Chapter 14
After confirming Three-Legs's death, I breathed a quiet sigh of relief without letting the soldiers notice.
As expected, Three-Legs was a formidable foe. But I had also believed it was a wall we needed to overcome.
The soldiers had gained experience through the past few battles. There truly was no better teacher than actual combat.
However, even with our string of victories, all the enemies we had fought so far had been weaker than us. Of course, I had deliberately chosen only such opponents. For now, we needed to build up a record of success.
But that alone was not enough, so this time I chose a stronger monster, and it went well. No one had been injured, and the soldiers had performed admirably. I had also made good use of the explosive magic stone, and everything had gone according to plan. My nightly practice throwing stones had paid off.
Besides, after several battles, I had started to understand the soldiers better.
"Everyone, you did well. Gran and Lagun, in particular, did an excellent job."
I praised the two soldiers who had just targeted Three-Legs's left foreleg. They were twins who always acted together and displayed teamwork like mirror images. Their simultaneous attacks were difficult to defend against, and they were adept at killing enemies, thinking on their feet, and supporting their comrades. They were reliable enough to serve as the backbone of the unit.
"Otto did well too."
I made sure not to forget the stocky soldier who had charged in after the twins and driven his spear into Three-Legs's heart.
He was short but well-built and strong. As the son of a carpenter, he was good with his hands, and I had seen him making ornaments and other things from scraps of wood. He seemed highly suited to being a combat engineer, so perhaps I should eventually place him under the guidance of someone qualified.
"Kyle, you did well finding the nest, too. Without your efforts, this operation would have been impossible."
I looked at a gaunt young man among the soldiers.
He looked like a starved cat, but he was light on his feet and could climb trees with ease.
His pure combat ability was slightly below average, but he was highly agile and well suited to reconnaissance. Thanks to him, we had found Three-Legs's nest and lured it out. Preparation was more important than anything else, and his contribution to this operation had been immense.
"What about me, my lady?"
Al made a joking complaint.
"Yes, yes, I know. You did well too, Al."
Praise cost me nothing. If simply moving my lips could make people happy, I would praise them as much as I pleased. Besides, Al's performance had truly been impressive.
His attitude was still cheeky, but he had improved more than anyone else in battle. He was reckless and fearless. This time, he had volunteered for the dangerous role of decoy and lured Three-Legs and its young out of the forest.
This time, Al, Kyle, Gran, Lagun, and Otto all deserved special rewards.
Besides, we had discovered that Al possessed a magical aptitude. We had conducted an aptitude test recently using magic paint, and when the powder was sprinkled on a flame, it produced an intense orange light that illuminated the area. Apparently, Al had an aptitude for fire magic. If he learned to use magic, he would become even stronger.
"Then dig a hole to dispose of the carcass. Cut off Three-Legs's head and deliver it to the nearby villages."
Taking it as proof of the subjugation should reassure them.
The soldiers set to work at my instruction. But one person remained still: Ray.
Unable to make a decisive contribution in the battle, he was biting his lip in frustration.
I considered saying something, but decided not to. I thought that encouraging him after a failure might only make him feel worse.
Ray had been spinning his wheels lately.
I was a little worried, so I assigned him the role of my escort, but apparently he could not accept that either and kept trying to move to the front. However, perhaps because he was not naturally suited to fighting, his injuries kept piling up.
I thought he would be better suited to providing support from the rear than fighting on the front lines, but he seemed determined to earn some glory, and I still had no idea how to handle him.
Another source of worry was that we had discovered Ray, like Al, possessed a talent for magic. The flames had shone blue, indicating an aptitude for wind magic. It was a fortunate surprise to have two people with magical aptitudes among our small force, but I was unsure how to train them.
I had been told that learning to use magic properly required at least several months of training under an instructor.
I wanted soldiers capable of using magic, but we could not afford to send them away for several months of training.
I considered sending Ray alone for training, but it did not seem like a particularly good plan, so I put the idea on hold for now.
"What's wrong? Lost in thought again?"
Al called out to me casually. Overfamiliarly, some might say.
"Yes. I was thinking it might be time for us to return to Karulus Fortress and go through training again."
"What? Aren't you satisfied with how we've been doing?"
"Of course not. The demonfolk—the Demon King's army—are formidable foes. Even battle-hardened knights are no match for them."
Their homeland, the Demon Continent, was a harsh place, and the demonfolk were warriors from birth. Moreover, they had spent years embroiled in warfare, making every one of them an experienced veteran.
Al and the others had grown stronger, but their training was makeshift at best. We needed to return to Karulus Fortress, train them thoroughly, and forge them into a powerful army.
"Hmph. One of these days, I'll awaken and become a lot stronger."
Since Al was so fired up, I did not contradict him and simply smiled.
Awakening was a phenomenon in which a person suddenly grew much stronger after fighting a formidable foe or experiencing a threat to their life.
During our journey, the prince had awakened several times and grown stronger.
Perhaps a power akin to my 'Grace' lent strength to warriors who fought fierce battles, allowing them to grow stronger.
Naturally, I would be delighted if Al awakened. He would probably be able to use magic as well.
"Oh, you don't believe me."
Al noticed my half-amused smile at once.
That was understandable. No one had ever deliberately tried to trigger an awakening.
It was said to happen to those who fought powerful enemies and came close to death, but not everyone who nearly died managed to awaken. Far more people died after such experiences than awakened.
Even among those who went through the same experience, some awakened while others did not, and the factors behind it remained unclear.
"You can't make it happen just by aiming for it."
It was possible that 'Grace' made awakening more likely, but we could not count on it. The prince had awakened many times during our journey, but it would be more accurate to credit Elizabeth's healing power than 'Grace.' He had suffered wounds severe enough to bring him to the brink of death, and it was only because the saint had been able to heal those wounds that he could awaken.
With no healer available, deliberately seeking an awakening would be far too dangerous.
"In any case, after we stop by the village, we'll continue south and head for another village."
"So we're not returning to the fortress?"
"Apparently, a medium-sized monster has been appearing in a village along the way back. We may as well subjugate it while we're there. Even medium-sized monsters should be beatable if there aren't many of them."
As a danger classification, monsters were judged less by their individual strength than by whether they formed groups and how readily they reproduced.
A medium-sized monster might be a bear or something similar that had been transformed into a monster. The lack of information concerned me, but if there were only a few of them, we should be able to defeat them by surrounding them. At worst, we could blow them apart with an explosive magic stone as we had this time.
"Got it, got it. Good grief, we're awfully busy."
Still grumbling, Al returned to the soldiers.
Al was cheeky, but talented, and the others were shaping up as well. If we trained them properly, we could build a powerful army.
I could feel my faint hope beginning to take on the glow of reality.
I quietly clenched my fist, savoring that tangible sense of progress.
However, three days later, we found ourselves standing at the brink of despair.