“Well... I guess it’s probably about time we got started too.”
Sitting around sulking isn’t going to get us anywhere, after all...
By the time my classmates returned from their darkpherret subjugation mission, my much-anticipated school camp would already be halfway over. At this point, it would be better to focus on smashing out the last few scenarios before heading to the hot springs to try and at least salvage something from the entire ordeal. A quick ransack through the relief supplies rewarded me with a pencil and some paper, which I laid on top of the sunlit rubble I’d already picked out as a desk.
It was then that Vesta, the sole member of Class A who’d remained behind (per my nomination, of course) finally spoke up. “Why...why did you pick me, Allen? No offense, but it’s not as though we’re particularly close, and I obviously don’t have any experience with reinforcing a defensive stronghold either...”
He’s not wrong, I guess... But I mean, it’s not like any of the others would have prior experience with something like that either.
“Well, because I wanted you to be in charge of planning the reinforcements—that’s why I picked you,” I answered bluntly, to Vesta’s obvious confusion.
“That still doesn’t explain anything, though. I can understand it from an academic perspective, I suppose—my grades are second only to Leo, and since he’s essential to the third scenario, it would make sense to pick me. But defensive construction principles are a second-year subject, and only in the knight course. You do realize I’m in the bureaucrat course, Allen? I’ve read a few books on the topic out of curiosity, but that’s it.”
His argument—carefully laid out and highly reasonable, just like I’d expected—made me smile, as did him casually admitting to dabbling in second-year subjects outside of his actual course. Clearly, Vesta actually enjoyed studying—but that had nothing to do with the reason I’d chosen him.
“I didn’t pick you because of your grades, or your course, or because you read textbooks for fun. It’s got nothing to do with being friendly or anything either. The stuff you learn from reading a couple of books doesn’t help you out in the real world, not until you actually try that stuff for yourself with your own two hands. You’ve got to turn that knowledge into experience—that’s what the whole point of this camp is.” Vesta still looked confused—perhaps even more so than before—so I kept going. “Even if I could’ve chosen Leo, I still would have picked you, Vesta. It’s a simple choice, really. All I have to do is imagine myself on the offensive side and ask myself, ‘Who would I hate going up against the most?’ And that’s you by far, Vesta.”
Rather than confused, Vesta now looked genuinely surprised. “You’re messing with me, aren’t you? I don’t have your abnormally creative mind, and I can’t instantly analyze any situation and decide what risks to take like Dan either. Leo’s more capable than me in every regard. As much as it bothers me, that’s just who I am—I can’t throw myself out of my comfort zone like you all. And my combat abilities are clearly much worse compared to someone like Stella, for instance.”
“See? You clearly get it!” I said, wholeheartedly agreeing with Vesta’s somewhat harsh self-analysis. “But do you know when reinforcing a defensive stronghold actually requires ‘abnormal creativity,’ as you put it?”
Vesta fell silent, though I knew he’d figured it out.
“That’s right—the only time you need to rely on a few crazy ideas is when you’re losing. Taking risks is the same thing. In a battle, the only time you should be taking risks is when you’re caught between a rock and a hard place and have to choose which of the two will hurt less. And the stuff you said about Leo and Stella—sure, they’re both pretty capable, but individual strength isn’t much use in a scenario like this. If I asked Leo to handle the reinforcement plan, he’d base everything on his abilities. It’d just be a waste of paper... Well, I guess he’s started to figure that out a bit more recently with being the vice captain of the Hill Path Club, so he’d probably just delegate it to someone less stupidly powerful instead.” I shrugged. “There’s nothing wrong with having a comfort zone, Vesta. It’s certainly nothing to be ashamed of. Defensive strongholds, comfort zones—they’re basically the same thing, you know? We’ll prepare for any and all situations, and minimize risk as much as possible. Any enemy would struggle to conquer a stronghold built on the principles of a comfort zone. They won’t be able to attack us head-on, of course. No, they’ll waste a lot of time coming up with strategies to counter our defense, and reactive strategies like those are always going to be a big gamble,” I said with unjustified confidence for something that was essentially a subjective opinion.
Vesta took a deep breath. For some reason, he looked close to tears. “I thought... I thought you didn’t like me, Allen.”
“Why would you think that?”
“‘Why...?’ You’re the type of person who’d skip into a burning building to save someone else. I’m the type of person who tests a bridge three times for stability before I even consider crossing it. Can you really blame me for thinking we could ever see eye to eye?”
I laughed. “Guess your comments about my cooking weren’t the only rude thing about you, Vesta. Skipping into a burning building? Really? I never do anything like that... Well, almost never, anyway. If my safety was guaranteed and the people inside seemed interesting, I might skip a little. The rest of the time, though? There’s no skipping. I’ll still go in, but I’ll be running, and I won’t be happy about it.” I grinned. “Besides, I think surrounding yourself with different types of people makes life a whole lot more interesting. Funnily enough, I actually used to be a lot like you.”
“You were?” Vesta blinked. “That’s hard to believe...”
I chuckled. I had been almost exactly like Vesta, once upon a time—but not as “Allen.” “It’s true. I always chose the safest option, and never even considered taking risks. I spent every day studying, but I didn’t do it because I enjoyed it like you, or because it was something I was interested in. Nah, it was only because it would help me find a decent job in the future—that’s what everyone told me anyway, and I never thought to question it. I was just a kid who studied like a machine. I had discipline and focus, but those were pretty much my only redeeming qualities.”
It took a few seconds for Vesta to reply. “You’re such a liar,” he said with a grin and proceeded to punch me on the shoulder.
After a few more friendly blows—and a fair deal of laughter—we finally got to work.