Gathering Companions II
“Hmm…”
“Are you dissatisfied?”
“No? If it’s your decision, I have no intention of denying it. Besides, as a former Attendant Knight and former Knight Captain, I have no doubts about your abilities.”
“…Is that so? That’s unexpected.”
“Is it about the rumors? Well, I admit that in the past, I might have avoided such things, but thinking it over, I have no intention of being swayed by rumors that I know for a fact are untrue.”
After bringing the former knight Stella into the fold, she left to handle various preparations and to bring along someone from the Knight Order’s financial department. In her place, Fana returned after finishing her report about the discovery of a group of demons. While listening to the results, I informed her that Stella had joined our ranks.
As for the report to the Knight Order, they mentioned that they would quickly organize personnel and mobilize, and that they had another matter they wanted to ask us about, so they requested we leave the demon group incident to them. Regarding that other matter, they would contact us later with a formal request from either the Knight Commander or the King.
“Moreover, I personally wanted capable companions as well.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. It’s not that I’m struggling in battle, but I wanted someone who could keep watch during the night and handle any monsters that might attack.”
“I see… If you had told me, I could have taken your shift.”
“No, I wanted you to take a break.”
“Huh?”
“To put it plainly, I want you to rest properly. Just because you fainted doesn’t mean you can rest, and relying on potions to relieve fatigue isn’t trustworthy; it will only shorten your life. Well, I suppose I shouldn’t be the one saying that since I was the one who first pushed you to do it.”
“…Hmm… Then I’ll rely on you a bit more.”
“Yeah, count on me. Even against someone equivalent to a Demon Lord’s Army Executive, I can handle it alone.”
“Ah, that’s true.”
I see… I had been putting too much pressure on her. I didn’t think it was particularly tough or burdensome, and in reality, just downing a couple of high-grade potions would wipe away most of my fatigue. Still, I don’t want to pressure her unnecessarily. Given that I would have to gather more companions, especially for meetings with nobles or to serve as decoys or sacrifices, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for her to start learning to rely on others. If she turns out to be useless, I can always cut her loose at an appropriate time.
“By the way…”
“Hm? What is it?”
“How many do you plan to gather? You don’t intend to bring just one companion, do you?”
“Well… maybe one or two more, at most three. It wouldn’t be good to have too many, and there aren’t that many who seem immediately useful.”
“I see… By the way, what kind of criteria are you looking for?”
“Hmm…”
Since I mainly want to deal with nobles, for the night watch, I would want at least someone capable of taking down a High-rank demon on their own. However, if they are that capable, they are likely already affiliated with someone. In that case… I would want someone who can gain an advantage against Mid-rank demons and can buy us some time against High-rank demons while also being able to escape. Alternatively, someone specialized in close combat would be acceptable as well; both Fana and I lack experience in personal combat, so if they can cover that aspect, I would be willing to overlook some shortcomings.
“Thinking it over lightly, I would want at least the ability to take down a Mid-rank demon on their own. Considering the hypothetical enemies that would attack after seeing me and Fana, if they don’t have at least that much ability, they would literally be disposable.”
“Indeed, that much is necessary… What about mages?”
“Is it necessary? If they can handle continent-wide spells of all attributes, then they would be useful, but otherwise, they would be more of a hindrance. Besides, if we have time to cast a spell, it would be quicker for either you or me to close in and strike.”
“…Now that you mention it, that’s true. So, what we need is someone focused on close combat, and perhaps someone who can scout?”
“Ah, that’s a possibility. I hadn’t considered that since we hadn’t taken that approach, but thinking about it, it would be wise to have such abilities, especially since we might face opponents other than demons in the future.”
“Right. And what else… maybe a pack mule, an apothecary, or an alchemist?”
“I had considered bringing in those types as well, but we can’t exactly drag them around the battlefield, can we? Even if we could, we’d have to allocate resources to protect them, which would create a weakness.”
