Ariel, having thoroughly emptied the warm soup bowl, rubbed her satisfied belly and sauntered into her room.
“Ahhh….”
Flop!
It was late at night, and exhausted from the grueling march, Ariel collapsed onto her bed without even the time to change into her pajamas.
“I want to write a novel with you as the protagonist!”
It’s already been over five months since she boldly declared that back in the Lundgren Duchy, and it had also been over five months since Elden expressed his concerns that it would be “tough.”
And tough it indeed was.
The marching, something she had never done before, pushed the frail body of the young lady to its limits.
Yet, the reason she was traveling with Elden on this gastronomic journey was simple.
Joy.
The joy of traveling with a friend who understood her.
The joy of tasting delicious monster cuisines from various regions.
The thrill of witnessing monster hunts, which she had only read about in books, happen right before her eyes.
The joy of describing what she saw first-hand.
And,
The delight in watching the development of her bookish friend, Elden.
All these joys helped her endure the challenging journey, and they made her relish the adventure alongside Elden across the Northern Regions.
Especially, whenever she watched Elden hunt, her heart would inexplicably race, and she would gaze up at him in admiration, finding him incredibly cool.
Was this how writers felt when they came to write about real-life characters?
Longing and envy.
These emotions filled her when she looked at Elden, stirring a desire to write his story beautifully.
After staring blankly at the ceiling for a while, Ariel finally sat up, feeling as heavy as lead, and moved to her desk.
First, she decided to write a letter to her family as soon as she arrived in the city, and she pulled out a thick stack of paper.
A novel featuring Elden as the main character.
It was the scenario for [From a Troublemaker to a Monster Hunter].
To craft an authentic narrative, she had spent time listening to Elden’s past stories and organizing them, mainly focusing on the process of him transforming from the notorious ‘troublemaker young master’ into a magnificent monster hunter.
The scenario captured the essence of Elden’s evolution from villain to hero, inspired by her feelings of injustice from the way people perceived him as just a villain.
Before she knew it, the scenario had approached its climax.
While she was depicting Elden’s life story, it was impossible to write for a lifetime, so from the midway point, she had started weaving potential future tales based on the past and present.
And that future story was a happy ending.
Ariel, who loved happy endings, had infused it with her own desires.
Chuckle.
As Ariel read the introductory part of the climax, a happy smile spread across her face.
It was inspired by Elden walking down a flowery path, alongside another character sharing that journey.
“Hm. Outdoor weddings are the way to go, right?”
Outdoor weddings are certainly better than the stuffy old church.
“And the dress… It should have a veeeery long train.”
Because the character was a bit shorter, a long dress would suit her perfectly.
“How about… three kids? That seems just right.”
Two boys and a girl would be ideal.
“Wait a minute… For kids to come… we need to, um, do that kind of thing, right…?”
Eek.
I don’t know, I don’t know.
Ariel clutched her cheeks, which had suddenly turned crimson, shaking her head profusely.
[That Kind of Thing]
The writer, who had never experienced such things—not even through vicarious experiences—found herself mulling over the outrageous thought of reading adult novels. With a determined reminder that excessive immersion was forbidden for a writer, Ariel slapped her own cheek.
“Hey, get a grip. This is just a story about fictional characters, right?”
Yes.
Just fictional characters.
With that self-reassuring thought, Ariel began to write the happy ending scenario late into the night.
*
After spending a night in the mountain village of Slode, we set off at dawn, heading southeast along the mountain trails.
There wasn’t much to see in Slode.
Only herbivorous monsters nearby, and when she asked the tavern owner, they were all monsters she had already hunted and eaten.
While they claimed to serve monster cuisine, there were no dishes that warranted an extended stay.
As an aside…
“The tavern owner’s skills were worse than Ariel’s…”
It was the only tavern in town, which might explain the low culinary expectations of the Slode residents.
Anyway, being able to soak in warm bathwater to relieve fatigue made for a splendid stop.
Without Slode, we would have had to sleep outdoors yet again.
After quite some time traversing the mountain path, we reached lunchtime and started a campfire in an unfamiliar valley.
Fwoosh!
When you have no teeth, you make do with your gums.
In the absence of anyone skilled in fire magic, I, the electric mage, took charge.
A few sparks on some dry twigs quickly formed a decent campfire, and Ariel began to cook with the few rabbits hunted on the way down the mountain.
