Ugh… It's bright… Was it morning? I wonder when I fell asleep. It's unusual for me to sleep so soundly. Usually, I perform control training for my fighting spirit and spiritual power, and then I drift into light sleep while remaining vigilant of my surroundings. It's hard to believe that I slept without doing that.
"Giga!" (Ouch!)
Even after regaining consciousness, I was still confused, but the dull pain that ran through my head made me unintentionally cry out. This throbbing pain was a sensation I had never felt before. I gritted my teeth and endured the disturbance of my concentration caused by the pain, desperately gathering my fighting spirit to heal my head. Gradually, the pain subsided, albeit slowly and surely.
Once the pain had completely subsided, I began to speculate on how I had ended up like this. Let's see, yesterday I went out to battle and then I talked to Alexander… Ah, that's right, I drank alcohol. That must have been the cause.
I had only taken one sip, yet I had lost consciousness in an instant. Alcohol is a dreadful thing, it seems. I swore never to drink again, but I wonder what happened to Alexander, who was gulping down that alcohol?
"Oh, you're awake."
Voiced out the soldier from yesterday who gave me the food.
In his hand was a ceramic bottle, which he offered to me. I tensed up for a moment, thinking it might be alcohol, but the scent wafting from it wasn't that of alcohol. It had a refreshing aroma with a hint of sweetness, reminiscent of the dried fruits I had received before.
I cautiously took the bottle with my small pincers and tasted its contents in my mouth. A perfect balance of acidity and subtle sweetness spread across my entire palate. It was delicious. Much more delicious than alcohol!
I found myself growing increasingly engrossed, unable to resist the allure of the water dripping off the bottle. Though not particularly large, I quickly drained its contents, feeling a twinge of regret but ultimately enveloped in a sense of satisfaction that surpassed it.
"Yesterday was quite a surprise, huh?" remarked the soldier with a chuckle. "To get drunk from just one sip of strong liquor. You must be a lightweight."
"Lightweight"….. was a term used to describe someone who was easily affected by alcohol, it all made sense. The taste hadn't been appealing to me, and I had no desire to drink it again. I much preferred the water I had now, and I made a mental note to politely refuse if Alexander offered me alcohol again.
The soldier chuckled cheerfully as he collected the empty bottle and locked the cage before walking away. Thanks to the water in that bottle, I had fully recovered. I felt grateful to the unnamed soldier for his unexpected assistance. If I ever encountered him on the battlefield, I promised myself that I would repay the favor and offer my help in return.
As I expressed deep gratitude to the soldier, I sensed familiar footsteps approaching. It was Orvo, my master. He came skipping with a light step, accompanied by several soldiers, towards the front of my cage.
"Sorry for the sudden change, but we're moving! Lift it up and let's go!" Orvo said without delay.
Before I knew it, the soldiers lifted my cage and followed behind Orvo. What did he mean by moving? The answer became clear soon enough. They loaded my cage onto a carriage that was waiting outside the gate of the fortress, not to another location within the fortress, but outside of it.
"You disrupted the plans for expanding this fortress yesterday and even repelled those who tried to retake it. It seems like the invading army had a change of heart and pulled back from the front lines. The coalition army decided not to pursue them, but instead, they're focusing on further fortifying and strengthening this place. In other words, this front line is going to be relatively calm for a while," Orvo explained.
"Well, that means I won't be able to gain any military merit," Orvo casually remarked. This guy! Is he planning to throw me into another battlefront just to secure materials for his experiments and boost his own reputation?! What a despicable person!
It seemed that my safety in actual combat was not a consideration for him. While the everyday hardships were worse with Georg, the nature of the battles here was even more brutal. So, what kind of battlefront would I be deployed to? Oh, I don't want to die. But resistance was impossible, so I obediently allowed myself to be loaded onto the carriage along with my cage.
Thank you for taking care of me, kind soldier. I won't be able to return the favor as I leave this battlefront. I cursed my own helplessness, as all I could do was hope for you to survive and live out your natural lives.
"Lord spiritualist! It appears to be true that you are leaving this fortress!"
As I sat on the carriage bed, feeling gloomy, Alexander approached as usual with his booming voice. Though I couldn't see him from where I was on the carriage bed, his loud voice echoed through the thin cloth.
"Sorry about that? I was asked by the Eastern Front people. If you have some spare time, could you come to the east?" Orvo said.
"The Eastern Front… the Empire, huh?" Alexander replied.
"Yeah, that's right."
The two of them seemed to get along well for some reason, engaging in lively conversation. Eavesdropping on their conversation, I learned that I was headed to a battlefield called the Eastern Front, located to the east from here. Apparently, there was major country called the Rakil Empire that was fighting the invading army there.
I didn't know anything about the nations of the human species, but judging from Alexander's tone, the eastern front seemed to be composed of formidable nations. It appeared that the Eastern Front was being solely supported by the Empire. Despite that, they were clearly at a disadvantage, which was why they were recruiting reinforcements from the more relaxed Central Front.
