NOVEL NEXT Chapter 77
<77 - The Child Who Isn't Afraid of Water>
Professor Plato was more sincere than anyone in nurturing the iron-willed ones.
A healthy body is home to a healthy mind.
A healthy mind nurtures healthy wisdom.
Healthy wisdom builds a healthy nation.
The rootless maritime nation, the Kingdom of Florence, needed iron-willed individuals, and the patriot Professor Plato couldn’t abandon his patriotism even if he discarded his flesh and blood.
“This year’s Class 981 upperclass students have quite the determination!”
Even when compared to the previous Class 980, there was a noticeable qualitative difference.
Above all, the chosen warrior of the one and only goddess, Sofemia of the Sun, Ishtar.
Her existence compelled the talents of the empire’s noble families to enroll in the same cohort.
“Warrior’s companions. Warrior’s friends. Everyone’s probably sent their pampered children, eyeing a coveted spot.”
The three great meritorious families of the empire:
Honer Fried Chicken of the Fried Chicken Ducal House.
Cheddar Potato Pizza of the Potato Pizza Ducal House.
Leff Iron Charcoal Barbecue of the Iron Charcoal Barbecue Ducal House.
From the three great meritorious families, who usually sent only collateral or adopted children, the promising talents who would assume the next generation and the most legitimate or formidable individuals all gathered together.
Thanks to that, other families keeping an eye on the three great meritorious houses sent forth outstanding competent individuals as well.
Alongside this, renowned talents from border regions around the world flocked to Class 981 in droves.
“Even if they pretend otherwise, everyone’s just watching that child Ishtar. If a warrior joins their family, their status would skyrocket!”
If the children happened to make eye contact and ended up having a child, it would be a grand welcome.
Who would oppose the idea of marrying a warrior to take responsibility for the warrior and her child, provoking her fury?
Above all, there was no formidable enemy for this warrior yet.
Era of Peace.
Time Without War.
The lack of a concrete enemy means the warrior has ample time to prepare for growth.
That’s why the warrior enrolled in the world’s top educational institution, the Gift Academy.
There was also the calculation to recruit the world’s finest talents as companions for the warrior party.
If, bluntly speaking, the warrior shouted, “You, become my companion!” that talent would instantly receive a ticket to prosperity and success.
So everyone scrambled to swim around Ishtar gracefully, and those who couldn’t swim yet lit up their eyes, eager to learn.
“While I commend high concentration, I don’t like the tainted intentions.”
Of course, it’s rare to find talents who aren’t aiming for the position of the warrior’s companion or husband.
A prime example would be the Empire’s Second Princess, Masugaki.
“Ah ha! Are you perhaps a hippo? You’re drinking way too much water. Glug glug glug glug glug glug How much do you plan to drink~? Pathetic follower. You swim so poorly!”
“Grrrahh, s-sorry, glug puff puff!”
“Please wait a moment, Your Highness. Before this lecture ends, I’ll definitely master the freestyle and be of help underwater!”
“Pfft~ I can’t wait until the end of the lecture. Ugh, ugh!”
“Uoooooh, I’m sinking, it’s sinking… bloop!”
“Ah ha! You’re going to sink just because the princess is on your back? Enjoy the everlasting honor of being the Princess’s esteemed companion~”
Even Professor Plato, who would be second to none in terms of bad character, might wonder if this is right, as the Second Princess finds immense joy teasing her followers.
In fact, the followers being mercilessly ridiculed turn beet red in joy, but all of them are guaranteed supplemental lessons.
While they have the basic athleticism to learn quickly, it would still take a while to reach a satisfactory swimming level.
“Grrrahh, the princess’s esteemed companion has become a seat underwater…! gurgle!”
…Well, those kids will quickly adapt if they don’t want to sink and die.
“Seoguyeon is indeed leading from the front in the border regions.”
The Northern Grand Duchess Irene, who usually puts everything on hold, is, due to her poor swimming skills, learning to use the float while kicking her legs.
“Why am I doing this…?”
Bloop bloop.
Her half-submerged mouth lets out bubbles instead of complaints.
“?”
Bloop bloop.
“!”
Boggle boggle.
She used to complain that swimming was just child’s play, but now she’s genuinely enjoying it.
Seeing the mature cool girl show unexpected childlike behavior is amusing, but at this rate, supplemental lessons are guaranteed.
“Alright, swimming is done like this. Do you now understand the greatness of Arcadia?”
“Meowww! Is it really that great?”
“So how do I swim while wearing armor?”
“Method? I’ve shown you all the swimming methods. Can’t you follow along just by watching?”
“…How annoying!”
“…I don’t believe dolphin kicks can be learned just by watching.”
Compared to Irene’s basic level, Arcadia elegantly glided underwater doing dolphin kicks and sidestrokes.
