The Expedition (2)
“Even though there are so many things to prepare before setting out on an expedition, what do you think is the most important one?”
Jina, dressed in her usual short priest's robes, gathered all the party members in one place and said this.
The reason she was speaking to the party members about this, unlike her usual self who only talked to Ain, was simple.
Ironically, Jina was the one with the most experience in expeditions among the party members.
Er, who always based herself in cities and completed requests around them,
Haru, who had never left Karpe,
and Ain, who had only followed expeditions from the sect without truly understanding them,
had only Jina, who had properly participated in long-distance expeditions and accumulated experience.
She was imparting her know-how to her party members.
What is the most important thing when preparing for an expedition?
The first to answer Jina's question was Haru, whose eyes were unusually sleepy from staying up all night.
“...Food?”
“Food is important, but it's not the most important thing. There are plenty of portable rations, and if you're short, you can just catch and eat some wild animals.”
“Then, is it a backup weapon for contingencies?”
Er said this.
When you go on expeditions far from bases, supply and maintenance naturally become unstable. If you don't prepare backup weapons for that, you'll suffer a significant loss in combat power.
Despite having just finished morning training a moment ago, making her appear slightly relaxed, Jina shook her head from side to side and said.
“If it's individual expeditions, maybe. But this time, it's a large-scale expedition led by the royal family, the temple, and the Adventurer Guild combined? For weapon maintenance, they'll bring a dedicated blacksmith or hire suitable people. So, that's out.”
“Then what? Are you going to talk about individual combat skills or tactical training?”
This time, it was Ain, whose eyes were twitching.
He, like Haru, had been pulled out after sleeping until just before, so he wasn't fully awake yet.
He said in a slightly drowsy, tired voice.
“If it's that, I can manage it somehow. And there's no need to wake someone who's sleeping properly, right? If you don't sleep well, you'll be tired all day…”
“That's exactly it!”
“...What?”
Ain tilted his head in confusion at Jina's reaction he couldn't understand.
Jina, with the corners of her mouth lifted, said to Ain.
“There's nothing more important than a place to sleep in an expedition! Unlike long-distance requests where you just camp for a day or two, in expeditions where you have to camp or bivouac for at least a week, rest is the most important. And the most important thing in that is sleep!”
When the body is tired, everything becomes hard.
A head soaked in fatigue can't function properly, and the same goes for the body.
“What we need to think about right now is exactly that! How can we sleep more comfortably and deeply!”
“What nonsense is this at dawn?! Are you going to do this after waking up from sleep?!”
“Then you'll better understand the value of a good night's sleep!”
“...I'm starting to see my master from this crazy woman.”
Ain's face paled at Jina's absurd words as he shook his head, and Er, who was listening to Jina's words with a relatively serious expression, said.
“...There's some truth to that. Adventurers need to be able to recover their stamina by taking a good night's sleep anywhere, anytime. Not just adventurers, but anyone with a job that takes them to the battlefield must master this know-how.”
“Wow, you know about getting a good night's sleep, Miss Ersia!”
“...Be careful if you keep calling me that.”
“Why, it's a pretty name.”
“I hide it under the bed, so it's not time to take it out yet.”
Er said this and laughed lightly as she stood up from her seat.
“If that's the case, I'm not worried. I didn't live an easy life just because I was picky about bedding.”
“Such a person uses the best bedding?”
“Oh my, preferring high-quality items isn't the same as not being picky, is it? So, don't worry. I know enough about that.”
“...Me too, I'm fine. That's basic for mages.”
“What kind of job is a mage that makes that basic?!”
“Differing from weak, mediocre mages. I am the primordial saint of the magic path who pursues true magic... shortened to mage, mage Haru...”
“...Don't use such abbreviations.”
Ain said this in a slightly disgusted voice, then stood up with a nonchalant expression and said.
“If that's the case, don't worry. You forgot, right? I'm the one who used to live in a tent on an open field before giving a room to Haru.”
“...”
Ain’s confident words had grounds.
He was the one who had been living alone in the open field outside Karpe until recently.
His confidence was justified, and it unconsciously made the others nod their heads.
