125-Chapter 8-1 Parting and Encounter

Temma, that's enough.

Namitaro said this as they approached the river on the road to Seigen, and he got out of the carriage. Then he went straight into the river and began to swim with great speed.

'It's been a long time since I've been in a river..............................ho ho ho ho.

Namitaro, who was in good shape, was jumping repeatedly on the surface of the water, spraying a tremendous amount of water around him.

'Namitaro! The water is flying over here!

I'm sorry about that one. It's just that it's been so long since I've been in contact with you that I don't know how hard to push.

As the excitement subsided, Namitaro came slowly up to the carriage.

'So, are you going to go now?'

Yeah. This is the biggest river around here, right? Then this is where we say goodbye.

As Namitaro said this, he held out his right pectoral fin. I grabbed it and Namitaro moved it up and down vigorously.

I asked, "Are you going to leave now, Namitaro? I'll miss you.

It's not a farewell to this life, so we'll see each other again... well, that is, if Merlin is alive by then!

He also talks to his grandfather with a laugh. He stayed at our pond while in the capital, and moved around the mansion brazenly, acting like he was part of the family, so that he had become accustomed to talk to Grandpa in such a light manner.

Temma, use your whistle to let me know if something happens. So long, goodbye!

Namitarou said, and swam downstream at a terrific pace. As I stared off at Namitaro, who was quickly becoming smaller and smaller, the djinn's carriage, which had lagged a little behind, caught up with him, but by that time he was out of sight.

'You're a thin-skinned bastard. You could have at least said a few words to us.

Perhaps Jin and the others are feeling a little sad that they didn't send their own goodbyes, since they had interacted with Namitaro in their own way.

It's a good time to take a break from the water, so let's take a break here, shall we? This one's good, but we should give that horse a break, right?

My carriage is Tanikaze (in Slarin), a horse-shaped golem, so it's tireless (Slarin consumes magic power, but that's not a problem as long as I replenish it), so it's possible to go to Seigen non-stop like this. However, that's not the case with the horses that Djinn and the others are borrowing. Even though the horses have been modified for carriage pulling and have more strength and stamina than ordinary breeds, they still tire when they get tired.

''That's true. Then I suppose I'd like that place over there where it's a step higher. If you are too close to the water's edge, you might be attacked by strange demons.

Normally, it would be better to rest by the water's edge, but in places with a certain depth and breadth, such as the river in front of us, there is a possibility that large, carnivorous demons like the crocodile shark we defeated before are living there. So we need to get away from the riverbank to some extent.

I'll do that. As promised, I'll be in charge of the food, so please be vigilant during the break.

This is a condition we discussed beforehand, so instead of me (+ Grandpa) being in charge of preparing all the meals, Jin and the rest of the "Sword of Dawn" will be in charge of vigilance (including at night)... and also Blanca and Amur.

For now, we'll cook a simple meal, and I asked my grandfather to prepare a fish meal. After all, when it comes to cooking, Grandpa is not a force to be reckoned with except for simple things.

''Let's see ... since we're halfway through the day, something a little lighter would be good.''

I pulled out of my magic bag a flour, an egg, some shreds of beef, a few vegetables like onions and lettuce, oil and salt and pepper. I made the crepes.

The baked and chopped ingredients are placed on a plate by type, and the thin batter is ready to be baked. The baked dough is then wrapped with the ingredients of one's choice and eaten. For Slarin' and his friends, I prepare a separate dish of fried meat and vegetables. I've made a lot of crepes, so if there's any left over, I'm thinking of leaving some for a nightcap... but

Temma, I need another.

Instead of staying, it was going to be insufficient. The biggest miscalculation was Amour, who was chewing on a crepe beside me. She had eaten so much crepe that it made me wonder where she fit in, the smallest of the bunch. Incidentally, in terms of the amount she currently ate, it was Amour, Blanca, Garratt, and a little further away, Jin. The others were almost side-by-side, with the exception of Leena, who was at the bottom of the list. Stunningly, the three beastmen occupied the top spot.

''How well they eat........''

I couldn't help but mutter to myself as the three of them ate their fill. The three of them seemed to hear me muttering and stopped their hands together.

''Is that so? That's about as normal as it gets.

A lot of beastmen eat out of cups.

Temma doesn't like to eat a lot of food?

Garratt, Blanca, and Amur, in that order. It seems that beastmen have a habit of being close to beasts, so they tend to gobble up food when they can, and because they have a higher physical capacity than other races, they consume more calories than other races.

