Chapter 1183: Civilian Situation

「Hoken, you okay?」

「I-I’m f-fine. C-Completely f-fine.」

「I’ll save you if you fall.」

「T-Thanks.」

Our team was currently traversing a steep mountainous path. Well, I guess it’s too narrow and treacherous to really be called a path.

The “path” was barely wide enough for a single person. There’s frequent rockfalls, and the ground occasionally gave way under our feet. One misstep, and it’s a straight drop down the cliff. The most dangerous “path” I’ve ever seen, to be sure.

We’re still in the mountainous region where Kranzel and Raydoss recently fought, the area with the hidden research facility and forts. There’s no way an army can pass through here, but small groups like us can make use of various mountain trails.

There were apparently safer routes before, but Maleficent’s rampage rendered them unusable. Many either got tainted black or collapsed outright.

As a result, we had to pass through this dangerous route that even the locals hesitated to use.

We initially suggested flying on Urushi, but they rejected the idea, saying we would attract too much attention.

It seems Raydoss maintains strong anti-air defenses due to flying forces being common, such as flying monsters controlled by tamers.

According to them, flying was a fast track to getting spotted.

「Uwaaaaah! Shit!」

「Hoken!」

「Y-You saved me…」

Hoken the heavyweight was undoubtedly the member of our group in the most danger. Quint was agile, easily capable of climbing back up the cliff, while Lalar could simply fly with the wings on her back.

That said, there’s a particular reason Quint chose Hoken for this mission. He’s capable of emitting some sort of special pheromone that keeps magical beasts from approaching.

This not only avoids unnecessary battles, but also reduces the risk of being attacked while traversing treacherous terrain.

By the way, the hierarchy between us was already firmly established. Well, both Hoken and Lalar were pretty humble to begin with.

They clearly understood Fran’s strength from watching her battle with Onslaught.

And so, for two thrilling days, our group advanced along the perilous mountain path. We successfully made our way through the most dangerous stretch.

There were still plenty of mountains ahead of us, though fewer cliffs and valleys, and gentle slopes became more prevalent.

「Phew, we can finally camp easy now.」

「Yeah, sleeping next to a cliff was tough.」

「At least we have warm meals thanks to Black Lightning Princess-san.」

「That’s the best part!」

Hoken and Lalar began setting up tents at the campsite, with no fire. We haven’t lit a fire even once since we left, because it would make us visible from a distance.

Fortunately, everyone here was capable of night vision.

Fran provided warm meals for the group. They had initially planned to eat portable rations that both tasted and looked like sand. In Raydoss, these sorts of rations are the only option available to civilians because there’s little demand for them outside the military.

After all, they can’t cook the meat from magical beasts even if they hunt any. However, Fran and Urushi couldn’t possibly endure eating something like that.

Well, they gave it a try at first. I’ll never forget the Tibetan sand fox-like expressions on their faces after nibbling the rations.

Fran may be a glutton, but she can endure hunger and will eat anything if it’s the only thing available. But she simply can’t hold herself back when there’s tasty food ready and waiting in dimensional storage.

In the end, they had a normal meal of curry and rice bowls while suppressing the smell with wind magic.

Fran and Quint stood on guard around the campsite, while Hoken and Lalar took a nap. Well, Urushi’s here too, so there’s no need to get super tense. We had plenty of time for chatting.

「Hey, tell me about Raydoss.」

「Sure, though I can’t say I know everything about the country.」

「That’s fine.」

At the very least, she should know more than us.

「I was initially given to the mayor of a certain village as a combat slave.」

「Given?」

「Yeah, they lent me out for free as a sort of defense force. Well, I suppose the taxes they paid could be considered payment.」

It seems Raydoss can afford to provide combat support to their citizens. Some towns and villages even received the occasional supply drop of free food. Apparently, few citizens ever complained about government abuse.

The Red Knights also distributed the spoils of any hunts they underwent. While the villagers never lived luxuriously, it seems not many go hungry. At the very least, Quint never saw anyone dying of starvation in the village she was sent to.

In addition, they treated Quint rather fairly too. The villagers were all kind, and never ordered Quint to do anything unreasonable.

Of course, she had to fend off monsters and such, but that’s all in a mercenary’s job description. Perhaps Quint would’ve been sacrificed to let the villagers escape in the case of an unstoppable stampede, but such a thing never happened. She was treated with the respect a half-insectkin warrior deserves.

「The mayor wasn’t the type of person who enjoyed ordering me around. I almost forgot I was a slave sometimes.」

Of course, Quint was among the lucky ones. Many of her comrades apparently received terrible treatment, resulting in the loss of limbs or even their lives.

She must be trying to say that we can’t lump all of Raydoss together.

「Some of them are merely living peacefully in a closed world, without any knowledge as to what’s going on outside. Please don’t forget that.」

「…You don’t hate Raydoss?」

「Of course I hate Raydoss. That said, the nation itself and its people can’t be considered one and the same.」

「…I see.」

Fran looked a little surprised at first, but she quickly nodded in understanding. This time, Quint was the one surprised.

「I didn’t expect you to take it in so easily.」

「I’m a black cat, so the blue cats are our enemies. But there are some good ones among the blue cats.」

「That makes sense.」

「Nn. There are both bad and good among the people of Raydoss too.」

「Right.」

「Are we headed to the village you were in?」

「No, it’s a different one.」

I thought we might be visiting the village where Quint lived, but I guess not. Apparently, her village got destroyed when a massive magical beast appeared, and the Red Knights didn’t make it in time.

All of the villagers managed to evacuate to the capital city, so no one actually died though.

「While the villagers were good people, they were also subjected to a degree of indoctrination.」

It seems many villagers told Quint “I’m glad you managed to escape a terrible country like Kranzel”, and similar such statements.

「The village we’re headed to is the one Lalar was in.」

「What’s it like?」

「Well… I heard it was an absolutely awful village. The leaders were corrupt to the core.」