I, reincarnate as the leader of the villainous knight order

Chapter 79: Speeding Up While Taking a Break

“If you want to take the shortest route to the capital, you should head in the direction I flew! It’s the same direction as where Orel is!”

With those words, Jest, in the form of a dragon, soared into the sky and flew away. It seems like they have a sense of direction comparable to migratory birds, perhaps a unique ability of species that travel through the air.

“Let’s head to the capital via the shortest route! Sorry to the saint, but you’ll have to stick with us until we’re out of the danger zone. Don’t sit in the front, it’ll slow us down. Ride behind Captain Axel and hold on tight.”

“Yes! I’ll be fine!”

What I’ve learned during this journey is that the holy knights aren’t very accustomed to fighting monsters. While it would be faster to rush ahead with just the Third Knight Order, splitting up here might not lead to total annihilation, but it’s expected to cause significant casualties among the holy knights.

“All right. Let’s go!”

We have no choice but to hurry to the area where the holy knights can manage on their own. Unlike the ascent, the descent should be much faster. Around midday, Jest returned. Taking a break, he landed on the ground after transforming back into his humanoid form.

“I’m back! You know, when I flew into town, Orel and the others hurried over. When I transformed right in front of them, everyone in the Orel’s squad was so surprised… Hehe. It was really funny! I made sure to give Orel the letter!”

“I see. Thank you for your hard work. Everyone, let’s take a break here for a moment. Give the horses some water too. Make sure to drink yourselves.”

As I dismounted and stroked Jest’s head as he clung to me, I gave instructions to my subordinates. They took out water for themselves and the horses from their magic bags and sat down to rest as they pleased.

“Hey, Jest, are you tired? Want some water? Or fruit juice?”

“Fruit juice! Oh, and are there any snacks left that I had with Mom?”

“There’s still some left. This one is softer because it has milk in it… Here.”

“Yay!”

Jest was referring to one of the snacks we made before leaving for the capital, called “Sata Andagi.” I made both versions, with and without milk, as the texture changes whether you add milk or not. I preferred the one with milk, which had a chewier texture, so I brought it as a gift.

Since the sugar content was half that of the flour, it was easy to remember the ingredients, and it was one of the snacks I often made for my younger brothers. Seeing Jest enjoying it in his human form warmed my heart, but I quietly exhaled to maintain my composure in case my subordinates noticed.

“Captain, I want some too.”

“Sure thing. Can I have a piece, Jest?”

“Yeah! It tastes even better when everyone eats together!”

“Jest, you’re such a good kid. Ahh, munch munch… It’s my first time eating it, but it’s delicious…”

“Speak after you swallow.”

“Mmm…”

I made them small enough to be eaten in one bite, but even so, Jest, in their humanoid form, took three bites to finish one. They couldn’t speak properly while chewing.

“Hey, give some to those guys over there who are giving you dirty looks.”

“Okay!”

I handed the Sata Andagi in a wooden bowl to Simon. There was only one left, but it would serve as a small energy boost.

When Simon distributed them to the others, I could see relief on everyone’s faces. Oh, Simon’s trying to hide the remaining piece with his body and come back here. Oh, the saint approached. Ah, she must have wanted it; she smiled when I handed it to her, but returned with a hopeless expression afterward.

“Captain… I came to return the bowl…”

“Haha, oh, thanks for that. Here, I have one more for you. Keep it a secret from the others.”

“Captain…”

I took out one more from the magic bag and handed it to Simon. After all, Simon was the one who had been leading the charge in fighting monsters. It’s okay to reward him once in a while.

After cleaning up the bowl with a purification spell, Jest finished eating and was waiting for the signal to move out.

“All right, let’s get going! Jest, are you going to ride the horse like that? It might be bumpy, you know?”

“I’ll be fine! I’ll ride behind Justin!”

I tried to lift Jest onto my beloved horse, Eleanor, but his physical abilities seemed unexpectedly high, so he jumped onto my back. Due to the difference in size, he couldn’t wrap his arms around my waist, but he clung tightly.

“Jest, if you’re cold, you can get inside the cloak.”

“I’m still okay! It seems like I’m more resistant to cold than when I’m in my dragon form.”

“I see. Don’t overdo it. Is everyone ready? Let’s go!”

Thanks to Jest’s guidance and the gently sloping terrain, we reached the safety zone much earlier than expected. Since we didn’t know how long it would take to get there on the way, we had frequent breaks to conserve our stamina. With this pace, it seems like we’ll be able to reach the capital without being delayed by two days.

As we approached the capital, which was about half a day’s distance away by horse, we passed by people who had evacuated from the direction of the capital. We couldn’t rush through them with our horses, so we took a break and also listened to what the people there had to say. Although there had been small-scale stampedes, it seems like Orel and the others made it just in time.

Thanks to the saint, who had accompanied us until the last moment and cast sacred magic on us before parting, strangely, we didn’t feel tired. It would have been nice if everything had been settled by the time we arrived, but seeing people continuously fleeing from the direction of the capital dashed those hopes.

“We’re almost at the capital! Let’s finish this quickly and have a drink! My treat!!”

In response to my treat, my subordinates praised me one after another. I resolved to be careful no to let them didn’t bring out any of my high-quality liquor reserves and dashed towards the capital.

Original Author’s Comment:

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The picture of the Sata Andagi that appeared this time will be in the recent updates section.
(Although it’s April Fool’s, it’s not a lie!)

(Note:Here’s the link if you want https://kakuyomu.jp/users/azusa_s/news/16818093074742180852)