Volume 8 Chapter 32 Piling Problems
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The wheels creaked. From the driver’s seat came the faint sound of a cat-girl humming.
They were inside a moving carriage, bored. Cianie turned to Klock and asked, “Hey, Klock. Why did we name this troop ‘Brigante’?”
(T/N: Brigante — a name that evokes a bandit group.)
Klock, slouched and looking lazy, lifted his head.
”Wasn’t ‘brigante’ the kind of name for mountain robbers and other outlaws?” he said.
”Right.” Cianie nodded. “So when people hear this troop’s name, no one will guess it holds a Hero.”
That made sense to her. It might look odd for the troop that kept a Hero to carry such a rogue name, but they couldn’t go around advertising “Hero inside.” Leaders were hidden so they wouldn’t be hunted.
”I thought at first we should pick a proper name for a troop with a Hero,” Klock admitted. “Would draw more people, too.”
”…If you did that, I’d worry they’d exile you, Klock.” Cianie said with a small smile.
Klock grinned and pulled her close. “What d’you mean by that, you little—” He tousled her head, physically returning the tease.
Her fine hair, which had no trace of any odd habit, ruffled and stuck out for a moment—bedhead like—and then settled back into neat strands. Cianie blinked, giving him a look that said she’d won this round. Her face smoothed into its usual cool calm as she tilted her head at him on purpose.
Klock threw up his hands and pretended to surrender. Her hair must be made of silk or something, he thought.
Just then, Suzette jumped onto the carriage, the swish of her hooded cloak announcing her arrival. She flipped the cloak back to show fresh travel gear—she had gone ahead to check the supply point they were after.
”Welcome back,” Klock said. “Found the river, huh?”
”Yes. I found it,” Suzette answered, sitting opposite them without a word, keeping a polite distance so she wouldn’t be in the way.
”How’s the water?” Klock asked.
”Fine. Clear enough to see the riverbed. It’s nothing like the mines’ streams,” Suzette replied.
”Good. Thanks to those bandits for the tip,” Klock said, relief showing. Supplies were a constant worry. Water was essential, but heavy; they could only carry so much. If they ran out, that would be a real danger. That was why scouting supply points before moving mattered—leaving the mining city had been hurried, and they hadn’t had time to plan thoroughly. If their water plans had failed, the whole troop might have been in trouble.
”What will we do with those bandits?” Cianie asked.
”Honestly, keeping them is only trouble. Polet Village, right? We’ll hand them back, and use the exchange to get food or other supplies,” Klock said.
”Is it safe to return them?” Cianie pressed.
”If we make it look like we’re returning them after a deal, the soldiers will accept it. They might hold a grudge and attack us later…but we can’t just kill them either,” Klock said.
Bandits would normally be dealt with on the spot. But Klock had heard that these were poor women who had fallen into bandit life out of poverty. He couldn’t be cruel enough to give a no-question death sentence. They had turned to theft because they had no money. Even if they let them go, they might fall down the same road elsewhere.
If the bandits didn’t aim at them, Klock would let them be—that was his feeling now.
”For now, we stick to plan: secure the water, then head south toward Polet Village. We don’t know how the village will act,” Klock said.
”Right. Please, I hope they don’t attack us,” Cianie muttered.
”If they do, blood will run,” Suzette said evenly.
The bandits’ testimony had said their village was further south along the river. Klock had forced the info from Rachel, but Suzette had also pulled the same details from a few prisoners. It looked reliable.
”There’s more to consider,” Suzette added. “From what we saw of the soldiers last night, they’re no use as they are. We need early training, and the troop’s order has to be tightened up.”
Klock agreed and frowned at the word Suzette used. Order. Training he understood, but the word for their troop’s discipline stuck in his mind.
Suzette’s look had a stinging edge. Klock found himself thinking of the scene with Rachel from the night before; instinct made him look away.
”Those bandits are prisoners, in effect. If our group becomes one that roughs up prisoners without care, the troop’s peace will go to ruin,” Suzette said.
”…Roughs up?” Cianie echoed, worried.
Bad. Klock leaned forward with an exaggerated motion so both of them could not meet Suzette’s eyes; he tried to pull attention away and change the tone.
”Ah—well, see, Brigante’s order is pretty much handed off to Boston. I can’t do that stuff right. Maybe Suzette could make the adjustments?” he said, half-joking and half-pleading.
”—Ha. You’re the captain, and you’re saying that?” Suzette’s voice held a quiet sharpness. “You’re better at breaking the law than keeping it, aren’t you?”
Cianie cocked her head, watching the flow of their talk like someone following a small, tense game. The carriage trundled on, the river waiting ahead, and a stack of small problems piled higher with every mile.
Suzette’s eyes gleamed with the sharpness of someone who seemed to see through everything.
Klock turned his gaze elsewhere, hiding a cold sweat. It was obvious she knew. While she had been carefully gathering information the night before, he had been “interrogating” those two bandit girls—playfully, at that. She must have noticed.