"I'm going to miss you guys, but if you're called by the Empire, you can't refuse! I look forward to fighting side by side again! Gahahaha!" exclaimed Alexander.
"Haha, that would be great. Well then, it's about time to depart. Let's meet again if we have the chance," replied Orvo.
"Understood! My disciple, let us meet again while we are still among the living!"
The last words were directed at me. The next time we cross paths, it won't be on the battlefield, and I won't be restrained by any spiritual arts. As I clung to the hope of such an unlikely encounter, I left the fortress behind.
Traveling by carriage turned out to be noisier than I had expected. Around ten soldiers accompanied the carriage as escorts, but they weren't the source of the commotion. It appeared that among the forces that had fought at the Central Front, there were mercenaries who were hired and fought for money, and they were traveling alongside us.
For mercenaries who relied on battles for income, there was no longer any profit to be found on this stagnant battlefield. It was meaningless to stay in a place that didn't yield any money, so the mercenaries moved to the Eastern and Western fronts. Orvo was traveling with those who headed towards the Eastern front, which accounted for about half of them.
Some of the mercenaries seemed to possess formidable strength, enough to survive the battles against the invading army. There was one person who appeared to be on par with Alexander in terms of skill, and others who were decent fighters as well.
Among them, the last person of the three who had been wary of me at the beginning was undoubtedly the most powerful. He had the same aura as before. I distinctly remember a slender man with long, tied-back hair. The mercenary group he led must be incredibly formidable. I had no desire to become their enemy.
"At this rate, it will take about a month to reach the Eastern Front, won't it?"
"No, it will likely take two months."
"Ugh…"
Mika, who appeared out of nowhere, responded to Orvo's muttered complaint with boredom. I hadn't seen Mika at the fortress, but apparently, he was there as a carriage driver when we departed. Escaping my vigilance… Mika was definitely not just a mere servant.
Upon hearing Mika's response, Orvo let out a genuinely disgusted voice. If he disliked it that much, why didn't he just use spatial spiritual art? With that, he could instantly teleport.
Wait a minute; there's no way Orvo wouldn't realize such a simple solution. Does he have a reason not to use it, or is he unable to use it right now? It's a convenient form of spiritual art, but it wouldn't be surprising if there were some limitations to it.
"It's tough being idle for two months…"
"Don't say that. Why don't you try building relationships with the mercenaries?"
"Don't joke around. There's nothing to gain from that."
As Orvo kept complaining, I decided to leave him be and instead eavesdrop on the conversations of the mercenaries. My purpose was to gather information. Perhaps because multiple mercenary groups had gathered, there was a lot of talk for the purpose of exchanging information. I listened attentively, hoping to glean some valuable information.
Most of the conversations revolved around boasting about the number of enemies they had taken down on the central front, stories of past battlefields they had fought on, and discussions about their preferences when it came to women. I had no interest in such trivial matters, but there were two conversations that caught my attention. One was about the group of mercenaries present, and the other was about rumors circulating regarding the eastern front.
Firstly, concerning this group, it appeared to be made up of five distinct mercenary groups. I didn't bother remembering the names of the individual groups. What was more important was that, in addition to the rewards from their battles, they were being generously compensated by the coalition army with ample funds and provisions for their journey.
However, in return for this support, they were bound by a prohibition against looting as they passed through the countries along their way. While many of the mercenaries seemed grateful for the provisions, there were also quite a few who expressed dissatisfaction with the restriction on looting.
It seemed that for mercenaries, villages along the battlefield were seen as convenient sources of quick earnings. Many of them even seemed to take pleasure in the act of looting itself. There were some who suggested burning down villages and looting them, reasoning that no one would notice anyway. And unfortunately, there were many who eagerly embraced such proposals, leaving no room for redemption.
What's going on with these people? Aren't they similar to the invading army? Is this the difference between mercenaries and soldiers? I could understand why Orvo refused to socialize with them. I, too, wanted to avoid getting involved with them as much as possible.
As for the situation on the eastern front, I had already heard that it was dire. However, it seemed that the Emperor, who ruled over the Rakil Empire, was furious about the situation. In order to appease the Emperor's wrath as soon as possible, it appeared that a large-scale counterattack would be executed in the near future.
In order to ensure the success of the operation, the Empire's army sought out as many combatants as possible. Therefore, the Empire was offering high rewards, and it seemed that mercenaries here were drawn to it… I wondered how many of them would survive after the operation, considering the high risk involved.
They must have considerable confidence in their abilities to stand up against the invading army. I understood that, but I couldn't comprehend the mindset of willingly jumping into danger.
On the contrary, even though I knew it was dangerous, I had no choice but to march on without the option to flee due to lack of freedom. As someone who didn't desire battle at all, I found myself marching alongside those who eagerly embraced it. The strange march had only just begun.