The pouring sun doesn't make you feel the cloudy weather of the previous day, and the sky is as blue as if the end of summer were still a long way off.
　The day after Dusker came to the village of Goto, the party was about to leave after breakfast.
　The village chief and Luchard are coming to see them off. And only three of Aepika and two of the gatekeepers.
　Originally, all the villagers should have seen him off, but it was Dusker who stopped it.
　They had already come the day before and interrupted the wheat harvest. That being the case, the villagers were told not to see them off but to do their job properly.
　The inhabitants were happy to see that they cared so much about themselves as farmers.
　The lord governing this land does not belong to any faction, and his peerage is not so high as that of a viscount.
　It's not particularly tyrannical, and it's fair to say that taxes are just normal. No, compared to other villages, it is a village near the Seremuth plain, where the war against the Vestian Empire is fought.
　It is safe to say that even such lords rarely speak to farmers themselves.
　No, that's normal.
　But Dusker cared about themselves despite their high status as frontiersmen. On the contrary, some people were approached directly at the welcoming party the day before.
　For farmers, Dusker was actually an unbelievable opponent.

"Wow, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

　The village entrance echoes the cry of Aepika.
　Aepica hugging Seto and showing her determination not to leave.
　Ray, Seto and Vichela played with them while their parents and other adults were busy working on the farm.
　It was absolutely unbearable for Aepika, who realized she was gone.

"Apica, don't bother me too much."
"I don't want to!"

　Aepica was stubbornly trying to stay away from Seto, but then Ray, who was standing next to Seto, put his hand on Aepika's head.

"Hit... brother?"

　Ray opens his mouth, patting Aepika's tearful eyes on the head.

"It's true that we'll break up once, but it's not that we'll never see each other again. Besides, we are going to the Empire of Bestia. When I'm done there, I'll be back in this kingdom of Milliana. I'll come back to this village then. So don't cry. Boys, right? If you cry so much, Seto will hate you."
"Well... really?"

　Ray nods to Aepika, who asks with tears in his eyes.
　I guess that's why you've finally come to terms with it. As it is, Aepika hugs Seto with her little body full.

"Take care, Seto. Let's play again."
"Glu".

　When I hear Seto's cry, I leave, and then she hugs Ray.
　No matter how small Ray is, he's quite tall compared to five-year-old Apika. stroke Aepika's head around her waist and open her mouth

"Take care,"
"Yes!"

　She nods to Ray's words with a smile of wonder why she was crying until recently, and then hugs him instead of Theoreum.
　For a moment, Luchard looked envious, but fortunately or unfortunately, Vichela now wears a robe and cannot see her usual sensational appearance.
　In addition, the reason why Aepika doesn't seem to be attached to Theorem at all is that she had little contact with him.
　After Rey told him about the Elk, Theoreum had been training in battle for a long time until the Daskers arrived to survive.
　As for the Teorem, he broke his beloved dagger in the battle with the Elk, so what is now at his waist is Ray's out of the mystery ring.
　However, since it is a long sword stolen from thieves, it is undoubtedly a cheap and inferior article.
　I wanted a better dagger for Theoreum, but basically Ray's mistrings contain many fragile spears for throwing, and the rest are the magic item's magical spears, or very expensive spears he bought out of a fit.
　There was no way I could lend him a magic spear, only expensive spears were available, but when Theoreum heard the price, he declined.
　Spears are not always unavailable, but basically Theorem prefers long swords, and in fact his sword arms are superior.
　And finally, the sword that was used by the bandit he had now was chosen.

"... all right, we're leaving soon!"

　As if he had been waiting for Aepika's farewell... no, the Dusker who was actually waiting for him to say so through the window of the carriage.
　Hearing the voice, Ray straddles Seto and Vihela and Theorame straddles the horse.
　Confirming this, Dusker finally turns to Luchard and screams again.

"Let's go!"

　With the words as a signal, the carriage begins to move forward.
　The horse-drawn carriage, which led from the village, bowed deeply to see them off as the carriage passed by.
　Knights, valets, and coachmen leave the village with a smile on their faces, like a party of nobles.

"Brother, sister, seto! Never come again!"

　At the cry of tears coming from behind, Ray waved his hand lightly to answer, and went on.
　It was the same with Vihela, who was waving on horseback.
　Thus the Daskers and Vichelas join and head to the Plains of Celemus.





"It's still as dull as ever,"

　One of the knights who guarded the carriage in which the Dusker was riding.
　The knight, a subordinate of Dusker, is also involved in the Spring War, and it will be the first time in months that he has returned to this vast, so-called Celemus plain.
　However, the scenery, which doesn't show any unusual state of affairs, makes me wonder what a few months of time it has been, makes me think that words that I might complain about pop out of my mouth.
　In fact, to all but the blurred knights, the view seemed to be no different from spring.
　Of course, there are some differences, such as the growth of grass larger than in spring, or the growth of bones in animals that seem to be humans.
　However, overall, it did not seem to have changed much compared to spring.

