Everything went well as we reached the resting spot.
We encountered demons many times along the way but Leo-san and Captain-san defeated them straight away.
After the battle, I would cast a minor 『HEAL』, so it was pretty laid back.
The other parties encountered a lot more demons, just like the time in the West Forest.
Incidentally, I felt that the demons here were a lot stronger than the Royal Capital’s Ghosh Forest.
The place where we rested for lunch was a little opening in the middle of the forest.
Apparently, the mercenaries used this place to rest whenever they came to the forest to subjugate demons.
The plan was to meet up with the parties that separated from us here and have lunch.
Director forbad me to cook in public, but most of the people here are from the 3rd Knight Order, so it’s fine if I help out right?
I was also supporting them with magic, so I can just blame it on the magic if they ask.
Let’s do that.
Thus, I helped prepare lunch.
“What are you doing?”
“Can’t you see? I’m cooking.”
Leo-san approached me when I was making soup for everyone.
I feel like something like this has happened before.
“Cooking… You’re the 【Saint】, aren’t you?”
“I am.”
I’m the 【Saint】, so what?
He must want to say something, I thought curiously and Leo-san looked like he had mixed feelings. Then, after a while he began talking slowly, “Isn’t a 【Saint】someone who should be treated with respect and waited upon?”
“Is that so? I’ve been like this since before though.”
“Since before? Isn’t that strange?”
“Is it?”
As Leo-san said, it was natural for the 【Saint】to be respected and waited upon, given her status in this Kingdom.
I knew this, but I always ignored it.
Because it was easier to be treated like how the 3rd Knight Order treats me.
Leo-san should know this too.
And, cooking was a good change of pace.
I’d been restraining myself since I came to Klaussner as a 【Saint】.
It would be strange if I keep asking to borrow the kitchen in someone else’s castle.
But, I could cook without restraint while on a subjugation mission.
The people around me are all those who I know, after all.
There was no way I could let this chance go.
“It smells great.”
“Oh, Hawk-sama.”
Captain-san approached us as I stirred the pot whilst chatting with Leo-san.
He was tempted by the smell.
My déjà vu sense was becoming stronger and stronger.
Captain-san looked into the pot while standing opposite to Leo-san.
“Is this the soup you made for us before?”
“Yes. A lot of the knights said this was fine when I asked them what I should make.”
“Those guys…”
When I told him that this was the request of the knights, Captain-san put his hand on his head and hung his head down as if he had a headache.
I said it was a request, but it seems that soup made from dried meat and vegetables was a staple for subjugations.
The servants that were with the knights had said so.
“Hey, hey, you’re putting medicinal herbs in?”
“Yes. It increases the flavour and makes it more delicious.”
“Ooh, her cooking methods are really unique.”
I put oregano and thyme as well as other herbs into the soup as we talked, and Leo-san retorted as I’d expected he would.
This soup increased the amount of HP recovered naturally, but I didn’t talk about the effect.
Captain-san must have known my intentions because he only talked about the taste.
Whether I like it or not, isn’t he complimenting me too much by saying it’s unique?
Now then, the soup was finished and now onto the main dish.
I turned around and saw the knights in charge of cooking were cooking some kind of meat.
They seasoned it with an appropriate amount of salt, and grilled it with herbs and butter.
At any rate, what on earth is that meat?
Huh? The mercenaries hunted a hog?
And this always happens?
The mercenaries were wilder than I thought they were.
The food was cooked without a hitch and the servants distributed the meals to the knights.
I confirmed that the food was delicious by listening to the voices around me and breathed out a sigh of relief.
Leo-san was also saying, “Delicious, yummy,” while scooping the food into his mouth. Captain-san smiled his sparkling smile and complimented the food, as well.
I’m glad.
We went back to subjugating after lunch was finished.
“『AREA PROTECTION』.”
The magic circle covered in a white haze filled with golden lame spread around the area.
I cast support magic on the knights before the parties split up again.
The 『AREA PROTECTION』that I’d just cast was an A.O.E skill that raised defence against physical and magic attacks.
The knights were used to it, but the mercenaries caused an uproar because this was their first time experiencing the buffs.
Leo-san was no exception.
“Wow, amazing. You raised my defence.”
“Is this your first time receiving support magic?”
“Yeah. There are hardly any mages here. Moreover, there are none who can use A.O.E magic.”
“Ooh, I guess that’s true.”
“Right?”
Now that he’s said it, that’s true.
Casting A.O.E magic was much more difficult than casting individual magic.
“And, there’s no mage who can cast magic on this many people.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Yeah. The range and effect duration increases as the magic skill increases, but, well, it’s hard to get there.”
Captain-san made a side comment, “Well done!”
I have a feeling that Head Magician-sama had said something like that before.
I completely forgot about it.
If Head Magician-sama was here, then he would smile at me while getting angry.
And, what happens after that would be frightening.
I remembered what had happened before and a shiver ran down my spine.
Dangerous! That was a close call.
The preparations were done after the support magic was cast and we split into numerous parties again and entered the forest.
As we travelled deeper into the forest, we started encountering more and more demons.
Even though the demons were stronger than the ones in the West Forest, the knights were still doing fine.
They defeated the demons one after another with their wonderful coordination.
As for me? I was casting 『HEAL』like always.
I wasn’t using the 【Saint】technique not because of the activation requirements, but because I had talked it over with Captain-san and he had told me to save it.
That’s right, it’s not because I’m embarrassed or anything, okay?
“Huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
“No, I think this is the first time I’ve seen that demon.”
“That’s because they don’t appear near the Royal Capital. They’re poisonous.”
The mercenary, who was at the vanguard, signalled for us to stop, so we did.
I was curious about what had happened so I looked at the front through the gaps between the knights and saw a demon I’d never seen before.
The demon looked like a carnivorous plant, probably because this was a herb production area.
A huge sundew was moving in a windy motion, looking disgusting.
Luckily, it didn’t move from its location unlike other demons I’ve seen before.
If it did move around the area, then it would definitely be really disgusting.
Captain-san said it was poisonous, but I wonder if someone will get an abnormal status.
I thought, and the battle began.
I saw the knights fight and the round-leaved sundew bent its stalk backward while adding force and sprung forward.
In addition, it hurled a ball-like water drop from the tip of its leaf, towards the knights.
Most were able to avoid the attack, but I could hear a sizzling sound as if meat was being burnt from those who couldn’t.
The water drops seem to have poison.
I was the only one who was surprised by the sound of meat burning, the others continued to fight like usual.
The people who had received the attack also said, “It’s poison,” and the mages who were with them casted abnormal status cure.
Magic’s amazing after all.
The abnormal status was cured in no time.
The battle, itself, was quickly finished and we moved on after casting 『HEAL』.
The type of demon that was allocated to the area changed from where we were fighting earlier and the sundew demon appeared more often.
It seemed that the sundew didn’t always fling poison.
I always poised myself in a position where it was alright for people with abnormal status to show up, but my magic wasn’t required.
However, it was correct to assume that it was dangerous to let your guard down.
The sundew sprang greatly many times.
I released magic into the surrounding area at once and prepared to cure abnormal statuses.
“『AREA PURIFICATION』.”
I didn’t know how many people had an abnormal status, so I tried A.O.E magic to avoid the inconvenience.
My timing was perfect because the abnormal status was cured at the same time people got it.
The knights were surprised because it went so well.
Yup, my gaming experience is being used.
Before I went on my job search, I played an online game with several people.
In the game, I partied with several people and subjugated monsters like right now and they taught me something.
Look at the monster’s behaviour and prepare your magic beforehand.
In the game, monsters always took a certain action before they cast a skill that would cause abnormal status.
If I observe the monsters, then I could see what attack would come next and what abnormal status they would cause.
However, it took some time to cast the magic which healed abnormal statuses.
If I had to cast the skill which could cure abnormal status immediately after the attack, then I had to cast the magic in advance in conjunction with the monster’s movements.
The people I played with wanted the status to be lifted immediately, so before long, it became a habit for me to cast magic while matching the monster’s movements.
The party would complain if I was slow to cure them, so they were a little Spartan.
Because of that, I started preparing 『AREA PURIFICATION』to match with the demon’s movements.
A.O.E spells required me to release my magic around the area, and it took time to activate the skill.
“Wow! Amazing!” Leo-san raised a voice of admiration at me for being able to immediately cure the abnormal statuses from the demon’s actions.
