Chapter 24: Exploration Plan
“Who among the current Knight Order has superior swordsmanship, or possesses extensive experience in battling monsters?”
Lei Wen inquired of Elif, who stood beside him, as he browsed through the resident data of the fiefdom.
Upon hearing this, Elif pondered for a moment before replying:
“Currently, there are only five knights left in the Knight Order. If we’re talking about superior swordsmanship, I think Ryan would be most suitable. As for experience battling monsters… I believe Cleveland would be competent.
“He is a veteran discharged from the battlefield. In his earlier years, he participated in many campaigns alongside the King. A certain country incorporated captured monsters into their army, and Cleveland participated in the battles against that country and survived.”
Cleveland…
Lei Wen meticulously searched through the data of those 78 fiefdom citizens and quickly found the name of the retired veteran, Cleveland.
【 Citizen Name: Cleveland 】
【 Age: 40 】
【 Occupation: Guard Knight 】
【 Special Ability: None 】
【 Loyalty: 90 （ Max 100 ） 】
【 Life Experience: In Kingdom Calendar Year 108, Cleveland was born into a fisherman’s family. 】
【 In Kingdom Calendar Year 125, Cleveland joined the Aindook Army and participated in the war. 】
【 In Kingdom Calendar Year 136, Cleveland retired. By the time he returned home, his parents had already passed away. With nowhere else to go, Cleveland returned to the army as a guard. 】
【 In Kingdom Calendar Year 148, he protected the Third Prince Lei Wen as they traveled to the fiefdom. 】
Looking at the man’s profile, Lei Wen couldn’t help but fall into thought.
Elif, standing beside him, spoke with a look of regret:
“Alas, if only Lord Geralt were still here…”
Hearing this name, Lei Wen gave a slight start.
“Geralt?”
The original owner’s memories did seem to contain this name.
Elif couldn’t help but let out a sigh, his eyes filled with worry and regret:
“Lord Geralt was the most skilled lord in the Knight Order. He had defeated countless terrifying monsters, but not long ago, Lord Geralt, in order to protect everyone, single-handedly drew away a group of monsters attacking the caravan, and then he never returned…”
After Elif’s explanation, Lei Wen’s memories of Geralt became clear.
At that time, the caravan was passing through a vast forest when they were unexpectedly encountered by a group of Axew.
That group of Axew treated them as intruders who had entered their territory and launched a fierce attack towards them with the fangs within their pack.
Geralt, in order to protect them, single-handedly drew away that group of Axew, and then never returned.
Although Axew Pokémon are gentle in nature, they show no mercy to those who invade their territory, tearing apart intruders with their immense, iron-cutting, axe-like fangs.
Facing such a terrifying group of Pokémon, that Geralt must now be in dire straits.
Moreover, Lei Wen had searched everywhere among the citizens but could not find his name.
“Then it will be Ryan and Cleveland. I need them to thoroughly explore the vicinity of the fiefdom.” Lei Wen paused, then asked, “Are there any individuals within the fiefdom skilled in painting? I need them to help draw a map of the surroundings, as well as the types of monsters in the area.”
“Painting…” Elif recalled carefully and then said, “There is one! There’s a young girl who loves to paint. I remember her name seems to be Christina. What she draws looks like the real thing; even the King praised her painting skills!”
Christina…
Lei Wen searched through the names and soon found hers.
【 Citizen Name: Christina 】
【 Age: 19 】
【 Occupation: None 】
【 Special Ability: None 】
【 Loyalty: 80 （ Max 100 ） 】
【 Life Experience: In Kingdom Calendar Year 129, Christina was born into a merchant family. 】
【 In Kingdom Calendar Year 143, Christina entered the Aindook Academy to study painting. 】
【 In Kingdom Calendar Year 146, Christina became a royal court painter. 】
【 In Kingdom Calendar Year 148, she accompanied the Third Prince Lei Wen to the fiefdom. 】
Court painter? Lei Wen was somewhat surprised, it seemed this girl’s painting skills were exceptionally high.
In that case, he could rest easy.
Ryan and Cleveland would be responsible for exploration and combat, while Christina would be able to sketch the surrounding map and the residing Pokémon.
It’s a shame Anna hasn’t grown stronger yet.
Otherwise, with Zorua’s 【 Illusion 】 ability, they would be perfect scouting personnel.
Seeing that His Highness intended to have these three explore the surroundings, Elif spoke up:
“Ryan and Cleveland are currently helping out at the logging camp, felling trees and building houses. Christina is with the Gathering Team, responsible for gathering berries. If Your Highness wishes to see them, I will go and summon them for you.”
With the help of the Abomasnow, the progress at the logging camp had increased significantly.
Coupled with Dratini’s ability to use 【 Thunder Wave 】 for fishing, and the three Abomasnow’s daily berry yield, there was no immediate concern for food within the fiefdom.
In such a situation, temporarily assigning a few people to exploration would not significantly impact the overall situation.
“Bring them here!” Lei Wen nodded.
“Yes!”
Elif left the tent and, after a short while, returned with the three individuals to Lei Wen’s side.
