Kochugunshikan Boukensha ni Naru

[Its now morning. Please wake up.]

After last nights binge drinking, I asked Nanom to wake me up when morning came. And no, I dont have a hangover. Nanom broke down the alcohol in my bloodstream while I slept, which is quite convenient.

Cleria and I were led to stay the night at the lodging for welcoming visitors. It seems there were often travelers like us who ask to stay at the village, so they built a building solely for housing visitors.

We were really lucky to have obtained the goodwill of the villagers yesterday. We were able to get rid of the Big Boar that has been harassing the village after all.

The worst that could have happened was that the ones after Cleria following us into the village. We would have had to fight them off here if it came to it, but thankfully, they didnt manage to track us down yet. Zacks behavior also indicated that they havent been to this area yet, so thats good news at least.

Cleria was still fast asleep, so I decided to leave her be. She must be really tired.

I left the house and made my way back to the square. Some villagers are already awake and were busy with their work.

Good morning, Alan!

It was Zacks son, Beck.

Morning, Beck.

I got along quite well with Beck. Hes nineteen and was on the slender side, but he looked similar to his father, Zack. He feels like the guy-next-door type with blue eyes and brown hair.

Beck seemed to have a fascination for swordsmanship, so he went up to Cleria straight away. But Cleria mentioned that my skills were better, so he went over to consult me instead. After prodding me for a while, I finally gave in and started discussing swordsmanship with him.

Truth is, I didnt really know a thing about proper swordsmanship, but I ended up practicing forms every once in a while during our trip. Well, I suppose itll be fine to teach him some moves. Ill just leave the basics to Cleria.

You sure are early, Beck.

I wanted to leave the village as soon as possible. Ive already gathered my luggage, but the clothes were supposed to sell in the city arent prepared yet.

So, when do you plan to leave?

Well, I wanted to leave before noon at the latest. Oh right, dad said to call you over.

Okay. Ill go look for him then.

Suddenly, Cleria came running towards us.

Good morning, Ria.

Alan! You should have just woken me up you know!

Eh? Looks like shes angry? I dont think I did anything particularly worth getting angry over though.

Zack seems to be looking for me, so Ill head on over first.

Im coming too.

Oh boy. She sure is grumpy today. Lets see. I think Zacks house was round here. It was the biggest house in the entire village. AS expected of the village chief. When we neared the house, Zack came out.

Good morning, Zack. You were looking for me?

Yo. Its about what we discussed last night. The clothes I offered as a reward. Head on over here fer a bit.

I was dragged inside Zacks house. The room near the front door looked like a warehouse and a lot of clothes were stocked on the shelves.

Thesere the clothes we put up for sale. Ive been selectin a few of them fer you to choose from. Go an pick the ones ye like.

Thank you. Thats quite a lot. Lets see. Which ones should I get?

Ill choose for you Cleria offered in a cheerful tone, as though her bad mood from earlier didnt happen.

Right then. Take yer time an choose.

Zack went out of the room.

Alright, Ria. Ill leave it to you.

I havent worn these types of clothing before, so I dont know whats good and whats not.

Please leave it to me!

Cleria cheerfully took some clothes from the racks and began checking them out. I honestly cant tell the difference between these clothes. Wouldnt anything be fine if the size fits?

There wasnt a lot of items which fit my size, so we got to decide on some clothes pretty quickly. What Cleria ended up picking was a pair of cream-colored shirt and black pants.

Ill choose some for you again once we arrive in the city.

Thanks Ria. Ill be relying on you again then.

Cleria seemed a bit miffed about the fact that there werent much clothes to choose from, so when I agreed to let her choose for me again in the city, her mood turned better. Zack came back in at this time.

Ill be getting these, Zack.

I see. Ya also need some underwear, right? Unfortunately, we only have this kind available.

There was only one type of free-size underwear available.

Can I try these on?

Theyre all yours now. Go right ahead.

When I started unzipping my current get-up, Cleria got flustered and hurriedly ran out of the room. Hmm. Im a bit unused to them, but theyll do just fine. Theyre a perfect fit as well.

I went out of the room after I finished changing, and Cleria immediately came over. It seems she was checking me out. And it looks like I got passing marks.

