Ch.1717. The Path of Hardship (4)

Finally, the day had come to leave the estate to meet Sione’s fiancé.

I had worried about having to pack a lot of luggage, but preserved foods and necessities could be stored in a bag enchanted with storage magic. The servants had already moved my armor, bow, and other belongings to the carriage at the entrance of the mansion…

All I needed to do was put on my bag, attach the sword I had chosen yesterday to my waist, and board the carriage.

Originally, I had planned to leave the sword in the carriage along with the bow, but… The reason I was carrying it at my waist instead of entrusting it to someone else was entirely because of Sione.

“Hmmmm.”

She was carefully examining the blade of the sword, half-drawn from its scabbard. As a sword user, she had experience with swords, but she had mostly handled long double-edged swords as primary weapons rather than secondary weapons like this one. She wanted me to help her until she got the feel of it, or something like that.

Sione, who had been quietly looking at the blade, turned away from me and secretly swung the sword. She seemed to be trying to get a feel for the length of the blade.

Swoosh. Swoosh swoosh. Swoosh. Take that… you!

I had no idea why she was making those strange sounds. She was whispering quietly, probably thinking I wouldn’t notice. Unfortunately for her, I saw everything.

Sione, having swung the sword, grinned as if she found it amusing.

‘She really knows how to entertain herself.’

Sione fully sheathed the sword. Her gaze finally left her sword and turned toward her surroundings. Thanks to that, our eyes met while she had been playing alone, even making swooshing sounds with her mouth.

“Ah…”

“It’s time we should head to the carriage.”

“Y-yes. Let’s hurry along.”

She abruptly stood up and quickly pattered away. I moved as fast as I could to keep up with her, as she moved swiftly like a small animal. Thanks to that, we arrived at the entrance of the mansion at a fairly quick pace, where two carriages were waiting to depart. The front carriage was ordinary, but the one parked behind it had a relatively antique design.

In front of the carriage stood Diolia and a man wearing priest’s robes.

“You’ve arrived.”

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Lady Diolia. But who is this man?”

“He’s a priest from the church. I thought it would be better to have at least one priest with us in case something happens during the journey.”

“Hmm.”

Sione looked at the priest with an expressionless gaze. Unlike when she was with Diolia and me, I could sense a growing wariness in her demeanor.

Setting aside Sione’s prickly hedgehog-like appearance…

I was quite interested in that priest. Men couldn’t use Mana, but they could handle Divine Power, right? I had seen a priestess who came to heal the groaning slaves before, but this was my first time seeing a male priest. I was curious about why men couldn’t handle Mana but could specifically use Divine Power, but well… These people would probably just attribute it to divine blessing without giving a proper reason. I accepted things as they were and moved on.

While I was lost in thought, the male priest bowed his head to Sione and greeted her.

“I am Ian, a priest from the church who will be accompanying you to the Marquisate of Feiosha. I look forward to traveling with you, Lady Sione.”

“…Likewise.”

Despite Sione’s awkward greeting, Ian responded with a benevolent smile. As soon as the brief greetings were over, Diolia stepped between them as if she had been waiting for the opportunity.

“Since Lady Sione doesn’t like being with strangers, she should ride in the back carriage with her attendant. Ian and I will take the front carriage.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

“It’s nothing. All of Lady Sione’s and her attendant’s luggage has been placed in one corner of the carriage, so you can check it once you board.”

Sione nodded at Diolia’s words and boarded her carriage. I followed behind her and got on as well.

The carriage I boarded following her exceeded my expectations. The interior size was impressive, and all the seats were covered with leather. It was on a completely different level from the creaky carriage I had previously ridden in the dungeon. Despite being quite spacious, with luggage placed in the far back corner, there was still plenty of room for two people.

“All the luggage is over here. You should put your bag down here too.”

“Understood.”

I carefully placed my bag where the bow, quiver, clothes, and various other items were neatly arranged, as she instructed. After that, as I was unpacking a few things…

“We will be departing now, my lady.”

With the coachman’s words, the carriage began to move forward. I took out a small package of snacks from my bag and sat across from Sione.

“I’ve brought some snacks. Would you like some?”

“That would be nice. Give me a little.”

I handed her the package of snacks. Sione quickly took it, pulled out the snacks, and began eating them one by one while looking at the scenery outside. Through the window, the busy landscape of the estate flowed by, followed by a massive wall.

As I was looking curiously at the long, thick wall surrounding the estate, Sione spoke with a hint of pride.

“What do you think of the wall?”

“It’s impressive. It doesn’t seem like it would be easily breached even if a considerable number of enemies attacked.”

“It was built during the war with demons hundreds of years ago. At that time, it stopped countless demons, and now it keeps the people of the estate safe.”

“…That’s impressive.”

“It’s one of the prides of our County of Sianella.”

Sione was in a good mood after boasting about her family, humming as she enjoyed the view outside.

