The city of Koatotemites. Also known as the “City of Magic Stones.”
It took about a month to travel from the Imperial Capital to the city of Koatotemites. Of course, I didn’t go directly. I made stops in large and small cities, and even gave alms to poor villages along the way.
I didn’t really help out, acting all high and mighty. While the villagers loaded and unloaded goods, and while the alms were being given, I was inside the carriage with a beautiful woman accompanying me, acting like a spoiled brat.
My ribs were fractured, my collarbone was shattered. They had made me a prosthetic arm, but they wouldn’t give it to me. I was under a constant twenty-four-hour surveillance.
Had I really done that many bad things? Lady Isabel’s situation was an unavoidable development. The six Dark Elf sisters were performing their duties as important shadows. No one knew about Mirabel.
Had I really done that many bad things? With Lady Isabel, it was thanks to Priscilla’s advice, wasn’t it? And the six sisters had already become my lovers before Rufina and Orietta could even explain. My lessons with Mirabel were fun.
I was just sitting in the carriage. I had a lot of free time since I was always driving. Of course, even with a beautiful woman next to me, any kind of intimacy was forbidden. The moment I put my left arm around her shoulder, she said, “Want me to break the other one too…?” and I immediately shook my head as if I were headbanging and stayed quiet.
The problem started here, with the toilet! Even the simple act of urinating was unpleasant at first. I had to have someone grab me! Well, I had been grabbed before, but this was different. Despite my firm refusal, I couldn’t overcome the physiological need and was defeated.
And defecation? To protect my dwindling pride, I declared, “I’d rather be constipated and die!” to which they readily lent me the prosthetic arm. Apparently, it was too dirty. Of course, once I was done, the prosthetic arm was forcibly collected.
The arduous journey, which had so thoroughly bruised my pride, finally ended with our arrival in the city of Koatotemites. I thanked Orietta for fixing my old prosthetic arm, and the broken bones were already starting to heal, thanks to natural regeneration and the demon’s blood.
“Is this bone setting in a weird way?”
Priscilla, worried about me, had brought Sophia to examine me. She really was concerned about me.
“Is that so? It’s hard to tell when I look at it myself…”
“It is indeed strange. It’s setting crookedly. Was the splint applied poorly? Sophia, can you fix it?”
“If we reset it from the beginning, I can fix it straight.”
“Is that so…”
Do you know what they did? They broke my bones again! They stripped me, and while I was looking away, a little embarrassed, they struck my collarbone with a hand chop and kneed me in the side.
“Gah, Uguuuu…”
“Now it’s back to ‘the beginning.’ Sophia, fix it.”
“Yes.”
A demon, a devil, Priscilla! Watch out for the next guard duty. I’ll get back at you for things I can’t say aloud. They haven’t invented the triangle horse torture rack yet, but a crookedly set bone would affect my sword strokes. Not being able to fight as usual would just hold everyone back.
I told myself this was love, but just in case…
“Do crooked bones have to be broken to be set straight?”
“If we take our time, they can heal.”
…I told myself this was love, but I knew it was a lie.
There was a bit of a commotion in the city of Koatotemites, but once I was healed, I, the captain, needed to find the next job immediately. After receiving my reward from the Hasuhanto Trading Company, I gathered everyone in my inn room.
“There’s the Sandrine Great Forest near this city. How about we gather magic stones there this time? I hear it pays well.”
“Aren’t we going to Rothfar?”
“The shadows are currently gathering information. We’ll decide after hearing their reports. I’d like to find a good job in Rothfar. Or perhaps Harm.”
“I don’t mind. I don’t have anyone else to slice and dice, after all.”
You should make some normal friends.
“I’d like to help out at the temple here…”
You are a goddess. Please, do go and help.
“I have no objections.”
If I leave you unsupervised, the dead will come back to life, so you’re coming with me.
“Ori-chan wants to make the captain’s prosthetic arm and P-chan’s sword! The magic stones here are more abundant than in the Imperial Capital~.”
You’re going to use magic stones? I don’t mind, but no strange things, okay?
“…I’m going.”
Alright.
“…I, I want to go back to my hometown village!”
“What?”
“My hometown, Zivil Village, is less than half a day’s journey to the east. I haven’t been back since I left, and since we’re nearby…”
Alana, her voice barely audible, looked down. It’s fine! It’s perfectly fine! Go be a good daughter. Show them you’re doing well. But…
“Alana, you’re not a noble, or anything like that, are you? You haven’t summoned anything strange, have you?”
“Wh-what do you mean by ‘strange’?! Rossa!”
“Yes, my lord.”
You don’t need to show up. And next time, come with some meat on your bones when you face me!
“I wouldn’t do anything like that. Father. Mother grows wheat.”
“I see. Go and be a good daughter. You can use the carriage. I’m going to the Guild to look for work. I’m thinking of a job that will take about a week, so Alana, you can go home during that time.”
“If you’re using the carriage, does that mean we’re walking?”
“That’s right. I was thinking we’d go as far as the carriage could take us, but let’s walk for our health.”
“That’s a hassle. Alana, you walk.”
“Is that alright, Priscilla? Lately, your stomach meat has been getting rather… plump.”
“…You!”
I’m glad you finally understood the meaning. Please don’t draw your sword, it’s cramped in here.
Despite the drawing of swords in the room, there was no escape for me using Godspeed. As I walked through the city, though not as bustling as the Imperial Capital, it was full of life.
There was a lot of foot traffic, and I noticed many adventurers heading for the magic stones. In a future war with demons, the strengths and weaknesses of these adventurers and mercenaries would be a difficult issue.
Adventurers are superior to mercenaries in individual combat. This is because adventurers have more combat experience than mercenaries, and their individual abilities determine the outcome of battles.
So, if war breaks out, should we deploy adventurers? It’s not that simple. Adventurers are incapable of large-scale group combat. In small skirmishes against a few enemies, it might not be a problem, but in large-scale battles, even if the numbers are equal, large groups clash.
A single person’s reckless actions can break the front lines, leading to concentrated fire or delayed retreats. That’s what we did in Nuyoo.
If it comes to war, mercenaries are the best. But that doesn’t apply in this case either. Against monsters like Trolls, they might be able to kill them, but I’ve never fought beasts or dragons.
Ideally, what we need are individuals with the combat ability and adaptability of adventurers combined with the group combat capabilities of mercenaries. However, such conveniently skilled individuals are overwhelmingly scarce.
My hidden goal for this expedition into the Sandrine Great Forest is to gain experience fighting monsters that don’t walk on two legs.
