CH 194

Irosun Great Forest

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The Irosun Great Forest was a forest area located on the border of the Marburg and Bakkenheim territories.

It was so large that it would take two days by horse-drawn carriage or four to five days on foot just to cross the highway, and the north-south length would be doubled.

Many wild animals inhabited the vast forest area, and although not as many as in the Devil's Forest, monsters also lived there.

There were about seven villages scattered along the highway, but they seemed to live off forestry, hunting, and business with travelers.

On the afternoon of the second day after leaving Bakkenheim, the Volzard Family's carriage arrived at the entrance to the Irosun Great Forest.

The Guild had a branch office at the entrance to the forest, where they checked to see if the passers-by were in a safe state to travel.

For example, those who wanted to cross on foot would need an escort for those below D-rank, and the rank and number of escorts would be confirmed for a carriage.

And, it seemed that adventurers were being arranged for those who needed escorts.

"The Volzard Family's carriage, is it, seven people in total, two of whom are guards, the rank is ... it's S!"

When I headed from Volzard to Bakkenheim, I was with Master Reese and Lau-san, and above all, I was in a cabin pulled by Bran, so I passed through with a face pass.

The person in charge compared my face with the guild card many times when I went to pass through with Johannes-san, and even used magic tools to check if the card was genuine.

Maa, outside of Volzard, my name and face weren't well known, so it was only natural for this situation to happen.

"Certainly, the card is genuine, and I heard rumors about the youngest S-rank adventurer, but I didn't expect him to be such a kid ..."

"In my case, it's because my genus who fight alongside me are stronger than me."

By saying that, I tried not to drawn attention to myself as much as possible, but because of the delay in the procedure, I heard whispering voices here and there.

Since it was dangerous to travel through the forest, it seemed that there were quite a few people who were looking to move near carriages with strong guards and high-ranked adventurers.

They probably thought they could escape trouble if they were close to someone with good skills, but from the side of the escort, were they people they wanted to protect, or were they people who wanted to rob them, it was also an existence that was very difficult to get rid of.

"Takayama, could you change places for a moment?"

"I don't mind, but wouldn't it be better if Kokubu was near the escort targets?"

"My genus are near the escort targets, so it's okay. More importantly, when something happens, if I receive a report from my genus, then I go outside to check and give instructions ... I feel like my initial action will be delayed."

"I see, then I'll be the escort in the cabin."

"Yeah, don't open the door if someone other than me and Johannes-san approach."

"I know. Kokubu should be careful."

Before entering the Irosun Great Forest, I decided to switch places with Takayama and sit on the coachman's stand.

"It's a pleasure to work with you, Johannes-san."

"To you as well. There are many travelers on the highway, and monsters and thieves rarely appear, but it's better to be careful."

"Yes, I will have my genus running alongside the highway, so as long as there are no major issues, there shouldn't be any problems."

On the side of the road where the Volzard Family's carriage traveled, a total of ten Kobolds, five at a time, ran side by side in the forest to prepare for approaching monsters and thieves.

We also had two Kobolds ahead of us to scout.

Nero and Zeta-tachi were prepared to leave at any time, and to put it bluntly, if there were monsters or thieves attacking us, I would probably sympathize with them.

When the Volzard Family's carriage began to move along the road that cut through the great forest, several carriages followed after a short interval.

[ Basten, keep an eye on the carriage behind us. Let me know if you see anything strange. ]

[ Understood. If it attacks us, I will lightly stop them. ]

[ In moderation, thank you. ]

Even if the carriage that followed us was thieves and attacked us along the way, if Basten and the others broke the wheels of the carriage, their ambitions would be crushed.

[ It's up to Kent-sama's judgment, but the punishment for thieves is no different from that for bandits. ]

[ In other words, if you get involved with thieves, it's the death penalty, right? ]

[ That's correct, and if you carelessly show mercy, it might harm other travelers. ]

[ Is that so. But, our current job is to bring everyone in the Volzard Family home safely, and travelers should protect themselves by themselves, right? ]

[ Maa, that's certainly true, but the main rule is that the disturbance on the highway is different from the usual commissioned work, and if something happens, we help each other. ]

Normally, adventurers were responsible for their own activities, and it was considered good manners not to intervene unless they asked for help.

If you interfered, in the worst case scenario, they would think you were trying to steal their prey, and they would attack you.

In the case of trouble on the highway, it seemed that the principle was to help as much as possible regardless of whether or not there was a request for help.

For example, if someone was fighting monsters, they would support each other as much as possible, and share the materials they had obtained.

