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Frontier Lord Chapter 030: Unidentifiable

The Leaf Manure Stone, the last one, was crushed, polished, and poured into the jar.  I wondered, 「Is this really the last one?!」 　

I lifted the leather bag containing the Leaf Manure Stones.

Despite the bag’s obvious lightness, just to be certain, I flipped it upside down and shook it. Everything seemed fine; the bag was certainly empty.

I tossed the now-empty leather bag, sighed, and raised my hands to the sky, stretching them out. 

As I did so, I looked up to the heavens and observed the blue sky as the sun rose. I then lay down on the plaza, as if I were falling, and gradually relaxed my entire body.

I realized that today marked the fifth day since I had begun crushing the Leaf Manure Stones.

Amidst the work, Senai and Aihan peered into the jar and inquired, 「Is this now powder? Or is it still stone?」 　

I quickly examined the jar’s contents and confirmed that the crushing had indeed been rough, just as they had pointed out. Consequently, I emptied the jar’s contents and proceeded to re-crush them. It didn’t take me long, considering five days had passed since I began.

However, my lower back had become incredibly tight over these five extended days. Perhaps even my hip bone had contorted from sitting continuously for so long. 

Although I wished to linger here, stretching my back and allowing my body to rest, it appeared that such a luxury was unattainable.

After all, I couldn’t afford that luxury, not with Aruna around. Her resolute expression and the green glow of her  horn. She was running to me while using Sense. 

The moment I realized sleeping wasn’t appropriate, I sprang to my feet and hurriedly took action. I rolled my shoulders, twisted my hips, and loosened my body. Aruna’s voice broke through, abrupt and stern.

「Dias! There was a response from the east. There are too many entities. I can’t get an accurate count.」

Baffled by her unusual demeanor, something unexpected from Aruna, I met her with a questioning expression.

「Aruna… Is something wrong? You seem oddly uncertain today.」

「No… It’s just that I have a strange feeling about this. Sense is functioning properly, but the numbers are all over the place.  At first, there were multiple individuals, and then there were a bunch of horses. As well as something else that isn’t a horse. And there’s also one more presence…」

「Hmph…」

I heard there was someone present and contemplated if perhaps Camalotte had delivered the promised farm equipment. 　

While I assumed this, the considerable number of horses piqued my curiosity.

If their intention was solely the equipment, one wagon would suffice, and the presence of something other than a horse appeared strange.

Could it be someone other than Camalotte? Could they be bandits?

「What’s the distance between us and those individuals, and what’s their pace?  Should we hasten?」

「No, they’re moving slowly. The distance is substantial enough that we need not rush. If we were in a hurry I would’ve already sent you Dias, rather than chatting like this.」

「You have a point. You’re really dependable, Aruna.」

Given that there was still time I decided to first tidy up the jars before gearing up. I also had to inform Senai and Aihan about this.

Departing the village without prior notice could result in rumors and speculations.　

I conveyed this to Aruna, who acknowledged with a nod. Collaboratively, we stored away the jars and other items. Following that, I briefed Senai, Aihan, and the village populace regarding my temporary absence due to our visitors.

I returned to the yurt, donned my armor, shouldered my battleaxe, and gathered my binoculars. 　

However, a sense of bewilderment washed over me.  　

I couldn’t figure out why Aruna was also getting ready. 　

Furthermore, she was putting on makeup.

「… Aruna. What’s with the war paint? You’re even taking your bow and quiver with you…」 

「Well, of course. I’m coming along after all. I can’t let you go alone when there’s a possibility of encountering an enemy. Furthermore their numbers are uncertain. You can’t stop me. I’m coming.」

As she spoke, her eyes held an uncharacteristic seriousness, and her gaze seemed a bit unsettled…

(Well her spells can prove useful in various situations.)

「I’m glad to have you by my side Aruna. Thank you for worrying about me.」

Aruna rolled her eyes at my remark, but then halted for a moment… and playfully tapped my buttocks with the arrowhead she held.

「Hey?! What was that for?! Oh… Yea, I guess we should hurry…」

Without saying anything, Aruna approached and lightly gave my rear end two or three playful smacks… 「Okay, okay, I get it, I’ll pick up the pace!  No need to spank me that many times…」

With Aruna right behind me I rushed out of the village, dashing eastward across the meadow while relying on her Sense spell.

As we raced across the expansive meadow, the wind from the open space gently pushing against my back, Aruna ran alongside me.

「We’re close! We’ll see them anytime soon!」

Her voice resonated, causing me to halt briefly and catch my breath. I peered through my binoculars in the direction she indicated.

Through the magnified lenses of my binoculars, I could make out several figures and a line of wagons, imperceptible to the naked eye… and among them, standing at the lead of the procession on a wagon platform, was a man. 

(Huh, those clothes and that face. That’s definitely Camalotte!)

Around the carriage being led by Camalotte, several individuals served as an escort. Following them were two more carriages, forming a line. However, something at the end of the line caught my attention.  　

It wasn’t a horse… It resembled a beast, a creature with qualities reminiscent of a black ox, covered in white fur.

「What is it?」

Engrossed in observing the unusual beast through my binoculars Aruna’s voice broke my concentration. I hesitated, pondering how to explain what I’d seen. Eventually, I handed her the binoculars.

As she looked through the binoculars she immediately exclaimed,

「If it isn’t Camalotte. Why didn’t you just say so then? Wait… I see. They’re bringing a White Ghee… So that’s the source of the peculiar signal I felt. The number of guards and baggage must have been the reason my Sense was acting so off.」 She remarked.

「So that creature that bears a striking resemblance to the Black Ghee is called a White Ghee. Black fur for one and white for the other… I suppose that’s quite straightforward.」

The White Ghee’s body closely resembled that of the Black Ghee and was easily noticeable even from a distance. The absence of any aggressive demeanor indicated that the White Ghee was an entirely different entity from Black Ghee.

It seemed to possess a calm disposition, evident by its composed carriage-pulling performance.

As I ruminated on this, Aruna, engrossed with the binoculars, suddenly jolted and leaned forward, as though she’d discovered something.

「Dias! Look at the second carriage of the line! There’s something on it. It’s small and it’s moving about the carriage’s goods.」

Aruna’s words took me by surprise. 　

「Huh? Something small?」

「There are quite a few of them… and they’re peering out from behind the goods. I can’t see them anymore.」

「Hm…」

It was odd that Camalotte, who was supposed to bring only farming tools, was leading a number of carriages. The existence of the small presence that was hiding in the carriages was equally peculiar. I turned to Aruna,

「Speculating here won’t do us much good. Let’s go and ask Camalotte directly.」 I said.

In response, Aruna nodded in agreement. 

「… You’re right. Let’s do that.」 

And so, together with Aruna, we made our way to Camalotte.