Chapter 81
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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Chapter 81
"For me?"
I pointed at my chest with my index finger as I asked.
"Yes. He said you must have been startled by what happened earlier. He also added that one should eat well at times like these."
"But...."
I was at a loss for words.
Not a scratch on me, and yet he went out and hunted a deer to build up my strength?
"Please keep it a secret that I told you this, Commander."
Xenon winked at me, then returned his focus to tending the fire. His bared teeth looked utterly sinister.
"Yay! Meat, meat! This is exciting!"
I stood beside Raven, watching Lucian bounce excitedly up and down.
'Could it really be because of me?'
Everyone would get to enjoy fresh meat after so long, and the injured would recover their strength—that must be why they brought it back.
I fought the urge to lean toward Claude's Military Camp and sat in the spot Ahin had offered me.
"The preparation is complete. All that's left is the roasting."
"I've never eaten venison before."
"Everyone says it's incredibly delicious."
Ahin wiped the drool trickling down his chin with the back of his hand.
Ahin, Lucian, and I knelt nearby, watching the meat cook over the flames.
The prepared meat skewered on sticks rose over the fire. Soon, the rich aroma of roasting meat began to drift through the air.
"It's done. I'll place it in front of you, so please take one piece each."
"Then I'll have the tender tenderloin...."
It was the moment Ahin reached for the perfectly cooked meat.
Whoosh!
Something flashed rapidly before our eyes. It was Claude's hand.
"Huh?"
Nothing remained where his hand had passed. Like an eagle with talons extended, he had swiftly snatched his prey.
Claude held out the perfectly roasted venison tenderloin to me.
"My lady, please enjoy."
"But that's what I was trying to eat...."
"There's plenty of meat right in front of us. Have something else."
"Yes...."
Claude turned away from the dejected Ahin and handed me the meat.
"Then, I'll eat well."
I took a bite of the meat Claude gave me. As I chewed through the crispy exterior, savory juices flowed out.
"How does it taste?"
"It's absolutely delicious!"
I gazed at Claude with an expression of genuine delight.
"I had completely forgotten how delicious fresh meat could be!"
"I'm glad it suits your palate."
Claude smiled with satisfaction.
He only began eating after I had finished cleaning my plate.
* * *
The weather had grown remarkably warm.
The soldiers who had been injured gradually regained their vitality, and the members of our unit, no longer weighed down by thick quilted garments, moved with newfound lightness.
On the purified land, grass and flowers began to sprout little by little. The verdant growth drew herbivores to the area, and the once-tainted earth was awakening to life once more.
Lucian deserved the greatest credit for this transformation. Without him, we might have subjugated the monsters, but we could never have purified the demonic energy that saturated the ground. The land would have remained contaminated, festering with corruption.
"Wow, they sprouted!"
"Remarkable. I never thought they would grow."
Lucian crouched beside Ahin, observing the seedlings pushing through the soil.
"I only buried the leftovers, yet they actually sprouted...."
When there were no subjugation missions, Lucian couldn't sit still for a moment.
It was Ahin who stepped forward to ease his restlessness.
He buried a few dried tomato seeds and beans in the soil, saying he would help cure Lucian's boredom.
"I understand the beans, but I thought the dried tomatoes wouldn't grow at all."
Ahin's eyes grew contemplative as he gazed at the sprouts pushing up through the earth.
"The growth rate is faster than expected too. It seems the magical power or purification force might be influencing the growth speed.... I think I'll need to conduct some research on this matter."
"Ugh, there you go with the difficult talk again."
Lucian rose to his feet with a grimace.
Once Ahin became absorbed in his own world of thought, he rarely emerged from it.
"Senior."
Lucian headed toward the portable brazier, where Xenon and several other knights had gathered.
"Do you have any more seeds left over?"
"This fellow has really taken a liking to farming, hasn't he?"
Xenon rose from his chair with a chuckle, flashing his teeth.
