It had been two days since they left Evian.
Their original destination was to head north, pass through the northern forest, skirt around the Lukasia mountain range, and keep going straight to cross the Insturia mountains, but they soon realized they had to change their plans.
Alex was wearing steel greaves, and Kaiyak, being a Lizardman, had thick, scaly skin that wouldn’t get hurt by just about anything.
But Yona was not so lucky.
The unkempt road, wide enough for a single cargo carriage, seemed to be made with no consideration for people walking on it, and walking on it was a nightmare for Yona, with stones and pebbles stabbing at her under her leather shoes.
Thanks to that, they adjusted their route, opting for a less treacherous path that went through the Mareia Republic and the Insturia Principality to cross the Insturia mountains.
“Let’s take a break.”
Just as they crested a hill and the sun was well past its peak, Kaiyak suggested resting. As soon as he did, Yona plopped down right on the ground.
Without anyone telling her to, she kicked off her shoes in a hurry.
“Ow, does that not hurt?”
Alex reached over to inspect Yona’s feet, checking the soles that were covered in scars, some of which were red and oozing.
“Doesn’t look like it hurts, huh?”
Yona grimaced and opened her water flask. She took a sip, held some in her mouth, and then spat it out all over her foot.
“Why can’t a healer self-heal…”
Yona’s grumbling was quite genuine. After all, priests could self-heal, but healers couldn’t. Healers definitely got the short end of the stick.
“Hey, get your hands off! At this rate, when are you going to get better?”
Out of nowhere, Alex found a piece of grass. Completely ignoring the intrigued gaze of Kaiyak, Alex fiddled with the grass in his hands.
“What are you doing?”
“Did I mention I’m the son of an herbalist? This is perfect.”
Before Yona could even respond, Alex popped the grass into his mouth and started chewing. After a while, the chewed grass had turned into a mushy green paste, which Alex then slathered onto Yona’s foot without a second thought.
“Hey, is that not poison?”
“Poison? Please, do you think I’ve never seen my dad treat wounds?”
“Couldn’t you get healed by a healer?”
“…Our village didn’t have a healer who healed for free.”
Healers weren’t even treated as priests, but they still had the ability to heal. So, many villages had a few healers who ran their clinics as small businesses. Of course, some healers did quite well if they were skilled at using their divine powers, but for those who weren’t, making ends meet was tough. In Evian, the saturation of healers was so high that no one even thought about opening a clinic.
“I never thought about opening a healing center.”
“Oh, this is Agbanu herb. Good find, Alex.”
“I told you I’m the son of a herbalist.”
“If you apply it, it’ll heal wounds well, Yona. Like it or not, it’s only Alex taking care of you.”
Yona didn’t bother to respond to that.
Her lips were pouted, but she didn’t say much.
“Alright, let’s go. We need to get into the village before it’s too late.”
Kaiyak stood up from his seated position, and Yona put her shoes back on.
“Want me to carry you?”
“No thanks. Just rest your head a bit and channel some healing.”
As Alex chuckled and bent his knee to let her rest her head, Yona patted his bald head.
It felt soothing.
Every step caused sharp pain to shoot up from her feet.
While she had experienced tough adventures, this route was particularly grueling.
The Insturia Mountain Range was notorious for its ruggedness, but the Lukasia Mountains were also quite challenging, so this little stretch shouldn’t be dismissed.
Walking on this path in just her leather shoes was no joke.
“We’re almost there, see that?”
Kaiyak stopped and pointed to the distant mountains.
Several tall mountains stood shoulder to shoulder, and at their base, little log cabins sat, each puffing out smoke from their chimneys.
Against the backdrop of the setting sun, with smoke rising from chimneys and log houses, the village—about thirty houses—sat quietly in a serene landscape.
“Let’s stay there for the night. It looks…”
Kaiyak dropped the axe he was carrying and glanced at Yona.
Yona, drenched in sweat, had her hair sticking to her pretty face—she looked pretty miserable.
“It seems like you’re struggling to walk any further. If you knew you had a long way to go, you should’ve built up your stamina.”
Yona averted her gaze, avoiding Kaiyak’s look.
When it came to stamina, she had nothing to say.
“…I’m sorry.”
“Hey, I can take care of that. No need to be so sensitive about it. Come on, let’s hurry up and rest when we get there, alright?”
Alex awkwardly chimed in, causing Kaiyak to chuckle as well.
“Yeah, walking will help you build stamina. It’ll be fine. We have all the time in the world, unlike you humans.”
Yona forced a smile and continued walking.
Kaiyak’s comment wasn’t wrong.
She knew the long journey to the community would be tough, but it was indeed her fault for not worrying about her stamina.
After two days, Yona realized she was just being a burden to both Kaiyak and Alex.
“The atmosphere is a bit tense, isn’t it?”