That's why there aren't many full-time farmers in our village. Most families are also hunters and adventurers and are also full-time farmers.

Incidentally, it is said that Amur's family has been ruling class for generations and he has never farmed at all. I heard that Blanca had a little bit of farming experience.

'It's like a kukri village.

My words brought the conversation to a close, and we all resumed eating together. After that, the meal was over after two more additions of ingredients and dough, and we decided to take a food break before leaving, but for some reason, some of them got into my carriage.

'Menas, Leena, Amour, why did you come here?'

These were the women riding in the carriage prepared by the Sword of Dawn.

''No, it's too small over there.''

It's a bad ride.

"Bath.

The reason was really easy to understand. The carriage the djinn and the others were riding in was not narrow or ragged, but it was not as good as the one I had made. In fact, the ride was so comfortable that the king asked me to sell it to him. However, I couldn't sell the one I'm using now, and I didn't have time to make a new one, so I drew a blueprint of a similar one and gave it to him. Of course, I'm getting paid for the design, and we've also signed a contract for a fee in the form of a patent fee for the second and subsequent units.

'I understand why, but what do the Jinns say?'

I don't mind moving over here, but the problem is the djinn. The carriage over there is different from this one, where a person has to give instructions to the horses all the time, so less people means more burden.

''Don't worry, we've talked about it.''

She says she's more comfortable with men being together.

Blanca shut him up.

They say they've been talking through it, but the way Leena said it, what will happen to me and my grandpa? Later on, I'm wondering how Amour silenced Blanca.

'Branca's weaknesses are his wife and my mother the mention of these two names makes Branca quiet.

........maybe it would have been better not to ask. Well, it looks like I got permission to do so, so I let them through to the carriage. Grandpa felt sorry for Jin and the others when he heard why the three of them had come.

'Temma, I'm sorry to be so quick, but can I use the bath? I've been wondering what a bath on a carriage would look like.

Let's get right to it!　

Do you want Temma to join us?

'You can take a bath, but that's for one person only. You'll have to wait for your turn before you can take a bath. Also, the bathrooms are in the same building as the bathrooms, so you'll need to take your clothes off in the bathroom. If you don't, you will be deported to Jin's place and you will not be allowed to use it again.

I nailed it before Amur went off the rails. Menace and Leena seemed to have planned to do so from the beginning, but Amour seemed a little unhappy............................I guess I was right to make the first move.

While the three of us were deciding on the order of the bath, I started preparing dinner. Speaking of preparations, all I had to do was to stew the chicken and vegetables in a pot. I suggest that we plan on making something warm and hearty for the evening.

'Temma, what's for dinner?'

Menace, who seems to have lost the most hot water battle, asked me from behind. Since Amur is behind her, the first hot water seems to be Leena.

''I'm thinking of making a stew.

"Stew?

Neither of them seem to know what stew is.　

'It's more like a soup of meat and vegetables stewed in milk.

Menace is nodding his head at my explanation, but Amour is tilting his head.

''They tend to come out in cold areas and such, so maybe it's rare in the south.

At Menace's words, Amur nodded that it might be so. The area where Amur lives is warm throughout the year, and it is said that he has never had a single snowfall. Incidentally, I've heard that the snow can pile up to nearly one meter in the winter in the royal capital. In Kukri, it may snow half as much or half as little as the capital in winter.

They both shook their heads in response to my question, so I threw a generous amount of vegetables into the pot. Shiroumar and Solomon looked a little uncomfortable, so I decided to add more veggies after seeing that.

By the time the white sauce was ready, Leena and Menace got out of the bath, and Amur, who was the last of them, went into the bathroom, but soon came out half naked.

Leena hurriedly put a blanket over them, but it was awkward to see them for a moment, and it was awkward to see the quicksilver.　

''Because of the previous two, the hot water is low......plus, it's lukewarm.

That makes it sound like I'm heavy!

The way Leena said it, I sound like I'm the only one who's heavy.

Mr. Menace is taller than I am and...

Menace seemed a little annoyed by Leena's words, but I ignored them and headed for the bathroom.

'How about this?'

I used water magic and fire magic to add hot water and asked Amur behind me. Amour stuck his arm in and checked the temperature. I saw Amour nod and immediately went to the bathroom door. As soon as I opened the door, hot water flowed to my feet, but I had my back to him, so I didn't have to be awkward this time.

