What Matters Most

"What do you think is the most important thing for a person trying to survive in a dangerous environment with scarce resources?"

Mr. Edward asked.

Ibuki thought for a moment. "Perseverance?"

The old man shook his head and looked at Ichinose and Shiranami.

The two discussed it briefly, then came to an answer.

"Unity."

"Unity is important, but it isn't the most important thing."

Edward looked toward Kamuro.

Kamuro imagined herself in that situation and replied, "Food."

"Food is essential, that's true, but it isn't the most important thing either."

Edward's eyes were full of amusement. Even when they got an answer wrong, he didn't criticize them. It felt less like a teacher speaking to his students and more like friends having a conversation.

"What about you?"

You En had been thinking the whole time about what the real enemy or danger in such an environment would be. Was there even a definite enemy? In the end, he came up with his answer.

"I think it's your mindset."

Edward's eyes lit up. He clapped his hands.

"Exactly. It's your mindset."

The old man took a deep breath and shared with them what he considered the most important lesson of his life.

"Whether we lack food, fresh water, or allies, once we lose the support of civilization, even a light rain can be enough to take a human life.

"In some circumstances, there's no way to immediately make up for the frailty of our bodies.

"No matter what our circumstances are, the most important thing when facing any crisis is our mindset. We can lose heart, we can feel disappointed, but we must never despair or become too complacent.

"As long as we hold on to hope and stay positive, we can face our fears, understand them, and then overcome them. In the end, we can go from being weak to becoming strong, establish ourselves in the wilderness, and even rebuild civilization."

Ibuki, Ichinose, and Kamuro all felt that his words were meaningful. Even if they hadn't fully understood them, they could sense their teacher's sincerity just from the words themselves.

You En felt it too, but he couldn't help thinking that Edward had more to say than he was letting on.

Every teacher at this school seemed like a riddler. So many of their words and expressions clearly held deeper meanings, but You En had no way to interpret them yet.

"From now on, I'll find ways to train your mindsets,"

Edward said.

"Anyone who can't stick it out is free to leave."

Ibuki interlaced her fingers, looking forward to it.

You En shifted his gaze away from her hands and remembered the bet they'd made earlier. It seemed Little Ibuki would have to pay up after this class.

Ibuki noticed that someone had been staring at her the whole time and felt a little uncomfortable. It wasn't that she sensed any ill will; she was just the sort of person who disliked being around outsiders.

"What?"

She gave You En a look.

"If you have something to say, then say it."

You En thought for a moment, then asked, "Do you want to admit defeat now?"

"What?!"

Ibuki almost jumped up. "Are you looking down on me?"

Mr. Edward said nothing. He just watched them with Ichinose, curious.

When the teacher saw Ibuki looking at him, he chuckled and waved it off. "You can talk things over first. Being around you young people gives these old bones of mine a little more life."

Ibuki grabbed You En by the shoulder and pulled him hard toward her.

You En didn't resist much. He only felt the girl's breath brush against his ear and her blue hair tickle his face.

Ibuki leaned close to his ear. "You think I'm going to lose? Or that I'll welsh on the bet?"

"We're saying this because we trust you not to welsh," You En answered honestly.

"Don't worry. Forget three times—if I really lose, I'll bark ten times for you."

Ibuki said.

You En was genuinely tempted. He cautiously raised the stakes. "Then ten times it is. I'll do it too if I lose."

"Hmph."

Ibuki gave a soft snort. "Fine by me."

She turned around and saw Ichinose grinning, Shiranami Chihiro covering her face, and Masumi Kamuro looking utterly disgusted.

Only then did Ibuki realize how intimate she and You En must have looked.

A faint blush appeared on Ibuki's face, but she didn't take it out on You En. She let go of his shoulder, collected herself in a few seconds, then turned to the teacher.

"We're done talking."

"It's nice to be young."

Mr. Edward smiled. He didn't dwell on the little interruption and continued.

"Then I'll start you off with something really basic. Kids, I'm sure you'll love it."

He went behind the curtain. A beast gave a low growl from within, but after the old man scolded it softly, the sound disappeared.

Half a minute later,

Mr. Edward came back out carrying two large buckets.

Ibuki and Ichinose looked curious. Shiranami Chihiro looked more frightened than anything else, while Kamuro seemed completely unbothered.

You En studied the buckets and guessed what might be inside. He hesitated, but still spoke up.

"Mr. Edward, shouldn't you prepare them first?"

"You guessed what's inside? Not bad."

Edward said, "That's your own preparation to make. It has nothing to do with anyone else."

He set the buckets down. "There are plates in the cupboard over there. You can each grab one."

As soon as Ichinose heard him, she went over. "I'll get them for everyone."

Once Ichinose had handed out the plates,

Mr. Edward opened one of the buckets. There wasn't much light inside, so it looked dim. They could just make out something green, and it seemed to be wriggling.

They moved closer, and at last saw what was inside: countless writhing green grubs.