“It’s kind of eerie around here.”
Kaiyak sniffed the air and looked around as he entered the village.
In his memories, this village was mostly filled with men who were skilled hunters, living a pretty comfortable life by selling their hides.
But that wasn’t the vibe now.
Before entering the village, he had barely noticed the wooden walls surrounding it and the sharp wooden spears stuck into them.
And upon entering, he felt an overwhelming silence, with absolutely no sign of life.
For a village of thirty households, it wasn’t small at all, yet he hardly saw anyone wandering around at this hour.
Isn’t it just the time when the darkness is settling in?
At least there should be a couple of folks coming back from hunting, merrily chatting in the tavern, right?
But there was none of that.
Moreover, he couldn’t see a tavern at all.
“Hey, aren’t you Kaiyak?”
An orc with long tusks and green skin peeked through the window.
He had been wandering around for quite some time since entering the village.
“It’s really you, Kaiyak!”
“James, right?”
As soon as the orc recognized him, he opened the door and grabbed Kaiyak’s hand enthusiastically.
“Man, I thought you dropped dead since you hadn’t shown up in ages!”
“If you’re alive, there’s no way I’d be dead. So, how have you been?”
“Pretty good. So, are those folks behind you part of your crew?”
Only then did James turn to look at Alex and Yona, who were awkwardly standing behind Kaiyak.
His eyes held no trace of hostility, just pure friendliness and curiosity.
Yona didn’t mind the look at all.
“I’m Alex.”
“I’m Yona.”
“They’re my friends.”
“Ah, I see! Come on in, then. Haven’t eaten yet, right?”
The log cabin, where they were welcomed by James, was quite neat and well-decorated.
An orc woman who seemed to be his wife and seven children stood together, staring at the unfamiliar visitors.
“Oh my, Kaiyak! It’s been ages!”
“Oh wow, sister-in-law. It’s been a while.”
“‘Sister-in-law’ my foot, just call me ‘brother’s wife.’”
“Brother’s wife? Ha!”
Kaiyak, James, and James’s wife, Miraen, were already familiar with each other, and they quickly exchanged warm greetings.
Meanwhile, the kids, not knowing who these strange visitors were, timidly peeked out from behind their mom, looking anxious.
“The kid you saw is our third one, Klag. He’s seven this year. The one above him is Ralph, and the one above him is Edron. Well, you probably won’t remember them since they were all so little when you last saw them.”
As James burst into laughter, it seemed the orc kids didn’t ring any bells for Kaiyak.
Even with their dad introducing them by name, the kids just shuffled about, glancing at each other nervously.
Even though Dad James introduced everyone by name, they all just exchanged shy glances like a bunch of awkward turtles.
Then, suddenly, the tiniest little orc charged over and latched onto Yona’s leg like a barnacle.
Yona almost screamed as the little one stomped on her foot. Seriously, how did it always have to be that spot that hurt? Tears nearly sprang to her eyes.
But really, how could she blame the kid?
Despite sweating buckets, Yona scooped up the little orc and said, “You’re… James, right? Your kid is really healthy! I’m Yona, a companion of Kaiyak.”
“Welcome! And that over there is…”
When James’s wife glanced at Alex, he nodded and greeted her with a little bow.
“Come on in! We’ll have dinner soon, so let’s chat over a meal. It’s fortunate you showed up just in time!”
Dinner was pretty simple.
Just some smoked meat that must’ve been prepared ahead of time, sliced up nicely.
A few rough slices of rye bread that looked like they went through a blender, and some milk that might’ve just been squeezed this morning—it had a bit of a fishy smell.
A totally ordinary dinner for peasants, nothing fancy.
Yona picked up a piece of the rye bread and sawed it open with a dull knife. She stuffed it with thinly sliced smoked meat, jam-packed it with assorted fruits, and slopped on some almost sugar-free fruit preserve to make it somewhat edible.
“Gack!”
The rough rye was a task to chew and swallow, and Yona, who usually munched comfortably, nearly choked.
“Hey, hey! Drink some milk!”
Alex shoved a cup of milk towards her, and after a big gulp, she finally caught her breath.
“You two look great together! Are you married?”
Miraen’s cheeky question hit hard.
“Oh, no! Not at all! Absolutely not!”
“Oh, I see.”
Being an orc woman, she didn’t have fangs, but she still wore a grin that had all the intimidating charm of an orc, which was amusing in itself.
“Anyway, Kaiyak, you arrived at just the right time.”
“Something’s going on in the village, isn’t there?”
Pushing the bread aside and only nibbling on meat and jam, Kaiyak nodded like he already knew what was brewing.
“The meat doesn’t taste the same as before. So what’s the matter?”
James put down his fork, looking like he’d lost his appetite completely, and let out a long sigh.
“The beasts have gone insane. Absolutely nuts.”
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