I Became a Genius Mechanic at the Academy

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“·······.”

I looked back at my past self with a feeling of incredulity.

To think that a princess and a mere mercenary were sharing a hot kiss inside the belly of a ghost wolf.

But digging into their psychology, I might be able to understand it.

In my past self, there ran a subconscious belief that I had to save Adela.

I probably thought of it as love.

‘And Adela…’

The young 18-year-old Adela must have been terrified.

Facing the fear of potentially dying for the first time in her life.

Because of that, she needed a strong protector she could rely on, and that was me, who had lost my memories.

In other words, her responding to my kiss was nearly akin to a drowning person desperately searching for something to hold onto.

“Chuu… Hah… Hah… Chuu…”

Perhaps that’s why.

Adela was passionate.

She desperately clung to me, mixing our tongues, trying to forget the pack of wolves that was howling angrily in search of her.

And knowing her psychology well, my past self cherished Adela, indulging in the kiss just as much.

“·······.”

How long had passed like that?

The pack of wolves that failed to find us began to leave one by one.

They had failed to track us due to being covered in the blood of one of their own.

If I had just run blindly instead of hiding inside the belly of the dead wolf, I would have definitely been caught and met my end.

“…Let’s go out.”

In any case, as soon as the wolf’s presence faded, I took Adela outside.

We were utterly filthy, drenched in wolf’s blood.

“…Do you think we’ll survive?”

At that moment, Adela asked with a worried expression.

But I nonchalantly cut the insides of the dead wolf and held them out to her.

“Stop saying that and take this.”

“······?”

“It’s a gift. A gift that will save our lives.”

“What do you mean…?”

“Monsters are sensitive to smell. If we smell like predator gut or blood, we can avoid danger.”

As I spoke, I cut the wolf’s fur.

I wrapped it around Adela, who was looking at me with shining eyes.

“In short, we’re pretending to be ghost wolves. If we move with the fur on and with the insides in hand into the prey area of the ghost wolves, we should be able to avoid attack. The monster wave is a strong, furious reaction of monsters that are limited to humans.”

“…You really know a lot. How do you know all this?”

“······.”

My past self stared into the void.

I pondered why I had such knowledge.

But there was no way I could know.

All memories of who I was had been completely sealed away.

“Well. Anyway, the important thing is to survive. It’s not about how I know this.”

After saying that, I moved with Adela.

The footprints left on the ground and the monster remains scattered everywhere.

Using the intuition accumulated over a long time, we headed towards the prey area of the ghost wolves.

Since the time of the ‘first possessor’, I had been exploring this world, and I truly knew nothing.

“I’m hungry…”

But before long, Adela quickly became fatigued.

Because she had always trained herself to fit a mold, she could hardly endure this raw situation.

“…Then let’s take a little break. Hungry, huh?”

At my question, Adela nodded her head.

She grumbled about not having any energy, probably because she was hungry.

Even though she was a grand duchess of a noble house, when stripped of her title, she was no different from any other girl.

“Eat.”

Eventually, having found some edible fruit, I handed it to Adela.

And while she was eating the fruit, I knelt before her, sitting on one knee, and started giving her a foot massage.

Adela looked startled and exclaimed.

“Wh, what─!”

“Be quiet. I’m trying to relax your mana veins.”

I said that and resumed the foot massage.

Indeed, my massage helped untangle the clogged mana circulation.

Adela’s quick fatigue was caused by the tense situations she had encountered consecutively, which had thrown her mana management off.

“Wh, wh, wh, where! How rude!”

But when I pressed down on Adela’s chest, she snapped at me.

My past self tilted his head and replied.

“When you were still during the kiss, you stayed still. Why are you like this?”

“Th, that’s not… this and that are…”

“You were definitely doing more than kissing, weren’t you? Mixing saliva!”

“N-no… it’s not like that…”

Adela’s face turned bright red like a ripe tomato.

My past self chuckled softly.

“I’m just trying to help you, so sit still. Your mana is mostly concentrated around your heart, so you need to loosen this up.”

“······.”

Adela gazed intently at me with her blue eyes.

Eventually, as I untangled the blocked mana, her mana began to circulate properly again.

Taking a bite of the fruit, Adela said.

“You’re really… interesting. You’re undeniably a sword master with knowledge and skill, yet… you don’t remember anything. And you’re so young.”

“…Once we get out of here, I plan to figure it out too. What I was doing.”

“…Th-that means…! We can really get out of here?”

