Published: July 3, 2025
The kingdom's adventurer expedition army was advancing through the forest in the western part of the duchy.
Although the western part of the duchy was not completely under the control of the allied forces, the main roads were blocked by the allied army.
As a result, they were moving along narrow paths known only to the locals, beast trails, or simply pushing through the grass and running through the forest.
The overall command was led by Grand Master Finley Forsyth, but they were essentially marching in five divisions: east, west, north, south, and the central region where the royal capital was located.
The eastern division was in the lead, followed by the central division, with the northern and western divisions following, and the southern division at the rear.
"Is the southern division disliked by the Grand Master?"
"Ryo, that’s something you shouldn’t say."
Ryo casually voiced a question, and Abel, who was running next to him, reprimanded him.
Hugh McGrath, who was running just behind them, let out a deep sigh and said, "It's probably my fault. I'm disliked by Lord Forsyth."
It seemed that the reason the southern division was placed at the back was due to Hugh, who was in command of the southern army.
Leading the southern army were Ryo and Abel, with Hugh McGrath and the guild's guide from the information department, Chloe, following closely behind.
Originally, the remaining three members of the "Red Sword" should have been in this position, but they gradually fell behind due to the pace...
Even though everyone except Ryo was a c-rank adventurer or above, running through the forest consumed more stamina than they had anticipated.
And even now...
"The rear is starting to fall behind. Shall we walk?"
Ryo asked Hugh.
"Yeah, let’s do that."
With that, Hugh sharply whistled.
In response, the entire southern army stopped running and began to walk.
However, they chose not to stop to rest, aiming to progress as quickly as possible.
Among the four in the front group, three were not even panting.
However, Chloe, who was dispatched from the information department as a guide for the southern army, was breathing heavily.
"Chloe, here’s some water. Please drink."
Ryo generated water in an ice cup and handed it to Chloe.
"I'm sorry."
She seemed quite fatigued, yet her words of gratitude were clear.
She downed the cup of water in one go.
Then, she muttered almost to herself, "As expected… of the heroes of the Great War and the b-rank adventurers… I was confident in my stamina and movement in the forest, which is why I volunteered for this role, but… I can hardly keep up."
"It's okay, you're doing well. Everyone else behind is struggling too. These two are just abnormal."
Saying that, Ryo comforted Chloe.
Chloe, with her short chestnut hair and bright, lively eyes, was a cute woman.
She seemed to be in her early twenties and had two well-maintained daggers at her waist.
Her height was slightly shorter than Ryo's, but still above average for a woman.
Being part of the information department, she seemed to be capable of close combat as well.
Other divisions of the expedition army also had information department guides, but all the others were male, with Chloe being the only female.
"I don't like rough men. If there's a capable woman, it's better to have her in the southern army, where there are few women. That's why it seems Hugh forcibly pulled Chloe into the southern guide position."
"Hey, don’t say random things like that."
When Ryo made a somewhat inappropriate comment, Hugh corrected him.
Hearing that conversation, Chloe chuckled a bit.
"Laughing is effective for recovery from fatigue. Hugh, you really calculated this out, didn't you?"
"I've never heard that before! I’m not calculating anything at all."
When Hugh said that, Chloe laughed even more.
Seeing this, Ryo nodded multiple times.
Watching the interaction from the side, Abel muttered.
"Ryo, you really are attentive in those ways."
Abel was sincerely impressed.
"So, why is it that you are disliked by the Grand Master, Hugh?"