Ch.121Chapter 121 – Contemplation That Should Not Be Disturbed

The next morning dawned.

As always, my eyes opened early, and I got out of bed right away.

When I did, I made eye contact with Eve, who was brewing tea outside.

“Good morning.”

“You’re up early?”

“It’s just habit for me.”

I had never slept in before.

I thought it was because I had been modified as a test subject since coming here, but sometimes I wondered if I might have been an early riser originally.

“But weren’t you not the last one on watch?”

“It was Christina. When I told her I’d take over for the remaining time since I woke up early, she said her morning prayers and went to get some sleep.”

Eve said this as she stood up.

“Since Kay is up too, I was thinking we should start moving soon. What do you think?”

“Couldn’t we wait a bit longer?”

“There’s no reason to move slowly either.”

Eve said this and glanced briefly at the carriage.

“Everyone seems to be sleeping quite comfortably.”

“Honestly, it was very comfortable.”

Eve smiled, saying it was fortunate.

“Good to know we got our money’s worth.”

Eve handed me some tea, which I accepted and drank quietly.

As I sipped the warm tea, I briefly recalled yesterday’s events.

+

It was right after we had established our course of action.

Sera opened her mouth with a slightly worried expression.

“I’m a bit concerned about traveling in winter.”

“Yeah, me too.”

First of all, the supplies we had were only what we’d taken from the bandits.

In other words, we didn’t have enough supplies for a proper journey.

“I thought you might say that.”

Eve smiled brightly as she stood up.

She took a few steps back, passing right by Moo, and reached out her hand.

Then, as she grabbed something and pulled it down hard, a carriage suddenly appeared.

“Ta-da!”

Eve smiled as if showing off something impressive.

“Wow! What an amazing cloth!”

“A carriage just appeared out of nowhere.”

“Is that a magical cloth?”

“That’s an extremely rare magical item. How much money do you have?”

Eve’s smile darkened a bit.

Apparently, that wasn’t the reaction she had hoped for.

But honestly, I was more amazed by the cloth that made the carriage invisible, like an invisibility cloak I’d seen somewhere, than by the carriage itself.

“…The carriage is more important, you know?”

Eve said in a slightly sulky voice as she opened the carriage door.

At first glance, the interior looked ordinary.

“Um… excuse me.”

“Please, go in and see.”

At Eve’s suggestion, Christina stepped forward and entered first.

And a moment later.

“Wow?! Wow?!! Woooow!!”

Christina suddenly started shouting wildly.

“Christina’s gone strange.”

“Maybe it’s a cursed carriage.”

“…Kay. Stop teasing and go in and see for yourself.”

At Eve’s words, I pretended to give in and approached the carriage door.

‘Wait a minute?’

Christina had definitely gone in first.

But now I couldn’t see her inside the carriage.

Feeling a bit strange, I stepped inside.

The interior landscape changed.

“Huh?”

From the outside, it had looked like just a slightly luxurious carriage.

But inside, it was like a small house.

I could see a small living room and several rooms, with Christina running around.

“What in the world…”

While I was dumbfounded, I sensed movement behind me.

Turning around, I saw the rest of our companions entering through the door.

“…My goodness.”

Sera was also amazed, not having expected this, and Eve started smiling, clearly pleased with our reactions.

“It’s a bit smaller than the one I rode in the past… I never thought I’d ride in something like this again…”

Beatrice was also surprised and started looking around.

She seemed so moved that tears were forming in her eyes.

“What is this?”

“I commissioned it from the Magic Tower. I asked them to make a carriage suitable for long-term travel, with space for long-term living.”

Eve entered and looked at us.

“This will be our base from now on.”

Eve said with an extremely bright smile.

+

“That carriage really surprised me.”

I recalled the shock I felt when I first entered.

From the outside, it looked like just a multi-passenger carriage, but inside was practically a home, so my surprise was natural.

“They say royalty and nobles with close ties to the Magic Tower sometimes acquire carriages like this.”

Well, it would be incredibly convenient for long journeys, so anyone would want one if they had the money and connections.

Without money and connections, you couldn’t even have one made, so just owning one would be a symbol of wealth.

As I thought about this, I became curious about something.

“What kind of carriages do the royals use?”

“Honestly, even I can’t imagine that.”

Eve nodded in agreement.

Even this one, though a bit cramped, had several rooms where each person could sleep comfortably, so it was more than satisfactory. I could only imagine that royal carriages would be even more spacious and luxurious.

“Anyway, thanks to this, our journey will be much more comfortable.”

“It should be. Preparing this took a tremendous amount of time.”

From what she said, this must have been after she became a sponsor of the Magic Tower.

Since this couldn’t have been made in just a day or two, it must have been prepared just in time.

“I’m always indebted to you.”

“It’s nothing.”

Eve smiled at my sincere words.

“I didn’t expect you to have gathered all our belongings while we were away.”

“I had to, for everyone’s peace of mind. Something could have been used to track us, so we needed to retrieve everything.”

Eve said with a smile.

