On the night of February 28, 2813 in the Western Continent, February 28, the Worthenian Peninsula, Item 4:


"You ... have a grudge?

　Kevin's expression was hard and very hard, not like he was joking.

'Huh?'

　There was no way she was going to miss Kevin's words.
　Although his tone was low and flippant to those around him, Kevin's words were firmly in Melissa's ear.
　Still unable to understand the meaning of his words, Melissa asked back.

''I asked if you ... you ... have a grudge against Mikoshiba-sama for the people who got away from Hannah ...''

　When the words were spoken again, hesitantly, Melissa couldn't help but look in surprise at Kevin.
　Kevin's question was so unexpected for Melissa.
　And gradually the meaning of Kevin's words began to seep into her brain.

'Oh no!　Why?

　Melissa couldn't help but let out a yelp.

　Jeez, Kevin stared at Melissa's face in silence.
　His gaze was sharp and unwavering, as if he was trying to see into the depths of Melissa's mind.
　How long did they stare at each other?　

　Crack.

　The sound of the blasting of the firewood blasting sounded awfully loud in Melissa's ears.

''Well it looks like you don't really hold a grudge.

　When he said that, Kevin finally relaxed his strident expression.
　From Melissa's face, he must have guessed her true intentions.
　However, Melissa ignored Kevin's sentiments and shouted.　
　Maybe it was inevitable.
　It was too unexpectedly disgusting for her.

'Why?　Why does it have to be that way?

　She takes a bite out of Kevin with an unthinkable amount of force from her usual Melissa.

'Melissa you didn't understand after all,'

　When Kevin saw Melissa's reaction, he looked stunned and yet somewhat convinced.

'What do you mean?'

I mean every word of it, you don't know where you stand.　

　Melissa raised an eyebrow at Kevin's words.

'I'm fully aware that I owe Mikoshiba-sama a debt of gratitude, too, don't I?

　Melissa will never forget that day when she endured her last ordeal and was recognized as one of the soldiers.
　In the beginning there had been 320 of them, but that day they were down to 196.
　And to the last of them, Mikoshiba Ryoma had freed them from slavery, as he had promised.
　In front of their eyes as they were gathered in the square, the slave contracts that bound them were reduced to ashes.
　It was an absolute debt of gratitude to her, or rather to all of them present here now, that surpassed anything else.
　They could literally get their lives back.
　I have never forgotten that for a moment.
　But Kevin shook his head at Melissa's words.

'Not that ... what I'm trying to say is beyond that ...'

Beyond? .....

　Melissa doesn't understand the meaning of Kevin's words.
　They are indebted to Ryoma Mikoshiba, and they are aware of it.
　What does it mean beyond that?

''Are you ready?　Mikoshiba-sama is a merciful man. He has freed us from slavery and given us the art of fighting and education when we were mere labor slaves. He provided us with food, clothing, and shelter, but it wasn't out of sheer goodness. Of course, it's not without good intentions. But that person gave us strength for a good purpose.

　That was a point that Melissa and I felt thinly veiled.
　She went out of her way to pay a slave trader an amount of money that wasn't cheap and spent a lot of time and effort to teach the child who was a slave the art of fighting.
　And she herself understood that this was not an action done out of Mikoshiba Ryoma's emotions of pity or sympathy.

''He's testing us now...''

'Trying it?　What do you think you're trying to do?

　Kevin looked around and answered Melissa's words by lowering his small voice even lower.

'We'll see if we really follow Mikoshiba-sama.

　Teaching slaves the art of fighting is tantamount to giving them the means to stand against the Lord.
　That's why we don't give education to ordinary slaves, and war slaves are strictly sealed and restricted from wielding their power without the Lord's permission.
　However, Mikoshiba Ryoma never placed any restrictions on the children he bought in Ipilos.
　In fact, when the training began, many slaves escaped from the harshness of the training because there were no measures in place to prevent them from escaping.

'We were a squad of five in one, just kids at first, right?'

　Melissa nodded silently at Kevin's words.
　Ryoma had initially put the children in pairs of five to give them basic training.
　He made them act in groups of five at all times, and sleep and wake up in pairs of five.

''But now there are four of us plus one mercenary, so it's one group of five. Do you understand what this means?

