A new chapter begins.
The story in the Royal Capital went on for quite a while, and we didn't get much adventuring done. So, in this new chapter, I'm hoping to have more of an adventure-focused story.
As for the Royal Capital group, I don't think they'll be interacting much with Tenma in this chapter, but I do plan to have a few of them make an appearance.
"Tenma, this spot here is fine."
When we reached a river along the road to Seigen, Namitarou said that and climbed down from the carriage. He then walked straight into the river and began swimming with impressive vigor.
"A river after so long... this feels great... ho ho ho!"
Getting carried away, Namitarou leaped out of the water again and again, spraying huge amounts of water all around.
"Namitarou! You're splashing water all the way over here!"
"My apologies for that. It's been so long, I can't seem to gauge my strength properly."
Once his excitement subsided, Namitarou slowly made his way back toward the carriage.
"So, you're heading off already?"
"That's right. Around here, this river's the biggest, isn't it? If that's the case, let's say our goodbyes here."
With that, Namitarou extended his right pectoral fin. I grasped it, and he shook it up and down with great enthusiasm.
"What's this? Namitarou, you're leaving already? I'll miss you."
"It's not like this is our final farewell, so we'll meet again... Well, that is, assuming Merlin is still alive by then!"
Thus, he exchanged light-hearted banter with Grandpa while laughing. During his stay in the Royal Capital, he had freely lounged in the pond and boldly roamed the mansion, behaving like a member of the family, to the point where he could joke around with Grandpa like this.
"Tenma, if anything happens, let me know with the flute. Well then, take care!"
With that, Namitarou swam off downstream with tremendous speed. As I watched him shrink into the distance in a daze, Jin and the others' carriage, which had lagged a bit behind, caught up, but by then, Namitarou was out of sight.
"What a heartless fellow. He could have at least said a word to us."
Jin and the others had also had their share of interactions with Namitarou, so they were probably feeling a little lonely that he hadn't even bothered to say goodbye to them.
"Now that we're near the water, how about we take a rest here? I'm fine either way, but we should let your horses rest, shouldn't we?"
My carriage is pulled by Tanikaze, a horse-type Golem created in Slarin, so he never gets tired — well, Slarin does consume Magic Power, but as long as I replenish it, there's no problem — which means we could theoretically go nonstop all the way to Seigen. Jin and the others' borrowed horses, however, couldn't do the same. No matter how much they'd been bred and improved for pulling carriages, giving them more strength and stamina than ordinary breeds, they still got tired.
"You're right about that. In that case... that slightly elevated spot over there would be good, wouldn't it? If we get too close to the water, we might end up attacked by some strange Monsters."
Normally, resting by the water's edge would be the better choice, but for a place like the river in front of us — one with a fair amount of depth and width — there was a chance that large, carnivorous Monsters like the Crocodile Shark we'd hunted before could be lurking there. So we needed to keep a reasonable distance from the riverbank.
"Let's go with that. As agreed, I'll handle the food, so I'm counting on you all for security during the break."
This was a condition they'd worked out in advance: in exchange for me — and Grandpa — taking care of all the meal preparation, Jin and his Dawn Sword crew would be responsible for guard duty during rest stops, including at night. Branca and Amur would pitch in as well, for that matter.
For now, I planned to whip up something simple, so I asked Grandpa to get the stove ready. After all, when it came to cooking, Grandpa was pretty much useless beyond the most basic stuff.
"Let's see... it's an odd hour, so something light would probably be best."
I pulled flour and eggs, diced beef, several kinds of vegetables like onions and lettuce, oil, salt, and pepper out of my Magic Bag. What I was making was crêpes.
You piled the fried or sliced fillings onto plates by type, prepared the thinly cooked batter, and that was it. The idea was to take a cooked crêpe and roll up whichever fillings you liked. For Slarin and the others, I also prepared a separate batch of stir-fried meat and vegetables. I'd made a large quantity of crêpes, so I'd been thinking of saving any leftovers for dinner... but —
"Tenma, seconds!"
