Chapter 47
Chapter 47 Part 1: That time when I was stationed to help with the defenses but was actually the one in charge of odd jobs
TL: kizen
ED: Filip
I’m being openly hara.s.sed.
I was made to clean up the corpses in the moat by myself.
I had to make temporary repairs to the wall that was damaged by the catapult all by myself.
I checked the water channel leading to the moat was clogged up all by myself.
There was no one to change s.h.i.+fts with when I had to stand watch at night.
I couldn’t even go to sleep the next day since I had to sort stuff out in the warehouse.
And let’s not forget that they’re not even giving me proper meals.
I wrote a detailed account of these things in my diary.
-1st entry-
3 days since we defeated the humans surrounding the fort
I woke up early, ate the same dull breakfast, then was a.s.signed to clean up the moat. After pulling out the sunk corpses out of the moat using my waterball, I extracted the arrows from their bodies, stripped off their armor, place them on a cart, then threw them in the area where we burned the other corpses the other day. I still need them to dry up so after piling them up, I moved on to repairing the damaged rampart.
I kneaded a mudball with just gravel and regular mud. I used that to fill in the holes located at different places of the rampart as temporary measures for the rain and the wind. They forced this task on to me by saying.
「You’re just hired help so you do it. We soldiers need to be prepared since we don’t know when the enemy will attack after all. And besides, your pay is already decided so shouldn’t you work for it?」
The person himself brazenly said that in my face so I reluctantly agreed.
What about the prisoners you say? Unfortunately, since they’ve already completed their job, they already went back together with Yaoul-san and the others two days after the goods were delivered.
Although the cat-eared old man’s wound was just starting to close, he was forcibly taken with them. Even most of the prost.i.tutes went back home. Only those who want to earn a bit more have remained in the front lines. The others took advantage of the carriage carrying the injured to go home so there are only a few of them left.
That’s the reason why the task of disposing of the dead bodies was left to me. Keith has good eyesight so he was sent to the highest part of the fort as a lookout.
What’s with this overwhelming sense of unfairness? Isn’t this comparable to the black companies in my previous life? Well, I guess working in one of those companies would be better than going to the front lines.
I looked at the sun by chance while I was immersed in my work and noticed that lunchtime had ended a long time ago but I wasn’t called to eat. What the h.e.l.l? No matter how you put it, this is making me want to start my own one-man rebellion.
It still took them about an hour before I was called. When I got to the mess hall, they looked pretty irritated while giving me a cold soup that doesn’t have anything left in it, hard baked bread, and dried meat. Since it’s already cold, I held the cup of soup in one hand and produced 【Fire】 in the other to heat it up before drinking it and eating the rest of my lunch.
It seems like they only give me my share after the soldiers have finished. Are they treating me like this because the unit who brought me is no longer here? I wouldn’t be complaining if I at least have some help but since there’s none I would like to say at least one. I’ll just make sure to write everything down on a memo pad I’m using as a journal so I won’t forget.
I also had to dispose of the corpses in the afternoon. Starting from the gate, I moved to the left going around removing the bodies from the moat. While I was doing that, I looked up and saw a familiar fox tail. It’s the fox-eared prost.i.tute. So she didn’t leave… While I was thinking that, she smiled and waved at me so I did the same in return. That gave me some of my motivation back.
Once evening came, I was able to finish cleaning up the corpses in the front and the left side of the moat. It’s been a while since I felt this worn out from using up my magic. I was exhausted but as I thought, when I was called for dinner, I was still given the same treatment as earlier. To distract me from my exhaustion and annoyance, I’ll just drink tea with brown sugar in it.
By the way, since they said there were no vacant rooms left, I’m just sleeping under the stairs so that I won’t get in the way.
-2nd entry-
4 days since we defeated the humans surrounding the fort
While I was drinking tea last night, I received the announcement 【Mana Increase: 2】. Did it go up because I used up my mana yesterday? How much do I usually use anyway? I’m not really sure.
I pretty much did the same work as yesterday. If I had to say what was different, I guess I no longer had to repair the wall since I already finished that yesterday.
The corpses I gathered yesterday had already dried up so I tried asking for oil or something to use as an accelerant but they just told me:
「You can use magic so do it with magic. Don’t waste oil」
「Even if it’s dry outside, there’s still a lot of water inside so that would be impossible」
We continued arguing about that till the sun had already set half way.
After that, I continued disposing of the dead bodies inside of the waterway until evening. Like I had expected, I was only called after all of the soldiers have eaten and it was still the same cold soup as yesterday. I was also given the same hard baked bread and dried meat.
