Chapter 384

Traveling with Soldiers

“Ahhh…hhhh…”

“That’s quite a yawn…”

“I am tired…”

“Come on, go wash up.”

“Mm…”

Daniela’s pale body rose from the bed and she put on her clothes with all the energy of a sloth. Then she trudged out of the room. I had already washed my face and was preparing to leave.

As I picked up some belongings that had been scattered around the bed, Daniela returned, and so we headed to the dining hall. Manager and Lemon were already sitting there. Perhaps they had gotten an especially good sleep, as their skin seemed to glow more than usual.

“Good morning, Mister Asagi. Miss Daniela.”

“Morning, Lemon. I’m glad to see that you’re fine now.”

“I haven’t drunk wine in so long…”

She chuckled with a little embarrassment. But I suppose Manager had helped her, and she didn’t seem particularly hungover.

The soldiers then entered the line and we accepted our breakfast before sitting down at the table.

Manager and Lemon had already finished eating, but they stayed and relaxed at the table. Or perhaps I should call it flirting. I felt oddly more full than usual after eating.

“It’s time to depart!”

“Lead the way.”

I bowed to the soldier who saluted us energetically. But he looked a little nervous as he sat down in the driver’s seat and held the reins.

“Thank you for everything.”

I said to Gassel, who stood to the side of the carriage. He smiled and saluted me.

“It was nothing. I was glad to have met you! Please visit us again if you are in the area!”

“Yes, of course.”

I put my hand on my chest and returned the salute. While it was the way to do it in the other world, he still smiled, so I suppose it was alright.

“Be safe!”

“You too.”

The carriage began to move, and the fortress slowly grew farther away from us. Gassel waved at us, as did the soldiers that stood behind him. They were the ones that I bathed with. I suppose it really did bring us closer together, as they had bothered to see us off. While it was a short acquaintance, I was happy to see it.

The carriage rocked loudly as it moved. The sounds of the wheels creating tracks in the ground filled our ears as it moved along.

I continued to wave until they and the fortress disappeared in the shadows of the hills.

□ □ □ □

Aside from us, there were several soldiers riding the carriage. Four of them were in the back with me, Daniela, Manager, and Lemon. And there was one in the driver’s seat.

And this driver really liked to talk.

“Aye, I was born in Fhiraldo. They were talking about you the last time I went back there. Uh, Black Rabbit, was it? But that was like a false name, I suppose. That’s too bad. But I think it’s rather cute. Yes, it’s not a terrible name at all.”

“Ahaha. Thanks.”

“Oh, and our Captain Gassel! Did you know? He’s a cousin of Russell, the captain of the guard there. Quite a coincidence, eh? But if you ask me, they have similar names and faces. Of course, Captain Gassel has a beard. But if he shaved it off, you wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. Don’t you agree?”

“Uh…I guess.”

“I knew it. By the way, I spoke with Russell during my last visit, and he spoke of you, Mister Asagi. You were a runner up in the Imperial Sword Tournament in Flugelnia? And Miss Daniela was the winner? Incredible. And to think someone like me would be driving you two in a carriage!”

“Hey, watch the road.”

“Ahahaha! Sorry, sorry.”

He was like that the whole time. Everyone else seemed like they were going to fall asleep. However, he seemed to have taken to me for some unknown reason, and it had become an unspoken rule that I had to keep him company.

“Ahh, it really is such a great honor! Oh, goblins.”

“What!?”

“Yes, just leave it to me.”

“No, I will go.”

“No, no. I will deal with them!”

As the soldiers argued, I used ‘God Speed’ to rush out and decapitate all four of them in one swing with my great sword. Then I grabbed their iron weapons and their left ears and returned to the carriage.

“…”

They were all staring at me. But they understood. Having to listen to the guy had resulted in a lot of pent up stress.

Still, it had to be said.

“I think I’m about to snap…”

“Ah…”

“That’s very…”

“Sorry…”

Perhaps it wasn’t good to take it out on goblins, but I was only human.

“I’ll be! That was quite impressive indeed! Marvelous!”

“Thanks…”

“Oh, are you tired now?”

“A little…”

“Then you must get some rest! We will stop and camp for the night very soon!”

Thankfully, he wasn’t completely oblivious, and was relatively quiet after that. The only problem was that I said ‘relatively.’

“But that really was so fast! How are you able to do it? I couldn’t even see you move!”

“Yeah, it was pretty fast.”

“It was amazing!”

He continued on. His sentences were shorter, but the volume and speed were not much different. On the other hand, I was weakening both physically and mentally. I didn’t even feel mad anymore. It was a good strategy.

However, even the driver seemed to get tired after so much talking, and he became quiet once we arrived at the place where we would set up camp. Perhaps he had run out of things to talk about. As someone who wasn’t very sociable, I was amazed at how many subjects he had to draw from in the first place. Regardless, I had survived.

But then again, he was also pretty busy setting up the campsite with the other four. As we were used to traveling, we offered to help them, but they insisted that it was their job. And so with no other choice, we decided to scout the perimeter and get rid of any monsters that were close by.

We separated in all four directions, going to every spot that Presence Detection told us to, and eliminating the danger. After repeating this several times, I returned to the campsite to see three impressive tents had been raised. And they were already starting to prepare a meal.

“You really didn’t have to go out there and…”

“No, no. We went because we wanted to.”

I said, as one of the soldiers bowed apologetically.

Daniela and the others returned shortly after. By then, a pot was already boiling over the fire and a pleasant smell was in the air. As we were all tired, though, not all in the same way, we immediately sat down to eat.

“Mm…this is good.”

“Ah, I made it.”

“It’s very delicious.”

“Thank you!”

The conversation was mostly casual as we ate. But it was fun eating with a larger group. And it was great eating outside as well.

However, it was oddly worrying that the guy who couldn’t shut up earlier was now rather quiet. Was it really that he had run out of things to talk about?

“Mister Asagi…”

“Hmm?”

He looked a little apologetic as he raised his face.

“Sorry for earlier. I might have gotten a little too excited. I wasn’t being very considerate.”

Ah, they must have rebuked him while we were gone hunting. I’d been in his shoes myself. It was hard to notice such things when you were excited. So that’s why the five had insisted on doing the work themselves.

“Haha. No, I was glad to be able to hear such interesting stories and some nostalgic ones. I just got a little tired.”

Besides, it was rather childish to carry what happened during the day into the night.

“I really am sorry…”

“Well, I think it’s the reason why we’re all here enjoying this meal now. So don’t worry about it.”

The fatigue actually made the food more rewarding in a way. It wasn’t a bad way to end the day.

Once we were finished eating and we were all relaxed, they started to talk about who would take the watch.

“We will take turns doing it. So all of you can rest tonight.”

“No, that will not do. As if we could rest while you take all of the burden.”

Daniela said stubbornly. And I agreed.

“There are still two days left, so we should take shifts. It will be easier for everyone that way. Are you all fine with that?”

I nodded, as did Manager and Lemon. And while the soldiers were still hesitant, the matter was settled. Since Daniela insisted that she would take the first watch, the rest of us would be allowed to rest for quite a while.