CH 79

Unexpected decision

***---***

Six knights and six horses are lined up in front of the barracks at the Lastock garrison in the early morning.

Camilla Resenburg, dressed in shiny golden armor, appeared there.

The six knights welcomed Camilla with an undisturbed salute.

"Good work, at ease!"

"Yes!"

One of the six knights stepped forward.

"Prepared for departure, we are ready without delay!"

The knight who stepped forwards is Rondal, who reported the concerns of his colleague Gerd to Camilla, and as a result, was selected due to predicting the attack.

"Rondal, it sounds tedious, but what is your role?"

"Yes! I will hand over Camilla-sama's letter to Klaus Volzard, the Lord of the fortified city of Volzard."

"What if you are attacked by an enemy on the way?"

"Yes! Avoid battles, prioritize heading to Volzard, and never lose the letter. In the unlikely event that we die, the letter will be disposed of in an undecipherable state."

"Yes, this time your role is to deliver the letter to Volzard first, and absolutely do not let the enemy see the contents of the letter."

"Yes!"

Camilla presented an envelope with gold fringes, and Rondal received it with a reverent hand and put it in his leather shoulder bag.

"Rondal, what is your role after delivering the letter?"

"Yes! Check for traces of the escaped slaves, and if we find any traces, confirm the existence of their collaborators."

"Yes, at this point, the Second Prince's dynamism is suspected, but it is possible that the third party has escaped to Volzard. Look carefully without prejudice."

"Yes! I respectfully obey."

Rondal seems to be a little pale, probably because of the tension due to being assigned to play a major role.

Upon seeing it, Camilla loosened her cheeks.

"Fufu, Rondal, don't be so nervous."

"Yes! But because I have the great task of keeping Camilla-sama's letter ..."

"Rondal, the letter is certainly important for the future, but after all it's just a piece of paper."

"Huh, it's just a piece of paper?"

"Yes, if you lose it, I just have to rewrite it. Well, it's your life that is more important than the letter. It's pointless to be fixated on just a piece of paper!"

"Ca, Camilla-sama ..."

"If you feel that you are in danger, destroy the letter so that the writing cannot be discerned, and give priority to protecting yourselves. All six people must definitely come back alive and report, do you understand!"

"Yes!"

The six knights raised their voices in unison, and once again showed an undisturbed salute.

I am observing the situation from the shadow world with Fred and Reinhardt.

This time, it seems that Rondal will lead the messengers from Resenburg, and Levic, who was in charge of the second actual battle, will serve as the adjutant.(TN:I still feel it's awkward to keep calling it 'actual battle' this and that, but I don't know how else to word it to make it sound better.)

The other four are escorts, including Gert, who noticed that Furdate-sensei's conduct had changed, and Paul, who skewered me.

The six knights leave Lastock's garrison, cross the drawbridge, and gallop their horses towards the Devil's Forest.

Levic called out to Rondal, who was leading the way.

"Rondal, don't hurry so much, the destination is far."

"I, I know! But this time we may be hindered by enemies, so I can't settle down."

"That's right, but if you rush too much from the beginning, the horses won't be able to take it."

"But until you enter the forest, there are few obstacles, so you should consider the possibility of being shot ..."

"Then, let's slow down when we enter the forest, because we need to be careful in places where we can't see."

"I understand ..."

Levic, who stopped talking, has a bitter expression on his face.

Apparently Rondal is distracted by the heavy responsibility and seems to be having his horse run at a slightly too fast pace.

[ How is it? Reinhardt. ]

[ They just started the trip, but it looks like they're a little impatient. ]

[ You can ensure the safety of the highway, right? ]

[ Don't worry about that, Zae and Art have a system in place to dispose of high-risk monsters. ]

Our role today is to get the Resenburg messengers safely to Volzard.

Since the recent maximal outbreak, the Devil's Forest has been in a noisy state.

It seems that the corpses of goblins that have been hand-disposed by Reinhardt and the others are crowded with other goblins and kobolds, and the appearance of orcs and ogres is increasing.

If the number increases too much and becomes a threat to Volzard, it needs to be annihilated, so Art and the others are taking turns looking around the forest.

Since the messenger of Resenburg pass by today, they kept monsters other than goblins and kobolds away from the road.

As an escort, it is better to keep goblins away, but if the monsters do not appear to much, it may seem abnormal.

In reality, the number of ogres is increasing, but the Resenburg guys wouldn't think we were beating them out of sight.

After seeing the party enter the Devil's Forest and start to slow down, I decided to return to Volzard.

[ Then, I'm going to report to Donovan-san for a moment. ]

[ I understand, leave the monitoring to me ... ]

In the guild, the dismantling work of the Salamanders has begun.

The largest individual is already disassembled and each part is being auctioned.

Of the four Salamanders that were defeated later, two were decided to be purchased in their entirety by the Orlando Store.

The Salamanders will be sold as a normal size one for 2.5 million Helts.

