Chapter 238: Too much of a wreck (1)
After that two hours passed with nothing happening and the students were able to pitch the tents. It was about to pass sixteen hundred. Already the students were chatting happily with the adventurers and friends, probably from a sense of accomplishment. At Relia and Tia’s spot Karinal assembled quickly, and Hilbyid and Folia watched that with admiration.
Ten tents that could fit five people were set in two rows at even intervals, backs to the outer wall. Everyone was grouped in threes so you would think three-person ones would be fine. But what I bought for them were slightly large five-person tents. That was so they could go inside without having to curl up.
What was convenient in this Overworld world was the existence of Magic Bags. They helped a lot when moving or delivering too, but when it came to camping they helped even more. In my previous life there was no concept of magic and there was a limit to what a person could carry, so if you were alone you were limited to a one-person tent and even resting inside you sometimes felt cramped. Thanks to Magic Bags the amount one person could carry became considerable, and as long as you learned the skill to assemble a tent there was no need to use a small one. The adventurers taught how to set them up, but I put my mouth in on the spacing.
I looked over the students sitting and resting their bodies while looking at me. Foot traffic had decreased so my voice carried without straining. I started explaining at a normal volume. If you set them scattered you created blind spots, and when you patrolled while camping there was a chance of missing something. Then what do you do? If you just set them neatly they were easy to see and you did not have to strain so you would not miss anything. Keeping strained was quite hard, and when camping mental fatigue was the most dangerous.
Thieves might attack by hitting that, and there were also times you would not notice a slight presence of monsters. I explained to the students that the number of new adventurers who got so careful about camping they got attacked by monsters was quite high. The students listened to my explanation with tense, serious faces and each nodded firmly and answered. I smiled, looked them over, then continued with a but…
“Just because you finished pitching tents does not mean camping preparations are done. If you have room while it’s still light there are things you have to do. Do you know what you should do?”
“…Procuring food?”
“Checking belongings…?”
“Wiping your body!”
“Hm. All of those are correct. But if I had to say, traps… making devices.”
“…??”
Not just the students. Even the older sisters put question marks over their heads and tilted them adorably. I almost laughed. I held a twig I had brought from nearby bushes and held it up so everyone could see. An ordinary twig you often found in bushes and trees, the kind that would snap if you stepped on it. I turned my face toward the older sisters, shook the twig with a finger, and asked,
“The older sisters don’t know either? I think you hear it a lot in forests and mountains.”
“Eeeh…? You do it in forests and mountains? …A campfire?”
“You don’t call a campfire a trap or a device. Eh, what is it…”
“What are you talking about? It’s a noise-maker, right?”
“Hey~~, today everyone~~~ is too much of a wreck~~~~”
Yeah. Maybe from tension, today’s older sisters’ wreck-level was amazing. The adventurers remembered “noise-maker” and laughed and nodded as if convinced, but the students still tilted their heads with cute reactions. So I waved the twig with a finger, looked over the students, smiled, and started explaining.
Living in the royal capital made you forget, but nights in the capital were quiet and nights outside were quite quiet too. There were many cases of new adventurers camping and being bothered by the sound of trees blown by the wind so they could not rest their bodies. If you turned that around and scattered things that made sound easily on the ground, you could immediately be wary of something approaching. Of course it did not necessarily have to be twigs. Depending on the season there were ways to use natural snow or puddles made by rain, I explained. The students who heard my explanation stamped their feet as if impressed. But Roy made a difficult face and raised one hand so I nodded and told him to speak.
“Among us there are people good at presence detection and magic-power detection. Wouldn’t it be fine to keep using those at all times?”
“Good point, Roy. When you don’t have time or you’re in a hurry that’s fine. But what you must not forget is that both of them strain your nerves so your body cannot rest. There’s no point getting tired when you’re camping to rest. And more than anything, because it’s a primitive method their guard gets sloppy and they get caught.”
“I see… and because we’re in the middle of a journey, right?”
“That’s right. Today is training so it’s fine, but originally you camp in the middle of a journey and the next day you have to walk the road too. Thinking that, you’d want to focus on healing fatigue even a little, right?”
I looked over the students and asked. They consulted with the people around them then nodded with troubled faces. I told the students there was nothing wrong with that reaction, and that if stubbornness would trouble your comrades it was better to be honest. Just that consideration was important, you know? I said while laughing. The students and older sisters smiled too so I called it fine. Since we had the chance I told them to have the older sisters teach methods for devices. After a lively answer the students swarmed the older sisters.
For the record I had set my tent a little away in a place I could look over everyone. The older sisters would spend the night with the students and teach them a method of taking turns patrolling. I really could not hold my head up. When I tried to bow my head in thanks they slapped my shoulders… I folded my arms and laughed remembering that when Hilbyid came over with a difficult face. I tilted my head and asked “What’s wrong?” Hilbyid’s gaze wandered, then she opened her mouth as if it was hard to say.
“About the talk just now. If a party member you’re camping with is an enemy, what should you do?”
“…You needed that explanation too, Hilbyid. Sorry. Right. Simply put, if you can’t rest you can only stay awake. But if you don’t rest the next day won’t last, right?”
“That’s right. Your mind can’t rest.”
“Thought so. Changing the subject, do you know how female adventurers protect themselves from male adventurers?”
“Eh…? No, normally be wary… no, but then…”
I looked sideways at Hilbyid folding her arms and putting one hand to her chin, thinking. I took a cylinder that looked like a brush at a glance from my Magic Bag and handed it to Hilbyid. I told her it was a magic tool. She reacted with surprise and started looking hard at the cylinder. I started explaining as is. Apparently there was a time quite a while ago when cases of female adventurers being attacked happened a lot. What the kingdom, other countries, and each guild created then was the magic tool Hilbyid was holding now.