Pastel swung her sword at the incoming swarm of bats. The silver blade swept through the bats.
“Hahap-!”
“Hahap-!”
She struck down the group of evil monsters in one go and struck a cool pose. An sound effect escaped her lips.
“Bee-sching~.”
Pastel, who could catch bloodsucking bats!
Elsier, who could carry a backpack, stared blankly from behind. The strap of the bag slipped off her shoulder.
“Ah! Elsier! Be careful or you’ll drop it!”
“Oh, right.”
The silver-haired girl adjusted the heavy bags on her back.
“It’s not a bad role distribution.”
Melissa, who was moving a quill over parchment, smiled gently.
“Everyone has responsibilities and duties assigned to them. I draw the map, Pastel hunts the monsters, and Belamont carries the bags.”
As Melissa finished her sentence, she rubbed away the overly cheerful smile with her fingers.
“Yes, yes!”
Pastel raised her arms high.
“I’m satisfied with this distribution of roles!”
It felt great to have light shoulders and a satisfied heart!
I wish it were always like this!
Elsier, dazed, exchanged glances with the others. She felt unfamiliar with the treatment she had never received as a noble lady born into privilege.
Seeing this gaze, Melissa seemed to feel a slight pang of guilt and added more words.
“To begin with, this passage doesn’t have a wide space. If you come forward with a spear, it’ll become too crowded. Pastel entrusted you with the bags for that reason, so don’t feel too upset. I wouldn’t hand over the bags without a reason.”
Pastel’s eyes widened.
Huh.
So that was a deep implication…?
Her pink eyes rolled around.
Thinking back, it seemed likely.
“Yeah! Right! That was my thought!”
Melissa understands what Pastel herself didn’t realize!
She truly is my best friend!
Elsier chimed in.
“Then when we come to a wider space, will we redistribute the bags again?”
Pastel met her gaze. After rolling her eyes momentarily, she suddenly bent down and pressed her ear to the ground. Her index finger pressed against her lips.
“Everyone, shh.”
She focused her mind and tried to sense the presence of the ruins. Footsteps and ground vibrations traveled through the earth. Her enhanced hearing, transcending humanity by consuming magic stones, allowed her to detect and assess a broad area.
“Yup! No one’s here! We can talk freely!”
Even after moving this far, there was no presence. The ruins must indeed be vast.
She stood up and shook off the dust from her hair.
“I think we should pick up the pace. The ruins are wider than I thought, so we need to figure out where the main areas are and secure a campsite before night falls.”
“It looks that way. Even in areas already cleared by the Knight Corps, it takes considerable time just to walk through them.”
Melissa pondered.
“The slow progress of the ruins adventure may be due to the cult’s interference, but fundamentally, I think it’s too expansive.”
“I’m not doubting your judgment, though.”
“No, I think the evaluation of the Knight Corps was a bit harsh. I must have overvalued them out of personal feelings.”
A correction from the incompetent Knight Corps to the truly incompetent Knight Corps.
Quickening her pace while exchanging opinions with Melissa, Elsier followed behind, dazed.
“When we come to a wide space, we will redistributing the bags, right…?”
“Let’s move quickly!”
Pastel shouted energetically.
“That’s right.”
When Melissa agreed, their pace increased.
Pastel led the way, capturing bats and keeping an eye on her surroundings while Melissa examined the magic stone torches to deduce the Knight Corps’s movements, maintaining a busy stride.
“There’s something written here.”
Elsier, who had nothing to do and was blankly observing the passage, pointed at a dimly lit wall. Strange, carved writing appeared.
“Oh?”
It was a language she had never seen before.
“It’s Sacred Language.”
Melissa’s eyes lit up with interest.
“Sacred Language?”
“Yes, it’s sacred.”
Oh.
What’s that?
Melissa glanced back at Elsier. It was a considerate demeanor towards someone who studied less than herself.
“It’s an ancient language that was used in temples until the Old Testament period. After the gap period, during the New Testament, a religious reformation decided that the sacred language, which was too difficult for the public, should no longer be used even in temples.”
“I know that kind of common knowledge.”
“Perhaps you may not, Belamont.”
“If a noble doesn’t know, they’re a fool.”
Pastel, the foolish one, remained silent.
Actually, she knew.
She had just heard it.
“I’ll try to interpret it.”
Melissa looked closely at the Sacred Language. After some time deep in thought, she turned back, slightly embarrassed.
“I don’t quite understand. It looks like it’s a commonly used idiom, but it’s just a single sentence without any explanation. Pastel, can you interpret it?”
Why are you asking me that?
Pastel made a foolish expression.
“You don’t know…?”
