Having finished our stay at Duke Sanga's estate, we departed Lindau as planned, heading for our next destination—Gunjou City.
Our stay ended up being about two days longer than originally scheduled, but we'd already factored that possibility into our travel plans for Lindau, so two days was no real problem. However, since goblin and orc packs had been showing up frequently from the east and southeast, running into multiple packs in a row could delay our arrival at Gunjou City. Well, we wouldn't just ignore any packs we stumbled upon, but if we encountered one in an area where no nearby adventurers were hunting, Grandpa and I would annihilate the pack with our magic and recover the spoils on the spot.
The value of the materials would take a back seat, but we already had our original stockpile plus what Grandpa and the others had hunted in Lindau. It felt wasteful, but I pushed through the mild objections and decided we'd prioritize speed this time.
The original plan was to reach Gunjou City in seven days, but that was a rather leisurely schedule with stops at villages and towns along the way. So we changed it, deciding to camp more often and aim for an arrival in four to five days.
"Tenma, I'd like to start setting up camp soon, but there are more other adventurers around than I expected. If we keep going like this, we might run into unnecessary trouble, so I'm thinking we should push on until just before sunset. What do you think?"
It was getting close to evening—the time when we'd need to start preparing for camp—when Grandpa, who'd been driving the carriage, made that suggestion. I used Search to probe the surrounding area, and sure enough, there were four other adventuring parties nearby, not counting us.
So, as Grandpa suggested, we decided to skip camping at this spot.
"This area has a nearby river and hills for wind cover. Can't blame them for picking a popular spot."
If this were near a large city, the odds of encountering an adventuring party up to no good would be lower, but this was a fair distance from Lindau—about a day and a half's travel by normal carriage. So there was no harm in being cautious. That said, I didn't think all of them combined could get past our watchful Golem's guard.
Some members of the parties camped nearby watched us as we moved away from the area, but none seemed inclined to follow.
They might have found it suspicious that we weren't camping here despite the approaching sunset, but between Grandpa, me, Jeanne, and Aura, we all had enough magical ability to handle the essentials—wind barriers and water supply, even without hills or a river. So as long as there was no one we needed to be on guard against, we could set up a comfortable campsite right in the middle of the grassland.
Camping in the open grassland did carry the risk of Monster attacks, but for us, the Golem handled most of the watch. Monsters, which could be identified as almost certainly hostile, were far easier to deal with than humans of uncertain allegiance. The solution was simple—just order the Golem to eliminate any Monsters that approached.
So, following that logic, the spot Grandpa chose was a small hill right in the middle of the grassland.
Parking the carriage at the center of the hill and erecting earth walls around it essentially completed the campsite. After that, I just needed to position the Golem around the perimeter and set out Namitarou's livewell, and my work was done.
After that, we ate the dinner Jeanne and Aura had prepared, took Shiromaru for a walk, and played games together. Primera and I turned in early as usual... but—
"Looks like Amour noticed it too. And Primera."
In the middle of the night, I woke up sensing a disturbance nearby. I grabbed Kogarumaru and was about to head outside when Amour and Primera appeared from the women's quarters as well.
Neither of them looked fully awake, but they'd had enough presence of mind to bring their weapons. The disturbance I'd sensed had already subsided to a safe level, but we still needed to check on things outside, so the three of us stepped out of the carriage together.
"That's... an Ogre's
breeding season?"
"That's right. Though it's already been taken down."
Amour squinted as she identified the cause of the disturbance that had woken us.
"Oh! Tenma, you're awake?"
The three of us were looking at the fallen Ogre when a voice came from behind. I turned around to find Jeanne there, with Shiromaru and Solomon beside her. They seemed to have been preparing a late-night snack. Apparently, Shiromaru and Solomon had been sneaking bites of the ingredients.
"An Ogre showed up so I was going to wake you, Tenma, but Merlin told me to leave you alone — that you'd probably wake up on your own, and it would be over before you did. Instead, he asked me to make a late-night snack..."
"So you did wake up after all. It's already over, so you can go back to sleep if you like."
While I was listening to Jeanne's story, Grandpa came back rolling his shoulders. He said I could go back to sleep, but now that I was fully awake, falling back asleep would be quite difficult.
"I'll stay up a little longer, so why don't you take a bath, Grandpa? You just exerted yourself too, so you probably can't sleep either, right?"