Forget leftovers — they were running out before there was any chance to save them. My biggest miscalculation was Amur, who was stuffing her cheeks with crêpes right beside me. She was eating such a staggering quantity that I couldn't fathom where it all went in her tiny frame. In terms of how much they'd consumed so far, the ranking went: Amur, Branca, Garat, and then Jin at a slight distance. Everyone else was roughly tied, except for Lina, who came in dead last. The three beastfolk had claimed the top spots in spectacular fashion.
"You guys sure can eat..."
I couldn't help but mutter at the sight of the three of them devouring their food. They seemed to have heard me, because all three stopped eating at the same time.
"Really? This is pretty normal, you know."
"A lot of beastfolk are big eaters."
"Tenma, do you not like eating a lot?"
That was Garat, Branca, and Amur, in that order. When I pressed them for more details, it turned out that beastfolk had habits closer to animals in general — when food was available, they tended to stuff themselves in preparation for lean times. And since their physical abilities were higher than those of other races, their calorie consumption was higher as well.
"That's why there aren't many full-time farmers in our settlements. Most families are part-time farmers who also work as hunters or adventurers."
Also, Amur's family has supposedly been part of the ruling class for generations, so he's never done any farming. Branca, on the other hand, seems to have at least a little farming experience.
"Sounds like Kukuri Village to me."
With those words, the conversation came to a natural close, and everyone resumed eating. After that, we added more ingredients and dough twice more before the meal finally wound down. We were supposed to take a break before setting off, but for some reason, several people were climbing into my carriage.
"Menace, Lina, Amur — why are you coming over here?"
They were the women who had been riding in the carriage arranged by the Dawn Sword.
"Well, that one's cramped."
"The ride isn't very comfortable."
"The bath."
They were perfectly understandable reasons. The carriage Jin and the others were riding in was by no means small or run-down, but naturally it couldn't compare to the one I'd built. In fact, it rode so smoothly that the King had actually asked me to sell it to him. However, I couldn't part with the one I was currently using, and I didn't have time to build a new one, so I drew up the blueprints for a similar model and handed them over. Of course, I was paid a design fee, and we also signed a contract requiring royalty payments from the second unit onward.
"I get why you came, but what about Jin and the others?"
Moving over here was fine, but the problem was Jin and the rest. Unlike ours, their carriage required someone to constantly give commands to the horses, so having fewer people on board meant a heavier burden for those who remained.
"Don't worry, we already talked it over."
"Apparently, the men find it easier to be among other men."
"I silenced Branca."
It seemed the matter had been settled beforehand, but the way Rina phrased it made me wonder — what about Grandpa and me? I was also curious about how Amur had managed to silence Branca.
"Branca's weak spot is his wife and my mother... Whenever those two names come up, Branca behaves himself."
...Maybe I shouldn't have asked. Well, they seemed to have gotten permission, so I let them inside the carriage. When Grandpa heard why the three of them had come, he sympathized with Jin and the others.
"Tenma, sorry to rush you, but would it be alright if I used the bath? I've been curious about what the one attached to the carriage is like."
"Let's enjoy it right away!"
"You're coming in too, Tenma?"
"A bath is fine, but that one's single-occupancy. Decide the order before you get in. Also, the bath is combined with the toilet and changing room, so if you're going to strip, do it inside the bath area. If you can't follow the rules, you'll be forcibly sent back to Jin's place and banned from using it from now on."
I laid down the law before Amour could run wild. Menace and Lina already seemed to intend to do that anyway, but Amour looked a little disgruntled... It turned out to be the right call to get ahead of it.
While the three of them were sorting out the bathing order, I started preparing dinner. "Preparing" was a generous way to put it—I was just simmering bird meat and vegetables in a pot. The plan for tonight was something warm and filling.