“So, I don't need to worry, I'll do it well on my own!”
“...But only I am thinking this?”
Despite Ain's confident appearance, Er, who had a somewhat uneasy expression, said.
“Every time Ain is like this, it doesn't turn out as planned.”
●
“It can't be like this!”
“Isn't that obvious? When camping outside, you have to take the first watch.”
Jina said this while snapping a branch.
The branches bent over her knees and snapped in half, revealing their white inner flesh, and Jina threw them into the firewood pile where the flames were rising.
“I didn't think about this when I was with my master, did I? I knew it. The world isn't full of monsters like my master.”
My master, Veronica, could sense intruders or monsters entering her detection range before their forms were revealed.
When traveling with Veronica, there was no need to take the first watch, and when participating in the temple's expedition, other paladins took the watch, so it was easy to forget.
Of course, only Ain had forgotten, and Er and Haru were laughing at Ain, who was tearing his hair out while not accepting reality.
“Still, it won't be boring. We'll be taking the watch with the other adventurers.”
“That sounds terrifying! Having to stand for over an hour with people I don't even know?!”
“Well, whatever, the other side probably thinks the same.”
Jina said this, shrugging her shoulders.
“Still, we can sleep comfortably thanks to your sacrifice, right? So, it's fine.”
“Ya! Let's do the lottery again!”
“It's shameless to refuse the result. How embarrassing. Don't you think so, Er?”
“Ugh...”
At Jina's mention of Er, Ain closed his mouth, and at the same time,
“If you don't want to, I'll take it. I was planning to do that from the beginning.”
“...No need. I was just being a little dramatic.”
“It seemed sincere to me.”
“Shut up...”
Ain, who turned his gaze away from Jina who was smirking at him, looked around at the scene.
They had joined the black magic extermination squad led by the lord of Karpe, and were now in the procession.
They had already completed a day's travel, set up camp before sunset, and were busy setting up tents and preparing to spend the night.
Fortunately, there were some adventurers hired by the temple and royal side, so the disaster of all adventurers in the extermination squad being just them didn't happen.
However, since most of the extermination squad consisted of royal knights and soldiers, adventurers didn't have much of a role.
Their duties were to perform minor tasks like night watch or patrols mixed with regular soldiers.
As a result, the one night watch shift assigned to Er's party was selected in a completely fair way that no one could object to.
It was by drawing lots.
Er, remembering Ain picking up the wooden pieces with a world-ending expression, couldn't help but feel uneasy.
“Are you really okay with this?”
“I'm telling you it's okay. Don't worry.”
“Hmm...”
“Ain is fine too. Let's go in and sleep.”
Saying this, Jina pointed to the tent already set up.
The tents distributed one per party in the expedition were of surprisingly good quality, and Ain thought that with this, there wouldn't be a problem with morning dew.
Jina said to him.
“Ain, your spot is at the far left end.”
“...Is my side you?”
“Ah, ah, ah, no?!”
“...I'll sleep outside today.”
“I won't do anything! Really!”
“No, sleeping outside is better. What kind of face would I make sandwiched between girls.”
Er said this after seeing Ain shudder.
“You don't need to do that. The tent is surprisingly spacious. You won't need to squeeze in that much, it's fine. If you're still uneasy, you can make a wall between the men and women with a backpack or something.”
“Er, you don't trust Ain?”
“...No, it's not Ain, it's you, Jina.”
“...”
At Jina's words that struck the mark, Er laughed in disbelief as she saw Jina closing her mouth and avoiding her gaze.
“So, don't worry. I'll definitely hold Jina in place for you.”
“Hmm, still a bit...”
“And I told you before, right? That getting a good night's sleep is important. We have to move for several more days, so don't mess up your condition with camping.”
“...Okay.”
As Er said this, Ain couldn't refuse.
This was the last conversation before they went to bed.
Ain, seeing off his companions who decided to sleep early because they had to move again from tomorrow morning, sat on a tree stump and looked at the sky.
Unfortunately, his turn was second.
“Damn, if it's second, even I am in doubt...”
Having the second night watch meant that if you lay down to sleep, you had to get up again.
So, tonight, his night was likely to be a bit longer.