“No. I can’t take a burden like you with me.”

Adela looked at me as if she couldn’t believe my words.

But I continued with a serious expression.

“I’m serious. Right now, you’d cause a disaster. By the time it comes around, we’d both be dead, or I’d have to abandon you to survive. The area where the monster wave occurs is that dangerous.”

“······.”

Adela’s expression stiffened again.

She put down the fruit she had been eating deliciously.

“…Then you should just abandon someone like me. After all, I’m the one who caused this situation and put you in danger…”

My past self looked at Adela for a moment.

Adela seemed to be blaming herself, fidgeting with her fingers and gnawing on her lower lip.

Eventually, I stood up and said.

“Why would I abandon you?”

“······.”

“I promised you. I’d definitely protect you. And thinking it over…”

I trailed off, looking at Adela.

Adela looked at me with a nervous expression.

Then I finally spoke.

“I think I like you.”

“·····!”

Adela’s pupils widened.

She let out a hiccup and said something incomprehensible.

“Wh, wh, wh, what a rudeness─!”

“·····?”

Then my past self looked at Adela as if questioning what nonsense she was saying.

Adela hurriedly corrected herself.

“Uh, no… I mean, rather than rude…! Why have you been speaking casually since earlier?”

“······Pfft.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

After picking up my dropped scabbard, I secured it to my waist and replied.

“You’re surprisingly shy. Haven’t you ever been in a relationship?”

“Ugh! W-wait…?”

“It feels good. It won’t be boring.”

I said this, stabbing the wolf intestines I had collected with my sword.

As the blood oozed out, I soaked my hand and approached Adela.

She looked at me with her face blazing red.

“We need to apply more. The scent will fade.”

I said and began to smear blood on Adela’s cheek.

Adela quietly sniffled while staring at me.

Eventually, I grinned and said.

“Alright, all done. Makeup complete. Let’s move. It’s too early to relax.”

Saying that, I extended my hand to Adela.

Adela, who had been staring at my hand, eventually took it, getting up from the rock.

As she felt the weight lift off her body, Adela looked at me in surprise.

“I found it. Temporary shelter.”

After wandering through the forest for some time with Adela, my past self finally found a place to hide safely.

I discovered a cave of just the right size.

“Let’s go. Be careful following me.”

I swiftly led Adela into the cave.

However, there was already a pack of monsters residing inside, and my past self swiftly slaughtered them all at lightning speed.

Turning to Adela, who had a tense expression, I said.

“I need a hand. Please move these corpses outside.”

“····Okay.”

Adela nodded her head and used her teleportation skill.

She moved the monster bodies outside as per my request.

With Adela’s help in removing all the corpses, I looked back at her and said.

“I’m going to mark this area now.”

“·····? Mark the area?”

“Yep. Wild monsters mark their territory with the remains of prey. They warn that if you enter, you could end up like this.”

“Ah…”

“Now, let’s go mark the territory.”

With that, I began the territory marking process with Adela.

To avoid friction, I marked just the right area without making it too large.

Among the marked territories was also a path leading to a valley.

Since water is crucial for survival, I secured territory all the way to the valley.

“Let’s wash up. We look like a mess.”

Arriving at the valley, I took Adela into the water.

The depth just reached my waist, making it an ideal spot to clean ourselves.

“Phew… I feel more alive now…”

Adela, after washing off all the grime and dried blood, said with a relieved expression.

However, aware of my gaze, she suddenly blushed and asked.

“Why… why are you looking at me like that…?”

Through her wet clothes, her chest was visible.

Realizing this, Adela bent over, submerging herself in the water while only her face peeked out.

Then, as if complaining yet without any sincerity, she said to me.

“D-Do you know? What you did to me… is a serious crime. You stole the lips of a grand duchess and… touched my chest, and you didn’t use honorifics. My father won’t let you off easily?”

Her words were somewhat playful.

But I responded with a serious expression, countering her words strongly.

“If you consider what I did after this, there’s no way you’ll escape punishment.”

“······? What do you mean?”

Adela said while covering her chest.

Yet I continued without missing a beat, uttering an utterly outrageous line.

“I’m going to collect your feces.”

“··········?”

Has he gone mad?

Adela looked at me with an expression that seemed to ask if I was insane.

Eventually, I explained.

“Did you think marking the territory was just about leaving the bodies everywhere? No, the key is the smell of urine or feces. As I said earlier, wild monsters are sensitive to scents.”

