We woke up naked, having had a session with Prim before bed.
Lately, I’ve become accustomed to sleeping naked as I always hold everyone at night, and now I even feel a sense of discomfort wearing clothes to bed.
After waking up Prim, who is weak in the mornings, I take a bath and groom myself, then put on my gear before heading out.
Since I activated Ee-quipping, I no longer need to wear armor, but knowing the location and my objective, I have to put on my Armor Coat, which is a bit of a hassle.
“Good morning. Did you have a good time last night?”
We all turned bright red when Faris said that, but Faris herself had a radiant face, and upon closer inspection, Salina and Clarice had similar expressions.
Well, Faris is married to Cliff, and Salina and Clarice are also going to marry Burks eventually, so it’s not a big deal.
“You guys are quite… vigorous, even at a time like this.”
“Don’t be jealous, you who is alone.”
“Shut up!”
I retorted to Gram’s teasing.
Even though he’s the heir to a barony, he doesn’t seem to have a partner, let alone a love interest.
“Calm down, Gram. If you’d like, I can be your partner?”
“I respectfully decline!”
Gram responded instinctively to Muse’s suggestion.
Muse probably wasn’t serious, but I never expected her to say something like that.
“It can’t be helped. Because Riala and Dart were secretly… doing it.”
Riala and Dart’s faces instantly turned bright red at the unexpected revelation. Naturally so.
Well, I don’t want to hear about others’ private matters, nor my own, so I’ll change the subject here.
“Speaking of which, what’s the plan for today?”
“Let me see. The attack on the village is scheduled for before noon, and it takes about two hours to get there from here, right? Even considering meals, we have about three hours of leeway.”
“That’s right. After breakfast, we’ll start moving, and after we’ve gone a certain distance, I’ll ask you all to scout from above.”
That makes sense.
Especially with Feather Drake present at Mylight, aerial reconnaissance is difficult, and above all, reconnaissance itself is impossible without a contract with a flying familiar.
Therefore, we are suitable candidates as we can defeat a Feather Drake individually and are contracted with a Hippogriff.
“That’s fine, but do Frohlite and the others have enough room to fly?”
“It’s in the forest, so that’s a concern, but in that case, won’t they have to take off from outside the forest?”
That’s right.
Scouting beforehand versus not scouting at all, it’s obvious that scouting is better.
“Oh, it seems everyone has woken up.”
“Does that mean it’s time for food? What were we having for breakfast this morning?”
“It’s hot sandwiches made with the finest ingredients from the exotic capital. There’s meat, but I think there was a lot of vegetables too.”
Ah, that.
I recall seeing them often at coffee shops.
I didn’t go much myself, but one of my masters liked them, so I was treated a few times.
“Regarding today’s plan, we’re aiming for an attack on the village around 11:30. We’ll be moving to near the village by then, but if possible, I’d like to observe the village’s condition. Yamato and Prim, I’ll be asking you for reconnaissance, is that alright?”
Rex asked for our reconnaissance while we were discussing our plans over breakfast.
“That’s how it will be. I don’t mind.”
“Of course, me neither.”
“That’s a great help. Faris, are there any places nearby where the Hippogriff can take flight?”
“I don’t think there were any such places nearby.”
As expected.
The Orc village is usually in the forest, so if we go near it, we’ll have to wait in the forest.
Hippogriffs need a run-up to fly, making it difficult in the forest, and even if we find a spot, the trees would obstruct their flapping.
“So, from outside the forest? Is the village deep in the forest?”
“Yes. We enter the forest about an hour’s walk from here, and it’s another hour from there. So, if we’re going to scout, it’s best to do it before entering the forest.”
So, allowing for some buffer, entering the forest around 10:00 would work time-wise.
An hour’s walk means Jade and Frohlite can reach it in a few minutes, so it might be best to dispatch for reconnaissance around 9:00.
“That’s right, let’s go with that. After we finish eating, we’ll proceed to the forest entrance, send back all familiars except Jade and Frohlite, and wait until the time comes.”
