Chapter 28
"Bread Saint!"
A child called out to me like that, and when our eyes met, they waved their hand vigorously.
I waved back, and the child, beaming with a smile as bright as the sun, trotted back to their mother's side.
Watching their retreating figure makes me inexplicably sad.
Bread Saint.
Usually, when people call someone a saint, it's accompanied by their great achievements. But the nickname attached to me isn't about salvation or exorcism—it's just bread.
I'm not dissatisfied with the nickname. If there's anything I'm dissatisfied with, it's this situation and reality where starvation is considered so normal.
This reality where people attach "bread" to a saint's name because they can't even get a loaf of bread.
The knights weren't much better off than the refugees. Some joined our pioneer group in search of food, bringing our numbers to 300.
If I had defeated the Demon King a little sooner, would things have been different?
I occasionally indulge in such delusions, but even if that had happened, probably nothing would have changed.
If anything, if I hadn't meddled trying to assassinate the Demon King and just stayed put, maybe I could have prevented stupid stunts like the Hero Coin.
"Bread Master, we've received word from Baron David that we'll soon arrive at the El Berg Mountains!"
"I see..."
The El Berg Mountains are so vast that it's hard to tell where they begin, their boundaries blurred.
But if the Baron said that, it probably means he saw the shadows of magical beasts.
"I'll go to the vanguard to confirm. Ivanna, please take care of things here."
"Yes!"
I flew through the sky, crossing our pioneer group's formation, heading straight for the vanguard where Baron David and the knights were.
Then I realized why they had sent word that we'd arrived at the El Berg Mountains.
A massive mountain range stretched beyond the horizon, its end invisible even from high in the sky.
The undulating shape of the mountain range looked like the body of a giant snake, creating the illusion of facing a massive magical beast.
I could see why the Baron had said we'd arrived at the El Berg Mountains.
And there was something else visible.
Right below the mountain range, what appeared to be the ruins of collapsed castle walls and the remnants of an ancient castle site awaited us.
I immediately descended to join the vanguard. Baron David, who had been waiting at the front, pointed to the castle ruins and said:
"I was hoping for locals, but it seems there aren't any. Fortunately, we won't have any friction with locals, but I'm not sure if that's really fortunate..."
"Let's look on the bright side. Judging by the state of the ruins, the locals must have been wiped out hundreds of years ago."
We don't have the luxury to mourn each death from hundreds of years ago.
It's regrettable that we won't have local help, but on the flip side, it's fortunate that we won't have any conflicts.
"More importantly, call the carpenters and blacksmiths."
Since the castle ruins still remain, we need to recycle what we can use.
The people who know this best are the carpenters and blacksmiths.
We also needed the knights' opinions, as they couldn't be ignored when it came to castle defenses.
We briefly halted the pioneer group and assembled a small team to advance towards the collapsed castle ruins.
Since examining everything from the ground would take until nightfall, we first used flight magic to survey the castle ruins from the air together.
Surprisingly, not all the castle walls had collapsed, but they were so deteriorated from the passage of time that it wouldn't be strange if they crumbled at any moment.
The houses in the castle ruins were similar, and for safety reasons, it would be better to demolish them all and rebuild, they said.
Going down for a closer inspection, fortunately, we found that the ground didn't need to be specially prepared, so large-scale earthworks wouldn't be necessary.
Demolishing the buildings wasn't a big problem. Among earth magic spells, there was one for demolishing buildings, so I could handle it alone.
The demolition spell is magic that breaks down building materials by their properties.
It required a high degree of concentration and mana, so it had almost fallen into disuse, but in this situation, it was incredibly helpful.
I targeted the entire collapsed city, breaking down all the buildings and sorting the materials by type.
When I gathered materials like wood and bricks in one place after breaking them down, several small mountains of materials formed.
"...It's an impressive sight every time I see it. If Your Excellency returned to the front lines, you could build a fortress or two at each front in just a day."
"Haha."
As Baron David made such a joke, one of the craftsmen said to me:
"Most of the wood is in poor condition, so it's only good for firewood, but most of the bricks are in good shape and can be reused."
"That's good. It's fortunate since we still have time before new materials arrive."
When I asked what we should do next, one craftsman raised his hand and said:
"How about building a watchtower first?"
"A watchtower?"
