First Mission (6)
Orion staggered forward, using his sword as a cane.
With darkness blanketing everything in every direction, camping out for the night was unavoidable. There was no way he was going to stretch out and sleep in some abandoned building still reeking of blood.
After pushing on for a while longer—
"Whew~"
By some stroke of tremendous luck, he managed to find a small cave. It was a snug little hollow, round and sealed off at the back. He had considered trying to make it all the way to a proper hut, but one ambush and he was fairly certain even a single orc could finish him off, so he abandoned the idea.
This would do just fine.
"Let's see here."
Orion sat down on the cold floor and opened his bag. Rummaging through it by the thin spill of moonlight, he found exactly what he was looking for.
"Whoa!"
Secretary Heily, you absolute legend!
He was genuinely moved. Had she actually anticipated that he might get stranded out here? The bag had just about everything short of the kitchen sink.
First up: a portable lantern.
Click—
He twisted the switch, and the cave flooded with light. There was plenty of oil left—enough to leave it burning all night without any trouble.
Without thinking, Orion rested a hand over the lantern. Even light carried a faint warmth.
"Ah, right."
Something else suddenly came to mind. He was pretty sure he'd heard something about a portable stove, too.
He dug through the bag again in a hurry. His fingers closed around something solid and heavy.
"Oh, shit!"
A delightfully retro portable stove popped right out. So that was why the bag had been so bulky! Fair enough—he'd allow it.
Orion hit the switch at once. A moment later, a red glow bloomed and heat began to pour out. It was small, but the performance was outstanding. Sit too close and "warm" would tip straight over into "scorching."
"There's spare oil, too, so I just need to wake up once in the middle of the night and top it off."
Freezing to death was officially off the table. The lack of a sleeping bag was a mild disappointment, but finding one in here would have been stranger still. Throwing his coat over himself and using the bag as a pillow would be good enough.
"Alright. Bed's sorted. That leaves just one thing."
Orion reached into the bag once more. With everything else she'd packed, there was no way this would be missing.
"As expected—you never disappoint."
Sure enough, food came tumbling out in a steady stream. Drinking water, plus a whole assortment of things to fill his stomach. It was all simple fare—biscuits and dried rations—but he wasn't about to complain. The tension had finally drained out of him, and his stomach was already glued to his spine.
"And she's got taste, too."
He couldn't stop marveling. In the dead of winter, water freezing solid was a given—so of course the drinking water was stored in metal bottles. Set one on the stove and it would thaw itself.
"Better eat quick and get some sleep."
Orion set the biscuits and dried meat on the stove as well. Warm them just a little and they softened up like something out of a microwave—surprisingly decent.
"Whew."
Ten-odd minutes later, he'd cleaned his plate. Rubbing his belly, he leaned back against the cave wall. Sleep came creeping in, soft and heavy.
I wonder if they're worried about me?
Secretary Heily might be, he figured. The boss, though…
"Nah. No way."
He should know better than to hope for that.
And with that, Orion sank into a deep sleep—one that carried him all the way until the sun was high in the sky the next day.
A full day had passed, and lunchtime was already behind them.
"Just how long does he intend to take?!"
Karen snapped, her nerves worn razor-thin. Traveling at night was dangerous—that much she understood. But shouldn't he have been back by sunrise at the latest?
The sun had already climbed past its peak and was sliding toward the west. By now, his return wouldn't have been the least bit surprising.
"Haa…"
Karen slumped back into her chair. Dark circles sat heavy beneath her eyes—the price of a night spent fretting instead of sleeping.
"He's probably sprawled out somewhere, dead to the world."
That light she'd seen last night had unquestionably been his. But time kept grinding forward, and she could no longer hide how restless she felt.
Just then—
"Lady Karen."
Heily stepped into the office. Karen's eyes flew open.
"Well? Is there news?"
"Yes. Word just arrived that he has crossed the northern wall."
Even through Heily's usual flat expression, a quiet joy came through. Only then could Karen let out a long, heavy breath and finally settle her heart.
"Good. When he returns, we shall have dinner together."
Meanwhile, at the northern wall—
"Ugh. I'm dying. Actually dying."
He'd woken to find the sun already high overhead. He'd bolted here in a panic, but clearly hadn't taken proper stock of his own body. It was muscle soreness he'd been through before, so it wasn't quite as brutal this time—but pain was still pain. Every joint was screaming for him to just put it out of its misery.
Creeeak—
He shoved open the iron gate, and the knight on watch went wide-eyed. Fair enough, given that Orion looked like a walking corpse. He didn't have the strength left to care. He lifted one hand in a halfhearted greeting and shuffled on past.
"Hahh."
He shrugged off his bag and dropped onto the dirt. If he waited long enough, a carriage was bound to come by eventually.
"Never thought I'd live to see the day I'd actually look forward to riding in a carriage."
Normally it just left his backside sore. Right now, he could have ridden in the most luxurious posture imaginable.
