The Strongest Student of the Weakest Academy

"Bastard..."

Plucking the leaves of a daisy, a woman muttered to herself.

"Do you love me...?" she asked softly, pulling off another petal.

"Or not?"

Another petal fell.

She sighed, eyes narrowing as the last petal remained.

"Damn it!"

Plop!

With a frustrated grunt, she tossed the daisy to the ground and stomped on it, glaring at the crushed flower beneath her feet.

"Hmph! Damned Lucas!" she hissed, her light brown hair falling over her face. "Why are you so focused on Ella? Can't you see me waiting for you?!"

But then...

A voice came from the distance making Maya flinch abruptly.

"Maya? Are you done already?!"

Maya snapped her head up, her face flushing in embarrassment.

"Y-yeah! I'll be with you in a few moments!" she shouted back, trying to shake off the embarrassment of her little outburst.

"Alright, don't take too long!" came the reply.

Maya adjusted her dress, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

It wasn't like she was upset… just a little frustrated.

She hurried over to where Iris was waiting, the two of them having been tasked with gathering resources for the shelter.

As she approached, Iris raised an eyebrow.

"Why did you take so long?" she asked curiously.

"We've already purified more than enough water for today."

Maya flashed a bright smile, trying to cover up the tension from earlier.

"It was nothing, hehe. I was just distracted with a hare!"

"A hare?!" Iris's eyes widened.

"Why didn't you catch it?!" She put her hands on Maya's shoulders and began shaking her lightly.

"That could have been our dinner!"

"W-why?!" Maya protested, shaking her head frantically.

"It's just a cute little hare!"

Iris scowled.

"It's food, Maya!"

"No, it's not!"

They argued back and forth for a while, but neither of them could agree.

"Haaaa..." Iris let out a long sigh, dropping her hands from Maya's shoulders as she turned to walk back to the camp.

"Let's just go back to the camp. We've spent enough time here."

"HEY! Wait for me!" Maya called, quickly catching up to Iris as they made their way back through the forest.

But as soon as they arrived at the camp...

"This..."

Both of them were utterly speechless.

Clang, clang!

"Wait… what?" Maya blinked in shock, her eyes darting between the small wooden cabin that had suddenly appeared and Aestrea, who was standing in front of it, looking quite pleased with himself.

The sand, where there had been nothing but a few hours ago, was now occupied by a fully constructed shelter.

Wooden beams, leaves, and logs were stacked together, forming a sturdy little cabin.

Aestrea, shirtless, was carefully hammering away at the wood.

Instead of a hammer, though, he was using the fuller of his sword to hit sharp stones, securing the pieces of wood together.

The sound of wood striking stone echoed through the air.

Clang, clang! Discover stories with My Virtual Library Empire

"Fuuu...!"

He let out a deep breath.

Then, he jumped towards the sand and took a deep look at his work.

"Mhmm... the right side still needs some adjustments," he muttered to himself, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"I'm not entirely sure that those leaves will hold up in a storm, though."

He tightened his grip on the sword, taking a moment to focus before swinging it horizontally.

Fwip!

The right wall of the cabin split in half with a clean cut, and Aestrea moved swiftly to the newly cut pieces, slicing them into perfect cubicles of wood.

"Perfect..."

Maya and Iris watched in awe as Aestrea then took the cubicles of wood and began placing them into the sand.

He used some kind of mud—likely a makeshift cement he had found or created on the island—to seal them in place, ensuring everything was tightly connected.

Plop!

"Ah...! I didn't see you two there." Aestrea suddenly spoke, noticing the two women standing behind him.

He didn't sound surprised—just casually acknowledging their presence.

Iris raised an eyebrow.

"Is this your idea of a shelter...? Isn't this a bit... too much?" She asked in a tone of surprise as she walked closer to him.

"No...? I'm just making sure we have proper shelter in case a storm comes. So, not really."

He replied before wiping the sweat on his forehead, eyeing the structure one last time before turning toward the two women.

"Now, we just need to finish the roof and reinforce the walls. But we're almost done."

Maya blinked in disbelief.

"We?"

"Yeah," Aestrea replied nonchalantly, grabbing his sword again.

