Chapter 68
“Aren’t you hot?”
“Hot. So hot. Let’s eat quickly and get going.”
Ellen answered without a moment’s hesitation. Indeed, she had already started sweating.
“We’re scheduled to leave Quinter territory the night after tomorrow, right? Then we’ll cross Eston territory and head to Brubon territory.”
“Yeah.”
Ellen sighed and pulled a map out of her pocket. She laid it diagonally on the table so Roil could see it as well and pointed to their current location.
“Wouldn’t it be better if we ran this afternoon and tomorrow morning and got out of Quinter territory quickly? If we slightly adjust the route like this, we might be able to sleep in Eston territory tomorrow night. Though we’d arrive in the middle of the night.”
“Then we’d have to camp tonight. Isn’t it hard to start the trip by camping? One night of camping really drains your energy. Wouldn’t it be better to just wear our cloaks whenever we stop in a village? It’s only for two days anyway.”
Roil spoke after pausing for a moment, having considered the route Ellen had drawn with her finger. He lowered his voice slightly as he finished, not wanting to appear suspicious.
“…Right. Let’s not change the plan. I was overreacting; it’s just a bit hot.”
Ellen paused, then bit her lip lightly and spoke.
Roil immediately realized what must have crossed her mind for a moment. Trauma is truly terrifying. Even though it had been over ten years, Ellen had not yet fully overcome it. Roil himself couldn’t claim he had completely.
At that moment, a waiter brought the food.
“Biscuit soup, salad, and chicken pie. Do you need anything else?”
“Oh, honey mead, please. You too?”
“Yeah.”
“Two glasses, then.”
Ellen, looking exhausted after just two minutes, ordered a drink she usually didn’t even touch. She needed something sweet.
Though called honey mead, it was more of a honey drink with very low alcohol content.
After the waiter returned to the kitchen, Ellen put the map back in her pocket and picked up her fork.
“Oh, this is good.”
She took a big bite of the chicken pie, her eyes widening in surprise.
“Oh? Really.”
She hadn’t expected much from the shabby restaurant, but the food suited her taste perfectly. Roil nodded, apparently thinking the same.
The two of them quietly started eating. Hungry as they were, their fork and knife movements were fast yet composed.
When they had nearly finished the chicken pie, Roil spoke.
“Ellie, let’s push ourselves today and tomorrow.”
“Huh?”
Ellen set down her glass after taking a sip of honey mead.
“This plan isn’t something you’re changing—it’s me. I realized the Roanoke mansion has been empty for quite some time, so there will be a lot to do when we arrive. I just want to move the schedule up a bit.”
Roil’s attempt to justify it was transparent. Ellen laughed, tears forming in her eyes as she did.
“Why… why are you crying? Did I mess up? Was my reason too shallow?”
Roil asked, flustered, and Ellen shook her head.
“No. No, it’s not that.”
“So we’re hurrying today and tomorrow?”
Fortunately, the tears brimmed but didn’t fall. Seeing her nod with a smile, Roil felt relieved.
“Then shall we adjust the route a bit?”
Roil pulled out the map from his pocket. After pushing the empty plates to one side, Ellen and Roil huddled over it and revised their path.
“…So, how about this? If we skip the villages, it’s a shorter distance and easier for camping.”
“Yeah. Since we just ate, we can go slowly for a while, then run. We need to find a camping spot before sunset. As for dinner… should we have it packed?”
“Let’s do that. The warehouse has preservation magic, so we could even buy enough for breakfast and lunch tomorrow.”
“How about storing about five meals in advance?”
Roil suggested, thinking it a good idea.
“Hmm. Even with preservation magic, I don’t want old food. And if we’re putting it in the warehouse, why not ask for food from our own home? It’ll taste so much better.”
“True.”
After all, food from Quinter would taste far better than what’s sold at common restaurants. Roil nodded in agreement.
“Let’s think of the warehouse as short-term storage and enjoy eating various foods during our journey.”
“Sounds good.”
Contacting home to order packed meals was always possible. Ellen and Roil decided to try it while it was convenient, considering it a novel experience. Of course, they were confident enough to do this worry-free.
“Ah! Sorry, sorry. Are you okay?”
A waiter rushing over to Roil collided with a seated customer. Despite the customer being larger, the waiter immediately apologized profusely.
