CH 107

Eventually, tents were lined up all over the area and smoke rose from the stoves. There’s also firewood piled up on the bonfire pit but since the sun has not yet set, it will not be lit until later. After setting up their tents, the soldiers had a temporary break while waiting for the food to be prepared.

Since there is no source of water nearby, the water in the barrels are used for both food and provisions. Tomorrow’s lunch break will be near a water source again so we’ll do the refill there. Miss Frederica is also keeping a record of how much water we have used. Each time we arrived at an encampment, Miss Frederica seemed to be quite busy running around.

Considering that a total of about fifty soldiers, twelve days’ worth of food and firewood, three days’ worth of water, cooking utensils (including the stoves), a set of things for blacksmithing work and the fodder for the horses are carried in wagons, a considerable number of wagons have been mobilized.

Well, in case of war, the number of soldiers moving around is different so they don’t need to ride in the wagons, they are asked to walk instead. And to some extent, they are requisitioned, so the number of wagons is reduced in proportion to that, but in any case, logistics is surely a tough job.

When the food is ready, a long line is automatically formed. Well, there is no way to reduce this of course. We, the supply team, will head there after the line is gone. We will have our dinner together with Sandro-oyasan and his men. Our dinner is stewed dried meat placed on a dish-shaped hard bread. The bread is hard but it’s not that you can’t bite into it, it can be eaten as it is. In short, it’s used as a substitute for a plate. There is no source of water here, and with this, we won’t waste some water to wash the dishes.

The supply unit eats meals with the escort team, Delmot-san and the others, in a friendly atmosphere. In this situation, eating meals together and getting along well on the way will help for us to be concerned in helping each other in case of emergency, and above all, this is the best way to enjoy meals. We finished eating while talking about random things.

After the meal, we had a free time until the sun sets. I asked Miss Frederica if she had any spare pieces of cloth, needles and threads. As soon as I said that, she quickly walked to a wagon. The way she walks is like a squirrel. She’s a young lady giving off an impression of a small animal in general. I also followed her while feeling somehow relaxed.

“It’s okay if it’s from this wagon. The materials here are from Eimurl family and I’m told that you can use it freely.”

“I see. Thank you.”

When I thanked Miss Frederica, she bowed in reply and then she left quickly.

It took me some time to find them but luckily, I found a blanket, a piece of cloth, a needle and a thread. It will be used for spares or when repairing the clothes that are torn I guess. Everything else has some spares as well so it wouldn’t be a problem if I could return them back.

I returned to the tent then I make a bag out of a piece of cloth. I fold it in half and sew both ends together without cutting it. The seams can be rough as they are not stuffed with cotton. After sewing that part, I turn it over, stuff the blanket on it, sew the opening closed and there I have it, I made a simple cushion. I’ll give it to Miss Frederica tomorrow. Well, women are in different tents. I don’t want to carelessly approach her and be misunderstood.

The sun has set so the bonfire was lit. All that’s left for today is to go to bed. All the soldiers except the ones on shifts are going back to their respective tents. We are no exception to that. We quickly wrapped ourselves in blankets and lay down. I was unexpectedly tired, and soon, the drowsiness took me to the world of sleep.

The next morning, I woke up just before the sun came up. The cooks seemed to be up already. They work hard. I slowly got up, took out a water bottle from my luggage, took a sip, and went outside the tent to exercise. Since I’m going to be inside the wagon most of the time today as well, I need to actively move my body.

As soon as the sun rises, breakfast begins. All the supply unit take breakfast together. We eat together, talking about the day’s itinerary. After that, we will load everything into the wagon and took our leave so I also took it out. We then got inside the wagon.

“Frederica-san”

“Yes”

“Please take this”

I give Miss Frederica the simple cushion I made yesterday.

“This is?”

“Ah, you can sit on it. It will probably be better.”

“Oh-, I see. Thank you.”

Miss Frederica received it with a smile and then she sit on it. Well yeah, I don’t think it was necessary for me to do that. But-, well, never mind. Miss Frederica, who is in a good mood sitting on the cushion, looks more and more like a small animal. The sight of her makes the people inside the wagon feel much more relaxed. This alone was worth the effort of making it.

This day’s lunch break was also near a water source like the day before. When I got out of the wagon, Miss Frederica said,

“The pain in my butt is much tolerable now. Thank you very much.”

She thanked me. She’s such a cute child, she honestly expressed that she’s happy. It’s no different whether it’s in blacksmithing or in this kind of work, I’m happy when people are pleased with what I made. I almost patted her on the head but I managed to hold it back.

After that, it was the same thing as yesterday until we reached our destination. Not many thieves or beasts would attack a large number of armed men on the march, and the weather was not particularly bad either so we went on smoothly.

And then, on the evening of the third day, we finally set up a camp in an open space near the target cave. Base construction will begin tomorrow morning.