Sword, Magic and Academic Society

The herb seasoning subdued whatever the slightly quirky smell the meat still had and soon it started to give off a mouth-watering aroma.

The internal organs were meticulously washed with spring water from nearby and later left to stew along with bay leaves — once again, picked up by Riyad-senpai — ‘til the morning when we relished it as our breakfast.

Well, we couldn’t finish all the edible parts by ourselves, and carrying them held no meaning if they were just gonna rot. It was a waste truly, but we could only cast them aside and let them return to the circle of life.

On the night watch, at least in my watch hour, I noticed two Dunce Tigers sneaking into our campsite stealthily but I made them run for their lives by intimidating them with wind magic. The wind magic’s pressure was truly an excellent monster repellant.

I guess they would only get the chance to gorge on the remains of the Mega Boar once we left this place.

Then came the morning, we collected the mana moss, our objective for this trip, and sorted out our tent back.

“The rucksack is pretty much filled with materials from the Mega Boar at this point. What do you say we aim straight for Robles? I believe we should be able to reach it before nightfall. Well, our schedule is already a day ahead, so we can totally afford to follow any other plan if you have any.”

Coco raised his hand when Senpai asked.

“I would like to check out the ridgeline, and maybe reach the summit of the mountain to test a magical tool if we have time. We should be able to reach it in less than an hour and a half. We’ll stay away from the wyverns, of course.”

The magical tool we had developed in the Geography Research Club was a tool designed for creating the so-called ‘Point Record.’

On Earth, we could access our location at any given time through the utilization of artificial satellites with a tap. However, I couldn’t ask for the same in this world.

I needed an accurate base map to create effective maps of all types. However, the scaled-down maps available in this world were hella mid. The situation was even direr for larger areas like a Marquis-managed territory. Honestly, they were only a tiny bit better than the so-called pirate\'s treasure map consisting of simple geometry and some scribbles.

The large-scale maps were only so-so, but even they were lacking in many parts. The maps of urban areas and frequently used roads were relatively alright, but they degraded the more you ventured into the countryside region. This Nyapu forest wasn’t even on the map.

Explorers relied on their intuition and experience for their work, so naturally, they were quite prone to getting caught up in accidents and mishaps.

Perhaps, it was an unnecessary act for ordinary folks, but I found these maps limiting after having personally seen the usefulness of GPS through a smartphone. The first thing that came to mind was something like— let’s create an accurate map first!

I knew that asking for an artificial satellite was a pipe dream, so I followed the next best method available: the triangulation surveying technique. We specifically created a tool to help out in grasping an accurate view of an area, and the mountain\'s summit was obviously the prime choice for a bird’s eye view. Technically, the tool was still the creation of Fey as I did nothing except mention my requirement and a simple surveying theory to her. I didn’t have any idea how it was truly implemented though. It seemed to utilize the property of magic stones being attracted to other magic stones under specific conditions, but the intricate details seemed to be her trade secret so I didn’t inquire any further as well.

Anyway, I just needed to place this tool on the summit of a mountain from where a bird’s eye view was possible, and I would get my reading. I also had the plan to get the association to place these magical tools on other spots throughout the kingdom to further create ‘record points’, but then again it depended on whether they would agree. The rest would be to just connect the ever-increasing dots and we would have our map with detailed directions and distances.

We already had one place at the Greatus Mountain, located northeast of the Royal Capital, and if it was this place, it should still be in range to connect to that record point. Plus there was also one placed near the Royal Capital and two on Robles\' outskirts that we had set up yesterday morning.

Creating and expanding these record points was the first step for the Geography Research Club. The cost of the magical tool was eye-popping as well, though Fey seemed to have recognized the usefulness of this magical tool so she should be able to think of a plan to recover the investment.

“Ah, right. You did mention creating an accurate map. Honestly, I don’t see the point of working this hard just to get an accurate outlook of this forest, but it’s not something I would mind. However, wyverns are no pushovers so I want you to prioritize safety first more than anything else.”

Senpai readily agreed, and with that, our plan was set to reach the summit.

We proceeded with caution, then we set up our magic tool, and seeing that there was still time, we took to the west ridgeline and placed a 2nd tool on the adjacent summit.

On our way back, Senpai with his acute sense and knowledge even managed to find precious magical plants and mushrooms in this trailess jungle. This trip also cleared the quest that we had received from that aunty.

In fact, we also found another waterfall where I caught some traces with my scouting magic. This waterfall was as tall as 40m and the torrential flow was impressively dropping off several tons of water.

I was extremely excited to find that waterfall.

I mean, the Lipupu-Nyapu Waterfall was certainly beautiful and was a scenic sight with how the water gracefully flowed down from the staircases of rocks. However, there really was no beating the majestic sight of water falling with a crashing sound!