A few hours after the break, it was getting dark by now, so we decided to make camp on top of a small hill. Jin and the others were in charge of the perimeter, but just in case, Grandpa and I set up a warding around the carriage. There are two kinds of wards, one to prevent the enemy from detecting our presence and the other to warn them of our intrusion. However, wards are not a panacea, so I'll make sure that Jin and the others remain vigilant.

''Djinn, here's the evening meal. I'll put them in the carriage over there. There's enough for all of us, but you'll have to be patient if you don't have enough.

Oh, thank God. I'll wake you up if anything happens to you while you're on alert, and you should get some rest, Temma.

After dinner, he handed the evening meal to the djinn in charge of the first vigil before returning to his own carriage after the banter. This vigil was said to be divided into three groups, the first being Jin and Amur, then Blanca and Menace, and the last being Garratt and Leena. This one was divided into men and women and the order was decided by lottery, and they each took turns for three hours. Blanca and Menace, who were in charge of the hardest time zone, went to sleep soon after eating dinner.

I've been wondering if it's a good idea for adventurers to sleep in the same bedding as the men and women, even though they are adventurers, so the women are sleeping in the carriage that Jin and the others are using, while the men are sleeping in the shadow of the carriage. Incidentally, my carriage is the only one in which I, my grandfather, Slarin and the others sleep. I'm not going to be able to get out of the carriage, and I'm not going to be able to get out of the carriage, and I don't want to be woken up every time we take turns being on guard. By the way, since this kind of thing is a common occurrence when requesting an escort, the djinn didn't complain about it. However, Grandpa and I, who aren't in charge of guarding, sometimes have to deal with things if something happens in the middle of the night, so there's nothing better than going to bed early.

''Hmm?''

I suddenly woke up in the middle of the night, feeling the presence of something. Almost at the same time I woke up, Shiroumaru got up, and then Slarin, Grandpa, and Solomon, in that order, got up from their beds.

The owner of the presence that I could feel even through the wards seems to have a lot of strength.

As I was getting ready to walk out at any moment, there was a quiet tap on the door.

'It's Blanca. Temma, I see you're awake. I'm sorry, you need to come out.

When I walked outside, I saw Blanca standing there with a serious expression on her face. Menace seemed to have gone to wake everyone else up, with Jin and Amour rubbing their eyes behind him.

'So what happened? Does that mean Temma's there too, which is pretty nasty?

Djinn, who looked sleepy but was carrying his sword, ready for action at any time, asked Blanca.

'Yeah, we were a little bit outside the wards when we felt the presence of a demon with considerable power. I don't know if it's coming this way, but if it does, I think it's going to be a handful if we're alone.

According to Blanca, the demons seem to be a flock, and although Blanca and the others might be able to deal with them on their own, they'll probably cause some damage. That's why he wants me and my grandfather to stay on standby as well.

Then we might as well get ready for battle. "Then we might as well get into battle formation right away.

Using 'search' extensively while listening to Blanca's story, the swarm of demons had approached to a distance of about five kilometers from us. At this rate, we'll be in contact with them in another two to three minutes.

''Seriously! Then we have to hurry!

Garratt slapped his face with his hands and got fired up, and they all followed suit, each getting fired up.

I think it's best to fight outside the wards to intercept them. Since the enemy may not notice us, they may change their course by revealing themselves to us. Do you know the exact number and type of enemies, Temma?

Looking at everyone who was a little flustered, Grandpa said that in a calm voice. I tried to use 'appraisal' while counting the enemies that I've been capturing with 'search' from earlier.......

Number eight, kind of a unicorn.

It was the first demon I had ever seen. Unicorns in the previous life are sometimes depicted in stories as sacred animals and the like, but in this world, they are a type of demon. However, it is a high-ranking demon, and because they are quite few in number, it was said that they were more difficult to find than to defeat.

I've only seen a unicorn once or twice during my time in the service. I've only seen one or two of them in my time of service. If they knew of our presence, they wouldn't be likely to attack us. If they show a willingness to fight outside the wards, they will probably go away to avoid trouble. But don't try to attack without a fight. But don't try to attack without a fight, because then they may choose to fight rather than run.

I followed my grandpa's advice and went outside the ward and took up a position facing the unicorn.

At the front of the group were Shiroumaru and Solomon, with 'Sword of Dawn', Blanca and Amur right behind them, and me and Grandpa at a slight distance on either side of them.

This means that the unicorn's natural enemy, a large carnivorous beast, and a child, but a superior dragon, will be shown in order to restrain it, and if it doesn't back off, Grandpa and I will attack it from the left and right with magic, and then Jinn and the others will charge at it. By the way, Slarin is in Tanikaze, and will be useful in the chase.

