First Mission (2)
The next morning.
It was breakfast time.
Orion rolled out of bed and headed straight for the dining hall. By now his body remembered the routine well enough to move on autopilot. He still hadn't forgotten the earful he'd gotten the one time he'd overslept.
"Haaawn."
Yawning, he stepped into the dining hall.
Two people were already there.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Hm? You still haven't left?"
The contrast in their reactions could not have been sharper. Orion answered Heily's kindness with a smile first.
And then—
"Come on, that's a little harsh. Shouldn't you at least feed a man before you send him off?"
"Someone might get the wrong idea hearing you talk like that. Weren't you the one who said you'd leave at sunrise?"
Did I say that?
Orion glanced out the window. The sun had long since climbed into the sky. Sheepish, he cleared his throat and took his seat—still two places down from the others, as always.
"Would you care for more?"
He hadn't even picked up his utensils yet. It wasn't as though the long noble table was groaning under a lavish spread, but the portions set out for him were more than enough and then some. Orion offered Heily his thanks.
"I'm fine, thank you. Please, Secretary, eat before yours gets cold."
He had just lifted a bite to his mouth with his chopsticks when—
"I heard you will be going beyond the walls today."
He froze. He realized she was still watching him intently. While he was stuck deciding whether to answer or keep eating, she continued.
"The weather is especially bitter today. You ought to dress more warmly than usual."
He was genuinely moved. As expected—the only person who actually worries about me is the secretary!
Orion hurriedly swallowed and answered.
"Yes, I'll be sure to do that."
"I will prepare a scarf and a pair of winter gloves for you as well."
"Uh… thank you?"
"Just to be safe, it would also be wise to take a portable lantern and a small stove."
"Th… that might be a bit much…"
"I will pack a modest amount of extra rations and water for you, too."
They had already blown past "modest" some time ago. He had been planning to go light—out and back by afternoon at the latest. Orion shot Karen a look that screamed for rescue. She merely propped her chin on her hand and smiled, clearly enjoying the show.
"Sir Orion?"
Heily tilted her head at his dazed expression. She had said all of it out of genuine concern for him—how was he supposed to refuse? If it had been the boss, sure, he would have shut it down without a second thought. But this was different.
Orion forced a smile.
"…Yes. I'll take all of it. I promise."
Tea time arrived without fail. Orion had had zero intention of sitting through it, but Heily had immediately gone off to pack his things, leaving him with no choice but to stay put. He had offered to help, only to be firmly told to sit still no matter what—and in the end, he had folded.
"Where else would you find someone with a heart that pure?"
"I'll give you that one. Rare for us to agree on something."
Karen smiled faintly and spoke again.
"Still, that girl does not show that side of herself to just anyone."
"I know. If I hadn't signed a contract with you, Boss, I never would have even seen her face."
"Hmm. That is not quite what I meant."
"So what you're saying is, Be more grateful for the honor! Something like that?"
"I mean that when someone treats you well, you ought to treat them well in return."
"I was already planning on it."
Orion huffed and downed his tea in one shot. Watching him, Karen asked,
"How long do you think it will take you?"
How long, huh. Two hours by carriage to the walls. From there to the destination on foot would be about four hours—but if he ran at his own pace, he could cut that down by two.
"Hmm. I'll probably be back before dinner. Why do you ask?"
"Why else? If you fail to return, I will have to assume you fled and go hunt you down."
"Oh, for crying out loud. I'm not running. Now that I've come this far, I'm collecting every last coin you're paying me before I go anywhere."
Orion looked so thoroughly unimpressed that Karen chuckled under her breath.
"Heh. I am joking. More importantly—do you need anyone to accompany you?"
"I'm good. I'd rather go alone. Easier that way."
"I thought you might say that. There was no one suitable to assign you in any case, so it works out."
Her words jogged something in his memory.
"Come to think of it—isn't this originally the knights' job? Feels like I got stuck with the grunt work."
"You are not wrong. The unit assignments had already been finalized."
"So I did get stuck with it."
It had been on the agenda at that day's meeting—nothing more than stamping the approval documents. The reason it had never gone through was sitting right in front of him.
Karen crossed her arms and arched one brow.
"And you are the one saying that?"
"Hey, I'm right, aren't I? What's the point of even having a knight order?"
"Oh?"
The corner of Karen's mouth curled in amusement.
"Have you given any thought to what you did?"
Orion flinched.
"This mission was a punishment I handed down to you in the first place. Yesterday you seemed to accept it without complaint—but it appears you had grievances after all?"
