CH 102

Chapter 102 – Further South

The new bear face bus headed south down the road at a steady pace. There was a slight conflict with a group of people who appeared to be refugees along the way, but they scattered when the bear face bus sounded its horn.

When the road surface became flat, the driver, Luvia-san, increased the speed a little. It was apparently true that the engine power had been increased by the Dwarf team’s modifications.

When I peeked into the car from the gun emplacement, the two knights and the marquis were looking out the window with excited faces.

“Everyone, please let me know if you feel sick.”

“No problem. The speed is amazing. And it’s a comfortable ride.”

“It seems to go twice as fast as horses and three times as fast as horse-drawn carriages.”

“Actually, it can go a little faster, but it’s not safe.”

In order not to go too fast, I asked Luvia-san to limit the speed to 80 kilometers per hour.

No matter if you are in another world or not, you will still die if you have an accident.

The mother and daughters, sitting in the back seat, were sleeping soundly, perhaps exhausted from the trip.

I don’t know how far we can go in one day, but I doubt we can make it 500 kilometers. Driving at night is both tiring and risky, so we had better get ready to camp before the sun goes down.

Then about half a day. After meeting the marquis and her party, we must have driven about 250 kilometers. The sun was setting when we were about halfway to the marquis’s territory, so we started preparing for an encampment.

According to information from Marquis Yerkel, a large-scale battle was taking place on the plains ahead of us. Since we could not bear to wander into the enemy camp at night, we quietly waited for dawn. Well, from our point of view, neither side is on our side.

We stopped to make a fire just in case and ate only portable food, snacks, and mineral water. The taste, however, is quite good for everyone.

The knights who had been sent to stand guard during the night reported that there was something strange going on ahead of us near dawn.

“What do you mean something is wrong?”

“The opposite. No sounds. Do you hear the wild birds singing?”

It seems that night battles don’t take place very often in this world, but it is unusual to hear birds flying around looking for food in the midst of an army confronting an enemy.

We start the car without breakfast and proceed with caution.

As the sun began to rise, we could see over the plain. There were trampled remains, charred remains of campfires, and broken wagons and equipment lying around, but not a soul was to be seen.

“Was the battle over?”

“We only passed through about five days ago, and we had a very hard time getting through then.”

There were some bodies left behind, but they all seemed to belong to the royalist army.

“I wondered if the front had moved to the south. If the royalist army is pushing, the line should be moving northward, don’t you think?”

“It may be that they have moved either east or west. In any case, we have only one destination. We have no choice but to head for the marquis’ territory.”

We could not be too careless if we were to bump into each other somewhere, but for the time being, we headed south along the road as planned while remaining vigilant.

Surprisingly, the distance increased without incident, and we passed through the royal family’s direct territory in the center of the kingdom and entered the southern territory.

The road surface was a little rough, and the vehicle began to shake. Since the maintenance of the roads is apparently left to the lords, the uneven road conditions may be due to differences in the economic situation and their awareness of governance.

Or perhaps there is a difference in awareness of political and economic exchange with the royal capital.

The surrounding landscape is also becoming more rugged, with less flat land and more forest. In some places, the road shoulders are rough, and there are traces of battles. The battle line had moved south, after all. As far as we could see from inside the car, there were no dead bodies, but we could see broken wagons, scattered supplies, and the corpses of horses. There were also some refugees who seemed to be sitting on the ground, scavenging.

I wanted to help them, but I knew it was only for my own satisfaction. If that were the case, that mother and daughters would be enough.

As we stopped before noon to rest and refuel, Myrril-san came rushing up to me.

“Yoshua, there is a battle ahead.”

“Shall I go?”

Owe-san, who was carrying an M4, looked at me. Perhaps she wanted to fly over and get rid of them.

“No. We should avoid combat as much as possible. We will only eliminate them with minimal attacks if we can’t get out of the way.”

“Understood.”

“Roger that.”

Back in the car, Marquis Yerkel and the knights were moving to the front of the car to see what was going on.

“Luvia-san, please advance to the ridge line.”

I asked her to drive the car slowly to a position where I could check the situation. It looks like a few skirmishes between a few people, but what I see is unmistakably a battle between soldiers.

“Who are they, Marquis?”

“They are the remnants of the defeated soldiers of the viscount’s army and the national army of the region. Yoshua-dono, if it is possible, I would appreciate it if you would not kill the soldier in the white cloak.”

“Myrril, can you do that?”