Since I didn’t use up my magic today, I went to talk with Keith. It seems like that guy gets called at the same time as the soldiers and receives warm soup.
Seriously, why am I the only one treated like this?
-3rd entry-
5 days since we defeated the humans surrounding the fort
「The humans blocked the water ca.n.a.l at the back of the fort so clean water doesn’t flow into the moat. It might smell because of the stuff that collected there but it can’t be helped, go and clean it up!」
I was some typical sounding stuff like that. It didn’t bother me since I was planning to head there the day before anyway. Since I don’t trust those guys, I’ll just bring all of my luggage with me.
I walked for a while until I saw a river. A large amount of sediment has acc.u.mulated there blocking the water supply. I used magic to clear it off and after confirming that there’s nothing that’s preventing the water from flowing, I decided to head back. I’ll just walk slowly though so that the soldiers are already done eating by the time I’m back.
Is it because it’s already autumn? There’s a fruit that looks like a mandarin orange growing near the river so I took some with me to eat. I’ll just eat these as a source of vitamins.
I would have squeezed out its juices if I had some empty bottles with me but unfortunately, the only bottles I have already contain distilled liquor and oil so I’ll just have to give up on that. If this was like my previous world, I could have just reused the PET bottles lying by the river. I guess I’ll also bring the peel with me so that I can dry it and make herb tea.
I’m sure I’ll get the same cold soup again so I’ll just make tea beforehand. When I got back, I found out that I was being accused by the of pilfering the warehouse goods by the bald mouse-looking guy. It’s a good thing that I didn’t get my turn guarding it so they didn’t have anything against me.1
-4th entry-
6 days after we defeated the humans surrounding the fort
They’re still trying to mark me as a thief.
They’ve been calling me out for everything and keep on pus.h.i.+ng random work to me.
Keith also thought it was strange so he tried to talk with the soldiers but that didn’t do anything. Although I think it would be nice if I get sent home, I’m not willing to do that at any cost.
□2
The guys finally stopped trying to mess with me so I was able to go stand watch with Keith.
「Iyaー, you can see pretty far away after all」
「Yeah, the vision you get here is the best」
「Shall we do our magic lessons then?」
「Oi oi, weren’t you completely overworked up until now? You should just make this a day where you don’t use magic」
Why are you trying to ask me to take a day off all of a sudden?
「Well, I just considered that as training. If you don’t do that then you won’t be able to master anything」
「……I guess that’s true」
I just did as he said and sat on top of the tower cross-legged to try and come up with ideas. I thought of things and decided to create some kind of scope. An actual scope’s internal structure is complex so I guess I should just go with something a bit simpler.
First, I need to make the objective lens. With magic, I produced 【Fluorite】 and shaped in an ellipse. Ahー, it’s starting to look like a magnifying gla.s.s. It’s also showing everything in reverse. Next would be the erecting lens that makes the image upright. The reticle is added to this part. After that is the ocular lens which makes the image visible to the shooter. What should I do about the reticle I wonder?
『Image ・ a red cross of light in the erecting lens ・ with red lines at fixed intervals below the center line ・ execute』
「Ah, it appeared. It looks exactly the same as the line you’d see when looking through a scope or ACOG」
I said that out loud without thinking. Well then, I guess I should try looking through it.
「Ahー, it’s not coming into focus」
Because of that, I tried moving it around to fix it. While I’m at it, I also encased the scope in obsidian. Once it’s showing the image properly, it’s done.
「What are you doing?」
「It’s still a secret」
After saying that, I took two thick logs and went outside then drove them in the ground until it was the same height as me and at 400 and 600 meters away from the gate.
「Hey, I’m back」
「I’ve been looking at you for a while now. What the heck were you doing?」
I decided to go all out and share with him my game knowledge.
「As a bow user, are you aware of a bird called falcon?」
「Yeah. It’s a famous bird for having good eyesight. It’ll be able to see a mouse in the ground even though it’s usually flying high in the sky」
「Then this would be easier to explain」
After saying that, I handed over the scope I made with magic earlier to him.
「Try looking through that」
Keith gave me a weird look as he tried peeking through the scope but it immediately changed into a look of disbelief.
「What’s this…… What the heck is this!?」
「Let me explain. You see this small fine sand grains here?」
While saying that, I showed him the sand I gathered on my hand.
「Yeah」
「What happens if you look at this using this crystal made of fluorite?」
「It looks bigger」
「What about if you hold it like I did earlier?」
「Everything is upside down」
「It’s upside down right now but if you add this 」
After saying that, I made Keith look through it with the erecting lens.
