Chapter 165 - Chapter 13: To Enemy Territory
After resting for about half an hour, we decided to move forward. From here, Harrison-san, dressed as a bear, would also join us.
"Nuoooooooooo!"
As the bowl accelerated, the bear kneeling in front of me let out a massive shout. A nasty sound followed with a 'pfft,' and a foul stench drifted over. It stung my eyes as if he'd eaten onions. My tears weren't just from the acceleration.
"Phew, that was close, close. I almost defecated myself."
As soon as we transitioned to stable flight, he sat cross-legged and laughed loudly.
Give me a break. If you do that right in front of me, I'll pierce right through your mouth with an amplified Holy using the Black Stone.
"Don't go farting right in front of people's noses!"
Beatrix, who was next to him, immediately complained. It seems she didn't take a direct hit, but it wasn't something that could be avoided just by that.
"Sorry, sorry. It's my first time with Flight Magic, you see. I accidentally put strength into my lower abdomen."
I see, his first experience was ultra-high speed. My condolences.
"Garlic and chives are good for the body, so forgive me."
I've never heard of such a health method! No wonder it stinks. If the goblins were here, they would have fainted for sure.
"By the way, Priest Jeanne. You seem to have various companions, but where did you meet them?"
"Harrison. Jeanne is on good terms with the spirits of water, wind, flowers, and birds. Fiona is here because Jeanne became friends with her."
"That's amazing."
"Ah, no, the bird is different. Chururi is just a bird."
Chururi is currently at Dune's place, eating insects on the tree that protects the island. Since she's there too, she might lay eggs when spring comes.
"Is that so? Then the bird is different."
"I see. Even so, it's amazing."
I was quite impressed.
Even if he asked where I met them, it's not something I can say all at once. As I was hesitating, he said, "I have one too," and showed me a ring.
It was a dark brown stone. I thought it was a ring of an earth spirit, but the stone itself was quite small and didn't have a spiral. It seemed different.
"Is that a Stone of Esathon? When on earth did you get that?"
Eleanor-sama bit.
When you say Esathon, is it the one that lives in a hollow of a large tree and grows mushrooms on the corpses of people it's killed?
"No!"
The bear barked. I seemed to have made a mistake again.
"Eleanor-sama, as expected, you know of it. Indeed, it is a Stone of Esathon. Last autumn, in the forest, there was a monster eating up the truffles that were for sale, so when I exterminated it, it came out from nowhere and I received it as a gift."
A monster that eats mushrooms? Is there such a thing?
"It was a giant slug monster as big as a bear. Usually it's in a hole, but it comes out on rainy days, and no matter how much you cut it, no blade passes through. The lord of the forest was having a hard time."
I wouldn't want to meet it. The octopus was bad enough, but I don't even want to see a giant slug.
"How did you defeat it? Holy?"
"No, that's the thing. They've smeared that strange mucus all over their bodies, right? That repels magic. So, I had to get that mucus off."
"Even holy water arrows or silver arrows were no good?"
"Blades just slip on that slime, so neither swords nor spears pass through. Of course, arrowheads too. So I used soapy water."
"Soapy water?"
Beatrix let out a startled voice. Exterminating monsters with soapy water is certainly unusual. I wonder if he put it in a bath and washed its back to get the slime off.
"Indeed. Like this, I soaked a hand towel in soapy water, straddled the slug, and went scrub-scrub with both hands—as if that would happen!"
What is with this old man.
"Harrison is interesting if there's someone to play the straight man."
Eleanor-sama was chuckling. Apparently, he's the type that needs a trigger.
"Soapy water is effective against that kind of monster. Remember that. I poured it over its head, waited for that slimy stuff to come off, and finally crushed its head with my staff."
The bear has a silver staff. It's definitely the Headmistress's influence.
After successfully defeating the slug, Harrison-san apparently protected the Esathon, which was quite weakened from having its mushrooms eaten up, and received the stone as a sign of gratitude. By the way, the reward was apparently ten gold coins. As expected of having a noble as a sponsor. Usually, the lord's people or soldiers under his command exterminate them, so the number of requests isn't as many as rat extermination, but the reward when it comes around is apparently good. They must all be difficult requests.
"What kind of effect does it have?"
Since he specially showed it to me, I asked.
