Ch.49The Road to Faerus Vale (1)

“Whinnny!”

Clop-clop! Clop-clop!

The spotted horse and I gallop down the road, my coat tails and hat brim fluttering majestically in the wind.

If there were soldiers following behind, we might have looked like a procession of knights riding to war.

“Knights, huh…”

The blacksmith’s words linger in my mind because reaching the Metal rank means advancing to a higher profession.

Taking my profession of “Battler” as an example, I could be knighted by the Relief Order to become an Errantry Knight, or I could become a Slayer or Gladiator.

Until now, I hadn’t seriously considered which advanced profession to choose since I never expected to rise in rank so quickly, but becoming an Errantry Knight didn’t seem like a bad option.

Not only could I gain fame as an orphan-turned-knight, but being officially knighted also meant better public perception, separate from the status guarantees of being an adventurer.

In exchange, I would be obligated to always strive to help the weak, but since I already enjoyed helping people, it wasn’t much of a drawback.

A wandering knight of justice! Wouldn’t that be romantic?

But that was still a matter for later.

Advancing to a higher profession meant rising in rank, but for combat specialists like me, the methods for rank advancement were predetermined, and I hadn’t yet fulfilled those conditions.

Specifically, manifesting an Aura.

The books describe it as martial arts accumulated by a human being visualized in the mind and then projected into reality… but honestly, I don’t quite understand it.

I’ve seen instructors at the Swordsmanship Guild manifest their Auras, but despite having killed countless people, I still haven’t manifested mine.

Perhaps I haven’t killed enough people yet, or maybe some special mindset is required—I’m not sure.

I might never manifest it, but I’ve decided not to worry too much about it.

Whether I manifest an Aura or not, ultimately I’m the only one who can fulfill my dreams.

It just means I’ll have to walk a harder, more arduous path—but isn’t there romance in that too?

Clop-clop! Clop-clop!

“Faerus Vale…”

I remind myself once more of the destination I’m heading toward.

I’m still too weak, and the world is too vast.

I might die before reaching Faerus Vale, or I might suddenly gain enlightenment while sleeping and manifest my Aura.

But all of that can only be discovered by moving forward.

Just as you can’t know if food will fill your stomach until you eat it.

Just as you can’t gauge how difficult a mountain climb is until you start ascending.

I gaze at the distant horizon and reach out my hand to grasp it.

“…I can’t reach it.”

My journey is still long, and this far-reaching adventure has only just begun.

Someday, I’ll grasp that horizon and climb higher than the clouds.

*

“Phew…”

A pitch-black night.

The moon hasn’t risen today—perhaps Maria and Saburo are having a passionate night together.

Thanks to that, the small campfire I’ve built is the only source of light and heat keeping me warm.

Crack! Crack!

Whoosh!

I break twigs and toss them into the fire, above which a kettle hanging from a stand slowly comes to a boil.

I open the kettle lid and add the premium tea leaves I purchased for a hefty sum.

Hisssss…

Before long, white steam rises along with a pleasant aroma, and I pour the tea into a cup, waiting for it to cool to the right temperature.

As the warmth gradually subsides, I bring the cup to my lips to savor the taste, silently praising these “premium tea leaves” (that’s literally what they’re called).

It’s actually quite funny that I’m evaluating tea when I’ve barely drunk any before.

“Ah… this is peak romance.”

A solitary campfire burning in the deep darkness.

And beside it, an adventurer leisurely sipping tea.

It’s exactly like a scene from page 32 of a fairy tale.

Feeling like the protagonist of a fairy tale, I enjoy my tea, then set aside the kettle to place a frying pan over the fire and begin preparing dinner.

As always, dinner consists of eggs, meat, and some vegetables.

One of the greatest pleasures of travel is food, and since I’m skilled at making money, I can afford to use good ingredients without holding back.

Sizzle…

The eggs and meat begin to cook, with the egg whites literally turning white and the red meat darkening.

I take out a beer from my spatial storage, place the hot frying pan on a flat stone, and begin eating, cutting the food with a fork and knife.

“…..”

Damn it.

What a basic mistake.

I curse my ten-minutes-ago self for not adding salt and pepper, then take them out from my spatial storage and sprinkle them over the fully cooked fried eggs and steak.

“Ugh…”

The undissolved grains of salt and pepper are unpleasant, but I can’t exactly use meat juices as a sauce.

I finish my unsatisfying dinner and then go to bed.

*

The next day.

As the strong, powerful morning dawns, I cover the dying embers of the campfire with sand to extinguish it, then create water to quickly wash the dishes.

I may not know much else, but I couldn’t live without Ignatus for making fire and Crewors for creating water.

Is this what they call reverse adaptation?

There’s a saying that you don’t miss what you have until it’s gone—I suppose that’s what this is.

“Well then, shall we go?”

“Neigh!”

I mount the spotted horse and spur it on, and it begins to move forward with a resonant sound.

Though not a warhorse or a charger but merely a pack horse, the spotted horse—being a horse nonetheless—can reach speeds no human could match once it gets going.

Clop-clop! Clop-clop!

Despite the new horseshoes wearing down in real-time, the spotted horse doesn’t stop running, seemingly in a good mood.

Or perhaps it’s trying to forget the many needles it had to endure a few days ago.

But what does it matter?

The road was rough but clear, and the passing scenery was beautiful.

I didn’t have a watch, but judging by the morning dew falling on my head and the gradually brightening sun, it seemed to be around six or seven o’clock.

Having made a habit of going to bed early and rising early, seeing the rising sun had become part of my daily routine.

Surely the priests of the ancient empire also greeted the rising sun every day with rituals and ceremonies.

“I hope the moon comes out tonight.”

It’s fine for couples to have their time together, but for mortal beings like us, it’s very inconvenient when neither the moon nor the sun appears.

Especially for adventurers like me—without moonlight, there’s nothing to do but fumble around in the darkness.

Now I could create light, but carrying something that glows while alone in the darkness would only make me a target.

Some herbs only bloom under moonlight, so both the sun and moon need to show themselves daily for the world to function properly.

“Isn’t that right, Spotty?”

“Whinnny!”

As the spotted horse snorted in agreement, I took a carrot from my spatial storage and fed it to him.

Crunch! Crunch! Ptooey!

“Hey, eat the leaves too.”

“Neigh!”

The spotted horse ate only the sweet root part of the carrot and discarded the leafy part.

More surprised than angry, I added the new information that horses can be picky eaters and continued riding.

When lunchtime came, I gathered nearby grass and boiled it with water to make feed for the spotted horse, while I made skewers with leftover meat seasoned with salt and pepper to satisfy my hunger.

Eating heartily wasn’t bad, but since I needed to keep riding, too full a stomach would make me nauseous.

“We’ve rested enough, let’s go again.”

“Whuff.”

Once more, I mounted the spotted horse and rode for three hours straight on the bumpy dirt road.

As the three hours approached four, I halted the spotted horse’s gallop upon hearing an unusual sound in the distance.

“…What’s that sound?”

Tak-tak-tak-tak…

I quietly guided the spotted horse forward, listening carefully to the approaching sound, and soon realized it was the clash of weapons between attackers and those being attacked.

“Hmm, this seems quite large-scale.”

As I rode closer, I saw horses lying on the roadside bleeding and at least twenty people sprawled on the ground.

Judging by the sounds coming from the distance, they had moved quite far while fighting, and the battle was still ongoing—it seemed to be a large-scale conflict with over a hundred people involved on both sides.

“Hmm…”

I stroked my growing stubble, considering whether to intervene, but soon made up my mind and rode toward the screams.

The reason was simple—this was the only road available.