「It’s upright now」
「It can even make farther objects look even bigger if you add this plate-like crystal」
「No way…… You can see things at a distance clearly……」
「That’s what this is for」
After saying that, I handed the scope again to him.
「Those floating crystals you showed me are inside of this right?」
「That’s right」
「What about this line?」
「That is what indicates the center of what you are looking at」
「What about the lines at the bottom?」
「You saw those logs I propped up right? The first one is 400 paces away so if you align the top of the log with the long horizontal line, the center should be at the 2nd line from the top」
「Yeah」
「If you do the same with the other one at 600 paces away, the center should align with the 3rd third line from the top」
「That’s true……」
「It basically lets you know how far your target is」345
「………it disappeared」
「I made that with magic so it would disappear once it runs out」
「What’s with that!」
I created two【Obsidian Knives】 and placed it on the ground.
「To put it simply, for some reason, things that are produced out of nothing using magic would eventually disappear. It does that even quicker if it receives any impact」
After saying that, I took one of the knives and used it to hit the ground. After doing that 4 to 5 times, the knife disappeared into thin air.
「It would disappear immediately if it received a strong blow so you can only use this to defend against a sword or axe once. Even if we just leave this lying here in the ground, it would eventually disappear after a while」6
「No s.h.i.+t! Can you make me one?」7
「Well, do you have crystals and transparent fluorite as well as a way to polish it while making sure that it doesn’t break?」
「If it’s someone from the dwarf race then……」
「It’s probably impossible right? Even if they can make it, wouldn’t it be really expensive? Wouldn’t it be better if you just learned magic?」
「Hmmー…… I’ll think about it」
「Just let me know whenever you’ve made your decision. You should remember that if you do decide to learn it, you’ll be able to make these things even when I’m not around」
After that, I decided to test out the scope.
「Keith, don’t tell anyone about the magic you’ll see here. Do you swear on whatever G.o.d’s name you believe in or to your parents or a respected master?」
「What the h.e.l.l are you talking about?」
「Just say whether you’ll swear or not」
I said that in a serious tone instead of my usual light-hearted one.
「I don’t know」
「I see. Well whatever, just keep looking at those logs」
I produced a stone bullet while Keith wasn’t looking then tried looking at the flags hoisted on the corners of the rampart to check the wind direction. Since it doesn’t look like there’s wind blowing, I guess I’ll just aim my dot sight at the center of the log then.
I hit it. I don’t know exactly where but I can see that my shot caused the log break in two. I hit it just a bit below the center point I guess.
「What was that?」
「I used my magic to hit it」
「Even though I didn’t see you cast anything?」
「Oh but I did. Anyway, next will hitting the next one」
The bullet dropped a bit when I aimed at the center of the log at 400 meters away so this time, I’ll try aiming near the top. This log’s height is quite smaller than the one at 400 meters so I placed my left hand on my right shoulder, and my forearm on my cheek as a makes.h.i.+ft gun stock. After that, I looked through the scope, aimed at the log then took deep breaths.
Suuーーーー Haaーーー. Suuーーー Ha
After the last exhale, I held my breath, counted for 10 heartbeats, then launched my 【Stone bullet】.
This time, I was able to hit the center. Good thing I didn’t miss.
「How are you doing that!? The log broke again!」
「You can just say that I hit it using magic but at the same time, you could also say that I’m not actually hitting it with magic」
After saying that, I got up and brushed off the dust on my clothes.
「Well, I guess it’s just like an arrow you can’t see. Now let’s go eat our lunch. I’ll probably get warm soup if I’m together with Keith」
「……sure」
As we were about to go to receive our meal, the bald mouse approached us said.
「Caam, you’re still on watch. Go back!」
Hearing that, Keith replied to oppose him.
「Let me go back then. Caam, you can just go ahead and eat before me」
After that, the bald mouse just stormed off with his face reddened.
「Haa…… What should we do with this blatant hara.s.sment?」
「Don’t worry about me. Thanks for your concern」
It’s been a while since I was able to have a filling and warm soup without me having to heat it so I immediately poured it into my stomach. It has been decided that Keith will be the one to change with me.
□
「Caam, you will be on lookout tonight! We don’t have anybody to switch with you so you’ll have to work hard till morning! Make sure you don’t miss anything!」
The other soldiers were looking at me like they’re looking at a crook.
Keith looked like he wanted to say something but I looked him in the eye while shaking my head to convey to him that he shouldn’t bother.
This guy…… I could poison or a.s.sa.s.sinate him but I can’t since I would immediately get blamed. I guess I’ll just do it even though I don’t want to.
While thinking that, I went to the highest point of the fort to come up with even more ideas for my new scope magic. I know the theory behind infrared and night-vision scopes but I’m not sure what image I have to use. Because of that, those will just have to wait until I manage to come up with an idea.
