To The Battlefield (11)

The rest of the journey proceeded in much the same way. Monsters appeared far more often than I had imagined. Most were drakas, but I was truly startled when several gargoyles appeared at once.

There were many of us, so we defeated them without much difficulty, but they must have been extremely troublesome opponents for the knights escorting the Cattaleang merchant caravan.

Still, I was relieved that no one was injured. The knights were weak as expected, but perhaps because they trained diligently, they did not lose their composure even after repeated battles. Since they all knew how to protect themselves to some extent, I could swing my sword with a little more peace of mind.

Raul continued to guard Mary thoroughly. Mary insisted that she could protect herself, but none of us intended to allow that. Even weak monsters were not opponents she could handle with swordsmanship learned only briefly. I could relax only if someone remained beside her.

Leonard, on the other hand, fought at the front alongside me. Said to be the most skilled member of the order after Victor, he was certainly stronger than the other knights. He was not astonishingly powerful like Victor, but at this level, he would have ranked among the finest even in Amari.

And so, the second day’s journey ended in the middle of a forest.

It was because I had asked that we avoid villages whenever possible. Everyone was tired, but the knights mustered their strength, pitched tents, and prepared the campsite.

Mary volunteered to cook.

“I learned all sorts of things from the kitchen maids at the castle!”

Was that really true? The personal maids of great nobles were often young ladies from respectable families themselves and knew little about domestic labor such as cooking or laundry.

However, Mary rather skillfully placed ingredients into a large pot. Once she boiled jerky and dried vegetables in water, it became a reasonably convincing stew. I received a piece of bread and a bowl of stew, then sat beside Mary as she diligently stirred the pot.

Recently, I had eaten delicious food every day at the castle, so I had not been particularly attached to meals, but once I was outdoors, I became hungry again.

I hurriedly dipped the bread into the stew and ate, then suddenly stopped.

Wasn’t it somewhat bitter……?

“……Miss Mary, did you add an unusual ingredient to the stew?”

Leonard, who sat beside me, asked in an exceedingly polite tone. He sounded as though he were asking a master chef for the secret of a dish, but his expression looked strangely troubled.

Mary answered with a bright smile.

“Yes, I added powdered medicinal herbs that are good for relieving fatigue! They taste a little bitter, but they are good for the body.”

“……So you added them knowingly……. Understood.”

Leonard silently nodded and buried his face in his bowl. I did the same, despite not being particularly picky about food.

As long as it was not spoiled, it was fine.

Behind me, I heard the knights whispering as I drank the stew.

“If His Grace were here, he would have refused to eat again.”

“Don’t remind me. His Grace used to complain and refuse his meals if there was even slightly too much pepper.”

I hid my face behind my bowl and pricked up my ears. They were discussing things about Victor that I did not know. They chuckled.

“That was why the cooks suffered so much. Do you think it was easy to prepare edible meals every day in the middle of a war?”

“It was even worse during the Eastern Kingdom war because all the ingredients were dried, wasn’t it?”

“Ah─. That brings back memories.”

Low laughter spread around us.

By then, many more people had received their stew, and the knights gathered in small groups, drying their damp cloaks by the campfires as they continued their conversations. Stories from the Eastern Kingdom war and memories of Victor followed one after another.

Raul, who never missed such occasions, joined in with exaggerated gestures like a minstrel.

“Oh, the Eastern Kingdom! Unknown mages and knights charged at us, but His Grace cut through everything with a single stroke. Before we even had time to draw our swords.”

“Like how my lady cut down the drakas with a single stroke?”

“Exactly. The fire-breathing gargoyles and black wolves too.”

Raul snickered.

Mary, who had finished serving all the stew, quickly joined them with her own bowl.

“I heard the stories from the knights, but I never knew she was this amazing. My lady is truly incredible.”

Heat rushed into my face.

It was true that I had stepped forward more often to protect the knights, but it was absolutely nothing great enough to compare with Victor’s achievements. Every monster we had encountered today was weak and not difficult to fight. I merely stood out more because Victor was not here, unlike when we had traveled to Mort.

Raul stared at me as I lowered my head in embarrassment. Then, out of nowhere, he spoke seriously.

“My lady, you are stronger than any one of us.”

