“I don’t know… could it be some sort of defensive spell used by the Sorcerous Kingdom?”
“...Let’s leave magic out of it, just talking about it makes my head hurt. If you see anything, let me know, and make it easy to understand. If it’s a monster, we’ll kill it so we can have the Sorcerer King owe us a favor when asking him to send out Momon. How about that?”
“How do you think that will turn out? While they say clearing out monsters within a country’s borders is the responsibility of that country…”
Perhaps it was because she had focused all her energies on listening intently, but she could clearly make out the contents of the conversation between the Captain and Gustavo. However, if she moved away, she was no longer confident that she could hear them. What would her father do at a time like this?
I can’t keep relying on someone who isn’t here! I need to stand on my own two feet!
However, the fact remained that staying here would only impede her abilities. In that case, should she ask if she could be allowed to move away by herself in order to verify the situation?
—It would be better not to.
Neia quelled her desire to speak up.
Even if she did not do so, the Captain was hardly close to her. If she asked for that and failed, there was no telling how she would be punished. It would be best to avoid causing more problems for herself.
Also, it would be bad if the Captain stopped trusting my guidance as a result.
Neia struggled to make excuses in her heart. However, it would be very bad for her mental health if they ran into danger and she thought, I could have handled this better.
Although part of her mind thought, If we all die here, the people suffering in the Holy Kingdom will have to wait even longer for salvation, Remedios’s barbs had already punched countless holes in Neia’s heart, and she could not bring herself to care any more.
Just then, Neia saw something from the corner of her eye that she could not possibly miss.
Amidst the dense fog, she glimpsed the murky outline of something huge coming from the Sorcerous Kingdom.
“Say, can you take a look over there?” Neia poked one of the mounted paladins beside her.
“...I don’t see anything. Sorry, but the fog’s too thick and I can’t see anything. Is something there?”
She heard the paladin reaching to his waist and fluidly drawing his sword, then the sound of him tightly gripping its hilt.
“Ah, it’s nothing. I thought I saw something, but maybe I was mistaken.”
“Really? Well, if you think there’s something there, just tell us, no matter what it is.”
“All right, I’ll be counting on you when the time comes, then.”
After thanking him with an earnest look on her face, Neia turned back to the front. If one divided the women in the world into those who were suited for smiling and those who were not meant to smile at all, Neia would fall into the latter category. Even a word of thanks from her was better delivered with a serious expression than with a smile.
Neia continued studying the fog bank intently. It was possible that only Neia could see it because it was too far away, but she was sure she had not been mistaken.
Perhaps her interaction with the paladin had restored her spirits, but Neia decided to say something to the Captain. However, she was still talking to Gustavo.
“What should we do next?”
“It’s very dangerous to move around in this fog. Let’s wait a bit more, and if there’s nothing we’ll dismount and rest. Come to think of it, are there fog-emitting monsters in the sea?”
“Of course. However, there aren’t any seas or lakes nearby. It’s just like Squire Baraja said.”
“Is it possible that she made a mistake or overlooked some piece of information?”
“She wouldn’t screw up like that. Frankly speaking, she’s brought us safely all the way here, hasn’t she? When we were leaving the Holy Kingdom, the demihumans patrolling near the broken wall didn’t spot us either. We couldn’t have done it by ourselves, could we?”
“We could have broken through by force.”
Once again, the health gauge for Neia’s heart plummeted.
How much frustration had she gone through to bring them all the way here?
Memories awoke in her mind, of how she had asked them to stay behind while she scouted by herself in the freezing rain, crawling around on the ground and getting all muddy in order to prevent herself from being spotted by ranger-type ambush skills.
If she were spotted, Neia, as the sole vanguard would most assuredly die. Even so, Neia had carried on with the determination to die, clinging to the belief that she was doing this to save her suffering countrymen.
That’s right, I’m not working hard because I want someone to praise me or anything.
She tried her best to talk herself round. Even if the Captain refused to acknowledge her contributions, the others would surely approve of her efforts, even if they did not say so.
Wanting to be praised or rewarded for working hard is just a child’s selfishness. This is what it means to be a shield of humanity. Biting your lip, making yourself a shield, all in order to keep pain and suffering from the people is the duty of a paladin. Surely the Captain must be the same way. Still… could she lower her volume? No, maybe the two of them think they’re speaking quietly enough.
The two of them were still talking.
Neia personally thought that they should not focus on talking and instead keep an eye on their surroundings. Especially Remedios, whose beast-like danger sense and fighting ability meant that she ought to be able to respond better than anyone else.
She quashed the frustration in her heart, and focused on the shadow in the fog. That was also because she had not yet regained the strength needed to call out to them again, and also because she did not want to continue listening in on their conversation.
And then — perhaps the fog had been parted by the currents of the wind — for a moment, just a moment, Neia clearly glimpsed a shadowy wheelhouse.
Eh? No way… is that… a ship?
Indeed, Neia had discerned the true nature of the shadow; a ship which floated upon the sea.
In addition, it was a large ship, similar to a galleass. It was a momentary thing, and it was promptly veiled again by the heavy fog, so even she was not sure that she had actually spotted a ship.
Of course, such a thing was not possible by common sense.
The information she possessed notwithstanding, Gustavo himself had already said there were no lakes in the vicinity. No, even if there was, only a madman would float a galleass in a lake.
If this were a coastal region, it might be possible that they had used an old ship as a fortress or moved it onto dry land for some other purpose. In fact, there were several examples of such things in the Holy Kingdom. However, doing so this far inland was impossible.
I was seeing things, right?
That was the best way to think of it.
Still, her eyes refused to leave that direction, scanning over and over again.
“...So you did see something after all, huh?”
Neia squeaked out an Eh!? in response to the question from the knight she had spoken to earlier.
“You were looking in the direction from just now, which means you did see something over there, right?”
“Ah? No, that…”
I saw a shadow that looked like a ship. If she actually said that, they would probably think she was insane. Certainly Neia would. In that case, what should she say?