The carriage not only had personal rooms but also a storage area, where all our personal items had been placed, which surprised everyone.

Most of the items were from Sera’s alchemy workshop, and the rest of our belongings weren’t much, so they had just barely managed to store everything.

“We won’t have to worry much about food either.”

With the storage in the carriage and the wagon, we shouldn’t run out of food as long as we resupply regularly.

Eve shook her head slightly at my words.

“The wagon is mainly for carrying goods.”

“Goods?”

“Yes. We need to make money.”

So she planned to do business while traveling?

Honestly, I wasn’t sure if we’d have much time for that.

“If we pose as traveling merchants, we won’t arouse too much suspicion wherever we go.”

“So it’s a good cover.”

“But we’ll still do some actual business when we can.”

Eve was truly a merchant.

She seemed unwilling to compromise when it came to making money.

“Let’s start packing up.”

“I’ll help.”

Although we could sleep in the carriage, we still needed someone on watch, so we had set up a small tent near the carriage for that purpose.

We dismantled the tent and lifted it to put it in the carriage.

-Clunk

The carriage door opened, and Christina came out.

“Good morning!”

“I heard you went to get some sleep?”

“I just rested my eyes a bit. I’ll help!”

She could have just rested more.

Of course, there was no reason to refuse her help, so with Christina joining us, we finished packing up.

Sera and Beatrice seemed to still be sleeping, so we decided not to wake them.

After putting the tent away in the storage area, I was about to go back outside.

Suddenly, Eve clapped her hands.

“Oh my, I just remembered something I forgot.”

“Forgot what?”

“I have something for you, Kay.”

Eve smiled and beckoned.

“Would you follow me?”

Eve gestured for me to come into the storage area.

As I stepped past the tent we had just put away near the entrance and into the storage, I immediately saw what Eve wanted to give me.

“This is…”

“The blacksmith made it with great effort over several days.”

It was armor.

Similar in design to my previous set, but much lighter and sturdier.

It was clearly a much better piece than my previous armor.

“How much did this cost…”

“Compared to this carriage, it’s honestly pocket change.”

Eve gestured toward the armor as if it were nothing.

“It suits you well!”

“Thank you.”

Christina clapped her hands with a smile, and I awkwardly smiled back in gratitude.

I briefly touched the armor.

It was much better quality than my previous armor that had been completely destroyed in the fight with the dragon.

“By the way, we have spares just in case, so don’t hesitate to use them.”

“Spares?”

“Kay, you fight pretty roughly, don’t you?”

I wanted to object that I don’t particularly fight roughly.

But considering how my previous armor was completely shattered, it was hard to argue.

“I don’t like seeing you get hurt because of insufficient armor.”

“Me neither, my benefactor.”

Eve spoke quietly, with sincerity.

Christina was nodding in agreement.

“…I’m always in your debt.”

“That’s what friends are for.”

We exchanged glances for a moment.

I looked at Eve with gratitude.

“Thanks to Seraphina and Christina, I think Kay has recovered enough that he doesn’t necessarily need to hide his face anymore.”

Eve smiled as she handed me a helmet.

“I can’t imagine Kay without a helmet now.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

I looked at the helmet for a moment.

The design was similar, but like the rest of the armor, the material was better.

As I put on the helmet, my familiar field of vision returned.

It was quite reassuring.

“Honestly, going without a helmet for a few days made me feel a bit awkward.”

“I liked it though.”

Eve answered with a smile.

Liked it, huh.

The burn scars must still be on my face.

Although they’ve improved a lot, I’m not sure if they’re really that okay.

“Still, for safety’s sake, please only remove your helmet when you’re with us.”

“I will.”

Since my face was exposed to the Order before, it’s better to be careful.

It seems I’m destined to never escape from wearing a helmet.

“…Don’t unnecessarily increase the competition.”

“Huh?”

Eve said something.

I noticed Christina looking at Eve with a somewhat frightened expression.

“What did you say?”

“Sometimes take off your helmet when you’re with us?”

“No, that…”

“You understand, right?”

She was quite forcefully changing the subject.

It seems I won’t be able to hear what she actually said.

I should just give up.

“I’ll do that.”

Eve smiled brightly at my answer.

+

A little later, Eve and I sat side by side in the driver’s seat.

“Kay, you could go inside if you want?”

“I thought I’d learn how to drive the carriage while I’m at it.”

I had realized one drawback of this carriage.

Someone had to drive it from the outside.

As far as I knew, Eve was the only one who knew how to drive a carriage properly, so if we continued like this, she would have to drive for too long.

When she had the energy, I needed to learn how to drive so we could rotate the duty.

It didn’t necessarily have to be me, but with my helmet concealing my identity to some extent, I could drive when there weren’t many eyes around.

Above all, my conscience bothered me about doing nothing inside.

Eve smiled at my reasoning.

“Then I should teach you well.”

“I’ll learn diligently.”

“I’ll teach you everything, thoroughly. Just the two of us.”

She emphasized the last part and moved closer to me.

The carriage started moving, and the wagons tied behind it began to rattle.

