The Grand Duchess of the North Is Obsessed With Me

38 – When the Dawn Breaks

When I opened my eyes, I woke up to an unfamiliar feeling.

Hard floor, unfamiliar air, cold breeze.

What used to be a daily routine has become unfamiliar after spending 10 years in a comfortable bed.

“After….”

The order of vigil eventually went back to me, Melon, Here, Del, and Helen.

Very fair? It was decided through rock-paper-scissors, so no one had any particular complaints.

Since I fell asleep relatively early in the first order, I was able to wake up in a more refreshed state than the others.

Swoop.

I stepped out of the tent to avoid the scattered knights and stretched my aching body in the morning breeze.

“Did you cough?”

“… Yes. Good morning.”

Helen, who was warming herself near the campfire, looked at me and greeted her. Helen felt strangely keeping her distance from me, but I, who had no particular objection to her, greeted her and rolled around her.

Helen, holding the sword in her arms and stabbing the flames, sat there with a calm expression on her face, but she seemed to be wary of me.

I haven’t felt it since I was reincarnated in this world, but I started to loosen my stiff body while accepting the familiar gaze from the previous world with a bitter smile.

“I think we should substitute beef jerky for breakfast. Is that okay?”

“Of course.”

Today, too, we had to hurry because we had quite a bit of distance to move. Thanks to that, it seemed that he was planning to take off the morning lightly.

“Good morning.”

As the awkward silence continued, Melon appeared swaying from the tent.

When Melon appeared, rubbing her small eyes as if she hadn’t woken up from sleep, raised her hand and said, I also raised her hand and greeted her face-to-face.

With Melon at the forefront, they appeared one by one as if they had quietly awakened from sleep.

“I am going to arrive in Bürn today.”

Just as she was chewing on the jerky, Melon opened her mouth.

I expected it to arrive in plenty, so it was only natural. When she nodded, Melon looked around us and continued her words.

“I do not intend to start work immediately upon arrival in Bürn. I will take the time to look at it slowly.”

“It would be too conspicuous for the six of us to come together. So I think it would be good to split up.”

“That’s right.”

Melon nodded her head at the words of Heree, who inherited her own words, and began to call her group that she had thought of beforehand.

“Anyone can tell that brother and sister Here and Helen are Hanzo, and the tough-looking Del and Blue are Hanzo. I think you and I can go together.”

Of course, this is the face madam tightening.

Del booed at Melon’s playful remark, but she did not question the grouping.

I don’t know about Here and Helen, but if I teamed up with Dell or Blue, a slightly strange picture could have been drawn.

Del and Blue were more like mercenaries than knights in terms of their faces, regardless of their skills.

“If you signal near Bürn, I will do it. We go straight, Here is to the left, Dell is to the right.”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

After a light breakfast, we immediately started tidying up. After skillfully tidying up, our traces were neatly erased.

“Then we will depart.”

After cleaning up, we set off straight for Bürn without saying anything. It wasn’t too far away, so it wouldn’t take too long.

With that thought in mind, I followed Melon as best I could.

#

“The town was quite a bit bigger than I thought.”

“… Is it so? I don’t know.”

Leaving our horses and luggage at the inn we had reserved in advance, we headed out to the market again.

By the way, the inn was run by the Dedamius family. That is to say, the owner of the inn was the Grand Duke of the North.

It seemed to be operating for a purpose similar to that of a base for tracking teams.

Contrary to what I thought would be a small town, Buren was a fairly large town.

It looks like it’s about twice as big as our village.

At my words, which seemed to be strange, Melon shrugged her shoulders and said as if it was not a big deal.

Well, compared to the city where the grand duke’s house is located, it’s nothing more than new blood.

“Compared to our village, it is rather large.”

“I wonder if size is relative.”

“That’s true too.”

From the outside, it seemed like they were having a not very friendly conversation, but Melon and I continued to look around.

It was because there was something Melon said before leaving her dorm.

[If you pretend you don’t care, it will be more obvious. Just look around naturally and try to get even trivial information.]

