episode_0070

We passed through the Rocky Mountains and arrived at the Kapumo Kingdom.

As Colson had said, there was no pursuit, but traversing the deep forests and rocky terrain was not easy.

Fortunately, neither I nor Steria were weak enough to be unable to bear such hardships, but Kona was a problem.

Kona had initially refused, but in the end, Steria and I had to take turns carrying her through the forest.

And it was about three days since we had escaped from the capital of Brigal.

We lit a fire and prepared for camping.

Even though we had often taken turns carrying her, it seemed that the hardships of the mountain path were still too much for the young child, as she had fallen asleep before we even lit the fire.

“…”

“…”

Steria and I quietly gazed at the sleeping Kona.

“She’s a good kid,” Steria spoke first.

“She didn’t complain once about following us,” I replied.

“She must have matured early. She even tried to cross the border alone.”

A child in a difficult situation has no choice but to mature.

Regardless of their nature, they do so to protect themselves.

Of course, there are also children who cannot do that.

“What are we going to do with her?” Steria asked.

“We’ll raise her at our house. We have enough resources, and it won’t be a problem to live with Kona and you. So, don’t worry and come with us.”

I said as I gathered dry twigs and leaves from the forest.

Lighting a fire at night made us vulnerable to wild animals, but we were not weak enough to worry about such things.

The bigger problem was Kona being exposed to the cold.

“…”

Steria remained silent.

“What are you thinking?” I asked.

“Just…”

“Mom… Dad…”

Before Steria could say anything, Kona mumbled in her sleep.

“…”

“…”

In the silence that followed, I continued to light the fire.

I tried to find dry twigs and leaves, but the forest itself was too damp for the fire to catch easily.

“Rasiwood.”

“Why?”

“Should we just run away like this? They might consider Kona as a lamb. Even though she’s a half, she’ll live much longer than a human. We’ll have plenty of time to say goodbye. Of course, dealing with artificial monsters might be a bit of a hassle… What do you think?”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“I meant what I said before. I’ve liked you for a long time.”

“I thought you hated me the most.”

“Did you really think that?”

“Love… I didn’t think of it that way.”

“Maybe that’s true… but still, if we were to start a family, I wanted to be with you.”

I didn’t ask why she hadn’t said it sooner.

The reason was too obvious.

We had decided not to live together to forget the nightmare-like memories.

Naturally, we wouldn’t have children together.

It was necessary at that time.

“What about you?” Steria asked.

“I… I don’t know. Sangcheol seems to have met a good person… I never imagined that guy who missed his hometown more than anyone would marry a woman from this world.”

Of course, it wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

In many ways.

“For now, it’s hard to say.”

“You’ve changed too.”

“Really?”

“If it was the old you, even if I turned back and said it, you would have definitively refused. Such things cannot happen to us.”

“…Is that so?”

The old me…

“Well… it’s a story that’s already hundreds of years old. Even if we’re still us, we’re not exactly the same.”

There may be no aging, but there can still be change.

“Yeah. Honestly, I’ve changed a lot since the old days.”

When I met Misty, and when I met Rinde, my life changed again.

Rinde… Sangcheol’s daughter is probably still waiting for me at home.

She’s not the only one.

Krisha, who will return from Brigal, is also waiting.

The owner and lord of the Labyrinth City, Dmitri, is there.

And also, Rami of the Alchemy Guild.

And Pratia, who believes in the promise deep in the labyrinth.

And Misty.

I must keep the promise with her as well.

“Oh, right. Sorry. Running away with you and Kona to become a family is indeed difficult.”

“Why?”

“Because there are people waiting for me at home.”

“A woman?”

“…Yes, a woman.”

Come to think of it, they are all women.

Like… Spectra?

No, she’s just a mercenary.

Ah, Festo.

I look forward to the day when I can meet Festo, whom I rescued from the labyrinth, again.

“Well… I guess there’s no other choice.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’m used to waiting.”

“…?”

“Waiting is all I can do. Until they grow old and die.”

“…I see.”

I see.

It wasn’t just Sangcheol’s problem.

I’m the same way.

Even though I’ve experienced it several times already.

The fact that someone you know leaves first.

“Then I’ll live with you and wait at your house.”

“What about Loreldia?”

“…”

Loreldia.

The knight’s country she had made her home for centuries.

For her, leaving the family would be like telling me to leave the Labyrinth City.

“It’s fine… I don’t have any big regrets anyway.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. The reason I stayed with that family is no longer in this world…”

“…”

I guess…

Even Steria had someone precious there.

A long, long time ago.

“It was just a futile stubbornness.”

“What kind of person was she?”

“She was my disciple. She had great talent. I guarantee she was the best swordsman of her time.”

A hint of pride crossed Steria’s face.

“That girl was originally a commoner. But her talent was so outstanding that it was impossible to ignore, so I took her in and raised her. She won the national tournament and even became a noble.”

“Oh? Could she have become the head of the Capasella family?”

“That’s right.”

“I see… I didn’t know that.”

