eat alone too? That must be really boring.”

“··· ···”

Luna’s mouth was running wild.

[Faith Increases!]

It seemed even Chaos was cheering her on fervently.