I wonder why I’m suddenly getting a.s.signed to stand watch at night without any relief.
-5th entry-
7 days since we defeated the humans surrounding the fort
I was up all night so I’m really sleepy. However, I’m not able to sleep because I’m stuck with sorting out the items in the storage room. They probably intended for me not to sleep. I’m currently at my wit’s end right now because, at this rate, I’m going to be forced to stand watch tonight as well.
It’s night time and as expected, I was ordered to stand watch.
There’s no way I wouldn’t get mad after all of that so I took some of those plants that cause addition when smoked, shredded them, then I snuck into that guy’s room in the middle of the night. Once there, I lit up the leaves, blew on it until it smoke came out, then left it under his bed. It wasn’t hard to do that since he didn’t lock his door and there were no witnesses either.
-6th entry-
8 days after we defeated the humans surrounding the fort.
The other soldiers looked like they were starting to worry about me but they still didn’t say anything. They would probably get in trouble if they did.
I’m starting to feel like the taste of the dried meat they’re giving me is getting thinner.
As usual, they didn’t call me for lunch while I was standing watch, but this time, they didn’t even give me bread when I went there myself. Keith was really angry at that but I just didn’t think about it.
Before I noticed, it was already evening.
Keith came over to tell me to sleep so I just did as he said. My head is starting to hurt.
By the way, as dawn was starting to creep in, a certain room was once again being filled thick smoke.
Chapter 47 Part 2: That time when I was stationed to help with the defenses but was actually the one in charge of odd jobs
TL: kizen
ED: Filip
Seventh entry
9 days after we defeated the humans who were attacking the fort.
Cravatte-sama came to the fort to lift up the soldiers’ morale.
In order to avoid me telling on the unreasonable demands he pushed on to me, the bald mouse immediately approached him and in order to converse privately with the lord of the castle, the two of them entered a room. After that, he still continued following Cravatte-sama no matter where he goes.
I wonder if anyone will tell him about my situation?
Well, whatever. I’ll just go to the top of the tower.
□[ED: Cravatte’s PoV]
「Where is Caam-kun right now?」
「 Caam is currently standing watch at the highest point of the fort」
「I see. Let’s go there」
「No no, let us have somebody call Caam here…… It would be dangerous for you to go all the way there and your clothes are going to get dirty as well」
「I don’t mind. Things would get dirty if you use them after all. It’s just a matter of what degree」
After saying that, I asked a soldier nearby to lead me there but he interrupted.
「Let me lead you there then」
I then followed bald mouse-looking fellow until we reached the stairs.
「Up here?」
「Yes. However, it would be dangerous so we will just have him come here」
「I don’t mind. I want to see the scenery from up there」
It seems like this fellow is up to something……
「But…」
「Don’t make me repeat myself」
After saying that, I started climbing the stairs.
□[ED: and it’s back]
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Even though my head hurts due to the lack of sleep, I still diligently wrote stuff in my journal while mumbling complaints. As I was absentmindedly looking at the surroundings, I heard someone climbing the stairs. Is that Keith?
「Hey, Caam-kun. What a wonderful view you have here」
「Cravatte-sama!」
I stood up and straightened my posture.
「There’s no need for t.i.tles. There’s n.o.body else here and they won’t hear us down there」
「Ahー, okay. I understand」
He still wants me to be less formal as expected but he didn’t have that carefree att.i.tude he had when we first met. Is it because he’s currently in the battlefield?
「I overheard your complaints earlier. Is there somebody hara.s.sing you?」
「Ahー, you could tell? That high-handed bald mouse-looking guy keeps on making me do unreasonable tasks」
「What do you mean?」
「Ahー, it would bothersome if I explain everything by mouth so I’ll just give you this」
I can’t really explain stuff properly in my current condition anyway so I just showed him the stuff I’ve been writing these past few days. As he turned the pages to my journal, his expression kept on getting warped.
「Is all of these true?」
「Yes. There are still some that I left out of there. Do you want to hear it?」
「No, if it’s disadvantageous to you then it’s fine」
「Okay then. Why did you come all the way here? Are you here to raise the soldiers’ morale?」
「Hmー, I haven’t heard anything about you in the reports so I just thought it was strange how it’s written like you weren’t taking an active part in anything. Want to see it?」
「Sure」
After saying that, he took out some fine quality paper.
From what was written there, they made it seem like the forest attack didn’t happen and the goods were just safely delivered. The catapult was also defeated just by the combined effort of the soldiers. They even said that it was prisoners that disobeyed orders and pushed too far who eliminated the humans flanking behind. My mood just kept getting worse as I skimmed through the pages.
