Arata found himself exhausted. There was, in fact, a lot of ground to cover that day, going around the mountains. Arata’s legs were screaming by the time he reached the camp. Luckily, Arata had Ravenna transport him to the theater for pit stops throughout the trip, giving him plenty of time to rest. They were camping up against the side of some rocks. Tomorrow they’d have to cross a river.

  Maybe that’ll be useful once I reach the frontlines. Can Ijust retreat into the theater, then sleep? Works for me~ don’t think Ravenna will like the idea though. Arata chuckles a little to himself at the idea.

  Morgan lets out a sigh, “Hey, Alexander, since we’ll be camping here for the night, get Arata to light a fire for you! Cook up a meal now. I’m starving.”

  Alexander chuckles as he nods, tying back his long brown hair into a ponytail. Despite being particularly short, he had a muscular build and was naturally the smartest of the company.

  Arata, while gathering wood, looks to Alexander. Among Morgan’s squad, it’s only a band of five: Leon, Gavian, Alexander, Albert and Morgan themself.

  “Oh, impressive initiative, Arata. I see why Sir Morgan has taken a liking to you. Fret not, I will prepare everyone’s meal just like always. You should go ask Gavian about where the tents need to be placed.” Alexander points Arata towards an older man, his beard had begun to gray and his darker skin was littered with scarring from past battles.

  The man’s eyes drill down at Arata as he towers over him, his glare darkens as he squints his gray eyes. He slowly begins to speak, “Sorry Arata, the truth is I wanted to get ya to ride old retriever here, but I had bags to carry. I’ll help you set up some tents, show you the ropes.”

  Retriever, it’s his horse… wonder where the name came from. I’ll ask him later, but they don’t know I can set up a tent. I went camping with my family-

  These were not modern tents. Arata was nigh instantly humbled. “Please show me the ropes then, Sir Gavian… much appreciated.” Arata sighs, defeated, he slouches over.

  “AHAHAHA, you young folk are a riot, no one can do this shit first try, but it’s a funny thing seeing your attempt.” The man’s heavy hand slammed into Arata’s back. Even though he had trained, Arata was quickly reminded that the knights had trained longer than him with how firm the “pat” on the back was.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Ouch! Gaa… whatever, I’ll get used to it. Arata picked up tent-making quite quickly, it took him 20 minutes to assemble a tent. Though he couldn’t help but think. How long until we reach the frontlines? Everyone wants their own tent. Six in total is two hours of tent making.

  “Hey Arata~ whatcha doing?” Over him peers an unshaven blonde man, giggling at Arata’s misfortune. “Ooooh, is that my tent? Don’t mind if I-”

  “Don’t get your hopes up Albert, I am setting up Morgan’s tent first; Morgan is our commander after all. I am making their tent first. Shouldn’t you practice manners, set a good example for Elizabeth?” Arata glances in annoyance.

  Albert lets out a groan, “You complain like my wife does! she’s only two right now. Can’t I enjoy being one of the boys for another good year? I don’t wanna become like my dad, he got all old and boring…”

  Arata lets out another sigh, rebutting his point with, “How’d you know what he was like before if he got all jaded because of you?” An awkward silence begins to settle in between the two men. Silently, Albert begins to work on tents himself. Arata snickers a little, having won the battle.

  Suddenly, the voice of Alexander echoes throughout the camp, “Food’s ready, everyone come and eat, it’s stew!”

  Arata makes his way to the campfire, getting himself a bowl of the food. Morgan and Leon came out of the bushes, close to a river. Sighing in defeat, “We found no way around, real pain in the ass to get through, tomorrow, you’re up, Arata!”

  I gotta get the horses across? Should be fine but… I don’t wanna think about it right now. “Hey, can I eat for now? You don’t need the tents done for hours anyway.”

  Morgan nods their head. Meanwhile, the rest of the party sits down. The stew is an amalgamation of potato, sausage, and seemingly whatever vegetables with no rhyme or reason. Yet everyone chuckled and laughed through its disgusting unsalted taste. The taste was never an appeal.

  I still remember, I was training all day, my muscles ached and I smelled something from the barracks kitchen. I didn’t know Alexander’s cooking sucked yet. I was just done training with Alexander when we sparred all day long… it sucked, my muscles were destroyed, and I still saw him in the kitchen.

  His muscles moved stiffly. He could barely chop vegetables, yet he still put something on the table for everyone. Taste isn’t what makes his meals great… when no one else wants to cook, convenience for me is best!

  Arata chuckles to himself as he crunches down on the interior of a slimy potato. He hears Leon bickering with Albert, “Hey, Albert! You took two sausages, you pig! Are you trying to get your dad’s gut too? Share some.”

  Despite having set up all the tents, when time finally came to sleep, there was instead a duel. Gavian was the referee between Albert and Leon. Alexander and Morgan both cheered on from the sides, Arata was the only one trying to sleep. Isn’t this just like babysitting a bunch of kids? I guess the professional image of knights isn’t always a constant. They like to have fun too.