Nameless furrowed his brow, looking unjustly upset while smoothing his forehead.
“Master, I haven’t said a word.”
“Do you not know the meaning of unspoken agreement?”
Nameless rolled his eyes around, let out a small sigh, and opened his mouth.
“…I think it would be better to get a wagon now before the prices go up.”
I felt like he was dodging the topic, but as a nice Master, I decided to let it slide with a quick jab to his side.
Instead, I asked the question that had been nagging at me since earlier.
“By the way, why exactly do we need to rent a wagon?”
Nameless and I could easily walk if it wasn’t that far; it would actually be quicker than getting tired on a wagon.
I shot him a disapproving look, but Nameless appeared rather flabbergasted.
“Master, you weren’t planning to run again, were you?”
“…Was I?”
Nameless let out a deep sigh and rubbed his face with both hands.
“…I think it’s better if we go get the wagon first.”
“Hmm, fine.”
I hadn’t expected him to dislike the idea so much, but it seemed that Nameless had a different way of thinking.
Feeling unnecessarily dejected due to his firm stance, I puffed out my cheeks as he reached out a hand to me.
“Master, there are a lot of people here.”
I looked up at Nameless, who held out his hand.
He scratched his cheek with a finger, looking a bit awkward, and his face turned red.
“Sure.”
Naturally, my mouth curled up as I took the hand of my disciple, who feared being apart from me.
We walked together, feeling each other’s warmth.
Getting the wagon turned out to be surprisingly simple.
At first, I thought Nameless was indeed just going to walk as we headed to the village entrance, but then I saw the wagons parked nearby and changed my mind.
Each wagon had a sign with different village names staked in front of them.
It seemed they had already determined which village they would take the passengers to, and people who needed to go there paid a set fee to ride.
Nameless wandered around the signs, then approached a man with a striking brown parting, chatted for a bit, pulled out some silver while giving him a few coins, and returned.
“Is it all set?”
“Yes, Master, it seems we leave in two hours.”
“Two hours…”
While that’s plenty of time for a quick errand, it’s a bit short to focus on anything.
As I pondered how to utilize those two hours with my arms crossed, Nameless pointed at my bag.
“Master, considering we’ll be spending a few days in the wagon, shouldn’t we stock up on supplies?”
“Ah, you’re right.”
Since my strawberries were running low, we could just take a look around the market with the remaining time.
Nameless gazed at my bag with a look of disgust.
“Aren’t you buying too much?”
Honestly, I thought it was still not enough, but it seemed we had different opinions on that.
Embarrassed by my overly stuffed bag, I slung it over my shoulder and turned away.
“They’ll go bad if we leave them too long. Will that be okay?”
“Don’t worry; I think we’ll eat this much in two days.”
“…Is that so?”
I felt like I could guess Nameless’s expression even without seeing his face.
Hmm, is it really that strange for someone my age to like strawberries?
My cheeks flushed.
Wanting to escape that somewhat embarrassing situation, I hurriedly started walking.
“It’s almost time for the wagon; we should be on our way now.”
“Yes.”
Nameless climbed into the wagon first and reached out his hand to me.
“Huh?”
“Isn’t it uncomfortable to get up?”
Does this kid think I’m an elementary school kid?
I’m not that short!
I don’t know the average height of the empire, but in Korea, I’m only about 10cm shorter than average.
I puffed up my cheeks at Nameless, who was treating me like a dwarf, and swatted his hand away, jumping into the wagon.
“No need!”
Nameless, apparently disappointed by my response, licked his lips and retracted his hand.
Ignoring Nameless, I looked around inside the wagon and noticed that it was empty apart from us.
Had our companions not arrived yet? I wondered, but with so little time until departure and no baggage loaded, it seemed like we were on our own.
That made me wonder if we were heading somewhere that adventurers or merchants avoided.
Thinking about going somewhere like that made me feel uneasy, so I asked Nameless.