"That's true. Well then, I suppose I'll go take a quick soak. Tenma, Amour — be sure to save some of that snack for me."
Grandpa said that and went inside the carriage... but came back almost immediately. He'd probably decided it was too much hassle to heat the bath water and opted for the snack first.
Jeanne reheated the bath while we ate our snack, and Grandpa was finally able to wash off his sweat. While Grandpa was bathing, Primera, Amour, and I kept watch. Since Jeanne's shift was approaching, we let her rest early after she'd reheated the bath.
Maybe it was because of the Ogre's breeding season, but there were no Monsters in the area, so I intended to let Primera and Amour go back to sleep. However, Primera seemed to have woken up completely and wanted to stay up a bit longer, while Amour said she'd only have an hour before her shift even if she slept now, so she'd stay up as well.
"Phew... that hit the spot. By the way, Tenma, now that we've encountered an Ogre's breeding season, we should stop heading straight for Gunjou City and report to a nearby adventurer's guild first. It's a hassle, but there's a chance the Ogre sighting hasn't been circulated yet."
The intelligence we'd heard when leaving Rindou mentioned only Goblin and Orc packs, and that was all we'd actually seen on the way here. But there'd been no mention of Ogres at all — let alone one during its breeding season, when its danger level spikes. This might be the first report.
If it wasn't the first report, there'd be no issue — but if it was, adventurers operating under the assumption they'd only face Goblins and Orcs could end up getting hurt. Especially since quite a few inexperienced young adventurers had joined specifically targeting Goblins. Considering the potential casualties, we couldn't just skip reporting to the guild.
"Primera, where's the nearest village or town from here?"
"I don't know the exact location, but if you go a bit east from here, there's a river. Following it south should lead to several villages. I'm not sure if any of them have an adventurer's guild, though."
Primera seemed a bit uncertain, but she confirmed there were villages, so we decided to head for the river at dawn. As it happened, that river was the upstream of one we'd previously scouted as a campsite, so we'd likely run into several resting adventurers.
We could give those adventurers a quick warning and maybe even ask them to relay a report to the guild.
If this was the first report about Ogres, the reporter might receive a modest bounty for it, but the amount would be negligible, so there'd be no reason to hold back. Rather, thanks to that bounty, some adventurers might actually take action, so it'd be fine to let them claim that credit. However, depending on the adventurer's rank, they might not be able to move freely until the report is confirmed. If someone got greedy, reported false information, and was found out, they could—in the worst case—have their adventurer's license revoked. Well, reporting information they got from us would be at their own risk, after all.
"In that case, what happens if it turns out to be a misunderstanding or mistake rather than an actual lie?"
"Even then, they can't avoid penalties. I'm planning to ask them to name-drop me to several people before filing the report, and I intend to file a report with evidence to the Guild under both my and Gramps' names as soon as possible. As long as they don't make any major mistakes, it should probably end with just a warning or reprimand. Though, in my case, I'd skip collecting the bounty and just report that 'someone came by with that kind of warning'—nothing more."
That way, it would be framed as information with an uncertain probability rather than confirmed facts—so there'd be no bounty, but they also wouldn't face punishment even if they turned out to be wrong. In fact, if the information was correct, they might gain an invisible reward in the form of a better impression from the Guild instead of money. If you're playing the long game, that route might actually be more profitable.
While we were talking, Aura woke up, so Gramps took his shift and went into the carriage. Right after the changeover, Aura saw me and Primera still there and panicked, thinking she'd overslept by a huge margin. Amour immediately jumped in to tease her about it, which threw her into a bigger frenzy, but she quickly noticed that it was still dark outside and let out a sigh of relief even as she continued grumbling at Amour.
"So, if an Ogre
husband
and wife
show up again, there's no problem as long as Amour and the Golem are there, right?"
"Right! If it's just an Ogre
guard—
I can handle up to two pairs by myself! ...Probably."
Amour sounded a bit uncertain, but if we set aside protecting Aura and the carriage, he could probably handle about two pairs on his own. Besides, even if he started off fighting alone, the Golem and the Slarins sleeping outside would jump in to help right away. So even if twice that number attacked, we'd have more than enough time to hold out until Aura woke me or Gramps up. Though, realistically, Gramps and I would probably sense the commotion outside and wake up on our own before Aura even came to get us.
