Chapter 290: Catalina re-advance
We arrived in Catalina with Maia’s wings, a little early for afternoon tea. The carriage was dropped off in front of the entrance to the city and we all trooped down.
“The ogre group is not here, so we’ll have to put it in ourselves”
“Ho. You should let Maia push it with her tail while still in her dragon form”
“Stop. It’s bad manners”
Almeida assured me, but what is the line between good manners and bad manners?
“There are three Ace Knights and four Gauntlet Knights. It’s not hard to move a carriage that’s mostly empty.
100-man special duty commander Becker said as he removed his cloak. For the time being, I’ll try to be one of the few men. ……When I thought about it, the carriage was lighter than I expected……o, did it move even though I hadn’t touched it?
“What……!?”
I was surprised to see the back of the carriage move away. And while the carriage is being carried to a fixed position at the back of the entrance, I see a person on the other side. ……Ogre woman I’ve seen somewhere. What?
“Th, That’s Great Knight Chief Annette!?”
“Why are you here……I mean, it’s not unusual for Catalina. It’s a specialty area of Great Knight Chief Annette’s favorite rock monster”
“I don’t know if I’d call it a speciality area……”
The conversation between Tetes and Naris convinced me. It is Great Knight Chief Annette who is pulling the carriage a little boringly.
“Captain!”
And for some reason, it was a deep blue birdman who jumped in from the outside.
“Kingfisher!”
“Damn you, Becker! You’re back again, like an incorrigibly clingy person!”
“I’d rather be asleep than come here to see your poor beak! I had to pull an all-nighter because Mets didn’t help me last night!”
“Hey, you know how sinful it is to make a fool of Birdman’s beak!?”
“Of course not, it’s poor, it’s just that yours is……crappy. You look like you’ve eaten nothing but acorns”
“Quah! You’re fucking crazy”
“That’s enough, Kingfisher”
Dianne soothes between 100-man commander Becker and General Kingfisher who are about to start a childish quarrel.
“I’m not here today to watch you two bicker. If you don’t say it, don’t you know what you’re doing?”
“Gu……wa, wait a minute, please. Hey, reverse hair! Where did the reverse hair go!”
General Kingfisher is out there again, rising and falling.
“It’s been a while. Celesta´s dragon and many others. And evil sister”
While scratching her back, Great Knight Chief Annette greets us with seemingly uninteresting words. Sharon makes a sullen face, but Great Knight Chief Annette doesn’t seem to care. It’s not like she has such detailed intentions.
“Why are you here?”
When Dianne asks for a flattery, Great Knight Chief Annette.
“Rotation. Celesta are looking for Kalwin, but I can’t do anything, so I took turns with the evil brother three days ago”
“……Even with you being an Gold Arm, you don’t look like you’re cut out for investigative work”
“That’s right. I’m not good at that kind of thing, damn it! I told him I’m a destroyer, that bald-headed Alex! Why do I have to do this! I can’t do this!”
Great Knight Chief Annette’s hair starts to spread out. Everyone leaves. There, General Kingfisher and the reverse-hair uh, anyway, the 10-man special duty captain came down.
“Quah! Stop, ogre woman! You’re making my wings ruffled!”
“M, My set is messed up too……hey, Becker-san”
“Wrigley. ……Why is that woman in such disarray? I don’t remember her being that volatile”
“I’m sure she has a few tantrums, but……the day I took over here, she went out to help with the search and got lost”
“Lost……”
“It seems that she couldn’t even find food until the General found her this morning……she ate half of her food in a fever and slept in until just now”
“……Let her be quiet in the city”
“Yeah. I’ve already made it a policy to do so, but she’s not in a good mood……”
What a difficult person she is, Great Knight Chief Annette.
“Hey reverse hair! I’m telling you nothing! Let’s talk after getting permission from me! I want to go home!”
And the 10-man captain with reverse hair was also treated as reverse hair by Great Knight Chief Annette. ……Well, it seems that the person himself also cherishes the reverse hair, so is it okay……?
————————————–
Our room on the upper floors remained intact. Well, the dragon wouldn’t ruin the room of the unit involved. And since we only have 100-man commander Becker and I in the boys’ room, we invited 10-man captain Reverse Hair, General Kingfisher, and Dianne, Neia and Sharon to the extraordinary strategy meeting room while everyone took a break.
“‘The seven huts built by 100-man commander Dianne are still standing for now. The only ones that are broken are because of monster attacks and the other two……here and here, are because of wind”
“Wind. ……That’s a blind spot”
Dianne made a bitter face.
“To build a full-scale structure against the wind in a place where it blows so strongly……no, is it worth the effort?”
“How about it? It’s not that important in terms of location anyway”
“We could start building a resting place in a better location. The topography allows us to build a simple fort……here and here”
“If that’s the safe zone, we can stretch our legs”
“If Kalwin is found, we’ll need a place to stay to maintain diplomatic relations. I would like to have several such forts within a day’s walk, at least”
“Yes. ……Even though it’s hard for us to experiment with new huts. If we build it by hand……”
“All right. We’ll stay here for a bit and then the dragons and I will formulate and build the next point. ……Can Annette’s hand be used in situations like this?”