The weather was pleasantly clear, with not a cloud in the sky, and the distant mountains were visible, prompting her to whistle with delight. As she sat back to relax, Rachel suddenly struck up a conversation.
“My Lord?”
“What?”
“I’m curious, what are your plans after the gourmet journey ends?”
“Ends?”
“Yes.”
Hmm.
Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t even considered my plans after the gourmet journey.
Even though the Elpherion Kingdom was vast, I figured it would take no longer than three years to traverse the country.
Even the Northern Regions, being the largest landmass, could likely be completed in a year.
By the time the culinary adventure concluded, I would probably be in my late twenties.
After finishing my travels in Elpherion, I could consider traversing the Trimias continent, but frankly, I’m not confident about spending the rest of my life traveling.
It had indeed been tough.
So…
“I don’t have an exact plan yet, but I might settle down somewhere?”
“Settle down? You mean to say?”
“I can’t continue living like this, always camping and staying outdoors.”
Thankfully, the Raphelion Count’s family was without a territory.
We resided in a mansion in the Trimias Duchy, and originally, Elden’s father had been a direct advisor to the Duke of Trimias.
Since we wouldn’t have any subjects to manage, I thought we could use the money from selling the mansion to pay Rachel the overdue wages and perhaps buy some land in a nice location to farm for a few years while getting some well-deserved rest.
“Is that so?”
“By then, my contract as a personal bodyguard will expire. Speaking of which, do you have any plans for the future, My Lord? You’ll have a pretty good amount of money by then.”
During this casual question, Rachel, who had been staring at me intently, finally looked towards the distant mountains and replied.
“I think I might also settle down somewhere.”
“An unexpected plan? With your skills, you could easily sign a new contract as a personal bodyguard for another noble family.”
A sudden gust of wind blew through, and Rachel tucked her tousled bob behind her ear as she responded.
“I’ve fought to escape the life of a woman until now. Now, I want to live that life for once.”
“Oh? The life of a woman, you say? I don’t know where you might settle, but it would be lovely if we could be neighbors.”
For some reason, her nostalgic response piqued my curiosity about what kind of “life of a woman” my gruff mentor would lead, and I replied accordingly.
And at that answer, Rachel simply smiled quietly, gazing off at the distant mountains.
“Ta-da! Here comes the perfectly roasted rabbit!”
A while later, we were able to enjoy a meal made by Ariel.
“Over there. This is land that has been abandoned due to a long war, but once it was ruled by Baron Bedran.”
By late evening, after walking without rest, we arrived at the former Bedran Baron territory, located northwest of Winterfell Duchy.
Without old Rendler’s explanation, I wouldn’t have known the reasons behind the desolation of the land.
Our steadfast portly guide, despite not knowing the way, had been a reliable source of knowledge about the kingdom’s history on our journey.
Stomp, stomp.
We walked through the broken castle walls.
Worried about monsters lurking within, we were relieved to find it silent.
Remaining vigilant, we began searching for a place to stay the night.
The clouds were gathering quite thickly.
If we fell asleep without a sturdy roof or awning, we might just end up buried alive.
“Hm. Everything’s collapsed.”
“Well, it’s been left unattended for nearly 20 years, so it probably couldn’t withstand the test of time.”
After some wandering, a large mansion came into view.
With shattered windows, crumbling columns and walls, tattered flags, and ruined exteriors, the mansion was a stark reminder of the horrors of war, yet it seemed like it could provide shelter for a night.
“Rendler. Please prepare the camp with Ariel. Rachel and I will check if there are any dangers inside the mansion.”
“Understood.”
After setting the baggage down, I drew my sword.
In the ruins, there might be monsters, as well as thieves or other sinister individuals lurking about.
While I would take turns keeping watch, it’s the first rule of camping to check and remove dangers beforehand.
Thus…
“I’ll take the left side; My Lord, please take the right.”
“Sure.”
As Rachel and I parted, I began my search through the corridor on the left side of the mansion.
After climbing a collapsed staircase and reaching the slanted top floor…
…I heard a woman sobbing.
It was a mournful cry, truly pitiful, and it seemed precariously vulnerable.
“Wait, are there any ghosts in this world…?”
Who could possibly be crying in this ruined mansion?
Aiming my sword toward the direction of the sobbing sound, I cautiously approached.
For some reason, that sobbing seemed oddly familiar.
I brushed it off as an illusion born from the tension.
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