“Here, please try this.”
Van presented the cold cocoa he’d made just as Rowy wanted. He’d shown the care of dissolving the cocoa in hot water, then mixing it again with cold water to adjust the temperature. And while watching Van’s bustling movements, Rowy gradually began to calm down.
“Is it too cold?”
“…No.”
Rowy took a careful sip of the cocoa handed to him and asked in a voice now completely drained of energy.
“Where did you get this?”
“I requested it from Seilan-nim to give to you, master. Since I can’t make you apple pie or Mont Blanc.”
“……”
At those words, Rowy’s lips protruded in a pout. He wasn’t angry—it was because he felt something resonating in his chest.
“Van….”
Rowy nestled into Van’s arms with tearful eyes.
“Does your stomach still hurt? Should I get some medicine?”
“Mmm, no… Just hold me.”
“Here, come this way.”
Van seated Rowy facing him on his lap and gently stroked his back.
“My stomach still hurts….”
He’d thrown up so much that his stomach burned and his head throbbed. Rowy slumped limply. The sight was so pitiful that Van’s expression finally crumpled.
“We still have quite a ways to go… Really, it’s upsetting. Can’t I use magic?”
At those words, Rowy shook his head with a gloomy expression. Earlier he’d threatened Edner that he’d use magic to leave, but… he didn’t really intend to do that.
“…It’s a different country, after all.”
In countries without agreements, the use of unauthorized high-level magic was restricted. Spatial movement in particular was a high-grade magic requiring considerable magical power, and the moment it was activated, Velstra would detect the magic. And if that happened, it could cause diplomatic issues between the Empire and Velstra—that was Rowy’s explanation.
“But didn’t you use magic frequently in Seraphila?”
“Mmm, that was fine there. But Velstra and Banayl don’t have very good relations with the Empire.”
“I see.”
“Besides, I’m an Irad.”
“Ah….”
All these matters would be viewed even more sensitively because Rowy bore the Irad surname.
“Being a noble isn’t easy.”
Van nodded seriously at this new information. It was something he’d never thought about before.
“Sigh.”
In the end, the only method Rowy could use to avoid motion sickness was to float in the air and keep his body from shaking as much as possible… but even that didn’t have much effect while inside a carriage racing wildly along treacherous mountain paths.
“Then, when you came to Seraphila two years ago, was it also like this…”
Van trailed off, unable to bring himself to ask if he’d been treated like a piece of luggage. At those words, Rowy shook his head.
“Ugh… No. It wasn’t this hard back then. Why are there so many monsters? It’s not even monster rampage season.”
“Sudden monster rampages happen more often than you’d think. Of course, today’s numbers were excessively high….”
Monster rampages usually had some time between when precursor symptoms appeared and when the actual rampage occurred. So he’d thought it would be a matter settled by simply informing the border guards of the situation after arriving in Velstra…. However, the sight of monsters endlessly swarming like earlier was too much to simply call a precursor.
“……”
The battle with the archdemon Mammon suddenly flashed through Van’s mind. Back then too, monsters had poured out endlessly under the demons’ commands….
‘No, surely not.’
There were no more demons with that level of power anymore….
‘…Right?’
Van looked at Rowy nestled in his arms.
“What’s wrong?”
Meeting Van’s suddenly serious expression, Rowy tilted his head. Being pressed so close, Rowy’s silver hair tickled Van’s nape every time his head moved. At that sensation, Van’s expression softened a bit as he pulled Rowy into his embrace again.
“Hm? Why?”
“It’s nothing. Just….”
…He’d just resolved once more to break Rowy’s curse as quickly as possible.
* * *
“Yahoo!”
Rowy raised his hand high and cheered. Seeing this, the rest of the group also laughed together. They all felt the same way.
Having encountered yet another massive horde of monsters right after leaving the villa, they’d fought a battle more difficult than expected, and finally…
“We’re here!”
The border of Velstra was right before their eyes.
“Now, we’ll be moving slowly from here on, so please get in the carriage.”
