CH 82

Chapter 82 – Those Who Are Confused And Those Who Are Frightened

After parting ways with Luvia-san, the winged scout, I drove the motorcycle with a sidecar toward Casemaian. The return trip was uneventful, with no enemies, no obstacles, and no problems.

The plain in front of the canyon had an outer moat almost completed, about 200 m inside the outer extension. Although it is not filled with water yet, it is still 4 meters wide and deep, and the only part that large troops and vehicles can pass through is the southern front side of the moat, where an iron bridge structure is hung, as seen from the walls of the Casemaian fortress.

It is the same place where we left, but when entering, we had to cross a freshly built trans-bridge. A group of young and childish Beastman guarding the bridge saw us and waved at us.

“Yoshua, welcome back!”

“””Mao.””” [T/n: Demon King.]

“Thank you. I’m home.”

I thought I saw a familiar face somewhere, but they were refugees from the Yerkel village in the Kingdom. The leader of the group, Mayfa, and the three werewolf kids, Lucre, Pawn, and Maira. The children behind them were also familiar to me. They are the eight who were hiding in the forest, right? Whether it was their decision at the time of refuge or the popularity of the reliable Mayfa-chan, they seem to have become a single unit of action in the Casemaian as it is.

“Please continue on your way; the tribe chief wants to meet you in front of the city gate.”

Under the direction of the mature Mayfa-chan, I proceeded with the Ural. The plains were being built up, with undulating terrain, horse-proof fences and trenches, machine gun emplacements and mortar emplacements, and tanks already in intercepting positions.

“Amazing. You’ve already made it this far…”

“As expected of the demon city of Casemaian. Everyone is very motivated.”

“No, it’s probably true that everyone is excited to hear that they can win. Usually, when a horde of Golems is coming, people will prepare for a fight to the death. This is the result of that, isn’t it?”

“I see…”

“Oh, Rinko, are you one of those insane types like Yoshua?”

“No, I’m more of a reasonable person.”

“Aren’t you conscious of it, too? Well, when you come from the same country as Yoshua, I suppose it’s unavoidable…”

“Hey, Myrril-san? Can you please stop trying to convince yourself?”

They must have heard the story from Yadar and Heimann-jiisan, who had returned earlier. Kemich the Elf, Heimann-jiisan the Dwarf, and Biot the Bear-Beastman were waiting for us at the city gate up the ramp.

“That’s the fellow from Yoshua’s hometown, ah… Is she a magician?”

“You should have said ‘saint,’ even if you don’t mean it that way, Biot.”

“Whatever. It’s not what I wanted to be, and I’m probably more comfortable with being a magician. But I’m not that good at anything other than healing magic.”

Rinko’s expression is still stiff, but it is admirable that she is not intimidated by the Bear-Beastman nearly three times her weight or the giant Kemich.

“If you can use healing magic, I’d like to entrust you with the church’s infirmary.”

“Wait, wait, wait, I was thinking of recruiting her to the Dwarves’ workshop. It looks like she could make some interesting things.”

“No, no, no, now is not the time for weapons, but for a clinic. If we rely solely on the Elves, we won’t be able to send in the archers.”

“And there’s Milka.”

“What do you mean?”

“She still has a lot of magic left in her. Besides, spirit magic works well, but the efficiency is…”

“Oh, there’s a new face here. Are you human? Or half?”

“I smelled something strange. It’s medicine, isn’t it? Are you a witch? Your presence is thin.”

“It’s tiny.” “Are you a friend of Yoshua’s?”

“It’s a little weird.” “Glasses.”

“Woof!”

Rinko is popular, isn’t she?

In addition to the Beastman and Dwarves that are recruiting her, the Beastman kids who came by as onlookers are making a mess of her, and she’s pouting.

Maybe she was nervous or at least thinking about how much attention she would get and whether she would be hanged or not. She is a member of the military of a country at war, after all.

Well, I had done the minimum safety checks beforehand, and I could use an Elf for the appraisal.

“What about you?”

Myrril calls out to Kemich, who was looking at Rinko without much interest.

“I don’t give a damn if she’s not a suspicious person.”

“What about Rinko, from what Kemich can see?”

“She is suspicious, but she doesn’t seem to be a bad person. At least, somewhat better than Yoshua.”

“Well, that’s quite an assessment.”

Can you please stop using people as punchlines?

When I tried to complain, Myrril-san went away with the communicator.

“It’s decided, Rinko! You will be in the workshop and the clinic every three days for a while. First, of course, you’ll start with my workshop!”

“If you have any difficulties, please let me know right away. I’ll take care of it.”

“…Y-yes.”

Heimann-jiisan, perhaps in recognition of her skill and knowledge, treats her like a Dwarf, and Biot, the Bear-Beastman, treats her like a girl without paying any attention to her plain appearance even though she is of a different race.

Both seem to have unexpected attitudes, and Rinko is becoming more and more awkward and stiff.

By the way, this Biot, whose name I only recently learned, was one of the Beastman who went out to intercept our bear-face bus when we first came to Casemaian. Twenty-nine years old, single, and without a girlfriend. I mean, he says he has been without a girlfriend for a long time.

He’s a nice guy, though, Biot.

The bear face bus is very popular among the Beastman, but the Bear-Beastman are not so popular, and moreover, the big gray bear living in the dark forest is a maniacal and cruel huge magical beast that kills orcs for fun and is the target of hatred and fear.

I don’t really understand the mentality of these two bears, even though they are both bears.

“Wait, Yoshua. Take this.”

And with that, Myrril puts a communicator headset on my head.

“Ah, Your Majesty, the Demon King.”

Before I could even begin to speak, a voice came into my ear. It was from Luvia-san, who was on airborne alert.

The sensitivity is better than I expected, and the sound quality is clear, which is good, but it tickles me as if she is whispering in my ear. The voice is moist and lustrous, which is also troubling. In case you are wondering, I don’t have any ulterior motives.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, I wanted to tell you something. The estimated time for the Imperial Army to reach Casemaian, at this rate, is going to take at least five days.”

“Eh?”

Depending on the route, it is less than 200 km from the imperial capital to Casemaian. By motorcycle, it would take two days and one night for reconnaissance, or even half a day if you fly.

No matter how much they march with a slow-moving golem, five days may be too long…?

“Their current marching speed is less than half of what it was before, They have a single large ore golem ahead of them, and the rear is about a quarter of a league away.”

“Is the one ahead of a response to a trap?”

“Yes. It’s a fairly large six-footer, but it’s moving forward in a probing manner, stepping tighter than necessary.”

“They’re being cautious.”

Myrril shook her head in dismay at my words.

“Of course it is. The pitfalls and “Aiede” half-destroyed the mounted golem unit. [T/n: IED.]

“I understand. Thank you, Luvia-san.”

“No. Please give my regards to Her Majesty the Queen.”

The communication goes dead, and I tilt my head back.

“Queen?”

“Her Majesty, the Demon Queen, is me.”

Oh, that’s what she meant. That was quick. I mean… why is she acting so high and mighty?