“You’re really great. Did Dreves-dono also teach you this?”
“Yes… He did. Thank you very much.”
Captain-san also complimented me, but I wasn’t taught this from Head Magician-sama.
However, Captain-san wouldn’t understand if I said I had learnt this from a game, so I just told him that Head Magician-sama taught me.
Head Magician-sama hadn’t taught me this yet, but he might teach it to me someday.
He seemed like someone who liked efficiency, after all.
And thus, we headed to the place we planned to and today’s subjugation ended without any incidents.
◊♦◊♦◊♦◊
I began subjugating every day, so my life changed from an easy-going one into a busy one.
At any rate, I had a lot of things to do compared to the time I had.
Even so, was my company really that black 1) if this is better than when I was in Japan?
I don’t want to think of myself as a workaholic.
We left for subjugations in the morning, so I prepared the potions for the Knights every night after dinner at the castle.
I felt like a witch since I was brewing potions in a cauldron in a dark room under candle light.
Corinna-san found me once and was shocked, “You’re still working at this time?”
The only things I do after I finish the potions was take a bath and then sleep.
Then, I woke up early in the mornings, got ready and headed out to the medicinal field before we had to leave for subjugation.
I went there to observe the flowerpots that I had cast the 【Saint】technique on.
“Ah!”
The flowerpots I saw that day were different from usual.
The smooth soil was bulging a little.
“How does it look?” I turned back to look at the person who had called out to me and saw Corinna-san.
She came here every day because she was curious about the plants.
“Look at this! It’s sprouting!” I was so happy that it was sprouting, that I replied while turning back and Corinna-san also looked at the flowerpot in excitement.
“What did you say?!”
“It’s here…”
“It is!”
We said in confirmation as we faced each other; we hadn’t planned this beforehand, so it made us laugh.
Then, we shouted in joy because we couldn’t control the outburst of emotion we were having.
I wanted to continue watching the medicinal herbs, but unfortunately, it was time for me to head out for subjugation.
I don’t know if the herbs would grow up well, even if they have sprouted.
I would have to come here to look at it again before it grows fully, and I would have to discuss this with Corinna-san after I return from subjugation. Then, Corinna-san left.
I probably wasn’t imagining the fact that Corinna-san looked as if she would start skipping at any moment as I was watching her walking back to the distillation room.
“You seem to be in a good mood. Did something good happen?” Captain-san said during our lunch break.
I can’t speak for Corinna-san.
Even I was humming and about to sing.
“The seeds that I sowed have sprouted.”
“The medicinal herbs?”
“Yes. They’re hard to grow, so I’m happy they sprouted.”
“I see.”
I told him the reason and he laughed in understanding.
It was probably better to talk about in it more details, but there were things that only Feudal Lord-sama and Corinna-san knew, so I only went over it briefly.
“Were those medicinal herbs grown at the research institute as well?”
“Mm, they probably weren’t.”
“Then, will the research institute get new medicinal herbs?”
The research institute cultivated many herbs, but they didn’t cultivate the herbs that I was growing right now.
Because blessing was needed for cultivation.
Nonetheless, I couldn’t tell him the cultivation conditions, so I answered vaguely and he said something completely unexpected.
Cultivating it at the research institute, huh…
Right, if I bless the fields at the research institute then the cultivation conditions would be met.
I’m still in the middle of my experiment, but if it goes well, then I should check with Corinna-san to see if I could cultivate it at the research institute.
“I’m not really sure if it would grow properly or not…”
“You can ask Johan for help.”
“Ask Director?”
“He’s good at cultivating plants.”
“Oh.”
I remembered when he said that; Director could use earth magic.
Earth magic had several convenient spells for raising medicinal herbs. Director uses his magic freely and cultivated herbs that were said difficult to cultivate at the research institute.
Even if the herb that sprouted this morning didn’t grow well, it might be able to grow well with Director’s help.
No matter the result, I should talk to Corinna-san about whether I could continue the experiment at the research institute or not.
I decided on a plan in my head and break was done.
Huh? Already? I thought, but it can’t be helped.
The subjugations started close to the fief capital and eventually got further and further away.
The demons got stronger the further away we were and it became difficult to take breaks.
Because of that, our breaks inevitably became shorter.
We could still prepare lunch on site, but it might become difficult later.
I wonder if we’ll be bringing lunch boxes with us if we can’t make the food on site.
I thought absentmindedly, cleaned up and headed out.
“It’s here.”
The sprout? Nope.
A demon had appeared.
Captain-san whispered next to me when he saw the signal of a knight in the vanguard.
The knights were alert while walking, but they became tenser as soon as a demon appeared.
I also observed the demon so that I could provide support at any time.
The demon that appeared resembled nepenthes rafflesiana 2).
It had tentacles unlike the real thing and it moved around in a winding motion.
It might be dreadful to get caught in its tentacles, but the knights smoothly dodged them and commenced their attack.
And, it was defeated easily thanks to their skilful teamwork.
I was relieved because no one was injured this time.
The results of their daily training was demonstrated perfectly.
“Good work. It was easy, wasn’t it?”
“It was fine. But, the demons are getting stronger, so we can’t be unprepared.” Captain-san nodded and replied with a serious expression on his face.
The knights had the advantage at the moment, but who knows when the scales would tip towards the demons.
There was a saying that went, ‘unpreparedness is one’s greatest enemy,’ so it was probably better to stay focused.
In fact, they were gradually taking longer to defeat the demons.
“I feel like the demons are showing up more.”
“Yeah. It might be at the back.”
I nodded at Captain-san who was keeping an eye on the direction we were moving in.
Captain-san didn’t clearly say ‘what’ was there, but we were probably expecting the same thing.
At the West forest, we experienced encountering stronger demons the further we went in with the demons spawning more often.
Seems like there’ll be one here, the black swamp that is.
I don’t know if it’s because I’m expecting it, or I’ve seen it before, or because I know how to deal with it, but I’m not as nervous as I was at the West Forest.
Everyone else is also calm.
More demons appeared and I was on my guard so that I wouldn’t get injured, but I wasn’t anxious.
Even if there is a swamp, I could annihilate it with the 【Saint】technique.
I did wonder about what I should do if I failed, but I’ve already pushed that to the back of my mind.
If there was another problem, then it would be the demons around the swamp.
We predicted that a lot of demons would appear around it since they gushed out from the swamp.
This was what had happened at the West Forest.
With how many demons spawn from the swamp, I guess it could be compared to the so-called Monster Houses in dungeons.
But this was in a forest, so it might be better than the enclosed Monster House, but it was still extremely dangerous to take on that many demons at once.
3) During the West Forest subjugation, the demons attacked one after the one and even Head Magician-sama, who is a battle fanatic, had trouble dealing with them.
But one of the reasons why he had trouble might be because he couldn’t use A.O.E magic inside of the forest.
Since I have a feeling that I heard him complain or something at that time, “Argh, dammit! I just want to burn them all!”
It was soon after that, that we could see that things were worse than we imagined.
◊♦◊♦◊♦◊
The type of demons that appeared changed as we got deeper into the forest.
Demons resembling carnivorous plants decreased and ones resembling mushrooms increased.
Although they resembled mushrooms, they had a poisonous hue to them and were inedible.
Like its appearance indicated, the mushroom demon also inflicted abnormal status.
The knights were poisoned and paralysed from the spores it puffed out.
I haven’t seen this yet, but there were even spores that could burn if they stuck to the skin.
We progressed carefully while I cured abnormal status every time it happened.
How far did we go?
The knight, who was leading, called out to Captain-san who was walking next to me.
I nodded that it was fine since Captain-san looked at me for a moment and he quickly walked to the front.
“What happened?”
“I can’t tell from here, but it doesn’t seem urgent.”
I asked the court mage next to me, but they didn’t know what was happening.
I can wait here, but I’m curious. Should I walk to the front and ask?
I looked at Captain-san and saw that he was having a conversation with several knights while scowling; it didn’t seem like they were panicking, so it should be fine for me to go to the front.
“What happened?” I called out to Captain-san when I got to the front and he looked at me with the scowl still on his face.
I felt like he looked like the knights who were with us.
A problem has certainly occurred.
“They’ve found traces of a nasty demon.”
“A nasty demon?”
“Yeah.”
I looked at the directions that the knights were looking at when I heard the word ‘traces’ and saw fallen trees.