“Rejoice Al! We’ve found the perfect place for a Water Mage like you! Now hurry up and meditate under the waterfall!”

I quickly pushed Al, who was making a bitter expression, toward the basin of the waterfall and subjected him to the pounding force of the falls.

“So cold! What the heck is this for!?”

“Mental training! And don’t force your logic in here, guide your heart to feel the force of the water!”

“I’ve never heard of a Water Mage requiring mental training!”

And they don’t, idiot. But what’s the use of being hung up on anything if not to make a ruckus?

I was just babbling nonsense, or at least I didn’t have any other intention, but out of everyone’s expectation, we found a cave behind the waterfall where another batch of mana moss was growing in a cluster. It felt like finding a horse in a gourd.

We settled on spending the rest of the day and night there.

Overall, the detour proved to be a good experience. The two summits where we had set up the magical tool were visible from our location along with one more, and by measuring our distance and direction from those peaks, we were able to accurately determine our current position through triangulation.

In fact, we also got an accurate reading on our positional distance connecting the mountaintops to Robles. With that, I believe we would be able to find a shortcut.

Senpai was also amazed by our findings.

“Hm~m, that’s honestly… incredible. It would surely be a godsend in unfamiliar locations. I guess I can now see what your Geography Research Club is trying to achieve. It’s a pity that I don’t have much time left in the Academy as a 3rd-year student, but I would have loved to help out as well. Is it possible for me to get into the club as well, President Coco?”

“It would be our pleasure to have an experienced person like you, Riyad-senpai.”

Hmm-mm, Coco’s gears seemed to have meshed well with Senpai as he delightfully accepted his request. I guess birds of a feather do flock together, huh? One specialized in animals and the other in plants. Two sides of the same coin, truly.

For dinner, we got Al’s help in capturing fish again. This time we managed to capture five magic fish.

Morning. We thought we would be taking the straight route to Robles, in the northeast direction. But Senpai apparently had a guess in his mind as the direction shifted slightly to the northern side. It turned out there was a main road passing through after coming out of the forest. There really was no gap in knowledge for our ever-so-reliable Senpai. He had already started to take advantage of the magical tool to its maximum capability.

The trip was overall fast and problem-free. Following Senpai’s lead, we arrived at Robles in the afternoon. By the way, I chanced upon the sight of the previous group — which had tried to sneakily follow us — leaving for the western grass field. They looked exhausted and their equipment were in shambles. I hope they learned that life is more precious than fortune with this.

And speaking of fortune, the plant materials and the Mega Boar parts were all sold for 80,000 rea. Though credit was due to the ‘Riyad-sama Fan’ receptionist who had put in a good word at the counter of the delivery point.

Well, her attitude towards me was as salty as ever……

All of my expenses, including the cost of the MacAquate arrows I used, were paid from Senpai’s pocket. Furthermore, the fixed monetary reward was tripled to 180,000 rea following the discovery of a new mana moss spot.

I tried to turn him down, saying it went against our initial contract. But Senpai countered saying a client had the right to make an evaluation and give a maximum of triple the original reward.

He said with the state of affairs that the kingdom was embroiled in, our discovery may as well deserve another raise considering the price of mana moss when it could be procured in a stable supply. So I quietly accepted the reward.

Ultimately, we all ended up with a net income of 80,000 rea. Certainly much more than we expected. It kind of gave me a guilty feeling.

The trip may have come to a close, but the rollercoaster ride that was my fun summer vacation was yet to end.

◆◆◆

From the angle of historians, or to those looking through their journal of activities, the Robles trip was a rather insipid node among their otherwise shining record.

But the same insipid or trivial exploration trip carried great importance in the bigger picture of the future outlook.

First, the exploration trip was effectively the point where the pages of the book called ‘A Guide to the Kingdom’s Geography’ — which had brought a wave of transformation into the world after its completion several decades later — were set to open. The publisher of it was none other than ‘The Friends of the Many’ Coconial Canardial, the second-generation director of the Kingdom’s Geography Institute.

Similarly, this trip was also the trigger that pushed the fate of Coconial Canardial to cross with his sworn friend, the ‘Father of Taxonomy’ Riyad Gufush.

And third, this was also the start of the bumpy fate of the ‘Great Cascade’ Aldol Engraver.

At the same time, it brought up a question in the minds of those who had read their journey— just how far had the ‘Time Traveler - The Boy From The Future’ Allen Rovenne, who brought together all these fates together, predicted the influence of that exploration trip would bring into the world.

Yet, the answer was something that not even the supposed three, who couldn’t be any more related to this wind of changes, could answer.

T/N - Hmm, so I guess that’s where Al got his name nickname huh. R.I.P Al. Everyone will surely remember you as the tag-along of Allen’s ridiculousness.

E/N - I thought Coco’s future title was “Jack of all trades”? Well, I guess you could have more than one title. Also, lol at MC’s title.