Chapter 91: The Front Line and a Tractor & Trailer
The front line.
It meant the place where one directly faced and fought the enemy.
“Absolutely not! It was terrifying when the Luresian capital was drawn into battle, so there’s no way I’m voluntarily going to a battlefield!”
“Now, now, don’t say that! At least hear me out!”
“La, la, la! I’m not listening! I can’t hear you!”
I covered my ears with both hands while shouting, but Hijiri simply raised his voice even more.
“I have a plan! We may be able to silence the people slandering you!”
“It doesn’t bother me at all, so I’m fine!”
“It may be fine now, but there’s no guarantee their hostility will remain directed solely at you.”
…It might not remain directed solely at me?
“What do you mean?”
“Those leaflets slandering you are being scattered in vast quantities every day. For now, they seem to affect only a tiny fraction of people, but we’ve learned that they carry a curse that guides people’s thoughts. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes. This is unmistakably malice directed toward Eight.”
Raphiel nodded at Hijiri’s question while sipping Behi Tea.
“Only a few people believe them now, but that number will continue to grow. We still haven’t found so much as a shadow of the culprit distributing them.”
“You already explained that…”
“The hatred directed toward you may spread to the people around you or to everyone living in this village. The Village Chief, Dragon King, and Raphiel-chan can protect themselves, but what if it reaches the children who have no power to resist?”
“!?”
I looked toward Luka, Nor, Rio, Mea, and the other children eating okonomiyaki around the table.
…That was frightening.
“But in that case, we adults could protect them…”
“Will you keep protecting them every moment from now on? That would be difficult, and it would force the children to live constrained lives.”
“Mrr…”
“There is a far healthier and easier solution than having adults constantly guard them.”
“And that solution is going to the battlefield?”
“Exactly!”
Hijiri sharply pointed his index finger at me.
“You will serve food at the front line! You braved danger and went to a perilous place to support those fighting to defend the kingdom! Eight Tsurugi is unquestionably a true Hero! We spread that inspiring tale across the kingdom.”
“Hmm. The curse on those leaflets merely guides the thoughts of whoever sees them. If Eight is already regarded as a hero worthy of the title, the curse’s influence should be minimized.”
“That may be true, but…”
“Eight-kun, which matters more—your own safety, or the children’s peaceful lives and safety?”
This bastard had effectively presented me with a question that had only one possible answer…
“Fine. I’ll cook at the front line.”
“I knew you’d agree!”
…From now on, I would replace every cup of tea I served Hijiri with Behi Tea—and make it boiling hot.
I silently vowed this petty revenge.
Raphiel appeared to read it from my expression and nodded without changing her own.
“I like your revenge, Eight. It is petty, yet certain to irritate many people.”
“Did you read my mind?”
“We have known each other a long time. I can tell what you are thinking.”
Then Raphiel turned toward Hijiri.
“Nevertheless, I would worry if Eight went alone. I shall accompany him.”
“What? No, a Saintess can’t do that. The Temple’s rules prohibit it from interfering in wars between nations.”
“Naturally, I shall travel incognito. I will not be a Saintess, merely a part-time worker.”
As she spoke, Raphiel donned an apron that had somehow appeared without my noticing. The words “TASTE-TESTING SPECIALIST” were written on it in Japanese.
She fully intended to eat.
I happened to meet the eyes of Grana, who was sitting in a corner and skillfully eating okonomiyaki without removing her helmet.
I quietly approached and whispered to her.
“Grana, don’t just watch. Please stop her.”
“Surely, after knowing her this long, you understand as well as I do, Sir Eight. Once Lady Raphiel makes a decision for herself, nothing I say will make her reverse it.”
That might be true, but still!
“By the way, Eight, there is something I want.”
“Something you want? What?”
“A large tractor and trailer.”
“…To carry the ingredients?”
“Yes.”
Raphiel nodded.
“But a tractor is useless if no one can drive it. Hijiri, can you?”
“Even I’ve never driven a tractor. Besides, I have various things of my own to handle, so I can’t assist you.”
“That is no problem. I shall drive it.”
Raphiel driving.
Both Hijiri and I stared at her in alarm and immediately questioned her.
“You intend to drive, Raphiel…?”
“Can you?”
“I watched Hijiri drive on the way to Luresia.”
That was incredibly frightening.
“W-Well, tractors are probably manual transmission, but I suppose it might be possible.”
“I hope so…”
Despite my considerable unease, I decided to buy Raphiel a tractor and trailer.
The points we had received after handing over the orichalcum, mithril, and adamantite recovered from the Behemoth dung were extraordinary.
We could probably buy a hundred tractors.
“Then before we leave, I shall immediately have Dike help me modify the tractor and trailer.”
“…Please exercise some restraint.”
“I am a woman who always gives everything her all.”
That only made me more worried.
◇ ◆ ◇
“And so, I’ve decided to travel with all of you to the front line.”
“Ohhh!”
The adventurers reacted cheerfully when they heard I would accompany them.
“Hey, Boss, you’re going to the front too!?”
“Does that mean we’ll get delicious food every day?”
“The kingdom will pay us a fortune, and we’ll get the Boss’s delicious cooking on top of that? This is the best!”
“If we die, that’s the end of it… so all we have to do is not die!”
“We ought to thank Zahaba! Gyahahaha!”
How could they be so cheerful when they were going to a battlefield where they might die?
I was consumed by anxiety.
“Hey, Boss.”
“Rorondo.”
“Are you scared?”
“Of course. Honestly, I’m frightened and don’t want to go.”
But when I thought of the children, there was no other choice.
“Don’t worry. We’ll protect you. The hundred-odd adventurers here are all capable fighters of at least Rank B, and their names are known in other countries. You can count on us.”
“Hehe. I understand. I’ll rely on all of you.”
“Right! Leave it to us!”
Our preparations steadily advanced.
Then the day arrived for us to depart for the battlefield.