Even the smartest top student wouldn’t have studied a language that was only used long ago and has no practical relevance, her expression suggested.
Whew.
The pride of the greatest intellect of the year…!
“Of course, I can!”
Pastel shouted first.
And then she tapped her magic sword.
“Oh dear! Oh dear! Old demon!”
So outdated that I haven’t learned it, as a representative of the new generation, lend me your wisdom!
『To think that even a sentence that used to be common sense cannot be interpreted by the noble class. The temples have indeed regressed quite a bit.』
The demon tsks with a somewhat, no, quite, older generation-like remark. With the exception that this “old” was several hundred years ago, it was a valid observation.
『I will interpret it, so tell me.』
Pastel now wore a clever expression. She narrowed her eyes and scrutinized the carved sentences while engaging in highly advanced reasoning and deduction.
“This is….”
Her finger brushed over the carved letters. In a tone that seemed to possess something, she muttered out the interpretation.
“Here, quench your thirst with dew.”
Is that so?
She nodded.
Melissa smiled gently.
“You interpreted it quite easily. Just as I expected, what’s the meaning of the idiom?”
Pastel made a mysterious expression.
“It means there’s a place to rest here.”
Look at my intelligent interpretation!
She nodded.
Elsier was astonished.
“That foolish appearance you show normally is indeed an act.”
Pastel, listening to the demon’s explanation, felt along the wall. When she pressed a certain spot, the wall slid open, revealing a spacious internal area.
Droplets fell from the center ceiling, creating a natural spring. A resting space complete with a water source.
Puff puff.
Look at me, clever and capable!
“Let’s use this place as our base for investigation.”
Pastel recalled what she had learned from the Knight Corps’s achievements.
“The Knight Corps didn’t request the temple’s cooperation for this incursion, so I doubt there are any possible users of the Sacred Language here. If we utilize these areas, we might be able to investigate without being detected.”
It would be a different story if the cult had its objectives within the ruins, but they were hoping for a serendipitous encounter.
No, rather, searching for various sacred languages written in the ruins seems like a faster way to locate the cult.
She unloaded the backpacks in the resting area and set up a base. Since she was prepared to camp for several days, nothing was lacking.
Pastel looked at the remaining magic stone powder in the pepper shaker. Ample supplies.
“Shall we eat and then proceed?”
“I’ll prepare the meal.”
Melissa pulled a small pot from her own backpack.
“Wow!”
Pastel’s eyes sparkled.
“Is it time for Melissa to cook?!”
“I’ve done camping meals often.”
A confident smile returned.
Whew.
How delicious could the dignified cooking of the self-proclaimed noble lady be!
Pastel followed closely behind Melissa. Melissa scooped water from the spring with the pot and drew a magic circle with magic stone powder on the ground. When she placed the pot over the magic circle, the water began to heat slowly.
“Are you very hungry? It’ll be ready soon, so please wait a bit.”
Oh? Already?
That can’t be right.
Even the specialist demon took considerable time to prepare.
Dried powder was poured into the pot. The aroma of corn soup wafted up. The boiling water had turned yellow. The soup was bubbling.
Melissa took out jerky and cut it up. The pieces of jerky plopped into the pot. The dark red jerky floated in the yellow soup.
“It’s done.”
Melissa poured the soup into several cups. The cups were handed around warmly.
“Blow on it.”
Pastel looked down at the soup she received.
Jerky soup.
Jerky, which seemed chewy, was floating around.
The dignified dish…?
Having been spoiled with food thanks to the demon, Pastel was thrown into confusion.
Ugh.
She felt an intense desire to complain about the dish. If it were the demon, he would have surely brought her something even with missing ingredients.
At this time, please don’t match our energies!
Ugh.
If it were the demon, he would have made something for her, taking care of cooking and the night watch.
『Hmm? Something gives me a creepy sensation. Young Craft, are you not imagining a rebellion right now?』
It’s not rebellion; I’m merely imagining the usual demon.
Melissa looked puzzled.
“What’s wrong? Is the portion too much? Should I serve less?”
“No, no. I eat a lot. Just, it looks hot.”
“It probably is hot. Blow on it.”
The blonde girl raised her cup. Then, as if to show, she pursed her lips.
“Like this….”
The breath touched the soup.
“Hoho~.”
Pastel followed suit.
“Hoho~.”
“Yes, just like that.”
Melissa chuckled softly.
“That way it won’t burn your mouth.”
Oh.
Did she learn that from her mother?
Melissa is just…
Pastel sprinkled a bit of magic stone powder and sipped the jerky soup. A warm sensation filled her body.
Oh?
It was better than she expected.
“Give me another cup!”
“I’ll serve it after you finish that one.”
“Yes, yes!”