Suzette’s eyes now were the kind that questioned without words, already knowing the truth. At times like this, the best choice was surrender. If she pressed him, excuses would only worsen things—her temper would darken, and Cianie would report him. Game over.
”Even a small house with ten servants has rules and manners,” Cianie said lightly. “With seventy people, you really need proper order.”
”…Right. Rules and manners. Very important…!” Klock agreed, head still turned away.
Cianie glanced between him and Suzette, sensing something. Suzette, for her part, hadn’t shifted her stare one bit.
”If you truly think manners are important,” Suzette said, her voice refined but laced with thorns, “perhaps you should improve your daily conduct. Sometimes it’s hard to believe you were once Nobility.”
Klock’s eyes dropped to himself and Cianie. The two women both sat with backs straight, posture elegant, the sort of appearance that showed polish. Proper, respectable, graceful.
And then there was him. Feet up on the seat, arm wrapped around Cianie, lounging like some thug. His whole stance screamed careless, dismissive of order.
His eyes slid toward the driver’s seat. Meina, swinging her legs and humming as she guided the horses, hadn’t noticed a thing. Free-spirited and adorable. A house suited to such a cat should stay free, he thought. Rules and manners were fine in moderation, but too much made life suffocating.
With that fuzzy excuse, Klock decided his behavior was justified. Then, standing suddenly, he announced, “I’ll check the rear,” and hopped out of the carriage.
As he walked away, he could still feel Suzette’s glare drilling into his back.
”Yo.”
”Well, well. The captain himself shows up.”
This carriage wasn’t part of the troop rotation. They didn’t have enough seats for everyone, but one man kept his own private vehicle.
There were no benches inside. Klock landed on the platform, facing Boit and Nora, who sat on a mat. The driver turned his head—Moritz, the old owner of the Rushelora Shipyard.
”So? How’s the new job treating you?” Klock asked.
”Feels like I stumbled into a trash heap,” Boit said bluntly. “Didn’t think I was signing up for some guided tour.”
”Supposed to be a fight against the Demon Lord’s Army,” Nora added dryly. “But this troop? Just a pack of punks. You’re not seriously planning to fight a war with this, are you?”
Klock blinked at the harshness of their return greeting.
”What? Some problem I don’t know about?”
”Problem? That’s all there is,” Boit snapped. “A troop that claims to have a Hero, but it’s full of good-for-nothings. A collection of misfits only goes so far.”
Nora sighed. “Don’t get me wrong, I admire your guts, gathering people to stand against the Demon Lord’s Army. But me? I’ve got no interest in dying with this lot. Once we reach safe ground, I’m leaving.”
Boit threw up his hands in exaggerated exasperation. From the driver’s seat, Moritz gave Klock a sharp glare, his weathered face grim.
”Hey, hold on. You can’t just dump this on me without context. Explain what happened,” Klock demanded.
Even he was rattled now.
”Klock,” Boit said, his voice heavy, “your hired soldiers? They’ve been talking about nothing but women since dawn. After last night’s raid by the female bandits, they’re spreading filth—about taking them as spoils.”
Klock’s face hardened.
”What the hell? They think those women are prizes? They haven’t even proven themselves yet. Adventurers? Or is this the guard unit?”
”Both,” Nora said flatly. “Adventurers and guards alike.”
Klock frowned. He thought of Boston, serious and reliable. He couldn’t believe it.
”Weren’t the Rushelora guards supposed to be volunteers? The best of the lot?”
Nora shook his head. “Klock, the Federation might talk democracy, but most lands—including Rushelora—haven’t changed since the Nobility Class ruled. You should know what kind of people end up as soldiers. They’re just jobless rogues given weapons.”
”…Yeah. That’s true,” Klock muttered.
In the old days, Nobles wanted commoners working, not idle. Soldiers who didn’t produce lowered income, so the role was dumped on the useless and unemployed. It was no wonder the ranks were full of troublemakers. Crimes by soldiers were practically tradition.
”Boston might be a stickler, but most aren’t,” Boit said.
Klock shrugged. It seemed there was a loose, ugly air in the troop he hadn’t even noticed.
Their fears were valid. Where, in all this, was the image of warriors gathered under the Hero’s banner? Boit, who had his daughter along, had every reason to feel unsafe. They couldn’t risk getting dragged into disaster.
”…Alright. I get it,” Klock said at last. “I’ll deal with it. Just give me a little more time.”
”Can you really fix this?” Boit’s voice was sharp. “Then hurry it up. Otherwise, the serious ones will vanish first. If they think there’s no future here, that it’s just a rotten place to be, they’ll run off quick.”
”Right,” Moritz growled. “Kick out the spineless. Dead weight’s no use anyway.”
Merchants both, they were men used to cutting off useless hands without hesitation. And they weren’t wrong. Leave scum unchecked, and the diligent folk would be the ones to disappear first. Do nothing, and the troop would rot.
Attacked by bandits on the first day, squabbling within the troop on the second. If he let it slide, the rift would deepen into outright conflict. Klock wanted to groan.
Troubles stacking from the start. He felt like tilting his head back and cursing the heavens. This was why he hated playing a role that didn’t fit him.