People came into the forest to take resources, but fallen trees also weren’t uncommon.
I tilted my head wondering what was wrong with it and the knights pointed to a spot on the fallen trees.
Hmm?
I concentrated my attention on that spot and saw that it was a bit glossy.
What is it?
The traces of a slug?
“What is this?”
“These are the predatory traces of a slime.”
“Slime!”
The image that came to my mind was of a blue drop type monster that appeared in certain famous RPG games.
So far, I’ve encountered animals, carnivorous plants, and mushroom demons. We encountered more plant-type demons the further in we went, so I thought that I would encounter myxomycete next, but I can’t believe it’s a slime.
Slimes are similar to myxomycetes, so I guess my expectation wasn’t necessarily wrong?
I was heedlessly thinking such things, from what Captain-san and the knights said, I realised that the slimes in this world weren’t cute low level monsters that showed up in games.
It was one kind of demon they didn’t want to encounter if possible because it was annoying to defeat.
Most physical attacks are ineffective, this is what one hears when speaking of slimes.
“Will magic work?”
“Yeah. Most slimes are defeated with magic.”
Isn’t it fine to defeat it with magic if physical attack don’t work? My old friend’s words resurfaced in my brain.
I nearly burst into laughter at that thought but managed to hold it down.
There are a lot of knights with us now.
Captain-san and I could use magic as well, but there was only one court mage with us.
There weren’t many court mages with us in the first place, so each group got one to three mages.
There were some knights who could use magic, but only the minority.
And, of course, the knights’ magic abilities are nowhere near that of the court mages.
Our current group composition could probably deal with one or two slimes.
But what would happen if they keep popping up one after the other like at the West Forest…?
It’ll probably be difficult to deal with them then.
It might be possible to wipe them out all at once with the 【Saint】technique. But I’m still a little anxious.
I’m not used to using it, so I don’t know if I can activate it in an emergency.
It might be reckless to make it into a magic attack in this situation.
“I’m a little anxious about this group since it could only be defeated with magic.”
“It’ll be fine if only a few appear, but we won’t be able to handle dozens of them.”
“Should we stop here and go back?”
“… No, let’s go in a bit more. I want to survey the condition there.”
Captain-san was thinking the same thing I was.
However, he gave priority to investigation because of the risk.
Of course, with the premise that we retreat if the slimes become too much to handle.
We encountered slimes several times as we advanced.
I’d heard what slimes looked like before, but they’re really not cute at all like they are in games.
It wasn’t shaped like a drop. Instead of looking soft, it looks like gel spread out on the ground like a water puddle.
Of course, it didn’t have a mouth or eyes.
We were fortune because not many appeared at the same time, so Captain-san and the court mage could defeat them.
I didn’t attack but I did do something.
The slime also inflected abnormal status like the mushroom, so I diligently cured it.
I looked around after we battled with slimes several times and noticed that the forest scenery had changed.
There were less weeds growing at our feet and I could see the ground in several places.
Were there only this much weed? Is it my imagination?
I thought, but it wasn’t.
I became bothered by this because I noticed it, so I started to carefully look around the forest.
The next thing I noticed was that there were more withered trees.
The trees withered because of external factors, but isn’t this too much?
It became a problem when trees withered because of acid rain in my previous world, but did that happen here too?
No, no way…
There aren’t that many withered trees for that scenario.
“What’s wrong?”
“The forest is getting somewhat weird.”
“I knew it… I also feel that something’s changed in here.”
“There aren’t that many weeds here and there are more and more withered trees.”
Captain-san thought for a while and then instructed the nearby knights to examine the trees.
As soon as the knights began examining it they exclaimed, “Woah,” and “Ah.”
“What is it?”
“Look at this. The trees probably withered because of the slimes.”
Captain-san looked at where the knights were pointing and he saw a hole had opened near the trunk.
The hole was quite deep, but it hadn’t penetrated to the other side.
Furthermore, it stretched in a vertical position.
The outside was left, but the inside of the tree might be almost hallow.
The entrance of the hole was a glossy substance similar to the traces we saw before, so was this eaten by a slime?
Is it possible that the other withered trees were eaten up as well?
“There are traces on this tree.”
“Here too.”
The other knights who were examining the nearby trees also called out one after the other.
I might not have noticed it until now, but perhaps the other trees were also withered the same way.
“What should we do, Captain? Do you still want to move on?” Captain-san put his hands to his chin and thought when he was questioned by the knight.
We would encounter more slimes and withered trees the further we go in, so I have a bad feeling about this, but we have to confirm how bad it is back there.
I don’t know if Captain-san knew what I was thinking, but he looked at me.
I don’t know what he was aiming with that look, but I could feel that he wanted to proceed and nodded.
It seemed like I was able to convey my feelings to him. He instructed the knights to carry on and we began walking again.
As expected, we saw more withered trees and the scenery got dreary.
I was really surprised when a slime dropped down from a tree that still had its leaves.
Moreover, it had fallen near me, and although I didn’t scream, I felt disgusted afterwards. I rubbed my arms and stomped on it.
I pretended not to notice that Captain-san was looking at me with a slightly troubled expression as he lowered his eyebrows.
Falling from the top, it’s a very powerful attack, you know…
“Let’s go back soon?” Captain-san spoke when the chills in my spine subsided.
He decided to go back since we kept getting surprised by slimes.
We were going to stay at a village near the forest, so we could stay in here for a relatively long time.
But if we don’t go back soon, then we’ll end up spending the night with the slimes.
It was more dangerous to stay in here rather than a village even if someone was on guard.
The knights thought the same and nodded at Captain-san.
We turned back and walked in the direction we came from when everyone made their decision.
Captain-san’s expression changed into a grave one when we hadn’t even walked that much.
“What’s wrong?”
“Quiet.”
The knights stopped and they tensed up.
Is there a demon?
I could hear the sounds of leaves being shaken by the wind when I hid and listened carefully.
“It’s here!”
“Wha-!”
A knight raised his voice and we saw slimes oozing out of a hole in a withered tree.
Of course, this caused the other knights to raise their voices too.
The slime that was sliding down the tree like sap was several times bigger than those we’d seen up until now.
Everyone was paying attention to the slime and I heard the knights, who were surveying the area, take a sharp intake of breath.
I looked around and saw that slimes were oozing out of the many withered trees.
They was large and a large number of them oozed out.
I understood that the situation was grave when I looked at the court mage next to me and saw that he had paled.
“『ICE WALL』,” a wall was formed at the same time Captain-san said his aria.
He continued to chant his aria and we were surrounded by a wall except for the front.
“It’ll erode sooner or later, but this is better than nothing.”
“We don’t have to worry about the back,” the knight added as if complementing Captain-san’s explanation.
The wall was to relieve the situation since we were surrounded.
And the battle began when preparations were done.
Only Captain-san and the court mage were attacking the slimes.
The knights were trying to keep the slimes from approaching so that they wouldn’t get closer than a certain distance.
I also cured their abnormal status and healed them.
The battle continued for a long time and the wall of ice slowly began to erode and a hole was opening.
Captain-san saw that and cast 『ICE WALL』in between the battle to rebuild the wall.
His MP seemed to have been exhausted since he took a MP potion from his waist pouch and gulped it down.
Although he was the Captain of the knights, he had less MP than a court mage so he had to drink MP potions quite frequently.
Even if their base levels were 10, the maximum amount of MP between a court mage and knight was quite different.
Even though we had a moderate amount of potions prepared, they would run out sooner or later.
Nevertheless, the surrounding slimes didn’t feel like they were decreasing even if they were getting defeated one after another.
Aren’t they coming from the back?
I looked up at the sky because I expected that the situation would get worse.
Huh?
The branches above my head were glistening in the sun and I concentrated my attention on them.
I thought I was just imagining things, but I wasn’t.
Slimes were clinging to the branches.
I grew pale because I predicted this would happen.
“They’re also coming from above!” I said and Captain-san looked up.
My voice must have become the signal, because slimes were falling from on top of Captain-san.
It’s dangerous, I thought and felt magic swelling up from within.
The 【Saint】technique activated at once to purify the surrounding slimes.
The range of the technique was small since I was panicking.
However, the slimes above us and those within a five meter circumference all disappeared.
“Sei, can you do it again?”
“I can!”
“Can you open a path in that direction?”
“Absolutely!”
“Alright, we’re withdrawing!”
