Chapter 113 - Chapter 16: To the Site of the Landslide
In the middle of the night, I changed into my autumn/winter Green Marble gear and boarded the bowl.
Since the Crown Prince was already able to handle Flight Magic, we departed from the castle's watchtower with two bowls lined up.
Leading the way was the Crown Prince, who had knowledge of the terrain; on board were Roberts-sama, Gladys-sama, and two of Gladys-sama's attendants. It seemed impossible for all four to fit, so the other two would follow by land on horseback.
Following them was the Class of 175 led by Paul-san.
"Lucky... I wanted to ride in that one too."
Mary was watching the Crown Prince's bowl leading the way diagonally above us with an envious look.
"There's no way you could ride there. They have to protect James-sama. You're non-combatant, aren't you?"
"I'll be fine. I have scrolls, and I still have a few sticks of gunpowder I got from Matilda."
"How are you going to light them with water magic?"
"I have a flint and steel, you know."
Come to think of it, Mary, the equipment officer, might be the strongest.
"If you girls were on that side and something happened, how would I take responsibility?"
"But considering the possibility of an accident, wouldn't it be better to disperse us?"
If either one survives, the tragedy of both families being wiped out is avoided.
"It's because I'm considering accidents that we're separated like this."
"?"
Isn't it the other way around?
"If it comes down to it, I'll bring this one under that one to support it."
Does that mean we'll be the ones crushed underneath?
"Look at the people riding over there; they're all tall, aren't they? If that side ends up on the bottom, several of them will break their necks."
"In other words, we were chosen based on height?"
"That's how it is. If it's you girls, you'll probably manage somehow as long as you cling to the bottom."
"This is worse than I thought."
It was just as Beatrix said. It was disheartening.
"So if the bottom of the bowl falls out, Gladys-sama will come falling from above?"
Surprisingly, Mary seemed happy. They say a dreaming maiden loses sight of her surroundings, and that was exactly the case.
"Don't go expecting something so dangerous. The ones falling first will definitely be the attendants."
"I'll pass on those. I'll take Jeanne or Beatrix, please."
"There's no time to choose! If someone falls on you, just give up."
And so, while we all dealt with Mary's selfishness, we took several breaks, napped at a fortress we stopped at along the way, and kept flying, covering a three-day carriage journey in a single day.
When we landed in front of the fortress's main gate, the commander, Stephens-san, came running out.
"What's this? Now even James-sama has come from the sky?"
"It has been a while, Stephens. Have you been well?"
"Thanks to you, my wife and I are doing well."
"That is good to hear. By the way, I heard that Henry-sama and Eleanor-sama are here."
"Well, that is... they are doing civil engineering work..."
"Civil engineering work?"
Come to think of it, Roberts-sama hadn't mentioned that the two of them were doing civil engineering work in lieu of lodging fees.
"Ah, my father and mother have a habit of setting out without money when they travel far. They earn travel expenses or rent lodgings by doing civil engineering or monster hunting here and there. Don't mind it."
Apparently, they intended it as a form of social service.
What on earth were they thinking?
What are real heroes doing playing at being heroes?
Even the Crown Prince seemed unable to comprehend it. He looked stunned.
Just then, the rumored delinquent elderly couple returned in their bowl. Both were wearing plain, somber clothes; Henry-sama had a hand towel wrapped around his head, and Eleanor-sama had one around her neck. If you didn't know their faces, they looked like nothing more than farmers.
"Oh, is that James-dono? It has been a while. Have you been keeping well?"
With a heavy "heave-ho," he climbed out of the bowl and suddenly started patting James-sama's shoulder.
"Now, Henry! If you touch him with dirty hands, you'll soil his clothes. You have to wash your hands properly."
"Oh, sorry, sorry. Eleanor, water, please."
When Eleanor-sama held her right hand over the ground, water came pouring out from her palm.
Henry-sama washed his hands and face with that water, even gargled while he was at it, and laughed while wiping his face with the towel, saying he'd worked up a good sweat today too.
For some reason, James-sama found this hilarious and was laughing loudly while holding his stomach.
"Oh, we got a laugh out of James-dono!"
"That's good. I thought it might be too surreal to work, but as expected, a mage understands. I wish I had a son like this."
Both of them looked at Roberts-sama.
"I am terribly sorry."
Seeing Roberts-sama bow his head while laughing, the attendants also burst into laughter.
After having dinner at the fortress, while the important people were making plans, the Class of 175 decided to gather in another room to discuss what to do.
No matter how we looked at it, we would only be a hindrance. Moreover, Dune had said to be truly careful.
"I have to go, but you three don't have to."
"That's not how it works, not after we've come this far."
"But you might not be able to use magic."
