Chapter 353: Dark Continent (4)

Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 353: Dark Continent (4)

"Riehen! Here, water!"

"Ah, thanks."

While the adventurers, including me, took a short break and quenched our thirst with either water or alcohol, palace personnel walked the interior of the ship to inspect those on board.

"Once we disembark, the ship will be de-summoned, so make sure to not leave any items behind!"

Once the inspection was over, we were transferred to small boats one by one and traveled by water toward shore. At the water's edge, troops who had already disembarked were standing in orderly rows. Well, it was still a mess compared to modern times, where soldiers marched with their left feet aligned.

"Luckily, it looks like they weren't waiting for us here."

"It seems Noark's forces are trying to avoid a fight with the main units as much as possible," said Erwen.

"True, if we face 'em head on, it'll be harder for us to lose with an army like this backing us up."

Anyway, we waited as instructed. It wasn't long before the lead troop started marching, though we didn't follow, of course. That was because we had been on a third-class ship. On paper, the mission of ship 3-21 was to escort the Third Magic Corps. Unfortunately, said corps was the Third Corps, whose main mission was to secure a safe way out in case of retreat. Put simply, once the main unit left, their role in this war was simply to build a garrison and protect this place.

"Now, now! Let's set up the barracks first!"

Once the remaining ships of the Third Corps disembarked, it was officially time to build the stronghold. The adventurers set up the barracks supplied to them, and the wizards rushed around to draw various magic circles. This went on for hours.

Shaaaaaa!

Thanks to magic, the deafening sound of the waterfall quieted down and the fog obscuring our vision finally cleared.

"Whew, that's much better now."

"Everyone, have some of this food and rest! Barracks will be assigned and jobs will be announced soon!"

Once the garrison setup was pretty much complete, we were assigned the barracks we would be staying in. Ours was a six-person barracks located on the eastern side of the lake. We may have been under military purview at the moment, but the three of us were not separated due to the custom of grouping party members together.

"Haha, let's introduce ourselves since we will be working in the same group from now on."

Three people I'd never seen before joined us as well. Apparently, we weren't just sharing the barracks but would have to move as a group on guard duty and patrol from now on too.

I guess this happened because there are three of us.

Whether a clan or a party, five people—no, after the binding spell was updated, six people—was the minimum unit size. Since there were only three of us and the numbers didn't add up otherwise, we were automatically matched with others.

Looks like it wasn't totally automatic, though.

I looked at the man who was smiling good-naturedly and leading the conversation. He was wearing a stylish uniform and even had a sword at his waist, but he was a wizard. The emblem of the Magic Corps on his chest attested to this.

"Ah, speaking of, I didn't introduce myself yet. I am Alex Halo, assistant to the vice captain of the Third Magic Corps."

"Assistant to the vice captain?" I muttered quietly.

Amelia whispered in my ear. "That means he reports to the vice captain."

Oh, so he's Raven's right-hand man?

It was obvious why she sent her right hand here: to keep us in check and surveil us—or more specifically, Erwen.

"The six people assigned to these barracks will belong to Group 3-17 from now on and carry out various missions together. I, as the team leader, will help—"

"Team leader? Says who?" Erwen made no effort to hide her displeasure with that announcement and a crack appeared in the man's smile.

"Haha... I was aware there may be discontent with that bit. But since it's an order from up high—"

"You smile like you're relaxed but you're very nervous."

"...Sorry?"

"Why, do I make you uneasy?"

The man flinched at Erwen's question but shook his head. "...Of course not. On the contrary, I feel safer with you here." Anyone could tell that response was pure politeness. If he really thought that way, he wouldn't have had reason to avoid Erwen's eyes as he spoke.

"Stop it, now." Knowing that man was only here on orders, too, I quickly intervened.

"But the three of us are enough..."

"It's good to have more people to help."

"But team leader?"

"Someone from the military could be our team's leader. Why are you so outraged about that?"

Erwen pursed her lips. "...Okay. I'll stop."

Did that interaction leave an impression? Only then did the man shift his gaze to me. "You are..."

"Riehen Schuitz."

"Ah, yes... I'm aware. Nice to meet you. And the person next to you is Ms. Emily Raines?"

"Yes."

