episode_0019

**

Even during the day, the leaves of the trees blocked out the sky, so the forest wasn’t that bright, but at night, the forest was clearly dark. Fortunately, the village was lighting up the forest with torches, which helped us find it.

“Who are you?!”

“I’m here. A warrior from another world.”

“Ah, warrior!!”

“Were you standing guard directly?”

At that moment, I recognized him with a dignified expression, which I had been talking about in the village. Although he had helped the village, the time we had spent together was short, so at times like this, I could easily continue the conversation by just meeting someone I knew.

“That’s true, but to be exact, I was waiting for you, warrior.”

“Me?”

“Yes!”

Coincidentally, the serious element also seems to have business with me. Perhaps it is news of the Chujara tribe attacking the neighboring village, or an exchange of opinions on the incident that occurred today.

“Did you by any chance defeat the Chujara group?”

“Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.”

“Thank goodness.”

“Huh?”

I was about to tell him the circumstances surrounding his failure to defeat the Chujara tribe, but he smiled when he heard that it was fortunate.

“I feel bad saying this to a warrior who has already helped us so much, but we want to take revenge with our own hands.”

“… I see.”

When I asked earlier if it was possible to defend the village, I was told it was impossible, so I guess there’s a way out.

“If that is what the Element Tribe wants, I will respect it, but I am also Ollie’s comrade. If necessary, I will gladly help the Element Tribe who joined us in our quest to defeat the Demon King.”

I told you, I’ve become very lazy too.

Although I didn’t make promises I couldn’t keep, I often appeared in front of large groups to speak eloquently and persuade them, so my speaking skills, which I didn’t have before I was summoned, improved considerably.

“Oh, you already saved the village, and yet you did so much…! Thank you so much, warrior!”

As I felt before, the element tribe shows a variety of facial expressions and is happy.

So that’s why he helps me and then suddenly leaves.

It’s embarrassing to think like this after helping someone without permission, but what I want is a proper thank you and a happy ending after the solution is resolved. I felt burdened by receiving only lingering praise.

I think I can roughly understand the feelings of the protagonist who is running for salvation.

There was a coexistence of wanting to show off since I helped them, but also thinking that they didn’t expect to be treated this way.

“But, it’s a real mess.”

“Yes.”

“Did you know?”

“Let me introduce myself.”

He’s not the kind of idiot who would tell his enemy his name.

“I was secretly watching the Chujara tribe because I was suspicious of their sudden actions, and as expected, this guy showed up and had some kind of conversation with the Chujara tribe.”

“Ohhh, indeed! Not just dealing with the Chujara tribe, but even thinking of something like that! How thoughtful!”

This element, the skill of praising with a solemn face is quite good.

“Anyway, I’d like to share some information, is that okay?”

It’s good to tell them what you found out right away, but rather than talking amongst ourselves, it’s a euphemism for asking them to take you to a higher-up for more smooth instructions.

“Okay! Then I will take you to the city of leaves.”

“To the city?”

I thought back to the city I first visited with Ollie and wondered if it might be there.

“What about the villagers?”

“… Already evacuated to the city.”

At first glance, I wondered where they had gone because they were so low on energy, but fortunately, they seemed to have gone to a safe place. If you think about it calmly, it would be easier to defend by joining the city rather than waiting for the Chujara tribe to attack in the half-destroyed village.

“Then who are you here now?”

“To monitor the movements of the Chujara group that attacked the neighboring village and to wait for the hero.”

I’m used to guerrillas, so that’s how these groups usually move.

“And there was a message from Ollie.”

Ollie’s?

“What did you say?”

“Thank you, warrior, for protecting the village. ”

“… I see.”

I couldn’t protect one village because it was too late, but I still feel a pang in my heart because they said thank you.

“That’s all the news I have to tell you, warrior.”

“So you’re going straight to the city?”

“Yes, I will.”

I wanted to hand over this big mole and wipe out the Chujara tribe, but I held back.

I knew that revenge should be done by the person who was victimized, and that it wasn’t something that could be done directly by an outsider like me.

**

The city of leaves, where he returned, leaving the scene to the elements that had a dignified element. As expected, it was the first place Ollie had entered.