"I think there were a few potatoes that had sprouted."
"Sprouts without even planting them?"
"That's how potatoes work. When they're exposed to sunlight, they sprout even without being planted in soil."
"I see."
"Not the seeds, but the actual tubers we eat—you plant those whole for farming. How about it? Should I carve a wooden seedling spade for you?"
Lucian followed Xenon with an intrigued expression, nodding eagerly.
'He's become quite the farmer.'
I smiled as I watched Lucian, his hands covered in soil, enjoying himself so thoroughly.
Seeing how well he could entertain himself, I felt it was finally time for me to return to my own duties.
"Melissa, let's go."
"Yes. Come on, Ahin."
Melissa dragged Ahin away as he continued muttering about the sprouts.
The thaw was generally a welcome change. There would be no more frostbite, and our movements became easier.
The one drawback was that the monsters' activity had become far more vigorous as well.
Before the creatures that had endured the cold grew even larger, and before they descended in search of prey, we had to eliminate them swiftly.
To achieve that, my effort was essential.
"You've arrived."
As I headed toward the designated meeting place, I spotted Claude, who had arrived early and was waiting for us.
He had always been there every single time I took flight.
"We could manage just fine on our own."
"It's a dangerous task. Naturally, as the unit commander, I should accompany you."
Despite my protests, Claude's resolve remained unwavering.
"If you were to fall midway again, that would be troublesome."
"I'm truly sorry about that. This time, absolutely! I won't let anything dangerous happen."
"Of course you won't."
Claude lifted his chin. His expression was one of determined observation.
"Then let's begin. Prepare yourself, Lucella."
"Yes."
I hung a telescope and a communication artifact around my neck.
Soon, as Ahin cast his spell, my body began to rise into the air.
"I'll head east."
-Understood.
As I spoke into the artifact, the flow of wind shifted. My body moved smoothly with the changed currents.
"Wow, the eastern edge of the Forest is already visible."
-All our diligent subjugation efforts are paying off.
"Then this time, let me change direction and head west...."
It was just as I was about to relay that I wanted to fly further.
Not far away, a cloud of dust rose up hazily. And as if that weren't enough, I began to sense an increasingly powerful magical presence.
"What is that?"
-Lucella, what's wrong?
"Just a moment."
I brought the telescope to my eyes.
Something that was neither a serpent nor a dragon was flying at a rapid speed at a lower altitude than me.
That's....
"...A wyvern!"
Startled, I covered my mouth with my hand.
But they said there were no flying monsters!
-A wyvern has appeared?
Sure enough, confusion began to ripple through the communication channel.
The Monster Subjugation Unit had never succeeded in subjugating monsters this deep before. Since we had never ventured this far inside, we naturally hadn't discovered the monsters hiding in secret.
Moreover, since wyverns tended to lurk in thickets and caves, they were all the more difficult to find.
-Lucella, I'll change the wind's flow. It's dangerous, so come back quickly.
"I can't. I just made eye contact with the wyvern."
An awkward situation had unfolded. I had locked eyes directly with a wyvern that was searching for prey and looking around.
The starving wyvern flicked its tongue and began closing in on me at high speed.
"It will follow me. If I return to the Military Camp like this, it will expose our location to the wyvern."
Ground combat was one thing, but aerial combat was an entirely different matter. If that colossal wyvern rained attacks from above, we would be utterly defenseless, unable to mount even a single resistance.
-Then what do you intend to do!
"Send me flying in the opposite direction from the Military Camp."
-And then? What will you do after that.
"I'll figure that out as I go."
Even I recognized this as a reckless plan.
Yet I couldn't return to the Military Camp as things stood. That would be no different than leading the wyvern straight to our base.
'The wyvern is a formidable monster. There's no guarantee Lucian can purify it in a single strike.'
If the wyvern flew beyond the reach of Lucian's power, it would be catastrophic.
-Absolutely not.
The voice coming through the magical communication device belonged to Claude.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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