I’m Not Good at Offensive Magic, but I’ll Do My Best With Support Magic!

「It will take a month from here」
「Umu, if I do say so myself, it is a frontier」

We are traveling in one carriage with Rose-san and Laura-chan, the 4 of us and one driver.
In addition, 2 of Rose-san’s horsemen and 2 horses pulling the carriage, a total of 9 people and 4 horses are moving about in a lively manner.

「Frontier?」
「Because there is no town beyond our land. The first town across the border, so to speak, is my territory」
「Hee~」
「Hee~… Yuan, do you know what that means?」
「O-Of course!」

The proximity to the border means that lots of merchants and adventurers from other countries will visit.

「You don’t seem to understand with that look on your face. It also means that we’ll be the first target when they invade across the border」
「Isn’t that pretty dangerous?」
「If they crossed the border, yes」
「That’s why Rose-sama, who rules a frontier town, has a voice in this country」
「That’s why I was targeted, though」

She laughs at that, but I don’t think it is a laughing matter.

「What? My sons are doing well now, they will rule in time, and I am practically retired」
「I’m learning now too!」

The purpose of this visit to the city of Tanza was for Laura-chan’s social study.
In a way, I think she learned quite a bit.

「Besides, the frontier is not a very dangerous place, so feel free to spend your time in our town」
「What kind of place is Rose-san’s town?」

I know that the city is called Trentia, as indicated by part of Rose-san’s name.
On the contrary, I don’t know anything else.

「It was a place that was developed around a beautiful large lake. A place where the forest is a natural fortress」
「That’s one way of putting it. It’s just a small town」
「That’s not true. It’s hard to invade just by not being able to deploy an army」

Rose-san says to deny Shia-san’s words, but I think it is her usual prank. Snow-san is shaking her head, saying good grief.

「I see that Shia-san has been there」
「Un, I stopped by when I left the Republic of Artica」

It is natural that Shia-san is from a village of the Shadow Wolf Tribe. She said it was in the northern part of the Republic of Artica, I believe.

「I’ve been there myself, but as Shia said, the town’s uniqueness makes it hard to invade, it’s called an ironclad town. I’ve heard it’s also said to have a defense that makes full use of Trents」
「You mean that monster, Trent?」

It is famous as a monster that mimics trees.
I’ve heard stories of parties being caught by surprise and driven to the brink of destruction because they couldn’t tell the difference between them and the trees. Moreover, Trent s seem to have a tendency to live in groups, so by the time you noticed them, they had already surrounded you.

「The town is in such a dangerous location!」
「If not controlled, they would be dangerous」

So, in other words, they can be controlled in some way.

「Of course, that is a secret. It is our lifeline, you might say」

As expected, she couldn’t tell us, but that’s natural.

「But can a town survive in such a place?」

Does being surrounded by forest mean that resources will not be scarce?

「On the contrary, we get help from the bounty of the forest. I am still learning, but thanks to the abundance of resources, livestock can be raised and fish can be caught from the lake. Iron and other ores are not so plentiful, though」

Laura-chan answers my questions.
She seems to have a good understanding of the features of her town, as she is in the middle of her studies.

「That being the case, the town’s inhabitants are not in shortage of food, at least. Besides, being on the frontier, the Imperial City provides a lot of support」
「That is true. If there is an invasion, the country will suffer less damage if the invasion is suppressed in Trentia. The hardliners seem to understand this and are very supportive」

In a way, it is an advantage of being in the frontier.
That could be dangerous in an emergency, though.

「Rose-sama, the sun is about to set. I believe we should make camp around here, if you don’t mind」
「Umu, I’ll leave it to your decision」
「Understood!」

The sun was beginning to set, just as the driver said it would. But is it my imagination, or does it seem a little early to be setting up camp?

「Yuan, your face looks strange」
「Ah, yes. The sun is still up」

If I had a clock, it would point to about 4:00 pm.
Since summer is just around the corner, there will still be about 2 hours before dark.

