Chapter 113 – Camping
It was expected that it would take about 3 days to reach the destination of this mission, the Argon Territory.
As the party included important figures such as a saint and a cardinal of the Celestial Church, it was initially considered to use the warp gate, but this was rejected at the request of the Celestial Church.
Of course, the superficial reason was that the budget was too high, so it was extravagant, and there were difficulties in coordinating the timing of joining the latecomers…
“Wow! Cardinal Malleus, look at that! The autumn leaves on the mountain are so pretty!”
“Ohhh, that’s true. It’s very nice to see! Originally, around this time every year, a grand festival is held in this area.”
From my point of view, it seemed that the elders of the church did this because they just wanted to let Ophelia, who was young and had limited knowledge, see the world.
Since she was a commoner, she had never left the village, and after being rescued by me from the battlefield, she would have been confined to a convent, so it was only natural for her to react like a child.
I shook my head with a smile at the peaceful appearance in the large carriage, as if a granddaughter and grandfather were having a conversation.
“You look like a child on a picnic.”
It’s a mission to purify a territory, but it’s because there’s not that much tension.
Well, it was an understandable attitude given the party’s combat prowess.
It’s enough just to do the job properly. The mission hasn’t started in earnest yet, so it wouldn’t be too bad to enjoy a moderately relaxed atmosphere while on the move.
“Chief! A strange looking cloud is passing by in the sky over there. Mongsilmongsil… It looks like it has a tail. Doesn’t it look like a cat?”
However, I didn’t expect that even Agnes would show a girl like this.
I already knew that, unlike his sharp impression, he was surprisingly sensitive, but it was something different when he was pointing his finger at the sky while fully armed on a horse.
“Puha…!”
Agnes’ actions are cute and somewhat awkward, causing unbearable laughter.
—Pu hee hee!
Besides, isn’t the huge dark horse I’m riding on ridicule as if laughing at the most exquisite moment?
“Ah, ah…”
Agnes makes a sick sound at him and dyes her face red like a ripe tomato.
“Pu-hip…! It’s okay. Our position is at the head of the procession, so the men probably didn’t see it.”
“You, you are too much… Why are you smiling like that…!”
“Why are you laughing? It’s because you’re so cute.”
She was so lovely that I wanted to stroke her hair right away, but it’s just a pity that she’s in the middle of her mission.
Agnes, who had been pouting his lips and glaring at me for a moment with pouting eyes, took out her watch and took a look before changing the topic.
“Hmmmm. Now that the afternoon is over, it’s going to get dark soon. The sun doesn’t set quickly in the mountains. It looks like we’ll have to get ready for camping soon.”
“Yes. I see. Let’s go over this hill and take a break.”
“Yes. Then we will spread the instructions to the rear row.”
I gave her her orders and inspected the terrain around her, rechecking her current situation.
According to the letter from the leader of the Knights of Ropes, who is in charge of this area, the raid on the Argon territory is currently in a state of lull.
It is true that the territory and the entire mountain range surrounding it were occupied by monsters, but thanks to the quick initial action, the damage was remarkably small compared to the scale of the situation.
In the first place, it was a pioneering village-level estate in the mountains, so there was no particular property damage, and the refugees were already accepted in nearby estates and are doing well.
‘This only pitied the lord. What a pity.”
Of course, the lord, Baron Argon, would be burned to the brim, but I can only say that this is just bad luck.
Entire small territories destroyed by monsters were reported a few times a year. No matter how much the age of mankind has arrived, the resistance of the monsters has not completely stopped.
Still, there will be meaningful results as much as such a large-scale force goes to recover the territory.
“Captain! The reconnaissance team has returned. As a result of the reconnaissance, no high-risk monsters or unusual occurrences were observed in the surrounding area.”
After crossing a peak made up of gentle ridges and reaching a flat terrain with a small stream flowing nearby, the scouting party sent to look around just in time also returned.
“Yes. Good job.”