It will be about two hours for us, but everyone else will be waiting idly for about three hours.
“Given the location, monsters will likely appear, and at that time, wouldn’t it be a good idea to test out the Orders?”
“That would be the safest option. In reality, yesterday’s raid, although the numbers were moderate, most were defeated in a single blow, so there must have been some Orders that haven’t been tested.”
Riala and Dart raised their hands at Faris and Muse’s suggestion.
Come to think of it, when these two were on guard against monsters, the frequency of monster attacks seemed lower.
“That’s also true, but Clarice took them down before they could reach us.”
Ah, I see.
Clarice of Holy Grave is the only archer among the Alliance participants this time.
I’m a swordsman, Prim is a spearmaster, Faris is an axewoman, Cliff is a greatsword user, Burks is a martial artist, Salina is a spearmaster like Prim, and Order is, of course, a knight. Thus, we rely on Clarice for ranged attacks.
To prevent running out of arrows, Clarice is given priority for Magic Silver arrows, but since she’s the only archer, Burks and Salina will be in charge of support.
It’s not that they can’t engage in close combat, and as she’s also a High Vampire, it would normally be fine, but this time, with the Orcs in the village, including the higher-tier Grand Orc, the rare Giant Orc, and even the Catastrophe Species Orc King and Orc Queen, the fear isn’t running out of arrows, but the moment the arrows in her quiver are depleted.
I’ve explained our Unique Magic arrow-type skills, and they’ve tried them out when they came, so it seems they can use them.
“I feel bad about it, but I also needed to get better at using the Unique Magic that Yamato taught me.”
“I understand. You’re the only archer, so if something happens, our support will disappear.”
There are Orders within the Order’s Guild who use spears and bows, but unfortunately, those Orders in Feel haven’t evolved into High Class.
That’s why they couldn’t be brought along.
Everyone here is High Class and has developed some Unique Magic, so it’s not that we can’t perform ranged attacks at all. Furthermore, I have Engraving Magic, so I can handle both ranged and close combat.
Also, I’ve asked Jade and Frohlite for support from the sky, so while it’s not perfect, we’re not going into this unprepared.
It’s not just for now, but after eating breakfast, we started moving towards the forest.
Then, while waiting for the time by repelling the monsters that attacked, at 9:00 sharp, Prim and I boarded Jade and Frohlite and took to the sky.
“Is that it? It’s quite dense.”
“Yes. This makes reconnaissance difficult. It’s probably to avoid being attacked by Feather Drakes, but the forest is deeper than I expected, making reconnaissance quite challenging.”
Normally, that is.
“Fortunately, or perhaps not, I can manage it.”
“Truly, Engraving Magic is useful. So, what’s it like?”
I have already activated Eagle Eye.
Normally, I should use an earth-attributed exploration spell, but when flying, the accuracy of earth-attributed exploration spells decreases, making them less effective.
Therefore, I have no choice but to use the wind-attributed Eagle Eye.
If it were raining, I could have used the water-attributed Dolphin Eye, but there’s no use dwelling on that.
“Isn’t this pretty bad? There seem to be more than expected. I’d say over a hundred.”
“That many?”
“Yes. And there are quite a few Giant Orcs. Just at a glance, about ten… no, nearly twenty.”
Giant Orcs are rare species, so we expected around ten at most, but based on my observation alone, there are nearly double that number, and the total number is far more than a hundred.
Furthermore, with the King and Queen present, are our forces truly insufficient?
“This is bad. But Yamato, if you used wide-area Engraving Magic, couldn’t you reduce the numbers?”
“If I were to do it, it would be at the start, but the village is larger than expected, so my wide-area magic won’t cover the entire area.”
While we might not need to worry about the outer perimeter, I’d prefer not to have any stragglers.
My wide-area magic has a limit of 200 meters in radius, but the village is nearly 300 meters in radius and not circular, so it’s impossible to cover the edges.
“A few stragglers are unavoidable. Our objective is the King and Queen this time.”
“That’s true. Anyway, we know the numbers are greater than expected and we’ve gotten a general overview of the village, so let’s head back.”
