The Northern Duke’s Daughter Will Never Fall

Chapter 23: Leopold is Dissatisfied

The goal was the mountain’s summit.

At the top of the mountain, a flag was planted, and retrieving that flag would mark the end of the exercise.

The mountain wasn’t particularly steep, so climbing it wasn’t too difficult. However, monsters frequently appeared along the way.

Starting with the goblins they had encountered at the base, they’d also faced orcs, kobolds, and lesser monsters like gnolls.

Fortunately, the number of enemies wasn’t overwhelming. Their strategy remained the same — Astrid would charge in first, followed by Leopold after a short delay, with support fire from Astein’s magic and Eranya’s arrows. The method has been effective so far.

By the time the sun was hanging low on the mountainside, it was nearing noon. Hunger began to set in.

“It’s a deer, a deer!”

Eranya, who had climbed up a fallen log to scout, leapt down and grabbed both of Astrid’s hands tightly.

Her eyes were filled with a fiery determination — they had to catch this deer and fill their stomachs.

The same hunger-driven determination filled the rest of the squad as well. After a week without proper food, the thought of fresh meat united them all.

“Hoo, hoo… You can do it, Eranya. You’re a proud daughter of the World Tree, after all…!”

‘Didn’t she say the World Tree was just a big tree?’ Astrid thought, recalling Eranya’s earlier words.

Eranya climbed onto a log, took a deep breath, and nocked an arrow. Her stance looked a bit shaky, but her grip on the bowstring was firm. Her unwavering focus to secure that deer’s meat was almost laughable.

“Hooo…”

After one final breath, she released the arrow.

With a whoosh, the arrow flew through the air.

Watching the arrow hit its mark, Eranya raised both arms in triumph.

‘She looks like she’s just won an Olympic gold medal in archery,’ Astrid mused.

If anyone else knew the reference, they’d probably agree.

Regardless, her triumphant gesture was clear. They’d succeeded.

“Astrid! Meat! We’re having meat for lunch today!”

“…Eranya, are you really an elf?”

“Of course I am!”

Eranya was the first to rush over to the fallen deer, with Astrid and the other squad members following close behind.

After a week of meager rations, they were finally going to have venison. Even Leopold, who always acted dignified, couldn’t hide his excitement and jogged toward the deer with the rest of them.

“U-uh, I’ll… I’ll start the fire,” Astein said, trying to excuse himself.

“Hah.”

The mage took the chance to avoid the messy work by leaning on his role as a magician.

“Oh dear, my faith won’t allow it.”

Veracien, who had swung her mace at goblins, kobolds, and gnolls with glee, suddenly played the “faith” card. Nobody could quite argue with that.

“W-wouldn’t it be best if the squad leader handled it?” Eranya’s eyes shifted to Astrid, her voice laced with feigned innocence.

“What?!”

She’d been calling her “Astrid” just fine before, but now it was “squad leader” to conveniently shift the burden onto her.

Astrid’s reluctance was palpable.

She’d grown somewhat used to killing monsters, knowing it was necessary for survival and defense. But butchering a deer for food was a different story.

“I’d say it’s only right for the squad leader to set a good example, wouldn’t you agree?” Veracien added, smiling sweetly.

“Agreed, squad leader. You’re a role model, after all,” Astein added with a grin.

‘That’s definitely a mocking smile.’

“…Fine. I’ll do it. I’ll do it, okay?” Astrid sighed in resignation.

She stepped toward the deer, wondering how she should go about it. Should she cut the throat first? Maybe she should use the greatsword to slice it cleanly?

But before she could act, someone else moved first.

A hand reached for the deer, gripping it firmly and lifting it.

“L-Leopold?!”

“The squad leader is not a servant. Stop calling on her only when it’s convenient.”

Leopold’s sharp blue eyes swept over the squad members. There was a tinge of irritation in his gaze, and none of them dared meet his eyes.

“She’s the one who charges in first during every battle. The most dangerous position. And yet you all expect her to do this as well? It’s a bad look. Squad leader, take a break. Cadet Eranya, hand me your dagger.”

“O-okay!”

Eranya slowly handed over her dagger, which Leopold snatched away with a click of his tongue.

Dragging the deer by the legs, he disappeared into the bushes.

‘He’s doing it gallantly, but still…’

The squad’s teamwork had been good so far, and even Leopold admitted that much.

They’d caught the deer, which was great. Truly.

The problem was what came after.