Since the wagons were mostly empty, the sound was quite loud.

“Where are we heading first?”

“I think it’s best to aim for Metis County, of course.”

I was holding the reins, and Eve placed her hands over mine, teaching me step by step.

She was sitting very close, even though she could have kept some distance.

Honestly, I could feel her breath.

“Interestingly enough, our travel destinations seem to be concentrated in that direction.”

“That’s true.”

“It feels almost like fate.”

Eve seemed to be deep in thought.

“Still, there’s no need to specifically visit the Count’s estate…”

“Unfortunately, our destination is the Metis Count’s estate.”

“The Count’s estate?”

“Yes. It’s on the way to the village Kay told us about anyway.”

The Metis Count’s estate was Eve’s family home.

The place she had run away from as a child.

“Will you be okay?”

“Of course. As long as we follow the road, there won’t be any problems getting there.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Realizing what I meant, Eve was silent for a moment.

“…It would be a lie to say I’m not burdened.”

For the first time since we met again—no, perhaps for the first time ever—Eve showed a complicated expression.

She must have many thoughts about that place.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. This is for Kay.”

Eve accepted my apology with a smile.

“For Kay, we don’t have time to delay.”

Eve gently placed her hand on my left chest.

Of course, since I was wearing armor, her hand touched the armor.

Still, I understood what she meant.

“Are you feeling alright?”

“I haven’t felt any pain anywhere for the past few days.”

Though I do occasionally feel something like a spark in my heart area when I’m still.

Of course, I decided not to mention that because it would worry her.

And it doesn’t actually interfere with my daily life.

After a moment, Eve removed her hand and spoke.

“To get back on track, we need to visit the Count’s estate because of Christina’s destination.”

“Why?”

“Remember how Christina said the holy site is in that territory?”

Eve moved even closer to me as she spoke.

She’s too close.

“From my research in the past, the Evgenia Order, though now fallen, once had considerable influence.”

“Really?”

It was surprising to hear that a church located in a slum due to lack of funds had such a deep history.

“In terms of history alone, it’s not inferior to other orders. It’s just that now they have nothing to show for it.”

“Christina would quietly cry if she heard that.”

Christina is so kind that she’d probably laugh it off in front of us but cry behind our backs.

Of course, Eve knows this too, so she wouldn’t say such things directly in front of Christina.

“The problem is, I don’t know anything about their holy site.”

I was a bit surprised by Eve’s words.

It seemed like something she shouldn’t admit.

“Isn’t it your hometown?”

“Even though I left over 10 years ago, I never heard of a place connected to such a historically significant site.”

If Eve, who is from there, doesn’t know, there’s a possibility that no one knows about this so-called holy site.

When I looked at her, Eve nodded and said:

“Despite appearances, I was a noble lady, so if such a place existed, I would have learned about it, even if just for cultural education.”

From how she spoke, it seemed she had no idea where this place might be.

“So there’s no place that Christina would call a holy site?”

Yet Christina had spoken with such certainty.

It’s hard to dismiss it based solely on Eve’s words.

As if reading my thoughts, Eve smiled and said:

“That’s why I thought we should first visit a place where records of it might be preserved.”

Eve raised one finger.

“Namely, where the ruler of that region resides.”

Though “ruler” sounds grand, she was essentially talking about meeting the Count.

I see, so that’s why she wanted to go to the Count’s estate first.

“Might he not know either?”

“Even if my grandfather’s generation didn’t know, there might be records from earlier ancestors.”

Eve said with a smile.

“If my memory serves me right, the Metis Count’s estate has records and documents that have been passed down for a long time.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I heard it directly from the Count, so I remember.”

Eve said she had only heard about it in passing back then because she wasn’t interested.

“Those records…”

“Yes. Only the head of the Metis family can view them.”

Records that only the family head can see.

It seems like there might be many secret stories there.

“Why would they restrict it to only the family head?”

“Now that I think about it, it is strange. Usually, family members have unrestricted access to such records.”

Eve seemed to have thought about this as well.

“In any case, if there really are ancient records, information about the holy site might appear.”

“I see.”

So we had a reason to go there after all.

The only concern was that Eve might feel uncomfortable.

“You don’t need to worry about me.”

As if reading my thoughts again, Eve smiled and said this.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, I quietly drove the carriage.

Fortunately, Moo, who was pulling the wagon, was smart enough to follow my clumsy directions well.

After a while, I spoke again.

“What kind of person is your father?”

I felt the need to know a bit about someone who might be of great help to us.

If I knew his personality, I might be able to negotiate something accordingly.

Eve moved slightly away from me and fell into thought.

“I’m not sure.”

“You don’t know?”

“No. Honestly, I’m not quite sure.”

Eve looked up at the sky as she spoke.

“He was a mysterious person who gave the impression that you couldn’t tell what he was thinking.”

Eve said this.

But her eyes became somewhat nostalgic.

Perhaps she was recalling memories with her family.

“……”

Seeing her eyes, I quietly drove the carriage.

It seemed wrong to disturb her contemplation.