<h3 style="text-align:center;font-size:23.4px;">Chapter 15</h3>
“General Bin, please wake up. We’ve finished setting up the camp.”
Following the first, second, and third day…
Even until the seventh night, our expedition team received no attacks.
It did feel like things were going way too smoothly, but isn’t it normal to have days like these once in a while?
Anyway, I’d rather have this than be mistakenly attacked by the Grand Marshal because of some misunderstanding.
The corners of the soldiers’ mouths sitting around the campfires were full of smiles, and their conversations exchanged jokes that didn’t have much nutritional value.
The horses were worn out and had fallen asleep, and the high-ranking mage Alter had set up a simple electric trap around the campsite as a precaution against any possible surprise attacks.
“General Bin, please enjoy your dinner.”
I carefully took a spoonful of the chicken stew prepared by the squad leader and began reviewing the lessons Alter had given me.
“Thank you, General Bin. The expedition is going smoothly thanks to your guidance.”
“…Hmm?”
The squad leader approached Lir and me, using the light from the campfire as a lantern to read a notebook and a magical textbook, to express his gratitude.
What on earth is he thanking me for?
All I’ve done during this expedition is take notes on what Alter says, review them, and repeatedly fall asleep in the carriage.
There’s nothing the squad leader should thank me for, right?
“….Ah!”
Could it be because I always bow respectfully and greet soldiers regardless of their high rank?
Indeed, the army, at its core, is a group of people.
Even if the rank is high, it’s still beneficial for the younger ones to respect their elders. This mutual verbal respect makes for a good relationship.
“You’re very welcome. It’s only natural.”
I greeted the squad leader with the brightest smile I could muster.
After all, etiquette remains an important virtue in any country, across all dimensions and worlds.
…in any country, any dimension, any world.
“Thank you too, Lir. I would also like to thank Alter, but it seems he’s not present right now. Due to all of you, we’ve almost reached our destination without any wounded.”
…?
While it’s understandable why the squad leader thanked me, why is he thanking Lir and Alter?
I looked back and forth between the two of them with a look of curiosity.
“…”
Lir glanced at me and nervously pushed her hat brim down further, bowing her head low. The pointed ears peeking out under the wide brim appeared especially red under the firelight.
‘…Ah, I get it now.’
It appears the squad leader is thanking them because Lir and Alter have been setting magical traps around the campsite every time we set up camp.
Well, thanks to that, we can let all the soldiers rest without having to keep watch during the night.
Indeed, it seems bringing Alter along for this journey, despite any risks, has been the right decision.
Because of this, the soldiers can rest peacefully during the expedition, and I’ve been able to learn a great deal.
“Hm…”
Very softly, Lir greeted me while keeping her hat brim low.
“You should probably make a greeting properly by looking someone in the eye and removing your hat.”
In the manner befitting a wizard from the Eastern Courteous Kingdom, I pointed out Lir’s lackluster greeting with a solemn attitude.
“Shouldn’t younger people first show respect to their elders?”
…To be honest, I just wanted to say this, so I somewhat unnecessarily poked at Lir.
‘Younger people…’
I never thought I’d call an elf ‘younger’ in my entire life.
Until I met this elf, Lir.
Would a human, who dies before reaching a hundred years, ever have the opportunity to tell an elf, who can survive for 3,000, let alone 5,000 years, that they’re younger?
I couldn’t squander this rare chance.
‘Hahaha…!’
The gauge of my hipster desires, which needed periodic refills, was not only full, but it exploded.
A foolish laugh kept trying to escape from the corners of my mouth. I clenched my fists tightly and enjoyed the pleasure this moment brought me.
‘How many humans have ever said such a thing to an elf? Could I be the first among metropolitan area residents? Or maybe I’m the only person on this continent to have this experience…’
Wow, thinking about it like this, I think I might be going crazy.
Just thinking that I could be on a whole-continent scale hipster made my entire body shiver with excitement.
“Haha…”
“…”
While I basked in a rare sense of fulfillment, Lir gripped her quill tightly and curled up her body for a moment. She was still staring at the ground.
Contrastingly to my content smile while enjoying my chicken stew, Lir held her stew bowl and looked unwell, her entire body’s skin turning red.