For the large individual, the price of the auction minus the guild fee will be transferred later.

With the dismantling of the Salamanders, more people are visiting the guild to see them, and I feel that troublesome things will happen if I show up poorly.

Let's finish the report to Donovan-san from the shadow.

"Good morning, Donovan-san."

"Hmmm, Kent, what are you doing?"

"No, there seems to be a lot of people ..."

"Hmm, I thought you were being chased by the other two women."

"Well, that's not the case."

"What, did you get caught in Beatrice's trap and give in?"

"I haven't done it, I haven't done it! Did Donovan-san know and left me behind?"

"Hmm, it's better than being crushed by that small amount of liquor ..."

"Guu ... Anyway, the Resenburg guys have left, we'll be escorting them on the way so they won't notice, they'll be arriving in the evening."

"OK ..."

After finishing the report to Donovan-san, I decided to pick up Oda-sensei and Sato-sensei at the garrison's dormitory and bring them to Klaus-san.

By the way, I will also take a look at the situation of my classmates.(TN:Just going to throw this out there, I've been using the term 'classmates' but they're not all the same class, they're all the same grade in the same school, so despite being in different classrooms, I feel 'classmates' still works in that case? It was the entire grade floor of the building that was transferred.)

Klaus-san says that the Resenburg guys don't have leeway to listen to rumors and will return the next morning, so I have been instructed to tell my classmates not to leave the garrison grounds for two days, today and tomorrow.(TN:I made a mistake before, they're apparently not leaving the same night and arriving at Resenburg the next morning, but staying the night and leaving for Resenburg the next morning.)

Those who are engaged in forced labor also have two days off.

I don't think anything will happen, but I'm really worried because there is precedent for an uproar.

First, I'll look at the situation from the street in front of the garrison and confirm that nothing is happening.

Looking at the situation from the top of the ramparts overlooking the site, it seems that nothing has changed in particular.

However, there seems to be some commotion in the restaurant where I thought that everyone would be gathering.

I was wondering if Sumika Kizawa's group was causing a dispute, but at the center of the turmoil was the chairman, Manon, and Beatrice.

"I don't really understand what you're saying, can you explain it to me?"

Wow ... the chairman's voice is very high pitched ...

"So, as I said, Kent-sama and I spent the night together ..."

Beatrice shyly holds her cheeks with both hands, and the chairman and Manon ... oh, Yaksha. Real Yaksha ... It seems that horns will grow.

"Wait a minute!"

"Kent!" "Kent!" "Kent-sama!"

It is absolutely a bad thing for the story to proceed as it is, so I jumped out of the shadow world into the middle of the three.

"Wait, wait a minute, I'll explain it properly, so wait!"

I held down Manon and the chairman who was angry and tried to grab me, and first faced Beatrice.

"Beatrice."

"Please call me Rise ..."

"Beatrice!"

"Yes ..."

"I understand that you've prepared yourself and that you're thinking of me, but I don't like this."

"But ..."

"There was nothing, but you're trying to make them think something happened. It's not fair, is it?"

"But ... Kent-sama, to me ..."

"Oh, that's because I was asleep ... Hmm, because it's unavoidable ... Oh, it hurts ..."

"Kent, what do you mean? Explain it properly."

"Oh, it hurts, Yuika, I'll explain, so don't pull my ears ..."

Yes ... it's seiza.

With a resolute attitude, I managed to bring order to the confusion ... My thoughts collapsed in an instant, and when I told them that I was drunk with livre liquor and was set up to a planned situation in the morning, I was made to sit in seiza.

In front of me, the chairman with her arms folded is standing beside Manon, and next to her, Manon is looking at me with her eyes raised.

"So, Kent, what happened with Beatrice?"

"Well, that's ... well, I was playing with Mart in my dreams ... I mean I stroked her ..."

Wow ... what is it, the girls around me send me a gaze as if they're looking at garbage, and the boys are glaring at me while gnashing their teeth ...

No, in this situation, why is Beatrice happily holding her cheeks with both hands?

"Since we've spent the night together, Kent-sama, you have to take responsibility ..."

"But you haven't crossed the line, right?"

"Uh ... that's right ..."

"The kobolds were always watching to see if you would do anything next to them, right?"

"Ugu ... yes, that's right ..."

Beatrice is inferior because she was attacked by the chairman and Manon both.

"Ne, nevertheless, I was patted all over my body during treatment ..."

"I was peeped at in the bath."

"I was also peeked at in the bath by Kent."

Guha ... It's true, but it's being announced to everyone here ...

"No way ... Kokubu-kun has gone that far ..."

"Truly trash, the worst."

"Okay, let's execute, no interrogation is necessary."

"Damnit, violating a beautiful girl with drooping bunny ears ..."

No, I didn't violate her. Hey, I just stroked her a little ...

"So what are you going to do, Kent?"

"Kent!"

"Kent-sama ..."

