I pulled out my weapons and armor from the hollow bag as soon I returned to the inn. Some clean cloth scraps as well. I soaked them with water magic and started to wipe each piece. The Glampanzer, Schwarz Tempest, Ashikirimaru, Cocytus Lance, Velnoir, and Orthros.
Then there was the wind dragon armor and ice dragon armor. I cleaned the spy equipment set as well. I took my time cleaning them all. By the time I sighed and put down the last piece, Daniela came in through the door.
“Welcome back.”
“We are to meet up with the others early in the morning before departure. So we should sleep early tonight.”
“Got it.”
I had been so preoccupied with thoughts of my equipment, that I had forgotten to ask about such important details. It was a good thing Daniela could cover for me there.
She also bought some dinner, which we ate together at the table. Today, it was fried noodles. She even got some vegetable soup, perhaps in consideration of our health. It was pretty cheap as long as you brought your own container, which made it popular. We chewed noisily on the noodles and slurped the soup. This wasn’t a place where anyone cared about table manners.
“It is nice to have vegetable soup once in a while.”
“You should have it every day. A balanced diet is necessary if you want to be healthy. So eat your vegetables.”
“Hmph. It is just leaves. What kind of elf do you take me for.”
A 22-year-old scolding the 300-year-old about health. Regardless, health was something that would be on the minds of many couples where there was a large age gap. It was quite important.
□ □ □ □
The next morning. Daniela and I walked towards the north gate as light snow fell down around us. While it was the military district, we had a reason to be here. Leaving through the west or east gates would result in a pointless loss of time.
As the sun had not come up yet, and due to it being the coldest of hours, there were hardly any people walking outside. Well, aside from people like us. Adventurers.
“Hmm… There are more than I expected.”
“How many do you think there are?”
“Ah… Maybe fifty?”
“Hmm.”
I looked around with Eyes of the God Wolf. I could see Adventurers in winter gear moving towards the north. Of course, Daniela and I were also wearing our capes. Mine was amazingly warm. And under it, was the wind and ice dragon armor. I also carried the hollow bag. The weapon I had on my belt was the Velnoir. Goblins tended to have swords of poor quality, and so I chose this sword in the hopes of breaking them.
Though, I would also be able to take out the other weapons pretty quickly. I had recently realized that if I put my hand behind my back as if unsheathing a sword, I could put my hand inside the hollow back and pull out the weapon. Of course, I wasn’t the most flexible person, and it hurt my joints a little. My shoulder and back… It’s not because I was old. I was just stiff!
I shook the thought out of my head and continued north, where the others waited.
“You’re late, Asagi. You’re the last one.”
“Uhhh.”
That was the first thing Manager said when I arrived. I looked around and saw the others were already there. That was odd…
“Uh. So, where’s Lemon?”
She wasn’t anywhere near Manager. They had been so close the last time I saw them.
“I’m leaving her here. While she has a lot of experience as a guard, stampedes are very different. I didn’t think she would be able to keep up with us.”
“…I see. Well, we don’t know what will happen out there.”
I left the grinning Manager and walked over to Adlus, who was standing with his arms crossed. I hadn’t seen him in a while, so I thought I might as well say something.
“…”
“Hey. Been a while. I guess we’ll be working together now.”
“Ah, there you are. You should know that I am the leader this time. And don’t imagine for a moment that I will make things easy for you.”
“What?”
The first thing that came out of his mouth was how he would work me like a dog. Apparently, he had been appointed as our leader. This was due to both his popularity and his position within the imperial capital. But, we were stronger…?
“You may think that, but you don’t belong here. I’ve lived in this city for many years.”
“Well, I see your point. To be honest, I’d hate being a leader, so I consider myself lucky.”
“Damn it… You would think that someone of your ability would have more ambition.”
“Hehe. Well, I look forward to working with you.”
“Aye.”
Adlus sighed as he extended his fist, I bumped it with my own. He was like a completely different person from before. Almost as if he was free from an evil spirit. At least, I didn’t hate him now. Perhaps we’d even become friends.
The people that were here included me, Daniela, Manager, and Adlus, who were all A-Rank, and forty other Adventurers who were B-Rank. Some of them would be B-Rank for the rest of their lives. Regardless, they had all gathered here in order to take back the village and help protect the imperial capital. When I stood by Adlus and looked at their faces, I could tell by their expressions that they were eager to do this.
But, how many of them would survive until the end… No, it was better to stay positive. Keep our guard up and annihilate the goblins. It didn’t matter what they did, we would win.
“Alright, everyone is here now. Let’s go. The battle for Namila’s liberation starts now!!”
Adlus gave the order, and the gates opened. A vast field of snow spread out north of the city. It was up ahead, that the monsters awaited.