You En instinctively covered his ears.

The next second,

"Ah!!!"

Shiranami Chihiro's scream hit a pitch no human voice should be able to reach.

Ichinose's smile stiffened a little, but otherwise she was holding up all right.

Ibuki felt sick just looking at them. Then she suddenly remembered what You En had said earlier.

"Teacher... you're not going to make us eat those, are you?"

"Bingo. Correct."

Edward reached into the bucket and grabbed a handful of grubs, placing them on a plate. The fat grubs, each about as thick as a thumb, writhed across the plate. The sight made Kamuro gag.

"These are soybean hawk moth larvae. They were raised on soybean leaves in a very clean environment, so they taste better. Of course, if you find them in the wild, they're a rare delicacy."

He opened the other bucket, which held nothing but clean water. He took one soybean hawk moth larva, much larger than a finger, and crushed it in his hand. He put it in the water and squeezed out its innards.

Once he'd mostly cleaned it,

Edward popped it into his mouth and chewed heartily.

"Ugh."

Kamuro and Shiranami could barely keep from throwing up.

Mr. Edward smiled. "They taste pretty good. You should try one."

Masumi Kamuro looked at the larvae huddled together on the plate. Forget eating one—she felt like even touching one would give her nightmares.

She spoke up.

"Teacher, I quit."

Mr. Edward nodded. He didn't send her away, but said, "All right, you can sit over there. You can leave, too, if you want."

"Teacher, I..."

Shiranami Chihiro spoke up as well, looking apologetically at Ichinose.

The teacher nodded. "Go over there."

Ichinose patted her on the shoulder and comforted her. "It's all right. It's too much to expect a girl to accept something like this, Chihiro. It's not your fault."

Shiranami was worried. She glanced at the things on the table, then jerked her gaze away as if she'd been shocked. "Ichinose, are you really going to eat those?"

Ichinose gave a somewhat bitter smile, but still tried to keep her spirits up. "I don't have a choice. I'm the class representative, and I was the one who suggested we sign up for this class. We can't let those points go to waste."

Shiranami wanted to try persuading her again, but when she saw Ichinose silently shake her head, she gave up. Covering her mouth, her eyes reddened as she ran off to the side.

At the very least, she had to witness everything Ichinose was sacrificing. When this was over, she'd make sure everyone in their class knew just how much Ichinose had suffered.

You En studied Ibuki's face. Ibuki ignored him for a long moment, then turned and said,

"Why do you keep staring at me?!"

You En pointed his chin at the "feast" on the plate.

"So, are you eating or not?"

Ibuki stared at the cluster of soybean hawk moth larvae, her expression turning increasingly hostile. "You... did you know all along that this class would make us eat something like this?"

"No,"

You En said. "Ask Mr. Edward if you don't believe me."

Mr. Edward smiled. "The school's security measures are excellent. There's no way the contents of a class could be leaked in advance."

Ibuki sighed. Should she give up?

If she quit, she wouldn't have to endure this, and she wouldn't have to bark like a puppy, either.

But she, Ibuki Mio, wasn't the kind of person to give up. How could she quit?!

She reached out fiercely, but as her hand neared the larvae, it slowed down until it finally stopped. Her fingertips trembled as she looked at the big, plump, bright-green grubs.

Ichinose clasped both hands to her chest, ready to pray for Ibuki.

Just as Ibuki hesitated, on the verge of giving up,

You En reached out beside her, decisively grabbed one of the larger soybean hawk moth larvae from the plate, crushed it in the water, and began cleaning out its innards.

You En looked at the corpse of the insect, feeling strangely nostalgic. In his previous life, his father had been very fond of insects, cordyceps, silkworm pupae, and things like that, so he recognized it.

But he'd never eaten one. Cooked or raw, it really was as disgusting as the girls thought.

This had nothing to do with gender. In peacetime, when food was plentiful, only a tiny handful of people would want to try eating insects.

You En popped it straight into his mouth.

Ichinose, Kamuro, and Shiranami pressed their lips together without thinking, a hint of admiration in their eyes.

You En chewed a few times. At first he felt a little repulsed, but the more he chewed, the better it tasted. He was about to reach for another.

Mr. Edward nodded and asked,

"How does it taste?"

The other four girls were curious, too.

You En swallowed before answering. "Pretty good, actually. It's got a nice, fresh flavor. It'd probably taste even better cooked."

"Good. Everyone has to eat ten. Keep it up."

You En nodded and continued cleaning them. He felt a little relieved.

He could only say it was a good thing the free food had tasted so bad over the past few days. By comparison, the grubs weren't so bad after all.

Ibuki looked at You En, then at the larvae. A flicker of struggle crossed her pretty face. Seeing that someone had already swallowed a second one, a surge of defiance rose in her heart.

She grabbed a larva and crushed it with all her strength, then began cleaning it as best she could.

She could lose the bet,

but she absolutely couldn't lose to him.