“I’m fine. Keep the change.”
Seeing that the customer, armed with a sword, was as tall as Roil, the waiter’s face immediately brightened at the gesture.
As they watched the customer leave quickly, Roil asked the waiter,
“Why are you so happy if the restaurant owner will get it anyway?”
“My father said he gives me 40% of the tips.”
Ah, the waiter was the restaurant owner’s son. Roil finally understood.
“I’d like to order six packed meals.”
“What menu should I prepare?”
“Just mix appropriately. Two for tonight, four for tomorrow’s breakfast and lunch.”
“Understood.”
Once the packed meals were ready, Ellen put them in her pocket, and they left the restaurant. Ellen quickly retrieved their horse and mounted, urging Roil to depart. Once out of town and into the open, she removed her cloak.
“Much better now.”
Ellen stuffed the cloak into her pocket, looking much lighter.
“What about Nesh?”
“Probably hunting. He’ll come if we call.”
Roil finally realized Nesh hadn’t been visible for a while.
“Ne—shuuuu! We’re off!”
Ellen shouted so loudly it echoed through the town without looking back. Soon after, a “meow” sounded from above, and Nesh landed on Jenny’s back.
After walking their horses for about thirty minutes to digest, they started running.
Both Mars, used as a war horse, and Jenny were very resilient. Even while Ellen couldn’t care for her, Jenny had apparently received consistent care and training. Thanks to this, Ellen and Roil could ride for quite a while.
After a long stretch of walking and running, the sun began to set.
“Roil!”
Roil, running half a step ahead, pulled the reins at Ellen’s call.
“I was just about to stop anyway. We should look for a good spot now.”
Roil pulled out the map.
“Have we reached the place we marked earlier?”
Ellen glanced back and forth between the map and surroundings, unsure. All she could see were forests, trails suitable for horses, and trees—she couldn’t tell their exact location on the map.
“Really? I just called because the sun started setting.”
“Look over there, that rock formation. That’s the Dwarf Rock.”
“The Dwarf Rock? Not sure.”
The Dwarf Rock was said to resemble a dwarf. Legends said a dwarf angered a dragon and turned to stone, or a passing dwarf napped and got inspired to shape it there.
“Yeah. Now that I know it’s the Dwarf Rock, I recognize it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know.”
Roil muttered about how imaginative people used to be.
“So, we’ll camp there?”
“Probably. We’ll know for sure once we get closer.”
The area near Dwarf Rock was perfect for camping, with traces of previous travelers’ fires. Ellen and Roil began picking spots for the fire and beds.
“Are you really okay? You’ve never slept outside before.”
“We used to go camping, remember?”
Ellen replied casually.
“Back then, we at least had a tent. And there were more people…”
Roil paused. The “people” he meant were Eunho and Hyesuh’s families.
“…And you. Back then and now.”
Ellen, picking up a small stone, paused as well, then smiled at Roil.
“What would I have done in this world without you? Thank you for being here with me, even here.”
Blushing, Ellen avoided his gaze as she removed her gloves. Feeling the relief in her hands, she pulled the packed meals and canteen from her pocket. Roil’s ears reddened as he received the meals.
Even after dinner, the sun hadn’t fully set, leaving them with nothing to do. While Ellen placed the water bowl near the grazing horse, Roil gathered branches.
“Planning to make a fire?”
“Yes,” Roil replied, pulling a blue box from his pocket.
“Oh! There it is!”
Excited, he carefully opened the box for the first time. Inside were magical fire-starting tools and a yellow coin-sized orb. He rummaged and took out a red orb as well. Comparing them, he returned the yellow one and closed the box.
Ellen had never seen such a tool and didn’t know what the small orb was, so she watched with fascination.
“I used this a lot in the war. Using it again now.”
Roil clicked the tool a couple of times, and the branches instantly caught fire.
“Oh, nice. It’s just like a lighter. I thought I’d have to use flint or rub sticks together. But what’s that?”
Seeing him holding something in the other hand, Ellen asked. Roil handed the round object to her.
“Now, step back a bit.”
Ellen obeyed, watching him for instructions.
“Throw it into the fire.”
“This? Just like this?”
“Yeah.”
Without hesitation, Ellen tossed the orb into the fire. With a ‘pop!’ it exploded, sending red smoke swirling and filling the air with a strong smell of cow dung.
