Chapter 80: A Clever Use of Resources

As Yuna lounged lazily on the bench at the side of the combat hall, she watched her classmates take turns battling the academy's combat puppet. The mechanical figure stood sturdy and unyielding, a perfect training opponent that required no food, no rest, and most importantly—no troublesome emotional baggage. It was, in Yuna's opinion, the best kind of sparring partner.

Her classmates, however, had initially suggested something completely different.

"Let's go fight mutated beasts in the academy forest!" One of them had declared with the enthusiasm of someone who had never once felt the terror of being chased by a beast twice their size.

Yuna had immediately shot that idea down with a roll of her eyes. Oh sure, let's willingly walk into a den of unpredictable, flesh-hungry creatures when we have a perfectly good, pre-programmed battle dummy sitting right here. What could possibly go wrong?

Her classmates had rubbed their noses sheepishly, grinning at her like mischievous gremlins caught red-handed. Fortunately, they weren't stubborn enough to argue, so here they were now—engaging in their daily self-imposed combat training.

This is the method Yuna camer up with to see how much they improve, theory and practical is different thing.

Every afternoon, half of the heart class would rotate between training and handling their usual businesses, ensuring that their schedules remained balanced. And as their diligent class rep, Yuna was, of course, present for every session… as an observer. A very supportive, very stationary observer.

She crossed her legs and took a bite of the snack she had brought with her. Supervising is hard work, after all.

Meanwhile, in the combat hall, a group of warriors and ability users took turns challenging the puppet. The mages stood back, casting spells in support, and Yuna nodded approvingly at their efforts.

They were getting stronger. Not dramatically, but steadily.

Huh, maybe I should report this progress to Professor Veyne and earn some brownie points… No, wait. He'd just look at me with that unreadable stare behind his mask and say something like, 'very capable, you should take more repsonsibility.' Ugh. No thanks. I'll just keep my achievements to myself.

She took another bite of her snack as her classmates groaned, getting tossed around by the combat puppet like ragdolls.

Well, at least they're learning the valuable lesson of pain. That counts as growth, right?

Yuna was a simple person. She 'trained' when she deem necessary, lazed around whenever possible, and most importantly—she ate well. So, after enduring the chaos of overseeing her classmates' training, she made her way to the cafeteria, where she could peacefully wait for Austin to deliver her much-anticipated meat.

However, peace was never an option.

On her way, she stumbled across familiar faces—the three siblings and the boy she had helped get admitted to the academy. Their appearances were… well, let's just say they looked like they had been personally educated by the mutated beasts on why they should stay far, far away from them.

Despite the various scrapes, bruises, and general air of 'we barely survived' clinging to them, they beamed at her brightly, as if they had just achieved something magnificent.

Then, the boy stepped forward with all the energy of a hero returning from a grand quest.

"We managed to hunt down a mutated beast after weeks of tracking and careful planning!"

Yuna blinked. Once. Twice. She slowly lowered her gaze to the meat they were presenting her.

So… they almost died for this?

The youngest sibling smiled at her sweetly, and Yuna felt an ominous twinge in her gut. She bit her molars and said nothing. Instead, she silently raised her hand to take the meat—because really, what else could she do?

And that was when her hand was caught.

A familiar presence loomed beside her.

"She won't need it."

Austin's voice was calm, his deep blue eyes carrying a glint of quiet possessiveness as he placed a far larger, more impressive chunk of meat beside her.

A brief silence fell over the group.

Yuna watched as the three siblings and the boy processed this unexpected rejection. Their expressions shifted into something resembling… loss? Confusion? What, did they think this was a competition?

She sighed inwardly.

Without bothering to comment on Austin's actions, she simply grabbed the meat offered by the boy and muttered a quick, "Thanks."

The boy instantly brightened, his face practically glowing with delight.

Austin, on the other hand, subtly frowned.

Then, in a barely audible mumble, he said, "Maybe I should hunt down all the mutated beasts near the outskirts of the academy forest."

Yuna, who was highly sensitive to sound, turned to look at him in silent exasperation.

What? What does that even mean? What kind of ridiculous thoughts are running through his head now?

She narrowed her eyes slightly. Did he like to hunt down beast that much????

This man.

This insane man.

Letting out a tired sigh, Yuna decided it was best not to dwell too deeply on Austin's questionable thought process. She suddenly recalled something and glanced at the group before her.