"Rose was helping me earlier. She went to get more leaves for the roof, and she also found some coconuts. She might bring those back too."

Maya raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, I see."

Iris just stared at Aestrea, a little surprised by how smoothly everything was going.

"What about you two? Did you manage to purify the water?" Aestrea asked, his attention still on his work.

Maya puffed out her chest and nodded proudly.

"Of course!"

Iris, however, only gave Maya a sideways glance before answering.

"We found a small pond near the forest. The water seemed pretty clean already, but we made sure to purify it. There was a bit of salt in it, but nothing too serious."

"Good job."

Both Maya and Iris felt awkward hearing the praise.

It was strange to hear Aestrea—someone they weren't that close to—say something like that.

They both just nodded, unsure of how to respond.

Aestrea seemed to notice the awkwardness but didn't dwell on it.

"Then, I guess you two can take a break for now. I'll finish up the cabin."

With that, he turned back to the shelter.

But before he could start working again, a voice rang out from a distance.

"Aestrea, I'm back!"

It was Rose.

She was carrying a bunch of coconuts in a makeshift leaf bag, and in her left hand, she had a vine that was dragging more leaves behind her.

"Mhm."

Aestrea nodded as he turned to face her.

They started talking about the finishing touches for the shelter, and while they talked, Iris and Maya sat down on the sand, looked at them with weird gazes.

Maya tilted her head, her eyes narrowing as she studied the two of them.

"Aren't those two... a bit too close?" she murmured, unsure of what exactly she was feeling.

Iris glanced at her, then at Aestrea and Rose, before answering.

"Yeah... I thought the same thing. Does Rose... like Aestrea?"

Maya blinked, suddenly looking serious.

"I thought you were just teasing earlier, but now that I think about it... it does seem like it, doesn't it?" She tapped her chin, as if realizing something that had been nagging her.

Iris's eyes widened at Maya's sudden insight.

"Wait, you actually figured that out on your own?" she asked, clearly impressed.

Maya blinked and turned to Iris, puzzled.

"Uh, yeah? What's wrong?"

Iris stared at her for a moment, clearly taken aback.

"I didn't think you had it in you to actually think about stuff like that," she said, half-amused and half-shocked.

Maya blinked again, looking completely confused.

"Huh?!"

"Pffft!"

Iris laughed directly at her expression.

Maya was still the same airhead.

"Guys, we're back!"

Lucas's voice rang out.

Maya and Iris turned around immediately, while Rose and Aestrea didn't budge from their spots.

Nehind Lucas, Ella was dragging a boar by its hind legs, looking a little tired. Lucas, on the other hand, had a bunch of hares draped over his shoulder.

"Welcome back!" Maya cheered, bouncing a little on her feet.

Both Iris and Rose nodded at him while Aestrea... kept his focus on the cabin he was working on.

"Haa... this should be enough!"

Plop!

The cabin was expanded by a bit and the right wall of the cabin was reconstructed successfully.

"Whoa! You built all of this in just a few hours?" Lucas exclaimed loudly, clearly impressed as he walked up beside Aestrea.

"Yeah, but it's not done yet. We still need a better roof than just these leaves," Aestrea replied, wiping sweat off his forehead before stretching his arms over his head, looking up at the makeshift shelter.

"Well, how about we cook some of those hares for now?" Lucas suggested, shifting the topic as he grinned at the others.

"Yes! I'm starving!" Maya exclaimed eagerly, her stomach growling audibly.

Iris sighed but didn't protest.

"Sure."

Aestrea nodded.

"Do you need help making the campfire?" he asked, glancing at Lucas.

Lucas waved him off with a grin.

"Nah, I know how to do it. Don't worry about it."

Aestrea nodded again and decided to take a short walk toward the ocean.

"Weird..."

Iris spoke.

"Well, anyways, let's just build the campfire and cook the hares." Lucas ignored her words and then put his hands to work.

Maya and Iris sat by the camp, watching as Lucas worked quickly to start a fire.

A few minutes later, the crackling sound of burning wood filled the air, and they began cooking the hares, the scent of roasting meat making everyone's stomach growl in anticipation.