[ I see, so if there are people who attack, it would be better to annihilate them, right? ]

[ Or, after disarming them completely, it would be better to submit them to the authorities. ]

The road that ran through the Irosun Great Forest was wide enough for even large carriages to pass each other with plenty of room to spare, and the sides of the road were grasslands that were about the same width as the road.

Water holes were built here and there so that the horses could rest when they got tired.

In the Republic of Landshelt, carriages were stipulated to pass on the left side of the road, and Johannes-san sat on the right side of the coachman's stand, manipulating the reins.

I sat on the left side of the coachman's stand and kept my eyes on the front, back, left, and right of the road, but the carriages that were following us were far enough away, and the carriages that passed each other were sparse, somehow it made me feel like I was on a long trip.

"I was nervous before going in, but nothing seems to happen."

"Hahaha, even if it's the Irosun Great Forest, it's not as dangerous as the Devil's Forest."

"I see. When I hear the word forest, I always think of the Devil's Forest."

"Come to think of it, I heard that Volzard was attacked by a maximum outbreak ..."

"Yeah, it was a tremendous number of Goblins, wasn't it. The surroundings of the ramparts were filled up, and the piled up corpses were approaching the top of the ramparts."

"Was it that much ..."

"Yes, I thought it would be fine if we pushed them back and cut them down little by little, but four Salamanders appeared, and the Goblins who ran away rushed in again, and it was a pretty dangerous situation."

I talked about the previous Rock Ogres, the herds of commanded Orcs, the Minotaurs attacking Lastock, and the flying Griffon, and Johannes-san had a nervous expression on his face.

"That, it was fine, Volzard was."

"Yes, there was damage from the Griffon, but there was no damage to the general public, and the city was not destroyed."

"If the story just now is true ... No, it's probably true, but it worked out without causing any damage."

"The garrison members and the adventurers were also doing their best."

Johannes-san was born in Volzard, but since he was still young at the time of the maximum outbreak 18 years ago when there was great damage, he seemed to reminisce a little.

Neither the Volzard Family nor Fione-san had experienced a large-scale outbreak, and they thought that they might be instructed to have Baldini remain in Bakkenheim.

"If he stays in Bakkenheim, it will definitely be safer than Volzard, and even if something should happen, we will not lose our lineage. If it's Klaus-sama, I thought it wouldn't be strange for such instructions to arrive. The fact that we have received instructions to let Baldini-sama return also means that he trusts Kent that much."

"Rather than me, I think he trusts the full strength of my genus."

We were blessed with good weather that day, and the route through the Irosun Great Forest was so comfortable that it felt like we were enjoying a drive.

It wasn't like I was letting my guard down, but I was startled when Art popped its head out of the gap in the coachman's stand.

"Goshujin-sama, ahead, the carriage is being attacked by an Ogre."

"Okay, Johannes-san, please stop at a position where you can see the carriage."

"I understand. Kent, when we stop the carriage, please wave your hand at the carriage behind us."

"Understood."

After passing through a gentle curve, I saw a carriage overturned about 200 meters ahead.

Johannes-san pulled the reins to stop the carriage, and when I sent a signal to the carriage behind us, the signal came back with a big wave.

After confirming that the carriage behind us had stopped, I would head to the rescue.

"Johannes-san, I will leave the escort behind, so please wait here."

"Okay, be careful. Our guard comes first."

"I know, then, I'm going."

I put out a shield of darkness, hid in the shadows, and moved all the way to the carriage in front of us.

A small carriage with two horses was overturned, and an Ogre was tearing and eating a fallen horse.

The people sitting on the coachman's stand were hiding in a nearby grove and watching what happened.

If the number of monsters was small, or if the escort was not strong enough, it seemed to be common sense to hide and let it pass, even if it meant sacrificing horses.

This time, too, they must have decided that if the Ogre had one horse in its belly, it wouldn't mess with anyone else.

[ Kent-sama, if you let the Ogre escape, travelers will be attacked again. ]

[ That's right, then, let's quickly defeat it. ]

If I suddenly appeared from close by, I might be suspicious, so I went back a little and stepped out from the side of the road and stepped towards the Ogre.

I prepared wind-attribute magic in both hands while sprinting while strengthening my body.

In order not to be noticed by the Ogre, I approached it while hiding behind the overturned carriage and swung a blade of wind while running past it.

When I turned around after running about 10 meters, the Ogre's gigantic body, which had turned around to follow me, was slashed diagonally and collapsed.

[ Ooohhh, as expected of Kent-sama, you're amazing. ]

"Art, are there any other monsters around?"

"Nearby, there's not even one Goblin."

"Okay, stay alert, eliminate anything that approaches, and let Johannes-san know that the subjugation is over."