After the hunt, someone had to prepare the meat. That meant bleeding it, gutting it, and removing bones. It was a messy process. Leopold knew that better than anyone.

And Astrid knew it too. Even so, she’d accepted the role because the squad pushed it onto her.

– There’s no way I’m going to marry you.

– I don’t even see you as a man…

“Tch.”

Leopold shook his head, banishing those thoughts from his mind.

What did it matter, anyway? But seeing those pale, delicate hands doing such dirty work had unsettled him.

It was like seeing a finely crafted sword being used to cut fish.

Rather than watch Astrid struggle with it, Leopold decided it would be better if he handled it himself.

But in truth, Leopold had never done this kind of work before.

Astrid might have had some experience from her frequent deployments to the battlefield, but Leopold had no such experience.

‘Maybe I shouldn’t have stepped up after all,’ he thought.

He could somehow get the job done, but he worried that Astrid would laugh at him for his clumsy efforts.

“That’s probably what’ll happen…”

“What’ll happen?”

“Ack?!”

Startled by the sudden voice next to him, Leopold flinched.

Astrid was crouching right beside him, silently watching.

“I told you to rest. Why did you come here, Squad Leader?”

“Just checking if you knew how to do it.”

“…I know how. Go back and rest. You’re always telling everyone to make the most of their break time.”

Astrid was usually the one who strictly adhered to break times, whether it was lunch or dinner.

“This counts as a break too, doesn’t it?”

She plopped down next to him, clearly planning to watch.

“To be honest, I’ve never done this before. If you’re here to laugh at my mistakes, just leave.”

“I’ve never done it either. Besides, why would I laugh at you? Taking on rough, dirty jobs isn’t something to be mocked.”

“…True enough.”

If they kept this up, lunchtime would be over before they’d even finished. If they wanted better results than the other squads, they’d have to eat quickly and keep moving.

“Anyway, don’t laugh.”

“Yes, yes.”

“It looks like there’s less meat than I thought.”

“If you’re going to complain, Eranya, you’d better be the one to do the butchering next time.”

Astrid scolded her, furrowing her brow.

But in truth, the amount of meat had definitely decreased. It couldn’t be helped. Since Leopold had never done this kind of work, he was clumsy, and Astrid, who’d stepped in to help, wasn’t much better. Skinning the deer and extracting usable meat had been a mess.

As a result, a lot of meat had been wasted.

“It’s fine. This much is enough to satisfy our hunger, even if we’re not completely full. It’s better to avoid overeating anyway, especially when we’re going to be moving right after.”

Since Astrid’s logic was sound, the squad nodded in agreement.

“Alright, let’s eat quickly and move on. We’re Squad 1, so we’re aiming for first place. If people start saying we’re slower than the other squads, it’ll be annoying.”

That was also true. The squad quickly began skewering pieces of the roughly cut meat onto branches.

There was no salt, pepper, or proper way to drain the blood, so the meat’s smell would be strong. But it was still better than going hungry.

The squad members sat around the fire Astein had made, skewers of meat lined up over the flames.

Their eyes sparkled with anticipation, like people who hadn’t seen meat in a week — which was exactly the case.

“Meat~! Meeeeat~! Meeeaaaat~!”

Eranya hummed a bizarre little tune.

Unexpectedly, Veracien joined in, humming along with her.

“A little salt and pepper would be nice,” Astrid muttered.

“I know, right?” Veracien replied.

“Just a sprinkle would make it taste so much better.”

“Exactly.”

“You’ve got a refined palate, Squad Leader.”

“Maybe so.”

Astrid’s smile was faint but genuine.

“Looks like it’s up ahead.”

Astrid’s finger pointed toward a clearing that was just beginning to come into view.

A checkpoint.

In the training ground’s spatial barrier system, certain areas were designated as shared spaces.

These checkpoints served as rest areas where monster attacks were prohibited and squads could encounter one another.

“Alright, let’s take a short break here. We’ve still got a long way to the summit.”

As soon as Astrid said that, the squad members dropped their gear and sat down. Climbing a mountain, battling monsters, and ascending further was grueling work, even if the slope wasn’t that steep.

“If we hadn’t eaten that meat, we wouldn’t have made it this far…”

Astein’s words, spoken while sprawled out on the ground, drew nods from the other squad members.

If they hadn’t eaten, they’d have had to stop and rest far more often.

Astrid was just about to take off her gear and rest when she heard a familiar voice.

“Oh my, what a coincidence. Fancy meeting you all here.”