Chapter 169 – You Can’t Fight A Battle On An Empty Stomach, But You’ll Still Be Hungry When It’s Over

I offered a silent prayer as I looked at the bodies of the Adventurers and Soldiers whom we had fought side by side with and lost their lives mixed in with the remains of the giant ants that lay on the grasslands that had been dyed red by the rays of the early setting sun in early winter.

“… It’s finally over, but the sacrifices we suffered were also great.”

“Damage is inevitable when you participate in battles like this.”

I responded and looked at Muriel’s forlorn figure as she quietly stood beside me, and Ares, perhaps uncomfortable with the heavy atmosphere, interjected from the side.

“While we were preparing to defeat them, there was a report from Warren that a merchant group heading for the town of Dresde was attacked and wiped out, and several residents were killed in the cultivated land nearby… We can’t just leave them alone to be picked off one by one can we?”

“Yes, if we act later, then the damage will just become greater…”

Just like Muriel said, the Valley Ants will become more active over the winter, and with the growth of their population, they will also run out of food in the surrounding hunting grounds, so there is a risk that they would move their colonies closer to the towns and cities just like now.

Moreover, if the new queen born in the nest leaves during the mating season in spring and meets a male winged ant who is also in search of a mate, then a new colony will be created.

(It would be a disaster if it happened inside Easteria forest.)

Frankly speaking, it would be impossible for my pack to face off with approximately 200 giant ants, and we would be more likely that we would be forced to make a strategic retreat to the settlement near Lucua village. Considering that, I guess destroying the Valley Ants’ nest here was the best choice…

When I lightly nodded and once again turned my gaze to the grasslands, I noticed that the members of the subjugation team who were coming down from the adrenaline rush from the recent battle were moving their tired bodies and were engaged with post-battle clean up around the area.

As a rule, friends and acquaintances of the fallen mourn the deceased while the others cannot just stand there, so Riberto, who was watching as well, urged everyone to participate in the clean-up.

“Hey, why don’t we help them out?”

“Yeah, I guess one more task wouldn’t hurt… alright!”

Following Ares who shrugged off his weary expression and psyched himself up, I lightly tapped Muriel on the shoulder as she was the only one in our group who was heading in a different direction and walked away…

“I’ll be going, see you later…”

“Yeah, I’m with the Healer group, so I’ll see you later.”

Those who have an aptitude for Holy attribute magic can also use Healing Light like her, so they were gathered immediately and took charge of healing the injured.

On the other hand, those of us in the manual labor group were in charge of stabbing the giant ants who were still breathing to ensure safety and gathering the remains of those who died in battle in one place and burying them after identifying their bodies.

The operation was managed by Ignas, an acquaintance of the Warrior Zachs, as he was the highest-ranking Priest affiliated with the Holy Church who participated in the subjugation team.

However, he was muttering something with a pensive look on his face while looking up at the sky.

“… That silver-furred beast, could it be Selkram’s…?”

(Let’s just pretend I didn’t hear anything.)

I ignored his ramblings as I waited for the transport corps to arrive. After they arrived, we left the rest of the work to the dozens of people who brought shovels with them, but now we have to prepare the camp.

That said, bulky items such as tents are only used by the officers, and us Adventurers who place importance on traveling light use a waxed, waterproof cloak to protect ourselves from rain and dew for a few days, so it is no trouble at all.

(For us dog people, we only have to find a big tree and huddle around its roots to preserve our strength… I want to avoid the rain in winter, so the trees in the forest are much preferable to this.)

Once again thankful for the blessings of the forest, I retrieved the luggage that was left in the plains before the battle started, and headed for the Adventurers who had borrowed a huge pot from the transport corps and had started making dinner.

“You must be tired right after the battle earlier, is there anything I can do to help?”

“Oh my, Mr. Archer… Are you alright though? Weren’t you sent flying earlier?”

Conversely, when I called out to Miss Grace who was leading the Adventurers even after the battle, she expressed concern over my condition.

“I’m fine, one of my companions is a Mage who healed me.”

“I see, then can you please make soup stock out of the dried fish over there?”

“Miss Grace, do you have anything for us to do?”

“Then, after you wash your hands, please cut the vegetables with Edgar.”

Adventurers don’t normally follow a chain of command, but the highest-ranked “gold” Adventurer among us was very popular, and the Adventurers, including Ares and Riberto, gladly helped with the cooking.

(Well, I guess these guys are enthusiastic because she’s beautiful…)

In a sense, the sight of these unfamiliar and rough-looking men with dangerous hands cutting up spinach and rapunzel* made me feel nostalgic and reminded me of my mercenary days.

Anyway, I couldn’t afford to dilly dally either, so I removed my gloves and after carefully washing my hands, I threw the dried cod, dried scallops, and smoked venison with bones into a large pot and brought it to a simmer.

“Gau~, waffa kuruuoaoon.” (Gau~, something smells nice)

My sister who was perched on my shoulder in small fox form excitedly tapped her front paws to urge me to give her some, so I used some tongs to pick up some dried cod that had been used in the soup stock and cut a small portion of the white meat with cooking scissors. After it had cooled down a little, I offered it to Dagger who took it in her mouth.

“It’s not done yet, but you can have some of this for now.”

“Kyua~♪” (Yummy~♪)

While I was doing this, Muriel and Zachs, who had perhaps regrouped on the way, returned from their duties and helped with meal preparation.

“Ah, Archer, I have to put the easy-cooking vegetables soon.”

“I’ll leave it to you, it’ll be ready in a few minutes.”

“Alright people, bring your bowls and line up!!”

“Sure thing!”

Edgar’s booming voice rang out and the Adventurers who were preparing their equipment brought out their small bowls and spoons and lined up, while the other Adventurers and I also changed places and joined the queue after.

“Now, let’s have some, shall we?”

“N, this looks pretty good, doesn’t it?”

Even though there wasn’t any alcohol because we were still on duty, it was important to make merry a bit to chase away the feelings of gloom after the battle. Including the soldiers, everyone present was aware of this, so we spent a somewhat lively dinner in celebration of taking down the Valley Ant queen that evening.

The next day, the subjugation force searched for a river that originates from the northern side of the mountain to replenish our water supply.

The mountain range that runs from the north to the east is quite far from the sea, and because of the low rainfall, the terrain was covered in short grass, but it is known that the water stored in the mountain range gushes out from the foothills and forms several tributaries.

If this were not the case, it would be impossible for the Valley Ants to build a nest since they are unable to sip the dew that adheres to plants just like the small ordinary ants do. Therefore, if they were to move, they would not stay very far from where their original nest was.

After we arrived at the river without encountering any problems and replenishing our water supply, we returned to the city of Warren after a one-and-a-half day of traveling.