270th Chapter
A few days before the evacuation in Phillip’s County was scheduled to begin, Ray ventured deep into the Sigini Mountain Range with Luna.
Ray had brought a large carriage and ascended the frozen mountain road, though he didn’t need to pull it himself. This was because Karga, a high-ranking wind spirit, was present.
As Karga diligently created updrafts to move the carriage, Ray smiled contentedly.
“Karga Express…”
When Ray muttered this strange word, Karga became irritated. Still, since there was work to be done, Karga carefully adjusted the intensity of the wind to prevent the carriage from tipping over.
As they progressed through the mountains, the smell of blood began to waft through the air. Ray prepared his artefact and tensed his relaxed body.
At that moment, rangers emerged from the shadows. Brandil, who had been informed beforehand, looked at Ray’s face hidden by an illusion spell.
“Hmm, could it be…”
“Hey, long time no see.”
When Ray waved, Brandil nodded.
“Yeah, it’s been a while.”
“The smell of blood is in the air. Was there an expulsion operation?”
With war looming, it was unlikely that all the rangers would agree to side with the Empire. To avoid being stabbed in the back, preemptive purges were necessary.
Brandil shrugged in response.
Ray inwardly sighed with relief and chuckled.
“At least you guys didn’t get the worst of it.”
There was always the possibility that the ranger faction siding with the Empire could be expelled instead. If that happened, it would have caused Ray quite a headache, but fortunately, things seemed to be going smoothly so far.
Afterward, Ray was guided by Brandil to the tent where the leader of the rangers was waiting.
Roberti, the leader of the 2nd Special Operations Unit, also known as the Ranger Corps, frowned when he saw the carriage Ray had brought.
“Why did you bring a carriage?”
“Oh, this is a gift.”
After instructing Karga to lower the carriage, Ray rummaged inside. The nearby rangers aimed their weapons and remained on guard, but Ray paid them little attention as he took out a box and opened the lid.
Inside the box were numerous bottles of alcohol.
“Here you go.”
“…What is this?”
“It’s a gift.”
“…”
Roberti gestured for one of his subordinates to inspect the box. One of the rangers stepped forward and picked up a bottle. He tested the liquid inside by dropping it onto metal rods or powder to check for poison.
After thorough examination, the ranger finally tasted a drop of the liquid.
“This…!”
“What is it? Not alcohol?”
“Not ordinary alcohol.”
“Then what is it?”
“Very expensive alcohol.”
When the ranger seriously declared this, Roberti glared at his subordinate irritably.
Meanwhile, Ray placed the crates of alcohol from the carriage one by one and spoke.
“This is some very expensive alcohol; I brought it from the Imperial Capital. I don’t know how many rangers there are, but I’ve brought enough so everyone can have a bottle.”
“What’s your game?”
“Just a personal favor.”
“Favor?”
“I’ll give you this if, when the war starts, you don’t come down to Phillip’s County and loot anything.”
“What…?”
“There’s nothing worth looting anyway. We’ll take everything with us. But if you guys break into the buildings looking for valuables, restoring them will be incredibly troublesome.”
“…”
“So, accept this and let things go smoothly. Please help keep your people in line.”
“…”
Roberti couldn’t tell if Ray was serious or joking. However, Ray quickly finished what he had to say regardless of whether Roberti frowned or not.
“Don’t think about drinking this all yourself… well, actually, spread the word among the other rangers too. You might want to set aside one crate for yourself.”
“No…”
“I’m heading off now. Stay safe, and hopefully, we won’t cross paths again.”
As Ray signaled, Karga summoned wind to lift the empty carriage. Roberti, who had been speechless with astonishment, finally spoke up.
“Wait, I can’t control every rogue element.”
“I understand. Just try to keep an eye on things. There will be strong wards in place around Phillip’s County. It’d be embarrassing if rangers stealing petty things end up harming themselves.”
After saying that, Ray turned away from Roberti with Luna and left. Roberti just stood there dumbfounded, unable to find a reason to stop him.
Ray handed out bottles of alcohol to the surrounding rangers as he retraced his steps.
After sitting silently for a while, Roberti rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“Crazy guy.”
Though all that came to mind were curses, even so…
Gradually distributing a bottle of alcohol each among the still tense and confused troops might not be such a bad idea.
Roberti ordered another inspection of the alcohol Ray had brought, just to be sure.
A few days later.
The evacuation in Phillip’s County began.
The citizens of the county carried heavy loads on their backs but moved in an orderly fashion. Soon, a long procession lined up and prepared to head toward the Osiris Countdom.
While the forces tasked with controlling the evacuees worked hard to prevent chaos, Ray stood atop a hill overlooking the lengthy procession and asked Luna,
“Luna, are you coming with me?”
“…”
Luna hesitated and shook her head.
“…I have a few experiments left to finish.”
“Ahh… Is that so?”
Ray didn’t pry further into what experiments Luna needed to complete. However, he was worried about Luna staying behind in Phillip’s County.
“Luna, even so, shouldn’t you stay…”
“I won’t be alone. Ropheiren has offered to help with the experiments. …Don’t worry. It won’t take long. I’ll wrap up soon and catch up.”
