CH 280

“Guys, you’re not forgetting anything, are you?”

“Nii-sama…we’re not going on a field trip, so there’s no need to check.”

“Oh, really?”

I tried to act like a leader, but it seems to have failed.

Incidentally, in this expedition, just as in the school competition, the leader is me and the deputy leader is Sophie.

To be honest, Sophie is a better leader in terms of ability, but in terms of communication skills, it’s me. I can communicate with everyone better than Sophie. So sometimes I will be the one to tell everyone what Sophie says.

“We’re not in such a hurry, so we’re going to run at a pace that will allow us to reach the Deep forest on the second day.”

The reason for going a little slower is to check Shana and Carina’s stamina and to try to camp once in a safer place than the deep forest. Of course, this was Sophie’s idea.

And so we set off for the deep forest.

“Carina, are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“Shana, are you okay?”

“Nn.”

We had been running for about three hours, so I checked to see if she was tired. Carina seemed to have plenty of energy to spare, while Shana was a little tired.

“Aren’t you going to check if I’m okay?”

“No… you’ll be fine.”

“Hmm…”

Seeing me check with Carina and Shana to make sure they were okay, Elira asked me that. I hope she doesn’t get frustrated by that….Haa… It can’t be helped.

“Me, Sophie, and you will be the ones to watch over those two until they evolve.”

“Well, if that’s the case, I’ll take care of them a little.”

“Thanks.”

When I said that, the grumpy look on her face disappeared.

“So, Sophie, you’ll take care of them too, right?”

“Yes, I’ll take care of them next to you brother.”

“No… For the time being, I’d rather you take care of those two rather than me.”

“………”

“Sophie…”

“I understand.”

After this, both of them started glancing at me and paying attention to Carina and Shana. I think Sophie was looking at me more than at them, by the way.

“Well then, shall we camp for the night around here today?”

“Yes.”

Except for one hour break at a time around noon, we had been running all day. At this pace, we would be in the deep forest by midday tomorrow.

We started setting up camp as the sun went down, and the five of us split up and got it done quicker than expected. We had two tents prepared. We have a couple more in the magic ring as spares, just in case.

“Then let’s decide what to do about the lookout.”

I said to everyone as we finished a light supper.

“But first, how many people should be on guard duty?”

“Shouldn’t there be just two, given the number of people we have?”

“Well… is that okay with you, Sophie?”

“No problem.”

Sophie agreed, so we decided to adopt Elira’s idea and divide the watch into two halves, the first half and the second half. This is the same as when me and Sophie went in pairs.

“The next question is, who would be paired with who?”

“First, me and Nii-sama…”

“You do realize that you wouldn’t be paired with me, Sophie?”

“………”

If we were to split up normally, I think the right thing to do would be to make sure that our abilities are evenly matched. If that were the case, it would be unlikely that Sophie and I would be paired together.

“How about we go in order of ability, 1 to 5, and pair 1, 3, 5 with 2 and 4?”

“…… That might be a good idea.”

Shana’s idea would certainly make each pair closer to an even split in ability.

“Is that okay with you, Sophie?”

“Yes, that would be fine.”

So the combination was me,  Elira and Carina and Sophie and Shana.

“What about the order?”

“We’ll do it first. Shana, are you okay with that?”

“No problem.”

So Sophie and the others were to take the first watch. By the way, now, as a training for the deep forest, we aren’t using magic tools to keep the monsters away from us. Because such magic tools are meaningless against high-ranked monsters in the deep forest.

The three of us in the latter group went into the same tent. The reason why I, a man, and everyone else were in the same tent was because in an emergency, there would be no time to go to two different tents to wake them up.

“Shall we go to sleep then?”

“…Wait, where are you going?”

“Huh? At the end of the tent.”

I went to the end of the tent to sleep, but Elira stopped me.

“You should sleep in the middle.”

“Haa? No…why?”

“Because you’re the strongest among us! Sleep in the middle so that if something happens, you’ll be the first one out!”

“Eh…”

Elira was right. It’s true that it is better to sleep in the middle so that I can get out first in case of emergency. But….

“I’m also anxious, so could you sleep in the middle?”

“Hmmm… I understand.”

“Good…”

Carina said so with a superior look. She was normally squeamish. I don’t know if she’s ever been in the field or not, and I don’t know her very well…. I guess I should sleep in the middle for now until she get used to it.

“Why don’t you listen to me right away when I tell you…”

“No, it’s not like that.”

“I was just complaining. Don’t worry about that. Come on, I’m going to sleep.”

“Oh, oh.”

I didn’t miss what Elira said in a whisper. She didn’t seem to be really complaining either. We lay down to rest quickly.

“Aren’t you two a little close?”

“I don’t think so. Hey, Carina?”

“Yes!”

The tent is for five people, so they should be able to get a good distance from each other, but they are so close together that their shoulders almost touch when they turn over.

“Don’t worry about that, just go to sleep.”

“Yes.”

I managed to fall asleep, trying not to pay attention to their breathing, which sounded so close to me.