"Understood, Goshujin-sama."

Now then, the Ogre was subjugated by being cut down easier than I thought, but what should I do after this.

When I was wondering what to do with the aftermath, the coachman who was hiding came out of the grove when he saw the Ogre had fallen.

"I, is the Ogre dead?"

"Yes, it's fine now."

"Thank you very much. Hey, we have to go help **

"Wait a minute, shoulder ..."

The person who seemed to be the coachman bowed his head towards me and asked, then he called out to the adventurer-like man behind him, but he seemed to have hurt his right shoulder and couldn't raise his arm.

It seemed that there were still people inside the overturned carriage.

The left side, where the doorway was, was facing the ground, so they couldn't come out.

He climbed onto the overturned carriage and called out through the window.

"The Ogre has been subjugated, so it's fine now."

Then, after removing the cloth covering, a woman and a young girl appeared.

"Excuse me, a hand, could you lend me a hand? Ojou-sama, stay strong, Ojousama!"

When I looked closely, the young girl was bleeding from the head and was lying there limply.

I entered the carriage and decided to treat her.

"Excuse me for a moment. I can use a little healing magic, so let me examine her."

"Is that true! Please help my Ojou-sama."

The girl, about the same age as Meisa-chan, appeared to have been hit so hard on the left side of her head that her fluffy emerald green hair was stained with blood.

She appeared unconscious and her breathing felt shallow and feeble.

I placed my right hand over her wound and focused my attention to channel healing magic.

She had lacerations, a fractured skull, and a slight intracerebral hemorrhage, but it closed up cleanly.

Her head wound had been treated, but she looked terribly unwell.

"Umm ... I treated the head wound, but is there something wrong with this child?"

"Yes, it's a chest disease, but even the Healer-sama of Bakkenheim told me that a complete cure would be difficult ..."

"Is it okay if I take a look at that, too?"

"Yes, but, even the famous Healer-sama of Bakkenheim ..."

Half-ignoring the woman's explanation, I put my hand over the girl's chest and found that her lungs seemed to be inflamed.

Maybe because of that, her lungs didn't expand well, and she couldn't exchange gasses.

As I used healing magic to suppress the inflammation while imagining them returning to a healthy state, her lungs, which had been hard and stiff, regained their softness, and she was able to breathe bigger and deeper.

Redness returned to her cheeks that were pale like a dead person, and her expression seemed to have softened.

"Yeah, this should be fine."

"That ... Even the famous Healer-sama who is one of the top three even in Bakkenheim gave up ..."

"Isn't my healing magic more suitable for this child's constitution?"

The girl was breathing soundly in the arms of the stunned woman.

"Kokubu, are you okay?"

"Oh, Takayama, I've just finished the treatment, so let's get the carriage up."

I asked the woman to stay in the carriage, and I joined forces with Takayama and the men behind the carriage to raise it back up.

Of the two horses, one had become the Ogre's prey, but the other one seemed to be okay if it was calmed down.

It was a little bit further to the next village, so it seemed that it would slowly pull the carriage alone and they would buy horses at the village.

After finishing preparations for departure, the male coachman came to thank us again.

"Thank you very much for saving us from that dangerous position. My name is Racole, employed by the Dukas Company of Marburg. I don't know how to thank you, even treating Lucile-ojousama's injuries ..."(TN:Lucile is リシル, 'Rishiru', not sure how else to translate it without sounding weird.)

"Speaking of which, is the other man okay?"

"Ah, Jarre's shoulder seems to have become dislocated, so I asked a man who was passing by earlier to put it back in, somehow ..."

"Is that so ... But, the journey will continue from now on, right? Isn't that person handling the escort role?"

"Haa, that's right, but ... it's truly merely for show ..."

When the carriage tipped over after being attacked by the Ogre, the two people riding in the coachman's stand were thrown to the side of the road, but although Racole-san was almost unharmed after taking the hit, but Jarre, who was employed as the escort, landed on his right side and dislocated his shoulder.

"Even so, it's no good to be unable to move his arm. If you don't mind, I'll treat him ..."

"Is that true? Yes, I will pay the cost, so please do so."

I treated athlete Fukuzawa's joints, so I did it in a similar way.

There was damage not to the ligaments, but to the part that determined the position of the shoulder joint, so when I focused on repairing that part and suppressing the inflammation, the treatment was complete.

"Wow, seriously ... It doesn't hurt at all, with this, I can swing my sword as usual."

I received 50,000 Helts worth of gold coins as a treatment fee from Racole-san.

The Dukas company must have been a large store, as they could easily pay around 500,000 Yen in Japan's sense of money.