　It's true that the organization of the squad changed around the time they started to learn the legal arts.
　The squad that was made up of only five children was dismantled and replaced with a new formation of four children and one newly hired mercenary from Ipyros.
　I was simply talking about deploying a platoon commander with actual battle experience, but apparently things are not that simple.
　A hunch in Melissa's mind passes.

''By any chance........surveillance?''

　Kevin nodded silently at Melissa's mumbling-like words.
　Seeing this, Melissa finally understood what Kevin and Coil were so concerned about, so much.

'Look, we've been shaken up. And we're still being shaken up.

　Kevin's words drove into Melissa's mind like a wedge.


　The next day.
　Under a clear blue sky, the 300 troops led by Mikoshiba Ryoma arrived at their destination, a cove.

　After cutting through a dense forest of trees, they proceeded westward along the banks of a large river, nearly 400 meters wide, and the scenery in front of them suddenly changed.
　The first thing you see is a white sandy beach that stretches from north to south for a long time.
　Beyond that, the blue ocean, so clear that you can see all the way to the bottom of the ocean, spreads out in front of you.
　The waves lapping on the beach are gentle and the sea breeze gently tickled Ryoma and his friends' noses.
　In the far distance, there are some faintly visible islands in the bay.
　This land, which is completely untouched by human hands, is the perfect embodiment of both the wildness and beauty of nature.
　Surrounded by steep, high mountains on three sides, this land is a natural hazard, and at the same time, if you cut through the forest, you can bring in a large river that flows into the sea, making it possible to be fully self-sufficient in food.
　And above all, the coastline, which was over 10 kilometers long, could be fully utilized as a harbor with a little work.

''I see...I've heard reports, but this is really good land,''

　Atop a hill that juts out from the beach, two men were looking down at the beach below them.
　They had come here to check out the surrounding terrain.

　Gen-Oh was on top of his horse, squinting at the intense sunshine as he spoke to Ryojin beside him.
　A proud expression appeared on his face at the certainty of the information brought back by his clan members.　

I'm sure you'll be able to find the best location for it.

　Ryoma said, and then ran his eyes over the surrounding terrain.
　A slightly open area that exists around the border of a large river, a forest and a beach.
　There, he could see many human beings wriggling around.
　Are they preparing to make camp?
　One after another, logs were being propped up against the earth and tents were being put up.
　The first thing that comes to mind is the presence of a large river flowing into the bay.
　The large river that flows into the bay can be used for a wide range of purposes, including drinking water and agricultural water, and can also be used as a water moat when building a castle.
　Wood could be cut out of the surrounding forest for any number of purposes, and the more trees we cut out, the more we could use them for farmland.
　It was also affordable, being about four days away from Ipylos.
　Future development and ease of defense. All in all, it was a perfect location for the project.
　Hearing Liangzhen's words, Yan Oo's face lit up with happiness.
　There is nothing more proud than to be recognized for your work in the main.
　And Mikoshiba Ryoma knew that rewarding his subordinates for their achievements was the most important thing.
　It's not just about paying them.
　The most important thing is to understand the hardships you have gone through to achieve it and to praise you for it.
　Well done, sir. You've done some good work. You've done a great job.
　That little bit of thoughtfulness is important for people to be able to relate to each other.

Thank you. Your words are very kind, and I'm sure they'll be happy to hear them.

After all, it's one of the few advantages of being able to choose where you're based. You want the best land, of course. But I honestly didn't think it would be as good as this. We could start a village here in a heartbeat.

　The fact that this was an uncivilized land that was untouched by human hands meant that, conversely, Ryojin could build his base wherever he wanted.
　If even one small village existed on this uncivilized peninsula, Ryojin had no choice.
　In terms of guaranteeing the safety of the people, no matter how unfavorable the location of the village, there is no choice but to use that village as a base for development.
　This is because the current Liangma does not have enough troops to guarantee the safety of the village while building a new base of operations.


''Young man!　The tent is ready. Please, come this way.

　Apparently, the encampment was ready.
　Bolz's voice echoed over the hills.

　Tomorrow, at last, the forest will be cleared and village building will begin.

'It all starts from here........'

　Ryoma turned his challenging gaze to the south.
　As if glaring at the still-unseen enemy.