Ya mentioned wanting some food preserves as well right? I was thinkin of packing enough for four people.

Thatll be fine then, thanks. Im planning on going hunting for food along the way anyway. Do you need some help?

Can ye help with packing the luggage and wares then?

I went back inside the warehouse with Cleria and started wrapping the clothes with a big linen sheet. I had a bit of trouble folding the clothes to a small enough size so we could pack in more.

We managed to finish packing all of the wares after three of four hours.

Alright folks, time fer breakfast! Zack announced. The main dish is of course made from Big Boar meat. However, the seasonings used in this times dish are different from what was used in yesterdays banquet. Of course, the dish is still plenty delicious.

We loaded all our luggage on a two-wheeled carriage. There were a lot more other wares than clothes. Looks like this villages specialty was producing cotton. Raw cotton was packed into small sacks and was included in the wares.

Since the wagon didnt have a roof, I asked what wed do if it ever rained, and the folks at the village answered: Well just think about it if it comes to that. Well, cant be helped then.

The other young villager coming with us was named Thor. He was a young man about the same age as Beck. They were apparently childhood friends. He looks to be a fine young man as well. Apparently, he was to serve as a substitute for Beck for driving the carriage.

We finally departed with a carriage filled to the brim with luggage and various wares. There were a lot of villagers who came to see us off.

Dont mess up, yhear Beck! Zack yelled out.

I know, Dad.

Alan, Ill leave Beck to you.

Please rest assured. Well safely deliver them to Gotania.

We finally departed from the village, but since part of the way was a steep slope, everyone walked downhill and proceeded slowly.

We finally boarded the carriage and sped up once we reached the highway. I was told yesterday that it would take about twenty days to get to Gotania by carriage. Its surprisingly quick, considering our form of transport.

Beck and Thor were sitting out front while I and Cleria sat on top of the piled-up luggage. This actually feels kinda neat. We were traveling at a speed just a little faster than walking on our own. I had nothing else to do, so I proceeded to activate scanning magic. The detection range is the same as before a radius of 700 meters.

How far are we traveling today, Beck?

We left pretty late in the day, so well probably end up sleeping outdoors. Theres a pretty good camping spot a good ways away, so well go until there.

Gotcha. Dont hesitate to call out if you ever need anything.

The carriage rattled noisily, so they wouldnt be able to hear me on the drivers seat if I didnt raise my voice. Beck and Thor were talking between themselves, but I couldnt hear them very well due to all the noise. We were both free, so Cleria and I proceeded to spend time talking to each other as well. Were basically doing the same thing before going to the village.

Cleria asked me about the method to cast a single shot Flame Arrow, but I couldnt give her any useful tips apart from sharpening her image of the spell. I told her that her image of the spell she wants to cast is the most important factor when using magic. It seems Cleria was satisfied with my answer and hunkered down to mull things over. I ended up quite free again.

Whoah, theres some unwanted company. Nanom managed to capture magicle reactions.

Ria, theres a Gray Hound. Just one. 500 meters out in that direction.

The sucker was in the 11 oclock direction. Its right out front.

Please let me deal with it.

Well, shes asked, so she shall receive. Ill leave it to her then.

Alright. But its still not certain that itll head our way.

Judging from its movements, it seems the Gray Hound hasnt noticed us yet, but the carriage was moving in its direction, so itll probably notice us before long. The Gray Hounds movements finally showed some changes when the carriage reached a distance of 200 meters from it. It was definitely heading straight for us. Well, the carriage was noisy as heck, so it was probably inevitable.

Beck, stop the carriage!

The carriage promptly stopped moving and Cleria jumped out front.

Whats wrong!? Beck asked.

Gray Hound. Just one. Ria will deal with it, I announced.

Cleria drew her sword and held it in both hands before her chest.

The Gray Hound appeared about fifty meters away from the carriage. It wasnt wary of us one bit and kept charging at us. I raised the rifle slightly, just in case.

Flame Arrow!

A single, large flame arrow appeared before Cleria and headed straight towards the Gray Hound. The flame arrow struck the Gray Hound right in the chest when it managed to come within ten meters of Clerias position. Whoah! That was some fast casting! She just took about fifteen seconds to cast that spell. And Cleria also had her eyes opened all this time. Shes really managed to improve by a lot.