Fortunately, it appeared that I could activate the technique again.
Captain-san called out to the knights and they came back from the front.
When we gathered together, I activated the technique in the direction that Captain-san asked me to; the slimes in that direction disappeared and a path opened up.
We quickly ran out before the path was blocked and managed to get out of the encirclement.
◊♦◊♦◊♦◊
A week has passed since we’ve returned from that wild subjugation.
The subjugation was extremely tiring, so we decided to return to Feudal Lord-sama’s castle as soon as possible; but that wasn’t the only reason why.
Another reason was because the demons which had appeared were slimes.
The current group compositions were bad for this subjugation since physical attack didn’t really affect the slimes.
It was necessary for us to request additional mages from the Royal Palace, so that the subjugation would process more efficiently.
Of course, we needed to tell Feudal Lord-sama about the slimes as well, so we reported it as soon as we arrived at the castle.
Feudal Lord-sama looked really grim when Captain-san told him about the slimes and the situation in the forest.
Of course, the demons were troublesome but the forest being destroyed was a bigger problem.
Corinna-san, who was with us, also looked as grave as Feudal Lord-sama did.
I heard from Corinna-san that a valuable herb grew at the place where the slimes were and having this place destroyed by slimes would be problematic for Klaussner, since its major production was medicinal herbs.
I told them that I couldn’t find any of the herbs that I heard grew in the forest when we were talking about the subjugation and Corinna-san looked even graver.
Captain-san immediately sent off a letter requesting for aid after our conversation with Feudal Lord-sama and Corinna-san.
According to Captain-san, the request would most likely be accepted and the court mages should be arriving soon.
I thought we would be idle before they arrived, but it turned out that we wouldn’t be.
We will be going to another place with the knights to continue our subjugation.
Demons didn’t just appear in the forest where the slimes were after all.
I spent my days like that and the subjugation settled a little in the other places and so we had a bit of spare time.
Captain-san told me to take a proper break because I did nothing but subjugate demons.
Captain-san seriously wanted me to rest properly so he forbade me from going to the distillation room.
He even told Corinna-san about it, so I gave up on making potions or going to the herb fields.
Therefore, today is my day off and I didn’t have to subjugate demons.
I was extremely bored since I couldn’t go to the herb garden or the distillation room.
Thus, there was only one place to go.
I felt extremely sorry for the chefs, but I borrowed a corner of the kitchen and made some cookies.
Is cooking not work, you say?
Cooking is fine.
It’s a change of pace.
First, I had to measure the ingredients.
I saw rosemary on top of the counter and the chef, who was working nearby, was watching me with interest.
This person might not know it, but you can also use herbs for sweets too, you know.
It was also easy to add a good effect by putting in herbs if the person making it had a cooking skill.
The reason why I was fussing over the effects of the cookies was because I wanted to bring them with me on subjugations.
Yes.
Today’s cooking was not only to prepare snacks, but also to make a prototype of something that could be easily eaten on subjugations.
We didn’t have time to make food if battles became intense, so I thought about food we could pack.
Then, I remembered about the handy nutrition bars from Japan.
I’m talking about the ones that look like shortbread.
I came up with rosemary and walnut cookies as a result of thinking about something convenient that we could carry.
“Are you making sweets today?”
“Yes. I thought about making something that would be filling instead of just being sweet.”
“Really? So you’re using less sugar?”
“I wanted to make something that isn’t too sweet, but it’s also because sugar is simply too expensive.”
“Ah, I see.”
Head Chef-san spoke to me when I was sifting the flour.
He was curious about what I was making.
When I told Head Chef-san about why I was using less sugar, he laughed as if he understood.
Sweet things were expensive in this world.
It would be nice if I could use as much sugar as I wanted.
I didn’t stop cooking even though I was talking with Head Chef-san.
I kneaded the dough, shaped it, baked it in the oven and then it was finished.
After cooling the cookies which had had browned nicely I picked one up.
Yup, it looks goods.
The rosemary gave it a nice aroma and the walnuts gave it a crunchy finish.
I did want to make it sweeter and I wondered if I could increase the sweetness even more since we were going to eat this while on the subjugation mission.
I wonder if I can add dried fruits to increase the sweetness.
No, that would cost extra…
I chewed the cookie as I thought about ways to improve it and I felt a few glances on my back.
I turned around and saw all the chefs as well as Head Chef-san staring at me.
“Do you want a taste?” I timidly asked and they all nodded their head at the same time.
I smiled wryly since they were nodding with such vigour.
The chefs were as equally enthusiastic as the people in the distillation room.
I didn’t make that much since this was a prototype, so I want them to forgive me for only giving each person a piece.
They gave me ideas on how to improve the sweetness when I told them I wanted to, so it might have been a good idea to let them sample it.
In Captain-san’s office.
I thought that the cookies should be sampled since I was going to bring them with me on the subjugation, so I brought them with me.
I entered the room and told him that I had a gift for him and he gave me a dazzling smile.
I feel like his smile has more impact than it did when we were at the Royal Palace; is this just my imagination?
I caught him just in time for his break, and he invited me to have tea with him like he did at the Royal Palace.
I wanted to hear his thoughts about the cookies, so I joined him.
“How is it?”
“It’s good. We could probably take this with us on subjugation missions.”
“I’m glad.”
I’m happy to hear that he likes it.
I made the cookies with a modest amount of sugar, but it was perfect for Captain-san since he didn’t really like sweet things.
In addition, I’m glad I got his approval when I told him that I wanted to bring this with us on subjugations.
“I’m sure I told you to rest for today…”
“Yes. I made this for a change of pace.”
“I see.”
I told Captain-san, who was holding the second cookie before his eyes, the reason I had prepared them and he smiled wryly.
Director also often told me that I didn’t rest on my holidays, but I do think that I rest properly; since I don’t work at all.
My job is to study medicinal herbs and support in subjugations.
Cooking isn’t part of my job description, I’m sure of it.
But I wonder if making food to take on subjugations part of helping out? Huh?
Captain-san drank his tea and then we heard someone run.
I looked at Captain-san wondering what this was about, and then we heard an impatient knock at the door.
The servant replied when Captain-san asked the person to identify themselves.
The servant, who had entered the room, was out of breath because he had been running.
“What’s wrong?”
“A message has come from Feudal Lord-sama. He said that the court mages have arrived from the Royal Palace.”
“From the Royal Palace?”
Of course Captain-san would look suspicious.
Even though he’d sent the request, it was still too early for them to arrive.
It should have taken them a week to arrive.
What the heck is going on?
According to the servant, Feudal Lord-sama also felt the same way and came here to enquire how to deal with them.
Anyway, nothing would be accomplished even if we think about it here.
We finished our tea and went to meet with the mages who had arrived.
We were guided by someone working at the castle to the place where we gathered for subjugations and there were knights and mages there.
“Aira-chan!?” I found someone I knew in the sea of unfamiliar faces, and raised my voice.
“Sei-san!”
Aira-chan was standing there wearing the court mage cloak.
“Huh? Why are you here?”
“Mm… How should I say this…? A lot of things happened…”
I was so surprised that I asked her for the reason and she looked troubled as she gave me a half-smile.
From what I’ve heard before, Aira-chan joined the Court Mage Division after she graduated from the Royal Academy, so it wasn’t surprising to see her come here.
But, it was still too early for support to arrive and the mages here were quite strange.
I heard that Captain-san had requested that a large number of mages should be dispatched to Klaussner because of the slimes.
Nevertheless, the mages that had been sent here were on the same level as our current group.
I should confirm the ‘a lot of things’ with Aira-chan.
I thought and tried to ask her about it in detail, but I noticed someone quickly approach.
Aira-chan’s smile became more questionable when a person with the court mage mantle approached us; their face was covered by the mantle’s hood.
It was an unusual appearance, so Captain-san took a step forward to protect us.
However, the mage came towards us not caring that we were being vigilant and slowly took of their hood.
Both Captain-san and I were surprised at who it was and raised our voices in surprise.
“It’s been a while.”
The unparalleled beauty with a dazzling smile on his face was Head Magician-sama, who should be at the Royal Palace.
I felt like I could hear a voice that said, “I’m here,” when he tilted his head and smiled.
References
| 1. | ↑ | black companies |
| 2. | ↑ | Raffles’ pitcher-plant |
| 3. | ↑ | Past |
Translator: Blushy
Editor: Sam
Everything went well as we reached the resting spot.
