CH 31.1

Soon night fell and Ren started to prepare the encampment.

He told Licia, who had offered to help, to rest.

She looked at him with a frustrated look on her face as he prepared the encampment.

“You’re used to this kind of work?”

“I got used to it in the last few days. I’ve been learning the basics from Weiss-sama.”

“Weiss? You mean during winter?”

“Yes. Thanks to my experience that night, I learned how to handle monsters, how to make fire, and many other things about camping.”

It was a sudden proposal by Weiss that day, but now I was really happy about it.

I would be even if it were just me, but especially now that I have Licia with me.

(This is the guy today.)

Ren will now deal with the monster.

The target is an F-ranked White Hawk, one rank higher than Little Boar.

However, it’s not much of an enemy for Ren. He was able to hunt it without any particular difficulty.

“How did you do it?”

“I tied it to a tree with ivy, and then all I had to do was cut it down.”

“The power of that mysterious sword.”

“That’s right. By the way, its true name is a secret.”

“……stingy”

To be honest, I wonder if it makes sense to hide it.

Even when I helped Licia down, I used the wooden magic sword, and it’s almost as if I had shown it to her……

Hiding only the name of the skill may be due to a bit of rebelliousness.

(Absorb the magic stone while I’m at it.)

While Licia turned away in frustration, I found the magic stone and brought it close to the bracelet to absorb its power.

Secretly looking at the crystal, you can see it has grown compared to before.

——

Ren Ashton.

[Job] Eldest son of the Ashton family

[Skill] ・Summoning Magic Sword (Level 1: 0/0)

Magic Sword Summoning Technique (Level 2: 898/1000)

[Mastered Magic Swords] ・Magic Sword of Wood (Level 2: 714/1000)

Iron Magic Sword (Level 1: 714/1000)

Thieves’ Magic Sword (Level 1: 0/3)　

——

As a matter of fact, the level of the two magic swords could have been increased in terms of the number of magic stones.

However, because Roy’s injury had taught him the importance of being prepared for emergencies, Ren didn’t use all of the Little Boar magic stones for himself, but kept about half of them for sale.

Even a small amount would be better than nothing.

So, at the moment, this is all he has.

“What’s this?”

Licia raised her voice in question while Ren was distracted by the bracelet.

Ren turned his head toward her as she found a necklace in their luggage and raised his eyebrows.

“It’s something I took from the demon beast master. The chain broke in the attack and flew off, but I thought I could sell it for some street money, so I kept it.”

To the naked eye, the silver chain and red jewelry were an eye-catching item.

Licia picked it up and muttered in a small voice, “A magic tool”.

“He said he was trying to keep the outside world from hearing our voices, so maybe it’s that kind of magic tool.”

Ren continues.

“It’s already broken, so I don’t think he’ll be able to follow our trail.”

“You’re right. You certainly don’t need to worry about that…… but don’t sell it. If push comes to shove, it might prove something, right?”

Indeed, that is true.

Ren replied shortly, “That’s right”.

**********************************************

The next morning, Ren got on his horse as dawn broke.

Licia woke up a little later. She seemed to be in a deep sleep, perhaps because she was still out of shape.

By noon, they passed through the forest and found a village on the plain.

It was a small village with a dozen or so houses scattered about.

(We should stop by just in case.) 

We still had plenty of food and water to spare, but there might be medicine, which was our original goal.

Although Licia was recovering, it was better to have it.

“Ojou-sama, let’s stop by for a while.”

“Alright.”

Hearing her reply, Ren rode his horse toward the village.

When he arrived at the village a few minutes later, a villager approached him.

“You’re a little adventurer. How unusual.”

Ren and Licia were greeted by a middle-aged woman.

“What brings you to our village? Is there something you want?”

“Yes, actually, I want some medicine.”

After negotiations, Ren got some food in exchange for the materials of the monster.

It was a pity that there were no medicines or meal plants, but food was still very important. It would have been bad for Licia’s health if she had to eat monster meat for every meal.

“Where are you going now?”

“Um…… I haven’t decided yet because it’s a trip with no particular purpose.”

“Then you might want to go to Clausel, which is a long way down the road ahead.”

The name of the destination raised his eyebrows for a moment, though he was aware of the dangers of revealing the destination.

It was fortunate that the woman didn’t notice.

“Is there something going on in Clausel?”

“The adventurer who came here the other day said that Clausel is going to be crowded in the near future.”

“Clausel will be crowded….?”

“That’s right. I don’t know the details, but Baron Clausel is going to be punished.”

Licia gasped when she heard those words.

She had been quiet up to now, but she opened her mouth in a hurry.

“What do you mean? Why is this happening —-?”

Licia’s voice was hoarse for a moment.

But in order to get the information, she is desperately trying to suppress her emotions that were about to rage.

She didn’t want to offend the woman.

“The adventurer says that Baron Clausel is under suspicion that he allowed monsters to invade Viscount Givens territory.”

“Oh, no…….”

“That obviously isn’t true.” 

Licia was stunned as she listened to the story.

The woman was puzzled and concerned, “What’s wrong?” Ren managed to mend his smile because he was worried.

I think it’s time for us to leave this village.

“She hasn’t been feeling well since yesterday.”

“Is she all right? You can stay here for a night if you like.”

“I’ll just take your good will. But, we’re in a hurry, so we’d better get going.”

Ren also signaled to the stunned Licia and headed back to the plains.

The direction they were heading was the direction Licia had given them before they arrived at the village.

“My Lady. You were magnificent.”

A few minutes after leaving the village.

I commended Licia for not losing her composure.

But when I called out to her, she didn’t respond.