Chapter 279: Straighten the crooked path

“Hey there, Lutz-kun, welcome back!”

In the second floor of the inn in the capital, Claudia greeted Lutz with a radiant smile upon his return. Seeing Claudia again did indeed bring relief to Lutz, who relaxed his expression.

“You didn’t cheat on me, did you?”

“There weren’t any charming orcs around.”

“Hahaha, that’s a shame.”

As they laughed, the two sat down on the bed. Lutz felt like collapsing onto it, but he had things to do first, so he summoned all his rationality.

“From the look on your face, it doesn’t seem like everything’s finished, huh?”

“Things have gotten even more complicated than before I left. First of all, the real enemies weren’t the orcs.”

“What do you mean by that? …Well, go on, tell me.”

“There’s just too much to talk about… “

“If it’s you talking, I’ll listen no matter where you start. I’m not dealing with a customer, so there’s no harm in hearing you out.”

“Right. So, from the beginning…”

Lutz began recounting what had happened since he headed towards the village.

As he spoke about the knights of the former Thirteenth Knight Order kneeling and crying before finally recovering, Claudia tilted her head in confusion.

“…Sorry, but I don’t quite understand what you mean.”

“This is just the beginning.”

“I see… Ah, sorry for interrupting. Please continue.”

Next, he talked about intercepting the attack of five giant orcs. When he mentioned that he had fought as well, Claudia’s eyes sharpened, which was a bit intimidating.

“There were twenty knights and an old adventurer. Do you really need to fight in this situation? This isn’t a blacksmith’s job?”

“It’s a man’s job.”

He said firmly, but Claudia’s silent karate chop hit him on the forehead, making him feel utterly uncool.

“The problem starts here.”

Lutz said while rubbing his forehead. Because Lutz always prioritized men’s romance, he always worried Claudia. If she could forgive him with just a light slap, he’d be grateful. That’s why it felt awkward to tell her such a tasteless story.

“Is there anything more troublesome than five giant orcs attacking?”

“Surprisingly, there seems to be no limit to misfortune and trouble.”

Lutz then mentioned the strange behavior of the orcs and how Gerhardt brought up the story of Zombie Ants and found mushroom mycelium entangled under the orc’s skin after peeling it. Claudia was always surprised by Lutz’s stories, but today marked a particularly memorable occasion for her.

“…So, the situation is extremely complicated. Since it’s come to this, there’s no turning back. We’re going to see it through to the end.”

“It seems like that’s just your personality, Lutz-kun. So, what do you want me to do?”

“I need you to procure supplies. With so many unexpected developments, what we have in the village won’t be nearly enough.”

“I can do that, but…”

Lutz handed Claudia a thin board with writing on it. Claudia quickly glanced at it, but it was too large to call it a shopping list.

Then, she glanced at Lutz’s feet, which were covered in mud.

“I have a couple of things I’m curious about, if you don’t mind.”

“Go ahead.”

“What’s the current condition of the road leading from the capital to that village? It didn’t seem like a good road when I went there before, but I wonder how it fared after the heavy rain a few days ago.”

“It’s all muddy, your shoes would sink in. …Right, can’t we use a carriage or something?”

“Nope, absolutely not.”

“It’s a result of not properly maintaining the roads. It’s absurd to become a landlocked island with just a little rain.”

“You really emphasize the importance of roads, Claudia.”

Lutz said lightly, but Claudia brought her face closer with a serious expression.

“Lutz-kun, roads are like the blood vessels of a country!”

“Blood vessels?”

“Yes, if the money and goods, the blood, don’t flow correctly through those vessels, the nation can’t remain healthy. If the blood doesn’t reach the ends, that part will inevitably decay!”

She brought her face so close that it felt like she was trying to pour the words directly into his mouth.

“Claudia, please calm down. Otherwise, I can’t calm down either.”

“Huh? Oh, sorry about that. I got a bit too excited.”

Claudia backed off slightly, and then continued.

“…Anyway, the road is all muddy, and carriages can’t be used. So, we’ll have to hire a lot of porters to carry the goods. Naturally, it’ll cost a lot of money.”

“Well, that makes sense.”

“Lutz-kun, do you have any plans to recover money from somewhere once this battle is over?”

“No.”

“No!?”

It was stated clearly, confidently.

If we prepare a large amount of supplies, transport them, and can’t recover any money from anywhere, then it means we’ll have to pay for it ourselves. Don’t they understand such a simple thing? Claudia wondered if this man might be stupid.

“Yeah, I get what you’re trying to say. So, please don’t look at me like that.”

“Hmm…?”

“People, and orcs too, died in such unfair ways right before my eyes. They appealed for help with their eyes since they couldn’t speak. But nothing could be done. There’s no magic to instantly erase the mycelium and return their bodies to normal after they’ve enlarged. So, I had to kill them. I killed them.”

A dark, gloomy voice resonated from the depths of the earth. Claudia couldn’t intervene.

“If I run away here, I’ll be haunted by those eyes for the rest of my life. I probably won’t be able to sleep soundly at night anymore. Helping them is for the sake of others, but at the same time, it’s for my own convenience, my own selfishness. I’m sorry for always causing you trouble…”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. If it’s for someone else, I might hesitate a bit, but for Lutz-kun, I’ll spend as much as you need. Compared to what I’ve done so far, Lutz-kun has the right to waste a thousand gold coins, at least.”

“I too, if I heard this story in the Count’s territory, I would have thought, ‘It’s scary, so let’s stay away,’ and left it at that.”

“We approached the fire on the opposite bank and decided to help put it out.”

“That’s right.”

After laughing for a while, Lutz tightened his expression.

“Claudia, how’s the Fourth Knight Order doing?”

“They’re planning to depart in two or three days.”

It seemed like Claudia had continued to gather information as much as possible while staying in the capital. Lutz nodded quietly, impressed.

“Prepare some bribe money. I need to inform Victor-san about what’s happening in the village now.”

Claudia seemed to have no intention of complaining anymore. She reached under the bed and took out a small bag, then handed Lutz a handful of gold coins.

“…Shall we prepare him mentally too?”

Lutz muttered, squeezing the hand holding the gold coins tightly.

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