"Lion! What you did could have endangered every single person in this village if things had gone even slightly differently — you need to understand that much, at the very least!"
"I'm sorry..."
Sure enough, Lion was getting an earful from Chris, who had rushed over in a hurry. However, the moment Chris showed up, Albert and I stepped in to intercept her. We explained why Lion had charged into the goblin horde — though we put a rosier spin on it — and in that opening, Cain had coached Lion to say nothing beyond "I'm sorry." Thanks to that, Chris couldn't come down on her nearly as hard as she usually would.
For the record, the arguments we put forward in Lion's defense were things like: "Because Lion went ahead first, the goblins couldn't get close to the village," and "Lion took it upon herself to protect the village, trying to raise the prestige of the Border Count's house in her own way." We even relayed that during our conversation with the village chief, he had mentioned how the village decided to strengthen its own defenses — building walls and such — after questioning just how much they could trust the Border Count's house. Upon hearing that, Chris seemed to conclude there had been sufficient reasoning behind Lion's unilateral decision.
"Sounds like Lion made quite the show of it."
Grandpa, who had been hovering overhead waiting for the right moment, descended just as Chris finished her lecture. No one besides me had noticed him up in the sky, so everyone was startled. Perhaps because of that, Chris — who still looked like she had more to say — completely missed her window, and in the end, the scolding of Lion came to a close right then and there.
"I scoured the area around this village as far as I could see, and apart from these goblins lying here, there was nothing that posed a threat."
Hearing Grandpa's report, several of the villagers who had rushed over turned back to relay the news to the rest of the village.
"So, Lion. What do you plan to do with these goblin corpses?"
"Hmm, what to do... Maybe dig a hole somewhere nearby and just dump them in?"
There wasn't much of value to salvage from goblin bodies. They were sometimes bought in certain cities for use as fertilizer, but this village had no use for that.
"The corpses are fine as-is, but what about the magic cores?"
"Hm... I guess they'd be worth a little pocket change, but honestly, extracting them is a pain. Oh, I know! Someone go tell the village chief to bring a few villagers who have experience with butchering. The magic cores they pull out can be the village's share — sell them and put the money toward a feast."
The remaining villagers were, at first, hesitant to touch what a
noble
had slain. But once they realized that Lion herself genuinely didn't want any of it, those who were present began butchering the goblins on the spot.
That said, all they had to do was slit the goblins' chests open and pull out the magic cores, so processing around thirty goblins was done in the blink of an eye.
After that, the goblin corpses were tossed into the hole I had dug during the butchering and burned until nothing but ash remained.
Once everything was taken care of and we returned to the village, a large crowd of villagers was waiting at the entrance for Lion's return. Her rampage — which you could arguably call her venting her frustration — looked like a heroic act of protecting the village to those who didn't know the full story, and it was more than enough to wipe away any lingering mistrust toward the Border Count's house.
As for the village's welcome — just as it had been in Kukuri Village, the entire village turned out for a feast. Lion was feted as both the next lord and a hero, absolutely swarmed with attention. From the elderly, the uncles, the aunties, and... In this village, when they said "young folks," that referred to anyone in their early thirties, both men and women. Anyone younger had either left the village or was already married. In other words, there wasn't a single "unmarried woman" of an appropriate age for Lion.
"That's rough..."
"Way too rough..."
Even Cain, who would normally be doubled over laughing at something like this, was clearly too saddened to do so.
"I'm starting to feel sorry for her too, honestly... Of all the situations I've seen, she's in the one where she'd get the most attention from girls, and yet there isn't a single one around..."
It wasn't just Cain—even Chris could only sympathize with Lion right now.
"Well, it might have been a shame from the 'man's' perspective, but as the 'next lord,' I'd say the results were more than enough, wouldn't you? This village seems to have ties with the surrounding towns and villages, too..."
We enjoyed the prepared food while watching Lion, who was at the center of the villagers' adoration.
"Sorry, Tenma... I can't do this anymore..."
"Got it. Cain, swap with Lion."
"Roger that... Lion, you should get some rest."