"Tenma, what's for dinner?"
Menace, who apparently had lost the battle for first bath, called out from behind me. Amour was right behind her, which meant Lina had gotten first bath.
"I was thinking of making a stew."
"Stew?"
Neither of them knew what stew was.
"It's a soup made by simmering meat and vegetables in milk, more or less."
Menace nodded along with my explanation, but Amour tilted her head in confusion.
"It's more common in cold regions, so it might be rare down south."
At Menace's words, Amour nodded as if that made sense. The region Amour lived in was warm year-round, and apparently it had never snowed there even once. For reference, in the Royal Capital, snow could pile up nearly a meter deep in winter. Winters in Kukuri Village saw roughly half the snowfall of the Royal Capital, maybe a little less.
"It's been getting a bit chilly at night lately, so I figured it'd be perfect... Just checking, though—you don't have any vegetables you dislike, right?"
Both of them nodded in response to my question, so I loaded the pot generously with vegetables. Shiromaru and Solomon had been making slightly disgusted faces, and seeing that, I decided to add even more.
By the time I finished preparing the white sauce, Lina and Menace had come out of the bath, and Amour—who was last in line—had gone in. However, she came right back out half-naked.
Lina hurriedly threw a blanket over her, but she'd been glimpsed for a moment, which was awkward to say the least.
"The first two used up all the hot water... and on top of that, it was lukewarm."
"That makes it sound like *I'm* the heavy one!"
"The way Lina put it, it sounds like only *I'm* heavy..."
"Well, Menace, you *are* taller than I am..."
Menace seemed a bit irritated by Lina's words, but I ignored the two of them and headed for the bathhouse.
"How's this?"
I added hot water using Water Magic and Fire Magic, then asked Amour, who was standing behind me. Amour stuck her arm in to check the temperature. Seeing her nod, I immediately went to the bathhouse door. As soon as I opened it, hot water flowed out up to my ankles, but since I'd turned my back this time, I didn't have to go through that awkward moment again.
A few hours after our break, the surroundings had grown dark, so we decided to camp on top of a small hill. Jin and the others were in charge of perimeter security, but just to be safe, Grandpa and I set up barriers around the carriages. There were two types: one that masked our presence from detection, and another that would alert us to enemy intrusion. However, barriers weren't foolproof, so I made sure Jin and the others stayed on high alert.
"Jin, here's your night rations. I'll leave them on your carriage. There should be enough for everyone, but if it runs short, just tough it out."
"Got it, much appreciated. If anything comes up during the watch, I'll wake you, so get some rest too, Tenma."
After dinner, before heading back to my carriage following our chat, I handed the night rations to Jin, who was on the first watch. The guard rotations were split into three groups this time: Jin and Amour first, then Branca and Menace, and finally Garat and Lina. Apparently, they'd split up by gender and drew lots to decide the order, with each shift lasting three hours. Branca and Menace had drawn the worst time slot, so they went straight to sleep after eating.
Even among fellow adventurers, sharing a futon between men and women was considered inappropriate, so the women slept in the carriage Jin and the others had been using, while the men slept in the shadow of a carriage. As for my carriage, only Grandpa, Slarin, and I slept in it. Being woken up every time the guard rotated would have been unbearable, so we'd arranged things this way. This sort of thing was common for escort requests, so no complaints came from Jin and the others. That said, even Grandpa and I, who weren't on guard duty, might have to respond if something happened during the night, so it was better to get to sleep early.
"Hm?"
I suddenly sensed something and woke up in the middle of the night. Almost the instant I stirred, Shiromaru rose to his feet, followed by Slarin, Grandpa, and then Solomon, each getting up from their bedding in order.
The owner of that presence, which I could feel even through the barrier, seemed to possess considerable strength.
While making sure I was ready to head outside at any moment, the door was quietly knocked upon.
"It's Branca. Tenma, looks like you're awake. Sorry about this, but come out."