"If you have this, the food you make becomes delicious."
"Really?"
Fiona's eyes sparkled.
"Hoho. Are you interested?"
"Yes. I plan to make food at a shop, but it doesn't seem to go well."
"Then, during this mission, I shall teach you. What, as long as you grasp the knack, it's fine even without a spirit stone."
A ghost and a ghost-exterminating priest are getting along. This too must be because Fiona is a good spirit. Harrison-san looks like 'that,' but he seems to be good at cooking and knew various recipes. He said the knack is the way heat is applied and the amount of salt, and if you keep those in check, there won't be any big failures.
"Wake up soon. We're arriving. We're decelerating, so hold on to the stakes."
While I was resting lying down and leaving the bear's company to Fiona, Wilson-san's instructions came. Looking around, I saw the shadows of mountains illuminated by the moonlight. It seemed we were completely in the mountains. Moreover, the ridgeline was steep. I heard it was north of the target fortress, about an hour away by bowl.
Since Beatrix had chased the source of the foul stench to the very back, it should be fine this time. As expected, a sound like "nuuuuuuuun" was heard. Seeing Paul-san using wind magic, it seems he spread it again.
"Deceleration is also quite something. I thought my stomach would come out of my mouth."
He's a busy person, from both ends. It might be better if he just vomited out his stomach and washed it with soapy water; then the smell of what comes out from below might be better.
"Oh, that's good. If I soak my stomach in soapy water and clean it, even if I pass gas, it will have a faint fragrance—as if that would happen!"
Eleanor-sama was delighted. No, no, I should stop saying careless things.
The meeting point was a field near the top of a mountain, and unlike the break point, there was no mountain hut. No bonfire either. As we landed and watched the situation, an owl hooted three times: "Hoo-hoo-hoo."
When Wilson-san hooted back three times in an irregular pattern—"Hoo-hoo, ho-hoo"—a human shadow illuminated by the moon appeared. It approached just like that.
"Mountain."
The shadow called out.
"River."
Eleanor-sama replied.
That's a pretty cliché password.
"Are you still using that password?"
Harrison-san was half-exasperated. I heard they've used only this one since a long time ago. Won't it be found out by the enemy?
"Since we've already exchanged intentions with the owl hoots earlier, it's fine."
What are they doing it for then?
"Atmosphere. Atmosphere is important for these things."
Eleanor-sama had a dead serious face, but the other person was looking away. I see. It's hard for the one who has to go along with it.
The one who met us wasn't a scout, but the Jaeger Unit.
"Eleanor-sama. Wilson-dono. It's good that you're safe."
"Yeah. How's the progress?"
"We haven't been noticed. Monitoring is continuing. So far, no changes have been seen."
"Then, we'll rest for a bit. The meeting will be after that."
"Are the boars preserved food? There's also one bear."
"He's a monster exterminator, despite how he looks. He's a helper."
"I see. He's disguised himself well."
He was chuckling.
"We're the Marcelo Company. Nice to meet you."
"I've heard of your activities in Nakanohara and the Eastern Plains. I'm expecting great things."
I was surprised that we were known even to the Royal Capital Jaeger Unit. Even so, the capital's unit is refined. Their outfits are like bandits, but their tone is that of Kingdom Army soldiers.
"Oh? It seems we're famous."
"Not bad, eh."
"Well, yeah. We're working a bit hard, after all."
The boar puffed out its chest toward the bear. It's a sight unique to being in the mountains.
"We'll rest over there for a while."
When I looked in the direction Eleanor-sama pointed, there was a rock. There was a gap under the rock, and it seemed we were to crawl in there.
"It's quite narrow, can we get in?"
"It's wider inside."
I see. A secret underground base.
"Hoho. You've made something quite elaborate."
As Harrison-san approached, his figure suddenly vanished.
"Is it an Illusion? Is the rock itself a phantom?"
Paul-san was holding up his hand. It must be magic detection. In other words, Harrison-san went to the other side of the Illusion?
"No. It's a pitfall. You mustn't approach carelessly."
Whaaaaaat!
"If Harrison falls for it, there's no opponent we can't deceive."
Next to Eleanor-sama, a Jaeger was doing a big fist pump.
The bear's hand came out from the ground.
"E-Eleanor-sama. The Jaeger Unit has... i-improved their skills."