We encountered demons many times along the way but Leo-san and Captain-san defeated them straight away.
After the battle, I would cast a minor 『HEAL』, so it was pretty laid back.
The other parties encountered a lot more demons, just like the time in the West Forest.
Incidentally, I felt that the demons here were a lot stronger than the Royal Capital’s Ghosh Forest.
The place where we rested for lunch was a little opening in the middle of the forest.
Apparently, the mercenaries used this place to rest whenever they came to the forest to subjugate demons.
The plan was to meet up with the parties that separated from us here and have lunch.
Director forbad me to cook in public, but most of the people here are from the 3rd Knight Order, so it’s fine if I help out right?
I was also supporting them with magic, so I can just blame it on the magic if they ask.
Let’s do that.
Thus, I helped prepare lunch.
“What are you doing?”
“Can’t you see? I’m cooking.”
Leo-san approached me when I was making soup for everyone.
I feel like something like this has happened before.
“Cooking… You’re the 【Saint】, aren’t you?”
“I am.”
I’m the 【Saint】, so what?
He must want to say something, I thought curiously and Leo-san looked like he had mixed feelings. Then, after a while he began talking slowly, “Isn’t a 【Saint】someone who should be treated with respect and waited upon?”
“Is that so? I’ve been like this since before though.”
“Since before? Isn’t that strange?”
“Is it?”
As Leo-san said, it was natural for the 【Saint】to be respected and waited upon, given her status in this Kingdom.
I knew this, but I always ignored it.
Because it was easier to be treated like how the 3rd Knight Order treats me.
Leo-san should know this too.
And, cooking was a good change of pace.
I’d been restraining myself since I came to Klaussner as a 【Saint】.
It would be strange if I keep asking to borrow the kitchen in someone else’s castle.
But, I could cook without restraint while on a subjugation mission.
The people around me are all those who I know, after all.
There was no way I could let this chance go.
“It smells great.”
“Oh, Hawk-sama.”
Captain-san approached us as I stirred the pot whilst chatting with Leo-san.
He was tempted by the smell.
My déjà vu sense was becoming stronger and stronger.
Captain-san looked into the pot while standing opposite to Leo-san.
“Is this the soup you made for us before?”
“Yes. A lot of the knights said this was fine when I asked them what I should make.”
“Those guys…”
When I told him that this was the request of the knights, Captain-san put his hand on his head and hung his head down as if he had a headache.
I said it was a request, but it seems that soup made from dried meat and vegetables was a staple for subjugations.
The servants that were with the knights had said so.
“Hey, hey, you’re putting medicinal herbs in?”
“Yes. It increases the flavour and makes it more delicious.”
“Ooh, her cooking methods are really unique.”
I put oregano and thyme as well as other herbs into the soup as we talked, and Leo-san retorted as I’d expected he would.
This soup increased the amount of HP recovered naturally, but I didn’t talk about the effect.
Captain-san must have known my intentions because he only talked about the taste.
Whether I like it or not, isn’t he complimenting me too much by saying it’s unique?
Now then, the soup was finished and now onto the main dish.
I turned around and saw the knights in charge of cooking were cooking some kind of meat.
They seasoned it with an appropriate amount of salt, and grilled it with herbs and butter.
At any rate, what on earth is that meat?
Huh? The mercenaries hunted a hog?
And this always happens?
The mercenaries were wilder than I thought they were.
The food was cooked without a hitch and the servants distributed the meals to the knights.
I confirmed that the food was delicious by listening to the voices around me and breathed out a sigh of relief.
Leo-san was also saying, “Delicious, yummy,” while scooping the food into his mouth. Captain-san smiled his sparkling smile and complimented the food, as well.
I’m glad.
We went back to subjugating after lunch was finished.
“『AREA PROTECTION』.”
The magic circle covered in a white haze filled with golden lame spread around the area.
I cast support magic on the knights before the parties split up again.
The 『AREA PROTECTION』that I’d just cast was an A.O.E skill that raised defence against physical and magic attacks.
The knights were used to it, but the mercenaries caused an uproar because this was their first time experiencing the buffs.
Leo-san was no exception.
“Wow, amazing. You raised my defence.”
“Is this your first time receiving support magic?”
“Yeah. There are hardly any mages here. Moreover, there are none who can use A.O.E magic.”
“Ooh, I guess that’s true.”
“Right?”
Now that he’s said it, that’s true.
Casting A.O.E magic was much more difficult than casting individual magic.
“And, there’s no mage who can cast magic on this many people.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Yeah. The range and effect duration increases as the magic skill increases, but, well, it’s hard to get there.”
Captain-san made a side comment, “Well done!”
I have a feeling that Head Magician-sama had said something like that before.
I completely forgot about it.
If Head Magician-sama was here, then he would smile at me while getting angry.
And, what happens after that would be frightening.
I remembered what had happened before and a shiver ran down my spine.
Dangerous! That was a close call.
The preparations were done after the support magic was cast and we split into numerous parties again and entered the forest.
As we travelled deeper into the forest, we started encountering more and more demons.
Even though the demons were stronger than the ones in the West Forest, the knights were still doing fine.
They defeated the demons one after another with their wonderful coordination.
As for me? I was casting 『HEAL』like always.
I wasn’t using the 【Saint】technique not because of the activation requirements, but because I had talked it over with Captain-san and he had told me to save it.
That’s right, it’s not because I’m embarrassed or anything, okay?
“Huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
“No, I think this is the first time I’ve seen that demon.”
“That’s because they don’t appear near the Royal Capital. They’re poisonous.”
The mercenary, who was at the vanguard, signalled for us to stop, so we did.
I was curious about what had happened so I looked at the front through the gaps between the knights and saw a demon I’d never seen before.
The demon looked like a carnivorous plant, probably because this was a herb production area.
A huge sundew was moving in a windy motion, looking disgusting.
Luckily, it didn’t move from its location unlike other demons I’ve seen before.
If it did move around the area, then it would definitely be really disgusting.
Captain-san said it was poisonous, but I wonder if someone will get an abnormal status.
I thought, and the battle began.
I saw the knights fight and the round-leaved sundew bent its stalk backward while adding force and sprung forward.
In addition, it hurled a ball-like water drop from the tip of its leaf, towards the knights.
Most were able to avoid the attack, but I could hear a sizzling sound as if meat was being burnt from those who couldn’t.
The water drops seem to have poison.
I was the only one who was surprised by the sound of meat burning, the others continued to fight like usual.
The people who had received the attack also said, “It’s poison,” and the mages who were with them casted abnormal status cure.
Magic’s amazing after all.
The abnormal status was cured in no time.
The battle, itself, was quickly finished and we moved on after casting 『HEAL』.
The type of demon that was allocated to the area changed from where we were fighting earlier and the sundew demon appeared more often.
It seemed that the sundew didn’t always fling poison.
I always poised myself in a position where it was alright for people with abnormal status to show up, but my magic wasn’t required.
However, it was correct to assume that it was dangerous to let your guard down.
The sundew sprang greatly many times.
I released magic into the surrounding area at once and prepared to cure abnormal statuses.
“『AREA PURIFICATION』.”
I didn’t know how many people had an abnormal status, so I tried A.O.E magic to avoid the inconvenience.
My timing was perfect because the abnormal status was cured at the same time people got it.
The knights were surprised because it went so well.
Yup, my gaming experience is being used.
Before I went on my job search, I played an online game with several people.
In the game, I partied with several people and subjugated monsters like right now and they taught me something.
Look at the monster’s behaviour and prepare your magic beforehand.
In the game, monsters always took a certain action before they cast a skill that would cause abnormal status.
If I observe the monsters, then I could see what attack would come next and what abnormal status they would cause.
However, it took some time to cast the magic which healed abnormal statuses.
If I had to cast the skill which could cure abnormal status immediately after the attack, then I had to cast the magic in advance in conjunction with the monster’s movements.
The people I played with wanted the status to be lifted immediately, so before long, it became a habit for me to cast magic while matching the monster’s movements.
The party would complain if I was slow to cure them, so they were a little Spartan.
Because of that, I started preparing 『AREA PURIFICATION』to match with the demon’s movements.
A.O.E spells required me to release my magic around the area, and it took time to activate the skill.
“Wow! Amazing!” Leo-san raised a voice of admiration at me for being able to immediately cure the abnormal statuses from the demon’s actions.