「Maybe so, in an adventurer’s sense. But Rose-sama and the others are not adventurers」
「Ah… that’s right」
「Long distance travel is hard on old people and children」

They laugh at me when I say that’s right, but if I rise in adventurer rank from now on, there is a possibility that I may receive requests to escort nobles.
There is a possibility that we may decide the time of the encampment at our discretion, so we must not only proceed, but also pay attention to the physical condition of our escort.
I apologize for what I said to Rose-san.

「Good, good, that’s how you grow up」
「Yes, I’m glad my first escort request was from Rose-san」

I mean, it’s the first time I’ve escorted a noble. If it was just a normal escort, I did it with Zack-san.

「Well then, we will be ready to set up camp before dark, would you adventurers like to help us?」
「I understand. Now, Shia-san and Snow-san, you take care of the perimeter, while Kiara-chan and I will help out」

I give instructions to the party members. I am the leader, after all.
The reasons for their roles?
There is no particular reason. I didn’t think Shia-san might not be good at it or that Snow-san has never done it before, okay?
Yeah, really.

「Hey Shia. Yuan’s face, doesn’t she look like she thinks it would be a disaster if she left it to us?」
「That’s not true. Right place, right time… can you Snow?」
「… Can not」
「Then, do what you have to do」
「Something doesn’t add up, but I understand」

I think the 4 of us will be doing it from beyond Trentia, though, so I’ll have them do it then.
If so, it would be good to have them get used to it now, but it would be better if we, who are used to it, do it first.

「What can we help you with?」

Driver…I ask Mist-san for instructions. If we prepare for encampment without permission, it may cause trouble, you know.

「Yes, I will prepare a place for Rose-sama and the others to rest, could you please prepare a fire?」
「Okay, I got it」

When we make bonfires, we often procure food locally. However, we are located in a flat area, and when searching for firewood, I have to go to a place a little far from the site.
But I am an auxiliary magician!
I take firewood out of the storage.

「Yuan-san, I would like to water my horse」
「I understand. Kiara-chan, please take care of the bonfire」
「Yeah i understand」

I heard that Kiara-chan was a poor adventurer like me, so she is used to preparing for encampment, so I will leave that to her.

「I’ll take this bucket, please」
「Ok」

Traveling requires large quantities of food and water.
However, preparing them is a considerable amount of work, which is hard on the horses and slows down their progress.
So I have told Rose-san in advance that I can prepare water.

「That’s incredibly convenient. I don’t think a knight like us could ever imitate it」
「I’m good at auxiliary magic」

I fill the bucket with water and cast Clean Wash on the horse for his hard work. It properly works on the animals too.
He shook his nose and squealed happily. It might have been my imagination, though.

「Yuan-san, I’m done」
「Understood」

It looks like the fire is ready and Kiara-chan has called me over, so I head over there next.

「How is it?」
「I don’t think it will be a problem. It just makes it easier to get the fire going」

This has been my experience with many encampments.
Stack fine tree branches and dead grass in the center, and thick branches, which are difficult to burn, should be supported by each other so that a cavity is created inside.

「If you light a fire with this, it will burn right away」
「I’m learning a lot!」

Glad we didn’t get a chance to stay at the inn!
I’ve spent too much time in inns these days, so I think it’s good to camp out once in a while.
No, inns are still a luxury, so camping out is best!

「I’ll light the fire then」

Kiara-chan can use magic, but she seems to be good at wind and earth magic and not so good at fire magic.
This seems to be a characteristic of elves. There seem to be exceptions among them, though.
Mist-san has finished his preparations and is ready for the bonfire.
All that was left was to eat and prepare our tent.
The tent can be set up quickly with the 4 of us, so we prepare our meals first.
In my case, however, I just take it out of storage, so no special preparation is required.
After all, when I explained and demonstrated it to Rose-san, she ordered a huge amount of food at the Platinum Pavilion, and I stored it all!
Of course, the money is Rose-san to pay. We are grateful that we will be getting it as well.
Breakfast and lunch will be simple meals, though, because of travel.

「Shia-san, Snow-san, come to dinner…」

I’ll give them the meal.
When I went to call out to them, a surprising scene unfolded.

The two lookouts were facing each other, holding their weapons seriously.