When I stepped outside, Branca was standing there with a serious expression. Menace had gone to wake the others, and behind her stood Jin and Amour, rubbing their eyes.
"So, what happened? The fact that Tenma's here too means this is something pretty nasty?"
Jin asked Branca while drowsy-eyed, but with his sword shouldered, ready to move at a moment's notice.
"Yeah. When I stepped outside the barrier for a bit, I sensed the presence of some pretty powerful Monsters. I don't know if they're heading this way, but if they are, I think we'd struggle to handle them on our own."
According to Branca, the Monsters appeared to be part of a pack. Branca and the others might be able to handle them alone, but there would likely be significant casualties. That was why he wanted Grandpa and me to stay on standby as well.
"Then we should probably get into battle formation right away. It looks like they're approaching at quite a speed."
While listening to Branca, I activated Exploration over a wide area. The pack of Monsters had already closed to within about five kilometers of us. At this rate, we'd make contact in another two or three minutes.
"Seriously?! Then we need to hurry!"
Garat slapped his face with both hands to fire himself up, and the others followed suit, each rallying their own spirits.
"Even if we're intercepting, we should fight outside the barrier. There's a chance the enemy hasn't spotted us yet, and by showing ourselves, we might make them change course. Tenma, can you tell the exact number and types?"
Looking at everyone starting to panic a little, Grandpa spoke in a calm voice. I counted the enemies I'd been tracking with Exploration and cast Appraisal on them...
"There are eight of them. The type is... Unicorns."
They were Monsters I'd never seen before. In my previous life, unicorns were sometimes depicted as sacred creatures in stories, but in this world, they were a type of Monster. However, they were high-rank Monsters and quite rare, so it was said that finding one was harder than defeating one.
"Unicorns, huh... Even in my active days, I only saw them once or twice. They're ferocious, but at the same time, quite intelligent Monsters. Once they become aware of our presence, they're unlikely to rush in and attack. If we show our intent to fight outside the barrier, they'll probably try to avoid the trouble and go somewhere else. Whatever you do, don't try to attack them rashly. If you do, they might choose to fight rather than flee."
Following Grandpa's advice, we moved outside the barrier and positioned ourselves facing the unicorns.
Up front were Shiromaru and Solomon, right behind them the Dawn Sword, Branca, and Amur, and on either side at a slight distance were Grandpa and me.
The plan was to first intimidate them by showing the large carnivore—a natural predator of unicorns—along with a dragon that, though still a child, was a superior creature. If that didn't make them back off, Grandpa and I would attack with magic from both flanks, and then Jin and the others would charge in. By the way, Slarin was hiding inside the canyon wind, ready to play a role during the pursuit.
"They're here."
Branca squinted into the distance and spotted the herd of unicorns. They all appeared to be fully grown adults—about a size smaller than Tanikaze, but still larger than an ordinary horse. The one leading the pack in particular had a sturdy, muscular build, and the horn on its forehead was longer and thicker than the rest. It was most likely the herd's leader.
We were positioned on a small hill, but whether because we were downwind or not, the unicorns still didn't seem to have noticed us.
When the unicorn herd had closed to within about a kilometer of us—
"Woooooooo!!!"
Shiromaru, positioned at the front of our group, unleashed a howl toward the sky. He howled at full force, making the surrounding air tremble, and Lina and Amur clamped their hands over their ears at the sheer volume.
"Mmm... Shiromaru, you're so noisy,"
Amur complained to Shiromaru in a completely relaxed voice, but nobody paid her any attention.
"Nrrrrooooo..."
Through Shiromaru's howl, the unicorns finally noticed our presence, and with the lead one's cry, the entire herd came to a sudden halt. Then they locked eyes with us in a standoff. Unicorns were normally said to be Rank-A Monsters, but the lead unicorn in particular had an aura that might even reach Rank-S. If we had to fight all eight of them, they'd be more troublesome than the Earth Dragon I'd taken down a little while ago. We probably wouldn't lose, but depending on how things played out, we could still take significant damage.