Beck and Thor raised a fuss. Cleria would have normally jumped up and down in celebration, but she had a calm and composed expression today. It seems she was putting up quite a front due to the presence of Beck and Thor, but I didnt miss the faint arch which graced her lips. Well, she was regarded as a really skilled knight by the villagers, so I sort of understand how shes feeling.

She didnt forget to take the magic stone from the corpse. She made her sword glow and split the Gray Hound in two, recovering the magic stone afterward. Beck and Thor made a fuss about it once again. We tossed the Gray Hound remains down a cliff.

That takes care of that. Shall we depart?

Amazing, Alan-san! Is Ria-sama always like this?

Lets give a bit more props to Cleria today.

Yes. Shes always been like this. Shall we go then?

Yeah!

The carriage started up once again. The two out front were still immersed in the excitement and were talking animatedly with each other.

How was I, Alan?

Looks like Cleria couldnt hold down her own excitement and finally inquired about her prior performance.

That was great. The time you took to solidify your image was quite short. And what was even more impressive was that your eyes remained open while casting.

Huh? My eyes were open?

Looks like she wasnt aware of it then.

Yeah, they were. Your next goal would be to shorten the casting time further. Ten seconds at the longest. Next would be not using your hands to aim and chantless casting. If you can do all these, youll have enough breathing room to prepare your spells before a battle begins, and youd be able to defeat your opponents easier. Your combat capabilities would rise considerably.

Cleria seemed like she agreed with my points. I was curious about why she didnt cast spells like this before.

How did you learn magic, Ria?

Youd first need to read and memorize magic tomes before you can learn magic properly. Youd have to do as the steps in the magic tome indicate one by one in order to cast magic spells successfully.

Magic tome huh? Sounds kinda amazing.

Yes. For example, Fireball has seventeen steps. Flame Arrow has fifty.

So does that mean youre reproducing the seventeen processes in your head in those ten seconds before casting a Fireball spell?

Thats correct.

Thats quite amazing. Thats beyond what geniuses can normally do. No wonder she had to close her eyes before. Im not familiar with the exact processes, but shes basically completing an average of two every second.

I havent even heard of the method of using images like what Alan does.

Hmm. Well, I guess if you didnt know of the process of gathering magicles in order to form spells, you would have a relatively more difficult time casting magic. I remember that I learned of the exact method from an NPC teacher for several days back in the game. I see. So I guess those steps would allow one to construct an effective mental image.

Is using a magic tome to learn magic the norm?

Of course! I can guarantee that every mage in this world learned to cast spells through reading magic tomes except for Alan, that is.

She seems really sure of her words huh. I see. So its possible that the people who produced these magic tomes must have written them in such a way that would allow one to form a mental image through the use of a step-by-step process. And as a result, it became common sense to learn magic by imitating the steps written in those magic tomes. Mm. Its definitely possible.

But Zack said yesterday night that there were a few of the villagers who could actually use magic. Did those people read tomes too?

Actually, Zack said that the village had about two or three people who could use magic in the village last night.

Oh, those are probably people who can use an incomplete form of spell casting due to not having the chance to read a tome. Magic tomes are expensive, so normal citizens able to use magic are quite few in number.

I see. Its plenty possible to cast magic if you have a good imagination. But without a tome to provide definite steps for processing an image, casting may prove difficult for beginners.

Well, now youve experienced it too Cleria. Whats truly important when casting magic is forming a concrete and vivid image. You need to be faster, more detailed and precise when imagining just how you want a spell to come out and how much magic power you wish to use up during spell casting. Imaging power, so to speak.

Imaging power

Cleria was once again lost in thought. I was free once again, so I just plopped down on the luggage pile. Thats some nice weather. Itll be great if it doesnt rain. Oops, that was close. I was just about to fall asleep.

I looked at the digital clock on my virtual HUD and found that weve traveled for close to an hour. Nanom was still keeping watch, so I bet itll wake me up if there was some kind of trouble along the way, but Ill fail as an escort if that happened. Lets be more careful from now on.

Cleria was silently sitting while keeping her eyes closed. It seems shes meditating She isnt just asleep, right?