The man came up to me to say hello, then introduced us to the other two people blankly watching us interact a short distance away. "These people were aboard the third-class ship that sank on the way here. Thankfully they were rescued, but unfortunately, their other teammates were not."

No wonder I wasn't getting the vibe these two had been taken from another team. So, that was why. When our eyes shifted to the other two people, they introduced themselves a little nervously.

"I-It's an honor to meet you, Blood Spirit. Ah, o-of course, the rest of your teammates too. I am rank-five adventurer Lykion Elt."

He didn't give off a bad first impression. He seemed polite, and seeing as he had stayed quiet until he was given a moment to introduce himself, he seemed to be quick on the uptake too. Rank five meant he would do his fair share as well. Besides that, he seemed to be coming from a rather unfortunate situation.

"I-I'll do my best not to be an inconvenience!" said the other man. "I'm H-Hans Caesar."

"What...?" I blurted involuntarily.

The man kindly repeated his name again for my benefit. "Hans Caesar!"

Are you kidding me?

I took a moment to reflect. What happened the last time I ran into a Hans? I quickly remembered. Hans J, whom I met on Farune Island, had been a traitor.

And after I met ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠him, I got sucked into the past.

I spent an entire six months there, and when I got back, two and a half years had passed in my original time period. And that wasn't all. Not only were my clanmates now scattered, but I had also been branded as an evil spirit.

Amelia whispered in my ear. "That means he reports to the vice captain."

Oh, so he's Raven's right-hand man?

It was obvious why she sent her right hand here: to keep us in check and surveil us—or more specifically, Erwen.

"The six people assigned to these barracks will belong to Group 3-17 from now on and carry out various missions together. I, as the team leader, will help—"

"Team leader? Says who?" Erwen made no effort to hide her displeasure with that announcement and a crack appeared in the man's smile.

"Haha... I was aware there may be discontent with that bit. But since it's an order from up high—"

"You smile like you're relaxed but you're very nervous."

"...Sorry?"

"Why, do I make you uneasy?"

The man flinched at Erwen's question but shook his head. "...Of course not. On the contrary, I feel safer with you here." Anyone could tell that response was pure politeness. If he really thought that way, he wouldn't have had reason to avoid Erwen's eyes as he spoke.

"Stop it, now." Knowing that man was only here on orders, too, I quickly intervened.

"But the three of us are enough..."

"It's good to have more people to help."

"But team leader?"

"Someone from the military could be our team's leader. Why are you so outraged about that?"

Erwen pursed her lips. "...Okay. I'll stop."

Did that interaction leave an impression? Only then did the man shift his gaze to me. "You are..."

"Riehen Schuitz."

"Ah, yes... I'm aware. Nice to meet you. And the person next to you is Ms. Emily Raines?"

"Yes."

The man came up to me to say hello, then introduced us to the other two people blankly watching us interact a short distance away. "These people were aboard the third-class ship that sank on the way here. Thankfully they were rescued, but unfortunately, their other teammates were not."

No wonder I wasn't getting the vibe these two had been taken from another team. So, that was why. When our eyes shifted to the other two people, they introduced themselves a little nervously.

"I-It's an honor to meet you, Blood Spirit. Ah, o-of course, the rest of your teammates too. I am rank-five adventurer Lykion Elt."

He didn't give off a bad first impression. He seemed polite, and seeing as he had stayed quiet until he was given a moment to introduce himself, he seemed to be quick on the uptake too. Rank five meant he would do his fair share as well. Besides that, he seemed to be coming from a rather unfortunate situation.

"I-I'll do my best not to be an inconvenience!" said the other man. "I'm H-Hans Caesar."

"What...?" I blurted involuntarily.

The man kindly repeated his name again for my benefit. "Hans Caesar!"

Are you kidding me?

I took a moment to reflect. What happened the last time I ran into a Hans? I quickly remembered. Hans J, whom I met on Farune Island, had been a traitor.

And after I met him, I got sucked into the past.

I spent an entire six months there, and when I got back, two and a half years had passed in my original time period. And that wasn't all. Not only were my clanmates now scattered, but I had also been branded as an evil spirit.

"Haha..."

When I let out a bark of incredulous laughter, Hans K tilted his head and asked, "Um... what's the matter?"

There was no reason for me to go as far as exchanging words with him. That would only bring me bad luck. "Erwen."

"Yes, go ahead."

