Chapter 82: (Self Edited) Night Watch

Even after Carol went out busy, I was resting in my room.‘Surprisingly, there are a lot of roles that need to be done by the leader. It’s the same case as Hou and Associates, where you do what you have to do, and the subordinate will proceed even if you’re sleeping. In the case of the company, it’s Cuffe, and in this case, it may be Carol. In a word, I’m blessed with such subordinates.’

As I was lying in the bed, the door opened.

“Oi.” (Carol)

Since I heard Carol’s voice, I got up.

“What?” (Yuri)

“Liquor is one of the items I procured. Is it alright to drink it?” (Carol)

‘Aah, is it liquor? I didn’t think about it.’

‘Well, it’s alright to let them have a little. After all, they have been through a life-threatening flight. They also want to release tension.’

“I don’t mind. But… well, it might be a good idea to threaten what would happen if you drink enough to expose your disgraceful behavior. You will need to adjust the amount accordingly.” (Yuri)

“Understood. And…” (Carol)

Then, I noticed that there was a man, who was the horse caretaker, behind Carol. Sᴇaʀᴄh the N0vᴇlFire(.)nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“I have some news.” (??)

‘Aah yes. If you don’t have anything, you won’t come to the room.’

When Carol stepped back, the man came out in front.

“Actually, I have something to discuss…” (??)

“What?” (Yuri)

‘Did he run out of money when he bought the food for the eagles?’

“Yuri-sama and Carol-sama’s eagles are in the stables, but the rest can’t fit in, so they’re tied outside.” (??)

“Of course, I know that.” (Yuri)

I looked around lightly a little while ago, and he didn’t have to worry if the eagle got wet due to the cold rain of this season. It was sunny enough to see the stars today, so I was glad there wouldn’t be rain. That was what I thought.

“To tell the truth, bears are coming to the neighborhood these days.” (??)

‘Bear? Bears are roughly brown bears in this area, and they are huge. It’s probably according to Bergmann’s rule. However, of course, it hibernates, so if it were bears in the early spring, they would have lost a lot of weight.’

Bergmann’s Rule is an ecologic principle stating that body mass increases with colder climate. (Wikipedia)

‘And they are starving too. Did it come to attack humans or did it come down to the village to eat the garbage that happened to be produced by humans or the meat that was hung in the rag shop? Either way, it’s awkward.’

“So?” (Yuri)

“Well. Normally, I can protect the stable containing the eagles, but this time, they are tied outside. In other words…” (??)

The man spoke ambiguously as if he was hesitant to say.

“In other words, you can’t confirm the safety of the eagle.” (Yuri)

“That’s how it is. Of course, there’s no way the eagle can’t be eaten quietly, so they will surprise the bear with its claws, and there are hunters in the town. I asked them to take care of the eagles, so I think they can repel the bears with arrows.” (??)

“I see.” (Yuri)

‘Well, certainly, the bear with weak physical strength can be repelled with arrows. Even if they are there to keep watching the eagles, 26 eagles are tied outside. It seems difficult to protect them all perfectly.’

‘If it is left free, it will fly to the sky and run away, so it’s not possible to do that. If the eagles don’t come back, it’s like being killed.’

“So, in fact, I have a suggestion to solve the problem.” (??)

“What?” (Yuri)

“If you lend me a few spears of yours, the people of the village who have them will protect the eagles. I’m ashamed to say that the only weapons we have are axes and hatchets.” (??)

‘Aah, I see, that’s the main subject.’

‘Surely, when it comes to dealing with a large bear, a wood-splitting ax and a hatchet won’t be enough. After all, the spear with the reach is the most reliable.’

‘Even farmers who have never trained can easily thrust a spear from a distance. However, it takes a lot of courage to get into the bear’s range with an ax or hatchet.’

‘On the other hand, the spear is quite important for a Knight. If it’s not the soul of a warrior, it’s the soul of a Knight.I don’t discriminate, but I’m not going to lend them to farmers.’

“That’s impossible. If that’s the situation, we will take turns for night watch.” (Yuri)

Or rather, it might have been a remark that came from ignorance, but it was a remark that wouldn’t be strange to be rude if it was a tough fellow. Even though it’s for the sake of the eagles, he asked me to lend him a spear after all.’