No matter how big a village is, it is a village after all.

A newcomer or an unfamiliar face was bound to show through. She said that if such a person wasn’t unfamiliar with him or didn’t show any signs of wonder, she might look strange.

I listened to Melon’s words and calmly looked around.

“The market is quite large.”

“Wouldn’t it be nice if exchanges were active in anything?”

We were talking so much that we didn’t know what we were saying to each other.

“… I don’t see anything unusual about it.”

I looked around the outskirts of town, went inside the market, and looked around the shopping district, but I didn’t notice anything unusual.

“It’s obvious that it will be hidden.”

Unlike me who was a bit impatient, Melon seemed to have expected it.

However, unlike his laid-back appearance, he looked around as if he wouldn’t miss even the slightest gap, and it certainly seemed appropriate to be called a professional.

“Then what?”

“It’s okay. There are informants.”

“Then….”

“No matter what, it is necessary to look around.”

Why did I take a look around the village when there is a source of information?

Melon answered my question.

“It is necessary to familiarize yourself with simple terrain or obstacles in advance. There is a big difference between checking with a map and checking with your own eyes.”

“I see.”

Indeed.

There is a big difference between taking a walk on the road beforehand and not. No matter how much we attack them, there could be a situation where they run away.

I nodded in agreement with Melon’s answer and decided to go back to the inn with him.

There was still some time left for the decisive battle, so it was to replenish hunger and take a little rest to replenish strength.

“The inn rice here is incredibly delicious. I’m just going to eat it.”

Of course it is.

Wouldn’t it be rather strange that an inn run by the Grand Duke of the North would waste things like food?

Melon even hummed to her as if she was looking forward to her, and she opened the door of the inn and entered.

“Here.”

On the first floor of the inn, the party had already gathered in the restaurant.

Heren, Helen, Del and Blue were sitting on chairs, soothing their tired bodies as if they had already looked around the town.

“This is a place where only verified people can come, so there is no need to worry too much.”

The stronghold of the chasers.

It was only natural that no one could be allowed there.

As soon as I sat down on the chair with an awkward smile at Del’s words, I was conscious of my surroundings, and the food started to be set on the table in a row as if it had been pre-ordered.

“He will pay for it, so don’t worry and eat as much as you like.”

“…… Thank you for this food.”

A good bed and good food will have a big impact on your mission.

No matter how much it was, I was worried about what the Grand Duke would say if I ate the upper leg bent like this.

“Um… !”

The moment I took a bite of the food, those concerns melted away as if I had washed them.

Delicious!

The grand duke’s wealth is beyond imagination anyway, so there’s nothing to worry about as it won’t be noticeable even if you spend this much.

With that thought in mind, I ate the food with peace of mind.

#

Grand Duke of the North.

Atrian Kander Damius stared blankly out of his window.

Around the time when the sun slowly sets and the moon rises.

Soon the sun will completely disappear and the moon will rise in mid-heaven. When everyone fell asleep and even the birds hid their sounds, the operation would begin in various parts of the North.

The operation to root out the rats.

Much blood will be shed, and there will be both enemies and allies in that blood.

Like the bloody war that Atrian experienced in his youth.

Atrian’s heart was not much different from Cain’s.

He hoped this war would end in his own time. He hoped that the blood flowing through this land would not spill over to Illencia.

It was entirely his father’s heart.

She wanted my daughter to grow up seeing only the good things and hearing only the good things, no matter how much of a character she was in the North.

‘… I should do well.’

The tracking crew were elites carefully selected from among numerous knights in the north.

I didn’t think they would fail, but Atrian always couldn’t fall asleep easily when the operation was underway.

This time it was especially so.

It was because he earnestly hoped that this operation would be the beginning of an end to the war with the barbarians.

Time is running out now.

Celebration of the operation. He himself has no time to sit in this seat.

Atrian quietly closed his eyes and lay down in his chair.

Please, let only the news of victory resound in the north.

Pray earnestly.