“You must have had at least one disciple in your lifetime.”

“Me? I was actually a disciple.”

“You? Who…”

We sat by the campfire and shared old stories.

How long has it been since I’ve had such a nostalgic conversation with a fellow tribesman, or rather, an old friend who knows the past?

The warmth in my heart isn’t just because of the campfire.

“Ugh…”

As we got more and more into the conversation, Kona suddenly raised her head.

“Oh, did we wake you up?”

Steria said.

“Y-yes…? No. I just…”

I turned my head and looked up at the sky.

When Kona fell asleep, the night sky was pitch black, but now a faint blue color could be seen in the distance.

Dawn was breaking.

“It’s already this late…”

As I lowered my head, the heat from the campfire was slowly fading away.

“Let’s have breakfast and set off again.”

“Breakfast? Oh…”

At the mention of breakfast, Steria’s eyes widened as she, like me, looked up at the sky.

She must have been so engrossed in the conversation that she didn’t realize how time flew by.

I took out some jerky and skewered it, placing it on the still warm campfire.

It probably wouldn’t be warm enough, but it would be edible.

“We should be able to enter the Kingdom of Kapumo today.”

“Kapumo… We’re meeting Jonas, right…?”

Kona asked.

“Yes. We promised.”

I had promised to tell Jonas about the Brighal’s mine issue.

And anyway, to return to the Labyrinth City, we would have to pass through his village.

A bright smile appeared on Kona’s face upon hearing that we were going to meet him.

Despite having lived for quite some time, she was still a child at heart.

She must be looking forward to meeting her friend.

She had suffered a lot and only seen bad things.

We each took a piece of slightly lukewarm and chewy jerky and chewed on it.

After finishing our short meal, we cleaned up and started walking towards the border of the Kapumo Kingdom.

As expected, on the fourth day in the morning, we could see the road leading to the border far away.

Having spent three days in the mountains, we must have looked quite messy, as the passing people’s gazes turned towards us.

As we continued up the road, we finally saw the walls and guards in armor.

After waiting at the back of the line to cross the border, we finally got our turn.

“Ugh, you all look quite a sight.”

The guard frowned as he looked at us.

If it had been the same person as when we first passed through here, they would have recognized me by my armor, but it was a different guard who had already taken over.

“What on earth happened?”

“We got lost in the forest.”

“I see. Anyway, show me your identification.”

“Here…”

I showed my adventurer’s card and Kona’s temporary identification.

Steria had nothing on her, but when they saw that I was an Adamantite-ranked adventurer, they were surprised and let her in as well.

After crossing the border, we headed to the nearest village, which was a bit further away.

I was eager to wash up and lie down in a bed right away, but in order to take a carriage that crossed this country, we had to go to another village.

After walking for another hour, we finally arrived at the village where we could take the carriage.

It was already past noon, and Kona was completely exhausted.

Steria didn’t show it, but she must have been very tired as well.

I led them and tried to remember where the inn was.

“Welcome… Oh, the smell is quite awful!”

As soon as we entered the inn, a middle-aged woman who seemed to be the innkeeper held her nose when she saw us.

“Can we wash up with warm water?”

“Yes, you can. I’ll prepare it right away. But we only have one room with two beds available at the moment, is that okay?”

“That’s fine.”

I checked my pockets.

I had no more gold coins, but I did have some small gems.

“Oh my! This is…!”

The innkeeper, who saw the gem, gasped and chuckled.

I should have shown this first, but I guess I was too tired to think straight.

“That will do as change. Please prepare a delicious meal in return.”

“Of course! I’ll prepare the bathwater right away! Oh, the key is here! It’s the room in the middle of the second-floor corridor! I’ll call you when it’s ready!”

It might not be a big gem, but it would be a considerable sum for a commoner.

She quickly took the gem and went to prepare the bathwater.

“Let’s go…”

We opened the door to the room in the middle of the second-floor corridor and entered.

There were two beds.

Kona and Steria could lie down, and I could sleep on the floor or a chair.

“Wait. Kona, don’t dirty the bed. We have to sleep here.”

Steria stopped Kona from going to the bed.

After spending four days camping, we were quite dirty.

If we lay on the bed like this, the smell and dirt would stick to it.

The innkeeper would do the laundry, but I didn’t want to lie on a dirty bed.

“Oh… I’m sorry…”

Kona bowed her head apologetically.

Even though she must have been very tired, she still had good manners.

“Steria, wash up with Kona. I’ll go in later.”

“Okay.”

Steria took Kona and left.

Alone, I sat down on the floor and took off my helmet.

Thanks to the cleanliness spell, my armor was still clean, but my torn cape was still covered in mud, and there was a strong smell of sweat coming from inside.

“Haah…”

“Having traveled so far away like this, how long has it been…”

No, actually, isn’t this the first time in my life too?

“…Lashwood.”

It didn’t take long for Steria to come back after leaving.

“Huh? Why? What’s going on?”

“…I think you should take a shower too.”