`...isn't that bone undead, by any chance?'

　One of the knights muttered involuntarily at the sight of a bone on the ground.
　The Celemus Plain, which has been the scene of many wars between the Kingdom of Milliana and the Empire of Bestia, is therefore known for its numerous undeads.

"Perhaps it's all right," There's no way the undead could do anything about it in the sunshine."

　That's what Ray said, riding on top of Seto.
　The horse in which the knight was riding showed no sign of fright, even though Gryphon's Seto was nearby.
　This is proof that knights have been trained for use in war, and at the same time, knights have sufficient control over their military horses.

"Well, if there's an undead, will Set and you be all right?"
"I hope so. Rather, the problem is night. Of course you'll need to stay for a few nights in this Celemous Plain, won't you?"

　The knight nods bitterly at what Ray says.

"Oh, honestly, I'm not happy to camp here."

　But as the knight's gaze shifts from Ray down to Seto, the bitterness of his expression disappears.

"Glu?"

　Seto's throat snarls as if to say, "What's the matter with you?" if you notice that you've been looking at me.

"There's Seto this time," There's nothing better to deal with monsters when they camp out."
"I don't deny it. A large number of people is a problem, as it was during the Spring War, but I don't think it's a problem at all."

　When I ask Seto with my eyes, he replies with a cry of "Of course!"The knight breathed a sigh of relief, but Ray spins his words again.

"but if you're an ordinary monster, you'll be undead. They don't have any fear, so I beg you to be very careful."

　While we were talking, the carriage continued on through the Celemuth plain, taking only one break for lunch along the way, and then walking on endlessly.

"When I see the grasslands so wide that I can see them, I think this is a good place to settlement."

　On a summer afternoon, the sun is harsh, no matter how much we are heading for autumn.
　muttered Ray, glaring sideways at the sun as the coachman and the knights of the bodyguard were fed up.
　Also, Vihela and Theoreum must be in direct sunlight, but they are not particularly patient with the light sweat on their faces.
　This is proof that they are both physically superior to ordinary knights.
　While thinking that way, Vihela, who had been listening to Ray's words to herself, steers to Seto's side and opens her mouth.

"Well, this place certainly has fertile ground and grasslands. There's no problem with water. In other words, it's good for farming or livestock farming. though that is why the Empire of Bestia and the Kingdom of Milliana have been fighting for many years to see if they can bear it."
"And now there is the undead problem, given that there has been a long war between the two countries. If either party surrenders this land to the other party, it would not be used as a settlement unless there was much left to do. It must be a special example of how all the settlers are more adventurers... or combatants."

　Knights listening nearby nod to Theorem's words as he stepped next to Vihela.

"Certainly, it would be difficult to settle on the Seremuth plain if we had to do so much. ...but I'm not sure if I can do that realistically. No, if you want to do it as a country, you may be able to do it, but you have too little to gain compared to the cost."

　There is little animosity toward Theoreum in the knight who tells you so.
　Unlike the Elk, he was not directly harmed, and it may be influenced by the fact that the neutrals and Theorem fought very little during the Spring War.
　No, many as knights wanted to talk about him as a notorious general in the Westian Empire.

"I see. During the day, we work on cultivation, take care of livestock, and watch at night. I don't want to live in a few days, either."

　Ray muttered convincingly, listening to Knights and Theoreum.

(If we were to build a town or a village here... that would be the only way to build a castle wall at once, as we did to Gilm.)

　Ray thinks so in his heart, but Gillum was created only because it was a remote area.
　Because of the remote regions, there are rare monster materials, minerals, herbs, and so many other resources that the past kings of the Milliana Kingdom could use much of their national strength, knowing that they were too beneficial.
　However, while the Celemus Plain is a rich place, it is not as unique as Gilm.
　There is still much land left in the kingdom of Milliana that can be cultivated, and naturally there are no undeads wandering in such places like this Celemus plain.
　Considering that, this land was not something I wanted to gain by doing that.
　However, it is difficult to be taken by the Vestian Empire for the defense of the land.
　On the other hand, on the part of the Westian Empire, we really wanted this land because it leads to the kingdom of Mileana, where the sea is located.
　However, the Westian Empire could not afford to deal with the undead that would appear at night...it was, after all, a sort of buffer zone, close to the tacit understanding of both sides.

(and now that it's been in the war for so many years, it's going to make me even more bitter and more undead.)

　With this in mind, Ray watched the sun turn into a sunset.