“Let’s do that. Thanks to the forest, they haven’t noticed us scouting, but it’s difficult for us to scout further, so we can’t stay here any longer.”
Since the forest was deeper than I thought, all I learned from scouting was a general overview of the village and that the total numbers seem to have increased.
I wanted to confirm the figures of the King and Queen, but I heard that they usually remain in their nests, so that’s unlikely.
What are they doing while staying secluded?
The Queen gives birth multiple times a day, so you can figure it out, right?
“So many Giant Orcs…”
“It’s unexpected, but for a village with a King and Queen, we should have considered the possibility of them multiplying.”
“Indeed. While they are troublesome opponents, they are not as much as An. Naturally, injuries are unavoidable, but we are prepared for that extent.”
When I reported back, they were surprised by the increase in Giant Orcs, but still, no one, led by Faris and Cliff, suggested retreating.
“His Majesty also mentioned an increase in Grand Orcs, but this was within expectations. The total number exceeding a hundred was unexpected, but we knew they would increase.”
Rex said so, but it’s true that we knew the numbers would increase.
Still, normally, even for rare species, it takes about a week from pregnancy to birth, and another ten days for the offspring to grow.
However, it is said that children born to Queens and Princesses become adults in less than a day, which is problematic.
“Then, Order’s Master, will the attack be as originally planned, from the location where Holy Grave engaged the enemy?”
“Yes. It’s a cliff, and considering Yamato and the others’ report, that’s the most difficult place to be discovered.”
If there were Orc Princesses, the numbers could have increased further.
“We’ll need to take a detour. Moving cautiously to avoid being discovered, I estimate it will take about 20 extra minutes.”
“So, it’s just past 9:30 now, meaning we can arrive before 11:00. Taking a break there would be perfect timing. Faris, the markings?”
“They’re done.”
Hunter Magic Marking is a magic that allows you to confirm locations by passing magic power through trees in the forest, rocks in the wilderness, or magic stones.
Only Raid members can see it, but even if you get lost, you can easily rendezvous by relying on the markings, making it essential magic for Hunters.
Of course, the markings lose their effect if the marked trees or rocks are destroyed, but taking this into account, security is enhanced by marking multiple targets.
Incidentally, Holy Grave made the markings before attacking the village, using a Horn Rabbit’s magic stone and burying it in the ground, so there’s no need to worry about them being destroyed.
“Then, please guide us. Also, Yamato and Prim, I’m sorry, but please send Jade and Frohlite back for now.”
Send them back, huh.
Indeed, Jade and Frohlite are nearly 4 meters long, making them quite conspicuous when walking in the forest.
Flying is an option, but the rendezvous point is right in front of the Orc village, so it’s certain we’ll be spotted.
In that case, it really is the only option to send them back and re-summon them just before the attack.
“Understood. Sorry, Jade. I’ll call you when the time comes, so please wait in Feel for a bit.”
“Quo!”
“Sorry, Frohlite. It’s okay, you’ll be playing with everyone at the ranch and time will pass quickly.”
“Kwooo…”
Frohlite is still not very understanding as usual.
However, in the end, she understands, and lately, she’s started playing with the Battle Horses and Grantpuses at the ranch, so I think it’ll be fine.
“Also, when the time comes, I’ll summon them, so please give this to the ranch staff. There’s no need to panic if the two of them are summoned, and there’s also a letter to inform the provincial governor of our situation.”
“Understood. Jade, please take this.”
“Quo!”
I attached the letter handed to me by Rex to Jade’s right foreleg.
Both Jade and Frohlite understand what we say well, so I’m confident they’ll deliver both letters to Fiat properly.
They’ve gotten quite used to Fiat, and she happily told me they sometimes try to get affection from her.
And so, Prim and I sent Jade and Frohlite back, Holy Grave sent back the Grantpus pulling the Beast Carriage, and Order sent back the Battle Horse. The Beast Carriage was stored in storage.
We’ll be walking through the forest from now on, so after everyone had finished equipping themselves, we entered the forest.
