Chapter 289 - The Namila Village Liberation Front (1/2)

I pulled out my weapons and armor from the hollow bag as soon I returned to the inn. Some clean cloth scraps as well. I soaked them with water magic and started to wipe each piece. The Glampanzer, Schwarz Tempest, Ashikirimaru, Cocytus Lance, Velnoir, and Orthros.

Then there was the wind dragon armor and ice dragon armor. I cleaned the spy equipment set as well. I took my time cleaning them all. By the time I sighed and put down the last piece, Daniela came in through the door.

“Welcome back.”

“We are to meet up with the others early in the morning before departure. So we should sleep early tonight.”

“Got it.”

I had been so preoccupied with thoughts of my equipment, that I had forgotten to ask about such important details. It was a good thing Daniela could cover for me there.

She also bought some dinner, which we ate together at the table. Today, it was fried noodles. She even got some vegetable soup, perhaps in consideration of our health. It was pretty cheap as long as you brought your own container, which made it popular. We chewed noisily on the noodles and slurped the soup. This wasn’t a place where anyone cared about table manners.

“It is nice to have vegetable soup once in a while.”

“You should have it every day. A balanced diet is necessary if you want to be healthy. So eat your vegetables.”

“Hmph. It is just leaves. What kind of elf do you take me for.”

A 22-year-old scolding the 300-year-old about health. Regardless, health was something that would be on the minds of many couples where there was a large age gap. It was quite important.

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The next morning. Daniela and I walked towards the north gate as light snow fell down around us. While it was the military district, we had a reason to be here. Leaving through the west or east gates would result in a pointless loss of time.

As the sun had not come up yet, and due to it being the coldest of hours, there were hardly any people walking outside. Well, aside from people like us. Adventurers.

“Hmm… There are more than I expected.”

“How many do you think there are?”

“Ah… Maybe fifty?”

“Hmm.”

I looked around with Eyes of the God Wolf. I could see Adventurers in winter gear moving towards the north. Of course, Daniela and I were also wearing our capes. Mine was amazingly warm. And under it, was the wind and ice dragon armor. I also carried the hollow bag. The weapon I had on my belt was the Velnoir. Goblins tended to have swords of poor quality, and so I chose this sword in the hopes of breaking them.

Though, I would also be able to take out the other weapons pretty quickly. I had recently realized that if I put my hand behind my back as if unsheathing a sword, I could put my hand inside the hollow back and pull out the weapon. Of course, I wasn’t the most flexible person, and it hurt my joints a little. My shoulder and back… It’s not because I was old. I was just stiff!

I shook the thought out of my head and continued north, where the others waited.

“You’re late, Asagi. You’re the last one.”

“Uhhh.”

That was the first thing Manager said when I arrived. I looked around and saw the others were already there. That was odd…

“Uh. So, where’s Lemon?”

She wasn’t anywhere near Manager. They had been so close the last time I saw them.

“I’m leaving her here. While she has a lot of experience as a guard, stampedes are very different. I didn’t think she would be able to keep up with us.”

“…I see. Well, we don’t know what will happen out there.”

I left the grinning Manager and walked over to Adlus, who was standing with his arms crossed. I hadn’t seen him in a while, so I thought I might as well say something.

“…”

“Hey. Been a while. I guess we’ll be working together now.”

“Ah, there you are. You should know that I am the leader this time. And don’t imagine for a moment that I will make things easy for you.”

“What?”

The first thing that came out of his mouth was how he would work me like a dog. Apparently, he had been appointed as our leader. This was due to both his popularity and his position within the imperial capital. But, we were stronger…?

“You may think that, but you don’t belong here. I’ve lived in this city for many years.”

“Well, I see your point. To be honest, I’d hate being a leader, so I consider myself lucky.”

“Damn it… You would think that someone of your ability would have more ambition.”

“Hehe. Well, I look forward to working with you.”

“Aye.”

Adlus sighed as he extended his fist, I bumped it with my own. He was like a completely different person from before. Almost as if he was free from an evil spirit. At least, I didn’t hate him now. Perhaps we’d even become friends.

The people that were here included me, Daniela, Manager, and Adlus, who were all A-Rank, and forty other Adventurers who were B-Rank. Some of them would be B-Rank for the rest of their lives. Regardless, they had all gathered here in order to take back the village and help protect the imperial capital. When I stood by Adlus and looked at their faces, I could tell by their expressions that they were eager to do this.

But, how many of them would survive until the end… No, it was better to stay positive. Keep our guard up and annihilate the goblins. It didn’t matter what they did, we would win.

“Alright, everyone is here now. Let’s go. The battle for Namila’s liberation starts now!!”

Adlus gave the order, and the gates opened. A vast field of snow spread out north of the city. It was up ahead, that the monsters awaited.

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I didn’t hate walking in the snow-covered field. I had once lived in a town where it snowed a lot. I knew how to distribute my weight while walking, so I wouldn’t slip. However, it was also kind of tiring. It would only take about 20 minutes for the sweat to start showing from my underclothes. This was the biggest reason people caught colds in snowy countries. It was the sweat from the heat that robbed them of their body temperature.

“This is nice…”

But screw that way of walking. We had a carriage.