Isn’t it true that cities usually have mayors, not village chiefs?

Although it had the features you would expect to find in a city, such as a wall and a checkpoint, I had assumed that it was still a village because of the old man who greeted me as the village chief.

Even though he always told me where this place was, it was always short answer questions, so even if I wanted to know at the time, I wouldn’t have been able to.

“Thank you for your hard work. You should go now.”

“May Teranim bless you!”

“May Teranim bless you.”

Element Gratvi, who introduced himself as the captain of the city guard, exchanged a salute with the solemn Element Jody before sending him off. Immediately afterwards, Jody bowed quietly to me and left.

“First of all, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to the warriors who helped us.”

“No. As Ollie’s colleague, of course I should help him.”

Throb

When Ollie’s name is mentioned, he quirks his eyebrows for a moment, but manages his expression so as not to show it.

Oh, I don’t know about the common people or the lower-ranking elements, but the more senior elements think of the priestess as being higher than the queen.

There was a time when I called out Ollie’s name at a gathering of elements, and he approached me with an unpleasant expression, and a fight almost broke out.

Before that, Ollie personally mediated, so I felt that I had to be careful next time.

It was the same before, but it seems like they’ve become complacent after defeating the Demon King.

“… I apologize for making you come here without resting when you must have been busy all day. However, the Queen’s guard is waiting inside to listen to the information you have found out and the help you have given, so I know it is rude, but I ask that you endure a little longer.”

Still, he carefully asks without pointing it out, wondering if he was in the position of captain of the guard for nothing.

“… Okay.”

It’s okay. It’s natural. It’s not difficult.

I was going to answer with those words, but I was afraid that I would just be rambling on and on about useless things, so I’ll keep it short.

“Okay.”

We arrived in front of a proper wooden building, not the village chief’s house where we had first headed.

“I brought the warrior of another world. May I come in?”

“Can you please wait a moment?”

While exchanging salutes, the captain of the guard spoke to the sentry, and after some ceremonial speech, the sentry went in to deliver the message and came out.

“Come in.”

“Good work.”

I entered again under the guidance of the captain of the guard.

Then, out of nowhere, a scene from a drama where a general is tying a soldier’s shoelaces came to mind.

I really want to go back to Earth.

I even suspected it was homesickness for a moment, thinking that these symptoms might not just come on without a reason.

“Excuse me. This is Captain Gratvi. I have brought you the warrior of another world.”

“Please come in.”

Even though we had already informed them that we were coming, it was a hassle to ask for permission even inside the building.

Is this the only way to quickly transmit information?

It’s not good to interfere in other countries’ affairs, but I figured it would only happen this time, so I stopped paying attention.

I’m not in a position to talk about others.

When I was in the military, I thought all the procedures were complicated and useless, but there was a reason for it all.

Of course, I don’t like it if it’s too stereotypical.

In the past, during a training exercise for a real situation, I failed the training because I asked if I was really shooting when ordered to fire the K-3.

I still remember the impressions of the unit commander who conducted the training. He said that the training was about whether or not one could be triggered in a real situation without an order from an officer.

At that time, I remembered the regretful memory of not being able to do that even though I had been told in advance that if I was told to shoot at a small town, I would just shoot without asking questions.

The only thing that gave me relief was that they asked if they could shoot all the trained outposts and failed.

Recalling that really terrible sense of kinship, I felt really complacent then and now.

“Thank you for coming, otherworldly warrior. I am the Queen’s second thorn, Aorra.”

“… I am a warrior from another world.”

I’m afraid that if I say that he’s Ollie’s colleague for no reason, there will be a strange controversy like before, so I’ll keep it brief.

As we entered the room, we were greeted by everyone standing at a round table.

S-ugh

S-ugh

From the left, the Queen’s Guard, the element mentioned by the captain of the guard, took the lead, and behind them, they bowed their heads without introducing themselves, and finally exchanged greetings with the village chief whom they had seen this morning.

I guess the person behind Aor is an adjutant or staff member.

It was a natural thought, as it was a meeting place gathered to protect the city.

“You must have heard the general story from the captain on your way here, right?”

“Yes. Let me tell you right away.”

Let’s start with the story of how I came to receive the trust.

