zChapter 61 - Chapter 4 Arc 3, Waxing Moon (1/2)

As early summer approached, only a shadow of snow remained in the forest.

The grass swayed from the breeze of Ernst’s footsteps, and the warm scent of life abounded in the forest.

In the past, Ernst had passed through this forest at the beginning of winter.

The Ernst of that time had known nothing; he had believed the teachings of the Royal Palace were everything in the world, and he himself had not experienced a thing.

But now, after having spent almost a year here in Meissen, he looked at this forest by Arruca Village with fresh eyes. Now, it looked to him as a rich and abundant forest. If nothing else, it seemed much easier to manage in comparison to the Weiss Forest by Eitt Village, which was strongly influenced by the neighboring Grude Continent. Although the trees here had seemed enormous to him in the past, they looked small now that he had experienced the Weiss Forest’s gigantic trees.

“For trees like these, perhaps they can be felled so long as adequate tools are available,” Ernst murmured, lost in thought. Ahead, Mage, the leader of the 1st company, turned back toward him.

Mage was currently seventy years old, and he had his position of company commander thanks to Targes selecting him for the post. Apparently, other than him, there was no one else who was young enough who could handle spears on horseback.

“Yes, that is so, sir. The trees in the Lord’s forest are just as large as these, but we are able to chop them down as well.”

Ernst himself had never stepped foot in the so-called Lord’s forest, which was the forest personally owned by the Lord of Meissen. Although Ganche had carried him around the entrance before, they had never gone deep into the forest.

“Humm… What can you tell me about the kinds of tools used by the militia?”

“We use axes, but… all of them are worn out. Although we have looked into trying to temper them somehow, we aren’t able to find any ways to heat the iron enough to let us temper the metal,” said Minaha. Minaha walked alongside Mage, and he was the commander of the 2nd company. He had turned fifty-two at the turn of the year. At times of battle, the seven platoons would organize into three companies, and the three company commanders would lead each of the groups.

Half a year after Targes had become the militia’s captain, he had appointed these two as company commanders. Although both of them were younger than the seven platoon leaders, they both had better weapon proficiency and leadership skills than each of the others. As well, Minaha carried a large longbow on his back. He was said to be a master of the bow.

Ernst pondered, and he thought: I want to procure our tools from Sistica Continent.

Iron, as an underground resource, was mined by Helesians. Helesians, whose heights did not exceed 1 meter, originally lived in a place known as Hel Continent. At present, however, Hel Continent had been swallowed up by the neighboring territories of Sistica, Schell, and Grude Continents, and its presence above ground had nearly disappeared. Currently, each of those continents contained a few known Helesian cities, totaling 3 above ground and 4 underground. Those underground were known as Hel Continent.

While every continent had resources hidden underground, only the Helesians were able to mine them. Those resources were located beneath a bedrock so hard that even the Grude races were probably unable to break it.

It was said that this was ‘probably’ the case, however, because no one other than the Helesians knew of either the location of the ores or the method to mine them. Somehow, the Helesians located the ores, mined them out, and sold them to make profits.

Whether making weapons or creating farming tools and the like, all of them required iron.

However, only in the countries of Sistica Continent could that iron be forged to become even stronger. The environment of Sistica Continent provided natural sources of powerful, blazing fire, which the continent’s people had learned to operate for their own use.

Hunting tools, weapons, and swords were made in Rintz Kingdom as well, of course. But when Ernst considered the strength of the tools, he felt that it truly would be better to procure them from Sistica Continent. Ernst was only willing to buy expensive goods if they were high-quality, and he could not afford to cut costs for things like farming tools, which would be used just about until they broke.

Ernst’s gaze fell upon the weapons carried by the troops around him.

Ganche’s weapons – his greatsword, spear, and everything else – were all made in Sistica; and moreover, they were made in Leucurias Country, which was said to forge the finest-quality work.

Targes’ sword, like Ganche’s, was also made in Leucurias.

Mage and Minaha’s spear and bow were supposedly given to them by Targes and Vice-Captain Aldo; as Ernst had suspected, they were Sistica-made weapons.

Aldo wielded a sword that had been forged in Mutea Country of Sistica Continent. For this occasion, Brez borrowed Aldo’s sword and carried it with him. However, when it came to armor, there was nothing that they could do; other than Targes and Ganche, the militia troops could only make do with the poor and shabby armor assigned to them.

Ganche had vaguely recalled how much it cost to commission weapons and armor, and he had calculated how much money was necessary to outfit all of Meissen’s troops. Even if they sold all of the goods bequeathed to them by the former lords, it was still impossibly far from what they would need.

They waited for night to pass in front of the valley, and come the next morning, they began crossing through. It seemed safer to cross now compared to how dangerous it was during the early winter; but as always, the bottom of the valley was a long fall down, and the wind’s pull was strong.

“I will take the lead in crossing over first, pardon me,” Brez said, tying a rope around his waist. He safely crossed over the valley, even as tiny rocks dislodged and fell from around his feet.

Unlike during winter, the rocks were not frozen and would not cause your feet to slide off of them – but on the other hand, bits and pieces of rock fell from each of your steps. If you put your foot on the wrong place, the rock would tremble and shake beneath you.

Even Brez, who had formerly worked as a migrant mercenary and had crossed this valley innumerable times, could not avoid this.

Perhaps the reason for this was because he was burdened by both his armor and the wicker basket carried on his back. Yet Minaha, Mage, and Targes would each have to cross while carrying the same burdens. And when it came to Ganche, he not only had his armor and basket, but he also had to carry the wooden box filled with money.

“The route Brez used to cross is safe, so Lord Ernst, could you see if you can cross over the same way?” Targes asked him. Despite the nervousness stiffening his neck, Ernst managed to nod.

Yet, when Targes made to tie the rope around Ernst’s waist, Ganche stopped him and lifted Ernst in his arms.

“There is no need. I shall transport Lord Ernst over.”

“Wait, Ganche. …How in the world are you going to get across that narrow cliff face? My plan was for you to go last, you know. You’re already carrying more than the rest of us as it is. With all that weight on you, I’m worried that the valley’s not going to be able to hold up if you step on it!”

Targes hurriedly tried to stop him. Ganche, without paying him any heed, just stood at the valley while carrying Ernst in his arms.

When Ernst peered into the valley from his position in Ganche’s arms, he felt how long of a fall it would be even more deeply.

Yet strangely, Ernst didn’t feel afraid at all. If Ganche said that there was nothing to fear, then there was nothing for him to fear.

“Very well. Ganche, I am counting on you.” As Ernst spoke, he clung tightly to Ganche.

Ganche carried Ernst in the same way he always did, with Ernst sitting on and held in one of his arms. Ganche lifted the wrist of the arm Ernst perched on, and he firmly held Ernst with his large hand.