Hmph, Veil Khalid scoffed.
“Not interested. In bonus points or whatever.”
Right, Nigel had certainly thought so too. Veil Khalid wasn’t a scholarship student who desperately needed good grades, and he was closer to the type who wanted to properly enjoy academy life.
But then why… When Nigel continued to stare at Veil Khalid with a look that said this was strange, Khalid explained while plunging one arm deep into the sand.
“When it comes to deserts, it’s Brion. I can’t just stand by and watch some other bastard catch a Dust Slime before me.”
“……”
Such a petty reason. But that made it all the more like Veil Khalid. As Nigel continued to stand there watching him with his arm thrust into the sand, the bastard spoke.
“…Why don’t you move to a spot by the professor, prince? If you stand there all stiff in the desert like that, you’ll be perfect prey for the predators.”
The professor had definitely said he’d give points to the second person as well. Nigel had been secretly hoping that if, by chance—purely by chance—Veil Khalid caught a Dust Slime first, he could try following suit since he was standing nearby. He had just been about to walk away pretending not to care.
“…I was just about to—”
Nigel started to speak but closed his lips.
Fssssh—
Something caught his attention.
He saw sand sliding down—swoosh—once again from a sand dune a short distance away. Following that, wriggle, a certain part of the dune’s sand undulated.
“……”
No way, could that be?
Nigel tilted his head slightly and took a step toward the sand dune. That’s when it happened.
Whoosh—two long antennae popped out from beneath the moving sand. Then they moved swish swish, as if checking the surroundings.
The Dust Slime’s two ears.
Found it.
And I’m the first one.
The moment Nigel took a step forward with a slight smile.
Whooooosh—!
A massive sandstorm blew up right in front of him. Ugh, Nigel had no choice but to raise his arm to shield his face before sand could get in his eyes.
The terrain changed in an instant.
Shhhhhh—the sand beneath his feet seemed to flow down entirely toward a certain point. The moment he opened his eyes that he’d briefly closed, he saw a Dust Slime poking its face out from beneath his feet, looking up at Nigel.
He unconsciously reached his hand toward that slime.
And then.
Shhhhhk—!
Perhaps because of his sudden movement, something that had been sleeping below reacted sensitively. Right below Nigel’s wrist as he tried to catch the slime, sand erupted explosively.
“…?!”
Schwaaak—there wasn’t even time to blink.
What Nigel had thought was a Dust Slime wasn’t a Dust Slime at all. Its red scales and glistening eyes turned toward Nigel.
It was a Desert Scorpion.
It mimics parts of other animals to lure prey, didn’t they say? He’d fallen perfectly for the professor’s trap question. Even in this urgent situation, Nigel pulled out common knowledge he’d stored in his head.
Kyaaaaaaak!
The sharp cry of a beast rang in his eardrums.
Without giving Nigel any time to deploy defensive magic, the creature revealed its venom-dripping fangs and lunged toward his throat. It was too close.
I can’t dodge this. The moment he thought that.
Thud!
“Ugh?”
Someone roughly grabbed Nigel’s shoulder. At the same time, a red flash blazed before his eyes.
CRACK! Tssssss—— The Desert Scorpion’s head took a direct hit from fire magic and was flung away, turned into a pitch-black charred lump. Nigel was pulled by the force that had grabbed him, momentarily losing his balance, but soon pushed his other leg deep into the sand and regained his composure.
“……”
What just happened…?
When he raised his head in a dazed state, he saw Veil Khalid looking down at him with a frowning face.
Smoke was rising from his fingertips from the fire magic he’d just used. Normally, before using magic, one must concentrate mana in their fingers to manifest the magic circle of the spell they intend to cast.
Veil Khalid had cast fire magic during that brief moment—just a brief moment—when Nigel had frozen in surprise.
‘So the rumors that the Prince of Brion is famous for handling mana well were true after all.’
Though they’d taken the same classes, the fact that his magical skills were this outstanding hadn’t been revealed due to the bastard’s personality of half-heartedly listening to regular lessons.
“…You.”
Nigel gathered his dazed feelings and looked at Veil Khalid.
‘I thought he hated me?’
If Veil hadn’t blocked the Desert Scorpion’s attack just now, it was obvious that a situation quite damaging to his dignity as Crown Prince would have occurred.
“I told you to be careful.”
Veil clicked his tongue and was putting strength into pulling Nigel up when it happened. The ornament on the flashy bracelet wrapped around Veil’s wrist touched the inside of Nigel’s wrist.