When they asked me my name when we parted, I answered that I was Kent, an adventurer from Volzard, and everyone was surprised when I revealed that I was an S-rank.

By the way, I collected the magic stone and horns from the Ogre's corpse, put it in a hole dug with earth-attribute magic along with the horse's corpse, and then buried it after burning them with a flame magic that combined Takayama's fire attribute and my wind attribute.

Although there was an Ogre commotion on the way, we arrived at the planned village of Slakka in the evening.

Slakka was a typical settlement in the Irosun Great Forest, surrounded by a ditch and log walls.

At the four corners of the wall, watchtowers had been built, and at night, bonfires and magic tools were lit.

It was like a miniature of Volzard.

The inn at Slakka was also a regular lodging for the Volzard Family, so there was no need to worry about the horses being switched out or being ripped off.

THe security at the inn was basically handled by everyone in my genus, so after dinner, both Johannes-san and Takayama were slowly relaxing.

"Johannes-san, may I go out for a moment?"

"I don't mind, as long as you maintain this escort system, but where are you going at this hour?"

"Yes, I thought I'd take a little walk in the forest ..."

"Hahaha ... As expected of an S-rank adventurer. Normally, one wouldn't think of walking alone in the forest at night."

"Well, in my case, I can go in and out of the city freely, and I have my genus with me."

"Kokubu, you aren't going to do secret special training again, right?"

"I won't do that. I'm just taking a walk."

When I dived into the shadow world, everyone seemed to be impatiently waiting, wagging their tails.

I asked Basten, and Zae-tachi to stay behind, moved away from the city, out of sight of the guards, and then went out.

As soon as I stepped outside, I was enveloped in the night air with a moist, dense green scent.

A large moon was rising in the sky, and the undergrowth and moss were shining.

"Nya ~ ... It feels good in the woods after all, nya."

"Right. I feel like I'm surrounded by the vitality of nature."

Nero, who came out, stretched out and started sharpening its claws on a fallen tree.

Everyone in the Kobold Corps were running through the trees, and Zeta-tachi were having fun together.

[ The night forest is a world ruled by beasts and monsters, but right now they're prostrating at Kent-sama's feet. ]

"No way. I don't think I'm such a big deal that I can surpass the power of nature. It takes decades, even hundreds of years, to complete this forest, and before that flow of time, I'm a small existence."

[ As expected of Kent-sama. Normally, when you have this much power, you would want to wield it to your heart's content. But without worrying about it, you behave naturally ... No, it's exactly the style of a King. ]

"King, huh ... I can't do it ... The King has to be followed by retainers, but everyone here is not my retainer, but my family."

[ Kent-sama, to become a retainer is to join the royal family and become a family. ]

"Is that so? But, the current Resenburg Kingdom doesn't feel like that, right?"

[ That's right. As the country grows and the number of retainers increases, the sense of family will fade. If there is a sense of family, there is no talk of who is superior or who is inferior, if someone is in trouble, everyone will help, and if someone does something good, everyone will be happy. ]

"Desertification is progressing, and there are people who are having trouble making a living, but it's not a family when you spend all your time fighting for power."

[ Indeed. In order to make a country where all the people can live with a smile, the country of Resenburg will need to become one family. This me, if it's Kent-sama, I think it can be done, but ... ]

Reinhardt conveyed his sincere feelings for Resenburg.

There is belief in me, and it also contains the feelings that people expect of me.

"I'm sorry, Reinhardt. I can't do it now. For me of right now ..."

[ Fuhahahaha, I understand. Since I was summoned in the Devil's Forest, I have shared joys and sorrows with you, so I know very well what Kent-sama is like as a person. However, I am also a man who was once in charge of a group of knights. The eyes that look at people are not going to be clouded. ]

"Haa ... I didn't know about it because I didn't have much of a relationship with my family, but the expectations from a family are so heavy."

[ Buhahahaha, I have no intention of letting Kent-sama carry it alone. When you carry it on your back, we will carry it together. ]

To be honest, I have no intention of becoming King, but I will spare no effort in helping Resenburg, which Reinhardt-tachi once loved and pledged allegiance to, to become a better country.

But, I'm not good at ceremonies and formal events.

I don't want fancy buildings, fancy food, or fancy clothes, and more than that, the time I enjoy walking with everyone like tonight is more important to me.

"Goshujin-sama, pet me, pet me."

"Nero too, behind the ears is nice, nya."

"Nushi-dono, I also would like to ask."

"Yes, yes, everyone take turns ... Uwaa, no good, no good, don't pushhhh ..."

The walk under the moonlight went way over the planned time.