“Ah, that’s true. I thought if we could gather those kinds of people, we could immediately provide treatment right after large-scale battles.”
“That might be good, but personally, I would prefer to avoid it.”
“Huh?”
While immediate treatment is beneficial, it also means that we might hesitate to avoid injuries in battle. I mean, I still think I can take a hit and counterattack, but having treatment available could lead to a sense of complacency, thinking that we could survive even fatal wounds.
Considering that, it might have been a blessing that the Saint wasn’t cooperative; because my allies are unreliable, I’ve developed a style that instinctively avoids taking fatal damage. However, if we were to bring in someone capable of healing, it could disrupt that style. Worst case, we might end up taking hits to the head, heart, side, or thigh, thinking that we could just be healed afterward.
“Having immediate access to healing might only serve as a hindrance as we navigate through life-and-death situations.”
“Hmm, I see… I don’t quite understand, but if you say so, then it must be true.”
“…I think you should be a bit more skeptical.”
“Why? I’m not the kind of person who can think that far ahead. To be honest, I’m a bit of a fool when it comes to anything outside of the skills I’ve acquired. You have a far better grasp of what we should do in the long run, and besides, what we’ve done so far has been correct.”
“…Well, fine. By the way, do you have any leads on capable individuals who are currently free? I have none at all.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t know anyone either.”
“I see…”
“Yeah…”
…Well, it can’t be helped. After all, Fana has been active in this area for five years, and I haven’t been here at all; I’ve been out fighting the Demon Lord’s Army. It’s understandable that we wouldn’t know anyone, and even if we did, after five years, they might already be affiliated with someone, retired due to injuries, or worse.
…Why do I only know people like that? I never participated in any parties during my time as a hero, and even when nobles invited me, I would just chat briefly before heading out on my journey.
“Ugh… Oh, speaking of which, there’s that place.”
“That place?”
“The slave market. A place where you can buy people with money.”
“The slave market? The place that sometimes sells people with debts?”
“Yeah, but what I’m talking about isn’t the front side where they mainly sell the unemployed, homeless, or those with debts. It’s the back side, where they handle slaves who can’t be sold publicly for various reasons. I don’t particularly like that place, but it might be worth checking out for hidden gems.”
“Hmm, slaves… But in such places, it’s often difficult to find someone who isn’t injured or missing limbs, right? Considering that our top priority is strengthening our forces, I think that could be quite a concern.”
“I don’t think that’s an issue.”
“…?”
“By the way, have you never used the church’s healing magic?”
“…What do you mean?”
“Compared to regular treatment at a clinic, it costs more, and it typically doesn’t address mental aspects, but if it can, it can handle everything from regrowing severed limbs to restoring lost organs as long as the person isn’t dead.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yeah, I relied on it quite a bit in the past.”
“I see…”
…Now that I think about it, I’ve seen people who had lost arms or legs on the battlefield the day before, only to be back in action the next day with their limbs restored, not even prosthetics.
So, that was the work of the church’s healing magic… They looked fine and were fighting as if nothing had happened, so if that’s the case, then missing limbs wouldn’t be a problem.
I don’t have nearly enough money for treatment, but I suppose I could take on some requests or hunt some monsters and sell their materials to cover it.
“Well, if that’s the case, then it should be fine. Let’s check with Stella to see if she has any leads and whether buying a slave would be an issue before we move forward.”
“Right, if we’re going to bring someone in, we can’t just decide that on our own… Since we have some time until we return, how about we spar a bit?”
“…I think I’ll pass. It feels like that would just lead to more things to compensate for.”
“Huh? I think it would be fine as long as we don’t go all out…”
“Even if we say it’s light, we might end up getting carried away and start going all out. At least, that’s happened several times before. Let’s just practice some swings and think about what we want to ask of each other.”
“I see… Then I’ll just practice some swings.”
“Make sure to do it a bit away from me.”
“Ah, of course. I have no intention of dragging you into it.”