“May I ask you?” (??)

“Aah, I don’t mind, but I will also come out.” (Yuri)

“Eh?” (??)

“I also wanted to try bear hunting.” (Yuri)

The man and Carol were stunned.

—

Night time.

I was sitting in a chair in the middle of a place illuminated by the bonfire. The bonfire in front of me was making a crackling sound because the firewood contained water. And the eagles around me had their eyes covered.

This was called the eagle hood, and it was mainly used when tied outside of the eagle stables. When blindfolded, the eagle became obedient as if it had been sedated with a sedative.

It wasn’t necessary for trained eagles such as Stardust, but currently, Stardust and Mountain Vapor were blindfolded. This was exceptionally true when it was night with a lot of bonfire lights. The eagle couldn’t sleep deeply if there was light.

I was sitting in the middle of the sentinel members. Wearing the clothes that weren’t cold, I spent all my time in a state of half sleep and half awake.

Next to me was Carol. When I said that it was my turn not to sleep, for some reason, she was trying to compete against me. I wished she slept in the room.

Even when her eyes were closed, she lightly frowned, as if she couldn’t sleep well.

‘If she is seen by someone who doesn’t know the circumstances, they will think that she is enduring a bad mood while closing the eyes.’

“If it’s hard, go back to the room.” (Yuri)

I gave her advice that I didn’t remember how many times I had said it.

“No… I can’t do that.” (Carol)

Carol immediately replied with her eyes closed as it was. As expected, she wanted to stay.

Even so, the voice wasn’t energetic at all.

‘What are you so stubborn? Even if the body wants to sleep, there is a difference between being awake like insomnia, and not able to sleep because of stress of not getting used to the environment. In the case of Carol, it should be the letter. Although her body is probably exhausted, she can’t sleep in this environment because of her well upbringing. She probably falls asleep immediately once she gets to bed.’

‘However, even if the body was relaxed and she sleeps soundly like when she enters the bed, it will not look good. Then, it will become a problem. In that case, it is a matter to sleep in the bed. It’s necessary to sleep in that way because she will look like a student who dozes off in a lecture. I’ve never seen Carol dozing in a lecture.’

“Well, it’s fine.” (Yuri)

‘I don’t care how hard you try as long as you aren’t sick.’

Carol’s presence seemed to make the sentry members to focus more.

I took out the round bread I brought, made a deep cut with a knife, and put butter and cheese in the gap. I stuck the bread with an iron skewer as it was, I put it close to the fire so as not to burn while turning it around.

I wasn’t very hungry, but when I was exhausted by such extra work, I should eat a bit extra.

‘As long as I have enough nutrition, I will not get sick easily. I might get fat though.’

When I saw the bread burned lightly, I pulled it up. I put the knife as it was and sliced it into two. I pulled the knife out and put it in its sheath.

“Here you go, eat it.” (Yuri)

I gave her half of it.

“Eh?” (Carol)

Carol looked surprised because she didn’t think it was for her.

“Eat it even if you’re not hungry. If you don’t eat, you’ll get sick.” (Yuri)

“Aah… you’re right. I’ll have it.” (Carol)

Carol grabbed the bread with her bare hands and put it in her mouth.

When I ate the same way, it seemed that there was salt in the butter, and it was at the right amount of salt. With the melted cheese on top of the bread, it was quite delicious.

“It’s delicious…” (Carol)

Carol said it.

It seemed that it suited her taste.

“I see.” (Yuri)

Carol finished eating it in no time. Perhaps, it was because she was hungry for some reason.

When I put the last piece into my mouth, I remember that I hadn’t checked the time for a while. I took out the silver pocket watch made by Lily-senpai from my pocket and confirmed it. It was almost time to change turns.

“It’s about time to change turns. The people in charge next are from Room 6 and Room 7. Go wake them up. I’ll talk to the people here now and tell them to go back to their rooms.” (Yuri)

“Understood.” (Carol)

I got up from the chair. I felt that my consciousness was regaining a temporary clarity as if after dozing off in class. Carol was a bit struggling, probably because her autonomic nerves weren’t alright.

“You can just go back to your room and sleep.” (Yuri)

When I said that…

“Stupid.” (Carol)

She slightly glared at me while saying that.