At that moment, the scan managed to pick up another reaction. It was a weak reaction that was barely in the scans detection ability and was right in front of the carriage again. Its 400 meters out. It doesnt look to be anything dangerous.

When we got within a hundred meters of it, I finally managed to see what it was. It kinda looked like a rabbit. It had a short, fluffy-looking tail. It was hiding in the bushes near the roadside, but its tail was sticking out like a sore thumb.

These creatures had an uncanny ability to sense and avoid danger. There were a lot of instances where I got to detect them using scanning magic, only for them to escape before I could get any nearer. If we manage to catch this guy, guess well have rabbit meat for dinner.

Ria, theres a rabbit out front.

Clerias eyes sprang open. Was she really asleep?

Where is it? Ill bring it down!

Thought shed say that.

Its hiding inside those bushes.

I cannot see it.

Hm. Seems you cant see it from here. How about this? Ill throw a rock at it and you bring it down once it gets out of the bushes.

I brought out some stones I had reserved inside my backpack.

Ill try.

I brought up my throwing arm and prepared myself. The rabbit still isnt fleeing. I bet its just waiting for us to go past it. Ill make my move once we close in as much as possible 30 meters more 20 meters 10 meters Now!

I threw a stone right next to the bush where the rabbit was hiding. It panicked and jumped out of the bush, right into the road.

Flame Arrow!

Looks like she missed the timing a bit. The spell would just manage to graze the critter at this rate. Well, thats what I thought at first, but the flaming arrow changed projectiles mid-flight and pierced the rabbits neck!

That was amazing! The flame arrow released by Cleria wasnt a normal one, but something with a homing feature added in. I cant believe Cleria managed to do that!

Nah, thats a bit rude of me. Im sure she managed to achieve it through her meditation earlier to solidify her image. Thats pretty impressive. I didnt even think of doing that. Seems I was unknowingly bound by common sense as well before I noticed. Ill have to learn from this experience.

Beck was surprised when Cleria suddenly cast a spell and stopped the carriage. Cleria and I went down the carriage and retrieved the rabbit. It was a nice, round and plump rabbit. Rabbit meat was quite gamey, so Ill have to drain its blood right away.

Beck and Thor again made a huge fuss. Cleria was again keeping her cool and collected act. Her lips were twitching in a half-smile though. Anyway, we got ourselves some dinner!

The carriage drove on until it was close to evening, and Beck finally stopped when we arrived at a place that looked like the camping spot he mentioned earlier. It was a clearing right next to the highway. There was a small stream of water trickling down from a rock wall nearby, forming a pool below. This seemed to be a good place to camp for people who cant use magic to create their own water.

Lets rest here for the night. Theres no other place to set up camp out here, Beck suggested.

Alright. Ill go and prepare then. Keep a lookout, Ria.

Understood.

Collecting firewood for the bonfire was easy because we were in the middle of the mountains. Im gonna go collect some more. I managed to finish the task without much issue.

What kind of food did you pack, Beck?

Lets check the food items out for the time being.

All the foods in this bag.

I was handed a rather large bag. It was packed quite full. The items were dried meat, lots of bread, potos, the salad leaves called sappa, other assorted vegetables, salt and dried herbs.

There was no problem with the amount. But I wanted to avoid using preserved food as much as possible.

Are you going to cook, Alan-san? Thor asked as he drew near. Beck was busy unloading some of the luggage.

Yeah. I like cooking a lot. If you guys are okay with it, allow me to prepare tonights dinner.

Then Ill help out as well. Shall I start preparing the rabbit? The folks back home said I had quite the knack for it.

That sounds great. Ill leave that to you then.

Tonights menu was rabbit meat stir-fried with potos and other assorted veggies as well as rabbit meat sandwiches. Id like to eat the bread before it hardens up after all.

Ill use up all the rabbit meat. If there would be some leftovers, Ill just save them for breakfast tomorrow.

Lets start by washing the vegetables. Thor had already started butchering the rabbit. Looks like he wasnt kidding when he said he was good at it.

How do you want me to cut the meat?

Slice them as small enough to be eaten in one bite. Im planning to let you guys finish it all tonight.

