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Frontier Lord Chapter 031: Those Squirming in the Carriage

Perspective for this chapter has been changed to a different individual!

In the dimly lit carriage, which rumbled and rocked, I cautiously opened the lid of the wooden box, making sure not to create any noise or draw attention from the people outside. The contents turned out to be beans.

I was not particularly fond of beans, and I didn’t really like them, but I realized it wasn’t the time to be picky, so I decided to take them along.

The other crates held dried meat, dried fish, and well, there was a lack of fruit, unfortunately.

Sneaking into a wagon carrying food was lucky on my part, although my luck ran out when it came to the contents themselves. None of the items here were ones that I preferred. There was one kind of red fruit, however, it too was disgusting due to its overpowering smell.

Considering that the other crates probably contained similar items the beans seemed like the only thing I could take. I realized that in the end I might have to resort to hunting, which wasn’t my forte by any means.

「Hey! You there! What are you doing?!」

「Hya! They found me! Hey! It’s just you… Don’t scare me like that. And keep your voice down, please. If the people on the outside find us, they’ll throw us out!」

「Huh? The ones with the short ears? They’re not exactly the most observant bunch out there! That aside, what are you doing?」

「Can’t you see? I’m searching for food.」

「Food will only get in the way, we don’t need any.」

「G-Get in the way? But food is essential for a long journey?! We never know when we’ll find food after we get off of this carriage… We should prepare ourselves for the worse while we’re here… You might think that you’re safe just because you can hunt, but it’s not like you’ll always find prey even if you’re a good hunter! Hey! What are you laughing at?!」

「You still haven’t noticed? This carriage is headed west instead of south? Even though you know some stuff and can read, you’re still stupid! We’re not going back to the desert! The true purpose of this journey is dragon hunting! We’ll show our strength by vanquishing the humans that defeated the dragon! Before we return to the desert, we shall restore the honor and pride of our people!」

「Huh? You’ve got to be kidding me?! That can’t be… I only racked my brains and came up with a plan to infiltrate this wagon because you told me that it was headed for the desert! That’s what you said!」

「Among the desert dwellers you’re the biggest coward! If I’d told you the truth you would’ve burst into tears and would’ve been useless! That’s why I lied!」

「C-Coward you say?! You’re the one who lied to your own, entangling them in hazardous ventures. That’s not the behavior befitting a proud desert dweller!」

「That’s precisely what makes you coward! Our opponents are those weak humans! We can win against them! There’s nothing to be afraid of!」

「T-The one we’ll be going up against has killed a dragon you know! Being able to kill a dragon means that you’re stronger than one! There’s no way facing such people won’t be dangerous!!! Besides! I’m not being cowardly, I’m being careful! Wait… Does everyone else agree with you?!」

As we engaged in this argument, the others, who had been concealed amidst the baggage and other belongings, started to affirm by nodding their heads, their faces peeking out as if to validate my assertions.

Each one had their eyes widened, teeth bared, and a combat-ready demeanor fueled by snarls—it was evident they’re fully motivated.

「We desert dwellers are proud! We’re strong! In contrast, humans are sly and pitiful! That dragon slayer can’t be any different! He must’ve used some treacherous trick to slay the dragon! I’m sure of it!」

「Only the weak use traps! And we can win against the weak! We’ll win!」

「Humans are all liars! They’re liars who deceived us! Defeating them is the right thing!」

「We’re the superior species! We’re stronger than those humans, and even that dragon slayer! We’ll let it be known! We’ll force them to surrender their food and tell us the way to go back to the desert!」

I couldn’t help but cradle my head in my hands when I witnessed people shouting such things at each other in the carriage.

I kept my gaze lowered, my palms covering my ears, attempting to shield myself from the weight of their words, while desperately racking my brain on how to halt them and sway their opinions.

If the rumors in town were to be believed this meant that we’d be going against a foe that had managed to single handedly come out on top against an Earth Dragon.

All of us were clearly no match for someone like that… What made it worse was that the desert dwellers were dwindlind. There were only a handful of us left. I couldn’t bear to watch all of them perish in vain. I couldn’t bear it.

Given that I couldn’t figure out a way to persuade everyone, the next best choice was to try and think of a way to impede the dragon slayer.

What I could do was jump out of the carriage before everyone else and plead with the dragon slayer to spare our lives. Though, even the thought of this notion was so terrifying that it made me freeze completely.

(Just what can I do… Huh? Why is the carriage slowing down? Wait… This feels like… It’s trying to stop! It can’t be! Could the dragon slayer already be here?!)

With a jolt of alarm, I released my grip on my head, heightened my hearing, and strained to pick up the ambient sounds to decipher the events unfolding outside. It appeared that one of the individuals beyond was issuing commands to halt the other carriages.

Subsequently, the gradually slowing carriages eventually came to a complete halt. The surroundings fell into silence, and the individuals who had been issuing orders engaged in conversation.

「Thank you, Lord Dias and Lady Aruna for coming out to greet us warmly. We have delivered the items that Lord Eldan had promised you Lord Dias.」

「Thanks for the work, Camalotte. Sorry to bother you this soon, but I’d like to ask someth-」

(Dias? That’s the name of the dragon slayer!)

Upon hearing the name the whole group inside the carriage began wagging their tails, hitting the carriage’s floor and crates, forming an air of restlessness.

They bore their teeth, yet kept quiet, not growling. Their ears perked and their senses sharpened to the extreme, taking in all of the surrounding sounds. Their bloodlust began to slowly rise, preparing for the moment to strike. 

There was no more time to be hesitant. If I wanted to stop my people, now was the time. I knew that this wasn’t the most optimal course of action, and I knew that I’d probably get on everyone’s bad side, but I had no other choice.

「S-Stop! It’s dangerous! He’s not someone we can win against! We’ll just be slaughtered!!!」

I leaped in front of everyone while shouting.

My thought was that by jumping out and yelling I’d alert those outside of our presence, thus disrupting the element of surprise and somehow stopping the scene from escalating. However, my strategy failed.

Some avoided me, while others pushed me aside. Ultimately I ended up crashing against the floor. Without caring that their surprise attack had been found out, all of my people raised their fighting spirit to the skies, preparing for battle.

Whether the dragon slayer discerned the disturbance or not,  he advanced directly to the carriage we occupied. From the sound of his footsteps, it appeared he was within jumping range. Noticing that, my people simultaneously jumped out of the carriage. 

Following that, the sounds of battle cries filled the area.

Noticing the surprise attack, the dragon slayer shouted something… In turn someone else screamed and a series of cries and thudding sounds ensued. In the end, the battle that should’ve been avoided ended up commencing.