「Ahー, I also heard about what happened from the rumors being spread by the prost.i.tutes who came back. They said that someone used magic to defeat the catapult even though there were no magicians inside of the fort. They also said that the soldiers split up in order to attack the right and left side but due to that, they were late in a.s.sisting the heavily bombarded right side. It seemed like the humans were already annihilated when the prisoner unit finally reached that area though. You also helped in saving the injured soldiers. Those were all of the things I heard from the prost.i.tutes who came back you know?」
Well, you’d get anywhere quicker if you aren’t marching together with an army after all.
「I’ve heard this from five different sources but is what I said accurate?」
「Yes. That’s pretty much it」
「I see. I understand. For now, you should come with me. I’ll be going down first. Ahー, by the way, I heard that even with all the soldiers in this fort gathered, it would take them 3 days to clear the corpses in the moat. However, it seems like Caam-kun was able to do that while repairing the walls at the same time within just two days」
After saying that, he didn’t wait for my reply and just descended the stairs.
「Welcome back. How was the view?」
「Aa, it was the best. You have an extensive view of the surroundings up there and you’d immediately find out whenever an enemy is approaching」
「Caam, you’re still on duty. Go back」
Seeing me come down, the bald mouse said that in a different tone than usual. It feels like he’s making me out as the bad guy.
「I asked him to come with me. You should come too, Gebiss-kun 」
With that said, we entered a place that looks like a council room. Cravatte-sama sat at the head of the table meanwhile, I and Gebiss sat opposite of each other. After that, he called out to one of the soldiers guarding the door and said.
「Ahー, you over there. Tell Keith-kun and the fox-eared prost.i.tute to come here. Bring with you five soldiers and one combat medic who doesn’t seem to busy as well」
「Understood!」
After saying that, the soldier immediately left.
Seeing that, the bald mouse started to get a bit anxious. A while later, the five soldiers, a combat medic, the fox-eared woman from that time, and Keith entered the conference room one by one.
「It seems like all members are here. I have something I want to ask all of you. It concerns how Caam-kun over here has been treated recently. It seems to me like he has been experiencing terrible, terrible injustice but what does everyone think about that?
「I agree. They make sure that he’s the last one to eat and is purposely given soup that’s pretty much just water. There’s also the fact that it’s already cold when he receives it. There was even one time where he was made to skip his meals. He also had to clean up the moat and repair the walls all by himself」
Keith, thank you. I guess I’ll give you a bit of sake tonight.
「Umu. I also want to hear the other soldiers’ opinions」
After Cravatte-sama said that, everyone just looked at each other’s faced unable to speak.
Then, the soldier who was looking at me with concern during that one mealtime finally said something.
「It wasn’t a mistake, even I saw it myself!」
「Hey」
Hearing that, the others around him said that in a low voice. I guess that confirms that they’re being forbidden to speak.
「Well then, what about the combat medics? It seems like Caam-kun was able to a.s.sist you with various things, however, none of that is written in this report. Based on a rumor from a reliable source, didn’t you get your supply of hot water to use in curing the wounds of the injured soldiers from him? It seems like that hot water also benefited the members of the prisoner unit who wanted to wash their bodies」
After saying that, he took out the report and placed it on the table.
「Yes, that is correct. It was I who asked Caam-san to give us some hot water after all. We were given an order to only treat the prisoners last so I saw him cure a prisoner with his own potion. He might have been someone he knew but we didn’t think that prisoner would make it.」
Ahー, so he was that guy. I was mad at that time so I didn’t really see his face clearly.
「Hou……」
After uttering that, he dipped his quill pen in ink then started writing something.
「Well then, how about the fox-eared Ojou-san? According to the rumors, we were only able to prevent the humans’ surprise attack due to Caam-kun discovering it. Is it also true that he prevented our troops from being attacked inside the forest because he defeated the humans hiding there?」
「Yes. I saw him entering the forest covered in gra.s.s while we were inside our carriage. He came to our tent to buy our services that night so I remember him clearly. I listened to all of his complaints at that time」
「Ah, you don’t need to elaborate more than that……」
「No, please continue」
I have been ruthlessly sentenced.
「At first he just told me that he hasn’t experienced killing anything aside from monsters and animals but then it started looking like he was experiencing that illness new soldiers get. After that, he started caressing my tail a lot while calling it cleansing his soul」」
「Aaaaaaaaaahー!」
Together with that scream, the light in my eyes vanished as I looked up to the ceiling.
I can hear everybody talking about me in a low voice.
