Chapter 418 – Side Story – As Soon as You Step on the Path (1)
A few unknown birds decorate the icy blue sky.
The clouds towering far away in the field of vision were pure white, as if symbolizing peace.
As I quietly watched the sky, the sound of the wind tickling the grass reached my ears.
The clouds move slowly and cover the sun.
The world becomes dark for a moment. The world, which had lost some of its brightness, seemed to have become slightly heavier than before.
However, that heaviness was short-lived, and after only a few minutes, the clouds flowed by and showed off their natural colors again.
Perhaps my eyes had adapted to the darkness in that short period of time, but the brightened world was clearer than before.
The flock of birds flying in the sky had disappeared to nowhere.
As if to replace them, birds flying from a different direction once again took their place.
Maybe the birds that were originally flying were running away from those birds.
Because it was so far away in the sky, it was difficult to tell whether those newly appeared creatures were birds or flying monsters.
It had nothing to do with anything on this earth.
As I continued to look at the sky with that thought in mind, my eyes became dazzling.
I closed my eyes for a moment.
Closer, closer…
What tickles your ears is the rhythmic sound of horse hooves hitting the ground.
Four per animal. The sound of a total of eight hooves hitting each other was so regular and loud that I was able to push it out of my consciousness.
But now I don’t just hate that noise.
The purring, breathing sound, grunt, grunt sound of a cartwheel often heard between the sound of a horse’s hooves.
Idyllic.
Okay. The word idyllic was a very appropriate way to express this feeling.
When I opened my eyes, the scenery right in front of me caught my eye.
The horse’s bottom keeps twitching before my eyes.
Even though it was just a piece of luggage, its fur was shiny as if it had received a lot of love.
The tail swaying left and right with every step caught my eye.
And the green grasslands on the left and right slowly approaching.
I approached the meadow, where the long grass only reached as high as my knees, and it disappeared behind me at a leisurely pace.
It was a scenery I had seen for hours in advance, and a scenery I would have to see for hours in the future.
If it were reality, it would have been like that. But to me, it was just a fun scene that I could enjoy until I got tired of it and then stop watching it at any time.
Rattling.
The wheels caught on the bumps in the road and the carriage shook.
Although there were roads, they were of course far from modern, well-paved roads.
It simply means a place where grass does not grow.
Still, since the road was not completely abandoned, the shaking was at a moderately tolerable level.
Step by step, many angles.
Rattling, rattling.
Somehow I got excited.
“Hmph, huh,~.”
I bobbed my body to the shaking of the carriage and hummed a song that came to mind spontaneously.
Perhaps it was because of my mood, but the sound of the horse’s hooves seemed to match the rhythm with my hum.
When one song was roughly over, the coachman, who had been quietly appreciating my singing voice, spoke to me.
“You sing well. Where is the song?”
“Ahaha. Thank you. “It’s just a song that just came to mind.”
“Is it? Too bad. I was wondering if I could listen to it again later.”
Yep. I guess so.
The song has its own confidence.
It was a hobby class, but I also went to an academy and took lessons. Even though she can’t sing like a celebrity, she can go to karaoke with her friends and listen to the exclamations.
The compliment made her feel good, so she played a few more songs.
There are limits to improvising, so I just arrange the actual song appropriately and hum along.
After I played the song to them, we became really close friends and started chatting about various things.
Surprisingly, the coachman had a gift for speaking.
After driving a carriage for a long time and talking to many people, I naturally got used to it.
Thanks to this, I was able to get to her destination without being bored.
“Ego. “Everyone has arrived.”
“Oh. Already?”
“I know. “It’s been a while since we had a good time chatting, so I came here quickly.”
“Then can you give me a reduction in the carriage fee?”
“Haha. “I’ll think about it if you can talk to me when I go back.”
“Hey, I have a place to go too. That’s difficult.”
Haha, hehe. There was a light laugh.
It was a light joke that we could share because we had no reason to get angry and have no intention of belittling each other.
Tak.
I got off the carriage and stepped on the hard ground.
I stretched and relaxed my sore body from sitting on the coach seat for several hours.
Why were you sitting in the carriage? That’s because this carriage is a pack horse.
It was just a case of paying for a wagon and getting a ride.
“Okay. “Where are you going now, young lady?”
“Well. “I’m going to go south first.”
“South? What was in the south?”
The coachman seemed to be recalling a map in his head, looking into space and wondering.
I answered with a grin.
“I don’t know either. So wouldn’t it be fun?”
“Huh. “This was an adventurer.”
“Sure. No, then what have you been looking at this for?”
Bang bang.
The armor covering her chest was pounded.
The well-polished iron plate sparkled in the sunlight.
“I thought he was just dressed to look like an adventurer. “The world is so cruel, there are a lot of girls like that.”
“Hey. Well, don’t worry though. Because I’m really strong.”