While her attitude of teaching to elevate the peers is commendable, her teaching method is a complete failure.
“Last up is that group.”
Originally, they were expected to drop out first even in the upperclass, making it a mystery how they made it up to the upperclass.
Jezel and Son Ohchun, Isabel.
Dorothy and Rockbell.
Jigoku and Hestia, even Lotto.
The diverse and quirky Oknodie group.
“There’s surprisingly some fun in splashing water. It’s not often I get to outpace Son Ohchun in physical prowess.”
“Uha ha! My head may be dense, but I’m a genius at using my body. This swimming thing will be a cinch!”
Splash splash.
“…Uh, could you stop making water cannons with your legs? Just hitting the bottom hard doesn’t ensure you’ll swim at all, you know?”
“Uha ha! The words of a weak splasher don’t resonate with me!”
“……”
Son Ohchun creates a splashing noise like a cannon while Dorothy, Rockbell, and Lotto scream behind him, soaked.
“Uaaah, the waves keep coming, I’ve drunk way too much water! I’m dying of misery!”
“I can’t help it; my specialty is the forest. Even this course is tough for me, the swift swordsman Rockbell…”
“Can we do something about that ignorant monkey first?”
As Son Ohchun was venting his frustration of not being able to swim by troubling his companions with his water cannon, an enormous splash was dumped onto him.
With leg muscles comparable, Hestia grinned fiercely, powering up her leg muscles.
“Well, then you can definitely hear my voice!”
“You bastard. You started this?”
The two’s competition has morphed from swimming to a water splashing fight.
Amidst the chaos of novice swimmers, only Oknodie was diligently attempting to cross the river.
Yet, Oknodie’s speed seemed unusual.
“What’s up with this kid? Why does she swim better than crazy pirates or the Florence princess?”
*
Jigoku is a pirate.
Her specialty is shooting.
Her favorite thing is shooting.
What she can do is shooting.
A woman crazed over pulling the trigger has an unexpected weakness that one might not anticipate.
“Jigoku, aren’t you swimming?”
“Not doing it. I hate water.”
“…Aren’t you a pirate?”
After finishing a water fight with Son Ohchun, Hestia looked at Jigoku with disbelief as she answered shamelessly.
“Haha! If you shoot all visible enemies, there’s no chance to fall into the water, right? No need to swim!”
“…That’s a delightfully trashy response.”
Of course, it was a lie.
While it certainly would avoid the need to swim if you shoot your enemies first, it’s more that she doesn’t want to swim than a lack of ability in that.
‘If I’m dressed as a guy, being in the water would reveal my body shape. I wouldn’t want to swim without taking off my clothes, and it’d also feel uncomfortable to get all wet.’
Even if she weren’t cross-dressing, she wouldn’t have the desire for such pointless swimming.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
As someone halfway through the river, waves began to rise, and when they passed one-third, it became so intense that it seemed one could really drown.
It’s cunning for a professor to implement an automaton with a washing basin spell to prevent them from crossing the river, but it’s astonishing how Oknodie is determined to push through it.
“Why bother struggling when you can’t even shoot a professor’s head? You’re just draining your stamina more and more.”
Wouldn’t it be faster to learn magic to calm the river waters instead of swimming?
As an earnest question crossed the warrior’s mind, surprisingly, Oknodie popped her head out on the other side of the river.
“First to arrive!”
Shocked, Jigoku rushed over to Oknodie.
“How did you do that? You failed at crossing multiple times. How did you manage to get through as you got weaker?”
“Above the water flows that way, but below, it speeds up, right? The water circulated clockwise.”
“You have to go down to the riverbed to do that!”
“Right?”
“You went down to the riverbed and held your breath until you floated back up? How is that even possible?”
Oknodie answered cheerfully.
“It worked, you know?”
“…Aren’t you scared of drowning?”
“Not really. Why should I be scared?”
This kid, I’ve heard rumors of her undergoing assassin training, but could she have also received underwater training?
Even as a pirate myself, the sheer craziness of such an act was alarming, yet she shows no sign of awareness of the peril she just escaped.
Unless she’s completely ignorant of what she just did, one must conclude she has learned from enough experiences that it’s unlikely for her to die doing such activities.
‘Considering her diverse talents, it’s not a crafted skill learned over time.’
It must have been formed from intense training that put her life on the line rather than just theoretical knowledge.
How many of those children participating in that kind of training managed to survive, and how many perished?
Just imagining it makes my head spin.
“Jigoku? Did I get water on my face?”
Having once lived in a hellish life as a slave at sea and having suffered through water torture, she understands it better.
The fear and torment of being forced into the water against one’s will is beyond imagination.
“Jii~go~ku~?”
“…No. It’s nothing.”
But how can you stand there with such a bright expression, Oknodie?