“Thank you. We’ll also borrow the garrison here and fortify the existing points”
A safe place to rest is essential for walking around the demon territory, which has become an uninhabited wilderness. The facility that Dianne was building was a place to make sure that it was safe. It’s not easy, but this rough sea of demon territory is not something that can just be jumped over by dragons. It’s not just a matter of sending Neia, but it will eventually lead to a big project to improve the flow of Qi and dissolve the demon territory itself. So we need to develop a course that allows an unspecified number of personnel to cross on their own for that purpose. Rather, that is the main idea.
“It’s a bit of a detour, but bear with me, Neia. ……We’ll get there eventually”
“I know. ……Yes”
According to Dianne’s prediction, Kalwin is not out of reach. Then I don’t have to think……that we should just return Neia as soon as possible.
“If we don’t get the national reach along with Neia, we won’t be able to deal with the worst case scenario”
“Worst case scenario?”
I asked back and Dianne nodded.
“The worst case scenario is that Kalwin doesn’t want other countries to interfere. It’s not impossible. At the very least, the backwater situation of having no other country……to live in is certainly a motivating factor for the people of Kalwin. If they find out that there are humans out there, they will panic and even risk the destruction of their country”
“……I, I see”
“We can’t promise to support them if we’re the only ones on the dragon. The best scenario for them might be……to take back Neia and silence us. If that happens, it’ll be fine for the royal family, but there’ll be difficulties for the people and for us afterwards”
“So we need to get to the point where we can be a state……and secure communication at the same time……?”
“Of course, that doesn’t mean that all sides will be……happy. It’s just the best we can do”
The discovery of Kalwin and the revival of communication would be sensational news for the existing society. It would be an honor for the nation just to accomplish it. Only then would Celesta be able to drink the loss of aid and immigration to Kalwin that was expected to follow. That was the calculation. Elven territory also saves face in an overlapping way. There is a possibility that Trot will intervene here, but we have to do our best not to let them overtake us as well. If only the first rider is taken by the Sword Saint Brigade after making preparations through complicated procedures, the leaders of Celesta will not be convinced and the position of Minister Ashton will be jeopardized.
“Anyway, I can see the way forward. If it’s the shortest, everything will be connected in spring”
“Yes”
“Well, it’s a bigger undertaking than I thought……well, if we can get all this done in a year, I guess we owe you”
Dianne, reverse hair and 100-man commander Becker nod.
“……General Kingfisher doesn’t seem to be joining the conversation”
I try to point the water at General Kingfisher, who is listening to the story away from everyone. For the time being, this person is the site manager here.
“I leave the details to reverse hair. I specialize in physical activity”
Then, as if remembering, he shook his hips.
“Actually, I specialize in this too, but I haven’t found any good women lately. Can you introduce me to one?”
“Hahaha”
I laugh and cover it up.
“It’s vulgar”
Sharon said as if to throw up.
“Even Becker wouldn’t do something like that, but you?”
Dianne looked at him bitterly.
“…………”
Neia tipped her hat and pretended not to see it.
“……Wh, What the heck, that was a little joke!”
General Kingfisher, apparently uncomfortable, opened his beak to protest.
“Hahaha”
I just laughed at him. …… When it comes to vulgarity, my normal behavior is nothing like his.
With the arrival of the city hero Maia that night, it was a small banquet that gathered not many wintering residents. I was in a good mood and enjoyed drinking with everyone. Although the number of people in the city had decreased due to the end of the invasion, there were still some familiar faces from that period and I was able to drink in a pleasant mood.
That night.
“……What’s this?”
“I don’t know”
There was a bottle of alcohol on my bedside table. The fact that 100-man commander Becker didn’t know about it meant that someone had put it there with an agenda. It’s a good idea to think of it as a gift……but who in this town has such a thoughtful friend?
I decided to ask around after much thought, grabbed my drink and walked out of the room. And after a short walk, the hem of my clothes was pulled.
“?”
I turned around to see Tetes there. Ah, I didn’t have to think about it before she took me into the alleyway.
“……You know, if we’re going to do something erotic, I want you to say it with your mouth and bring me a drink as a souvenir”
“Okay. I’m requesting a study by observation today”
“Study by observation?”
Tetes looks to the side. I’m not sure if she brought her here with her or if she crashed here, but for some reason Naris was curled up there asleep.
“Suka……”
“For the time being, my ass isn’t ready, so……let me see you´re doing it with Naris”
“I explained, didn’t I? Naris is not a female slave, so if I suddenly rape her, she will get angry. Sharon or Almeida would be fine”
“Eh. It’s too much trouble to catch them”
“Do not catch and request normally”
“Umm. Then, let’s do this”
Tetes put her fingers on Naris’ head and muttered a small incantation. Soon after, Naris woke up, wiping off her drool.
“Ae……?”
“Good morning, Naris-chan. ……By the way, can you watch me for a minute?”
“Ha, wh, what?”
“I’m going to have a little sex with 10-man captain Smithson”
Eh? ……Wh, What are you thinking?
“If you don’t mind, I’d like you to switch places with me♪”
“Naa……nanyaa!?”
“Tetes!?”
…… Sure, it’s not 「Sudden rape」 but what’s the solution?