Volume 3 - CH 8

Act 3-8: Each of Their Growth

「Let’s contact the Wind Cat who hides somewhere in the 【Demonic Forest】 of East End.」

The only one surprised by Rose’s remark was Anna. The other members didn’t even bat their eyes upon hearing that. Faf and Myu simply had no interest in this difficult talk; they were engaged in lively talks about playing since five in the afternoon. Asta was skillfully eating her meal with one hand while holding a book in another hand. So, the only ones participating in the conversation were Zack and Anna.

「How are you going to contact them?」

I had granted her one night since I knew that Rose wasn’t stupid enough to not come with a plan.

「Searching the forest of East End with so few people is asking for the impossible. Moreover, they definitely won’t accept our offer if we forcibly invade their territory. Am I wrong?」

Good grief! She has realized the most important problem, huh! This is an answer that she would have never achieved unless she understood the feeling of the weak. Her train of thought is truly unlike the royal family of this sh*tty kingdom.

But then, that’s nothing more than her mental side. What I want to know the most right now is to what extent she putting that knowledge of hers into practice in the form of a plan.

「I think the same. So, what’s your plan?」

「After putting together the information I heard yesterday from the information broker, I’ve concluded that an organization is backing Wind Cat. Otherwise, they would have had a hard time doing their activities in the entire Ksar territory.」

She was right. Moreover, it isn’t only one. There are at least two of them in Ksar territory. In short, the Wind Cat isn’t a band of chivalrous thieves; they are the front line of a resistance organization.

「So?」

「In short, to make it possible for them to move like that, they―」

Rose spread the map in her right hand on the table. Then, she took out several copper coins from her pocket and placed them on the map.

「They are definitely right in that place. This city is the best place for them to receive their supplies and funds.」

Rose placed a gold coin on the area around the northwest of East End’s 【Demonic Forest】. That area was the closest mining city to 【Demonic Forest】―Akinashi. Just like how the Heineman family operated, a noble family who gained their status from their achievements governed this city.

The man who governed the Akinashi territory was Oliver Akinashi of the knight peerage. He seems to be one of the few kind lords in this east region.

「Then, what are you going to do in Akinashi territory?」

「I’ll try to convince Knight Oliver to allow me to negotiate with Wind Cat. Although we might be aiming for different things, we have the same goal in mind. It’ll take some time, but convincing them should be possible, right?」

Great! She has done a good job in realizing the only thing that she—who is in a disadvantageous situation right now—can do right now.

That’s good enough for the current, powerless her. Now, I will put my plan into motion and set the stage for her. Besides, it’ll be a festival that she will never forget.

「GOOD! It’s decided then! Asta, Zack, you two will act as her escorts!!」

「Yeah! Leave it to me!」

Zack nodded while raising his clenched right fist.

「Roge~r, but what are you going to do, Master?」

Asta closed the book she was reading and asked me.

「We’re going to camp in the forest.」

「CAMPING-NODESU!」

Faf pushed up her right fist in the air with Myu, who was also all smiles as she spoke.

「YA~Y, CAMPING! CAMPING!」

Myu nimbly jumped around after coming down from her chair.

「Kai, that camping is really necessary, right?」

Anna was trying to ask for confirmation with an extremely meek expression.

「Yeah, we have to do this. It’s the most disgusting part of the main plan.」

In a certain way, the degree of difficulty in this was several times higher than that with the matter of Rose, who was basically waiting for us to finish our preparations.

「Understood! Asta, Zack, please take care of Rose-sama.」

「Ou!」

「…」

Zack cheerfully replied while drinking the liquor in his mug, while Asta lightly nodded.

「Well then, Rose-sama, I shall excuse myself to make the preparations! Faf, Myu, come and help me!」

「Ye~s!」「Ye~s-nodesu!」

Faf took Anna’s right hand while Myu took her left hand. Together, the three of them went to the second floor.

「Anna has changed for better too, hasn’t she?」

Rose smiled from ear to ear. She commented on Anna’s recent change of attitude like a mother commenting on her daughter’s growth.

「Indeed!」

Although it was part of the plan, Anna did have to leave Rose’s side for the time being. I thought that Anna would refuse it till the end, and yet, to my surprise, she readily accepted the plan.

On this occasion, Anna received Rose’s permission to leave the latter’s side for the sake of achieving our goal. The fact that she readily accepted it means that she put her trust in Zack and Asta. It’s an extremely surprising fact knowing that up until now, she never trusted anyone but her knight comrades with such duty.

Understanding that, even Asta, the heavenly devil in a suit, gave a sincere nod to Anna.

You can say that Anna, who was trapped in her own world until now, had finally broken her shell and changed for the better.

「I have to prepare my dress too.」

Chuckling lightly, I dealt with the scraps of the food left on the table while looking at the back-view of Rose, who was walking toward her room.