“You’re really great. Did Dreves-dono also teach you this?”
“Yes… He did. Thank you very much.”
Captain-san also complimented me, but I wasn’t taught this from Head Magician-sama.
However, Captain-san wouldn’t understand if I said I had learnt this from a game, so I just told him that Head Magician-sama taught me.
Head Magician-sama hadn’t taught me this yet, but he might teach it to me someday.
He seemed like someone who liked efficiency, after all.
And thus, we headed to the place we planned to and today’s subjugation ended without any incidents.
◊♦◊♦◊♦◊
I began subjugating every day, so my life changed from an easy-going one into a busy one.
At any rate, I had a lot of things to do compared to the time I had.
Even so, was my company really that black 1) if this is better than when I was in Japan?
I don’t want to think of myself as a workaholic.
We left for subjugations in the morning, so I prepared the potions for the Knights every night after dinner at the castle.
I felt like a witch since I was brewing potions in a cauldron in a dark room under candle light.
Corinna-san found me once and was shocked, “You’re still working at this time?”
The only things I do after I finish the potions was take a bath and then sleep.
Then, I woke up early in the mornings, got ready and headed out to the medicinal field before we had to leave for subjugation.
I went there to observe the flowerpots that I had cast the 【Saint】technique on.
“Ah!”
The flowerpots I saw that day were different from usual.
The smooth soil was bulging a little.
“How does it look?” I turned back to look at the person who had called out to me and saw Corinna-san.
She came here every day because she was curious about the plants.
“Look at this! It’s sprouting!” I was so happy that it was sprouting, that I replied while turning back and Corinna-san also looked at the flowerpot in excitement.
“What did you say?!”
“It’s here…”
“It is!”
We said in confirmation as we faced each other; we hadn’t planned this beforehand, so it made us laugh.
Then, we shouted in joy because we couldn’t control the outburst of emotion we were having.
I wanted to continue watching the medicinal herbs, but unfortunately, it was time for me to head out for subjugation.
I don’t know if the herbs would grow up well, even if they have sprouted.
I would have to come here to look at it again before it grows fully, and I would have to discuss this with Corinna-san after I return from subjugation. Then, Corinna-san left.
I probably wasn’t imagining the fact that Corinna-san looked as if she would start skipping at any moment as I was watching her walking back to the distillation room.
“You seem to be in a good mood. Did something good happen?” Captain-san said during our lunch break.
I can’t speak for Corinna-san.
Even I was humming and about to sing.
“The seeds that I sowed have sprouted.”
“The medicinal herbs?”
“Yes. They’re hard to grow, so I’m happy they sprouted.”
“I see.”
I told him the reason and he laughed in understanding.
It was probably better to talk about in it more details, but there were things that only Feudal Lord-sama and Corinna-san knew, so I only went over it briefly.
“Were those medicinal herbs grown at the research institute as well?”
“Mm, they probably weren’t.”
“Then, will the research institute get new medicinal herbs?”
The research institute cultivated many herbs, but they didn’t cultivate the herbs that I was growing right now.
Because blessing was needed for cultivation.
Nonetheless, I couldn’t tell him the cultivation conditions, so I answered vaguely and he said something completely unexpected.
Cultivating it at the research institute, huh…
Right, if I bless the fields at the research institute then the cultivation conditions would be met.
I’m still in the middle of my experiment, but if it goes well, then I should check with Corinna-san to see if I could cultivate it at the research institute.
“I’m not really sure if it would grow properly or not…”
“You can ask Johan for help.”
“Ask Director?”
“He’s good at cultivating plants.”
“Oh.”
I remembered when he said that; Director could use earth magic.
Earth magic had several convenient spells for raising medicinal herbs. Director uses his magic freely and cultivated herbs that were said difficult to cultivate at the research institute.
Even if the herb that sprouted this morning didn’t grow well, it might be able to grow well with Director’s help.
No matter the result, I should talk to Corinna-san about whether I could continue the experiment at the research institute or not.
I decided on a plan in my head and break was done.
Huh? Already? I thought, but it can’t be helped.
The subjugations started close to the fief capital and eventually got further and further away.
The demons got stronger the further away we were and it became difficult to take breaks.
Because of that, our breaks inevitably became shorter.
We could still prepare lunch on site, but it might become difficult later.
I wonder if we’ll be bringing lunch boxes with us if we can’t make the food on site.
I thought absentmindedly, cleaned up and headed out.
“It’s here.”
The sprout? Nope.
A demon had appeared.
Captain-san whispered next to me when he saw the signal of a knight in the vanguard.
The knights were alert while walking, but they became tenser as soon as a demon appeared.
I also observed the demon so that I could provide support at any time.
The demon that appeared resembled nepenthes rafflesiana 2).
It had tentacles unlike the real thing and it moved around in a winding motion.
It might be dreadful to get caught in its tentacles, but the knights smoothly dodged them and commenced their attack.
And, it was defeated easily thanks to their skilful teamwork.
I was relieved because no one was injured this time.
The results of their daily training was demonstrated perfectly.
“Good work. It was easy, wasn’t it?”
“It was fine. But, the demons are getting stronger, so we can’t be unprepared.” Captain-san nodded and replied with a serious expression on his face.
The knights had the advantage at the moment, but who knows when the scales would tip towards the demons.
There was a saying that went, ‘unpreparedness is one’s greatest enemy,’ so it was probably better to stay focused.
In fact, they were gradually taking longer to defeat the demons.
“I feel like the demons are showing up more.”
“Yeah. It might be at the back.”
I nodded at Captain-san who was keeping an eye on the direction we were moving in.
Captain-san didn’t clearly say ‘what’ was there, but we were probably expecting the same thing.
At the West forest, we experienced encountering stronger demons the further we went in with the demons spawning more often.
Seems like there’ll be one here, the black swamp that is.
I don’t know if it’s because I’m expecting it, or I’ve seen it before, or because I know how to deal with it, but I’m not as nervous as I was at the West Forest.
Everyone else is also calm.
More demons appeared and I was on my guard so that I wouldn’t get injured, but I wasn’t anxious.
Even if there is a swamp, I could annihilate it with the 【Saint】technique.
I did wonder about what I should do if I failed, but I’ve already pushed that to the back of my mind.
If there was another problem, then it would be the demons around the swamp.
We predicted that a lot of demons would appear around it since they gushed out from the swamp.
This was what had happened at the West Forest.
With how many demons spawn from the swamp, I guess it could be compared to the so-called Monster Houses in dungeons.
But this was in a forest, so it might be better than the enclosed Monster House, but it was still extremely dangerous to take on that many demons at once.
3) During the West Forest subjugation, the demons attacked one after the one and even Head Magician-sama, who is a battle fanatic, had trouble dealing with them.
But one of the reasons why he had trouble might be because he couldn’t use A.O.E magic inside of the forest.
Since I have a feeling that I heard him complain or something at that time, “Argh, dammit! I just want to burn them all!”
It was soon after that, that we could see that things were worse than we imagined.
◊♦◊♦◊♦◊
The type of demons that appeared changed as we got deeper into the forest.
Demons resembling carnivorous plants decreased and ones resembling mushrooms increased.
Although they resembled mushrooms, they had a poisonous hue to them and were inedible.
Like its appearance indicated, the mushroom demon also inflicted abnormal status.
The knights were poisoned and paralysed from the spores it puffed out.
I haven’t seen this yet, but there were even spores that could burn if they stuck to the skin.
We progressed carefully while I cured abnormal status every time it happened.
How far did we go?
The knight, who was leading, called out to Captain-san who was walking next to me.
I nodded that it was fine since Captain-san looked at me for a moment and he quickly walked to the front.
“What happened?”
“I can’t tell from here, but it doesn’t seem urgent.”
I asked the court mage next to me, but they didn’t know what was happening.
I can wait here, but I’m curious. Should I walk to the front and ask?
I looked at Captain-san and saw that he was having a conversation with several knights while scowling; it didn’t seem like they were panicking, so it should be fine for me to go to the front.
“What happened?” I called out to Captain-san when I got to the front and he looked at me with the scowl still on his face.
I felt like he looked like the knights who were with us.
A problem has certainly occurred.
“They’ve found traces of a nasty demon.”
“A nasty demon?”
“Yeah.”
I looked at the directions that the knights were looking at when I heard the word ‘traces’ and saw fallen trees.
