We spent that night at Yis’s house again. As we were all exhausted, we quickly ate some of the street stall food I took out, then bathed and went to bed. Both Daniela and I were tired from the work of the day. On top of that, I had used up so much magic, that I fell into a deep sleep until morning.
When we awoke, Yis had prepared breakfast for us. It was scrambled eggs, fried bacon and baked bread. Simple but it made the most of the ingredients. And sometimes, that was the best. It was definitely something to take note of.
“Thank you. That was delicious.”
“That’s a relief. I wish you could eat more…but I believe you are leaving?”
Yis said as we were drinking some coffee. I was surprised that coffee even existed in this place. I had not had caffeine in so long…but it was apparently a popular drink near the imperial capital.
And so I savored my first cup in ages.
“…Yeah. We’ve bothered you for two days already.”
“I really do not mind. But I suppose that’s a different matter.”
He said with a laugh. That made me happy. It always did. But we were traveling. Daniela and I intended to travel the world. We couldn’t stop halfway down the road.
“Thank you. You’ve been a great help to us.”
“These past few days have been very good. Thank you.”
Daniela and I bowed. Yis was scratching his cheek as if a little embarrassed by all of this. But Mido and Marco looked sad as they looked at the ground. I patted them both on the head and they raised their heads and smiled.
“By the way, Mido. I heard from Mister Yis that you and Marco came to this village together?”
“Yes, we did. I don’t remember it at all, but Marco led me all the way here. We’ve lived with Yis ever since.”
“I see. I see. That was very smart, Marco.”
Marco barked happily as I scratched him. On close inspection, the forest wolf’s eyes were a fiery red. Forest wolves usually had brown eyes… Perhaps that was the difference between them. Interesting creatures…these monsters.
“Mido. We’re going to leave now. You and Marco take care.”
“Yes…you too Asagi. And Daniela!”
“Aye. Goodbye Mido. Eat a lot and grow tall.”
“I will!”
“Ruff!”
Mido said cheerfully as he hugged his wolf. I could only imagine what had happened to him up until he arrived in this village. And I hoped it would all turn out well.
“Regar has been holding onto the lesser wyvern materials for you. Go and collect them before you leave.”
“Yes, of course.”
I had to collect them. It was being given to use as a form of gratitude from the people here. Yes…maybe I would have matching necklaces made for Daniela and me once we reached a big city…that’s a great idea.
“Also, one warning.”
Yis suddenly looked very serious as he looked at us and continued.
“There is one town that you will most certainly have to pass when heading towards the imperial capital. Unlike this village, it can be quite dangerous. You should be careful.”
“Is that right… Things were pretty safe for us up until now. That makes me a little anxious.”
“It is unusual for the empire… That is one place where the military seems to lack control. A town of shadows. So be on your guard.”
“Yes, I understand.”
That was a little worrying… But as long as we knew beforehand, it should be alright. We would be prepared for possible trouble.
After that, Daniela and I returned to our room to prepare for our journey. I put on my armor and carried our belongings outside so we could lightly clean up the room. Just a small show of gratitude. I was glad once again that I had bought a broom.
Once that was done, the only thing left was to leave.
“Well, we’ll be going now. Thanks for everything.”
“Thank you.”
“Be careful. And if you ever find yourselves near us again, do stop by and say hello.”
“Yeah, of course. See you, Mido, Marco.”
“Yes, see you again!”
“Ruff-ruff!”
We shook hands and hugged and said our goodbyes. There was a little regret, but we had promised to meet again. So I wasn’t sad.
And so we left Yis’s house and headed for the farm. The fences were still broken, but they had been temporarily mended, it seemed. Perhaps the lesser wyvern blood had evaporated or returned to the earth, because I didn’t see any red anywhere. Regar’s house was next to the farm, and he immediately answered and opened the door when I knocked. He stood there with a big smile on his face.
“Ah, you sure kept me waiting! But I won’t do the same to you two. Here are the materials. Take ‘em!”
There were three large bundles next to the door. Wings, scales, hide etcetera.
“Thank you. We’ll take good care of it.”
“No, no, no. Don’t take care of it. You’re much better off selling it as soon as you get the chance!”
He said with a laugh. He was very kind to offer such advice even as we were leaving.
Daniela picked up the bundles as I opened the hollow bag. It looked like they were being sucked into it. We repeated this three times and then we were done.
“Well, well, well. That is convenient. And pretty expensive too, I wager?”
“I’m not quite sure? It was a gift, you see.”