Just then, Aestrea returned.

His hair slightly damp but his clothes completely dry.

There wasn't a trace of sweat on his body anymore, which made the others wonder how he managed that.

"Here's your food."

Lucas said, handing him a stick with a roasted hare on it.

Aestrea accepted it before taking a small bite.

It wasn't anything special—there was no seasoning or spice, but it was more than enough to fill the hunger gnawing at his stomach.

Maya, still chewing on her own portion, looked up at the group.

"So... why do you think Instructor Zeva made us do this? This whole survival thing. What's the point?"

Lucas scratched his head, looking thoughtful.

"Yeah, it does sound kinda weird when you think about it. How is this supposed to help us with anything?"

"Maybe it's to prepare us for situations like this," Iris suggested, trying to make sense of it.

"It could be," Lucas agreed, nodding.

"But it's still strange."

Before anyone could say more, Ella, who had been quiet, spoke up.

"It's for war."

And instantly, everyone except Aestrea froze at her words, their eyes snapping toward her.

"War?"

Maya asked, raising an eyebrow.

She hadn't expected that.

Ella nodded.

"Yes. Our empire is currently in a conflict with one of the opposing empires. The Elven Kingdom and the Dwarf Kingdom have allied, and they pose a real threat to us. If war breaks out, we'll need skills like this to survive."

The group fell silent, processing her words.

Maya frowned, confused.

"Wait, didn't we always hear that our empire was the strongest? Why are the elves bothering us?"

Ella sighed, sitting down near the fire.

"Apparently, the organization called the 'Dark Order', made up of humans who invaded the Elven Kingdom. They tried to corrupt the Elven Princess into a Dark Elf, which is forbidden in their culture."

"And those actions, as some of you might have guessed, were 'allegedly' carried out under my father's orders."

She sighed deeply.

"As everyone knows, our world is divided into six different factions. The Human Empire, the Elven Kingdom, the Dwarf Kingdom, the Holy Nation, the Beastkin Kingdom, and finally, the Demon Kingdom where the future demon king would be reborn..."

The air turned colder at the last sentence, but after taking a deep breath, Ella continued.

"So, a direct attack of our empire towards the Elven Kingdom is a really big offense, and since the Elven Kingdom and the Dwarf Kingdom allied themselves, they could probably be thinking of attacking us."

"Our empire is strong, yes, but if a war were to happen, we might lose. Even with all our power."

"Oooohhh!" Maya nodded frantically, as if she had understood her words.

Iris was also a bit shocked, and frowned.

"It's not just a training exercise. This is serious. If the Elven and Dwarf Kingdoms do decide to attack, we'll need to know how to survive on our own—whether we're on an island or somewhere in the wilderness." Ella finished her words.

"That... makes sense," Lucas said slowly, his expression now sober.

"If a war does break out and we end up stranded somewhere, we'd need to know how to survive. This academy really prepares us for everything, huh?"

"No wonder this academy has been the best for so long. The professors really know what they're doing." Lucas announced happily.

But as soon as he uttered those words, everyone went silent.

That was because...

As soon as he spoke, Aestrea, who had been quiet the whole time, suddenly looked up, his red eyes glowing faintly in the firelight.

"Huh? Is it really the strongest academy?"

Aestrea, with his glowing red eyes, asked, looking at Lucas with an extremely cold expression.

Immediately, Lucas felt sweat forming on his forehead.

"Well, it is indeed the strong—"

"—Lucas, shut your damned mouth!" Ella interrupted him before he could say anything stupid.

Aestrea only rolled his eyes at her actions.

"I'm done eating."

He said as he stood up and went back to the cabin.

The sun was already descending, so it would be the perfect time to have a nap.

"Tsk... why is he so grumpy?" Lucas mumbled.

"Yeah..." Maya nodded.

Iris only remained silent.

"Agh... You guys are so freaking dumb!" Ella suddenly stood up, looking disgusted as she started walking away.

Maya and Lucas exchanged glances, then turned their attention back to the fire.

"She's right."

Iris, however, broke the silence.

"You two really are lost causes."

"What?!"

Both of them exclaimed.