People came into the forest to take resources, but fallen trees also weren’t uncommon.
I tilted my head wondering what was wrong with it and the knights pointed to a spot on the fallen trees.
Hmm?
I concentrated my attention on that spot and saw that it was a bit glossy.
What is it?
The traces of a slug?
“What is this?”
“These are the predatory traces of a slime.”
“Slime!”
The image that came to my mind was of a blue drop type monster that appeared in certain famous RPG games.
So far, I’ve encountered animals, carnivorous plants, and mushroom demons. We encountered more plant-type demons the further in we went, so I thought that I would encounter myxomycete next, but I can’t believe it’s a slime.
Slimes are similar to myxomycetes, so I guess my expectation wasn’t necessarily wrong?
I was heedlessly thinking such things, from what Captain-san and the knights said, I realised that the slimes in this world weren’t cute low level monsters that showed up in games.
It was one kind of demon they didn’t want to encounter if possible because it was annoying to defeat.
Most physical attacks are ineffective, this is what one hears when speaking of slimes.
“Will magic work?”
“Yeah. Most slimes are defeated with magic.”
Isn’t it fine to defeat it with magic if physical attack don’t work? My old friend’s words resurfaced in my brain.
I nearly burst into laughter at that thought but managed to hold it down.
There are a lot of knights with us now.
Captain-san and I could use magic as well, but there was only one court mage with us.
There weren’t many court mages with us in the first place, so each group got one to three mages.
There were some knights who could use magic, but only the minority.
And, of course, the knights’ magic abilities are nowhere near that of the court mages.
Our current group composition could probably deal with one or two slimes.
But what would happen if they keep popping up one after the other like at the West Forest…?
It’ll probably be difficult to deal with them then.
It might be possible to wipe them out all at once with the 【Saint】technique. But I’m still a little anxious.
I’m not used to using it, so I don’t know if I can activate it in an emergency.
It might be reckless to make it into a magic attack in this situation.
“I’m a little anxious about this group since it could only be defeated with magic.”
“It’ll be fine if only a few appear, but we won’t be able to handle dozens of them.”
“Should we stop here and go back?”
“… No, let’s go in a bit more. I want to survey the condition there.”
Captain-san was thinking the same thing I was.
However, he gave priority to investigation because of the risk.
Of course, with the premise that we retreat if the slimes become too much to handle.
We encountered slimes several times as we advanced.
I’d heard what slimes looked like before, but they’re really not cute at all like they are in games.
It wasn’t shaped like a drop. Instead of looking soft, it looks like gel spread out on the ground like a water puddle.
Of course, it didn’t have a mouth or eyes.
We were fortune because not many appeared at the same time, so Captain-san and the court mage could defeat them.
I didn’t attack but I did do something.
The slime also inflected abnormal status like the mushroom, so I diligently cured it.
I looked around after we battled with slimes several times and noticed that the forest scenery had changed.
There were less weeds growing at our feet and I could see the ground in several places.
Were there only this much weed? Is it my imagination?
I thought, but it wasn’t.
I became bothered by this because I noticed it, so I started to carefully look around the forest.
The next thing I noticed was that there were more withered trees.
The trees withered because of external factors, but isn’t this too much?
It became a problem when trees withered because of acid rain in my previous world, but did that happen here too?
No, no way…
There aren’t that many withered trees for that scenario.
“What’s wrong?”
“The forest is getting somewhat weird.”
“I knew it… I also feel that something’s changed in here.”
“There aren’t that many weeds here and there are more and more withered trees.”
Captain-san thought for a while and then instructed the nearby knights to examine the trees.
As soon as the knights began examining it they exclaimed, “Woah,” and “Ah.”
“What is it?”
“Look at this. The trees probably withered because of the slimes.”
Captain-san looked at where the knights were pointing and he saw a hole had opened near the trunk.
The hole was quite deep, but it hadn’t penetrated to the other side.
Furthermore, it stretched in a vertical position.
The outside was left, but the inside of the tree might be almost hallow.
The entrance of the hole was a glossy substance similar to the traces we saw before, so was this eaten by a slime?
Is it possible that the other withered trees were eaten up as well?
“There are traces on this tree.”
“Here too.”
The other knights who were examining the nearby trees also called out one after the other.
I might not have noticed it until now, but perhaps the other trees were also withered the same way.
“What should we do, Captain? Do you still want to move on?” Captain-san put his hands to his chin and thought when he was questioned by the knight.
We would encounter more slimes and withered trees the further we go in, so I have a bad feeling about this, but we have to confirm how bad it is back there.
I don’t know if Captain-san knew what I was thinking, but he looked at me.
I don’t know what he was aiming with that look, but I could feel that he wanted to proceed and nodded.
It seemed like I was able to convey my feelings to him. He instructed the knights to carry on and we began walking again.
As expected, we saw more withered trees and the scenery got dreary.
I was really surprised when a slime dropped down from a tree that still had its leaves.
Moreover, it had fallen near me, and although I didn’t scream, I felt disgusted afterwards. I rubbed my arms and stomped on it.
I pretended not to notice that Captain-san was looking at me with a slightly troubled expression as he lowered his eyebrows.
Falling from the top, it’s a very powerful attack, you know…
“Let’s go back soon?” Captain-san spoke when the chills in my spine subsided.
He decided to go back since we kept getting surprised by slimes.
We were going to stay at a village near the forest, so we could stay in here for a relatively long time.
But if we don’t go back soon, then we’ll end up spending the night with the slimes.
It was more dangerous to stay in here rather than a village even if someone was on guard.
The knights thought the same and nodded at Captain-san.
We turned back and walked in the direction we came from when everyone made their decision.
Captain-san’s expression changed into a grave one when we hadn’t even walked that much.
“What’s wrong?”
“Quiet.”
The knights stopped and they tensed up.
Is there a demon?
I could hear the sounds of leaves being shaken by the wind when I hid and listened carefully.
“It’s here!”
“Wha-!”
A knight raised his voice and we saw slimes oozing out of a hole in a withered tree.
Of course, this caused the other knights to raise their voices too.
The slime that was sliding down the tree like sap was several times bigger than those we’d seen up until now.
Everyone was paying attention to the slime and I heard the knights, who were surveying the area, take a sharp intake of breath.
I looked around and saw that slimes were oozing out of the many withered trees.
They was large and a large number of them oozed out.
I understood that the situation was grave when I looked at the court mage next to me and saw that he had paled.
“『ICE WALL』,” a wall was formed at the same time Captain-san said his aria.
He continued to chant his aria and we were surrounded by a wall except for the front.
“It’ll erode sooner or later, but this is better than nothing.”
“We don’t have to worry about the back,” the knight added as if complementing Captain-san’s explanation.
The wall was to relieve the situation since we were surrounded.
And the battle began when preparations were done.
Only Captain-san and the court mage were attacking the slimes.
The knights were trying to keep the slimes from approaching so that they wouldn’t get closer than a certain distance.
I also cured their abnormal status and healed them.
The battle continued for a long time and the wall of ice slowly began to erode and a hole was opening.
Captain-san saw that and cast 『ICE WALL』in between the battle to rebuild the wall.
His MP seemed to have been exhausted since he took a MP potion from his waist pouch and gulped it down.
Although he was the Captain of the knights, he had less MP than a court mage so he had to drink MP potions quite frequently.
Even if their base levels were 10, the maximum amount of MP between a court mage and knight was quite different.
Even though we had a moderate amount of potions prepared, they would run out sooner or later.
Nevertheless, the surrounding slimes didn’t feel like they were decreasing even if they were getting defeated one after another.
Aren’t they coming from the back?
I looked up at the sky because I expected that the situation would get worse.
Huh?
The branches above my head were glistening in the sun and I concentrated my attention on them.
I thought I was just imagining things, but I wasn’t.
Slimes were clinging to the branches.
I grew pale because I predicted this would happen.
“They’re also coming from above!” I said and Captain-san looked up.
My voice must have become the signal, because slimes were falling from on top of Captain-san.
It’s dangerous, I thought and felt magic swelling up from within.
The 【Saint】technique activated at once to purify the surrounding slimes.
The range of the technique was small since I was panicking.
However, the slimes above us and those within a five meter circumference all disappeared.
“Sei, can you do it again?”
“I can!”
“Can you open a path in that direction?”
“Absolutely!”
“Alright, we’re withdrawing!”