□ □ □ □
I didn’t hate walking in the snow-covered field. I had once lived in a town where it snowed a lot. I knew how to distribute my weight while walking, so I wouldn’t slip. However, it was also kind of tiring. It would only take about 20 minutes for the sweat to start showing from my underclothes. This was the biggest reason people caught colds in snowy countries. It was the sweat from the heat that robbed them of their body temperature.
“This is nice…”
But screw that way of walking. We had a carriage.
“Apparently, we will arrive by the lake at sundown.”
“That’s quick.”
“It is all because the military offered us snow carriages.”
Yes. We were currently in a carriage. While the ground was covered in snow, the carriages moved. That was because these carriages didn’t have wheels, they had skids, which I suppose meant they were sleighs. And as these were used in the army, the skids had fire ore embedded into them, which made the snow melt just enough to give the sleighs more speed. The horses that pulled us were half-unicorns. They were strong and didn’t tire easily.
The sleighs had been waiting for us just outside of the gate. The military could not leave the city. But they were more than willing to lend their sleighs to us Adventurers. This was a massive help.
We no longer had to walk while concentrating on every inch of our feet. Instead, we slid smoothly along the surface of the snow.
As Daniela said, we reached the lake by the time the sun started to set. From what I could see, the lake was about 300 meters from one side to the other. It was fairly large. On closer inspection, I could see that there were several tributary rivers as well, and one of them seemed to lead to the village. It was probably the water that they lived off of.
And it was this lakeside that Adlus had us set up camp. Water was an important part of survival. So it made sense to choose this spot. I took out our ample supply of illuminating magic tools from the hollow bag. These were the ones I gathered after the orc battle. I carried them around for times like these.
“Hmm, that seems like a little too much.”
“Would you like to eat in the dark?”
“I was joking. Put them here.”
I joked while putting them up in Adlus’s ten. Yes, it was better with some light.
There was a table set up inside of the tent, and a map was laid out on it. There was the lake and rivers. And of course, a red ‘X.’ It was Namila village.
“…Okay. Allow me to explain our strategy before we sit down to eat.”
Adlus said as he raised his head and looked around him. Currently, it was just me, Daniela and Manager that were here. As we were different from the others in level and rank, the guild was allowing us to plan everything. Of course, Adlus was still the leader.
“We will go upriver and reach Namila village. Both sides of the rivers are surrounded in hills, which will hide us from any eyes near the village. They would have to come close and look down. But there are lots of plants to hide in as well, which should give us ample time before we are discovered.”
Adlus traced his hand from the lake to the river and then to the village.
“How are we going to cross the river?”
“You, Asagi, are going to freeze it with ice magic. I’m not asking you to freeze the entire thing. Just a part of the surface. Surely you can do that?”
“Uh, sure.”
Now, if he were asking me to create a dam and freeze the entire thing, I would have frozen him on the spot. But if it was just some of the surface, it shouldn’t be a problem.
“So, we shouldn’t have any trouble reaching the village. Once we are there, I will use the river as a medium and activate my water magic and use it to surround the village.”
“Really? You can do magic on that scale?”
“It’s only a wall. It won’t automatically attack monsters that approach it. All it will do is move the water to create a thick and tall wall.”
Daniela still looked like she could hardly believe it, but Adlus chuckled and brushed it aside. Indeed, judging by what I saw at the tournament, it probably wasn’t that hard for him to do.
“And then we will kill the goblins within the village. I think that we shouldn’t have any trouble with two rubies and ten jades.”
“And what will the other jades be doing?”
“They will kill the goblins that are outside of the village.”
As we were liberating the village, you would thing the goblins would all be inside of it, but Adlus thought differently. He said that monsters that caused stampedes had a tendency of giving birth to mutants with strangely high intelligence. Perhaps there was one such being here, who was able to strategize.
“Besides, our information tells us that there are lots of places, such as the hills and shrubs, where you can hide. There will definitely be goblins there. We need all of them to be killed.”
“I see. It will be safer to kill them all at once.”
“Indeed. Any questions?”
Daniela quickly raised her hand.
“Who will lead the attack within the village?”
“You and Asagi. Rindo will lead the team outside. I thought that you wouldn’t have any problem with that, Rindo…”
“I don’t. And I’ll do it.”
So Daniela and I would fight the goblins in the village. Manager would be outside. Adlus would keep the wall up. The others would kill any who slipped passed us.
“Any more questions?”
Daniela raised her hand again.
“What?”
“I am starving. May we eat soon?”
“…”
“…Hehe.”
“Huhhh…”
Adlus didn’t know what to say. Manager chuckled. I sighed.
“Very well. You are dismissed.”
Daniela was the first out of the tent. Manager and I followed after her.
When I caught up with Daniela, both of her hands were already filled with food. I sighed again. Naturally.