If there was a wind barrier, then except for Holy magic and Wind magic, nothing else would be usable. In the Class of 175, the jack-of-all-trades Beatrix could use it, but only basic spells.
"Then I pass. I'll go as a luggage carrier too, so you two stay behind with Stephens-san."
"No way. I'm going too."
As usual, Lyudmila was being unreasonable.
"Don't just follow along in a crowd. If you get into danger, those other amazing people will definitely try to protect you, even though you can't use magic. Is that okay? If people like that die because of you?"
She was saying something intense, but it was likely true.
Unable to talk back, Lyudmila's face turned bright red as she sulked.
"If Beatrix can only use basic magic, isn't it the same for her? I can be a luggage carrier too."
Even Mary started saying she would go.
"You just want to be with Gladys-sama, don't you? No."
"That's part of it, but it's not just that. Besides, if Jeanne and Beatrix die, what happens then?"
"Don't talk as if we're going to die. It'll be fine, Jeanne and I are lucky."
"I'm appalled... What is that! Saying you're lucky is just a matter of who says it first!"
"Enough already. I'll go alone, so don't fight."
While we were making a racket, the royals arrived along with Paul-san.
"What are you all making a fuss about?"
"These three are insisting on going and won't listen."
"You mean 'these two,' right?"
"No, except for Jeanne, it's the same!"
"Paul-san. I want to go too!"
It had become uncontrollable.
Paul-san also had a look of resignation on his face.
"You girls will be rear support. You have Marcelo's scrolls, don't you? Besides those, Henry-sama and the others, Roberts-sama, and James-sama have their shares, and then there are the fortress's stockpiles—there are a great many scrolls. Use those scrolls to handle recovery if anyone gets injured."
Come to think of it, there was no recovery specialist. Only me.
I had wondered what they usually did, but as expected of royalty, they had plenty of scrolls.
"Jeanne, please ride in James-sama's bowl. Roberts-sama and Gladys-sama will be with you too."
Yes! The premium seats.
"In Eleanor-sama's bowl, Henry-sama and Sir Stephens will ride with two of the attendant knights."
That sounded quite cramped and stuffy; I wondered if Eleanor-sama would be okay. I was worried she might suffocate.
"Is Stephens-san going too?"
"He's the same as you girls. He insisted on going and was uncontrollable."
Well, with that personality, he would go.
"My bowl will take the other three. If you want to come, then come."
"See? I told you, if we go, it's everyone."
"Yeah, yeah."
Beatrix, who had been trying somehow to leave the two behind, seemed to have given up. After all, Dune had said to be careful. In truth, it would probably be better if even I didn't go.
"Sertorian women are amazing."
James-sama muttered as he watched Mary and Lyudmila cheering.
"Nakanohara is special."
Roberts-sama replied, but was that really the case?
I couldn't help but look at Eleanor-sama and Gladys-sama's faces. I didn't think the Capital region or the Eastern Plains were all that different. Come to think of it, the Queen was said to be a former soldier of the Kingdom's army too. If those three were in Nakanohara, I would have certainly been out of the rankings.
"Jeanne. What are you looking at?"
"You look like you want to say something."
"No, it's nothing."
Oh no, oh no. I was called out by both of them at once.
After resting at the fortress for the night, we were to go see the site of the landslide the next morning.
James-sama and Stephens-san were preparing with tense expressions.
"Let's see... thirteen mid-tier Heal scrolls, twenty basic ones, three Tornado Winds, two Teleports, three mid-tier Holys, and six basic ones. Wow, this is incredible. There's even a Resurrection."
Beatrix was counting them, but the scrolls alone seemed worth a fortune.
"There are quite a lot. Stephens, was this you?"
"Of course, Henry-sama. If anything were to happen to all of you, I, Stephens, could not die in peace. Out of sheer regret, I would become a Revenant and wander this area every night."
That would be terrible. Extremely troublesome.
I'll secretly slip in one Purification scroll too.
"If it was going to be like this, we should have brought Catherine."
That might have been the best way. With this lineup plus the Headmistress, they could probably defeat a Demon Lord if one showed up.
"You girls are the rescue team, then. I'm counting on you."
"Leave it to us. We will nurse you very, veeeery gently!"
When Mary winked at James-sama, who had a slightly stiff expression, an old man stepped in between them and caught Mary's wink with his right hand.
"Oh, is that so! I'm counting on you then!"
"Henry! What are you doing at your age! You're getting in the way of her marrying into wealth!"
Seeing everyone, starting with Roberts-sama, burst into laughter, the two delinquent elders made a guts pose.
Mary, perhaps because he'd hit the mark, had a bright red face and stuck her tongue out. James-sama was also smiling brightly, though bashfully.
Before I knew it, everyone was laughing together. People called heroes really are amazing, aren't they?