Fortunately, it appeared that I could activate the technique again.
Captain-san called out to the knights and they came back from the front.
When we gathered together, I activated the technique in the direction that Captain-san asked me to; the slimes in that direction disappeared and a path opened up.
We quickly ran out before the path was blocked and managed to get out of the encirclement.
◊♦◊♦◊♦◊
A week has passed since we’ve returned from that wild subjugation.
The subjugation was extremely tiring, so we decided to return to Feudal Lord-sama’s castle as soon as possible; but that wasn’t the only reason why.
Another reason was because the demons which had appeared were slimes.
The current group compositions were bad for this subjugation since physical attack didn’t really affect the slimes.
It was necessary for us to request additional mages from the Royal Palace, so that the subjugation would process more efficiently.
Of course, we needed to tell Feudal Lord-sama about the slimes as well, so we reported it as soon as we arrived at the castle.
Feudal Lord-sama looked really grim when Captain-san told him about the slimes and the situation in the forest.
Of course, the demons were troublesome but the forest being destroyed was a bigger problem.
Corinna-san, who was with us, also looked as grave as Feudal Lord-sama did.
I heard from Corinna-san that a valuable herb grew at the place where the slimes were and having this place destroyed by slimes would be problematic for Klaussner, since its major production was medicinal herbs.
I told them that I couldn’t find any of the herbs that I heard grew in the forest when we were talking about the subjugation and Corinna-san looked even graver.
Captain-san immediately sent off a letter requesting for aid after our conversation with Feudal Lord-sama and Corinna-san.
According to Captain-san, the request would most likely be accepted and the court mages should be arriving soon.
I thought we would be idle before they arrived, but it turned out that we wouldn’t be.
We will be going to another place with the knights to continue our subjugation.
Demons didn’t just appear in the forest where the slimes were after all.
I spent my days like that and the subjugation settled a little in the other places and so we had a bit of spare time.
Captain-san told me to take a proper break because I did nothing but subjugate demons.
Captain-san seriously wanted me to rest properly so he forbade me from going to the distillation room.
He even told Corinna-san about it, so I gave up on making potions or going to the herb fields.
Therefore, today is my day off and I didn’t have to subjugate demons.
I was extremely bored since I couldn’t go to the herb garden or the distillation room.
Thus, there was only one place to go.
I felt extremely sorry for the chefs, but I borrowed a corner of the kitchen and made some cookies.
Is cooking not work, you say?
Cooking is fine.
It’s a change of pace.
First, I had to measure the ingredients.
I saw rosemary on top of the counter and the chef, who was working nearby, was watching me with interest.
This person might not know it, but you can also use herbs for sweets too, you know.
It was also easy to add a good effect by putting in herbs if the person making it had a cooking skill.
The reason why I was fussing over the effects of the cookies was because I wanted to bring them with me on subjugations.
Yes.
Today’s cooking was not only to prepare snacks, but also to make a prototype of something that could be easily eaten on subjugations.
We didn’t have time to make food if battles became intense, so I thought about food we could pack.
Then, I remembered about the handy nutrition bars from Japan.
I’m talking about the ones that look like shortbread.
I came up with rosemary and walnut cookies as a result of thinking about something convenient that we could carry.
“Are you making sweets today?”
“Yes. I thought about making something that would be filling instead of just being sweet.”
“Really? So you’re using less sugar?”
“I wanted to make something that isn’t too sweet, but it’s also because sugar is simply too expensive.”
“Ah, I see.”
Head Chef-san spoke to me when I was sifting the flour.
He was curious about what I was making.
When I told Head Chef-san about why I was using less sugar, he laughed as if he understood.
Sweet things were expensive in this world.
It would be nice if I could use as much sugar as I wanted.
I didn’t stop cooking even though I was talking with Head Chef-san.
I kneaded the dough, shaped it, baked it in the oven and then it was finished.
After cooling the cookies which had had browned nicely I picked one up.
Yup, it looks goods.
The rosemary gave it a nice aroma and the walnuts gave it a crunchy finish.
I did want to make it sweeter and I wondered if I could increase the sweetness even more since we were going to eat this while on the subjugation mission.
I wonder if I can add dried fruits to increase the sweetness.
No, that would cost extra…
I chewed the cookie as I thought about ways to improve it and I felt a few glances on my back.
I turned around and saw all the chefs as well as Head Chef-san staring at me.
“Do you want a taste?” I timidly asked and they all nodded their head at the same time.
I smiled wryly since they were nodding with such vigour.
The chefs were as equally enthusiastic as the people in the distillation room.
I didn’t make that much since this was a prototype, so I want them to forgive me for only giving each person a piece.
They gave me ideas on how to improve the sweetness when I told them I wanted to, so it might have been a good idea to let them sample it.
In Captain-san’s office.
I thought that the cookies should be sampled since I was going to bring them with me on the subjugation, so I brought them with me.
I entered the room and told him that I had a gift for him and he gave me a dazzling smile.
I feel like his smile has more impact than it did when we were at the Royal Palace; is this just my imagination?
I caught him just in time for his break, and he invited me to have tea with him like he did at the Royal Palace.
I wanted to hear his thoughts about the cookies, so I joined him.
“How is it?”
“It’s good. We could probably take this with us on subjugation missions.”
“I’m glad.”
I’m happy to hear that he likes it.
I made the cookies with a modest amount of sugar, but it was perfect for Captain-san since he didn’t really like sweet things.
In addition, I’m glad I got his approval when I told him that I wanted to bring this with us on subjugations.
“I’m sure I told you to rest for today…”
“Yes. I made this for a change of pace.”
“I see.”
I told Captain-san, who was holding the second cookie before his eyes, the reason I had prepared them and he smiled wryly.
Director also often told me that I didn’t rest on my holidays, but I do think that I rest properly; since I don’t work at all.
My job is to study medicinal herbs and support in subjugations.
Cooking isn’t part of my job description, I’m sure of it.
But I wonder if making food to take on subjugations part of helping out? Huh?
Captain-san drank his tea and then we heard someone run.
I looked at Captain-san wondering what this was about, and then we heard an impatient knock at the door.
The servant replied when Captain-san asked the person to identify themselves.
The servant, who had entered the room, was out of breath because he had been running.
“What’s wrong?”
“A message has come from Feudal Lord-sama. He said that the court mages have arrived from the Royal Palace.”
“From the Royal Palace?”
Of course Captain-san would look suspicious.
Even though he’d sent the request, it was still too early for them to arrive.
It should have taken them a week to arrive.
What the heck is going on?
According to the servant, Feudal Lord-sama also felt the same way and came here to enquire how to deal with them.
Anyway, nothing would be accomplished even if we think about it here.
We finished our tea and went to meet with the mages who had arrived.
We were guided by someone working at the castle to the place where we gathered for subjugations and there were knights and mages there.
“Aira-chan!?” I found someone I knew in the sea of unfamiliar faces, and raised my voice.
“Sei-san!”
Aira-chan was standing there wearing the court mage cloak.
“Huh? Why are you here?”
“Mm… How should I say this…? A lot of things happened…”
I was so surprised that I asked her for the reason and she looked troubled as she gave me a half-smile.
From what I’ve heard before, Aira-chan joined the Court Mage Division after she graduated from the Royal Academy, so it wasn’t surprising to see her come here.
But, it was still too early for support to arrive and the mages here were quite strange.
I heard that Captain-san had requested that a large number of mages should be dispatched to Klaussner because of the slimes.
Nevertheless, the mages that had been sent here were on the same level as our current group.
I should confirm the ‘a lot of things’ with Aira-chan.
I thought and tried to ask her about it in detail, but I noticed someone quickly approach.
Aira-chan’s smile became more questionable when a person with the court mage mantle approached us; their face was covered by the mantle’s hood.
It was an unusual appearance, so Captain-san took a step forward to protect us.
However, the mage came towards us not caring that we were being vigilant and slowly took of their hood.
Both Captain-san and I were surprised at who it was and raised our voices in surprise.
“It’s been a while.”
The unparalleled beauty with a dazzling smile on his face was Head Magician-sama, who should be at the Royal Palace.
I felt like I could hear a voice that said, “I’m here,” when he tilted his head and smiled.
References
| 1. | ↑ | black companies |
| 2. | ↑ | Raffles’ pitcher-plant |
| 3. | ↑ | Past |
Translator: Blushy
Editor: Sam