I pulled out my weapons and armor from the hollow bag as soon I returned to the inn. Some clean cloth scraps as well. I soaked them with water magic and started to wipe each piece. The Glampanzer, Schwarz Tempest, Ashikirimaru, Cocytus Lance, Velnoir, and Orthros.
Then there was the wind dragon armor and ice dragon armor. I cleaned the spy equipment set as well. I took my time cleaning them all. By the time I sighed and put down the last piece, Daniela came in through the door.
“Welcome back.”
“We are to meet up with the others early in the morning before departure. So we should sleep early tonight.”
“Got it.”
I had been so preoccupied with thoughts of my equipment, that I had forgotten to ask about such important details. It was a good thing Daniela could cover for me there.
She also bought some dinner, which we ate together at the table. Today, it was fried noodles. She even got some vegetable soup, perhaps in consideration of our health. It was pretty cheap as long as you brought your own container, which made it popular. We chewed noisily on the noodles and slurped the soup. This wasn’t a place where anyone cared about table manners.
“It is nice to have vegetable soup once in a while.”
“You should have it every day. A balanced diet is necessary if you want to be healthy. So eat your vegetables.”
“Hmph. It is just leaves. What kind of elf do you take me for.”
A 22-year-old scolding the 300-year-old about health. Regardless, health was something that would be on the minds of many couples where there was a large age gap. It was quite important.
□ □ □ □
The next morning. Daniela and I walked towards the north gate as light snow fell down around us. While it was the military district, we had a reason to be here. Leaving through the west or east gates would result in a pointless loss of time.
As the sun had not come up yet, and due to it being the coldest of hours, there were hardly any people walking outside. Well, aside from people like us. Adventurers.
“Hmm… There are more than I expected.”
“How many do you think there are?”
“Ah… Maybe fifty?”
“Hmm.”
I looked around with Eyes of the God Wolf. I could see Adventurers in winter gear moving towards the north. Of course, Daniela and I were also wearing our capes. Mine was amazingly warm. And under it, was the wind and ice dragon armor. I also carried the hollow bag. The weapon I had on my belt was the Velnoir. Goblins tended to have swords of poor quality, and so I chose this sword in the hopes of breaking them.
Though, I would also be able to take out the other weapons pretty quickly. I had recently realized that if I put my hand behind my back as if unsheathing a sword, I could put my hand inside the hollow back and pull out the weapon. Of course, I wasn’t the most flexible person, and it hurt my joints a little. My shoulder and back… It’s not because I was old. I was just stiff!
I shook the thought out of my head and continued north, where the others waited.
“You’re late, Asagi. You’re the last one.”
“Uhhh.”
That was the first thing Manager said when I arrived. I looked around and saw the others were already there. That was odd…
“Uh. So, where’s Lemon?”
She wasn’t anywhere near Manager. They had been so close the last time I saw them.
“I’m leaving her here. While she has a lot of experience as a guard, stampedes are very different. I didn’t think she would be able to keep up with us.”
“…I see. Well, we don’t know what will happen out there.”
I left the grinning Manager and walked over to Adlus, who was standing with his arms crossed. I hadn’t seen him in a while, so I thought I might as well say something.
“…”
“Hey. Been a while. I guess we’ll be working together now.”
“Ah, there you are. You should know that I am the leader this time. And don’t imagine for a moment that I will make things easy for you.”
“What?”
The first thing that came out of his mouth was how he would work me like a dog. Apparently, he had been appointed as our leader. This was due to both his popularity and his position within the imperial capital. But, we were stronger…?
“You may think that, but you don’t belong here. I’ve lived in this city for many years.”
“Well, I see your point. To be honest, I’d hate being a leader, so I consider myself lucky.”
“Damn it… You would think that someone of your ability would have more ambition.”
“Hehe. Well, I look forward to working with you.”
“Aye.”
Adlus sighed as he extended his fist, I bumped it with my own. He was like a completely different person from before. Almost as if he was free from an evil spirit. At least, I didn’t hate him now. Perhaps we’d even become friends.
The people that were here included me, Daniela, Manager, and Adlus, who were all A-Rank, and forty other Adventurers who were B-Rank. Some of them would be B-Rank for the rest of their lives. Regardless, they had all gathered here in order to take back the village and help protect the imperial capital. When I stood by Adlus and looked at their faces, I could tell by their expressions that they were eager to do this.
But, how many of them would survive until the end… No, it was better to stay positive. Keep our guard up and annihilate the goblins. It didn’t matter what they did, we would win.
“Alright, everyone is here now. Let’s go. The battle for Namila’s liberation starts now!!”
Adlus gave the order, and the gates opened. A vast field of snow spread out north of the city. It was up ahead, that the monsters awaited.