Myrril nodded and pulled out the barrel of the UZI through the left front windshield. Normally, the lid is covered to keep the wind out, but the part holding the lid serves as a shield that also serves as the gun’s seat. I don’t know whose idea it was to do this, but it was quite elaborate.

I mean, they are ready to put this bus into battle, aren’t they?

“All done.”

Myrril announced after firing seven single shots, and Luvia-san started the car.

The surviving soldiers are alerted by the slowly approaching vehicle, but they do not attack, as if they understand that the enemy has been eliminated.

“Stop right there.”

With only his sword in his hand, one of the knights stepped out of the vehicle and rushed toward the soldiers of the viscount’s army. After a short discussion, he waved to us, and we drove on.

“It seems they were taking down a defeated soldier who had tried to attack the village.”

The knight who had boarded the bus tells the marquis. As the bus passed, the soldiers of the viscount’s army all bowed their heads.

“The front has moved to the southern border, and this area has already been swept away. The noblemen’s army has the upper hand, but the reason for the shift is because of the appearance of warships off the coast of Meteora.”

“Hmm, they prioritized the defense of Meteora. The royalist faction seems to be making a last-ditch effort with the warships. The battle has already been settled.”

“…Marquis. But that is…”

“I know what you are trying to say, Yoshua-dono. The kingdom is finished. However, it is still necessary to do it. What has the royal family accomplished for the sake of such a title as “summoning heroes to defeat the Demon King”? If the country perishes, as a result, it will be our own fault.”

After leaving the viscount’s territory, we continued for a while through the large ducal territory. The battle here is almost over, but the port town to the south is said to be Meteora, where the current battle is taking place.

“Meteora is the largest commercial city in the southern noble territory, is it not?”

“Yes, that’s right. It was under the direct control of the royal family, which had taken over the enclave. The king, queen, and princess had fled there. The allied forces of the southern nobles, the rebel army, as they were called, took them into custody. They were to be executed at once, but the remnants of the national army are now attacking Meteora with all their might to recapture the kings, queen, and the princess”.

“What is the situation?”

“Of course, we have the upper hand. It’s only natural that we have the advantage in terms of geographical advantage, number of troops, morale, and supplies. However, the national army soldiers, who have no way to return, are coming at us as dead soldiers, and the mages who are the mainstay of the remnants of the national army are troublesome.”

The knight escort who had just gotten out of the car gave additional information to the marquis, who looked as if she was chewing a bitter bug.

“According to what I heard from the soldiers of the viscount’s army, the national army has even deployed magic tools from the treasury and forbidden magical beast tamers.”

“A tamer? Does he control magical beasts?”

“Yes. The most troublesome ones are the Orc hordes. They don’t die easily, and the stench of their dying bodies attracts large magical beasts.”

Oh, I know. In fact, in the forest of Yerkel (I don’t know what kind of forest), a large magical beast was attracted to it.

“There have been several attacks by giant monsters and Orcs, and it seems that some of the residents who remain within the walls of Meteora have been harmed.”

“Eh?”

I turned at the trembling voice and found the mother looking at us with a very pale face.

“Me…Meteora is being attacked?”

Right. That’s probably the case. It would be easier if I could just say, “It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter,” and live a life thinking only of the benefits to myself and my friends, but I can’t do that.

Because I got into it out of self-satisfaction, hypocrisy, and a beautiful idea that I don’t even believe in.

There is no purpose to this life. That’s why I got involved. It is always pushed by feelings that seem meaningless and incomprehensible from the outside. Why don’t I just ignore it?

“The national army led by a magical beast is attacking. The noble lord’s army is defending their position, though.”

When the marquis said this, the mother collapsed as if her last hope had been dashed.

Yes, that’s right. That’s what happens. Because of the half-hearted dreams of some fools. They think it will work out because they reach out to someone with a failed Buddha’s heart. There’s no way it will.

I don’t want to hear it, but I can’t help but see it, even though it would be the end of it if I just let it drop here. The sisters are clinging to their mother’s hem, but I can’t help but see the look in their eyes.

“It was Meteora we were trying to escape from.”

My grandmother in Koriyama told me. I think it was when she tried to pick up a kitten that had been separated from its parents.

She said, “If you take care of it, you must be prepared to take care of it until the end, no matter what happens. If you can’t be responsible for the kitten until the end, then it’s destined to die here, whether you like it or not, whether you wish it or not.”