Ch.33The Road to Ortus (1)

The road to Ortus was quite treacherous.

How should I put it…

There weren’t any particularly difficult terrains, but the overall undulation was severe, making it a challenging path for merchant caravans using carts or wagons rather than just riding horses.

As if to prove this, the road was unpaved, and the animal droppings commonly scattered along roadsides—from horses or cattle—were hardly visible.

While the absence of smell was pleasant, the lack of people who could help in dangerous situations made this an extremely perilous route for anyone who wasn’t an adventurer.

“Hmm…”

Still, it wasn’t completely devoid of traffic. I occasionally spotted small wagons or carts passing by, and I had even seen groups of pilgrims traveling on foot.

If there had been absolutely no traffic, even this unpaved road wouldn’t exist. So the low traffic volume was likely due to the lengthy one-way journey of a week rather than terrain issues.

“I can’t see the ocean from here…”

I wasn’t sure exactly where Ortus was located, but looking at this map, it was clearly situated inland rather than on the coast.

Personally, I had liked the coastal scenery I saw when hunting orcs, but since I couldn’t create an ocean myself, I had to be content with the views of hills and fields.

Since it would take a week to get there, I hoped I wouldn’t encounter any bandits or thieves along the way.

“Hya!”

Clop! Clop!

“Neeeigh!”

I urged my packhorse forward, galloping quickly along the road toward the highest point on the path.

Squelch! Squelch!

It must have rained while I was resting, as the road had turned to mud, making loud noises as it clung to the horse’s hooves. I looked around to check if there were any places where enemies might be hiding in ambush.

“…This place seems safe.”

Since monsters weren’t particularly visible in open spaces, I checked if there might be any villages or settlements nearby.

If there was a village, I could somehow cling to life even if supplies ran short.

Clop! Clop!

“…Doesn’t seem like there’s anything.”

Contrary to my expectations, there were no signs of human presence anywhere.

Of course, I might have missed something since I deliberately stayed near the road to avoid getting lost, but if that were the case, I wouldn’t need to go out of my way to find it.

Either way, my goal was to reach Ortus.

I glanced up at the sky, and the sun was now slowly moving toward the center of the sky.

“It must be around 12 o’clock now.”

With 18 o’clock being noon…

And so one day passed… then two days… and eventually six days went by.

*

Slurp slurp slurp slurp slurp!!!

“You’re drinking well.”

I had found a decent water source and brought my packhorse, who hadn’t had anything to drink for three days, close to it so it could drink.

Fortunately, there were dry bushes nearby that I could cut with my sword to secure enough food for the horse to eat its fill. When I arrived at the stream, the horse had folded its four legs and was resting.

“Here. I brought some grass for you to eat.”

“Neeeigh!”

Now that it had water in its throat, it was time to put grass in its stomach.

It wasn’t proper hay, so it wouldn’t be as good as proper feed, but as long as it was grass, the horse could chew and swallow it.

“Ugh… I should start preparing to sleep too.”

The sun had already set, but I had continued moving to find a water source. Unexpectedly difficult terrain appeared, and it was only after crossing that entire area that I discovered this stream.

Clatter… clatter…

I gathered nearby firewood and fallen leaves to make a campfire, and placed a frying pan on top of it.

Sizzle…

Once the pan was sufficiently heated, I put meat and eggs on it, and placed cold, hardened bread in the empty spaces to make it soft and crispy.

“Hmm… I’m using less food than I expected…”

Perhaps because I was traveling on horseback, even after six days, my food bag was still bulging, and I wasn’t particularly hungry despite moving all day.

Maybe my stomach had shrunk back down now that I no longer needed to eat more to survive the 240-hour work weeks I had grown accustomed to.

Either way, having extra food wasn’t a bad thing, so I placed the eggs and meat on the well-toasted bread and began eating while watching the horse grazing on grass.

Munch munch…

By the way, why aren’t there any villages on this road?