What the heck.
She raised one arm and showed off her biceps. Of course, it was a soft forearm with no biceps to be found.
The coachman laughed and passed it on.
“Okay. “If you say that, it would be absurd for me to say anything more.”
“What. “Not to that extent.”
“If that’s the case, I’m glad. I guess I should go before it gets really crazy.”
“Take care.”
“Okay. Miss, be careful too.”
The two horses, who were looking this way with their bright eyes closed, noticed when the driver climbed into the driver’s seat and took a stance.
Purr.
The shiny horse that had caught her eye since she was sitting in the coachman’s seat. When I stroked her buttocks, she lightly frowned and shook her head.
It wasn’t a sign of dislike.
“Oops.”
When the driver took the reins, the horses moved forward, looking at me with one eye as if they were disappointed.
Cute guys.
I watched the back of the carriage as it moved some distance away, then turned around.
I also have to go my own way.
“Ego. Then shall we go too? Flora?”
… But there was no answer.
“Oh, indeed.”
I scratched my head shyly.
Because I was alone on this trip.
Okay. Indeed, it’s been a long time… I think it’s probably the first time since I met Flora.
I went on a trip alone.
◆
It’s not like I fought with my colleagues or had a disagreement or anything like that.
Just because our kids had a little fight, they’re not the type of kids who say, ‘You’re expelled from our party.’ In the first place, I am also the leader.
Everyone is simply busy.
Flora is very busy with the royal family’s duties, and Asil also said that she is taking a break to see if there is something going on.
I was the only one unemployed with nothing to do.
Actually, this is not the first time something like this has happened. After defeating the Demon King, the trip ended and each person had their own daily lives, so there were inevitably times when the timing did not work out.
Until now, when time was not right, I would kill time by helping rebuild the castle or catching monsters that appeared nearby.
There were times when I skipped a few days when I was really bored.
This time, I just decided to take this time to travel alone.
There is no specific destination.
I just took a rough picture and continued heading south.
Won’t something come out as we go?
I looked back in the direction the carriage left.
The carriage, which had already become small enough to be covered with a finger, moved along the dirt road, shaking as it had done so far.
If you follow the carriage like this and continue along the road, you will reach the next village.
But if that’s the case, there’s no point in getting off the carriage.
I decided to follow the road in a different direction than the direction the carriage left.
Unlike the carriage road where you could even see the dirt floor without any grass growing on it, this is a road that is obscured by grass unless you look closely.
The only thing that showed that the grass had grown sparsely was that this road was used by people.
No, maybe it was just a road that no one passed by a long time ago and only the shape remained.
But then what? It’s a journey without a destination anyway.
I took a step forward, enjoying the cool breeze.
How long did we walk? The sun began to set in the distance and the view turned golden.
“Hey…”
An exclamation of exclamation came out.
Although I have been playing full-dive virtual reality for several years, I am always amazed when I witness such beautiful nature.
From there, I walked further and when purple, like my hair, settled on the golden landscape.
In the distance, I could see a village with a sloppily erected wooden fence.
“Stop! Who are you? … Woman?”
As we approached the village, a man who had been dozing off against the fence was startled and thrust out a wooden spear… He was surprised to see my face.
This reminds me of the old days. I think there was a similar situation when I first started this game.
I didn’t want to start a fight for no reason. I stopped at a reasonable distance from the man.
“I’m a passing adventurer. “I’d like to stay overnight, is that okay?”
“Hmm…”
The man’s gaze scanned my body.
The areas where the gaze mainly stops are the face and chest. Well, it was something I was used to, so I didn’t really feel anything.
And the next place my gaze lingered on was my waist… To be exact, the sword worn at the waist.
It seemed like they were assessing whether I would be a threat to the village.
“I said I was an adventurer. “Just wait a moment.”
The man who left me and went into the village came back out a little while later.
“I happen to have a spare house, so use it. “In return, I will receive payment for renting the house.”
“Of course.”
“Follow me.”
The man introduced me to an old house on the outskirts of town.
“You can sleep here tonight. The value is… “I’ll receive it tomorrow morning.”
“Is that okay?”
“Why are you trying to run away at dawn? “It wouldn’t be a bad idea if you leave quietly.”
The man looked at me with a gaze that had not yet erased a trace of suspicion.
I can understand the man’s doubts.
If someone suddenly appears in a remote village with poorly constructed roads, it is natural to be suspicious.
And on the contrary, from my point of view, the village is also worthy of suspicion.
How could anyone know what would happen to a beautiful girl who came alone to a remote village?
Of course, I actually welcome it.
She lay down on the bed, holding her half-throbbing heart, and closed her eyes.
And…
I saw the morning sun without anything happening.
Tweet.
The unique sound of birds in the morning outside the window is strangely ominous.
“… Why?”
There was no one to answer the questions that leaked out without my knowledge.
