Lord of Disease (JP-GL) 310

310: Waking Up in a Tent

I woke up to the feeling of the person sleeping next to me stirring. A familiar presence. Liz. It was dim, but at the same time, faintly bright. It must have been around dawn.

Lying on a simple bed made of stacked grass and cloth in a tent, I was reminded of the time when I had just come to this world. I had slept in a place like this back then, too.

Unlike when I had been a prisoner, I was now the supreme commander of this place, so this was the best treatment available.

Liz was on my left, Rebecca on my right. And beyond her, Aithys. To be sleeping with two cute girls of different types on either side of me… was a picture of a fulfilling life. And in the gaps, the Barghests were huddled together like blankets, so much so that I almost forgot I was in a war zone.

And not just the women. Though they weren’t sleeping in the bed, Samarkand and Harken were also on duty here. In other words, this was just the senior officers’ tent. But the two of them seemed to be already awake, as they were nowhere to be seen.

“Master, wake up.”

“Mmm…” I yawned. And as I sat up, I hugged Liz.

“…Master?”

“Mmm…” Nuzzle, nuzzle. I buried my face in Liz’s stomach.

“My response will depend on whether you’re half-asleep or fully awake.”

“I’m half-asleep, trying to wake up…”

“What are you two doing, so early in the morning?” Rebecca slipped out of the simple bed. She straightened her rumpled clothes. They were made of magic cloth, so they didn’t wrinkle easily, but the frilly outfit was not at all suitable for sleeping.

Rebecca had slept in her usual clothes, but I, too, had only taken off my amulet and my dark green robe and untied my belt. For this expedition, I had no change of clothes. And while there was no bath, thanks to [Cleansing], I was at least clean. Though ideally, I would have liked to wash my clothes and change.

Aithys, though without her goggles or scarf, was still in her flight suit, her face buried in a Barghest’s belly fur, still in the world of dreams. She was probably the most tired of all of us, so I decided to let her sleep a little longer. Though she had said she was scared of the Barghests.

“I hope we can rendezvous with the field operative units today.”

“Yes.”

As if on cue, I felt a presence, and at the same time, one of the Barghests perked up its ears and stared at a point beyond the tent.

“It seems the field operative units have found us.”

“Huh? You can tell?”

“One of the Barghests. A few of them are gathering… I think they’re the scouts. They’re probably with them.”

I put on my robe, put on my amulet, and tied my belt. But I was still sleepy, and my movements were slow, and I sometimes stopped. While probably not as much as Aithys, flying on a griffin through the night was a heavy labor, and I felt a lingering fatigue in my body.

“Now, please get ready.”

“Yes…” And yet, Liz straightened the wrinkled parts of my robe and adjusted the tangled cord of my amulet. She even lightly combed my hair with her fingers.

“Aren’t you spoiling her?” Rebecca’s expression was one of exasperation.

“…If it keeps Master’s morale up, then it’s fine. And this is faster.”

“Mmm, thank you.” I smiled.

“My master, you are awake. May I have permission to enter?”

“Yes.” I answered, my voice a little more composed.

The owner of the voice, Samarkand, lifted the flap of the tent and entered. In his other hand were three steaming metal cups.

“Samarkand, I will tell you when I need that. From now on, you do not need to ask for permission to enter the tent.”

“Understood. I do not know if it is to your liking, but I have brought some soup for breakfast.”

“Thank you.”

“How thoughtful.”

“Oh! Thanks!”

I, Liz, and Aithys, who had woken up at the smell of the soup, took the cups. There were three cups, and three servings. That was enough. It was enough.

The living, even including Lital-sama and Samarkand, were only five. And the number of people who needed to eat every day was three: me, Liz, and Aithys. …Though in Liz’s case, she had declared that she could operate on water alone for a week. Of course, that was a last resort, and if you prioritized performance, it was best to eat a nutritious meal every day.

“Hah…”

There was a product here, a solid soup base, similar to what I had seen on Earth. The taste was simpler than that, but the warmth of the salty, chicken-based soup seeped into my waking body, along with the salt. Come to think of it, there was a similar instant miso soup base in Japan, the miso-dama. Perhaps the idea of a soup that could be made just by adding hot water was a universal one, transcending East and West… and even worlds.

It also had some dried vegetables, and as long as the [Preserve] spell was in effect, there was no need to worry about the quality deteriorating. That said, since [Preserve] was weak to impact, a preserved food like this, which wouldn’t be ruined the moment the magic wore off, was a safer option.

I had had the assassination squad target the artisans and workshops that made preserved food… I wondered how effective that had been.

I took a sip and dropped two pieces of dried meat into the soup. I had a strange admiration for dried meat, and at the same time, a belief that ‘dried meat is bad’ that was trying to crush that admiration. In Listrea, at least, I had come to a resolution: ‘it depends on the meat and the maker.’ The meat of some magical beasts was tough, even before it was dried and hardened, to a level that only a beastman, and a man at that, could handle.

This was supposed to be pork, but it was still quite tough. So, if you soaked it in the soup for a little while, even a human could bite through it. I took another sip of the soup, then lightly bit into the meat, then bit again, and as I chewed slowly and firmly, the smoky flavor filled my nose, and after the initial saltiness, the umami of the pork slowly spread. It was like a thick, hard bacon. The saltiness was, to be honest, at a level that would have made me worry about my health on Earth. But this was a battlefield. The same logic as replenishing salt in the summer.

While the soup itself was well-made, it was, in the end, a preserved food, nothing more than a military ration to replenish the calories needed for activity. In peacetime, it might become an outdoor meal, or a preserved food for when you thought, “I’m fine with instant (soup and dried meat) today.”

“If we didn’t have ‘local procurement,’ would we be eating this every day?”

“Well, yes. There are a few more variations, but without looting, we would have to rely on preserved food.”

It was quite delicious, and I liked the atmosphere, but it would probably be tough when I got tired of it.

I put the second piece of meat into my mouth with the soup and chewed slowly. After I had finished eating, and my stomach was warm, I hugged a Barghest and began my post-meal break.

“Samarkand, please guide the field operative units here.”

“Understood.”

This was not me being lazy. I was the highest-ranking person here, and at the same time, the most fragile, as a species. Therefore, I had a duty to maintain my condition. …If I said that, I would be allowed to hug Liz instead of a Barghest.

“Please be careful not to wrinkle your clothes.” Liz, who was used to this.

“Yes…”

In the short time it took for a post-meal break, Samarkand returned.

“A squad from the field operative units has arrived.”

“Understood.”

I stood up and straightened my clothes. I took my staff from Samarkand and checked my equipment. Layered robes, amulets, shoulder cloth, and a mask in my pocket. Since it was a chilly morning, I also put on my gloves.

I followed Samarkand out of the tent, and though the sun was out, the morning mist had not yet cleared. In the pale, white haze, I saw the figures of the wraiths, in their deep purple robes, their hoods pulled low. And countless black dogs… Barghests… were with them.

The moment they saw me, they all knelt on one knee. I raised my hand lightly, to put them at ease, and I spoke.

“—It has been a long time. Thank you for your long service abroad. The coming operations will be conducted with all that you have cultivated. I am sorry, but I must ask you to work a little longer.”

“““Yes!”””

The battle had already begun. And there were no restrictions, in this ‘war.’

This battlefield was already a hell. It would just get a little darker.