Wortenia Senki

Night of February 28, 2813 [Waltenia Peninsula] of the Western Continental Calendar, Part 4:

"You... you resent me?

Kevin's expression didn't look stiff and very joking.

"Huh?"

You can't miss listening to Kevin.

It was in a low, surrounding tone, but Kevin's words reach Melissa's ears firmly.

Still, I didn't understand what his words meant, and Melissa inquired.

"... I asked if you resented your children for... Hannah's... escaped people."

Listening to the words he was told again with hesitation, Melissa unexpectedly turned her surprise gaze to Kevin.

Kevin's inquiry was too unexpected for Melissa.

And gradually the meaning of Kevin's words comes into her brain.

"No! Why?

Melissa screamed unexpectedly.

Ji and Kevin stare silently at Melissa's face.

Its gaze is sharply unwavering, as if trying to see to the depths of Melissa's heart.

How long have you two been staring?

Patti.

On Melissa's ear, the exploding sound of the burning tree sounds slightly louder.

"... you don't really seem to resent me"

With that said, Kevin finally loosened his tenacious expression.

From Melissa's face, I guess I guessed what she meant.

But Melissa screamed in defiance of Kevin's mood like that.

Maybe we can't do that either.

Because that was too unexpected a suspicion for her.

"Why? Why is that happening?

She eats and hangs on to Kevin with incredible momentum from her usual Melissa.

"Melissa... I knew you didn't understand"

Kevin, who saw Melissa's reaction, gave a frightened, then somewhere convinced look.

"What do you mean?

"It means exactly what you say... that you don't know where you stand."

Melissa frowned at Kevin's words.

"I know exactly what you owe me, don't I?

Melissa will never forget that day when she endured her last trial and was recognized as a soldier.

The companions, who had 320 at the beginning, were down to 196 that day.

And to those who remained until the end, Ryo Shiba made a promise to free them from slavery.

In front of them gathered in the square, the covenant of slaves that bound them became ashes.

It is an absolute favour to her, no, to all of them present here and now, over anything.

Because literally they were able to get their lives back.

I've never forgotten that for a moment.

But Kevin shook his head at Melissa's words like that.

"Not... what I'm trying to say is ahead..."

"Ahead? ……

Melissa doesn't know what Kevin means by words.

We are thankful from Ryo Mitsuzai, and we are aware of it.

I wonder what lies ahead.

"Okay? Your children are merciful. You freed us from slavery and gave us the skill and education to fight, which was just a labor slave. Even if you provide me with clothing and accommodation... but that's not from any good intentions. It's not like there's no good intentions. But he gave us strength for a good purpose."

That's what I felt with Melissa.

I went out of my way to pay a non-cheap amount to a slave trader and taught him the art of fighting a child who was a slave over time and effort.

And she herself understood that that was not the action taken from emotions such as true pity and sympathy on the part of Ryo Misaki.

"He's trying us now..."

"Trying? What are you trying?

Kevin looked around and answered Melissa's words with a lower voice that was small.

"Whether we truly obey your children or not."

Teaching slaves to fight is tantamount to giving the Lord the means to face his teeth.

That's why we don't educate normal slaves or anything, and war slaves are strictly sealed and restricted so that they can't wield their power without the Lord's permission.

However, Ryo Shiba has never imposed any restrictions on the children bought in Ipilos.

In fact, many slaves fled the harshness of their training because at the outset of their training they had not taken the means to prevent them from fleeing.

"For the first time, we were in a squad with five kids alone, right?

Melissa nods silently at Kevin's words.

Ryo Jin initially trained the children in pairs of 5.

The five of us always let them act, and they also wake up in pairs of five.

"But now we add one mercenary to the four of us and one squad of five. You know what this means?

It is true that the formation of the squad has changed since the beginning of the mastery of magic.

The squad, made up of only five children, has been dismantled and transformed into a formation of one newly hired mercenary in Ipilos against four new children.

I was simply talking about placing a platoon commander with real combat experience, but it doesn't seem that simple.

Too much hunch in Melissa's mind.

"Hit me... surveillance?

Kevin nods silently at Melissa's grunting words.

Having seen it, Melissa finally understood what Kevin and Coyle cared so much about.

"Look, we were hung up. And it's still hanging in the act."

Kevin's words were struck like wedges into Melissa's heart.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day.

Under the clear blue sky, the 300 troops with Mitsuji Ryo True reached the cove, the destination.

Scratching through the depressed and lush forest trees and heading west along the banks of the great river, nearly 400 m wide, the view suddenly switches in front of you.

The first thing you see is a white sandy beach stretching north and south.

Beyond it is a pale sea that boasts so much transparency that it can be seen to the bottom of the sea.

The waves hitting the beach were calm, and the sea breeze gently shook Ryojinda's nose.

Behind the far bay, some island shadows appear slight.

This land, with no human hands at all, embodied both the ravages and beauty of nature to a stunning extent.

Surrounded by small, high mountains that cut off three sides, the land is precisely a natural factor, but at the same time, if you cut through the forest, you can feed yourself enough by drawing in the great rivers that flow into the sea.

And most importantly, a coastline of more than 10 Km in length could have been fully utilized as a port with a few hands.

"I see... we had a report, but this is really good land"

On a hill protruding from the beach, two men were looking down at the beach under their eyes.

They came here to ascertain the surrounding terrain.

On his horse, Zhongong "Yangou" talks to Liangzhen beside him, narrowing his eyes to the rays of the intensely pouring sun.

On his face he had a proud look at the certainty of the information brought back by the clan.

"Oh, it's the best place I've ever been without any more... just act like they have some good booze."

That's what Ryo Jin says, he makes his eyes run over the surrounding terrain.

Great rivers and forests, and a slightly open place that exists around the border of the beach.

I saw a lot of humans there.

Will it be ready for camp?

One after the other, Marutai can be protruded into the earth, and the tent can be seen stretched out.

Seeing the sight of it, Ryo Jin nodded satisfactorily.

The great rivers that flow into the bay can also be used as water mounds when building castles, in addition to drinking and agricultural water, which can be used for a wide range of uses.

The more wood was cut out of the surrounding woods, the more it could be obtained, and the more trees were cut out, the more it could be used for agricultural land.

It is also affordable that it is about 4 days away from Ipilos.

Future development and ease of defense. Which is a very perfect location.

Listening to Ryo True's words, Hard Ong can gladly flaunt his face.

There is nothing more proud than being recognized primarily for the work accomplished.

And Ryo Shiba knew that it was most important to reward his men for their achievements.

It's not just paying for anything.

The important thing is not to understand the hard work to achieve.

Thank you. You did a good job. Thanks.

Its slightly caring language is important for people-to-people relationships.

"Thank you for your words. You will be glad to hear the words of the Lord."

"Anyway, it's one of the few advantages of being free to choose your base location. Naturally you want the best land. But honestly, I didn't think it was the place to be. You can build a village in no time."

Unopened land without human hands means, on the contrary, that we can create a base in any place Ryo True likes.

If even one small village existed on this undeveloped peninsula, Ryojin had no choice.

In terms of guaranteeing the security of the inhabitants, however unfavourable the location of their villages may have been, the only way to proceed is to use them as bases for development.

Because Liang Zhen doesn't have the strength now to build his new base while only guaranteeing the safety of the village.

"Young! The tent is ready. Please, come here."

Apparently, the camp is ready.

Bolts' voice echoed on the hill.

Tomorrow, finally, we'll cut through the woods and start building villages.

"Everything starts here..."

Ryo Jin turned his challenging gaze south.

As if to stare at enemies without appearance yet.