“Ah, indeed.”
Regar stared at the bag thoughtfully.
“And that is a cute doll. Did you make it?”
“That was also a gift. It was from the grandchild of a village chief who helped us out before.”
I touched the small figure that Merica had given me. I always felt better when I looked at it.
“Hehe. It seems that many people are fond of you.”
“Many people are too kind.”
“Hahaha. Well, perhaps they see something that you don’t. In any case, even I am sad that you are leaving. However, I know better than to try and stop someone who is traveling.”
Regar put his hands on my shoulders and embraced me.
“See you around, Asagi. And you too, Miss Daniela!”
He gave Daniela a hug and then waved his hand.
“Take care, Mister Regar!”
“Let us meet again.”
We waved goodbye and then left. It really was a nice town. They were sad to see a pair of Adventurers leave after only staying for three days.
As we walked through the village towards the east, people stopped working to wave at us. All of them were smiling. By the time we were out of the village, I was almost ready to cry.
“I’ve been feeling way too sentimental recently…maybe I’m getting old.”
“Asagi, you know very well that we do not talk about age.”
□ □ □ □
We headed east after leaving the village. There was supposed to be a wide river that was a two days walk from us. The town we were headed towards was by this river. Of course, this was all according to Daniela’s information.
“It must be the town that Yis was talking about. You cannot cross this river without going through the town.”
“Hmmm… A rare and dangerous town within the empire, huh? …And what’s it called?”
“Uh…I believe it was called the Riverside Town of Nicora.”
“Riverside Town…Nicora…”
It was a pretty name. But it was apparently the worst… I didn’t really want to go, but we had no choice… We would just have to be careful.
“Well, we have two days if we take our time walking. That will leave us plenty of time to be prepared. We can talk about how we will handle things on the way.”
“Indeed. This will be my chance to shine. Prudence. Providing is preventing. Prevention is better than a cure. I’m the master of all those things.”
“Aye, I will be counting on you then.”
Daniela’s career as a traveler dwarfed my own. But this was my moment. After all, I worked the night shift every night without knowing if there ever would be a robbery. I was sensitive to danger. But then again, I have a history of getting stabbed, so maybe I wasn’t the most trustworthy. Asagi Kamiyashiro. The sad, night-shift, Adventurer.
We spent that night at Yis’s house again. As we were all exhausted, we quickly ate some of the street stall food I took out, then bathed and went to bed. Both Daniela and I were tired from the work of the day. On top of that, I had used up so much magic, that I fell into a deep sleep until morning.
When we awoke, Yis had prepared breakfast for us. It was scrambled eggs, fried bacon and baked bread. Simple but it made the most of the ingredients. And sometimes, that was the best. It was definitely something to take note of.
“Thank you. That was delicious.”
“That’s a relief. I wish you could eat more…but I believe you are leaving?”
Yis said as we were drinking some coffee. I was surprised that coffee even existed in this place. I had not had caffeine in so long…but it was apparently a popular drink near the imperial capital.
And so I savored my first cup in ages.
“…Yeah. We’ve bothered you for two days already.”
“I really do not mind. But I suppose that’s a different matter.”
He said with a laugh. That made me happy. It always did. But we were traveling. Daniela and I intended to travel the world. We couldn’t stop halfway down the road.
“Thank you. You’ve been a great help to us.”
“These past few days have been very good. Thank you.”
Daniela and I bowed. Yis was scratching his cheek as if a little embarrassed by all of this. But Mido and Marco looked sad as they looked at the ground. I patted them both on the head and they raised their heads and smiled.
“By the way, Mido. I heard from Mister Yis that you and Marco came to this village together?”
“Yes, we did. I don’t remember it at all, but Marco led me all the way here. We’ve lived with Yis ever since.”
“I see. I see. That was very smart, Marco.”
Marco barked happily as I scratched him. On close inspection, the forest wolf’s eyes were a fiery red. Forest wolves usually had brown eyes… Perhaps that was the difference between them. Interesting creatures…these monsters.
“Mido. We’re going to leave now. You and Marco take care.”
“Yes…you too Asagi. And Daniela!”
“Aye. Goodbye Mido. Eat a lot and grow tall.”
“I will!”
“Ruff!”
Mido said cheerfully as he hugged his wolf. I could only imagine what had happened to him up until he arrived in this village. And I hoped it would all turn out well.
“Regar has been holding onto the lesser wyvern materials for you. Go and collect them before you leave.”
“Yes, of course.”