After that, Primera and I dozed off again, and when Jeanne woke us up and we headed outside, we found Aura and Amour in the middle of a heated argument. Apparently, after we'd gone to sleep, they'd spotted Orcs—just one or two at a time—several times over, and Amour had dragged Aura, who was protesting, into charging at them, calling it "special training."
That seemed pretty harsh, so I went over to give Amour a piece of my mind, but the content of their argument turned out to be completely different from what I'd assumed the cause of their fight was.
Once I learned what they were actually arguing about, I stopped in my tracks. Primera, finding my sudden stop suspicious, came over and also discovered the real reason behind the dispute, after which we both decided to just leave them to it. For the record, the argument went something like this: the Orcs had ignored Amour and gone straight for Aura. Aura had apparently said something like, "Unlike Amour with his scrawny build, I must have been more attractive to them," and Amour had retorted with, "What are you saying—with all that extra fat, you're barely a match for an Orc." I don't know who started it first, but since it didn't look like it would cause any real problems, we decided to let them have at it for as long as they wanted.
"Jeanne... if you knew, you should have told us beforehand."
"I was the one who stopped them. I was curious to see what kind of reaction they'd have."
When I grumbled to Jeanne—who'd presumably been awake first and knew what was going on—the real mastermind spoke up before she could and explained the reason. I was about to protest, but they said, "If Tenma had known beforehand, you would've done the same thing to someone, wouldn't you? Or rather—you've done it before, haven't you?" That hit way too close to home, and I had no choice but to shut my mouth. Primera watched both me and Gramps with a look of complete exasperation.
"Even so, it is rather strange for small groups of Orcs to keep appearing like this... If they were really that close, they should have formed a single herd."
Even as individuals, Orcs possess strength rivaling that of several Goblins, but most of them can't use magic and are slow on their feet, making them easy prey for large carnivorous beasts or magic-wielding adventurers. Because of this, Orcs have a habit of forming herds with nearby kin to improve their survival and hunting success rates. The strongest individual becomes the leader, and the more capable that leader is, the stronger the herd becomes. In other words, without a herd, they're the kind of monster even Aura could take down.
"What we can figure is... they got separated from the herd, were driven out, or—
left—
of—
their—
own—
free—
will?
Hmm...
Could
it
be?"
"If they're all individuals who left on their own, that could get a little troublesome... Amur! Aura! Stop fooling around and show me the Orcs you took down!"
Being separated from or driven out of the herd isn't exactly common, but it's not so rare that it's worth worrying about. However, when they leave of their own volition, things change. Leaving the herd of one's own will... that means, they've...
completely
given
up
on
that
herd.
It was.
There was a high probability of that.
It depended on the reason the herd had determined it wasn't a good fit, but generally, young individuals brimming with ambition tended to leave, and the more young individuals one encountered, the larger the original herd must have been.
"The reasons for leaving could be things like it being difficult to raise one's status even if one stayed, or the bloodline becoming too close to produce offspring... But regardless of the reason, individuals who leave their herd tend to be aggressive. I don't know where the original herd is, but if it were nearby, we'd need to be on guard across the entire duchy and surrounding territories."
While he was saying that, Amour and Aura arrived and produced the Orcs they had taken down, so we examined them together with Grandpa.
"Grandpa, it really does seem like they're all young individuals. They're all big enough to breed, and there are both males and females, so if left alone, they could grow into a pretty large herd."
"Indeed they could. Then how about today we head toward the nearest adventurer's guild while warning any adventurers or travelers we come across along the way?"
With the basic plan for the day decided, we ate the breakfast Jeanne had prepared and set out immediately.
Since we'd be pushing on to the next village with as few rest breaks as possible, this time both I and Primera took turns as drivers.
Thanks to the urgency, we arrived at the village with the adventurer's guild branch before noon, and along the way we were able to warn over twenty adventurers of the danger.
At the guild reception, when I said we had something urgent to report, the receptionist gave us a suspicious look at first, but once I produced the identification cards for myself, Grandpa, and Primera, we were promptly led to a room in the back.
In the back room, we explained everything to the branch chief—a position just below the guild master—along with our hypothesis, and he immediately promised to send word to the surrounding villages and towns. Apparently, the only groups discovered in this area so far were Orcs and Goblins, with no reports of Ogres. Even so, there had apparently been several deaths among newcomers.
"As expected, Orcs might be too much for newcomers."
"It's unfortunate that lives were lost, but perhaps they had bad luck, misjudged when to retreat, or underestimated the Orcs."