「Don’t worry about it It’s possible for everyone to contract that disease. And besides, this woman works by selling her body n.o.body can question what you want to do after you’ve handed the money. If it’s to heal your soul then paying money to caress her tail is fine. Now what else…… Ah, that’s right. What about the matter with the catapult……」
「Yes. I saw it myself. While we were frantically dealing with the humans climbing the walls, the ground underneath the catapult suddenly caved-in」
「I even heard the other soldiers saying that there are no magicians capable of that inside the fort」
The other soldiers who realized that they can no longer be forced to keep quiet started talking one by one.
「I was right beside Caam at that time so the catapult, it was definitely Caam’s magic that destroyed the catapult」
「Really? The report said that it was defeated due to everyone’s cooperation though」
Now that the report was mentioned, the bald mouse started looking pale. For some reason, he’s starting to look like he’s aged all of a sudden.
「This must be a mistake!」
「I can hear you clearly so you don’t have to shout. Keith, I’ll leave it to you」
「Pardon me」
「As your punishment, you’ll have to stand and wait in front of the door. Understand?」
Hearing Cravatte-sama’s words, I looked at the bald mouse but he was hanging his head so I couldn’t see the look on his face. I don’t know if Keith is up to something but he happily escorted him out the door.
「Now then, the final matter will be about the attack behind the fort. The report says that while an intense melee was happening in front, the flanking humans were dealt with prisoners who disobeyed orders. Is that true?」
「That’s inaccurate. We weren’t expecting the reinforcements to attack our post so we were surprised. That’s when a huge ball of water suddenly appeared in the sky and launched itself towards the humans. Moreover, that water was boiling hot and it traveled towards the enemy at such a great speed that we ourselves were already thinking about jumping into the moat. That huge waterball caused a lot of steam to form so we weren’t able to see what happened next but once it cleared, there were no humans left and the prisoner unit arrived. After that, Caam-dono, whose entire body was the same color as the ground, and Keith-dono came out from behind a bush」
Ahー, so this guy was part of the forces defending the back side.
「Caam-kun, frankly speaking, why were you over on that side?」
「We didn’t receive a command from the army before the reinforcements began their a.s.sault so we just moved as a commando unit. The right path led to a melee in front so we just took the left path. The humans over there were distracted by our cavalry unit so we just used magic and arrows to deal with them」
「Did you not get seen?」
「Like what that soldier said earlier, I was using magic while we were hiding behind a bush. Because of my attacks though, the panicked human soldiers started running our direction but I just left those guys to Keith」
「I have more or less understood the situation. Now, the reason why I came to this fort in such short notice is because of the rumors I heard about Caam-kun and Keith-kun who, even though they were not soldiers, I expressly requested them to come here. Based on the rumors, the two of them played a very active part however, there was no indication of that in the report that I received. Isn’t that strange, Gebiss-kun?」123
「No, you see. Ah, this must be someone’s plot against me! Someone must have switched the report while it was en route! I definitely wrote the correct details on my report!」
「You say that but when comparing the report you sent this time to the previous ones, the handwriting look completely identical. Even the idiosyncrasies you have when writing are the same like the places where the ink blots or trails off. A subordinate even told me that the paper and ink have the same scent. If I remember correctly, you smoke inside your room right? The smell of tobacco was also left on the paper」
Did he ask that dog-eared maid I wonder? Who needs handwriting a.n.a.lysis when you have her?4
「Do you have any other excuses?」
「……UWAAAAAA!!!!」
The bald mouse suddenly screamed and started to rush towards Cravatte-sama so I hurriedly created two 【Obsidian Kunai】 and threw them at his exposed right wrist and left arm to obstruct him.
Did he decide to attack him because he couldn’t run away? It’s like the phrase: “A cornered rat will bite the cat”. Cravatte-sama is a dog though.
He groaned in pain, immediately extracted the kunais, then pressed down on the wound to stop the bleeding.
「Now then Gebiss-kun, we’re discussing your punishment but… For Caam-kun’s work in cleaning up the moat, he will be given additional remuneration for his troubles. Upon investigation, it seems like it would take the soldiers in this fort three days to complete the clean up so he will receive the equivalent of all salary the soldiers will receive in those three days. Of course, that money will be coming from you, understand? You should have received that much for all the years you have been working till now. Ah, you’re also going to be demoted to a regular soldier and once the next batch of supply arrives, you will be immediately sent to the front lines」
The tendon on his right wrist is already severed so I wonder if he’ll be alright. Also, Keith looks like he’s disappointed that he didn’t get to do anything.
