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TL: ALT
Chapter 153 – Day 45 of the Strategy Life
Saketsu had been sorting through their luggage all night long.
The dwarves’ luggage was packed into backpacks as tall as I am. Saketsu and Kahiman couldn’t carry them, so I volunteered.
Katan carefully carried the food in her shoulder bag. It looked heavy, so Sylvia helped her.
“If you pack the bottles with the fur, I don’t think they’ll break. But the meat might spoil if it gets warm…”
“It’ll be fine. Hel made a cooler last night.”
Hel had stayed up late making wooden boxes that we could carry on our backs. They had magic circles carved into them to keep the contents cool.
“I just asked Saketsu.”
“No, I didn’t think there was a craftsman who could make it in one day.”
Saketsu was surprised at how quickly Hel had worked.
“Well, it was the same magic circle as the cooling cup, so it wasn’t that difficult.”
The preparations proceeded steadily, and we set off for the Kingdom of Estinia, stepping on the magic circle that would break the plague and curse.
Sasha and the others watched us from a distance and followed us.
This was where we would part ways with the elf ambassador. He greeted us, saying, “We hope to see you again,” but we would probably never see him again.
Three elf soldiers would accompany us to keep an eye on the dwarves.
One was a short elf of noble birth who wore armor and an iron mask. Another was a simple-looking magician. The third was a spearman.
“We are here only to observe. We will not interfere, so please take care of us.”
The noble elf greeted us in a high-pitched voice.
“Yes, only the dwarves have been invited. If you cannot follow us, we will leave you behind. Please understand.”
“Understood.”
The two with simple faces seem carefree and might be able to adapt to the demonic land. However, the noble elf seems unlikely to even make it to East Kenya, let alone the demonic land. He shouldn’t have forced himself to wear armor; he was panting for breath.
“Don’t get too close to me. I might accidentally shoot you.”
Hel warned the three elves.
“The Turoon family hasn’t given up on you yet.”
The magician replied to Hel in a low voice.
“Tell them to give up if they don’t want the village’s spirit tree burned down. And don’t waste your magic power trying to hide your burn scars. Use an illusion spell that makes sense.”
When Hel said this, burn scars appeared on the faces of the two simple-looking men, who seemed to have been caught in the explosion of the magic circle Hel had set up for the familiar the other day.
“Didn’t you use any healing potions?”
“I can’t use anything when I don’t know if it’s medicine or poison.”
“I see. Do as you wish.”
According to Hel, we could ignore the three observers.
A carriage was waiting at the Kingdom of Estinia’s fortress, so we loaded the dwarves and their luggage into it.
We had to wait for the horses, so it took another day to reach the town below East Kenya Castle.
During the trip, Katan jumped out of the carriage and picked up insect-eaten apples on the side of the road.
“Are you going to eat those?”
“Only the parts that are edible. I can use them as traps to catch more insects.”
“Do dwarves eat insects?”
“Sometimes, but I think they might be used as ingredients for medicine or poison.”
Katan looked at Hel.
“Is that for me? You’re a good girl. I’m just a magic tool maker in the demonic land. Medicine and poison are just a side job for me.”
Last night, Hel showed Katan the sleeping potion from the demonic land that she used to coat her crossbow arrows. Katan had been thinking about how useful the potion might be. She was paying close attention.
“Maybe you’re suited for the demonic land, Katan.”
“Really? I’d probably just get into trouble by doing unnecessary things.”
“If it’s necessary to survive, then it’s not unnecessary. In fact, you can’t survive in the demonic land without observing it carefully.”
“Is it that dangerous?”
Katan asked Sylvia.
“Um, yes. Y-You should probably expect to die a few times.”
When Sylvia said that, Katan laughed, but she realized it wasn’t a joke when no one else laughed.
“…Seriously?”
We’re barely surviving.”
After that, Katan opened her large eyes even wider inside the carriage and looked outside. She frequently stopped the carriage and jumped out.
“We’ll be late! Are you sure? Are you letting the dwarves do whatever they want?”
Sasha asked from her horse.
“Let them do whatever they want. What? Am I being too lenient?”
I asked Sylvia and Hel for confirmation.
“No. In the demonic land, everyone does whatever they want. Those who are free help out, so I think it’s normal.”
“W-We’ve almost achieved our goal of bringing the dwarf engineer from the elf kingdom, so isn’t that enough?”
“That’s what they said. That’s the style of the demonic land.”
“But!”
Sasha persisted.
I didn’t think much of it, though, figuring that the horses were slow anyway and that we’d probably reach the castle town of East Kenya by the end of the day.
“Katan and the others have never been outside the elf kingdom, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Then why not let them see some new things? There’s no danger. Look! The three elves are looking at the orchard with curiosity.”
The three elves following us were also looking at the fruit trees. Apparently, the size and variety of the fruit were different from what they were used to in the elf kingdom.
“Can we go ahead and find a place to sleep?”
“Sure. Order dinner for us, too.”
“Okay.”
Sylvia and Hel ran ahead toward the castle town.
“Should we go after them?”
One of the cavalrymen asked Sasha.
“No, we can’t catch up with them.”
It was Sasha’s cavalry’s job to look out for them, but they weren’t helping at the moment.
“Sasha, You know I don’t care about your customs. I don’t even know what you want. I can take care of myself. If someone needs proof that I’m the Margrave of the demonic land, I can get a letter from the captain. So why are you following me?”
I asked her as a person, not a soldier.
“That’s…”
“You can take your time answering. If you want to advance in your career, I recommend transferring.
Working without conviction won’t help Sasha.
I told the coachman, “I want to show the elves and dwarves as much of the Kingdom of Estinia as possible. There’s no need to rush; just drive safely.”