The day after the banquet honoring Lion, we resumed our journey toward Kukuri Village as planned. However, Lion had kept drinking the sake the villagers kept pouring for her at last night's feast and was now struck with a brutal hangover. Still, the villagers had all gathered at the entrance to see us off, so Lion leaned out from the driver's seat and kept waving.
Just a little while ago, once the villagers at the entrance had disappeared from view, she asked to swap out.
"I asked the village chief about the direction to Kukuri Village and the villages along the way, so I don't think we'll end up heading the wrong way. Plus, once we get close to Kukuri Village, Grandpa might recognize the area, and Shiromaru might remember the scent, so things should work out, right?"
Even if that didn't pan out, if I kept using my search ability, I'd be able to map out the geography within a range of ten-plus kilometers, so finding landmarks along the way would certainly be possible. It'd be tiring though, so I'd rather avoid it if I could...
"Tenma, what have you been making this whole time?"
About an hour after swapping with Lion, I took over the driver's seat, and while I was working on something inside the carriage, Amule called out to me for the first time in a while. The old Amule would have gone for a hug the moment she spoke to me, so maybe Reni's training was starting to pay off.
"I'm thinking of making a hunting tool from the frog I took down yesterday."
In front of me were the materials: a Y-shaped wooden stick, frog muscle, and animal hide. The frog muscle had already been processed into thin cord ahead of time. I planned to combine all of these to make a slingshot. Personally, I found the word "pachinko" a more fitting term than "slingshot," but since I was thinking of it as a weapon and hunting tool rather than a toy, I went with the more weapon-sounding name of "slingshot."
"Fold this like so, tie the cord together... and I think that's about the shape of it?"
I took a roughly five-centimeter square of hide, folded it in half, punched holes in both ends, threaded the cord through, and tied it off. Then I tied the other end of the cord to the tips of the wooden stick, and the slingshot prototype was complete. I say "prototype," but I'd doubled the cord's strength by folding it in half, threading it through the hole, and looping the far end back through the loop at the tip—so it should pack a decent punch.
"Looks like there's no problem with dry firing."
I gave it a few tugs, but everything seemed fine. All that was left was to actually fire a projectile, but firing one inside a carriage was out of the question, so I reluctantly stashed the slingshot in my bag... only for Amour and Chris to take an interest in it and more or less wrest it away from me.
I figured Amour would get an earful from Reni for pulling that, but surprisingly, once Reni heard what it was for, she got curious too and went along with it. The three of them clustered together, examining the "slingshot" with great interest.
Watching their reactions, I could predict what would be asked next, so I went ahead and mass-produced more slingshots before anyone could ask. The result was two additional slingshots. Combined with the first one, that made three in total — and all three ended up in the hands of the very trio who had been ogling the original with such fascination.
"Albert, Cain. It's a bit early, but find us somewhere we can take a break. Doesn't have to be near water — just make it quick."
"Hm? Got it."
"Sounds like something came up, huh."
Cain, having caught on to the situation, asked whether a rocky area nearby would do. It looked like there were plenty of small stones that could serve as ammo and natural targets scattered around — perfect for test-firing the slingshot.
"That works. Leave it to you."
"Roger~!"
A few minutes later, the carriage pulled up at the rocky clearing and stopped. The three of them hopped out and immediately began test-firing the slingshot, using nearby rocks as targets.
"This is fun!"
"It'd make a great hidden weapon for when things go south."
"For an infiltrator like me, something this size is easy to carry around, which is ideal. The power is a bit on the weak side, but if you think of it as a blinding tool or something for catching an enemy off guard, it seems like it'll do just fine."
Amour was treating it like a toy, but the other two had legitimate purposes in mind. A portable size was indeed one of the slingshot's greatest strengths. On the flip side, compared to other ranged weapons like bows and arrows, it sacrificed power — but that could be compensated for by increasing the number of rubber bands (frog muscle substitutes) or making them thicker. And if you swapped the ammo for something pointed like an arrowhead, or used actual arrows in a crossbow-like configuration, the lethality would go up even further. Of course, I'd never actually used arrows with a slingshot before, so whether that would work in practice was anyone's guess.