“······.”

Adela looked at me in horror.

But I continued without caring.

“So, the plan is to mix our feces with that of various monsters. To create a distinct scent of mutated monsters in this area.”

Adela stared at me in disbelief.

She had a tearful expression as she spoke.

“…Are you serious? You want me to give you my… feces?”

“······.”

I looked at her.

During this exchange, I suddenly splashed water onto my face and swept my wet hair back.

With a blank expression, I replied.

“Actually, I’m just kidding.”

“······.”

Adela looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.

Then she suddenly shouted.

“Hey! I thought you were serious!”

“You started with ridiculous nonsense, so I just had to throw some back at you.”

“Wow… you’re something else. I’m a grand duchess, you know. I’ll remember all this and get my revenge later.”

“Then you’ll just be a petty grand duchess.”

Adela looked at me in disbelief.

Then she suddenly burst into laughter.

It seemed I had touched upon a strange point of humor that I didn’t get.

“Ah… today really… is the most… fun day of my life. I’ve never met someone like you before.”

After her laughter subsided, Adela looked at me and said.

Her gaze toward me had taken on a strangely deep quality.

Why would she hold such a look after that kind of conversation?

That was something I couldn’t understand.

“…So, should we get out now? It’s dangerous to stay in the water too long.”

The strangely tense atmosphere made me propose heading outside.

Eventually, Adela and I exited the water and made our way back to the cave.

On the way, we didn’t miss gathering some firewood.

“Can you start a fire? I’ll go look for something edible and make a makeshift bed, so wait here.”

I said and stepped outside.

Using all my knowledge, I gathered edible vegetables and fruits, and hunted for edible monsters.

After that, I also brought back a lot of soft foliage that could serve as a mattress for constructing a bed.

“Step aside. I’m making a bed.”

I told Adela, who was basking in the cave, to step out and then made the bed.

Even though I made it on the spot, it turned out to be quite a decent bed.

“All done. Now listen. It’s time to eat.”

Having finished the bed, I began to cook.

I truly had no recollection of where I learned these survival skills and cooking, but my proficiency suggested I had been doing this for a long time.

“Listen up. I’m going to explain the plan going forward so you don’t interrupt me.”

With the food finished, I started explaining my plan while eating.

In short, it was to train Adela sufficiently so we could escape this place without her getting in my way.

“…Okay. I’ll do my best to learn. I’d appreciate your help.”

“Sure. Then let’s eat.”

After explaining the plan to Adela, I finished my meal.

Thanks to the skills and culinary expertise I couldn’t remember learning, the meal didn’t fall short in taste or quantity.

However, as my stomach filled up, the drowsiness began to surge in.

Now that I thought about it, we had been through so much in just one day.

“Let’s sleep.”

“…Yeah. I’m tired too.”

Then we lay down on our makeshift beds.

Nodding off… Nodding off… Just as drowsiness was overtaking me, I heard Adela’s soft voice.

“…Um, Jack?”

“·····Yeah?”

“…I wanted to say something. I might not have said it today… but thank you. I realized I forgot to say that…”

“…It’s enough that you know.”

“…Yeah, and… thinking about it deeply… I think I kind of like you too. This feels new to me… Anyway… I won’t tell my dad. Once we get out, you’ll be rewarded handsomely… and we’ll get to eat lots of tasty food… and I’ll even get a knight title… Anyway, you’ve succeeded.”

“……..Really? Thanks.”

I replied, turning over in my bed.

However, Adela was still looking at me with a face that was thoroughly red.

She seemed to still have so much more to say, her expression lingering with regret.

“…Um, Jack.”

“······.”

“When did you start liking me?”

When she asked when I had started to like her, I quietly opened my eyes.

Turning to the side, I saw Adela’s face staring straight at me.

It was a complete blush, and she turned her gaze away.

“…I think it was from the very beginning.”

A deep-seated belief that I had to save Adela lay beneath that.

Perhaps due to its influence, my past self felt a strong attraction to Adela the moment I first saw her.

And I thought of that attraction as having fallen for her.

“The moment I first saw you… I thought, no matter what happens, I wanted to protect you.”

“······.”

Listening to my answer, Adela began biting her nails.

However, her action seemed less about anxiety and more about not knowing what to do.

With a timid smile forming on her face, she answered my words.

“If that’s the case… it’s okay. Even if we commit a lot of sins here… as long as it’s not execution… it’s all fine.”