「Ahー, Caam-kun, you can do whatever you want with him as long as you don’t kill him. Well, I guess it doesn’t matter since he will just get thrown in the battlefield after all」
He said that in a surprisingly cold voice. We’ve just met twice now but I haven’t heard that kind of voice from him before.
「Well then, I’ll have to go to this fellow’s room or else we can’t give Caam-kun his pay. You, stop this guy’s bleeding and put him in a cell. I’ll entrust it to Caam-kun how he is treated afterwards. And you, lead me to that guy’s room」
After saying that, we immediately left the conference room.
Oh, c.r.a.p…… That addictive plant is probably still burning in that room right now……
As Cravatte-sama approached the door, he immediately grimaced from the smell.
「Was that fellow even using contraband goods?」
I guess I should just confess right here.
「Uhmー, Cravatte-sama, could I say something?」
「What is it?」
「Uhm, this is… well, it’s my fault」
「What!?」
「In order to vent out my frustration for the hara.s.sment I received each day, I got a friend to teach me how to use it and I’ve been burning those plants in this room for two days now」
「HAーHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I see, I see! It can’t be helped. You were being persecuted after all so you had to do it! You had to do something like this to make up for all the hara.s.sment you were experiencing!」
He was laughing while holding his stomach. It seems like he found it really funny……
「Anywayー, where was he keeping his money I wonder~?」
He started rummaging through the desk like a child.
「Ohー, so the report that did not reach me was in such a place!」5
While acting unnaturally surprised, he plied it all on top of the desk. Once he finished examining those papers, he then moved on to searching the chest under the straw bed.
「Found it. It must be here. Muー we don’t have the key… Where did he hide it I wonder~?」
After saying that, he took a knife from his waist then stabbed open the pillow to look inside. Since it wasn’t there, he moved on to searching on the walls for hidden rooms.
Once he found a section that was out of place, he used his knife to forcefully take down the wall.
「Found itー」
He was excited like a child who’s hunting for treasure. Is this really how a n.o.ble should be? Is he releasing all of his stress since that fox-eared maid with the icy cold stare isn’t here? Doesn’t he know that the soldiers are watching him?
「He acc.u.mulated quite a lot, didn’t heー? With him being safely holed up in this fort and hardly visiting any towns, I guess he had no choice but to save up a lot. Right?」
「E-even I am surprised. I use my pay to buy supplies whenever I go back to Tephroite after all」
The soldier he addressed looked troubled while responding.*
「You, it might improper of me to ask but how much pay do you receive?」
「Eh? I receive 7 large copper coins a day」
「It’s quite small isn’t it? Especially for someone working in such a dangerous location. After this matter has been resolved, I will give the soldiers a small raise. Is 1 silver enough for a new recruit I wonderー?」
That much should be enough since American soldiers who have only been in service for less than two years get around $2,500 per month. If we convert their new salary to j.a.panese Yen, they receive about 6~7 thousand yen a day.6 Good for you, you also get to receive your hazard pay.
「Hmmー, how many soldiers are permanently stationed in this fort?」
「There are around a hundred soldiers if I remember correctly」
「Please wait for a moment, I will just check the doc.u.ments」
After saying that, he started skimming through some papers.
「Ahー, here it is. Un, you were right. There are more or less a hundred permanently stationed soldiers here. If we include the officers and all the medical staff then there are around 120 all in all. With the raise they just got, the salary of 100 soldiers for five days* would be equal to 500 silver or 5 gold coins. I will be looking after this money for now so once you leave this fort, you should come to me first, okay? Aside from that, I’ll also be giving you your pay for the escort duty and for the rest of your stay in this fort. Ahー, I wonder if a gold coin would be enough for your recompensation?」78
「……ahー, understood」
「If you don’t manage to come back, I will make sure that that amount will reach your family so you don’t have to worry. Keith-kun, make sure that everything I said today will be followed okay?」
「Yes!」
「If Caam-kun suffers from an unfortunate incident, I want you to inform his family together with me. Is that okay?」
「Yes!」
「Good. After I drink some tea, I will be going back with this money so everyone should go back to their duties」
「「「Understood!」」」
With that said, everyone started trickling out of the bald mouse’s room.
「So, in the end, why did he decide to do that to Caam?」
「It was probably enmity. Aside from the doc.u.ments, he also wrote a diary and it looks like he was afraid of losing his standing to Caam-kun so he wanted to get him to go home. He thought it would be even better if he gets defeated during an attack due to fatigue. Good grief, didn’t he consider that I would go after him if treated someone I went through all the trouble to mobilize like that?」9
Everyone there didn’t know what to say since Cravatte-sama replied in my stead so they answered by saying 「Y-yes, probably」
「Caam-kun, how are you doing to deal with that fellow?」
「Ha? Eh? Ahー, I still haven’t thought about it」
「There would be no problems no matter what you do as long as you let him live okayー?」
After saying that, he turned a different corner from us.
