Episode 88: To the Beyond…
Midsummer in full swing.
A day with few clouds and strong sunlight.
A visitor came looking for me at my house.
“Excuse me, is Andrews here?”
A firm knock.
Judging by the fact that they didn’t barge in the moment I opened the door, I can tell they have manners that I wouldn’t expect from a Strider.
Well, she is a Strider, though.
“Katrina, good morning.”
Katrina Pascal.
A one-eyed female Knight, formerly of the Royal Guard.
Now, she’s the leader of the Blue Comet, a first-class Strider.
“Good morning, Andrews.”
Katrina returns the greeting. Her upbringing really shows.
Katrina probably dislikes me.
Even if it doesn’t reach the level of hate, she definitely doesn’t like me.
Even so, she doesn’t show it in her attitude, and responds with proper etiquette.
I wonder how many people in this world can do that…
If you just look at the rookie brats in the Striders, you can see that their attitude is generally bad.
The veteran Striders pay me respect because I fought alongside them and showed them my strength.
The townspeople are the same.
The townspeople pay me respect because I’m a citizen with Citizenship, I have money, and I’m an Apothecary.
The amount of respect paid is proportional to the power that person possesses. That’s Medieval Europe.
In such a world, a person who can pay a certain level of respect to anyone, regardless of their position, can be called “noble.”
“Katrina, come in for now.”
“No, I just have a message.”
“But, I can’t just not offer a cup of tea to someone who’s always taking care of me…”
Pfft.
Katrina smiled slightly.
“I don’t like you, but I find your adherence to etiquette to be commendable. You seem to be joking around, but you seem to have had a good upbringing?”
“I get told that a lot.”
“…Just a little. There are things I want to talk about, too.”
“Speaking of tea, something like chilled barley tea would be good in this heat, right? Well-chilled barley tea.”
“I don’t really understand, but… hmm, it’s good. A simple taste. And cold. It’s a lifesaver on a hot day like today.”
I served her barley tea.
And while drinking, we had a little conversation.
“The departure for the expedition has been set for three days from now. Come to the north gate by the morning bell three days from now.”
“Understood. So, it’s still about taking care of the meals?”
“That’s right. Taking care of the meals and treating the injured. When you’re in charge of those two things, the morale is completely different. It’s frustrating that I can’t raise the morale with my own strength, though.”
“That can’t be helped. This isn’t the Royal Palace, it’s the countryside. It’s the Striders who are in command, not the Knights. Morale won’t rise with the Knights’ methods.”
“Even so, I have a responsibility as the leader. …Well, that’s why, if my subordinates say that having a collaborator will raise morale, I need to have the magnanimity to listen to them.”
Yeah…
She’s seriously a well-rounded person.
No, really, it feels like I’ve met a “human being” for the first time in a while. I feel like scattering seeds on my grandpa’s grave.
“No, you’re amazing. I’m not being sarcastic, I’m genuinely impressed. There aren’t many people in the world who can associate with someone they dislike if it’s beneficial. I like people who I can talk to.”
“Is that… should I say thank you? I don’t really like your personality, but your actions are those of a good person. I can say that I like that part of you.”
“I see… Well, even though you’ve become a Strider, your heart is still that of a Royal Knight. You probably dislike frivolous guys like me. That’s fine, as long as you talk to me about work.”
“Yes, that’s right. As for combat, we’ll be protecting you, so just defend yourself. However, as I said beforehand, please prepare the food on your end.”
“Yeah. I received Three Million Lido as an advance, so the preparations are already complete.”
In reality, I got tired of it and decided to cover all the ingredients with crops grown in the ‘Garden’, so the expenses are zero. It’s like a zero-yen cafeteria.
“As per the contract, the reward is also Three Million Lido. It’s not much, but our finances are tight.”
Three Million Lido.
In modern Japan, that’s less than four million yen.
It seems like a high amount for a single business trip, but considering the expenses, it’s definitely cheap.
The cooking is one thing, but it’s a small amount to hire a doctor. After all, doctors… no, Apothecaries, are quite highly paid. Surgeons are one thing, but internal medicine doctors naturally demand a considerable amount.
“I don’t mind, it won’t be hard if I think of it as a trip with a beautiful woman.”
“If you didn’t have that side of you, I could trust you more.”
“I’m acting for the sake of people who like that side of me.”
“You always have an answer for everything! If you didn’t have that…! Well, whatever. For now, let me give you a detailed explanation. First, the destination.”
“Ah, it’s the Frontier Settlement, right?”
“The south side of the Frontier Settlement. In other words, we’ll be based in a small village on the Midford side.”
“A village, huh…?”
“Don’t worry. It’s not even a village yet. Count Missgancia’s plan is to establish this village as a post town, creating a rest stop between here and the Frontier Settlement… or so it seems.”
Well, that makes sense.
The world of Medieval Europe is small.
The speed and difficulty of travel are different from Earth, so long-distance travel is difficult.
Even traveling by carriage isn’t like opening a map and fast-traveling, or an easy means of transportation like a train.
You have to stop regularly to rest the horses, respond to attacks, and think about the horses’ food and water… so you can’t just casually go on long trips.
Therefore, maintaining roads, patrolling soldiers, and establishing post towns as rest stops… was one of the important tasks of the ruler.
…But again, if you maintain the roads too well, it becomes easier to invade, so there’s also a Warring States element to it. Count Missgancia seems to be thinking about various things and having a hard time (not my problem).
“This village has only recently been leveled, and they’ve just started building structures. However, there aren’t any buildings that can accommodate all of us from the Blue Comet yet. Inevitably, we’ll have to live in tents.”
“I see, so I should bring a tent, too.”
“That’s right. Oh, of course, we’ll provide our own tents. You just need to bring food, the tools you need for medical treatment, and your weapons. As for water, there’s a branch of the Promelos River near the village.”
“What about fuel?”
“We’ll bring firewood. We’ve prepared enough for cooking and boiling water for daily life.”
So, I can’t take a bath…
In that case, I have to bring a bathtub and Heater’s Demon Sword.
Ah, Heater’s Demon Sword is a fun Magic Item that I made by processing the broken Fire Demon Sword… or so it’s set up to be.
Originally, it was a “Demon Sword that generates heat when Magical Power is channeled into it,” but since it was broken and unusable, I’m using it as an “item that creates hot water when submerged in water and Magical Power is channeled into it”… or something like that.
I’m a Japanese person who cares about hygiene, so I want to take a bath and wash my hair every day.
Climatically, this is dry and cool Europe, so you don’t need to take a bath every day, and there’s no one who takes a bath every day, but that’s beside the point.
I mean, purely speaking, being hygienic makes you popular.
The people around here, even the nobles, don’t really soak in hot water every day. The bar is low, in other words.
I wash my hair every day with scented Soap, so I look clean and smell good, which makes me very popular.
“I understand about the fuel and water. I’ll bring my own tent. How long will it be?”
“I’d like you to consider about a month. There’s also travel time.”
“Anything else I need?”
“Nothing in particular. Just prepare for camping as usual. You’re used to it, right?”
Well, I did a lot of traveling when I was younger. Both in my previous life and in this one.
…And so, I discussed the expedition plan with Katrina.
The expedition is about to begin…