Bzzzz—
“…?”
Nigel’s brow furrowed. It didn’t hurt. But the moment the cold metal made contact, a regular vibration like someone’s heartbeat—thump, thump—flowed through the bracelet and into Nigel’s veins.
It was too hot and sticky to be mere physical vibration. A strange unpleasant feeling, as if some indescribable energy was examining the inside of his body without permission.
“…What is this?”
When Nigel twisted his arm, Veil also opened his eyes wide as if he’d felt something. His gaze quickly went back and forth between his bracelet and Nigel.
“…Damn it.”
Veil spat out a small curse, then roughly pulled Nigel out of the sand all at once. Then he hastily let go of Nigel’s wrist he’d been holding. As if he’d been burned.
Hm? Nigel frowned and grasped his own wrist. There were no wounds on the outside, but a tingling residual sensation still remained where the bracelet had touched.
“There was definitely a reaction when it touched that bracelet’s ornament.”
At those words, Veil Khalid tightly gripped his own wrist with his other hand to hide it. The tips of his ears had turned strangely red.
“Ah, this?”
Veil pulled down his sleeve to hide the bracelet, acting as if it was nothing. But his voice was a bit faster than usual.
“It’s a possession of Brion’s royal family. It reacts sensitively depending on the user’s… physical condition. You were so tense and stiff that the magical wavelength probably spiked.”
“…You’re saying it’s my fault?”
“Then is it mine? It’s a highly sensitive object, so it malfunctions when the owner gets flustered too.”
Veil retorted bluntly and avoided eye contact.
“Anyway, be careful. Looks like your and my magical wavelengths are completely incompatible. It’s unlucky, so let’s not get involved with each other.”
Then he said.
“Really, you’re such a high-maintenance type. I guess that’s because you’re a prince.”
Veil clicked his tongue with a tsk and, as if nothing had happened, lay down on the sandy floor again and began searching for traces of slimes.
It was the second time he’d heard such a rebuke, but since he’d received help, it became awkward to nitpick. Nigel quietly looked down at Veil’s back.
“……”
The bastard didn’t even seem to recognize the fact that he’d just ‘saved’ him. It was merely a reflexive action.
Nigel calmly looked back and forth between the blackened Desert Scorpion and the back of the bastard who was rummaging through the sand again. Should I say thanks? Even though it was a test and not actually such a dangerous situation, help was help.
But… if it had truly been a dangerous situation, the defensive magic cast on Nigel would have automatically activated. That bastard probably knows that, which is why he’s pretending not to know like this.
Still, he knew well that when something was appreciated, it should be expressed as such… but he really didn’t want to say thanks. It was rare for Nigel to act shamelessly while knowing he was in the wrong.
“…You butted in on your own. I didn’t need your help or anything.”
Nigel said as if it was nothing while brushing the sand off his clothes.
Then Veil, who had been lying down, just turned his head to look at Nigel and twisted up one corner of his mouth.
“Yeah, yeah. Next time I’ll just let the scorpion bite you.”
“……”
Cheeky bastard.
It seemed better to go next to the professor as originally planned. Before another Desert Scorpion or something popped out.
“Got it.”
But Nigel’s decision didn’t last even three seconds. At Veil’s indifferent voice heard from behind, his head turned back without realizing it.
Swoosh—
Veil Khalid pulled out the arm he’d stuck into the sand pit. In his grasp was something like a grayish-white dust clump.
When the bastard applied pressure to his hand, the dust that had been trying to scatter clumped together, revealing a jelly-like soft form.
It was a Dust Slime.
Even in the situation where the scorpion had jumped out, the bastard had managed to catch it without losing track of his target’s location.
“Oh! As expected of student Khalid! You found it first.”
Professor Jorge clapped and exclaimed.
“As promised, I’ll add 10 points to your practical score for this semester. Excellent senses. To approach using only the magical beast’s ecology without using magic—it was a very primitive approach.”
“Thank you, professor.”
Veil grinned and tossed the struggling slime in his hand into a magic cage. Then he roughly wiped his dirt-covered hands on his pants swish swish and looked at Nigel. His amber eyes sparkled with mischief.
“It’s nothing. Catching one Dust Slime is as easy as eating cold soup.”
If it’s nothing, why make that annoyingly cocky face?
Nigel pursed his lips and looked away from the swaggering face.
From far away, he heard someone shout “Got it!” It was the second person the professor had mentioned. He heard Professor Jorge praising that student and giving them points.