“Yes, I know.”

“And we are the finest knight order on the continent.”

“Yes…….”

To be honest, I suspected that reputation might be undeserved. Still, because I liked the knights, I simply agreed.

At my ambiguous reply, Raul let out a deep sigh.

“My lady, do you truly not understand what that means? I am saying this while casting aside my pride.”

I tilted my head to one side.

Was he trying to praise my skill?

But there were many powerful people on the continent. There were people near Amari who were as strong as I was, and Victor was truly extraordinary. If I traveled across the continent, there would probably be many more hidden experts.

Thinking that way made me feel even more that someone like me was nothing remarkable. I might look impressive in the eyes of these diligent but weak knights, but still.

I shook my head from side to side.

“I still lack training.”

Raul let out another long sigh. It sounded deep enough to make the ground collapse into a hollow.

Leonard, who had emptied his stew, said,

“I understand what His Grace meant now. He said you would never fully believe it unless you experienced it yourself.”

“What do you mean?”

“It is nothing. You will understand by the time the subjugation ends.”

The knight stood while holding his bowl.

‘Was Leonard always someone who spoke so mysteriously?’

While I tilted my head in the opposite direction, Raul noisily carried the empty pot toward the water.

After cleaning up, the knights rolled dice for a while to decide the night watch order, then covered the campfire with ashes. Because the knights strongly insisted that they could not assign even night watch duty to their lady, I entered the tent first.

The faint scent of the candle Mary had placed inside quickly made me drowsy.

Would this be good for Victor too?

I wondered with a hazy mind, then fell asleep in an instant.

That kind of journey continued for several more days. We camped almost every night and advanced one day at a time. We had originally planned to rest in villages once or twice along the way, but there were far more monsters than expected, repeatedly delaying the schedule.

There were also far too many varieties. Monsters I had only seen in books kept appearing in the flesh. Even the veteran knights, who were accustomed to monsters from frequent subjugations, recoiled at several creatures they had never encountered before.

“What in the world is that, my lady?!”

The knights holding chain traps cried out in distress. A gigantic lizard had crawled halfway out of the swamp and was growling as foul-smelling saliva dripped from its mouth. It did look like a lizard…….

‘Why does it have three heads?’

I frowned at the monster I had never seen before.

Raul rubbed his chin and said,

“It appears to be a swamp hydra. Like land-dwelling hydras, it has many heads, but it also spits venom with a dreadful stench.”

“Why is a hydra on the plains……. No, never mind. After encountering even a sphinx, nothing should surprise me.”

I shuddered as I remembered the stone-statue-like magical beast we had encountered several days earlier.

Sphinxes, said to have been created by mages in the distant past like gargoyles, were strange monsters that asked questions directly inside one’s mind. It had felt bizarre when a monster I had not even known truly existed spoke to me.

‘Which came first, the chicken or the egg?’

There had even been dignity in the voice asking the question.

But no matter how intelligent it appeared, it was merely a monster that tore travelers apart if they answered incorrectly. I had pushed past the knights arguing over the answer and severed its humanlike head with a single stroke.

I shook my head and drew my sword. Raul stepped backward.

“If it is a hydra, would it be easier for you to handle it alone?”

“Yes, I’ll do that.”

I held a torch and my sword, one in each hand.

As I approached, the monster twisted its body and roared. I had the knights release the chains, then charged immediately. The hydra’s heads savagely spat venom.

I did not want to ruin my clothes…….

I hurriedly deflected the venom and twisted my body. I could see the blade beginning to corrode.

Damn it. Startled, I swung my sword rapidly, and soon all the heads were gone. Only then did I draw a deep breath and raise my head.

Leonard shouted from a distance.

“My lady, are you injured?”

“No, I’m fine!”

“We will handle the remains.”

I quickly jumped down from the monster’s body. Thick mud dripped from the edge of my cloak and my shoes. I shook the muck from my sword against the ground and approached the knights.

While Leonard and the others burned the monster’s corpse, I looked sorrowfully at my sword.

“The blade is damaged. I think I will need to replace it.”

“It is remarkable that it endured this long. That sword faced His Grace’s blade and countless monsters, did it not?”

“I used it for quite a long time…….”