Lei Wen looked up; he recognized Ryan among the three.
Cleveland was a tall, weathered man with a grim scar on his face, a middle-aged man.
Christina, on the other hand, was a serene and lovely blonde girl.
“Your Highness, what business do you have with us?” Ryan, one of the three, asked with considerable curiosity.
The other two also cast their gazes in their direction.
Cleveland and Christina had never spoken to this prince before today, and they were filled with confusion, unsure of why the prince had summoned them.
Under their gazes, Lei Wen slowly began to speak, “I have a very important mission to entrust to the three of you. This matter concerns the future of everyone in the fiefdom.”
Hearing this, the three were slightly taken aback.
Lei Wen did not play coy and instead stated,
“I need the three of you to form an investigation team and be responsible for exploring the areas around this fiefdom, and some places a bit further out—Christina, I need you to depict all of this in the form of a map. Furthermore, every monster you encounter on your journey must be recorded and brought back for my review.”
Christina, suddenly called upon, was a bit slow to react. Listening to the request, she quickly responded, “Yes… yes!”
“Cleveland, you possess extensive experience in battling monsters; I hope you will protect Christina well. Ryan, I need you to assist Cleveland with your martial arts,” Lei Wen said.
Exploring Cleveland could be understood, but recording every monster encountered puzzled Cleveland greatly.
Did His Highness intend to capture them, chain them, and forcibly compel them to work?
Much like the monsters in the Royal City.
That would be one thing, but the problem was having them escort a weak little girl who couldn’t even lift a finger.
Cleveland was acutely aware of the terrifying nature of some monsters, but recalling the prince’s actions these past few days, Cleveland felt that the prince was not that kind of person.
There might be some unspoken intentions behind this.
Compared to him, Ryan was much more direct.
“Does Your Highness intend to do something?” he asked.
Lei Wen nodded, his expression serious,
“To be candid, with our current charcoal reserves, we only have enough for about a month. And it’s only December, not yet the coldest time.
“The temperature will only gradually rise towards the end of February. If it doesn’t snow during this period, it’s fine, but once a blizzard hits, and with the charcoal depleted, we will have no means of warming ourselves.
“In extreme cold, adults like us might be able to endure with our physical strength, but children and the elderly might not fare as well.
“Therefore, I am sending you out to seek monsters that can breathe fire. I wish to utilize their power for warmth.”
Upon hearing this, everyone was slightly taken aback.
“Your Highness wants to utilize the power of monsters?”
Lei Wen nodded and said earnestly, “Our own human strength is insufficient, so we must rely on the power of monsters!”
Like those three Abomasnow? Cleveland thought.
“But Your Highness, with our current strength, even if we find monsters that can breathe fire, we may not be able to control them,” Cleveland said calmly.
“You need not worry about that. As long as you find the corresponding monsters, I will have a way.”
Hearing this, Ryan became completely excited.
“I know! It’s like Anna and her little monster!”
These days, he often saw Anna training with that little monster outside.
Anna could even command the little monster to attack.
And that was something only a Monster Tamer could do.
To control powerful monsters and make them fight for you—Ryan also longed for such power!
“Don’t worry, Prince Lei Wen!” Ryan stretched his wrists. “Mission guaranteed to be completed!”
Lei Wen didn’t know what Ryan was thinking. Seeing him agree, he nodded,
“Additionally, besides fire-type monsters, I hope you can also help me find some other monsters.”
With that, he handed Christina a drawing he had made on parchment with a feather pen, depicting “monsters.”
The three looked closely and saw that it was filled with strangely shaped creatures, barely recognizable in appearance.
So, so abstract! Christina’s eyes widened, she couldn’t help but think.
No, I mustn’t be so disrespectful to Prince Lei Wen!
Lei Wen, however, did not notice their reactions.
He looked at the Pokémon he had drawn from memory and silently recalled their abilities.
Mareep, an Electric-type Pokémon. Its wool can be used to weave clothing, and female Mareep can produce Mareep milk. If electricity is invented in the future, they can also help the fiefdom generate power.
Simisage, Simisear, and Simipour.
All three are very common Pokémon in the Unova Region. The Grass-type Simisage has leaves on its head that relieve fatigue and can use Grass-type energy to care for crops.
Simisear, a Fire-type Pokémon, is skilled at roasting fruit with the fire on its head, reaching temperatures of over 300℃, making it extremely suitable for firing bricks, cement, and charcoal.
As for the Water-type Simipour, the water in the hair on their heads is full of nutrients. If plants are watered with it, they will grow vigorously.
Garbodor likes to eat trash and can serve as the fiefdom’s garbage disposal.
Trubish makes concrete, and with them, the fiefdom can directly use concrete to build houses.
Cherubi, the leaves growing on this Pokémon’s head can relieve fatigue and restore spirits, and can be used to make invigorating tea.
In addition, there are Combee, who can brew honey.
And Potter, who can help with fermentation and brewing Berry Juice and wine.
Given their location in the Unova Region, some Pokémon might not be present.
Therefore, Lei Wen did not draw the patterns of Miltank, Blissey, Wooloo, or Golem on it.