"How did you set it up?"
"We dug a pitfall in front of the rock made with Illusion and used Camouflage to make it look like the ground, and then used Magic Reflection to prevent magic detection."
"Since Magic Reflection is holy magic, monsters can never see through it."
Harrison-san is being treated as a monster. In short, he was fooled by the background Illusion just like Paul-san.
"You combined Camouflage and Magic Reflection? Well done. Until now, Harrison had seen through everything, but you've finally struck a blow. I'll tell the Corps Commander to raise your pay."
Seeing them jumping for joy while shouting in the snow, there wasn't a shred of refinement. Bandits are bandits after all.
The actual hideout was far from the Illusion rock, and the entrance to the basement was dug under a real rock. It seems it was built by Hughes-sama's subordinates for reconnaissance of the fortress captured by monsters, and three Jaegers were dispatched in a bowl. The dispatched Jaegers apparently live a self-sufficient life by hunting while continuing their monitoring.
We were shown to a room with a large table and took a break for the time being. Since the floor, walls, and ceiling were all paneled with wood, it was like a mountain hut. Going down into the room, there was a large table and a long bench immediately, a fireplace in the back, and on the left, what must be a bed, with bear fur laid out. They must be around here.
A pot was hanging in the fireplace, and the charcoal was glowing red. Unlike firewood, it produces almost no smoke or soot. It's perfect for a basement. Since the air would get bad, they apparently dug several holes for ventilation as well.
"Are high-level mages also incorporated into the Paratroop Jaeger Unit?"
Paul-san was asking Eleanor-sama. Camouflage is high-level magic. Usually, high-level mages belong to the Magic Corps. Holy mages can be found if you go to a clinic.
"The Paratroop Jaegers participating this time are those selected from each unit. The main part of their mission is to raid enemy positions using Flight Magic. It's true they are mainly Jaegers, but since we aimed to strengthen the offensive side, those incorporated are not limited to that."
Since they are selected Jaegers, I wonder if Jaeger units from Nakanohara or the Eastern Plains are also participating. There might be someone I know.
"What will happen to the conventional Jaegers?"
"We plan for everyone to eventually undergo training and act as Paratroop Jaegers, but for now, we don't have enough bowls. For the time being, we will summon and operate selected soldiers according to the mission, and they will be directly under the King."
When Paul-san asked, Eleanor-sama answered. It seems that while they were researching how to use the bowl with Henry-sama and Wilson-san, the goblin escape operation happened.
"That operation, despite being a very high-difficulty mission of creating and defending a position in front of the enemy, had no deaths. With that success, Paratroop Jaegers became a reality."
Does that mean... that? Were we involved too?
"That's right. The reason we requested your support for this operation to retake the fortress is also because of that previous operation."
"I believe it was initially supposed to be assisting with reconnaissance missions."
That seems to be the talk I was called for when I was in the capital for Fiona's matter.
"That's true. However, as a result of reconnaissance, since there were only monsters, it developed from an extermination mission to even retaking the fortress."
Initially, it seems they were consulted about creating multiple reconnaissance points for monitoring. Camouflage, Teleport, Flight Magic, reconnaissance using animals through goblins or Subordination... the Marcelo Company has them all. Come to think of it, I really belonged to an amazing place.
As dawn broke, after an explanation of the mission here, we were told to sleep. It seems activities are only at night, and they don't even go outside during the day. It's been a while since I lived a life with day and night reversed.
"What about food?"
The gluttonous mage asked.
"Aren't there six boars and one bear?"
No, Wilson-san. That's not it.
"No way. If possible, I'd prefer boar. Bear meat is tough and has a strong smell—hey, don't eat your allies!"
"What are you saying when you switched sides so easily!"
Eleanor-sama laughed, and seeing that, Wilson-san, Beatrix, and Harrison-san were doing fist pumps. When did they establish such coordination... Paul-san was even clapping.
"Don't worry. The Jaeger Unit has secured some. Look, it seems they used the pot you were using to lure out a bear and defeated one. There's also bread, cheese, and turnip pickles, so it'll last for a while. Sleep in peace."
"Okaaaay."
They seemed satisfied that the coordinated technique had landed. Beatrix quietly lay down on the bear fur. After all, we hadn't slept all night. I decided to take them up on their offer and sleep.