I cannot consume food quickly because of the cursed build of my body. Every time I swallow, I get a bloated feeling in my stomach, preventing me from eating fast.
By the time I managed to eat halfway through my stew, Lir’s was still untouched.
“It’s getting cold. Why aren’t you eating?”
I asked her with a curious look.
“Uh, ah…”
“…?”
“That… sa…”
“Lieutenant Tien! Stop that nonsense, there’s no such thing in this world!”
“Are you serious? The mice we caught in our old barracks had tails the size of four human heads!”
Lir muttered something in a barely audible voice, only for her voice to be drowned out by the laughter of the soldiers nearby.
“Hm?”
When I asked her to speak a little louder, her thin shoulders shrank as if she had become a dumbstruck bear, and she clamped her mouth shut.
…She doesn’t have any communication disorders, yet really…
While I set my stew bowl down, I waited quietly for her to speak. Explaining that I had no intention of getting angry.
“…Should I apologize?”
After tightly sealing her lips for about two minutes, the voice she forced out was practically the same as a mouse squeak.
“Apologize? To whom?”
“Just now… that squad leader gentleman… I don’t like appearing rude…”
“…”
Good grief.
It seems this elf hasn’t touched her food and has been in distress all because of a single word I spoke to satisfy my trivial desire.
…Come to think of it, it’s slightly making me feel guilty.
“Do you want to apologize?”
Lir pressed down on her hat with one hand to ensure it wouldn’t fall off, then nodded her head.
It wasn’t such a grave mistake to require an apology, but… if she wants to do it, I can’t really stop her.
“Then go ahead. And take off that hat of yours.”
I enthusiastically encouraged her to do it.
After all, I can’t say I had no hand in this situation…
“Take off the hat?”
“That’s considered polite in human society.”
“…”
Lir sighed quietly, then repeatedly opened and closed her fists. She then carefully set her stew bowl on the ground and slowly approached the group of soldiers where the squad leader was.
“Is that true, Lieutenant Tien? Laughing at such nonsense! Do you know that if you don’t manage the weeds properly, they can grow as tall as the city walls?”
“Don’t be ridiculous! If the weeds reach that height, they’re not weeds anymore but sacred trees! Mate!”
In the middle of this lighthearted banter, Lir stood in front of the squad leader who had finished his stew and was listening to the soldiers’ stories with interest.
“J, just a while ago… I’m sorry!”
Lir quickly removed the hat from her head, bowed deeply, emitted a nearly cracking voice, and then turned around.
“…”
At this inexplicable act, the squad leader and her soldiers remained blank-faced. Lir quickly returned to the tree stump where I sat.
And then, she suddenly picked up her stew bowl and began hurriedly moving her spoon, as if suddenly feeling very hungry.
I quietly patted her back to show her that she had done well.
When my hand touched her back, Lir jumped in surprise and nearly dropped her spoon.
“…”
After hesitating for a moment, she glanced at me carefully. Her cheeks were filled with stew, and she gave me a look that showed that she was feeling flustered.
…This reaction was unexpected.
“Hmm, you did well.”
Crap, I suddenly feel a little awkward.
The soldiers quietly whispered to each other as they saw Lir, who had her hat deeply pulled over her eyes, hurriedly eating her stew and the boy with white hair who patted her back.
Anyone would see that the situation was clearly abnormal.
An average elf has a lifespan that’s ten to fifty times longer than a human.
Even though that elf mage looks to be about twenty years old, she is undoubtedly the oldest among them.
And yet… why is this elf apologizing?
…That rude race?
“What on earth is going on?”
The squad leader scratched his head, looking perplexed, and asked his subordinates.
“…What have you done, Squad Leader?”
Even his subordinates had no clue what was happening.
“Whatever it is, it might have something to do with something Master Bin asked her to do?”
Anybody watching the bashful elf and the white-haired boy patting her on the back would likely come to the same conclusion.
“Master Bin?”
“What exactly… Why would you make an elf do such a thing…?”
In the short silence, they could only hear the crackling of the burning wood.
There was no one in the group smart enough to figure out what this white-haired boy was really thinking.
