Chapter title:?Groups

『Then let me divide the troops first.』

The knight explained the method of this investigation.

『There are 180 of you in total. You will be divided into six groups, and one leader will be chosen to oversee each group. Then, each of the six groups will enter the forest from a remote location.』

Lost Forest is large, and it is certainly not possible for a large group of people to move around blindly.

『Then form the group into parties of six. We will expand in all directions around the party with the group leader and move northward.』

How can he suddenly command a large group of people?

『Proceed from there for three days, stay there for a day, and come back.』

I wasn’t the only one who was slightly relieved by those words.

What we were worried about was that we would be led deeper into the Lost Forest.

In the depths of the forest, there is the elven village, and further in there is the castle of the evil god.

It would be a hassle if the investigation went that far, and more importantly, there were powerful monsters deep in the forest.

「How do we elect a leader?」

When Russell raised his hand, the knight said.

『You have come from six different cities around the Royal City. You can choose your own leader from your own city, right?』

Well, that was well thought out.

There would be some people who would be repulsed if a complete stranger were to take the top position. But if it’s someone they approve of, it’s easier to accept.

「What about the soldiers of the kingdom?」

Russell’s question made the other adventurers also think about it.

A well-worn armor and a karma sword. He is an adventurer with the air of a seasoned veteran.

『We will be taking three men with each group. They will be tasked with documenting this investigation as well as assessing your work.』

The adventurers buzzed at these words.

Everyone understands. If you can make a name for yourself here, there is a chance that the government will take you in.

『If you see anything unusual, immediately tell the soldiers about it. We’ll be entering the forest in half a day, so in an hour the leaders of each group will gather before us.』

With that, the meeting was dismissed for the time being.

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「But then again, aren’t they using us after all?」

The leader of group became Russell-san.

He is currently going to the knights to get more information about the investigation of the lost forest.

「But it’s a chance for us to move up the social ladder. If we do well, maybe Russell-san can get the castle to take us in, right?」

Serena and I were also working with Russell-san in the adventurer’s guild, so we were kind of together.

「I think that Russell-san is pretty good, but even if he’s that strong, can’t he become a soldier?」

Serena uttered those words.

The two people who were talking.....

「In fact, it wasn’t long before I was offered a position as a soldier.....」

He said so in an awkward voice.

「At the time, we had just been picked up by Mr. Russell, and he said, ‘Can you leave us be?’ He turned down the chance to be a soldier.」

It was a very typical Russell story.

「So, we want to repay him. We want to show him how much we’ve grown through this adventure and send him on his way.」

He scrunched up his nose to hide his embarrassment. I looked at him with respect.