「He’s an elusive character who doesn’t show up until there’s trouble. But once everything settles down, he starts acting like a child」
Everyone nodded at Keith’s words.
Ahー, it seems like from tomorrow onwards, I’ll be able to return to my normal life.
◇[ED: Not a PoV change, but this is the "interesting” part (insert evil laugh here)]
Inside the prison.
「Caam, what are you going to do about this guy?」
「We could make him go into the cell where the tied up humans are and let them beat him up but that probably won’t do any good」
「Hiii!」
「Even if we torture him, he still needs to be alive you know?」
「……thought so」
「Want to do it anyway?」
「Hiiiiiiiiiiii!」
「No, I don’t have that kind of tastes after all…… For now, let’s just make him experience the same things I did」
「You mean manual labor? We can’t let him out of here you know?」
「Let’s just start with giving him cold soup with his bread and dried meat. We will make him walk around his cell without breaks. We won’t let him sleep so he’ll have to walk non stop. We will let him sit when eating but we’ll monitor him so that he’ll finish it as soon as possible okay?」
「G-got it」
「If he starts sneaking in breaks, you should keep poking him with that stick until he continues. Just call me once he collapses」
「Understood!」10
◇
Noon of the next day.
「Caam-san, Gebiss-dono collapsed」
「Hmmー, I’ll go there after I eat」
I quickly finished my meal then went to the dungeons.
「Ahー. Once he wakes up, give him water with salt and sugar mixed in it then let him walk again. You need a large cup so give him the one we use to drink beer. Six spoons of sugar and half a spoon of salt for two cups. Just give him another if he faints again. He probably collapsed because his body lost too many fluids」11
「Ha?」
「You know those guys who collapse from training in summer? This guy’s experiencing the same thing」
「I see」
「Ahー. That’s right, you should also make him skip a meal」
(In a way, I feel like this guy would be better off getting tortured. Is this what they mean when they say that a kind person is scary when angry……?)12
◇
「You may now sleep」
「Is it truly okay?」
「It is」
「Thank you very much」
He’s suddenly turned docile now.
Well then, I guess I should let him eat that thing which won’t kill him but make him suffer. I’ll go get that thing I prepared just for this day.
~Three days ago in the kitchen~
「Excuse me, could you please give me an egg? Also, please lend me the kitchen」
「I don’t mind, but what are you going to do?」
「It’s a secret」
Starting off, I cracked the egg in a bowl, whisked it, then added salt and sugar. After that, I placed the mixture in a wooden cup and steamed it until it had a pudding-like consistency.
「You’re putting salt in the pudding?」
「It’s just something that looks like pudding. Thank you very much for the egg」
I left the kitchen after that. Once the pudding was no longer hot, I covered it with a lid then left it in a sunny place on the tower. At night after the sun had set, I brought it with me under the blanket.13
After doing that, a mold colony appeared.
「The things on the surface are opportunistic organisms so he probably won’t die…」
I’ll add this in with a slightly cooled down soup. Everything will be complete once it’s mixed together well.
「Oーi. Give this to him once he wakes up. You must never eat this and you should also make sure you don’t spill the soup. Wash your hands if you spill it and change your clothes as well」
(Just what did Caam-san put in this soup? Poison? Even though he was told not to kill him?)
◇[T[TL: Disclaimer: A disgusting scene is about to happen. Although it’s not that graphic, if you’re sensitive to those things, turn away now. Just read the last two or three lines.]p>
I’ve been watching him since yesterday but he’s still alive. Was it a slow-acting poison?
「Ahh, my stomach hurtsーーー. Ahhh~~~」
「Don’t stop walking!」
「My stomach! It’s going to come out!」
(Ugh, how disgusting. How come it’s pretty much just water that’s coming out. What in the world did Caam-san do?)
After that, he couldn’t walk anymore and just held down his stomach while lying down. Even though there was a pot in the corner, he couldn’t hold it in and just let it out at his feet.
「G-give me water」
「Aー, ah, got it. Wait for a bit」14
Everyone had the same soup so how come n.o.body else had a stomach ache? Even the human prisoners are safe. Seriously, what the heck is happening?
When I looked at Gebiss a few days after that, he was already thin an had sunken cheeks. I also started to hear people gossiping things like,『You shouldn’t make Caam-san mad』 and 『Even though he’s with a prost.i.tute, he’s an oddball who will only caress their tails』.
Isn’t everyone too loose-lipped?