Anyway, since there was no reason for us to stay up all night, we decided to camp here as planned.
“Everyone, we prepare for camping here today!”
“Yes!”
There are a few villages around, but it’s just a pity that there are no villages large enough to accommodate this many people.
Still, if the level of the party is at this level, it might be much better to camp rather than rest in a clumsy lodging.
It was because a revolutionary change occurred in the camp culture of the Empire due to the newly invented magic tool a few months ago.
“A great man who invented this good thing should be awarded a Solarium 1st class medal.”
“No. I should thank the captain for this. Thanks to winning the competition, wouldn’t it be possible to receive and use these things? How many gold coins do you need to pay to buy this? Huh…”
—Paaah!
If you roughly cut the wood, make a skeleton, and activate the magic tool, a near-perfect accommodation is completed without the need to bother to set up a tent.
The price is on the very expensive side as it has not yet been equipped with a mass production system, but it can be said that it is a product that is worth the price.
‘If this kind of thing had been there during the war… ‘
When the war was in full swing, both commanders and low-ranking soldiers slept in tents, picking up fallen leaves from mud or gravel.
I don’t know who invented it, but if it had been invented 5-6 years earlier, it would have been less painful.
I feel that the world is getting a lot better.
“Young car.”
— Deeddeudeuk!
Thinking of that, I prepared the timber by pulling out several beautiful trees of suitable height. He had nothing to do anyway, so he wanted to alleviate the suffering of his subordinates.
“That tree…Isn’t it 15 meters high? Its circumference is thicker than that of any bull…”
“Every time I see something like that, I doubt whether the captain is a human like us.”
“No, can you become like that by training your mana?”
“Isn’t it the captain… I wouldn’t be surprised if you suddenly pull out the mountain.”
However, for some reason, the surroundings are a little noisy.
My subordinates, I think it’s just like that no matter what I do now, but the members of the Celestial Church are staring at me with their mouths wide open in disbelief.
“Oh my god.”
“It’s nonsense. Without the heavenly blessing, how can I…”
Damn, I didn’t mean to put on a power show for nothing. Somehow I feel a bit ashamed.
It’s not for nothing that the superiors say that it’s better to just stay still until a critical situation strikes.
But, whatever, this is what happened. It would be better to make a good impression on the priests.
I pretended not to be anything but smiled and approached the camp on the side of the Celestial Church.
Like a church with a lot of money, they too were ready for camping using the same magic tools we used.
“Nice to meet you, priests. Do you have any inconveniences staying there? If the campsite is small, we can expand it a little.”
“No, it’s okay. Haha…”
“Is that so. If an unexpected situation arises at night, please let me know.”
“Yes. Thank you for your concern, Sir Wolfgang.”
After properly showing my face to the priests, I returned to our side and checked our alertness.
The night watch was decided to take turns between the two sides, and since it was our turn on the first night, it was necessary to instruct more clearly.
Even the slightest misfortune should not happen to the party with the saintess in it.
“Ha! This is worth seeing.”
After wandering around so hard, the surroundings suddenly became completely dark, and the stars were twinkling in the sky.
I looked around and sat down on a rock at the edge of the camp and looked up at the sky.
The shining crescent moon is very beautiful. When I see the silvery moon, I always think of Alicia. Her soft silver hair always reminds me of moonlight.
‘It’s been a while again. Come to think of it, the crescent moon was on the first day I met Alicia.’
It’s something I shouldn’t have done during my mission, but I couldn’t help but feel sentimental after spending the night in the mountains like this.
To be honest, up until now it felt like I was out to play somewhere far away with my subordinates rather than carrying out an operation.
Still, it felt good to be doing this because my mind, which had been dizzy for the past few days, felt a little clearer.
There are already a lot of things to take care of, but if this mission goes as smoothly as today, it would be perfect.
Thinking of that, the moment I tried to raise my body.
“Ah, mister!”
“Well?”
From behind a rock, for some reason Ophelia, looking a little uneasy, stuck her head out.
