Today, I left the remodeling to the foreman and the other craftsmen and left the Royal Capital with the members of ≪Solitude≫.
I had them line up in two columns and we quickly headed for a forest that's roughly an hour's walk from the capital.
Seeing as they were wearing light leather armor, with things like swords and short spears in their hands and a backpack with food and medical supplies on their backs, the members of ≪Solitude≫ would've previously become worn out immediately, with the exception of some, like the ringleader.
However, because their eating habits have improved and they've obtained combat-related jobs, they've reached the point where they can just barely handle actual combat with the help of body strengthening enchantments. When we arrived, although they were tired, not a single member had dropped out.
After we arrived, I had them all rest for roughly a minute so they could catch their breath. After that, I grouped them into parties of four, told them to go hunt monsters on the outskirts of the forest, and saw them off.
Since there were fifty of them, I was able to make twelve groups, though two people were left after doing so. I decided to have the two remaining people, the group leader and his bratty second in command (who is female), team up with Auro and Argento.
Since high level monsters don't come to the outskirts of the forest, I also told them to hunt further in it, as well.
It should be fine since Auro and Argento are with them, unless several Hind Bear ranked monsters appear. Since they have the ear cuffs with them as well, they shouldn't die either way.
If it's necessary, I'll just have to go and save them. While we waited for everyone to return, I trained with Redhead and Kanami-chan outside of the forest.
Everyone returned in the evening.
Although many of them suffered various major and minor injuries, some of them were able to hunt Horn Rabbits and Armored Tanuki, which were nostalgic to see. Another group had taken several legs from a Demon Spider, only to have them stolen by a type of wolf monster right after. Some of them harvested things like [Thorned Fig Tree Roots], which are roots that are delicious, but come out of the ground when something approaches and stabs them. There were also those who hunted Sleep Moths, a moth which scatters scales that causes those who inhale them to become drowsy. Surprisingly, it seems they did their best.
As I expected though, the group that had the best results was Auro's group.
They simply overwhelmed the other groups as they took down things like the following:
Orcs, with their pig heads and fat bodies.
Dire Cat, a large striped cat that confuses its opponents by emitting a scent that has a bewitching effect.
Gray Lizards, lizards that have characteristic gray scales and make use of unrefined axes.
Well, I wasn't really worried about them.
I gave both of them praise and patted them on their heads. Though it was almost as if they were being tickled, they didn't seem to hate it.
After that, I gathered all the materials and loot into my Item Box and we set out to return using a Skeleton Centipede.
Since the majority of the children had fallen asleep, we took our time on the return journey. They smelled of blood and sweat from running around in the forest all day long, so when we returned to the mansion in the Royal Capital, the first thing I did was put them in the bath.
After the bath, I prepared meals for each specific group using the prey they hunted as ingredients. Since the people who hunted more had more extravagant meals, it should help motivate them in the future.
The message this gave them was, "If you want to eat something better, then work harder for it."
It's simple and effective.
Day 188/Sidestory: Ringleader's POV (Future commander of the [Solitude] Corps of Parabellum)
Just until recently, I did not have dreams about the future. After all, getting enough food just for the day poses difficulty, and it only gets more difficult as the capital city gets colder by the day.
Finding someone you talked to yesterday dead in the morning is nothing unusual, and that is why I did everything I had to in order to survive. However, that unreasonable way of living has a limit, and I found out the hard way.
To live we stole, get caught, and dragged to a back alley, we get beaten by several adults. Kicks without restraint struck my whole body. I had no choice but to wait for it all to wrap up. I thought that I would die before it ended. However, perhaps I stink because I was washed with gutter water the day before, I lucked out when it ended sooner than usual. I didn't die from the beatings. Even though my whole body hurts, I didn't die yet. But, it won't be far off, before I die like the others.
But, on that day, my destiny took a turn.
There's tasty food. There's a safe place to sleep. There's nice clothing that has been washed. There's weapons to defend ourselves with. And more than everything else, there's someone who offered us protection.
It was like a dream, although of course nothing came without a price. What was needed, was us ourselves. Doing what we are told, with our given roles was requested.
The daily training we were assigned was hard. For us who hadn't had enough to eat, the training was almost unbearable. But, we endured it. Endured and endured and endured, we clenched our teeth and continued training. And the day we see the results came.
At the forest an hour's walk from the capital. Today we headed for it. This time the Commander's with us too, everyone was fired up. The Commander was our saviour. Without the Commander, half of us would have died.
The first time we met the Commander was scary, but we found out this place was warm, we couldn't imagine anywhere else. I don't know what the others think, but at least, I want to protect this warm place. That's why I wanted to become power for the Commander who taught us how to live, who gave us a place to belong to. Even as little as it is, something that is as good as nothing, I thought I wanted to be of help. I thought I wanted to be useful.
As I reconfirmed those feelings, we formed parties of 4 under the Commander's instructions, and dived into the forest.
Even though we were taught in our training, walking in the unaccustomed forest was difficult. On top of that the monsters that appeared went after our lives without mercy, it was very scary. I thought I'd start shaking if I let down my guard. But, I brought up my courage and thrust out my short spear. The monster that attacked — the Blade Rabbit's fur split, pierced muscles, and torn organs gave a unique feel. And I felt when the spear had luckily pierced through the heart, the feeling of life slipping through.
As I looked down to the dying Blade Rabbit what I felt was not the guilt of stealing a life, but rather a strong sense of accomplishment. It was the certain feeling of me who was weak and only to be used, getting stronger.
Little by little, but steadily, becoming stronger. Still a far away dream, but I want to become useful to the Commander someday. That's my goal. That's why, for now, I focused on killing one monster at a time.
It's not an exceptional result, but the road's still long. I found a dream I didn't have before and there's many thing I want to do now as well.
The despair from back then, it feels like a memory already. Right now, I only need to walk forward with a single purpose.
Believer candidate. Future executive candidate.
Please be careful with raising this child.
Secured a promising force for the future.