After that, the three of them kept testing the slingshot's performance even after finishing an early lunch. Meanwhile, I set their activities aside and got to work crafting a new slingshot.
The new model featured improvements in power, durability, and precision. Compared to the prototype, the changes included more rubber bands (frog muscle), a body made from magic iron to house those bands, and a grip shaped like the hilt of a sword. By crafting the body and handle in the shape of a sword, the grip could be adjusted to fit the wielder's hand size, improving comfort and, in turn, precision.
"This one's for Jeanne, and this one's for Aura."
The two of them had been stealing glances at Amour and the others using theirs, but since the trio never noticed, they had resigned themselves to preparing lunch instead. It wasn't that I'd improved the performance specifically because of them — the original reason I'd wanted to make slingshots was for hunting in dense forests where bows were unwieldy, or as weapons for women who lacked the physical strength of men. For reference, the three who had taken the prototypes first all exceeded the average woman's physical strength (Reni by a little, Amour and Chris by a considerable margin), so they weren't really a useful benchmark.
"Thanks, Tenma!"
"Thank you, Tenma!"
"Just so you know, basically don't aim this at people. It's fine to use it against violent thugs or to protect yourself, but keep in mind that this is a'weapon'powerful enough to kill someone."
I spoke loud enough for not just the two in front of me, but also the three who had taken the prototypes to hear, though two of those three seemed more attracted to its potential as a weapon, so it probably didn't matter much. Well, as long as they understood just how dangerous it was, that would suffice.
The three with prototypes gazed longingly at the upgraded'slingshots', but since they had been the ones to choose the prototypes in the first place, I decided to offer no returns or exchanges.
"This looks so fun… It seems really interesting…"
There was yet another guy behind me who was eyeing my'slingshot'with desire, but handing it over to him felt like asking for trouble. I told him, "I'll make you one if Chris gives the go-ahead," but since Chris had refused to grant Cain new equipment after she herself couldn't get the upgraded version, it never materialized.
"The construction is pretty simple, so if you wanted to make one, anyone could probably do it."
"No, you can't make one that easily because you're missing the key ingredient — frog material. And Tenma has all the readily available frog materials…"
No matter what I said, Cain kept insisting that Chris's permission was non-negotiable. He glanced over at Chris, sighed, and gave up. For the record, the Chris he was looking at happened to be in the middle of begging to borrow Aura's improved model.
"Stop fooling around and get ready to depart, will you!"
At the old man's sharp rebuke, everyone who had been playing with the'slingshots'hurriedly set about their preparations. Meanwhile, Chris's negotiation with Aura hit a snag, and she couldn't quite manage to borrow it at the last moment. Amour, on the other hand, had asked Jeanne and was able to try the improved version a few times. Reni was doing her best to see if she could modify her own prototype, experimenting in various ways.
"Still, Tenma. They completely swiped your prototypes — are you really okay with that?"
"Let me ask you this instead, Cain. Do you think you could take them back from Chris and the others once they're like that? Reni might honestly return hers, but I have a feeling the other two would come up with all sorts of excuses and never let go."
Asking only Reni to return hers didn't feel right either, so I decided to let the prototypes go. Consider it payback — by not making upgraded versions for the three of them. Besides, when I do make them, it'd be far better to do it with proper facilities and incorporate a professional's input. I planned to make my own after returning to the Royal Capital.
"That's true, too. Especially the look on Senpai's face when I asked her to approve mine… She was smiling, but the intensity behind it was unreal."
Judging from that, there would definitely be renewed requests for upgraded models once we got back to the Royal Capital. And if I was making them there, I could expect at least three acquaintances who would insist on commissioning one — this country's top officials, a princess of the royal family, a high-ranking military officer…
"Well, if it comes to that, offering the first one to Her Highness should get them to calm down a bit, right?"