Information gained from interrogating the Chujara tribe and information gained from dealing with Jituasusu Kigi, etc. Anyway, he even gave his guess that the person behind the sudden Chujara tribe attack that occurred today might be the work of one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King’s Army, Chief of Staff Kritrick’s subordinate.

“This much information in just one night.”

“But Aor-nim. Isn’t it difficult for the Demon King’s army and the Demon Tribe to invade under the protection of Deran-nim?”

“That’s right. So, isn’t that why you’re using small creatures like Chujara and Jituasusu?”

“But it’s hard to believe that the Chujara group is cooperating with the Jituasus group.”

I also thought so, and it was Aor who refuted the adjutant’s reasonable opinion.

“But the warrior brought the results. It’s not too late to question the contents after interrogating Chujara and Jituasus whom the warrior captured.”

The Jituasusu tribe had nothing to say since it was their first time meeting, but he found it funny to say that the Chujara tribe was cooperating with other tribes.

“Warrior of the Otherworld. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to do this. You can go rest now.”

Then Aor, whose eyes met mine, advised me to take a rest.

“Hmm-.”

“Do you have anything else to say?”

He pursed his lips for a moment and then fell into deep thought. His attitude was to just quickly receive the information and leave, but he was still helping them, and his determination to overcome it on his own was good.

But what I want to say is something different.

“I have something I want to tell Ollie. Is that okay?”

“Ahem-.”

“Big!”

Even though he shows discomfort when I mention Ollie’s name because I think it might be too much since they are colleagues, I don’t point it out.

“Ahem, what are you trying to tell the priestess? Warrior of another world.”

The adjutant who had been watching from the side cleared his throat.

I was a little suspicious because I just said the name of my colleague, but thinking about it the other way around, this was the most they could protest and tolerate from me.

How great is Ollie’s status that he’s doing this?

Thinking of the word “putting yourself in someone else’s shoes,” I felt a little sad when I thought of a comrade from another country calling General Yi Sun-sin by his name without hesitation while he was still active after his resurrection.

“It’s nothing serious, I just wanted to hear your opinion on whether I should join Ollie or continue waiting here.”

“That’s right! You came as a guest invited by Teranim, so we’re sorry we couldn’t take care of you.”

“No. You don’t have to apologize.”

Since Dera is a religious institution to the Element Tribe, when you subtly inform them that you have come to visit them for an oracle, they bow their pride.

“I will guide you to rest right away. I will also convey the message you wanted to convey to the priestess. Captain of the Guard.”

“Okay, sir. Let’s go.”

“Ah. Yes.”

The most nimble moving elements of all the ones shown so far.

This made me feel a little sorry because it seemed like I was being bossy.

“Then, good luck.”

“I hope you rest comfortably.”

They sat down and then stood up again to see me off, and I was impressed that they were people with dignity and pride, not pride.

***

“Why did this have to happen while I was away… .”

The Queen’s second thorn in her side was the complexities she found difficult to hide.

“If the priestess and warrior hadn’t helped me, I would have been ashamed to face the queen.”

Her lips were bitten and her fist clenched. The Elements were not very active in interacting with other races, but in the past they opened up the city for diplomacy, and today it is a must-visit place for other races to visit. It was her duty to protect the Leaf City.

Then, recently, as the war against the Demon King’s army seemed to be going well, I started training to clear my mind.

I had no idea that a large group of Chujaras would attack in the meantime.

“If it was simply a group of Chujaras attacking, we could have just blamed the search party for not keeping track of their movements, but we already suspected that there was someone behind this incident. Thankfully, thanks to your information, the credibility has increased.”

The information the warrior conveyed was information that most of the people attending the meeting already knew.

Although I couldn’t deduce any important dark secrets because there was no similar technology to the warrior’s fraudulent translation privilege.

“… Are you serious, Aor-nim?”

Captain Gratvi, who was in charge of the defense while Aor was away from the city, asked.

“Then that doesn’t make sense! This training is the first training I’ve done in decades, and even before the training, I was patrolling the area myself, but this happened!”

He is the Queen’s second thorn. The first thorn was there to protect the Queen, and the third thorn is said to be serving in the Continental Army and is making progress day by day.

Hah-! I should have listened when the Queen said indirectly that training was premature…!