It was quite late, but we arrived in the castle town in the evening. Saketsu, who had stayed up late the night before, slept in the carriage the whole way. Kahiman stayed hidden in the carriage except for lunch when he watched outside.
After we checked into the inn and had dinner while tending to the dwarves, letters arrived from the lord of East Kenya and the military.
The lord’s letter was an invitation to a banquet. The military’s letter, however, read, “Numerous trainees and deserters.”
“The Merchant Guild has sent a trading wagon.”
The innkeeper pointed outside.
“W-What should we do?”
“Let’s split up.”
After all, there were three of us who had come from the demonic land.
“Makyo is the fastest. I’ll go to the merchant guild.”
“Th-Then I’ll go to the dinner party.”
“Can the two of you bring the dwarves back safely?”
“As long as the dwarves don’t run away.”
“We won’t run away! We want to see our ancestral homeland!”
Saketsu replied.
“Then I’ll head back first. There’s no need to rush. You can take a detour if you want, but make sure you bring them back. Ka-Ryu is waiting.”
I confirmed the purpose of bringing the dwarf engineers to the demonic land once more.
“Understood.”
“I-I will definitely do it.”
I left the inn and explained the situation to Sasha, who was taking care of the horses in the stable. Then, I left the castle town. It was dark by the time I left, but the moonlight illuminated the road, so I didn’t get lost.
Since I hadn’t used any magic and wasn’t tired, I quickly crossed the pass and left East Kenya. The road was solid, making it easy to run on.
Without looking to the side, I ran at full speed and arrived at the military training facility just as the moon rose high in the sky.
“Excuse me. I received a letter in East Kenya.”
I wiped the sweat from my brow and addressed the gate guard.
“Ah, Margrave. You’re already here?”
“Yes, and the letter said that some trainees deserted.”
“Yes, six of them have returned to this training facility and are receiving medical treatment.”
“I see…”
“If you want to see the captain, he’s waiting at the forest entrance.”
“Got it. Thanks.”
As I turned toward the fields, I saw the captain and several soldiers lighting bonfires to illuminate the forest path. They were waiting for the trainees who had escaped from the demonic land.
“Captain, good work.”
“Oh! Makyo-kun, did you bring the dwarves yet?”
“Yes, they’re currently in the castle town of East Kenya. I saw the letter and came back ahead of them. How are the trainees?”
“Their lives are not in danger.”
“Do you know why they came back here?”
“Most of them were confused by the poison and monsters, and they thought they were going to die. Some of them fell into traps that they themselves had set.”
“The demonic land has moving plants, so the traps might have shifted positions.”
“I thought I had selected the most survival-oriented trainees, but they couldn’t adapt to the environment of the demonic land. It’s my fault.”
“No, maybe the training ground was too difficult.”
“But isn’t that the safest place to live in the demonic land? The demon girl who brought the trainees here told me so.”
Chel brought them here?
“Yes, I wonder why. When I first entered the demonic land, I was much weaker than the soldiers in the army…”
Lipa was weak, too. No, I don’t think any of us were strong at first.
“We may have to reevaluate our standards for strength.”
In the demonic land, a different kind of strength is needed besides attack and defense.
“I’ll go check the scene.”
“Please do.”
I ran through the forest and followed the path made by the elf guards to the entrance of the demonic land.
In front of a small stream, I heard groans coming from the gatekeeper’s hut.
“Are you all right?”
When I peeked inside, I saw that one of the gatekeepers was treating three trainees.
“Margrave, welcome back. You’re back early.”
“I received a letter from the captain and returned ahead of schedule. How are the trainees’ injuries?”
“They’re fine. The broken bones and cuts have been treated with healing medicine. However, it seems they left the designated training ground and encountered monsters and plants…”
“I see.”
After hearing the details from the three trainees, it seems they were almost taken away by a Golden Bat, nearly eaten by a Haze Turtle, sliced to pieces by Razor Grass, and then almost devoured by Bendgrass.
“Margrave, we can’t defeat such monsters.”
“Our attacks don’t work on them. We don’t know how to deal with them.”
“We’re being attacked without even noticing. Before we know it, we realize that we’ve become prey.”
The three of them were completely broken.
There were supposed to be twelve trainees, but only three remain.
“Thank you for your valuable information. Is the other elf gatekeeper still in the demonic land?”
“Yes, it’s been four days, but he seems to be holding on.”
The gatekeeper stood up straight, proud of his colleague.
“I understand. When things calm down in the morning, please take the three of them to the training facility.”
“Yes, sir.”
I crossed the stream, letting the slimes absorb as much magic as they wanted, and entered the demonic land.
A Green Tiger immediately appeared from the forest. I stroked its jaw, but it growled in discontent.
I passed through the forest path and emerged from the tunnel. Several tents had collapsed at the training ground and were overgrown by plants. Only one tent remained standing.
“Only the elf gatekeeper remains.”
Lipa descended from the sky.
“Welcome back.”
“I’m back. Shouldn’t there be three more trainees?”
“Yes, they’re fine. They’re all sleeping in the cave.”
“I see. That’s good.”
At least, it seems that no one has died.
“Only three were able to adapt to the demonic land…”
“No, those three dropped out. They couldn’t sleep for three days, so we’re keeping them asleep with sleeping potions. The only one who was able to adapt was the gatekeeper.”
Lipa pointed to the tent.
“All the trainees were wiped out?”
“This is tough. Maybe we need more support.”
“Jennifer-san is compiling a report on that.”
“Got it.”
I returned home with Lipa.
It was past midnight, and the moon was setting in the western sky.
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