Chapter 535: Escape 3
We started walking upstream. The reason we were on foot was because we had to take all the villagers from the craftman village with us.
“We’re going to be killed by those heroes. Even if the people you beat up were pardoned, they wouldn’t hire more craftsmen. No, there is no way they can. If they suddenly make armor for hundreds of people like this……”
“Please, take me with you”
I couldn’t just leave them there. Even with Maia’s power, it would not be so easy to move hundreds of people from one village and above all, Maia’s huge dragon-like body has the effect of intimidating the pursuit of the hero squad, so they cannot be left behind.
“If you can move 20 kilometers……no, 15 kilometers in a day, that’s great”
“Although craftsmen use a lot of physical strength……not many of them are accustomed to walking. And that includes adults and children”
If this were an army, we could move twice as far, but with so many people, this is the limit even if our lives depended on it. Even at this rate of movement, someone will say their feet hurt or they’re too tired to move. Some even ask to be left behind, even if it kills them. It took a tremendous amount of effort to calm them down and encourage them as we traveled.
———————————————
“Three days and……finally this much, huh? At the very least, the villagers will have to evacuate much further back than the defense line and the form will not be complete for a long time”
“Where do you plan to lay the line of defense, Tetes?”
“I was planning to lay it around Neia’s village last time……”
“It’s far away”
The land available in the valley is thin. One farming village cultivates it for more than a dozen kilometers. Neia’s home village was at least a week’s travel away from the current point, considering that it was too far past to count on one hand.
“You’ve managed to……get some food, haven’t you?”
“If we look a little outside the valley, we can find beasts and monsters, so I’m asking Maia-san to help us. In the meantime, the two heroes are taking care of the guards”
Of course, we can’t eat only meat, so we use the surplus meat to barter for other crops at the farming villages along the way. Thanks to this, I am able to eat better than when I was in the village and that is the only thing that the people in the craftmen village like about me. Many of the peasants have heard about the political changes at the center for the first time through our information and after some hesitation, they have said that they will join our group. Of course, there are many who don’t understand the meaning well and say, 「It’s so difficult to understand what kings and princesses are thinking」. It is a headache for us not to leave them behind.
“The attack by the heroes squad……”
“We’re on the lookout, so far we haven’t had any human casualties”
“Maybe next time”
“Please keep as far away from Master and Apple-san as possible. Even a blasted attack that flies by a bit of a surprise can kill you in this valley”
“Right……”
I feel bad leaving the battle to the two heroes, Tetes and Maia. Even though everyone is used to survival combat, there are no replacements, so there is no time to relax. However……I didn’t bring a special crossbow either. Even if I had, I would have been disarmed when they took me to the royal palace, but now I’m really useless. However, I can’t take the lead over the other villagers and go to the front. When the time comes, they would think we would leave them behind and run away.
And under such circumstances, Apple’s beautiful appearance and singing voice comforted many villagers and she became a prominent figure in our group.
“Apple-nee-chan, please sing another song, something different”
“We’ve sung most of the Trot and Northern Forest songs in the past two days, so……let’s do an Afilm song next”
“What’s Afilm?”
“It’s the home of my best friend. It is the land of the ogres, the dwarves and the elves……and it is a place where many different nations have come together”
“Hee, dwarves. I heard that our ancestors were dwarves too. Aren’t they a great tribe?”
“They are very dynamic people, aren’t they? Most of them are this tall, strong, dexterous, and……”
“If they were like that, they’d do a lot more work than we do”
“But they eat and drink enough to match the amount of work they do”
“I’ve heard rumors……about alcohol, but I don’t know what it’s like……is it good?”
Because we have traveled a lot, we have a lot to talk about and we don’t say anything complicated. Among our group, each of whom has strong strength and position, there is an atmosphere in which it is nice for the villagers to be the only one talking from the same perspective. ……No, I’m more of a commoner myself, but if Maia is giving me shit, I won’t be seen in the same way.
“Before you know it, you’ll be as popular as Maia……Apple-san”
“I’m sure it’s very helpful that everyone seems to listen to me in emergencies, but……relatively speaking, my existence is meaningless”
“If Master weren’t here, Neia-san, Apple-san and Maia-san wouldn’t be here
“Yeah……no, is that right……?”
