Three days have passed since I left Henriette.
　That's more than enough time to cross the borders of the Empire ......, but as a matter of fact Allen and his team still remain within the Empire.

　But this is not because they have something on their mind, but because they are unable to leave Laurus.
　It's not because the border is closed again, or that you're in trouble in Laurus, but simply because you're not finished preparing to leave.

　It's easy to cross the border from Laurus, but from there to the nearest human settlement in the kingdom will take two days.
　There are inhabited places even closer than that, but they are so-called military bases.
　Because it's an anti-imperial surveillance base, you can't procure food and other supplies.

　Moreover, the nearest human settlement is also a small village, so it is impossible to procure food on a large scale.
　It would take more than a week to get to a town where that is possible, so I must get food and other supplies from Laurus.

　But it didn't go well at all.
　Unfortunately, no matter what store you went to, you could only get a little bit of food, and rumor has it that some nobleman has bought it all up.

　I thought they were going to start a war, but there were no rumors or signs of war: ...... But at any rate, it is true that the preparations for the journey were not made.
　It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get your hands on a new one.

Phew ...... is that enough for you, finally?

　Looking around the place, Allen let out a breath as he lowered the items he was carrying to the ground.

　In my vision, I can see the food and other items I've bought little by little over the past three days, and the bags filled with them are piled up in a heap.
　It's obviously not enough for a week, even if you consider that it's for four people, but that's just as well.
　Because what we have here is roughly two weeks' worth of supplies.

　You never know what will happen along the way, and you can't be sure that things will go smoothly.
　It's only natural that you should prepare more, just in case.

　And with this and this from Allen, I've finally reached an amount that I believe is sufficient.

I'm sure that's a lot of ......, but if Allen says it's necessary, then it's probably necessary.
Well, we don't know much, so we'll just have to leave it to you, Allen.
I wonder if it makes sense to spread it out like this, even at ......?

　You can find a lot of people who have been looking at the pile of goods, nodding their heads and smiling at you, wondering if you agree with the words Milene has said.
　It's true that it's natural to think that way.

　The carriage that Allen and the others have been riding in is spacious enough for the four of us to sit down and relax to some extent, but as expected, there is not enough space to carry this much.
　But no one questions that in itself, because they know that there is a magic tool for storage.
　I used it to carry my food on my way to work, so there is no need to question it now.

　But since the tools can be taken in and out individually, you don't need to spread them out to put them in.
　This is a room at the inn, and the things you buy are immediately put into that tool.

　So why did you come here to ......?
　It's because it's now.

If you can get them all in one store, you certainly don't need to check every single one of them. I'll check before I put it away. But this time I have them from different stores, and it took me three days to get them. I don't think I'm missing anything, but I have to check this way to make sure it's really there. Moreover, the more eyes you have to check, the better.
I see. ...... So, we are too, I guess.
But, like I said, we don't know how much we need, do we?
Yeah, I'll take care of that. What I want you three to check is mainly to make sure that you have what you need. I can't say that I know all those things either.

　The shopping was split up between the four of us, and there were some things mixed in with the purchases that Allen didn't know about.
　It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

　You're going to be able to have a look at the ...... and then you can feel their eyes on you.
　You're going to be able to get a good deal more than just a few hours of sleep.

I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on.　Or rather, Milene doesn't have to check?
...... checked, so it's not a problem. More importantly, I'm a little concerned about the fact that I can suddenly buy everything today?
"Oh ...... it sure is.

　Although preparations have been going on little by little over the past three days, technically the majority of them are what we had today.
　Yesterday we could hardly buy the things we couldn't because they were hoarded, but today, for some reason, we could buy them normally.

　Well, it's rather unusual that most of the food was hoarded until yesterday, but

But I don't feel any war or anything. From what I've heard, it was all different people in different cities doing the hoarding.

　And when you can get them to talk to you, it's nothing to hide.
　They were buying up all the food in this city for their own reasons.

Well, we still don't know why they did it, after all. It's only been two days since the day before yesterday, so it's only been two days.
"...... had a bad crop this year, or something?
"I've thought about that too, but two days is just too much. It's halfway through, and more than anything else, the hoarding is too much.

　Although it is normal for people to stockpile food in anticipation of higher food prices due to poor harvests, this is too blatant.
　At the very least, it doesn't look good, and in the first place, hoarding food is a fight to this city and its visitors.
　It may be a consequence of buying all the food in the city, but as long as there is such a possibility, you don't normally do it.

　In that case, we should assume that he had to do it nevertheless.

Well, I feel like there's something not so good going on here, but we don't have to worry about it, do we?　We're moving out of here today, anyway.
"...... sure?

　It's a bit late for the Empire to be in a mess in the first place.
　If something else was added to it, it wouldn't make much difference.

　There is of course the possibility that it won't be settled within the empire, but that's the time.
　We'll have to shake off the fallout.

　And as we were talking about this, it seems that Leeds and the others have finished their confirmation.

"This one looks fine for now.
Copy that. Okay, I'll check the numbers and then we'll go?　Anyone have any unfinished business here yet?

　The three shook their heads, but nodded back.


　I managed to leave the city before noon.

　I'm a couple of days behind schedule, but that's still acceptable.
　The only reason Henriette asked me to leave the country quickly is just to stay out of trouble.
　There is no other reason to hurry, so there is no problem.

　--I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most out of the situation.
　It's a good thing that you're not going to be able to get away with it.

"Well, wait a minute: ......!

　The sudden voice didn't make me turn around because I thought I was being accosted, but simply out of reflex.
　I was more than half curious to see what exactly was going on ......, but there was no doubt that the eyes of the person who was looking back were pointed straight at Allen.

　And .

'Please ......!　Help my sister ...... sister, please help me ......!

　The boy, who looked vaguely familiar, had said something like that to me.