If I brought the first Royal Capital unit to Her Highness Maria and asked her to serve as the point of contact for future'slingshot'commissions, the three back in the capital would probably back off. They'd still be their usual selves behind her back, of course…
"In any case, that's something to worry about after we get back to the Royal Capital. Anyway, we need to get moving too."
"Yeah. Chris and the others should be almost done packing up, and if we fall behind, who knows what they'll say…"
And so, Cain and I hurried to pack up our things and rejoined the group.
"Tenma. I reckon we'll reach Kukuri Village in about two or three days."
The old man, who had been serving as our driver, pointed at the mountains visible ahead and said that. According to him, the Great Old Forest lay on the other side of those mountains.
"Well, even though it's the Great Old Forest, it's still a fair distance from there to Kukuri Village. Might be best to rest at the foot of those mountains today."
From there, we'd be traveling along the base of the mountains and then skirting the Great Old Forest, which meant there was a possibility of encountering stronger Monsters. So he recommended we spend the night at the foot of the mountains where danger was minimal, and pass through the risky areas while it was still light out.
"If the old man says so, that's probably the right call. If Lion ran at full speed, a handful of Monsters wouldn't be able to catch up, but the carriage is a different story. It could get damaged, and some of the Monsters that travel in packs are the ambush type."
Just like the Dragon Snake that once attacked Shiromaru's parents, there were cases where a pack of Monsters would swarm an opponent far above their weight class, so it was best to avoid camping anywhere near a dangerous area if possible.
"Then it's settled."
At this point, the old man knew the surrounding geography better than Lion, so we left all decisions about rest stops to him.
Even Lion, who had been guiding us all this way, agreed first, saying she felt more at ease relying on the old man's memory and experience than the Margrave's maps. After all, she'd been leading us with knowledge that was more or less improvised, so it probably felt like a weight off her shoulders.
"Lord Tenma, have you ever been to this area before?"
"No. I've basically only ever been around Kukuri Village. I used to play in the Great Old Forest and all, but whenever I went deep into it, my father or the old man was usually with me... Come to think of it, I did go to Russell City once. It was when we were attacked by Zombies, and I went to call for help."
As I talked about how I'd snuck off deep into the forest several times and gotten scolded for it, Lion started wearing a guilty expression. She was probably thinking something like, "Even if they were low-ranking, they were still subordinates of mine..."
"Lion. It's already over, so don't worry about it. And Chris, don't you start making that face either."
"Hey! What do you mean, 'that face'?!"
Chris was probably reminded of the time she met my mother and father. Of the people here, aside from the old man and me, she was the only one who knew Kukuri Village, so those kinds of emotions must have surfaced for her.
"Whatever the case, please don't go getting any more emotional about this than the old man or me. I won't know how to react."
My light joking seemed to ease the mood in the carriage a little, but Lion and Chris still looked like they were forcing themselves. I figured things probably wouldn't bounce back that quickly, but hoped that after a night's sleep they'd feel better by tomorrow morning—when—
"Die already!"
"Drop dead!"
The spot Grandpa had planned for our campsite had turned into a goblin dwelling, and the two who'd been moping in the carriage were now rampaging through it to blow off steam.
"Well, it's not like killing goblins is a bad thing, but... at this rate, those two are the ones who'll look like the villains."
"From the goblins' perspective, they were just living peacefully and then got attacked by monsters that might as well have been ogres."
"Now Lion has been saved by goblins twice... weird way to put it, though."
"Truly, they're like demons and monsters!"
"My lady, I'd want to say something about that phrasing... but honestly, they can't really be blamed for that assessment."
Following me, Cain, Albert, and Amur lined up behind her. Renny nearly shot a reproachful look at Amur's choice of words, but seeing how the two were carrying on, she resigned herself to the fact that it couldn't be helped.
"Well, destroying a goblin dwelling is a perfectly natural thing for adventurers or knights maintaining order to do... but judging by the state of things, camping here today doesn't seem feasible."
The campsite, which had originally been dirtied by the goblins, had been transformed into a scene of carnage by the two's handiwork, and no matter how you looked at it, it was no longer suitable as today's camp.
