Ch 11

It had already been a thousand days since I tricked my father with doppelganger magic and ran away. After using long-distance teleportation, I rode for a long time in a wagon, so I thought I would not have to worry about my father's pursuit.

"Tristan, how long until we reach the Republic?"

Tristan took out a map. "According to the map, we've already crossed the Republican border. Since we’re following the Olympus Forest boundary instead of stopping by the front-line city of Duzen Flow, which borders the Demon’s Territory, and we are following the so we should be around… here?"…

Tristan pointed to a spotspot was quite a distance from the border quite a distance away from the border. If our wagon used regular horses, we would still be in the Demon’s Territory, let alone anywhere near the border, but the two horses pulling the wagon were the ‘Wheat Crepe’ breed; alchemic lifeforms I created. Each one could produce one-thousand five-hundred horsepower, so two of them could pull a train. Of course, if they ran with all their might on unpaved trails like the one we were on, the wagon would be overturned, so they had to run moderately.

"Then let's camp here today."

Just in time, we crossed a field that would make for a good camping spot, and it seemed like night would fall before we arrived at the next city.

Tristan, who was holding the reins, gradually slowed down and asked, "There's still a lot of time left before the sun sets, so wouldn’t it be okay to go further, Master?”

"We ran nonstop last night, so it's okay. You and I are fine, but the others have to rest."

Specifically, Flam, no, Caesar had to rest. Hillis' miracle prevented Caesar’s body from collapsing and was said to have healed his wound, but he had also used the forbidden technique that would kill Crows. It was clear that there was still a considerable burden on his body. Caesar shook his head at me as if he knew I was talking about him.

“There is no need to do that for me.”

“Who said it's just for you, ahjussi? He said ‘others’," joked Hillis. [1]

Caesar looked at the others and apologized as if he had only just realized the others might be tired too. I got out of the wagon and took out camping tools from my pocket space. After flattening the ground with a shovel, I laid down some tarps and blankets to protect from moisture. On top, we set up and connected two military tents that I forgot to return. The A-type tents became one fairly wide pentagonal tent when attached. They had been collecting dust in the supply warehouse, so it smelled a little old inside, but it was not bad.

"I hunted these while installing security traps in the forest, Master. I'm a little tired of the rations, so let's eat these for dinner tonight."

Tristan had a rabbit and a pheasant in his hand.

"Ohhh! Looks delicious! I got a fire going already.” exclaimed Caesar.

While I was setting up the tent, Tristan and Caesar each got to work preparing the camp site. Arrieta and Hillis flustered around trying to help, but became discouraged when they realized they weren’t actually being helpful. I could not fault them for it; there was no way the former queen and saintess had ever done anything like this before. I smiled at the two and asked them to prepare water to drink and wash with magic. Arwen still hadn't come down from the wagon. She was reading the spells of the textbook I made, amazed with her own voice. For a magician, there was no catalyst as good as one’s voice to resonate mana with their surroundings, so she seemed to be practicing what she had learned but never mastered.

"Studying is good, but rest when you can rest. Aren’t you tired?" I asked her.

Arwen tried to write in the air by swinging her fingers, but hesitated and eventually spoke up.

"… All right."

"There is no shower, but you can wet a towel with heated water and wash up in the tent."

Perhaps it would have been more accurate to say "wipe" rather than "wash". Hillis responded to my invitation.

"Oh! That's a good idea!"

As Hillis took Arietta and Arwen into the tent with boiling water, Tristan began to trim the meat and prepare dinner.

I sighed. "I miss Gwalchavad."

Tristan giggled at me. "What can you do about him getting done in? I'm the only one who can at least somewhat cook here. Isn’t it good that I’m here at least?"

He was right. We were down Gwalchavad, a top-notch chef. Delicious food was out of the question because Caradoc and Bedivier, who were decent cooks, had been done in too. Yvain was also quite good at cooking among the knights, but he was attached to my maternal grandfather's escort with Ovain. The safety of my maternal grandfather was more important than cooking, so it couldn’t be helped.

“I guess there’s no choice then. I tried to avoid using this, but I don't want bad tasting food."

I took out a small container of white powder from my pocket space.

"Oh, what is that?" Caesar asked.

I smiled playfully and shook the container.

"Monosodium glutamate, or MSG for short.”

The production method was quite simple. Enzymes were added to a sugar cane solution, fermented, purified, and crystallized. The concept and procedure were similar to making alcohol. However, due to the climate of the empire, it was difficult to grow sugarcane and get it fresh. MSG could also be made by acidifying kelp, which was easier to obtain, but the amount obtained by acid decomposition was small, and the process was cumbersome, so it was easier and more delicious to just boil it.

"It’s a magic powder. Put this in any decent dish, and it’ll make it delicious."

Caesar’s ears perked up.

"Ohh! Is there such a thing?"

"With this, even an ordinary person can become a top-class chef!" I boasted.

Tristan, who had finished peeling the trimmed rabbit's flesh, put herbs (for magic reagents) and various vegetables in an alchemy pot and started boiling the stew.

"As expected, it's convenient to have Master around. How cumbersome would it have been to carry a pot like this around?"

The wagon we rode was a little small for five people, so there was little space for luggage. A larger, more comfortable carriage would have stood out, so I had purposely chosen a more common model.

"Of course. I've tried so hard to increase the size of my pocket space since I was young. Ah, let's just put some salt and pepper on the pheasant and grill it over the fire." I said.

"Ayyy~ All right." Tristan replied.

As the dish was finished, Hillis, Arietta and Arwen came out of the tent after washing up.

"Wow, it smells delicious! Is it grilled chicken?”

