Two tents meant for four people were set up by the squires. One was for Ax who had a large body frame and Blazer who was tall and lean, and the other one was for me, Dagger (my sister), and Lancer. 

The inside of the tent was illuminated by the light of an oil lantern that was lit earlier. The oil… smelled of rapeseed. If we made a plant-based oil in the settlement, I wonder if we can sell it to Lucua village?

“Excuse me, I have brought your dinner.”

“Gau.” [Come in.]

From the tent’s entrance, the tan-skinned Knight, Glen, handed me a tray with food. Behind him, two squires were similarly carrying trays of food.

Hanging by Glen’s hip was a two-handed curved blade called the Shamshir, which is a weapon common in desert countries. Additionally, a similar, albeit one-handed curved blade is called a Scimitar.

(That weapon sure is nostalgic… Still, it’s quite rare for someone from a Middle Eastern country to become a Knight in these parts. I wonder if he converted?)

I lightly shook my head from side to side.

(Well, it’s no use poking my nose into people’s affairs. It just makes me a little nostalgic…  I don’t even know how long it’s been since then, but maybe it’s good to go back to my hometown once.)

“Is something the matter, Sir Archer?”

“Gua, garuuo… kuruaan.” [No, it’s nothing. Thanks for the food.]

I took the tray from Glen, who appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent, and handed it to Dagger who sat at the back.

“Kuaon, kyuan.” (Thank you, big brother.)

I also received another tray from the Squires behind him and handed one to Lancer, and finally took one for myself.

“Then, please excuse me. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to call me.”

As he said so, the Knight who reminded me of my hometown left.

“Kyua~n♪ “ (So good♪ )

Returning my gaze to my companions, I saw my sister already gnawing on a piece of dried meat while wagging her fluffy fox tail. I guess she’s the type to go after the meat first…

And so, I broke the hard bread into bite-sized pieces and dunked it in the pea soup to soften it before throwing it in my mouth.

“Kyuu?” (Hnnn?)

My sister imitated me after seeing what I did. The exchange was the same as when we were younger.

“Kuruu kyuaan!” (It’s more delicious like this!)

“Kuu, kuuaruoon.” (Oh my, it just keeps you going for more, doesn’t it?)

Lancer ate in the same way as well.

“… I’m coming in!”

The silver-haired, blue-eyed mage entered the tent as she called out. In her hands was a tray the same as ours. It seemed like she was going to eat with us, and sat beside me.

“Garuoua?” [What is it?]

“Hmm, well, I figured you would have a bad impression of me, so I thought I should join you for a meal and try to get along.”

“… Woaoo.” [… Do what you want.] 

While glancing at her, I think about the exchange we had earlier.

(If Ernesta had asked me politely… I probably would have refused. Even if there had been no cases of demi-human infection after the second breakout of the Bleeding Disease pandemic, there is still a high chance of it happening.)

If that happens, then we’d end up exhausting our power.

However, even if there were various factors involved, the only one who could make the best decision, under those circumstances, was me. We could have cut off the weakest members of the pack and escape, but I didn’t do that and pledged my cooperation and offered my sight lest I break it.

(It’s not like me to sacrifice the pack in that situation after all…)

All life, without exception, will die and return, won’t it? If the final destination is the same, then the process of living determines the value of everything. Therefore, I don’t want to depart from that belief much.

Besides, there’s more to living than just self-preservation.

Is it because I was a former mercenary? For someone who became a mercenary due to poverty, it was something that had been ingrained into me unconsciously.

Ernesta stared at me through the mithril mask as I silently ate my meal while being lost in thought.

“… I’m more personable than you think, so I’m feeling guilty about how I handled things. The problem is, there’s a part of me that’s indecisive about this. What about you?”

I looked at Ernesta who stared up at me calculatingly and swallowed the mouthful of dried meat I had been eating before I responded.

“Guraoou gaoou. Garua worugu guaoruaan.” [If there’s something I need to do, then I will see it to the end. Otherwise, I’ll only have regrets when I die.]

“… You’re so manly, aren’t you? If you were human, then I’d fall in love with you.”

A moment later, she stops eating and thinks about something. She then mussed up her hair and scratched the side of her head.

“Ugh, that’s just unnecessarily distressing… Anyway, we will be providing you with the best equipment available. My unit is the most elite in the whole Kingdom of Riastize, so you can expect that the equipment will be top-notch.”

“Guuon garuon.” [We’ll be counting on you then.]

“Kuau gurua, guruugaooon?” (By the way Boss, what are you talking about?)

“Gau, guruuao guogarua kuruuo.” [Ah, it seems they’re going to give us good equipment.]

“Woan guruugau kuruaon?” (I wonder if they also have better spears than mine?)

Lancer lightly tilted her head and looked at the propped up iron spear that Barrack had forged. Having had a hard time with the low-quality Goblin Spear, she tended to be fixated on the quality of her armament.  

Giving her a sidelong glance, I thought that I cannot force my companions to come along with me in dealing with this matter. After all, I was the only one who pledged.

It seems there are a lot of things that I should think about while considering that as well…