“Are we the only ones going?”
“Yes, I even paid extra to book these seats specifically.”
“Why spend extra money doing that?”
“Isn’t it uncomfortable for you to share a wagon with strangers, Master?”
“Hmm, it is a bit uncomfortable, but…”
I appreciated that Nameless was considerate of me, but isn’t part of traveling about meeting new people?
And it would also be a good opportunity for Nameless to find a partner while meeting diverse folks.
Where else do you find a Master worried about their disciple’s romantic prospects?
With a smug expression, I opened my mouth to convey what I was thinking.
“Nameless, you should start looking for a-”
“Master, I just bought some famous strawberries at a high price. Would you like to try some?”
As soon as he finished his sentence, Nameless pulled a handful of strawberries from his bag, as if my response was predetermined.
“Oooh, great!”
Of course, I didn’t refuse.
Before long, the wagon set off, and it was either due to the sturdy horse or the speed, but the scenery outside was changing in an instant.
Not long after leaving the village, all I could see at first was the vast plains, which was pretty dull, but now, maybe due to entering the woods, the view was quite delightful.
Just like what we saw now.
“O Nameless, look over there! A frog is eating a wolf!”
“…Huh?”
Maybe it was too far for Nameless to see it?
He would be missing out on half of life if he couldn’t see such an entertaining scene.
Eager to share this amusing moment, I hooked my arm into Nameless’s and pulled him closer to point it out.
“Hey!”
“M-Master!”
“Can’t you see? Over there!”
To gauge Nameless’s reaction, I turned my head, and sure enough, it seemed like he had never seen such a spectacle before, judging by his wide eyes and flushed cheeks.
Excited, I brought my face right in front of Nameless.
“Did you see it?!”
“…Yes.”
It seemed pretty fascinating, as his face wore a dazed expression.
“Wow, I couldn’t see anything like that in the mountains I lived in!”
The mountains I used to dwell in were filled with huge animals instead of cute little ones, and eventually, they disappeared over time, so scenes like this were rare.
Suddenly curious, I wondered how Nameless, who had lived in the same place as me, felt about this.
“Isn’t the outside world amazing? What do you think?”
“…Yes, it’s cute.”
“?”
His response was somewhat difficult to comprehend.
‘Does this kid really find the sight of a frog eating a wolf cute?’
Even though he is my disciple, that’s tough to understand.
“Hmm, is that so?”
Losing interest in his dull reaction, I leaned out of the wagon to take a look outside.
Nameless stared at me blankly, but I was too distracted by the scenery to notice.
As the sun began to set, darkening the surroundings, the wagon came to a stop, followed by the voice of the mage.
“Are you okay with camping around here?”
I looked around at the mage’s words.
It was hard to believe I was in the mountains given the peaceful clearing that showed signs of humanity, like charred ground and holes all over.
It looked like other mages had camped here as well.
“Yes, that’s fine.”
Nameless responded on my behalf, rummaging through his bag until he pulled out a tent I had never seen before.
Seeing the simple tent for the first time made me curiously approach it to inspect.
“When did you buy this?”
“I didn’t buy it; it was in the wagon.”
Ah, so that’s why he didn’t pack bedding when we left the mountain.
Nodding my head in agreement, I watched as Nameless began setting up two simple tents.
“Two?”
Nameless didn’t even look at me as he unfolded the tent and replied.
“Yes, there’s no point in having an extra if I have two.”
That was true, but sleeping alone felt a little lonely.
And while I don’t get affected by the weather, isn’t Nameless different?
Sharing body heat in the chilly dawn would be important.
“Hmm, it seems like there’s no need to go through the trouble; how about we sleep together?”
I took the other tent from Nameless’s hands and stuffed it into the bag.
“…Yes.”
“Good thinking.”
I smiled sweetly.
Off in the distance, I heard the mage’s voice grumbling.
“…Damn.”