Unlike her cheerful demeanor, I couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

‘Demons…’

The future of this doomed world that I was trying to conquer. That place was surely a hell filled with demons. I wondered when demons would begin to consume this world, and whether I could return to Earth before then. Lost in my thoughts, by the time I came back to my senses…

I could tell from the scenery outside that the carriage had left the estate and was entering a forest path.

While the roads within the estate were well-maintained and comfortable for carriage travel, outside the estate there were only paths frequently used by merchants. Without roads specifically maintained by the estate, the road conditions would certainly be uneven. My backside probably wouldn’t survive the bumpy carriage ride from now on.

But contrary to my expectations, there was hardly any vibration in the carriage.

“…Unlike what I expected, the carriage isn’t shaking or anything.”

“Most carriages used by nobles are magically treated to provide the most comfortable environment possible. At least, there won’t be many inconveniences while traveling.”

“I see.”

That’s welcome news. I could finally relax.

Now that we were sitting face to face in the carriage, there wasn’t much to talk about. I quietly looked out the window for a while before turning to look at Sione. She was also looking out the window. The difference was that she was already half-asleep. Perhaps sensing my gaze, she shook her head to drive away the sleepiness.

“Why are you staring at me like that? Ah, do I have crumbs on my face?”

Sione quickly wiped the corners of her mouth. There weren’t any crumbs this time, but regardless, I continued to stare at her.

“I was just thinking that I’ve never seen Lady Sione speak comfortably with me.”

“Speak comfortably? Am I not speaking comfortably with you already?”

“I mean you can speak to me more casually if you’d like.”

“More casually?”

Sione tilted her head in curiosity. She had been so cold in front of that unfamiliar priest, but now she was showing a blank expression in front of me. It was both amusing and somewhat gratifying, allowing me to speak with a more relaxed expression.

“May I be a bit presumptuous?”

“Yes, don’t worry about it and speak.”

“If you insist.”

I took a deep breath and opened my mouth again, using the most friendly tone possible.

“Like this, Sione. You can speak casually to me.”

“Ah, oh, you were talking about that etiquette.”

“If you’re more comfortable with your original way of speaking, I don’t mind either. Do whatever feels comfortable.”

“Ah, I understand.”

Sione looked surprised, as if she hadn’t expected me to speak so informally to her. Well, even though Sione had given permission first, it’s not exactly proper for a slave to speak informally to a noble. I quickly composed myself and returned to my usual dutiful demeanor.

“What would you prefer?”

“Then from now on, I’ll speak more casually whenever I want to… ah…”

In the middle of speaking, Sione seemed to have second thoughts and shook her head.

“I will…?”

“As you wish.”

Sione clearly found it awkward to speak differently from her usual manner. If it’s that difficult, she could just use her original way of speaking—I don’t particularly mind. I had only suggested it because I thought her usual authoritative tone might be tiresome and cumbersome. Seeing her become even more uncomfortable made me regret bringing it up. Well, if it’s too difficult, she’ll naturally revert to her original way of speaking.

“…Ray, by the way, could you explain a bit about how to use this sword…?”

“Of course.”

I lifted the sword attached to my waist.

“Obviously, a bow is suitable for taking down enemies from a distance, but it’s difficult to respond when an enemy gets close. So when an enemy approaches to a certain extent.”

I immediately gripped the handle with my right hand. Then, with the drawing of the sword, I slowly traced a line upward to the right. Sione quietly observed my series of actions.

“It’s best to quickly slash at the enemy to check them, then thrust, and then step back to secure a safe distance again.”

Quickly slashing and thrusting was the method I primarily used. Dodging attacks quickly with the help of spirit power, followed by a drawing attack and a thrust. Then creating distance again to shoot with the bow—that was my everyday combat routine. I had tried different combat methods depending on the situation, but this was the most commonly used approach.

“Also, since it’s a single-edged sword that needs to be drawn and used as soon as you enter close combat, like this.”

I sheathed the sword. When drawing the sword immediately, I placed it back at my waist so that the sharp edge would face upward.

“It’s also important to keep the blade facing upward.”

“…I think I understand what you’re saying. I should be able to adapt after using it a few times.”

Yeah, it sounds easy when you just hear about it. But it’s quite difficult when you actually try it.

At that moment—

Clunk.

The smoothly moving carriage came to a stop. Shortly after, someone knocked on the carriage door, and Sione opened it. The knocker was the coachman who had been driving the horses.

“What’s the matter?”

“It seems a group of goblins has been spotted ahead. The knight said he would take care of it soon… it shouldn’t take long before we can depart again.”

A group of goblins—

We haven’t been out of the estate for long, and monsters are already appearing? It feels like a bad omen. What timing…

Goblins are weak monsters that even I could easily handle at my current level, so since we’re in this situation anyway…

“Lady Sione probably hasn’t closely observed archers in combat.”

I slung the quiver full of arrows over my back and firmly gripped my bow.

“There’s a saying that seeing is believing, so let me show you.”

At my words, Sione’s eyes began to sparkle.