Chapter 89: A Place Beyond My Reach
For now, I decided not to reveal the reason and told Ash to encourage Chris to call him by name.
A butler is a butler, so it’s fine. In my heart, I still think of him as a butler. His appearance and demeanor are just too butler-like to ignore.
Chris, the man with wild instincts. The fact that he’s unaware of it makes things tricky. If I tell him the reason and ask him to stop calling me by name, it would mean revealing that I can see Spirits. But then again, it feels unfair that I’m the only one holding secrets…
No, if he doesn’t know, then it’s not really a secret, is it? Retze, what do you want me to do!? —Ah, I can almost hear him laughing, urging me to ponder.
It seems that those who don’t get called by name are likely to be able to see Spirits. I tried to bait him with that. With this, it seems I’ve confirmed Chris’s abilities, and Retze is laughing at me. I’m completely in Retze’s palm; I guess it’s a matter of life experience. He doesn’t have that beard for nothing.
Since I have some time before Chris returns, I’ll set my worries aside. I’ll tend to the fields, name the Spirits along the route from the Fortress City to the Forest, ask for their cooperation, slack off at the Library, and play with Rishu.
It took a bit longer than the rented house, but during that time, the house on Gray Fox’s Back Street officially became mine. I also managed to arrange for the sewer construction early through the connections I made when I first explained the structure to the shop, so I need to think about renovations.
First, should I rent it out? An empty house in this crowded city stands out, so if I can rent it, it’s better to do so. I can ask the Merchant Guild to introduce me to someone who deals with real estate, so it won’t be obvious that I’m the landlord.
Next is who to rent it to, but since I work from home, I think I’ll eliminate the workshop on the first floor. I added a back entrance, so there’s no need to go through the alley, but just to be safe. —The location is perfect for attracting Adventurers.
For now, I’ll take my time until Rosa and the others of Gold Rank move.
Adventurers who left the Fortress City had already begun hunting deep in the Forest. I received word from Kanum’s Guild that they skipped the investigation and started recruiting for a Subjugation Squad. It seems a detachment from the castle is also participating, splitting into two groups with the Adventurers.
The Fortress City is more developed, but with the Lord’s significant power and many soldiers, I don’t want to linger here too long, especially since I’m aware of my suspicious presence. Entering as a Free Knight with the status provided means I’d have to go through the trouble of greeting the Lord.
After all, I’m technically a lord of a territory, the master of a castle. Though I have no subjects. Instead, it feels like the Spirits wandering around are growing… Why is Rishu still a puppy, though?
While I ponder, I use [Exploration] to search for the Subjugation Squad. A wide river flows from the Fortress to the Forest, the main stream of the river that runs through Kanum. I thought they would be going upstream, but there’s no forest around the river.
They can transport things by boat, and I get that they’d be logging from the river’s edge. That fortress might have been the frontline when they were clearing the forest, but now it’s a bit far from the woods. It must have originally been in the forest.
I slash at a large owl that swoops down to attack and move deeper into the woods, relying on my instincts. I know the direction, but the trees are dense, and there are uneven ground levels, so I can’t take the shortest route and have to run around.
I want to use [Teleportation], but the Demon Beasts are starting to cluster. It feels like I’m becoming the hunted instead of the hunter.
Roots, crumbling rocks, slippery grass. My heart races as I struggle to move as I wish.
A pack of two-horned gray wolves, five three-horned badgers, owls, bats—are they about to flood? The Demon Beasts, ignoring their fallen comrades, run in the same direction as me.
What’s leading the pack?
A pitch-black bear, with six human presences ahead. Indistinct shouts and roars, the sound of metal clashing, the bear stands up and raises its arms to strike.
I slice the bear in half, cleaving it down the middle. Excuse me from behind.
The bear collapses, split from its skull down to the ground, revealing a group of armored individuals, their armor dented and battered, supporting each other. Their matching attire clearly indicates they’re from the detachment.
As the bear falls, the presence that was heading straight for me suddenly loses momentum and scatters. Some are still coming toward me, but they’ve clearly lost their direction.
Despite the Fortress City having many soldiers and Adventurers, it seems they send out investigation teams less frequently than Kanum does. I recall Kaina from the Adventurer’s Guild worrying about this.
Normally, I’d expect to receive reports of signs of flooding from the Fortress City, but perhaps due to the thick walls and soldiers guarding it, they’ve been rather lax regarding the Demon Beasts in the Forest lately. After all, it’s a bit far from the woods.
“Don’t let your guard down.”
I sheathe my sword and cast [Healing] on the two who look severely injured. One is lying on the ground in a pool of blood, and the other has had their chest torn apart along with their armor. The armor is like paper; bears are terrifying.
“Ah… ah…”
“Who are you… no, thank you.”
“Squad Leader! Stay strong!!”
“Wooooo! Squad Leader!!!”
“I… I… I’m so useless!”
…
I returned using [Teleportation].
I thanked the Spirits who worked hard to keep my hood from falling and my hem from flipping up while I was running around, and I treated them to their favorite foods, marking the end of today’s mission.