I had to collect them. It was being given to use as a form of gratitude from the people here. Yes…maybe I would have matching necklaces made for Daniela and me once we reached a big city…that’s a great idea.
“Also, one warning.”
Yis suddenly looked very serious as he looked at us and continued.
“There is one town that you will most certainly have to pass when heading towards the imperial capital. Unlike this village, it can be quite dangerous. You should be careful.”
“Is that right… Things were pretty safe for us up until now. That makes me a little anxious.”
“It is unusual for the empire… That is one place where the military seems to lack control. A town of shadows. So be on your guard.”
“Yes, I understand.”
That was a little worrying… But as long as we knew beforehand, it should be alright. We would be prepared for possible trouble.
After that, Daniela and I returned to our room to prepare for our journey. I put on my armor and carried our belongings outside so we could lightly clean up the room. Just a small show of gratitude. I was glad once again that I had bought a broom.
Once that was done, the only thing left was to leave.
“Well, we’ll be going now. Thanks for everything.”
“Thank you.”
“Be careful. And if you ever find yourselves near us again, do stop by and say hello.”
“Yeah, of course. See you, Mido, Marco.”
“Yes, see you again!”
“Ruff-ruff!”
We shook hands and hugged and said our goodbyes. There was a little regret, but we had promised to meet again. So I wasn’t sad.
And so we left Yis’s house and headed for the farm. The fences were still broken, but they had been temporarily mended, it seemed. Perhaps the lesser wyvern blood had evaporated or returned to the earth, because I didn’t see any red anywhere. Regar’s house was next to the farm, and he immediately answered and opened the door when I knocked. He stood there with a big smile on his face.
“Ah, you sure kept me waiting! But I won’t do the same to you two. Here are the materials. Take ‘em!”
There were three large bundles next to the door. Wings, scales, hide etcetera.
“Thank you. We’ll take good care of it.”
“No, no, no. Don’t take care of it. You’re much better off selling it as soon as you get the chance!”
He said with a laugh. He was very kind to offer such advice even as we were leaving.
Daniela picked up the bundles as I opened the hollow bag. It looked like they were being sucked into it. We repeated this three times and then we were done.
“Well, well, well. That is convenient. And pretty expensive too, I wager?”
“I’m not quite sure? It was a gift, you see.”
“Ah, indeed.”
Regar stared at the bag thoughtfully.
“And that is a cute doll. Did you make it?”
“That was also a gift. It was from the grandchild of a village chief who helped us out before.”
I touched the small figure that Merica had given me. I always felt better when I looked at it.
“Hehe. It seems that many people are fond of you.”
“Many people are too kind.”
“Hahaha. Well, perhaps they see something that you don’t. In any case, even I am sad that you are leaving. However, I know better than to try and stop someone who is traveling.”
Regar put his hands on my shoulders and embraced me.
“See you around, Asagi. And you too, Miss Daniela!”
He gave Daniela a hug and then waved his hand.
“Take care, Mister Regar!”
“Let us meet again.”
We waved goodbye and then left. It really was a nice town. They were sad to see a pair of Adventurers leave after only staying for three days.
As we walked through the village towards the east, people stopped working to wave at us. All of them were smiling. By the time we were out of the village, I was almost ready to cry.
“I’ve been feeling way too sentimental recently…maybe I’m getting old.”
“Asagi, you know very well that we do not talk about age.”
□ □ □ □
We headed east after leaving the village. There was supposed to be a wide river that was a two days walk from us. The town we were headed towards was by this river. Of course, this was all according to Daniela’s information.
“It must be the town that Yis was talking about. You cannot cross this river without going through the town.”
“Hmmm… A rare and dangerous town within the empire, huh? …And what’s it called?”
“Uh…I believe it was called the Riverside Town of Nicora.”
“Riverside Town…Nicora…”
It was a pretty name. But it was apparently the worst… I didn’t really want to go, but we had no choice… We would just have to be careful.
“Well, we have two days if we take our time walking. That will leave us plenty of time to be prepared. We can talk about how we will handle things on the way.”
“Indeed. This will be my chance to shine. Prudence. Providing is preventing. Prevention is better than a cure. I’m the master of all those things.”
“Aye, I will be counting on you then.”
Daniela’s career as a traveler dwarfed my own. But this was my moment. After all, I worked the night shift every night without knowing if there ever would be a robbery. I was sensitive to danger. But then again, I have a history of getting stabbed, so maybe I wasn’t the most trustworthy. Asagi Kamiyashiro. The sad, night-shift, Adventurer.