Ropheiren was now a high-level mage. Though lacking in combat experience, he was still a capable asset.
Besides, Luna had Karga, a high-ranking spirit, at her disposal.
“If it gets dangerous… I’ll leave immediately. I have Karga, after all.”
Luna could command Karga freely, which was a significant advantage.
High-ranking spirits often refuse to be used as transportation due to pride, but Karga had no choice but to comply.
Few could match the mobility of a high-ranking wind spirit, so if the situation turned dire, they could simply flee.
Understanding Luna’s explanation, Ray nodded.
“Alright, I’ll wait for you. Come quickly.”
“Yes, I’ll come as fast as I can.”
Even a short separation from Ray made Luna uneasy.
Ray always managed to get into trouble when she wasn’t watching.
Luna fidgeted with Ray’s hand and reminded him.
“Take care of yourself.”
“Alright.”
“…And make peace with Karen.”
“Ahh, that goes without saying.”
Letting out a groan, Ray nodded.
Karen was still slightly upset with him.
Fortunately, Matthew arrived at the manor just before the evacuation convoy started moving.
Matthew greeted Philip Count politely and then grinned upon seeing Ray. Matthew still exuded the thrill of his newly acquired noble status, carrying himself proudly.
Having achieved his lifelong dream of social elevation, he was still basking in the glow of his new reality.
Matthew spread his arms wide and shouted.
“My nephew is here!”
“Wait, why am I your nephew?”
“You’re the son of the captain, so you’re my nephew.”
If Jimy heard this, he’d probably grab Ray by the collar, but Ray chuckled nervously and waved him off.
“Go see Jimy. You’re late, so help out with the work. Don’t slack off just because you’re a noble now.”
“But whose orders are these? I should follow faithfully. By the way, you don’t look so good.”
“I’m just tired. Go see Jimy quickly.”
“Alright.”
Matthew rode off.
It was time for the carriages to depart from the manor.
As Philip Count and Alesya boarded the carriage, Saria suddenly lifted Ray up and headed towards the carriage.
However, Ray wriggled and called out to Saria.
“Aunt, Aunt! Wait a moment.”
“What is it?”
“I’m not riding in the carriage. I’ll walk with my family.”
Saria’s eyes widened in surprise at Ray’s unexpected declaration.
“With your family?”
“Yes, with my family.”
“Am I not part of your family?”
“…”
Realizing his slip of the tongue, Ray shut his mouth and broke into a cold sweat.
“No, Aunt, of course you’re also my beloved family member…”
Ray had two reasons for wanting to walk with the other evacuees.
First, Bella decided not to ride in the carriage.
Additionally, Lea insisted on walking because she disliked riding in carriages due to motion sickness.
Bella herself preferred walking too, feeling it inappropriate to receive special treatment when the carriages were needed for the sick, elderly, very young children, and pregnant women.
Since the distance to the Osiris Countdom wasn’t too far, Ray didn’t strongly object. However, he planned to stay close in case of emergencies.
Moreover, Karen was among the evacuees, and Ray wanted to resolve any lingering misunderstandings with her while walking.
As Ray stammered on with his excuses, Saria’s mood dampened.
Although Saria wanted to walk alongside Ray at the front of the evacuation column and show him off proudly, doing so would disregard Philip Count’s hospitality, so she had to board the carriage.
Despite her disappointment, Saria respected Ray’s decision.
Thus, the carriages departed, marking the beginning of Phillip’s County evacuation.
Ray hoped there wouldn’t be any problems during the evacuation, and indeed, there weren’t.
That was fortunate, but…
An issue arose as soon as they arrived at the Osiris Countdom.
“Alright, everyone will stay here for now. Don’t cause unnecessary disturbances.”
The overseer of the Osiris Countdom, having hastily set up shabby tents in a spacious clearing, said this to the group of evacuees.
Keep in mind, it was the dead of winter. Even with bonfires, spending several nights in such an open space would be difficult.
Carrying only two swords at his waist, Ray, disguised as an evacuee, approached the overseer and asked,
“S-sir, when can we expect proper accommodation?”
“Proper accommodation?”
Though mocking Ray, the overseer maintained minimal courtesy since Ray’s attire wasn’t shabby.
“Just wait for now.”
“But sir, could you at least inform us when we might be assigned accommodations?”
“Tch, just wait already.”
Would patiently waiting result in better treatment?
In both Ray’s past life and this one, most situations where he was told to “just wait” ended with someone getting hurt.
At that moment, the overseer smirked at Ray’s frowning expression and formed a coin-shaped gesture with his fingers.
“Well, if you show sufficient sincerity…”
“…”
“I could ensure that you receive priority for decent accommodations.”
“Ahh… if I show ‘sufficient sincerity’…”
Nodding, Ray promptly slapped the overseer across the face.
SMACK! Before anyone could intervene, the sound of leather tearing echoed across the clearing.
Grabbing the overseer’s head as it spun sideways, Ray held it firmly and delivered consecutive slaps.
“You bastards start causing trouble right from the beginning?”
Evacuation (4)