"You said the three of us were enough, right?"

"I did."

Yes, you did.

"Hmm..." I genuinely mulled this over. If I gave her the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠command to go ham, Erwen would let out a war cry and tear this group to pieces.

But if I do, news will reach Raven.

That was the part that bothered me. Raven knew of my hatred of the name Hans. Once she heard about why I got rid of him, her suspicions toward me could end up growing.

Hm, that means I just have to make it look like I kicked him out for something other than his name. Come to think of it, that's a good idea. Okay, I've decided.

"You're all trash."

"...Sorry?"

"I said, having you guys here will only slow us down." When cold words of contempt left my mouth, their expressions hardened. I guessed they never thought I'd be the one saying something like this and not Erwen.

"Haha... what do you mean? Mr. Schuitz, you just said it's better to have more people."

Ah, about that.

"I changed my mind." A Hans was a serious matter. When I asked him to remove those two or take us out of the group, Alex looked flummoxed.

"How ridiculous. What, do you think you're someone special now?"

"Forget it, we'll leave," announced a member of the Hans Group. "There is no reason for us to stay after being treated like this. Instead, tell your superiors that the blame lies with them, not us."

It seemed I really hurt their pride since they declared their withdrawal from the team and walked out of the barracks of their own volition.

Whew, that solves that—

"How dare they say that? Should I follow them?" Erwen asked.

"It's fine, don't even speak to them."

"Okay!"

Anyway, as we conversed, Raven's right-hand man, Alex, shot me a disgusted look. I was sure he had been filled in on Raven's mistaken assumption. I must have seemed normal at first, but now I likely came off as a pathetic bastard who only cared about how much power a person had.

"So, what are you going to do now? Our group of six is now a group of four."

"...I will first report this to the vice captain and then inform you of how we'll handle you."

"If you say so."

When Alex left the barracks as well to relay the situation to Raven, Erwen turned to me and carefully asked, "But why did you do that all of a sudden?"

"His name was Hans."

"...What about it being Hans?"

Ah, does she not know about my Hans jinx? Hmm, I guess I don't remember telling her...

Just as I was about to explain, Amelia smirked and spoke for me. "You were his clanmate and don't even know that?"

"...So you know?"

"Of course I do." Amelia shrugged and provided a brief summary of my Hans jinx. In Amelia's case, she knew the weight of the name because of that fiasco where she called me Hans Lee.

Erwen seemed furious about being the only one out of the loop. "Hans..." She muttered the name in a truly murderous tone, then balled her fists up in determination. "Come to think of it, the traitor on Farune Island was Hans Aulock. Sorry. I won't forget to keep an eye out from now on."

"Uh... s-sure." I was now concerned she would end up embedding an arrow in every Hans she encountered, but I decided not to worry about it too much.

So what? They're Hanses, anyway. No matter how you look at it, they'd definitely end up doing something bad. The problem right now is that I already ran into a Hans...

Although I'd quickly kicked him out of the group, I was in the same space as Hans K for too long, and the barrack was poorly ventilated. And considering we were in the middle of a battlefield on the seventh floor...

"Mister, your hands are shaking..."

Ugh, I'm going to lose it.

What on earth was going to happen to us? While my hands were shaking from anxiety, Alex came back and told us how our team's problem would be resolved.

"It's been decided how you'll be dealt with."

Nothing much had changed. We were going to continue forward as a group of four, and he would take on the role of team leader just the same.

"After this, you—no, we will be on personnel escort duty instead of external patrol or sentry duty."

Our group's job was changed to guarding Raven, the vice captain of the Third Magic Corps. Of course, that wasn't a problem. As long as Sir Kyle, the captain, was busy supporting the special forces of the First Corps, Raven was the most important person in our unit. But while we may have been called ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠escorts, I suspected her real goal was probably to keep an eye on us so we couldn't cause any more issues.

Anyway, things went smoothly for a while.

Kabooom!

Until a mana cannon sounded from somewhere nearby.

Beeep! Beeep! Beeep!

The alarm spell activated and rang throughout the garrison.

"A-Ambush!"

"Everyone, prepare for battle!"

This happened less than two hours after my encounter with Hans K.

"Haha..."

When I let out a bark of incredulous laughter, Hans K tilted his head and asked, "Um... what's the matter?"