“Aaaah, what a weird thing to worry about!”
In terms of being the flag bearer for the girls, I certainly seem to be……I am, in essence, just a man with a mouth, aren’t I? That’s cool if you’re a member of the royal family, but is it okay for me to be praised like that just because I’m prepared to do something erotic to a dragon? ……And so on, my worries are endless as I march slowly.
————————————————-
And then two days. The continuous camping in the field began to take a sobering effect.
“Are you alright, Apple? You don’t look so good”
“A, Ahaha……sorry. I didn’t get much sleep last night……kushuu”
“H, Hey, do you have a cold? Isn’t that obvious? Damn”
“Andy……san?”
“It’s only natural that you’ll catch a cold if you’re in this condition and don’t even have a blanket. ……It’s not good”
Lodging in the field. Nomads are said to travel with their tents on their livestock, but of course there is no such thing in this valley. At best, they would shelter from the rain and dew in the hollows of the cliffs and warm themselves by a campfire. Even these bonfires are not plentiful because there is no nearby fuel source. Many of the villagers were carrying as much clothing as they could carry as valuables, but they were huddled together to cope with the cold at night.
“Let’s check. Is anyone sick? Tell me honestly!”
“Eh, Andy-san, suddenly……kusshu”
“Have Tetes take a look at Apple. She might know something good to do”
I realize now that Polka’s miraculous spring and Hilda-san had a huge presence behind our free actions up until now. Health is freedom and ambition. Thinking how much I would have been helped if only Hilda had been there, I did what I could to help and ran to the village to inquire about the health of the villagers.
As a result, I found out that one third of the villagers were suffering from health problems. Some had colds, some had stomach problems because their bodies could not keep up with the sudden change in the quality of food, even though they were eating good food and some were even hiding serious injuries from accidents such as falling rocks or slipping and falling. Some were in such a state that I really wondered why I had not noticed before, such as broken bones and the fever that accompanies them and festering wounds caused by leaving large abrasions unattended.
“Why didn’t you tell us?”
“It would have been a nuisance to everyone. I did the spell. There’s nothing else I can do……”
“Don’t let the spell work. ……Maia! Maia!”
For the most urgent cases, Maia will use her medic light technique. If this had been Dianne-san, she would have been able to take appropriate measures and use slow but effective magic to deal with it, but Maia is a dragon and doesn’t know such detailed techniques. A dragon can literally wipe out most injuries and illnesses with a single effort. Once again, I´m reminded of the awfulness of a primitive society without a doctor.
And even in such a situation, the pursuit of the heroes came again and again.
“Neia Grans!”
“Brian Luo, we ask that you lay down your arms and surrender”
“I can’t do that”
“I am afraid you are the ones who will have to retreat. I am not in the mentality to go easy on you right now. ……I can’t guarantee your life”
“……How arrogant you are. Neia Grans, you not only disobey Her Majesty the Queen, but you disrespect us, the heroes……”
“Enough. If you have time to play with words, come at me. I’ll beat you to death”
“Neia. ……Leave it to me. You are in danger now”
Neia’s eyes are beginning to darken as she is more heartbroken than she is at the tragic state of the march. Brian, who seems to be a little more mentally tough……and quicker to turn the corner, is beginning to cover for her.
“Brian Luo, you’re a great and brave man, but……this is a dozen”
“Ah, yes. I can count that many too”
With that, Brian, sword in one hand and chain whip slackly in the other, rudely made his way toward the band of heroes.
“Though it won’t do much good to have the numbers on this narrow road”
“Nu……I can’t believe I have the luxury of showing you!”
“You’re the ones”
Brian sank down as his opponent began to charge and then he charged forward at twice the speed of the enemy’s charge, challenging them to close combat so that he himself could be encircled. Then, within seconds, with two swings of his sword, a kick and a wild strike with his chain whip, he had knocked them all down into the river a dozen meters below, leaving only one man standing.
“!?”
“I’ve been fighting hordes of demons for nearly a decade now and you don’t think too little of me, do you?”
“Gu……uu”
“Go home. Or do you want to go back to drowning in the river?”
“……Ku, don’t think you can get away with this!”
The last remaining young man of the heroes squad turns his back and runs away.
Although. The fact that we led so many people so easily began to slowly take away our leeway, like a poison.