“Raise the Kuwol royal family’s flag as high as you can at both camps.”
“What’s the point of doing that?” Tiriya asked, tilting his head.
“From here on out, we’ll split into small teams and comb a large area. But keeping your sense of direction in this jungle isn’t easy. That’s why I want two landmarks we can use to judge our relative position at all times.”
“I see,” Tiriya replied with a nod of understanding, “we’ll be able to use triangulation to estimate our location.”
“Exactly.”
Every squad would also have a compass, but it was never a good idea to rely solely on a single tool. If any team lost their compass or failed to read it correctly, they’d be lost.
“I’ll oversee the eastern camp. Elmersia, you’ll take charge of the western one. That way, we’ll have a healer ready at both locations in case of emergencies. If you sense any danger at all, return to camp immediately.”
The fundamentals of healing and strengthening magic were closely related, so anyone who studied strengthening magic could also use basic healing magic.
Yuhette raised her hand and asked, “How do we measure the amount of mana in each location?”
“Apparently, Elmersia used strengthening magic to absorb some of the surrounding mana and then transferred it to a magesteel plate. She measured the discharge of the plate, but that’s something only a mage can do, so we’ll be using a different method this time.”
I took a manameter out of my pocket. It looked like an old-school mercury thermometer, but the inside was filled with a thin sheet of magesteel instead of liquid mercury. Magesteel expanded as it absorbed mana, and I came up with the idea for these manameters after blowing up my Blast Rifle’s magazine to take down a sandworm back in Wa’s desert. It turned out that the explosion had been beneficial for science.
“These instruments measure the mana density of the surrounding area with relatively accurate precision. I’ll explain how to use them, so get your notebooks out, everyone. I’m also going to have you practice measuring the mana density of our camps.”
If they got the same results each time, that meant they were using them correctly. Thankfully, all of Shumar’s retainers were sharp enough to figure out how to use the manameter after a few tries. Their excessive loyalty may be troublesome, but they were good people.
“I’m also giving every squad a transceiver; use it to contact us in case of an emergency. And make sure you return before the sun sets.”
“Yes, sir!”
I then split our large group into small teams and sent them to their respective sectors.
I spread out a large map and waited for everyone to return. I couldn’t run around as freely as I could when I was younger, so my job was now to manage things. A little past noon, the investigation teams started trickling back in. This was around the time I expected them to return as long as they didn’t run into any trouble. By the time the sun started to set, most teams had returned, but one group of Shumar’s retainers was still missing.
“Did something happen to them?” Friede muttered.
“I’m starting to get worried,” Yuhette said.
Tiriya sighed. “Not again...”
Seeing that, Iori chuckled. “I see retainers in every country are desperate to prove their loyalty. I assume they’re out working late to show how devoted they are to their task?”
Shumar smiled and asked, “Is it the same in Wa?”
“Absolutely. The people who work for the Chrysanthemum Court are no different. Funnily enough, there’s an organization known as Tsukumo that’s supposed to monitor them, but...” Iori trailed off with a frown.
She was part of the Heavenwatchers, an organization that existed to monitor and observe foreign nations. In contrast, Tsukumo’s job was to keep an eye on activities within the country. Because of the nature of their work, the two branches did not get along. However, if you asked me, they were more similar than different.
“Don’t worry, the Demon Army and the Commonwealth Council have the same problems too,” I said. “Once you become someone of importance, people rush to ingratiate themselves with you. It’s not right to blame them for it, and it’s not as if they’ll stop even if you tell them you don’t want their devotion.”
Shumar gave me a long stare. “I can tell you’re speaking from experience, professor.”
“Hahaha.”
Honestly, I’d seen that happen far more in my past life than this one. Corporate culture was rife with this kind of behavior. But I guess since you see it here too, it’s just a fundamental part of human nature...
Parker said in a worried voice, “Wanting to show loyalty is all well and good, but they were ordered to be back by sunset. Surely they must know they’ll be punished, not rewarded, for their lateness.”
“True, if they don’t come back soon, then—” Before I could finish that sentence, the last group finally returned to camp.
“Our sincerest apologies, Your Highness, we were so absorbed in our work that we lost track of time.”
“It took longer to get through the jungle than we thought too...”
The men all looked and sounded exhausted, but I could tell from the scent of their sweat that they didn’t actually feel all that tired. Chances were, they’d finished their work by noon and waited to make it look like they’d been working harder.
I shot Shumar a quick glance, and my expression alone was enough for him to figure out what was going on.
With a smile, he approached his retainers. “I appreciate your hard work, everyone. But remember that following orders is just as important as completing your tasks. Be sure to return before sunset tomorrow. I trust that men as capable and loyal as you can finish well before the appointed time.”
The men bowed their heads reverently.
“As you wish, Your Highness.”
“Thank you.”
Man, being in charge of other people is such a pain. I wish I could go back to being unimportant.
“All right, now that everyone’s here, let’s eat dinner. I killed some wolves that were sniffing around our supplies, so we’ll have Wa-style wolf teriyaki with sweet soy sauce tonight.”
“When did you manage to do that, Professor?!”
I mean, it’s not like I had anything else to do while waiting for you guys. As always, the Kuwolese people were lax about rules, but at least we finished the first day without incident. Unfortunately, the second day didn’t go as smoothly.