Another flinch.
"Knight assignments are planned down to the finest detail on a monthly basis. Changing them on a whim is no small undertaking. That said, there are always a few personnel held in reserve each day."
Karen smiled with quiet triumph.
"Those reserves, however, are currently assigned to repairing the wall. Because of something you did."
The blunt facts hit Orion like a physical blow; he all but crumpled in his seat.
"Or would you rather take over the repair work yourself? I could arrange a swap."
"…I'll give it my best."
"Mm. As you should."
Just then, Heily returned from packing.
"Everything is ready."
Something hit the floor with a heavy thud—hard enough to send a tremor through the boards.
…What on earth is that?
"Please take care of yourself."
"Go and come back safely. And try not to cause any more incidents."
Seeing them off, Orion boarded the carriage and set out for the walls. Two hours later, he arrived. He stamped his pass, the iron gates swung open, and a fierce frost-laced wind rushed in to meet him.
Heily's advice had definitely paid off.
"Good thing I bundled up."
There was just one problem.
"More importantly… what am I supposed to do with this?"
A heavy weight pressed against his back. The pack felt like it had an entire camping kit crammed inside. He had no idea how she had managed to fit so much in so neatly. The weight itself was nothing to Orion's physical abilities—but with all the thick layers he was wearing, the bulk was still a genuine nuisance.
"…Hmm."
For a moment he considered leaving it at one of the cabins along the way and picking it up on the return trip. Then he shook his head. She had packed it with such care; he simply couldn't bring himself to do something that would weigh on his conscience.
"…Let's go."
Orion unfolded the map. The marked area lay slightly west of due north. From the cabin a little to the east of it, he figured about an hour's run would get him there.
"The trail markers should still be up… right?"
Everywhere he looked was nothing but endless white snow. Bare trees and the crumbling husks of old buildings dotted the landscape here and there, but they were useless for fixing his position or direction. That was why the guild periodically placed markers every kilometer along each bearing—it made recovering magic beast carcasses far easier on their end. Usually they were flags or signposts, which meant magic beasts tended to wreck them on contact. Still, something was better than nothing.
"And then there's this."
In Orion's hand was a compass—an everyday essential he never left home without. In his previous life he hadn't even known how to read one, but he had long since grown used to it. On top of that, this particular compass was an expensive one Karen had given him. It still used a magnet, same as any other, but it had one additional function: it could detect nearby magic beasts. The magic stone set into the back of the compass supposedly resonated with the magic stones inside nearby beasts and indicated their positions. The detection range was wide enough to be genuinely useful.
And so Orion pressed on. Being back in a familiar place after so long stirred an unexpected sense of enjoyment in him.
About an hour had passed when—
Kueh—
An orc's head parted cleanly from its shoulders in a single stroke. It never even managed a death cry before its life was snuffed out.
"Wow. I really like this sword."
It was the blade Karen had given him. Orion examined the edge. Even the lightest touch looked sharp enough to shear through paper. Despite its pitch-black color, it caught the light and gleamed in a way that pleased him immensely.
"That aside—I'm starting to see more magic beasts."
They had begun appearing here and there. The farther he went, the denser their numbers grew.
"Hmm."
He was just weighing whether or not to collect the magic stones from the beasts he had killed when—
"Somebody help—!!!! Please—!!!! Is anyone out there—!!!?!?!?!"
A desperate scream tore through the air from far off. Orion bolted toward the sound on pure reflex.
It wasn't long before he spotted them. Blood was scattered across the pure white snow—vivid and stark against the surrounding color. One person clutched a ruined, emptied arm; another struggled to prop them up. And behind the two of them, a minotaur was charging at full tilt.
They were spent. The distance was closing fast. In the next instant, the minotaur raised a crudely forged giant axe high overhead.
"Get down—!!!!"
Shhk—
Fortunately, Orion's sword arrived in time, shearing the minotaur's arm clean off.
"GROOOAAAAAH—!!!"
The minotaur roared in agony. Even stripped of its weapon, the drive to charge refused to die.
"Look out—!!!"
The two wounded men shouted. As if he were the one who needed worrying about. Completely unfazed, Orion swung his blade in a precise arc aimed straight at the beast's head.
Swish—
A sound sharp enough to chill the senses, and the minotaur's head went tumbling across the snowfield.
The two wounded men stared in blank shock—then threw their arms around each other and began to sob.
"We're alive…!!! We're actually alive…!!!!"