It’s not like there are many monsters, and there should be flat areas too.

While thinking about this and finishing one toast, as I was boiling soup with radishes, I noticed someone watching me from the bushes.

“…”

How should I put it…

They seemed to think they were hidden, but from my perspective, it was like a bear trying to hide behind bamboo.

In other words, I could see them clearly, so I pointed at the person with my ladle and said:

“Just come out. I can see you.”

Then, that person began approaching me.

*

Gulp..! Gulp…!

They weren’t alone.

It was a small family that seemed to have been wandering for a long time—a husband, wife, and three children.

When I gave them radish soup, they devoured it frantically. Once they regained their composure, the husband expressed his gratitude to me.

“Thank you so much, sir…! I don’t know what would have happened without you…!”

“Calm down. Where did you come from?”

“Well…”

I listened quietly to the husband’s story.

They were originally from Rascal, but when I destroyed the gambling den, Evelyn’s faction collapsed. Taking advantage of the situation, some thugs committed arson and looting, and this family had been caught up in it.

“We sold all our remaining possessions and were on our way to Ortus where my cousin lives… but we unfortunately ran into a pack of wolves… We lost all our belongings and barely escaped with our lives, ending up in this state.”

“…”

Sigh…

The thugs’ rampage due to Evelyn’s death. And the victims of the resulting arson and looting…

If that was the case, it was partly my fault. Contemplating what to do with them, I eventually asked:

“What’s your name?”

“Aiden… Aiden Barker, sir.”

“Good. Aiden. I’ll be direct. I can take you to Ortus. But there’s one precondition.”

“W-what is it?”

“Absolute obedience to my words. As you know, this road is dangerous. I’m not sure about monsters, but there are certainly wild animals. However, if you stay close to me, I can guarantee your lives.”

After I said that, Aiden looked at his wife and children who were licking their soup bowls clean.

I wasn’t sure how many days they had gone without food, but seeing such desperate eating, they must have been starving for at least a week.

“I agree.”

Eventually, as the head of the family, he agreed to my proposal, and touched by his determination, I gave the pitiful family another ladle of radish soup.

*

“Can you keep walking?”

“Huff… huff… Yes. I’m still fine.”

Since the children and wife couldn’t walk for long, I put them on the packhorse.

As she and the children didn’t know how to ride, I walked beside them holding the reins, while the husband also walked on foot all day through the rugged terrain with his lightened body.

“Don’t try to go too fast. It’s better to walk steadily, even if slowly.”

“Yes…”

“Tsk…”

I couldn’t help but click my tongue.

I couldn’t say his stamina was particularly weak.

He was in a weakened state and couldn’t focus solely on walking.

Moreover, he had been attacked by a wolf pack on this road, so he was probably suffering from extreme anxiety.

“Keep your spirits up. Once we reach that point, we won’t have to walk anymore today.”

“…Yes!”

Suddenly, strength seemed to return to his body.

But I wasn’t particularly surprised, as I had seen many people who fell ill after using up their future energy like that.

“That’s enough. We’ll spend the night here.”

“Then, we’ll prepare the meal.”

“Mm.”

Shortly after, we reached our target location and began making what could be described as a stew, porridge, or soup with all ingredients simmered together.

More sophisticated dishes would have been possible, but this was the only way to ensure enough quantity for six people to eat their fill.

Chop chop! Slice slice!

Fortunately, we had plenty of salt and pepper.

It was natural that salty and spicy food tasted better than bland food, and especially the children, who hadn’t eaten much pepper before, put in so much that their mother had to dilute it with some of her own soup.

“At this rate, we should reach Ortus before we run out of food.”

“What business do you have in Ortus, sir?”

“I have a letter to deliver.”

“I see.”

He didn’t ask any further, and I didn’t bring it up again.

We went to bed, and a comfortable silence enveloped the hilltop until the sun rose the next day.