Beatrice, who was having fun, is a little frustrated.

But it's time for me to decide.

I took a deep breath and looked at the chairman and Manon before opening my mouth.

"I'll do my best to get everyone back to Japan, but ... I'm thinking of staying at Volzard."

"Kent ..."

None of my classmates seem surprised when they hear my story, as I had expected, but the chairman seems a little confused.

"Yuika ... I want Yuika to stay with me."

"Kent!"

"But I'm sorry! I want Yuika, Manon, and Rise to be mine!"

When I took the plunge and said my desire for a harem, booing happened as a matter of course.

"Wow ... He's seriously thinking of a harem ... I'm a bit repulsed."

"It's impossible ... spur of the moment ..."

"It's good to execute him, execution is good, burning is good, no, after waterboarding once?"

"Apart from the light novels and anime, people don't really say that ..."

Only words of criticism come from the girls and boys, but it's natural.

"I will serve you with this body and soul if Kent-sama remains in Volzard."

Beatrice crouched down beside me and kissed me on the cheek as the boos from my classmates poured in.

"I wish Kent would remain ..."

Manon also crouched down beside me, holding my right arm and trying to kiss my cheeks, causing our temples to head-butt.

"Oh, it hurts ... Manon ..."

"S, sorry ... Kent."

Everyone around us giggled and laughed for the first time at Manon's clumsy move, but the chairman was standing with her face pale.

It's natural that the chairman is confused because she suddenly has to choose between me and her family.

"Yuika ... I'm sorry, I suddenly said something like this, but I still don't know when we can return to Japan, you don't have to hurry to give an answer, and until Yuika decides, I'm not going to have any more relationship with Manon and Beatrice."

"Kent ... Yeah, let me think a little ..."

"Is that okay with you, Manon and Rise? Especially, Rise, even if we meet in the city, kissing is no good."

"I'm fine with that, because I promised to compete fairly with Yuika."

"I'm fine with that too. If Kent-sama stays in Volzard, I'll be waiting."

Both Manon and Beatrice let go of my arms out of consideration for the chairman.

"Then, I have to introduce Oda-sensei and Sato-sensei to the Lord Klaus-san, so I'll go first."

"Kent ..."

"What is it, Yuika ..."

"I also will think properly and give an answer ..."

"Yeah, I'll be waiting."

When I nodded at the chairman and tried to leave the cafeteria, Oda-sensei and Sato-sensei stood at the entrance.

"Good morning, I'm sorry, did I keep you waiting?"

"No, we just got here, is now a good time?"

"Yes, it's okay, then I'll show you the way."

That said, I hear criticism from the cafeteria.

"I'm grateful for his help, but it's a little ..."

"Although he may have had a hard time, after all, he resorts to cheats ..."

"Hey Yuika, what are you doing? Are you seriously thinking about harem."

"Now, let's get ready for execution, fortunately there is no forced labor today, so we have plenty of time."

"Kokubu-kun, I was just thinking he might be a little good ... but I'm disillusioned ..."

Even if I quickly leave the dining room, the words of my classmates remained in my ears and did not disappear immediately.

"Is it okay, Kokubu?"

"Well ... yes, it's okay."

"Hmm, it doesn't look okay at all, because it's written all over your face."

"Uh ... yes, it's the consequences of my own deeds, but it's a little tough."

"But you thought about it and decided it yourself?"

"Yes, I did ..."

"If so, don't hesitate. Don't waver. Otherwise it won't look good to the girls who chose, and Asakawa who will decide from now on.

"That's right ..."

Oda-sensei berated me with a slightly harsh tone, but he's exactly right.

If I were to waver, the chairman wouldn't be able to make a decision.

"Kokubu ..."

"Yes."

"You should at least act cool for the girls who fell in love with you."

"Yes, I understand."

When I was in Japan, Oda-sensei seemed to be straightforward and difficult to talk to, but he seemed surprisingly good at taking care of me.

"Huh? For the girls who fell in love with me ... Does that mean that other people think I'm uncool?"

"Fufu, who knows ... I don't know that much ..."

"You don't know ... what is it?"

"Your original merit, was certainly lacking."

"Guu ... It's painful that I can't argue."

When I talked about the livre liquor that caused the turmoil, Oda-sensei screamed.

"Until the students are safely returned to Japan, I can't take it easy ..."

"I don't know about other liquors, but the 25-year old livre-liquor I had yesterday was excellent."

"Kuu ... Kokubu, can you get that liquor for a celebration when it's decided we can return?"

"Teacher ... it's certainly possible, but for now, please concentrate on your return."

"I know ... I know, so I'll ask again when we have a clear idea ..."

"Okay, I'll ask again when I visit Dino-san from the livre farm."

I saw an unexpected side of Oda-sensei, who seems to be a straightforward person, but I have to be careful not to fail in negotations involving alcohol.

Yeah, I realized that alcohol is really scary.