About ten minutes later, the sound of footsteps drifted over from farther down the road—iron boots scraping and clanking. Quite a few of them, by the sound of it.
"Hm?"
A familiar face. What was he doing out here?
"Hey. My dear assistant."
Orion tossed out the greeting in his usual easygoing way, and Arnold reacted at once. At first his eyes said he was looking at a vagrant—the weary look of a man who already felt tangled up with some tiresome nuisance. Then his pupils slowly widened. The moment Arnold realized the vagrant was Orion, his face twisted with pure disbelief.
"…What are you doing here?"
Didn't the boss tell him?
Well, whatever. Not his problem.
"What are you doing here?"
Arnold adjusted his glasses, careful not to let the other knights see him flustered.
"…By order of the Grand Duchess. We are investigating an anomalous phenomenon that occurred to the northwest."
Ah. So they were heading out for cleanup duty. Orion nodded to himself, perfectly satisfied with his own conclusion.
"That so? Well, good luck. Hey—any carriages come through this way?"
"No. This is the outskirts. Why would one come out here? Not unless it was specifically summoned—"
"Yeah? Think you could call one for me, then?"
Cut off mid-sentence, Arnold pushed his glasses up again. Reacting this hard already put him below even third-rate. Reluctantly, he summoned a carriage.
"About twenty minutes? Okay. Thanks."
With that, the conversation ended, and Arnold started toward the gate.
"Ah, wait."
Orion stopped him again. He was still the guy's superior, in a manner of speaking—he couldn't just let him walk into a mess. This was genuine, heartfelt advice.
"You, uh… might want to bring more people."
"Pardon?"
"With that many hands, you'll be making the trip at least three more times."
"??"
"And while you're at it, drag along maybe five carriages or so."
How many monsters had he taken down out there? Did Arnold really think they could haul all of that back in one go?
Arnold, however, did not appear to share that assessment. His face grew steadily darker.
"Hmph. I am busy. Kindly spare me the nonsense."
"Wh—what?!"
Arnold ignored him and pushed through the iron gate.
"Tch. I try to help and this is what I get."
Ah, whatever. He was the one who'd suffer for it—not Orion.
With that settled, Orion put the whole thing out of his mind and waited for the carriage.
"Alright."
Home at last.
He hadn't been here all that long, but his body already seemed to recognize this place as home. Just looking at the front gate made the exhaustion melt away.
"Hm?"
Someone was waiting at the manor's main entrance—Karen, in indoor clothes with a coat thrown over her shoulders.
Don't tell me she came out to meet me?
Orion very nearly welled up with touched tears.
"I thought you had run away. It seems I was mistaken."
Yeah, right.
So this was what people meant when they said expectations only set you up for betrayal. Not that he wasn't used to it by now.
"Oh, come on. I told you I'd stick around until I'd collected every last coin of the pay you offered. What exactly do you take me for?"
Orion tossed his bag aside and dropped onto the steps. The more pitiful he looked, the easier the negotiation.
"Urgh… Speaking of which, I'm going to need hazard pay. Plus night differential."
Honestly, after everything he'd been through, a bonus didn't seem unreasonable.
Her thoughts, however, appeared to run in a different direction.
"Hmm. I distinctly recall you saying you would return before sundown. An entire day has already passed, has it not?"
"Uh… I never said anything about the date, did I? Look—see? The sun hasn't gone down yet."
Orion pointed at the sky. Technically, he was right—the sun was still up. But under her flat, unblinking stare, his conscience started to itch.
"…You're being awfully stingy with a guy who was out all night."
He'd meant it half as a joke, but hearing her talk like that still stung a little. He really had been through hell.
"I never said I would not give it to you."
"Huh?"
"The additional pay will be included in next month's wages. And if there is anything you need, tell me. I shall purchase it for you."
Suddenly?
Orion whipped his head around to look at her. Unlike a moment ago, a gentle smile sat on her face.
The words slipped out before he could stop them.
"Did you, uh… eat something weird?"
Her brow twitched for an instant. The smile at her lips, however, held firm.
"…It is a reward. For your hard work."
Orion stroked his chin.
"Something's off. The boss I know isn't the type."
Was this one of those moments people meant when they said a person changed completely when their time was near?
Wait a second—
"Boss."
"What is it?"
"Look, as a fellow human being I sincerely hope you live a long and healthy life, but if circumstances beyond your control force you to, you know… pass on—you'll make sure my full salary gets paid out first, right?"
Yeah. Money matters had to be handled with absolute precision.
Twitch.
A vein stood out on Karen's forehead.
"Oh? So it is truly you who invites disaster upon yourself."
"Huh? I was being perfectly logical—"
Karen turned her head away as if she could no longer stand the sight of his face.
"Everything I said a moment ago is hereby revoked."
"What?!"
"A meal has been prepared. Eat it or don't."
Bang—!
With that, she vanished inside, leaving a thoroughly dumbfounded Orion standing alone at the front gate.