"Fortunately, it's the warm season now, so living in tents isn't a problem."
There were too many refugees—we didn't have time to build houses to accommodate thirty thousand refugees.
However, we needed to be on guard against magical beasts coming down from the mountains right now, so we had to prioritize countermeasures for that.
"So let's build a watchtower first. Even refugees, not just knights, can stand watch, so it's an efficient use of manpower."
"I see."
It wasn't wrong, so I approved it. Our top priority should be the safety of the refugees, so first the watchtower, then the castle walls.
Structures made with magic have simple designs and disappear over time, so we had to build them manually even if it took more time and materials.
Moreover, since we could make watchtowers with our current resources, we decided to build watchtowers first.
"Then next is the land, right?"
"Yes, Your Excellency. Actually, I know a bit about farming."
The one who spoke up was a knight. He said he was a commoner who became a knight through merit, which might explain why he knew about farming.
From what we saw from above, he said it looked fine, so there shouldn't be any problems.
If there is a problem, it's the magical beasts coming down from the mountains targeting crops and farmers.
In that case, what we need are palisades and manpower for guards, but the knights alone are far too few.
However, we didn't have time to turn able-bodied men among the refugees into soldiers.
The issue wasn't injuries, but how long these people, who were refugees until recently, could hold out against the mountain's magical beasts.
"If we were to train the refugees as soldiers, how long would it take?"
To my question, Baron David pondered for a moment before answering with an uncertain voice:
"Honestly, I can't give you a definite answer. We only know the El Berg Mountains' infamous reputation, not how strong the magical beasts there actually are."
"Then I guess we need to investigate the mountains first..."
We lack too much information to make plans. We need to find out how strong the magical beasts are and if there are any plants we can gather.
There might even be ore veins, so we need to investigate thoroughly.
"I'll investigate tomorrow."
Even if we only investigate nearby areas, it won't be finished in a day, and today it's better to gather as much mana as possible in preparation for tomorrow.
"Your Excellency, if you're going into the forest, we'll accompany you. Well, to be frank, I don't think we'll be much help, but we can at least be meat shields."
"Don't say that. You'll be plenty helpful."
"Thank you for the kind words, even if they're just empty flattery."
The Baron seemed to think I was just being polite, but I wasn't just saying it to sound nice.
Maybe because I've spent the last five years alongside the Hero and magical beasts from the Demon Realm, my sensibilities are fatally misaligned with other people's in some ways.
Given the purpose of the investigation, we needed the sensibilities of ordinary people here.
"...I see. Then we'll do our best."
"Yes, please do. Now, for tomorrow's preparation—"
I was about to say I was going to sleep when it happened.
Along with a sensation as if I was connected to the world, impossible memories began to replay in my mind.
*****
At night, perhaps because there's no sunlight, the leaves all seem dyed in darkness, making everything appear black.
The leaves, which should have been dyed in endless black, began to turn an unseasonable crimson.
As flames rising from afar dyed the leaves and surrounding fields orange, it was only natural for people to wake up.
"What's going on?"
When I belatedly rushed to the scene, what I saw were the corpses of knights and demons.
The long-eared demons called elves were all dead or glaring at us with murderous intent in their eyes.
"S-suddenly, those guys appeared!!"
Someone's cry didn't continue. A blade of wind that came flying from somewhere cut off that cry.
Honestly, I don't understand the situation well. But if my people are dying, no matter who the opponent is, there's only one thing for me to do.
The elves tried to put up a fight, but there was too great a gap between them and me.
The elves met a pathetically weak end, like ants being swept away by water.
The time it took for everything to end felt like about 30 seconds, a brief moment.
While checking if there were any other elves around, I also looked at the flames rising from the forest.
Such a large fire should have spread, but strangely, it didn't, staying in one place like a signal fire.
"Did any of you do that?"
While I was asking such a pointless question, more elves attacked, and a massive shadow began to raise its head from the dark mountains.
"A magical beast...?"
A giant shadow comparable to Dahaka approached us, baring its sharp teeth.
Amidst screams erupting from all directions, I alone prepared my magic.
*****
"Your Excellency? What's wrong?"
"...Looks like I won't be sleeping tonight."
"Pardon?"
Something is coming tonight.
Sighing softly, I gazed at that mountain from my memories.