Grandpa replied to Primera's murmured words that way, but he probably didn't actually feel it was unfortunate. Even though Orcs were monsters that even Aura could take down, their stamina, strength, and endurance still exceeded that of the average adult male. Their low intelligence made them easier to hunt, but some individuals were smarter than average, and others possessed enough physical ability to compensate for their lack of wit—making them not monsters that the inexperienced could afford to let their guard down around. Well, that could be said of any monster, really.
After finishing our report to the guild just past midday, we resumed our journey to Gunjou City as planned.
The branch chief apparently wanted us to stay in the village a bit longer, but we had our own schedule, so we promised to report directly to the Gunjou City guild and Duke Sanga's household before leaving.
"By the way, what have Tenma and Jeanne been making this whole time?"
Even as I listened to Grandpa and Primera's conversation, Jeanne and I had been working on something. It was—
"Well, the Orc meat has been piling up fast, so we've been cooking dishes using it."
What we're making now is the ingredients for tonjiru and pork bowls. Both dishes use fatty cuts of meat, so we're currently simmering them while carefully skimming off
scum
and excess fat
as they rise to the surface.
We're also planning to make tonkatsu, braised pork, menchi-katsu, and hamburger steaks, but for now, I went with dishes that are easy to make inside a carriage and work well as late-night snacks.
"Ah, so that's what's been smelling so good this whole time."
"Well, when you fill the air with a scent like that, it's only natural that Shiromaru and Solomon would be hanging around Tenma with their mouths watering. Jeanne, would you mind dishing out a little for a taste test?"
Grandpa casually asked Jeanne, who was simmering the pork bowl ingredients, to hand some over for a taste test, and Jeanne naturally passed the ingredients along without a second thought. However,
"Shiromaru and Solomon aren't getting any! The amount you two grabbed isn't even enough for a real meal!"
The pair of gluttons had zeroed in on the ingredients and were pestering her for them, leaving no opportunity for any leisurely taste testing.
While Grandpa was serving as a decoy, I quickly snuck in a taste and told Jeanne to let it simmer a while longer.
Because Grandpa was busy fending off Shiromaru and Solomon as they tried to snatch the pork bowl ingredients, the commotion caught Amour's attention at the window and she started making a fuss too—so to pacify everyone, it was decided that tonight's dinner would feature dishes made with orc meat.
As it happened, the two who had managed to steal meat from Grandpa were about to charge at Jeanne in search of further prey, but... they were
stopped
by me and Slarin, and spent the rest of the time moping in the corner of the carriage until dinner.
It was just before noon, four days after reporting the ogre sighting to the guild, when we safely arrived in Gunjou City. On the way there, we encountered groups of orcs and goblins several times. Most of them were young individuals, including the goblins, which suggested that there are indeed several large packs out there.
As for the ogre in question—we encountered it twice as well, defeating a total of three. Of the two battles, Shiromaru took down the one operating alone, while Primera led the women's party to bring down the one that had been patrolling in a pair. With the credit from the ogre hunt, Primera might be able to raise her adventurer rank to B.
It might seem fast, but she had apparently registered back when she was still a student at the academy, so in terms of registration time alone, she'd be second only to Grandpa. Given her previous profession and background, the promotion is practically a certainty.
That said, Jeanne and Aura also have enough achievements to qualify for a B-rank promotion if they wanted—but neither of them earned those accomplishments through their own strength alone, and given their positions as a former noble and her attendant, they'd likely get dragged into all sorts of troublesome matters. So apparently, they absolutely do not want to be promoted.
"Originally, the plan was to rest at the Manpukutei first, but I'm heading to the guild ahead of everyone. If you're tired, it's fine to stay in the carriage—worst case, just me and Grandpa will go."
Since they'd come all the way here at a brisk pace while fighting through several encounters along the way, I suggested they take this opportunity to freshen up during the rest stop—but before many hours had passed, they said they could rest at the Manpukutei first, so they'd prefer to head back to report after that. That said, Aura was about to cheer with delight the moment the words left my mouth, only to catch herself when she noticed everyone else's reaction, so I figured we should probably get the report out of the way as soon as possible. Well, putting the Guild Master aside, Flute was the sort of person who understood these sorts of social considerations, so she wouldn't keep us tied up for too long.
After stowing the carriage in the Magic Bag and having Slarin and the others wait in the Dimension Bag, I stepped inside the guild—only to find it in absolute chaos.