It was the third day of our journey to the Royal Capital, and once again, we set off at a brisk pace from early in the morning. Even the army’s horses were starting to show signs of strain and injury, so I cast healing magic on them whenever we stopped to rest.
“They’re asking if you could also use that magic to clean them up in the evening.”
“Life Magic on horses is a luxury, but if you’re willing to use it on us as well, I’ll allow it.”
Shiro had been interpreting for the army’s horses while I treated them, but Tory-san had conveniently decided to take advantage of the situation too.
Well, quite a few of our members could use Life Magic, and if something that simple was enough to keep everyone motivated, I had no problem with it.
“““Hee-haw!”””
“Oh, they’re all fired up now!”
“They’re saying they don’t want to smell sweaty.”
This time, Fran and Horn were interpreting for the army’s horses. And honestly, I couldn’t blame them. I didn’t particularly want to smell like sweat either. So, once we reached today’s campsite, I decided I’d give everyone a good cleaning.
Since we were at it, I might as well clean up the people we were escorting, too. It was nice that everyone was feeling more motivated, but unfortunately, the territory we were passing through next was one ruled by nobles who openly embraced aristocratic supremacy.
And sure enough, when we arrived at the territorial capital and tried to resupply, they immediately started making things difficult.
“The lord wishes to meet with you. Should you refuse, he has ordered that you will not be permitted to pass through his territory.”
Yeah, I understood that the guards were only doing their jobs, and I knew it must have been difficult for them. But when someone said something like that to me with a completely straight face, I couldn’t help but feel a little irritated myself.
“That damned brat. He’s always doing something to get on my nerves.”
Whoa. Tory-san was actually furious.
For someone who was normally so polite, this guy must really be a pain to deal with.
“Shun-san, don’t worry. I have a way to handle this.”
Sue seemed to have come up with some sort of countermeasure, so while everyone else went to restock our supplies, Sue, Tory-san, and I headed to the noble family’s estate. This was the territorial capital of a viscount’s domain, and apparently, it had a decent selection of goods.
Still, we had to be careful not to go overboard with the shopping.
“I shall summon the lord of the territory. Please wait here.”
Once we arrived at the estate and were shown into a reception room, we were treated perfectly normally. Just to be safe, I appraised the tea and sweets they had served us, but there was nothing suspicious mixed into them.
“Well, then. What should we do now?”
“He’s a twisted sort, so I doubt this will be resolved so easily.”
“I agree.”
Tory-san and Sue’s assessment of the man was about as bad as it could get. It didn’t take long for me to understand why.
Ten minutes.
Twenty minutes.
Thirty minutes.
Forty minutes.
Fifty minutes.
Yeah. Now I completely understood what Tory-san and Sue had meant.
When I used Exploration Magic, I discovered someone on the other side of the reception room door. He was deliberately leaving us waiting while secretly keeping an eye on us.
Maybe it was time to make a little point.
“Sue, we don’t have much time. How about we just blow this entire mansion apart with magic and leave?”
“Shun-san, you could completely demolish the mansion in an instant, but please calm down a little.”
“She’s right. Calm yourself. I have no idea what would happen if you managed to anger the Lightning Chef. After all, Shun holds three different adventurer titles.”
Sue and Tory-san played along, and when I deliberately spoke of something unsettling, a sudden commotion broke out just outside the door.
As I began gathering radiant magical energy in both hands—partly as training for magical circulation—the door suddenly flew open.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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