“…Even though I’ve heard that there are weirdos among magicians, this really doesn’t make sense. Normally, Master Bin is such a gentle person and always good to us…”
“Maybe something happened when the squad leader brought stew to both of them earlier? What was discussed then?”
“Ah, now that I think about it… Master Bin told Miss Lir that it is respectful to remove one’s hat while conversing with others…”
This situation made no sense.
Teaching etiquette to an elf?
To a proud, rude race, teaching them human manners?
Elves are known to be so rude that an elf looking twelve years old could ask a man older than ninety to fetch them a cup of coffee.
To teach etiquette to such a race… and from a boy who looks barely sixteen or seventeen?
“If that’s the case, the one thing we can be sure of is that Master Bin absolutely made Miss Lir apologize. An elf from a rude race wouldn’t come forward to apologize willingly.”
“But… why? Why would Master Bin do this? She didn’t offend him…”
“For fun…? Some magicians are just weird.”
“I don’t think so. Master Bin is usually so kind and respectful. I don’t want to think that his usual demeanor is fake.”
“Then… maybe he’s extremely sensitive about etiquette. Perhaps he sees rudeness and feels he needs to correct it?”
Another silence fell at the suggestion from Sergeant Tien.
Unfortunately, the intellects around here weren’t enough to comprehend the bizarre situation any other way.
Master Bin is the type of person who values etiquette so much that he bent the prideful elf’s will and forced her to apologize.
At least, that now became the truth among the soldiers gathered near the campfire.
“He always greets us with a smile, so I thought he was a really gentle person… but he’s been hiding a fang.”
“Indeed… you don’t just become a member of the Sword Saint’s party easily…”
The soldiers started to revise the impression they had built of Bin in their minds.
“Listen up, everyone. From today onwards, no matter what happens, we must be respectful towards Master Bin. Even if he’s kind, don’t let your guard down. Absolutely, under no circumstances, climb over him or engage in familiarities. This person won’t let any rude behavior slide.”
At the end of his short contemplation, the squad leader warned his soldiers.
At this warning, a chill ran down the spines of the soldiers near the fire.
That mere minor mistake of not removing one’s hat during a greeting resulted in embarrassing an elf deeply.
If that rudeness had been directed towards themselves, how would this young man react?
Definitely, the whole corps could see bloodshed.
“Absolutely. Absolutely do not behave without respect. Always be courteous.”
That night, the soldiers had no choice but to stay awake, revisiting their actions from the past week.
“Have you awakened?”
“Good morning, General! General Bin!”
At the break of day when the sunlight shone through, loud and clear greetings resounded all around.
“Uh… Yes. Good morning…”
“General Bin, awake?”
“Good morning! General Bin!”
Before I could finish my sentence, soldiers raced toward me as if determined to be the first to greet me, their voices filled with vigor.
What on earth is this?
Why this sudden fervor? Did they all take some stimulant overnight?
“Good morning, General Bin! Morning roll call is already completed! The horses are in good condition and we’ve finished checking the wagon wheels already. Today, if we do not encounter any monsters or marauders, we should arrive at the Enker High Plain by around 1 PM…”
Why is Squad Leader suddenly calling me by my full title?
Please stop it.
You’re scaring me…
I hastily placed the sleeping bag I used last night into the baggage cart and quickly hid myself in a corner of the carriage, startled by the sudden change in the soldiers’ attitudes.
What on earth is going on?
“Let’s move out!”
The foot soldiers and their mounts, as if they had been waiting for this moment, loudly cheered and remounted for the expedition with immense vigor.
“…Everyone seems to be so pumped today, like they’ve prepared for some major battle.”
Alter glanced at me and spoke, referring to the soldiers full of determination today.
“We’ll soon be arriving at the Enker High Plain, so isn’t it probable they’re excited about encountering a dragon?”
Since I didn’t know why they all had so much fire today, I asked uncertainly.
“…After all, everyone might be encountering a dragon for the first time.”
As Lir agreed with my guess, she added in her quiet voice.
“Men always remain children, don’t they? Getting so excited about seeing a dragon.”
A faint sense of pride was subtly interlaced in her tone, noticeable only upon careful listening.