''They're here.　

As Blanca stared into the distance, she spotted a herd of unicorns. All of the unicorns seem to be adult individuals, and although they are about one size smaller than Tanikaze, they are probably larger than normal horses. In particular, the one running at the front of the pack has a stocky build, and the horn on its forehead is longer and thicker than the others. It's probably the leader of the pack.

We're on a small hill, but the unicorns don't seem to have noticed us yet, perhaps because we're stationed downwind from them.

When the unicorn flock was about a kilometer away from us.

Waroooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Shiroumaru, who was in the lead of us, howled at the sky. Shiroumaru barked with all his might, causing the air around him to tremble and Leena and Amur to hold their ears at the volume of his voice.

''U~.......Shiroumaru, shut up!''

Amur complained to Shiroumar in a tense voice, but no one took it up.

''Vulu~''

Shiroumaru's howl made the unicorns aware of our presence, and with a leading whine, all of them came to an abrupt halt. Then they began to glare at each other. Normally, unicorns are said to be rank A demons, but as for the lead unicorn, there was an atmosphere that it might have reached rank S. If we were to take on all eight unicorns, it would be a more troublesome opponent than the ground dragon I defeated a while ago. We wouldn't be able to lose, but depending on how things unfold, we could take a lot of damage.

The first half of the unicorns are about half way away from that rock, so use magic to attack them. You must prioritize the number of hands over the power of the blow, so that they are able to break apart. Djinn aim to destroy each one of them, being careful not to get caught in the crossfire. I'd like to see the first one down, but don't go overboard.

Grandpa's words brought the tension level up a notch. The unicorns seemed to sense our nervousness and became more cautious, and they began to slowly move forward without taking their eyes off of us.　

After a hundred or two hundred meters, we were about to attack, when the unicorns in front of us suddenly disappeared, and all the unicorns changed directions and ran off together.

''The horse meat is running away...''

We were too dumbfounded to respond to Amur's mutterings, but we quickly remained on alert until the unicorn was out of sight.

'Looks like he's gone,'

'Yeah, we're out of the scope of my 'search' too. I'll have to keep my guard up for now, but by the looks of it, I don't think they'll come back.

In affirmation of Blanca's words, I told everyone about the results of the 'search'. That made the djinn lose their minds, and they each started yawning loudly and stretching.

''Shucks, why do those things show up in a place like this?''

I don't care. Think you've seen a rare monster! I'm going to bed!　

Garratt's words were answered by a slightly bad-tempered Jin as he headed for his bed.

'Blanca, can you eat that (unicorn)?'

Amur seems to see unicorns as just food. He has been calling it horse meat, horse meat since a while ago. Maybe he's hungry.

Hm? Yeah, I've heard they're pretty good. But with a unicorn, it's worth more than the meat, the horn and the oil on the forehead, one thing at a time. I hear it makes a very effective potion.

A thing?

The symbol of a man.　

I see... ouch!

I threw a loaf of bread out of my bag to Amur who was staring at my crotch. The bread hit Amur in the face and fell directly to the ground, but the bread is wrapped in cloth so the quality is fine.

'I understand the horns, but is the oil and that (...) worth it?'

It is, sir!　

I thought I'd asked Blanca and Grandpa, but for some reason Leena interrupted me with a smile.

'The forehead horn, when decocted and drunk, has a fever-reducing, detoxifying and nourishing effect, and as far as detoxification is concerned, it's almost universally effective. When drunk, it is a stomach remedy, when applied, it is a wound remedy, and when applied, it is effective against blemishes, wrinkles, and freckles, among other things! As for that one(...), when dried in the sun and seared and crushed, it becomes an energizer. They are all expensive, high performance, and extremely rare, so the moment they appear on the market, all of the high ranking nobles will buy them all the moment they appear on the market.......ouch!

Menace poked Leena's side lightly, probably irritated by the smugness of her explanation. I went back to my carriage before I could get caught up in any more of the weird midnight tension, but when I opened the door, I saw my comforter puffed up. I flipped it open and there was Amur, sleeping with crumbs around his mouth.

I invited his guardian (Blanca) to collect the crumbs, because if I touched the crumbs, Judge Amur might convict me later. When they took me away, I thought I heard a little tongue lashing from Amur, who was supposed to be asleep, but I decided to go to bed without worrying about it... but I ended up spending a lot of extra effort before going to bed because the crumbs were scattered inside and outside the bedding.