I took out a bowl from my pocket space and replied, "Pheasant, not chicken."

It was a female pheasant whose collar was not fancy, so it was hard to distinguish it from a wild chicken or pigeon at first glance.

Arrieta accepted a bowl of stew from me and said, "I apologize. I feel like I left everything to you all."

I smirked at her. "You three can do the dishes. You know how to make water with magic, right?"

Arietta nodded with a bright expression. "Of course! Come to think of it, I haven’t washed dishes since I woke up in this era. I’m looking forward to it!”

I smiled. What a thing to look forward to. We joked about this and that over stew and hardtack. Come to think of it, I didn't know how long it'd been since I had such a relaxed and casual conversation. A short time ago, I was busy fighting demon king worshippers, and before that I was busy preparing for and fighting wars. It'd been a long time since I'd sat around and ate with my friends due to working overtime. At the end of the meal, Caesar buried the pheasant and rabbit bones in the ground and asked, "Come to think of it, what is the upcoming schedule like?"

Everyone looked at me. Somehow I had become the leader of this trip.

“Hmm, I'm going to go to the port city of Milion, then to the Trading Union’s Dimitrion of the Central Continent, by boat. From there, I'm going to move towards the south continent.”

"Oh, what are you going to do in the South?”

I didn’t know. My only aim was to get away from my father.

"Uh... First, a trip to broaden my horizons a little? Well, that's what I’m feeling like at least."

I said whatever came to mind, but it wasn't wrong. When I was young, I had heard from Elder Mirpa that there were various taboo magic and traces from the mythical era on the south continent, so I was also going to do research. Besides, there wouldn’t be anything keeping me in one place for the time being. I would be in trouble if I stayed in one place for too long, allowing my father to catch up to me. Of course, unlike the empire that had an alliance, the Crows didn’t. Considering the high risk of sending a tracking team, I didn't think there would be one this time.

"We don't have to worry about language. I can speak all kinds of languages, and I'll make a translator for you if I have to. Oh, and I have someone to meet at Milion."

"Who is it?" asked Hillis.

I answered lightly, "I don't know about the others he’s with, but I know him well. I'm supposed to meet with Lan."

I had told Lancelot to go to Milion first because I had started planning my escape from the moment I met my father.

At my reply, Hillis giggled joyfully. "You thought it out well. He would have been really mad if you left him this time, too."

I agreed. To be honest, I had thought about leaving him behind, but I decided to take him with me because I knew I wouldn't be able to handle him when I met him again later. After the meal, I was teaching Arwen some magic when a scream came from somewhere.

"Ahhhhh”!

Then came a howl that was definitely not a person.

"It’s not from the woods. There was no signal from the installed security traps." said Tristan.

I looked around, then noticed something was running towards us from the northeast.

"Is that someone riding a horse? They’re being chased by something."

To read the uncut version, go to pawread dot com.

"Is it an ogre? No, it seems too big for that…"

Looking closely, I realized the figure was of the ogre subspecies ‘gogmagog’, which lived sparsely throughout the territory near the Olympus Forest. They were also called giant ogres because they were several times bigger and had a more fierce temper than ogres. When the children of my village came back with an injury, eight times out of ten they had mistook a gogmagog for an ogre and tried to hunt it. Of course, at best, they were still relatives of ogres, so they posed just about as much of a threat to adults as ogres did, but they were a big threat to the children.

"Arwen." I said.

“Yes, Master."

"I think this will make for good practice material. Do you want to try hunting it? A gogmagog is quite expensive."

Arwen nodded. "… Yes, I will give it a try."

Arwen flew forwards, fired dozens of magic bullets, and hit the gogmagog in the head. In the meantime, the man on horseback made his way towards us. There was a young boy in the man's arms. He seemed to be a son of a wealthy family, judging by his quality silk clothing. The man was bleeding through layers of torn leather armor, his breath hoarse as he gasped for air.

“S-save us! I’m fine, but the young master...!”

He spoke with the unique accent of the Republic. The Republic and Empire both originated from the Holy Kingdom and trade between the regions occurred frequently, so his accent was like a harsh dialect.

Hillis glanced over at me, and I nodded in response.

"Please show me the wound. I'll treat you." said Hillis.

Seeing Hillis' divine power, the man got off the horse and presented her with the little boy who he called young master first, even though he was clearly seriously injured.

"Please look at the young master first."

Hillis held back her laughter at the man's accent and looked at the child. With Hillis' abilities, there was no need for urgency unless you were about to die immediately. The child's wounds were nothing but scratches, and he was fully healed in the blink of an eye. When the man’s treatment was over, the two thanked her.

"Thank you."

"Thank you. It must be the guidance of the Goddess to meet a priestess in a place like this."

The child also had a slow accent, but not as heavy as the man’s. Perhaps how we spoke sounded like a strong accent to them too.

"Anyways, what are you doing not helping that child who’s fighting alone? I will at least try to help her!" said the man, pointing towards Arwen.

When the man tried to get back on the horse, I grabbed him by the shoulder and stopped him.

"She’s in the middle of hunting training, so don't bother her."

As we spoke, Arwen flew around the sky quickly and attacked the gogmagog from all angles.

"What do you mean?! That giant ogre is not a monster that such a child can deal with alone!"

Arwen was struggling to penetrate the gogmagog's thick skin, but I taught her better than to lose to such a trivial monster. Perhaps he didn't understand me, because he tried to get back on the horse with a frown. However, he couldn't shake off my hand.

“What, such strength...!”

“Anyways, why don’t we just introduce ourselves?”

I asked for their names leisurely.

1. Ahjussi is what they call middle-aged men in Korea. ☜