Straightening, she addressed Austin, the three siblings, and the boy, "Follow me to the kitchen. We need to talk."

Austin, of course, wordlessly followed. The siblings and the boy exchanged glances before hurrying after her.

And so, Yuna led them inside, fully prepared to discuss whatever nonsense was brewing in her mind.

Yuna sat at the kitchen table, staring at the four injured people across from her—the three siblings and the boy who practically radiated excitement from having brought her meat.

To her right, Austin stood in his usual quiet, unreadable manner, an air of casual dominance surrounding him as if he weren't just a student but some supreme hunter who could wipe out entire ecosystems with a casual decision.

Yuna sighed.

She looked back at the four. "Was the mutated beast you hunted a solitary one, or was it from a herd?"

Scilla, the eldest of the siblings, raised a brow. "Solitary. Why?"

Yuna nodded sagely. "From now on, only hunt herd mutated beasts."

She made her unreasonable demand.

Silence.

A pause.

Scilla blinked. "…Why?"

Yuna leaned forward slightly, her expression deadpan. "I'm afraid of them going extinct."

Another pause.

Then, the second brother—who had been nursing a rather nasty bruise—let out a low chuckle.

"…Yuna, you're too kind."

His words were accompanied by a fond, almost indulgent smile. The other siblings and the boy softened their gazes, as if they were looking at the most precious, delicate, saintly existence to ever walk this earth.

Yuna stared at them, expression frozen.

Excuse me? What?

She felt an immediate sense of wrongness.

'Why are they looking at me like that? Like I'm some selfless, benevolent savior who rescues stray animals in the rain?'

Her eye twitched.

'I literally just don't want them to destroy an entire species out of their stupid devotion!'

These lunatics!

The boy, looking incredibly inspired, grinned. "Targeting herd beasts will be really hard, but… we can try."

Yuna's expression twisted slightly.

They don't have to! Just eat normal meat! Like normal people! Why are they treating mutated beasts as if they're the only acceptable form of currency to express their gratitude to her?!

She had tried talking sense into them before. It never worked. They always insisted on hunting mutated beasts as if it were their divine mission to feed her with the rarest, most dangerous meats available just because she only like to eat mutated beast.

Annoying.

Tiring.

Utterly ridiculous.

Getting hurt unnecessarily.

And before she could even stop herself, she blurted out—

"…Then work together with Austin."

The room went silent.

Austin turned his head toward her.

Yuna immediately felt an invisible weight settle on her shoulders.

His blue eyes bore into her with quiet intensity, his gaze questioning, assessing. Then, his voice, soft as always, yet somehow filled with meaning—

"Is that what you want me to do?"

Yuna's spine straightened instinctively.

What? No? Not really? She just wanted these lunatics to have some form of survival insurance!

The protagonist is quite strong you know.

And the crown prince likes to go on hunting with Austin, double safety insurance!

But under Austin's unwavering stare, she found herself nodding—slowly, awkwardly, but still nodding.

Austin continued looking at her for a moment, then, ever so lightly, he let out a hum.

"Alright."

The three siblings and the boy exchanged glances, then nodded in agreement as well.

And just like that, her small, ridiculous request had turned into a full-fledged alliance.

Yuna barely resisted the urge to slam her head against the table.

What have I done?

The protagonist should be the protagonist….sigh….so tired.

Her thoughts were spiraling when she suddenly remembered something. Digging into her pouch, she pulled out a bundle of healing potions the apothecary from her heart class gave her and shoved them into the hands of the three siblings and the boy.

"Here. Use these next time instead of coming back looking like you got personally chewed on."

The group smiled, thanking her sincerely.

Then, Yuna turned toward Austin and, in a hushed whisper, added—

"I'll make a 100% purity healing potion for you later."

Austin's fingers twitched.

For a brief moment, a flicker of something too pleased passed through his expression before he masked it again.

Yuna, utterly oblivious to the storm she was feeding, merely felt a small pang of guilt for pushing more people onto Austin's hunting plans.

Austin, on the other hand, felt secretly gleeful.

Unlike the rest, he was getting special treatment.

And that, in his mind, made all of this completely worth it.

He then cast a cold gaze at the three siblings and the boy, his expression darkening as they looked at Yuna with a fondness that grated against his patience. If they insisted on acting like obedient dogs vying for their master's favor, then…