CH 38

Chapter title: Kuzmigo, a Soldier of the Kingdom of Erivan

★

When we found a square in the middle of the lost forest, Elt and his group decided to camp out there.

The sun had already set, and fires were being built in several places.

Around the fires, the adventurers and Elt who had been active today were relaxing.

「I’m sorry I left the cooking to you.」

Russell held up one hand and said to Serena as if worshipping her.

「I don’t mind. After all, we didn’t fight once today.」

As they progressed into the Lost Forest, they encountered monsters that would not appear in shallow areas, but Elt and the adventurers defeated them.

Thanks to this, there was no need for reserve forces, and the southeast and central parties had plenty of energy to spare.

「Besides, I like to cook.」

To be fair, she liked to do it because she was happy to have Elt eat it.

Serena commanded the water spirit to pour clean water into the pot.

「Now, let’s stew the meat of the forest wolf that we have took.」

Serena is making a stew using the meat from the forest wolf we killed today.

She threw the edible plants that grow wild there into the pot and nibbled on the meat.

Herbs and other ingredients played the role of spices, enhancing the flavor while eliminating the smell of the meat.

「But I can’t show this to the rest of the group. I didn’t know we could get food like this in the wild…….」

Russell said, looking at the pot that smelled so good. When it was almost ready………….

「Come on, hurry up! How long are you going to keep me waiting?」

She turned around and saw the soldiers of the kingdom standing there.

His behavior was completely condescending to adventurers.

「Why should I, a soldier of the kingdom, come to this dangerous forest? And you want me to stay in the wild?」

Apparently, they are not happy with this investigation. It was rare for a soldier who originally worked at the castle to go outside the city. However, this time there was a request from another country, so they couldn’t just leave it to the adventurers.

As a result, people who would not be bothered by their absence from the castle were selected among the soldiers to go and investigate.

「It’s probably already done. Why don’t you let me eat it?」

One of the soldiers came up to her and tried to serve me some stew.

「Hey, let’s start with the people who are tired after fighting all day.」

Serena replied, annoyed by the attitude of the kingdom’s soldiers.

「What are you doing? You dare to defy me! You’re an elf!」

However, Serena’s attitude may have offended the soldier, and he became angry.

「Well, well, soldier. It’s hard to accompany you to such a place.」

「That’s right. It’s not every day you get to eat Forest Wolf meat, so you’d better eat your fill.」

An adventurer from Russell’s party hurriedly intervened.

「Hey! You…….」

Serena looked grim and tried to say something back…….

「Calm down.」

Elt stopped her with a tap on the shoulder.

「Elt. But…」

Why did you stop me?

A sad look crossed Serena’s face.

「Because Mr. Russell’s promotion to soldier is at stake.」

Given his age, if he misses this opportunity, there will be no way left for Russell to be promoted.

That’s why Russell’s friends are also in a bad position.

Serena makes eye contact with Elto. And when she sees the expression on his face, she calms down…….

「All right. I’ll start with the soldiers.」

She said and started to serve the food.

「It’s so easy to be a government official when all you have to do is give orders.」

The soldiers ate their stew and complained loudly.

「Kuzmigo-dono, this is a lost forest. If you make too much noise, the monsters will come to you.」

Monsters are more active at night. If there are so many of them, they will probably be wary and won’t attack you, but considering the strangeness of the Lost Forest, you can’t be too careful. Russell is careful, but…….

「What the hell are you doing, I have the right to assess!」

At these words, the eyes of the people around them turned to Kuzmigo.

「The food is not as good as I expected, and your attitude is disgusting. We didn’t hire you to camp in our kingdom. If you have time to complain, why don’t you at least look around and kill the monsters if you see any!」

「…You’re a jerk.」

Serena muttered to herself.

Everyone in this place wants Russell to be promoted and can’t stand against him.

Kuzmigo knew this, and waved his position.

「All right? Don’t say anything when we get back to the base. No one will believe a word you adventurers say, though.」

He said these words as if he was aware that he was being disliked.

In the end, Kuzmigo continued to complain a lot to the people around him, but when he drank the alcohol the adventurer had, he got drunk and fell asleep.

Thus, the first day of the survey passed with a sense of turbulence……

★