There was no reason for me to go as far as exchanging words with him. That would only bring me bad luck. "Erwen."

"Yes, go ahead."

"You said the three of us were enough, right?"

"I did."

Yes, you did.

"Hmm..." I genuinely mulled this over. If I gave her the command to go ham, Erwen would let out a war cry and tear this group to pieces.

But if I do, news will reach Raven.

That was the part that bothered me. Raven knew of my hatred of the name Hans. Once she heard about why I got rid of him, her suspicions toward me could end up growing.

Hm, that means I just have to make it look like I kicked him out for something other than his name. Come to think of it, that's a good idea. Okay, I've decided.

"You're all trash."

"...Sorry?"

"I said, having you guys here will only slow us down." When cold words of contempt left my mouth, their expressions hardened. I guessed they never thought I'd be the one saying something like this and not Erwen.

"Haha... what do you mean? Mr. Schuitz, you just said it's better to have more people."

Ah, about that.

"I changed my mind." A Hans was a serious matter. When I asked him to remove those two or take us out of the group, Alex looked flummoxed.

"How ridiculous. What, do you think you're someone special now?"

"Forget it, we'll leave," announced a member of the Hans Group. "There is no reason for us to stay after being treated like this. Instead, tell your superiors that the blame lies with them, not us."

It seemed I really hurt their pride since they declared their withdrawal from the team and walked out of the barracks of their own volition.

Whew, that solves that—

"How dare they say that? Should I follow them?" Erwen asked.

"It's fine, don't even speak to them."

"Okay!"

Anyway, as we conversed, Raven's right-hand man, Alex, shot me a disgusted look. I was sure he had been filled in on Raven's mistaken assumption. I must have seemed normal at first, but now I likely came off as a pathetic bastard who only cared about how much power a person had.

"So, what are you going to do now? Our group of six is now a group of four."

"...I will first report this to the vice captain and then inform you of how we'll handle you."

"If you say so."

When Alex left the barracks as well to relay the situation to Raven, Erwen turned to me and carefully asked, "But why did you do that all of a sudden?"

"His name was Hans."

"...What about it being Hans?"

Ah, does she not know about my Hans jinx? Hmm, I guess I don't remember telling her...

Just as I was about to explain, Amelia smirked and spoke for me. "You were his clanmate and don't even know that?"

"...So you know?"

"Of course I do." Amelia shrugged and provided a brief summary of my Hans jinx. In Amelia's case, she knew the weight of the name because of that fiasco where she called me Hans Lee.

Erwen seemed furious about being the only one out of the loop. "Hans..." She muttered the name in a truly murderous tone, then balled her fists up in determination. "Come to think of it, the traitor on Farune Island was Hans Aulock. Sorry. I won't forget to keep an eye out from now on."

"Uh... s-sure." I was now concerned she would end up embedding an arrow in every Hans she encountered, but I decided not to worry about it too much.

So what? They're Hanses, anyway. No matter how you look at it, they'd definitely end up doing something bad. The problem right now is that I already ran into a Hans...

Although I'd quickly kicked him out of the group, I was in the same space as Hans K for too long, and the barrack was poorly ventilated. And considering we were in the middle of a battlefield on the seventh floor...

"Mister, your hands are shaking..."

Ugh, I'm going to lose it.

What on earth was going to happen to us? While my hands were shaking from anxiety, Alex came back and told us how our team's problem would be resolved.

"It's been decided how you'll be dealt with."

Nothing much had changed. We were going to continue forward as a group of four, and he would take on the role of team leader just the same.

"After this, you—no, we will be on personnel escort duty instead of external patrol or sentry duty."

Our group's job was changed to guarding Raven, the vice captain of the Third Magic Corps. Of course, that wasn't a problem. As long as Sir Kyle, the captain, was busy supporting the special ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠forces of the First Corps, Raven was the most important person in our unit. But while we may have been called escorts, I suspected her real goal was probably to keep an eye on us so we couldn't cause any more issues.

Anyway, things went smoothly for a while.

Kabooom!

Until a mana cannon sounded from somewhere nearby.

Beeep! Beeep! Beeep!

The alarm spell activated and rang throughout the garrison.

"A-Ambush!"

"Everyone, prepare for battle!"

This happened less than two hours after my encounter with Hans K.