Without any direction markers to gauge the path they were on…
Such situations occurred surprisingly often.
Yona and Alex found themselves in just that situation.
After traveling through the Medial Plain and reaching the border of Lake Kantasia, from there it’s the Viridia Plain.
At first glance, they all looked like the same plain, but crossing Lake Kantasia meant entering Viridia Plain.
The problem was that everything looked the same.
“That’s the way.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
Yona nodded firmly, looking straight at Alex.
After waking up and glancing around, they both realized they hadn’t marked their direction before sleeping, leaving their sense of direction a bit twisted.
In this vast plain, where not a mountain was in sight, every direction seemed to blend together.
As a result, it felt like here was there, and there was here, all leading to quite a confusion. Yona, pointing with her finger toward her line of sight, spoke boldly.
“Alright. Let’s get going.”
Without another word, Alex followed Yona’s lead.
In such situations, Yona’s instincts were remarkably accurate.
She called it her danger-sensing ability, and it had never been wrong so far.
With their bags slung over their shoulders, the two looked up at the sky.
“…Looks like it might rain?”
At Yona’s words, Alex nodded too.
The sky was completely overcast.
The sun might be up there somewhere, but the dark clouds obscuring it were threatening to pour down at any moment.
“Ugh…”
Glancing up at the sky, Alex frowned.
Before their journey began, he remembered that the general store within the Mage Community had been selling well-oiled raincoats.
It was Alex who had persuaded Yona not to buy one, claiming it wasn’t a common item and they didn’t need it.
Now, looking back, he couldn’t help but regret not buying it when he had the chance.
“Here, you big doofus. Hold onto this.”
A neatly folded bundle of cloth was thrust toward Alex.
“Uh, what’s this…?”
As Alex took it and unfolded it, it turned out to be a raincoat.
Thick brown fabric soaked in oil, leaving a slight oily residue on his hands.
Touching it, nothing else came off, indicating it was a high-quality item, certainly prepared under the sun after being oiled.
“There you go, big doofus. Just like I said.”
Yona grinned, showing her teeth, as Alex stared at her with a dazed expression.
He distinctly remembered telling her not to buy this, yet here it was, somehow procured without his knowledge.
“While you were busy picking out your gear, I made sure to grab it in a hurry. All signs pointed to rain soon, so I did well to buy it, heh.”
she knew her responsibilities too. So she kept focusing on assisting Alex without letting the wretched voice get to her.
“Let’s wrap this up quickly and go grab some tea after,” Yona suggested with a playful smirk, her confidence growing as she maneuvered alongside Alex.
“Sure, but only if we survive this!” Alex laughed, swinging his hammer, the sound ringing through the rain as they took down another orc.
The echo of laughter mingled with the storm as they pressed on, ready to outsmart a few dumb orcs and treat themselves afterwards.
Knowing her role, she also understood what she had to do.
Yona wasn’t dumb enough to fall for that charmer Vervaria’s temptation.
Ignoring that voice on purpose, she moved, thoroughly supporting Alex who was facing the enemy with his back turned for her safety.
Every danger that flew towards her was completely blocked by Alex.
The minor injuries that arose in the process were all healed by Yona.
Finally, trusting each other, they moved in perfect harmony, becoming each other’s shadows.
Even with the rain pouring down like this, their movements surely matched perfectly—
“Yona, are you okay?”
Alex, wearing his raincoat backward, glanced over.
Yona quickly noticed an injury he hadn’t seen and hurriedly healed him.
“Is something wrong?”
Only then did Alex refocus and grip his hammer.
Yona bit her lip.
“Shut your mouth, you snake. Just go commit sudoku before I lose my mind.”
【Hah, what a foul-mouthed girl. If you were to commit sudoku, would that man still be sane?】
“He’s not the kind to be that weak. Don’t try to mess with me.”
【You’re saying some funny things. Let’s see how long that statement holds.】
The low laugh of Vervaria echoed.
Yona readjusted her grip on Alex’s shoulder.
Meanwhile, the orcs were being taken down one by one, leaving only the larger one, the chief, still standing.
Though he was roaring in anger, it didn’t seem like he was enraged enough to charge headlong. He swung his club only after all his underlings had dropped dead.
Even though he was big, he was just a dumb wild orc, and he charged forward, swinging his club.
“Yona, it’s coming.”
The moment Alex’s words dropped, Yona pulled her hands away from his shoulder and took a couple of steps to the side.
Alex was planning to brace himself for the orc’s charge head-on, and this way, the impact would be fully transmitted to Yona behind him. This was the correct way to do it.
Alex firmly planted his greaves on the ground and lowered his center of gravity.
After slightly tilting his shield to brace for impact, the orc’s charge slammed right into his shoulder.
– Bang!
Alex’s greaves took a step back.
If he had held the shield straight, it would have slipped back a lot more, but since Alex had tilted the shield, it wasn’t a full-on collision.
As the orc’s shoulder slid off the shield surface, it jetted upwards, and the orc couldn’t handle its own momentum, landing awkwardly on the shield.
“Hyah!”
Just at the right moment, Alex lifted the shield, flipping the orc off to the other side.
The orc, still in the midst of its speed, landed headfirst on the ground, having been flipped off the shield.
Though it was headfirst, the orc wasn’t dead yet.
The hammer that had already dealt with so many orcs was now slick with blood, and Alex made sure to grip it tightly to avoid slipping on the blood flowing down the handle.
Alex gripped the hammer tightly, careful not to slip on the blood pooling around him.
“Yona, stay back. It’s splattered everywhere.”
Alex flashed a grin at Yona.
It signified he was relaxed, but Yona felt something weird about that smile and could only awkwardly return it.
*
After dispatching a couple more monsters, the two finally approached a viewpoint where Cantatien came into sight.
On the map, it looked like just a tiny village, but now it appeared to be a quite sizable small city, complete with walls, possibly a tad smaller than Evian.
“So that’s Cantatien. We came the right way.”
“I told you so!”
“Right. Yona never says anything wrong.”
“…Ugh.”
Yona’s face cringed.
‘Did this guy eat something weird?’
Since leaving the Mage Community, Alex had become unexpectedly friendly, leaving Yona flustered.
“Come on, let’s go.”
“Uh, uh, okay.”
Yet, Yona suddenly realized her hand was in Alex’s.
This had also started since leaving the Mage Community.
She figured holding hands was no big deal, so she didn’t mind, but it had grown to feel quite natural.
Now that they were here, she felt it would be awkward to pull her hand away.
“Welcome, is it just the two of you?”
“Yes.”
As Alex and Yona approached the entrance, two men, clearly guards, appeared.
The leather armor they wore looked like it had been hastily made, and they probably belonged to a neighborhood watch.
“We’re adventurers. This is my wife.”
Alex now casually pretended like they were a couple.
Yona, who had been taken aback, quickly recovered her expression and smiled broadly at the watchmen.
“You’re an adventurer couple… I apologize for the oversight.”
“Yes.”
“What brings you to Cantatien?”
“We’re on our way to Lizardden and stopped here to rest halfway.”
“I see, then you’re in luck.”
“Excuse me?”
The sudden comment about good fortune left them puzzled.
Both Alex and Yona were wearing strange expressions, causing the watchman to burst out laughing.
“It’s the festival in Cantatien soon! It starts the day after tomorrow. It’s a winter festival that everyone looks forward to each year!”
“Oh, is that so?”
Well, they weren’t in any hurry on their journey.
Alex considered it a great opportunity.
Yona might not feel the same way, but Alex thought it would surely be a good thing.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