"Tenma, when the unicorns are about halfway there… once the lead one passes that rock, attack with magic. Prioritize the number of hits over raw power — make them scatter. Jin and the others, keep your guard up against being flanked while you take them down one by one. I'd like you to take out the lead one first if you can, but don't push yourselves too hard."
Grandpa's words cranked the tension up in an instant. And perhaps sensing our heightened alertness, the unicorns seemed to strengthen their vigilance too — they started advancing slowly toward us without ever breaking eye contact.
As they closed the distance — a hundred meters, then two hundred — and we were about to launch our attack, the lead unicorn suddenly let out a loud neigh, and the entire herd wheeled around in unison and galloped away.
"The horse meat's getting away…"
We were so stunned by Amur's murmur that we couldn't even react, but we maintained our vigilance until the unicorns had completely vanished from sight.
"Looks like they're gone."
"Yeah, they've gone beyond the range of my 'Exploration.' We should stay on guard for now, but judging by their behavior, I doubt they'll come back."
Confirming Branca's words, I relayed the results of my 'Exploration' to everyone.
With that, Jin and the others seemed to finally relax — they each let out huge yawns and began stretching.
"Still, why would something like that show up in a place like this?"
"How should I know? Just count yourself lucky you got to see an ultra-rare Monster! I'm going to sleep!"
Jin, looking rather irritated at Garat's words, headed for his sleeping spot and replied.
"Branca, is that thing edible?"
Amur seemed to view unicorns as nothing more than food. She'd been going on about horse meat this whole time. She was probably hungry.
"Hm? Yeah, I've heard it's quite delicious. But with unicorns, the horn on their forehead, the oil, and their 'private part' are all more valuable than the meat. Apparently they make highly effective medicine."
"Private part?"
"The symbol of manhood."
"I see… Ouch!"
I threw a piece of bread I'd pulled from my Magic Bag at Amur, who was staring at my crotch.
The bread hit Amur right in the face and fell to the ground, but since it was wrapped in cloth, there was no issue with its quality.
"I get the horns, but the oil and..."
"...that..."
"...are those really worth that much?"
"Well, let me tell you!"
I was planning to ask Branca and the old man, but for some reason Lina cut in with a big grin on her face.
"The horns on the forehead — when you boil them down and drink the broth, they reduce fever, detoxify, and boost vitality. And for detoxification specifically, you could call it practically all-purpose! The oil works as a stomach remedy when you drink it, a wound salve when you apply it, and on top of that, it's effective against spots, wrinkles, freckles, and more!
As for
"that" — when you sun-dry it, roast it over a flame, and crush it, it becomes a virility tonic! Every single one of these is expensive, high-performance, and outrageously rare, so the moment one hits the market, the upper nobility swoop in and buy everything up... Ouch!"
Whether Menace was irritated by Lina's smug look after finishing her explanation, she gave Lina a light jab in the ribs. Before I could get dragged any further into this late-night weirdness, I headed back to my carriage, but when I opened the door, I could see my futon was puffed up. I peeled it back and found Amur asleep with bread crumbs around her mouth.
Touch her the wrong way, and I'd probably end up found guilty by Judge Amur sooner or later, so
I had her
guardian
called in
to come and retrieve her. As she was being carried away, I thought I caught a faint tongue-click from Amur, who was supposed to be asleep, but I decided not to worry about it and just go to sleep... except bread crumbs were scattered all over the futon, both inside and out, so I ended up having to put in extra effort before I could finally turn in.
As I mentioned in my activity report, the book version of "The Reincarnated Adventurer" will be going on sale April 10th.
When I first started writing this series, I never imagined it could become an actual published book.
This is all thanks to you, my readers. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart.
I hope you'll continue to support "The Reincarnated Adventurer" going forward!