Meanwhile, somewhere unknown within the capital... two men were having a secret meeting.
"I have delivered the note. The Duke and about thirty of his knights have left the capital." reported the man hiding within the shadow.
"Huhu, send 'them' out to delay him, and is there any word from Estiel?"
"No, not today; however, he should arrive at the location tomorrow."
"That stupid brat, he's probably goofing off somewhere."
"Indeed, however, despite his incompetence, he does have talent, especially since he has the family treasure."
"What's the status on the Ralot family."
"They have noticed the disappearance of the treasure and Estiel, but they are keeping it quiet."
"Perfect, now we wait till for the conference tomorrow."
"May I ask what are you going to do with the duke's daughter?"
"Huhu? Of course, we're not going to return her. I'm going to have a bit of fun with her until I'm bored, then send her to work at a brothel."
"Oh, what a marvellous plan. I hope you'd let me partake; I heard she's quite the beauty."
"Huhu, when the time comes. Now prepare for the conference tomorrow."
♦ ♦ ♦
On my way back to the village, I was riding on top of Kumo. The fifteen-minute walk turned into three. Kumo and her eight legs were so fast that I threw up twice.
When I arrived at the village, I could hear many of the villagers whispering at the sight of me riding on top of a giant spider.
I spotted the village chief, along with several villagers who were preparing for the feast. So I dropped off the forest bulls and was then guided to a table where Lilliana and Rolph.
Lilliana was the first one to spot me.
"Ah, Masato, please join us."
"Thank you very much."
I sat down and was handed a cup of ale. Back on earth, I didn't really drink much alcohol. I was more a fizzy drink kind of guy. I took a sip of the ale but found it unpleasant due to the fact that it was warm.
Rolph took notice of my reaction and laughed.
"Not much of a drinker, are you?"
"Nope, not really. Why is it warm?"
"Eh? Most ale is like this."
"Is there no way to cool this?"
"Well, there are mages who can use ice magic, but they're rare. There are magitools, but I never heard of one that cools drinks."
"Hmm, magitools..?"
"Masato, have you never heard magitools?" asked Lilliana.
"Nope, can't say I have nor have I used one."
"I'm not that knowledgeable about magitools, but I do know that they are made from monster cores and copying technology from the ancient civilisation."
We continued our small talk until the food was finally served. The Forest Bull meat was cooked into a soup as well as roasted over a fire. There wasn't much seasoning in the soup, so it was very bland. The roasted meat, however, was very tender and enjoyable.
Kumo was also handed a big pile of roasted meat. For some reason, I could sense that she was enjoying it very much.
After everyone in the village finished eating, including those who prepared the food, all went back to their houses. Although a few of the villager's houses had burnt down, they were all able to stay at those whose houses had survived.
I, Lilliana and Rolph stayed at the village chiefs house, the only house with a second floor.
We held a meeting about our plans, the village chief had some personal business, so it was just the three of us.
"Masato, we would like you to join us as an escort back to the capital."
"Yeah, sure."
"I know what it's rude for me to request more of you, but please list- wait, you're accepting?"
"Yeah, I did. Is that okay?."
"O-of course, that's okay. You will be paid for not only the escort job but rescuing me and the villagers and the bounties from the bandits."
"For the bandits, do I need to show any proof that I was the one who defeated them."
"Ah, at the Mercenary Guild, once you register, you are given an identity tag that also acts as a kill tracker. It will display your past kills as well," explained Rolph.
"That's very convenient."
"Indeed, it is one of the only technologies from the ancient civilisation that could be recreated."
"Also, you would need to register Kumo as your tamed monster," added Lilliana.
"Yes, I will do that as well. How far away is the capital?"
"Judging by our current location, I would say we are about half a day away. However, we would require some supplies, which will be hard to get in this village at the moment."
"That's true. There aren't many other villages or cities nearby either. So we would need to wait until the village gets back on its feet."
Currently, the villagers are focusing on rebuilding the village, those with carpentry skills rebuild houses, whilst those with hunting skills go and get food. It is safe to say that the village does not have any supplies to spare us for the journey.
"We can use the forest bull meat that I have stored. Since time doesn't flow inside, it will stay fresh, or we ask the villagers to prepare the food beforehand." I suggested
"Indeed, that would be our best option." agreed Lilliana.
"Well, then that's that sorted."
We continued to plan our journey to the capital. We decided to have Kumo pull the wagon since most of the horses were taken when Bhatos escaped. But the main problem was that the horses were scared of Kumo.
The wagon itself was pretty big but had to be modified. The village chief prioritised the modifications to be completed by tomorrow morning.
It got a bit late, so we decided to retreat to our rooms for the night to get ready to go in the morning.