□ □ □ □
I didn’t hate walking in the snow-covered field. I had once lived in a town where it snowed a lot. I knew how to distribute my weight while walking, so I wouldn’t slip. However, it was also kind of tiring. It would only take about 20 minutes for the sweat to start showing from my underclothes. This was the biggest reason people caught colds in snowy countries. It was the sweat from the heat that robbed them of their body temperature.
“This is nice…”
But screw that way of walking. We had a carriage.
“Apparently, we will arrive by the lake at sundown.”
“That’s quick.”
“It is all because the military offered us snow carriages.”
Yes. We were currently in a carriage. While the ground was covered in snow, the carriages moved. That was because these carriages didn’t have wheels, they had skids, which I suppose meant they were sleighs. And as these were used in the army, the skids had fire ore embedded into them, which made the snow melt just enough to give the sleighs more speed. The horses that pulled us were half-unicorns. They were strong and didn’t tire easily.
The sleighs had been waiting for us just outside of the gate. The military could not leave the city. But they were more than willing to lend their sleighs to us Adventurers. This was a massive help.
We no longer had to walk while concentrating on every inch of our feet. Instead, we slid smoothly along the surface of the snow.
As Daniela said, we reached the lake by the time the sun started to set. From what I could see, the lake was about 300 meters from one side to the other. It was fairly large. On closer inspection, I could see that there were several tributary rivers as well, and one of them seemed to lead to the village. It was probably the water that they lived off of.
And it was this lakeside that Adlus had us set up camp. Water was an important part of survival. So it made sense to choose this spot. I took out our ample supply of illuminating magic tools from the hollow bag. These were the ones I gathered after the orc battle. I carried them around for times like these.
“Hmm, that seems like a little too much.”
“Would you like to eat in the dark?”
“I was joking. Put them here.”
I joked while putting them up in Adlus’s ten. Yes, it was better with some light.
There was a table set up inside of the tent, and a map was laid out on it. There was the lake and rivers. And of course, a red ‘X.’ It was Namila village.
“…Okay. Allow me to explain our strategy before we sit down to eat.”
Adlus said as he raised his head and looked around him. Currently, it was just me, Daniela and Manager that were here. As we were different from the others in level and rank, the guild was allowing us to plan everything. Of course, Adlus was still the leader.
“We will go upriver and reach Namila village. Both sides of the rivers are surrounded in hills, which will hide us from any eyes near the village. They would have to come close and look down. But there are lots of plants to hide in as well, which should give us ample time before we are discovered.”
Adlus traced his hand from the lake to the river and then to the village.
“How are we going to cross the river?”
“You, Asagi, are going to freeze it with ice magic. I’m not asking you to freeze the entire thing. Just a part of the surface. Surely you can do that?”
“Uh, sure.”
Now, if he were asking me to create a dam and freeze the entire thing, I would have frozen him on the spot. But if it was just some of the surface, it shouldn’t be a problem.
“So, we shouldn’t have any trouble reaching the village. Once we are there, I will use the river as a medium and activate my water magic and use it to surround the village.”
“Really? You can do magic on that scale?”
“It’s only a wall. It won’t automatically attack monsters that approach it. All it will do is move the water to create a thick and tall wall.”
Daniela still looked like she could hardly believe it, but Adlus chuckled and brushed it aside. Indeed, judging by what I saw at the tournament, it probably wasn’t that hard for him to do.
“And then we will kill the goblins within the village. I think that we shouldn’t have any trouble with two rubies and ten jades.”
“And what will the other jades be doing?”
“They will kill the goblins that are outside of the village.”
As we were liberating the village, you would thing the goblins would all be inside of it, but Adlus thought differently. He said that monsters that caused stampedes had a tendency of giving birth to mutants with strangely high intelligence. Perhaps there was one such being here, who was able to strategize.
“Besides, our information tells us that there are lots of places, such as the hills and shrubs, where you can hide. There will definitely be goblins there. We need all of them to be killed.”
“I see. It will be safer to kill them all at once.”
“Indeed. Any questions?”
Daniela quickly raised her hand.
“Who will lead the attack within the village?”
“You and Asagi. Rindo will lead the team outside. I thought that you wouldn’t have any problem with that, Rindo…”
“I don’t. And I’ll do it.”
So Daniela and I would fight the goblins in the village. Manager would be outside. Adlus would keep the wall up. The others would kill any who slipped passed us.
“Any more questions?”
Daniela raised her hand again.
“What?”
“I am starving. May we eat soon?”
“…”
“…Hehe.”
“Huhhh…”
Adlus didn’t know what to say. Manager chuckled. I sighed.
“Very well. You are dismissed.”
Daniela was the first out of the tent. Manager and I followed after her.
When I caught up with Daniela, both of her hands were already filled with food. I sighed again. Naturally.