Rabbit meats almost entirely of the red variety. Therefore, theres no meaning to separate it into various parts.

Amazing! Its gonna be a feast tonight as well. I never imagined Id get to eat a lot of meat again so soon!

I also helped with cutting up the meat, because the rabbit was fairly large. I wonder if this is enough to satisfy Clerias appetite.

I put the meat in a large pot and seasoned it. The seasonings I used were plenty of garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper. Since rabbit meat had a strong smell, I had to use plenty of flavorings to counteract it.

Where do you want me to put the fur, Alan-san?

Isnt it fine if you just throw the fur?

Eh, but thats such a waste. This is such a fine rabbits fur. You can definitely sell it for some money. Well, it might not sell for very much though.

Nah, no thank you. I dont know how to prepare fur after all.

Then Ill just give it to you, Thor.

Great! Thank you very much!

I wanted us to have dinner early, but Beck requested a sword practice session. Thor also joined in as well.

Can I ask you to teach them the basics, Ria? Ill leave them to you.

The two young men seemed to be in agreement. Looks like they were really impressed by Clerias performance today. Cleria didnt seem against teaching them as well. She nodded in agreement and made a stance.

The two young men had prepared their own wooden swords. Cleria first taught them about the proper way of gripping ones sword. The sword practice session continued for about an hour. Looks like their sword handling skills did improve a bit compared to before.

Since it was getting dark now, I guess its time to have dinner. The meat should have already absorbed plenty of flavor from the seasonings.

The two young men raised a cheer after Cleria lit up the makeshift outdoor hearth that was already pre-made and placed in the middle of the clearing with fire magic.

I first fried the potos in a large frying pan brought by Beck. After frying it for some time, I put in the meat next.

When the meat started to brown, I proceeded to add the other vegetables. I want to preserve the crisp texture of the veggies after all. With this, the dish is complete.

I served a large helping of the dish on a large wooden plate brought out by Beck. It turned out a lot more than I expected. Alright folks, dig in!

Everyone placed some of the food on each of their plates. I proceeded to heat up the bread which has been cut up into two halves on the frying pan.

The three of them stared curiously at what I was doing. After the bread got slightly burnt at the edges, I removed them from the pan immediately. Theyve managed to soak up plenty of oil and were looking great.

I placed some sappa leaves on the warmed bread and poured plenty of meat in between. With this, the rabbit meat sandwich is complete. I placed a sandwich on each of our plates.

Oops. I nearly forgot to boil some water for the tea as well.

Alright! Lets get to eating! Ill start with the stir-fried meat. Yep, its tasty. Rabbit meat is also a type of red meat like the Big Boars, so it was plenty delicious.

A large amount of garlic, herbs, and pepper managed to eliminate the gamey smell of the meat. Looks like marinating the meat with them managed to do the trick.

Next is the sandwiches; a combination of lightly toasted fluffy bread which soaked up plenty of flavorful oil from the frying pan, crispy sappa leaves and tasty stir-fried meat. It was, of course, delicious.

Everyone else ate like crazy. Looks like they really liked the dishes.

Looks like even Cleria didnt manage to finish the food this time around. A good amount of stir-fried meat remained. Lets have it for breakfast tomorrow.

I made some after-meal green tea from the leaves Zack packed with him.

Man! That was delicious, Alan!

Did you use a lot of salt and pepper? Its my first time eating such a fancy dish! Thor inquired.

Yeah. It seems salt and pepper were valuable commodities. Speaking of which, they didnt use much pepper in the villages food, so the taste was a bit on the lighter side.

Yeah. Im glad you guys liked it.

Course we did. That was great! Why dont you open a shop when you get to the city?

Cookings just my hobby. I dont want it to be my main occupation.

Okay. But can you continue cooking for us during the trip?

Thats fine, I dont mind.

Aw yeah!

Beck and Thor loudly cheered. Its already well into the night. Shall we go to bed now so we can wake up early tomorrow?

Go ahead and rest up, you two. Well keep watch.

But

Its fine. Were your escorts anyway. Were just doing our job.

Understood. Thanks.

I told Cleria Id be able to detect if something is amiss and wake up using my magic, so she proceeded to sleep without worries as well.

With this, the first day of our journey ended without much trouble.