But once he admitted it had to be thought through, his brain wouldn’t stop spinning.
The troop had only seventy-two members. It felt big compared to the handful of close allies he’d led before, but in truth, for a force meant to plunge into war, it was pitifully small.
The Hero was meant to clash against the Demon Lord himself or his chief lieutenants. Against the wider Demon Lord’s Army, humans had to form ranks and fight as soldiers. For that dream to be possible, manpower and strength were vital. Frankly, he didn’t have the luxury of handpicking perfect recruits.
Of course, if he could fill the troop with only capable warriors, he would. Feeding the useless served no one. But if he cut too hard, how many would remain?
”By the way,” Boit broke in, “when do we finally settle somewhere?”
”Settle?” Klock asked.
”You said we’re heading west, but what, we’re camping forever? Don’t joke with me.”
”Yeah, yeah, I get it. You mean a base. Hold out until Bernsa.”
Humans needed a home. Without a place to rest, their minds would fray. They weren’t nomads, surviving on food and sleep alone.
”We’re going to fight the Demon Lord’s Army,” Klock said. “That means the front lines. We’ll set a launch point and build a base in line with that.”
”Sounds like nonsense to me. Whatever. Just keep us in the loop about important things like that.”
Klock lifted his hands in a half-surrender, half-dismissal. Inside, though, he agreed. Their complaints mirrored exactly what the other soldiers must have been thinking. If he didn’t share what they needed to know, distrust would spread. And distrust bred deserters.
”Klock. Come back here.”
The three men turned. The wagon’s curtain lifted, and Cianie peered in.
”What’s up?” he asked, hopping down quickly. She hadn’t called him while inside—she didn’t want Boit and Moritz hearing.
”I sensed magic power from the south,” she said softly. “There’s something there. A lot of them.”
”…Something?”
”Monsters, I think. A huge number.”
Klock exchanged a look with her. In these times, what else could a monster horde mean?
”…The Demon Lord’s Army.”
”It’s not just a small pack. Maybe a massive swarm. Better to assume it’s the Army.”
”Either way, monsters are enemies. If they’re close enough for you to sense, this isn’t the time to relax and resupply.”
Once you knew the enemy was near, you couldn’t sit still. A battle was possible—they had to shift into formation. But with seventy people, even forming up would take time.
”Damn. We haven’t even trained properly yet. But if we’ve got a window, we can at least split roles. The real problem’s the size of that army…”
”…Should I take the lead?” Cianie asked quietly.
”Yeah, that’d be best. But if this is a chance for real combat practice, we can’t waste it. They need the experience.”
The enemy numbers were still unknown, but Brigante held common folk among its ranks. The sooner they tasted battle, the better. Ideally, he would’ve given them one trial run before the real thing.
”How fast are they moving? Will they clash with us soon?”
”…No. It feels more like… they’re milling about,” she said hesitantly.
”Milling about?” Klock echoed. Her words were awkward, hesitant. Something was off. He frowned.
She hesitated, lips pressing together, as if what she had to say was bitter.
”Wait,” Klock said suddenly. “You said they’re coming from the south? Then—the monsters’ path runs straight through the village, doesn’t it?”
In Barreith, he hadn’t seen it directly, but reports said the Army had come from the south. Their line of march was from the west, curving northeast. That meant this new force was following the same path.
And their target wasn’t Brigante—it was humans in general. If a village lay ahead, it would be crushed underfoot. This wasn’t some clean war of kings. Civilians would be slaughtered.
”Klock…” Cianie’s voice faltered. “If I’d noticed earlier… but even if we go now, it’s probably—”
”Damn it.” Klock spat the words. “Change of course! We’re charging south. Cianie, fly ahead!”
”…Understood.”
Now he understood why her words had stumbled. The monsters weren’t just near the village. They were already upon it.
Notes:
• Cianie – A noble girl with a fluffy white and light blue dress, indicating her high status. She has a hesitant and flustered personality but is kind and courteous. Her relationship with Klock begins as an accidental encounter and develops into a romantic interest. She has a fiancé but expresses feelings for Klock, complicating their relationship.
• Suzette – The older maid from Viscount Fennec. The head maid at the Viscount Fennec’s villa. She is confident, clear-spoken, and professional.
• Clea – younger dog beastkin sister who also serviced Klock previously.
• Boston – Adelina’s father, who holds a position of power within the church hierarchy. He has a dark secret regarding the death of his wife, Adelina’s mother.
• Meina – She is a golden-haired catgirl employee of the beastman (Larana the cat woman) Inn, appeared performing fellatio, desperate and tear-streaked, with an inexperienced yet earnest approach to her work.
• Rushelora – A port where demons are allowed to stay at embassies under special circumstances. It is a location where humans and demons have trade relations.
• Boit – A merchant involved in human trafficking, with a villainous face and a loud, obnoxious voice. He is pragmatic and willing to help Klock escape the country in exchange for something. His relationship with Klock is business-like, though both are aware of each other’s illicit activities.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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