The reason she couldn’t help but blame herself. She was so active above and below her, but while defending the city for supplies, she thought it would be a little peaceful even though it was a war, so she proceeded with the training, and this is what happened.

“Calm down, Aor-nim.”

“… What does the adjutant think?”

The moment when I couldn’t control my expression, I felt a stinging sensation and tried to look at him, but I barely managed to swallow my anger.

I was not free from this mistake, and even if it was not my fault, I knew that it was not right for a superior to lose control of his temper and take out his anger on his subordinate.

“I also agree with Aor-nim’s opinion. It is possible that they used the Chujara group to launch an attack, but it is just a coincidence that it happened at this time.”

“… That’s right. It’s possible to use a group of Chujaras, but it’s not easy to make them attack in unison. ”

It is a fact known even to the young that the Chujara are a race with low intelligence. However, among the Chujara group, those who are at the level of chieftain or sorcerer are able to converse and even interact.

But these are simultaneous classes!

Although the territory where the Chujara group lives is teeming with Chujara, their numbers are maintained through fighting among tribes.

The race itself is foolish and dull, and the tribal chiefs and shamans are only concerned with their own interests.

The fact that the Chujara tribes, who had been killing each other even among their own races, had come together to invade meant that it was a sign that a war between races could break out in the future, rather than a small-scale purge.

Even if it wasn’t an immediate war, he was able to deal with a few Chujara tribe members on his own since he had returned.

“That’s not what’s important right now.”

Even though he was away, would things have been different if he had been there?

This time, the damage was kept to a minimum thanks to the presence of warriors and priestesses.

“I didn’t want to bring it up either, but there is a traitor among my own people.”

A word that changes from guess to certainty. When Aor spoke and slowly turned his eyes away, everyone seemed to be silent or uncomfortable, but it was difficult to come up with an objection.

“Aorim. There’s no way there’d be a spy among us, right?”

“Then, village chief. Has there been any progress in the work I ordered?”

“First, we asked for cooperation and placed surveillance on other races under the pretext of protection.”

“That’s not enough! The surrounding villages are now destroyed and my people are dead!”

He felt guilty that if he hadn’t just asked to train for no reason, things wouldn’t have turned out this way. Even if he had been confident, the Chujara group’s attack would have happened, but it was hard to bear because he wasn’t the one who dealt with it.

“Calm down, Aor-nim. Even if you are the village chief, you cannot treat other races carelessly.”

“… Sorry, Chief. I got excited. ”

When the adjutant, who could not stand to watch, tried to stop him, Aor apologized.

“No, Aor-nim. It was a point that Aor-nim could have made because his shoulders were heavy. It’s too late today, so it’s difficult, but I’ll investigate more thoroughly tomorrow.”

“I’ll leave it to you, village chief.”

“Yes.”

The meeting did not suspect the same race from the beginning. If there was a traitor, it was thought to be from another race staying in the city, not from the elements.

But the training itself is strictly inside information.

Unless one of the loose-lipped guards had been talking nonsense in a bar or something, the Chujara group wouldn’t have invaded so close to the end of the training.

“Captain. You should once again find out if you made a mistake. If it was because you were drunk and talked about training information, you can just discipline the soldier and provide related education. But if it was because the information was leaked when there was no such thing… The severity varies depending on the cause. ”

“Yes!”

So, I left the matter of spies, whether internal or external, to you.

“Thanks to the help of the priestess and warrior, we were able to minimize the damage, but the Chujara group’s attacks are not over yet. When we asked for information from the search party, we heard that there are Chujara groups approaching every day’s distance.”

Basically, the Chujara tribe numbered in the hundreds. In addition, the chieftain of such a Chujara tribe was usually a shaman, and as the tribe grew in size, the chieftain became a warrior rather than a shaman.

The reason the sorcerer hasn’t come yet is probably because he’s probably doing tricks somewhere else.

“This will cause problems in supplying the Continental Army.”

The escort that sent the supplies earlier was handled by the priestess’s direct subordinates, so there was no great worry, but it was difficult to send the supplies while dealing with the Chujara group that kept attacking.