"Can't be helped. I suppose we'll make camp a little further ahead."
"Given how things look, we'd lose too much time dealing with this mess, so I'll go ahead and start making dinner in the carriage."
Leaving the place in this state and moving on to the next campsite would be poor manners, so I decided to prepare dinner in advance so we could eat as soon as we arrived.
"I'll help too."
"Mm!"
"Me too."
"I will too!"
Renny immediately offered to help, and right after her, Amur raised her hand, with Jeanne and Aura following suit. But the carriage was a bit cramped for that many people, so we didn't really need that many helpers.
"All right, then — Jeanne, you're with me. Aura, handle cleaning the bath. Renny and Amur, prepare drinks and towels for those two... no wait, Renny, you help me, and Jeanne, you work with Amur to take care of those two."
It wasn't exactly treating her like a guest, but I'd vaguely been trying to give Renny the easy jobs when I quickly realized that was a bad idea. After all, Lion's first blow-off session had been caused by Renny in the first place. Putting the source of his frustration near him wouldn't be good for either party. So I swapped Jeanne's and Renny's assignments.
"What I'm planning is a miso soup with frog meat... but what else should I make?"
When camping, you need late-night snacks for whoever's standing watch, so they're often made together with dinner. Because of that, being able to make large batches and reheat easily makes soups the go-to dish. And since you could make a decent dish just by extracting stock and adding miso, miso soup became the standard whenever I was in charge of cooking. Well, the fact that my spirit was originally Japanese probably played a big role in that too. Incidentally, the runner-up among dishes I make often is stew, but miso soup is quicker and easier to whip up, so it's always a clear second place.
"Well, nobody's going to complain about a meal planned with camping in mind, and even if they did, all you'd have to do is not give them any."
Since every member of our group was the adventurous type who'd eat anything as long as it tasted good, there probably wouldn't be any complainers. If they wanted something specific, they'd just put in a request. At the very least, nobody who'd be too reserved to do that was traveling with us this time.
"Then, Renny, I'll leave the miso soup to you. I'll make rice balls and light pickles."
I actually wanted to prepare something like rice bran pickles, but since I didn't have any, I decided to make light pickles instead. It was simple enough—just take leftover vegetable scraps like cabbage and carrots, add thinly sliced kelp and salt, massage it all in, and let it sit for a while.
After that, I used the rice I'd been storing in the Magic Bag and just kept on shaping rice balls one after another. Though, that alone probably wouldn't be enough, so I also started cooking a fresh batch at the same time.
"Tenma, I'm hungry."
Chris had finished wiping down after wiping out the goblins and bathing to clean off the grime, and now she came over drying her hair, urging me about the food.
"The food itself is ready, but please wait until everyone's gathered."
Right now, Chris had been first in the bath, and the rest of the women were currently using the carriage bath. And because of that, the men—who couldn't use the carriage bath—had pulled out a bathtub I'd made ages ago and were bathing at a spot a little further away.
"Aww..."
Even as she said that, Chris was quietly reaching for a rice ball.
"Well, I don't mind, but... you kinda remind me of Amur."
"Ugh..."
Having been reeducating Amur herself, she seemed to realize that doing the same thing was a bad look. Still, Amur had stopped pulling stunts like this recently, so if Amur ever found out, Chris's authority might be completely shot.
"Tenma. Could you please keep this between us...?"
"I don't mind, but... Aura's watching you."
Just like Chris, Aura had been eyeing a sneak snack too, and had been quietly creeping over this way. And she'd just witnessed Chris's near-snatching attempt.
"Aura, come here for a moment."
Aura seemed to sense she'd been caught in a compromising spot and tried to dart away just before Chris turned around, but she was a beat too slow.
And so Aura had been led off to the far end of the campsite by Chris, where some sort of hush-money negotiation apparently took place. However, I have no idea what methods were employed during said negotiation. The only thing I could glean was that afterward, Aura wore an exhausted expression while Chris was in high spirits—which meant the negotiations had almost certainly gone the way Chris wanted.