The First Step: Survival (3)

The three women turned wide eyes, shocked expressions on their faces as they were taken aback by the weight of the butler's words...!

Even the knight Martha, who had already gone through a few survival training sessions during her knight apprentice days, was surprised by these 'Rule of Threes' and how extreme it sounded...!

The female knight had never heard of these extreme limits of human endurance in any of her survival training, nor had she ever actually tested the limits of her endurance.

On the other hand, Lady Anastasia and her maid Bella, the two 'indoor-type' ladies who had never learned much nor undergone survival training, showed the most shock at this new knowledge...!

"How... terrifying," Anastasia murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. "To think... that survival could be reduced to such brutal numbers..."

The red-haired lady was shaken for a moment, her thoughts running wild with scenarios of what she might have to face in order to survive. She still clung to the lingering remnants of the comfort she had once experienced as a noble...

But now... she was faced with the possibility of enduring these extreme trials of survival...

"... T-three days without... water... T-three weeks without... food...?!?" Bella stammered, her voice trembling as she struggled to process the dreadful knowledge she had just learned. Her fear mirrored her mistress's, if not greater.

"H-hold on a moment, butler!" Martha interjected, stepping forward to confront the ever-smiling butler. "W-what nonsense are these endurance limits you speak of?! I have never heard of such principles in any of my training!"

"... Nor have I, Sir Sebas," Anastasia added, her arms crossing over her chest—not in anger, but rather as a subconscious shield to steady herself. "Though I must admit that I have limited knowledge of both survival techniques and principles, I have never encountered this so-called 'Rule of Threes' or what its dreadful principles entail..."

"How do you even know these endurance limits, butler...?" the female knight questioned him further, her tone filled with both suspicion and frustration.

Sebas couldn't help but chuckle at their reactions, finding it somewhat amusing... though his chuckling might have had an unsettling effect on their already tense state.

Of course, they wouldn't know these 'Rule of Threes' survival principles. After all... this was a concept that came from the "other world" of which Sebas's past life originated.

The knowledge of this world had not yet reached the pinnacle of his past world's. Not to mention, the existence of magic had a somewhat stagnating effect on the progress of science.

"Where I learned such knowledge is not important to the matter, Miss Knight..." he replied, avoiding Martha's question, much to the dismay of the female knight. "... What is important right now... is how you utilize this knowledge!!!"

"W-whu-?!"

All three women gasped at the butler's sudden outburst. He'd stepped forward, his figure commanding authority over the ladies as they were at the mercy of his wisdom...!

"These survival principles are your precious guidelines for how you should approach survival in any harsh environment!!!"

"I-I understand, Sir Sebas...! But..." Anastasia hesitated, stepping back a few steps to regain some personal space from him, "I still cannot fully grasp these principles... So, would you kindly elaborate further on any of them?"

"Hehe... I'm glad that you hunger for this knowledge, my lady."

"I would not go so far as to say I'm that interested, Sir Sebas..." she retorted, finding his antics to be rather frustrating.

"Listen up, ladies," he commanded, ignoring her protest, "I'll explain each principle as briefly but comprehensively as I can, alright?"

The three of them could only nod awkwardly. They honestly had never expected this kind of behavior coming from their enigmatic butler.

"First! Three minutes without air... It is pretty self-explanatory, is it not?" he started, a confident smile adorning his face. "We humans need air to live, by breathing it through our lungs—clean, unpolluted air if possible."

He touched his chest, demonstrating his respiratory system.

"As you can see, the air in this region is, surprisingly, quite clean and breathable."

"... It's true...!" Anastasia exclaimed, actually surprised by the fact! Even her two aides were also taken aback as they both looked at their surroundings.

Anastasia had prepared herself for the dangers of this place... which, of course, included the possibility of a toxic, poisonous environment. But... as she looked around once more (while ignoring the bloody pile of dead monsters), trying to fully process the unknown frontier...

The environment here was quite clean...!

Wilderness meadows stretched as far as the eye could see, with a healthy amount of forest visible on the horizon. It was a far cry from the noble society environment she'd been used to living and breathing in, but... it was a healthy environment for her and her two aides to live in...!

Seeing the amazed gaze of Lady Anastasia brought another sense of relief to Sebas, as he saw even more 'life' returning to her.

"... And that brings us to the second principle: Three hours without shelter," Sebas declared, bringing the ladies' attention back to him.

"That's right...! That second principle of yours, butler!" Martha interjected. "What do you mean that we can't survive three hours without shelter?!"

"Y-yeah, I was also surprised by that," Bella chimed in. "Isn't that a bit too extreme for a survival principle, Sir Sebas...?"

"Haha, yeah, I can see why you gals would find this one a bit over the top," Sebas admitted, a playful glint in his eye. "The second principle regarding shelter correlates with the first principle and is mostly measured by what kind of environment you find yourself in."

He then spread his arms wide, gesturing to their surroundings once more.

"The environment here is quite ideal for living, isn't it? So, the second principle... might seem a bit too much to you lot. However..."

The butler then pointed to the side—to the towering pile of dead monsters he had slaughtered...!

"... It is affected quite heavily by external factors... such as the dangers lurking in this land...!"