Van said with a smile. Rowy, who’d suffered terribly from motion sickness, had insisted he’d never ride in a carriage on mountain paths again. In the end, Rowy had traveled the remaining distance on horseback with Van.
‘Actually, the horse wasn’t that comfortable either….’
Still, it was much better to be held in the arms of someone monitoring his condition and looking after him. Rowy shuddered at the memory of the carriage’s rough jostling.
“How much farther until we can rest?”
“From here, it’s really just a short distance.”
Van, who’d dismounted first from the horse they’d been sharing, lifted Rowy down to the ground. Rowy stumbled briefly before quickly regaining his balance and letting out a deep sigh.
“That was really tough.”
“You worked hard.”
Rowy nodded and walked awkwardly on the ground. Even though he’d only been on the horse for about half a day, perhaps because they’d ridden so roughly, it felt like he was stepping on land for the first time in ages. Van followed close behind, carefully monitoring Rowy’s condition.
“Ugh, when we get to the inn, I’m going to lie down and not move.”
“Here, at least lie down in the carriage for now. Are your legs stiff?”
“I think they hurt….”
“I’ll massage them for you.”
“My butt hurts more than my legs.”
“…I’ll do that too!”
“Don’t even dream of it.”
“……”
Exchanging such silly conversation while following behind Rowy, Van lifted him up in one swift motion and put him in the carriage. Then he climbed in himself, quickly closed the door, and even pulled down the window curtains.
“……”
“……”
Those who’d been watching the two until then shook their heads with sour expressions. They were really making such a fuss.
“Aren’t they dating too loudly? Watching them keep doing that makes me miss my fiancée.”
“You don’t have a fiancée.”
“That’s why I miss her.”
Dwyne and Kyle bickered. It wasn’t just the two of them. As the tension-released group threw out comments one by one, the surroundings quickly became noisy.
“Ugh, I need to eat something as soon as we arrive.”
“I hope there’s some good beer.”
In the middle of that commotion, Edner was silently staring at something in his hand.
“Vice-Commander?”
Seeing Edner standing still, Dwyne and Kyle approached. To them, Edner suddenly extended his hand.
“What do you think this is?”
“Pardon?”
“What is it?”
What Edner showed the two who’d drawn closer was… a silver coin.
“What is this? A coin? Which country is it from?”
“I’ve never seen it before. Isn’t it just a pendant?”
Dwyne took the coin and examined it closely. Something seemed to be engraved on the surface, but perhaps worn away by the passage of time, it was too faint to make out properly.
“I have no idea what it is.”
“Where did you get this?”
At those words, Edner, who’d been looking at the silver coin for a moment, recalled the strange final battle.
“During the monster rampage earlier….”
* * *
Kraaaa! Kiiiii! The entire area echoed with the howls of monsters filling the narrow gorge. Through them, a small number of Flame Knights weaved about, slaughtering monsters with fierce momentum.
“Block them! Don’t let them get to Rowy-nim!”
“Combat slaves are getting in the way, fall back!”
“We’ll take the rear!”
To avoid getting caught up in the Flame Knights’ swords as they moved freely among the monsters, the mercenary company and combat slaves voluntarily took the rear. However, there was an exceptional fighter there too. It was Van. Kyaaaak! Every time Van swung his sword, monsters screamed and were swept away in an instant.
Even though he was wielding a longsword with one hand while holding Rowy in his arms, the sword’s power didn’t diminish in the slightest. To people who’d only seen him with a smiling face stuck right by Rowy’s side, flustered at Rowy’s every word, it was a threateningly unfamiliar sight. Crack! Van pushed back an ogre that looked twice his size with just one hand, then swung his sword and cut off its head in one stroke. At that murderous momentum, the mercenaries moved their position further back. Though the number of monsters was excessive, with so many skilled fighters, the situation was more stable than expected.
‘At this level, it should be sufficient without me.’
Having quickly assessed the situation from the middle of the battle, Edner called the knights with a sharp whistle.
“……”
Brief hand signals were exchanged, and soon the knights began forming up again. After watching this for a moment, Edner alone broke through the monsters and charged forward quickly. It was to find the cause of this strange phenomenon.