“I can tell them to get the war supplies from somewhere else, but I don’t like the fact that we can’t get the supplies that we have. I guess that’s the intention of those who use the Chujara group. Those cunning and treacherous Demon King’s army… !”

Since the Demon King’s army invaded, he had been feeling frustrated inside because he had not even joined the Continental Army, and had only been providing supplies.

Of course, I was aware of the importance of distribution, but the news that my successor, not me, was active on the battlefield was both welcome and sad.

So I tried to console my regret through training, but it just ended up like this… .

It’s not too late to reflect later. What you need to do now is to judge the situation, resolve it, and communicate it.

I shook my head back and forth, barely able to shake off the feeling of guilt that was weighing me down.

“Let’s share information first. Leaving aside the spy story, the Chujara tribe’s attack and the destroyed villages. Most people fled to the city, and fortunately, the Chujara invasion had few casualties thanks to the help of the priestess and the warrior. I will personally deliver a letter to the queen, so please have your adjutant deliver it to the continental army. Since supplies may be difficult in the future, please find out if there are any urgent supplies and make sure they are delivered first.”

“Yep!”

“Then how should I tell the priestess?”

Stop

The adjutant’s words deepened Aora’s thoughts.

The priestess of the element tribe. De Olli.

A natural wood element that is especially favored by Dera, but is an entity that even the Element Queen cannot command.

I would never dare to give the priestess any instructions. Even imagining such things would feel blasphemous.

Brrrr

Aor had to hold onto his trembling upper arms at the thought that came to him without thinking.

“… The priestess must have a much more extraordinary plan than we do. Trying to help her would only be a hindrance, so it would be best to quickly relay the information we find out. ”

“Okay.”

Even if Aor was the first thorn of the Queen of Elements, it was widely thought that even if all of the Queen’s thorns were gathered together, it would be difficult to even catch up to the priestess’s toes.

Because I believe that my fate is decided the moment I am born.

As time passed and I gained more experience, I began to feel the gap more and more.

He is different from the very beginning.

Natural conception is a rare element that has been carefully selected by the natural wood maker.

It’s not that I feel defeated early, but I realized that as I became more experienced, his presence became more noticeable.

“By the way, didn’t you say that the person believed to be behind this was the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King’s Army?”

“Are you talking about the Four Heavenly Kings Critique?”

The adjutant wrote down the meeting contents he had organized in his head, and the staff answered them.

“There’s no way the Four Heavenly Kings themselves would have come here, so they would have left it up to their subordinates. Something like blocking the supply of the Continental Army to fight the Demon King’s Army.”

Even if we didn’t find out who the spy was, at least we knew who the enemy was.

Just by doing that, the previously cloudy map became brighter.

“Kuhora, the subordinate of the Four Heavenly Kings, Creak! Let me deal with the Queen’s second thorn, Aorga.”

Thanks to the information the warrior found out, a clue was found.

“Aorim. How about asking the warrior for help right now?”

The staff member asked, embarrassed by the declaration he made while looking at the map.

“… I am not foolish enough to weigh my pride and the current situation. However, you are someone who was invited by Teranim. Do you think it is okay for the Queen to bother someone who has business to attend to?”

In fact, Aor knew that the staff’s opinion was a way to deal with the current situation more quickly, but he did not want to show it.

Although he joined the Continental Army, he still has a reserved attitude due to his awkward interactions with other races. He was assigned the important task of supplying supplies, but he felt suffocated and had no clear results.

Successors and other races who act in opposition to themselves.

An accident that occurred during a planned operation. It was handled by the superiors and other races, not by oneself.

Even though I feel like I wouldn’t have been able to stop it even if I had confidence, I come up with ugly excuses and make excuses for myself, which is ugly.

Jealousy towards the priestess who dares to serve Teranim and the warrior who is her comrade.

It was something that was trying to blossom from deep within Aor’s heart, but he knew that it was also his own shame, so he tried not to show it.

“That was, I was short-sighted… .”

I tried to calm my mind and think about the benefits of my advisor’s opinion, but my mind quickly became complicated and I closed my eyes.

“We’ve already received a lot of help from you, warrior. So now we should try to solve this among ourselves.”

Aor was determined to refute the opinions of his cautious staff, even if they were not necessarily his own concerns.