The forest of the Ardaar baronetcy, reached by heading west from the original Seini Forest.
As they approached the uninhabited zone that led directly to Olpasbet via Hawk’s Hill, the traveling party paused briefly to rest.
Thus, in the dimness where night and day seemed to blend, at dawn.
Between the fading moonlight and the rising daylight, a few campfires burned quietly.
These campfires were enveloped in some magical aura and burned silently without any smoke.
The smokeless campfires spread a calm light, filling the small space, so that even the faces of those sitting around them diffused vaguely into the encroaching darkness.
Aslan was among them.
With the wings of Steamfalos wrapped around his body, he had removed his armor and placed it off to one side.
Slumped down, he gazed absently at the fire while moving his hands. The streaks of red hair swaying with his hand movements soon turned into the cheerful laughter unique to the girl.
The giggles of “hehe” or “haha” were quiet, not enough to wake even one sleeper.
The elf girl who didn’t need sleep sat there being affectionately petted by Aslan, smiling faintly all the while.
The envious gaze of another girl seated beside her was an added bonus.
There was no need for these three to sleep, at least not immediately.
Aslan, who could meditate instead of sleeping, the girl whose health allowed her to nap briefly and feel refreshed, and the elf who didn’t need sleep at all, thus guarded the campfire while considering the rest of their companions.
With the soft snoring of Tiamat, who looked like some monstrous lump wrapped in a huge blanket, as background noise, they exchanged trivial conversations.
About how nice the weather was or what good food there might be. With two people almost devoid of preferences involved, the conversation wasn’t entirely smooth.
Still, the talk continued steadily. It only paused momentarily when Ereta let out a groan.
“Tsk…”
Angie sighed and shook her head while Phey stared at Ereta with unemotional indigo eyes.
And only after looking at both of them did Aslan finally glance at Ereta with a look full of compassion.
They each harbored different emotions.
Angie knew Ereta’s situation well.
Angie knew exactly what kind of being Ereta was, what deeds she had committed, and roughly understood what she was capable of and under whose command she worked.
So, logically, Angie shouldn’t feel any pity, but the girl felt a strange kind of sympathy intertwined with envy.
She couldn’t gauge who was more pitiable: herself, with a father worse than an evil deity, or Ereta, who had an evil deity for a mother better than any human parents.
At least the former could be abandoned, so Angie eventually decided she was better off.
Thus, she envied. Because Ereta had someone she could care about, even if it was an evil deity.
The sigh that escaped drew the attention of the other two. Angie, receiving their gazes one after another, shivered slightly.
“What, why are you…?”
“Are you jealous?”
The girl, who had been trying to casually respond naturally, shut her mouth upon hearing this.
Because it was true, just as the fairy girl curled up on Aslan’s lap, enjoying his caresses, would say; Angie really did envy Ereta.
“No, I’m not envious. To begin with, why should I envy…”
“Really?”
The girl, attempting to mockingly cross her arms, found herself speechless again, her tightly pressed lips betraying her growing frustration.
“No, I’m not. Honestly, not at all.”
A slightly trembling voice at the end. Phey glanced at Angie with half-opened eyes and let out a short laugh, deliberately cheerful and loving.
“Okay~”
Deliberately drawn-out response. At the familiar tone that reminded her of something, Angie opened her previously closed mouth.
“What? No, I really am not. It’s not what you think, it’s just that Ereta is a bit…”
“A bit?”
It was a woman’s voice that followed. Anticipating the worst possible scenario, Angie involuntarily shuddered.
Unconsciously shrinking her shoulders and turning her head, Angie soon exhaled a sigh of relief.
It wasn’t Ereta who had asked the question.
It was merely Lumel, who had risen early in the morning to gather ingredients and prepare breakfast.
“It’s nothing!”
In response to Lumel’s obvious sigh of relief, Angie crossed her arms and shut her mouth, while Lumel, looking puzzled, glanced at Aslan and then placed the pot on the fire.
But Aslan, having no intention of explaining, simply shook his head.
Ultimately, Lumel remained isolated from the information, taking things out of or putting them into the cooking pot.
The ingredients revealed themselves one by one from within the pot.
There was roasted meat, browned and dripping oil, perhaps pre-cooked, along with the spices Lumel had been grinding since yesterday.
Was it going to be stew again, as usual? Lumel filled the pot with water, added the vegetables he had chopped beforehand, and hummed a little tune.
After placing the meat atop the stacked vegetables, the woman busily sprinkled the spices.
The trio, who had been chatting idly just moments ago, watched this scene as if entranced.
When the pleasant sounds of boiling water intermingled with the similar blue morning sunlight and the woman’s humming, Phey let out an “Ah” upon seeing what Lumel took out.
“Where did you get that?”
“…Ah, this? I got it by asking Lady Maria.”
The woman smiled cheerfully as she spoke. Her unexpectedly gentle expression made even Angie mutter an “Oh,” while looking at the ingredients in her hands.
It was cheese and milk.
While one might expect the cheese, the milk was undoubtedly a hard-to-find ingredient.
Doesn’t it spoil easily? Aslan thought that unless one was of noble standing like Maria, it was impossible to carry milk around.
‘Perhaps she used a magic tool. Some kind of storage-specialized magic tool…’
Just as Aslan thought this, Lumel pushed her braided hair over her shoulder and said,
“To be honest, the atmosphere was a bit eerie, but she seemed like a pretty good person overall.”
Lumel stirred the stew with a long ladle, and her words rang true; Maria was certainly not an evil person.
Of course, that didn’t mean she was a saint either.
“As expected,” Aslan replied lightly.
Only the bubbling sound of the stew filled the silence as the world gradually brightened. At some point, Lumel suddenly glanced behind her.
Precisely, she was looking at the tent used by Richard and Maria.
In front of it stood several soldiers waiting comfortably, alongside Catherine, who stood rigidly glaring at Aslan.
Lumel met her gaze and then turned her somewhat uneasy expression towards Aslan.
“I have a question.”
Aslan stopped stroking Phey’s hair and looked at Lumel. Phey, who didn’t seem to allow even a moment of respite, tapped Aslan’s arm with her tiny hand to continue the petting.
“Yes, I’m listening.”
“Uh… What is your relationship with Lady Catherine, our guard?”
Catherine. Aslan glanced at Catherine, who immediately bared her teeth in overt hostility upon meeting his eyes. Turning back to Lumel, he saw her wearing a complicated expression.
From spending some time together, Aslan realized that this subtly vacant expression of Lumel’s meant she was lost in reverie.
And indeed, Aslan was right; Lumel was fantasizing about their relationship.
She imagined Lumel confessing, Ereta subtly clinging to Aslan, and Catherine also falling for Aslan and confessing.
Aslan’s usual response to such fantasies was predictable. In contrast, Lumel thought that unlike herself, who decided to wait despite not giving up, Catherine harbored resentment.
‘No, that must be certain. There’s no way such expressions would appear otherwise.’
On the other hand, the truth Aslan harbored was rather simple. Before Lumel’s fantasies grew too deep, Aslan gave a slight smile.
“Our relationship isn’t as complicated as you’re thinking. In fact, it’s quite simple. When I was hired by Lady Maria to do a few jobs, Catherine was my assistant. We had a disagreement which escalated into an argument. She lost and failed then, and that’s where the grudge stems from.”
Disagreement. A term that those who knew Aslan well, like Phey and Angie, could guess the origin of, though not Lumel.
“What kind of disagreement was it? For instance… love?”
“Retaliatory assassination.”
The responder wasn’t Aslan. Rather, it was Catherine, who had approached soundlessly like a hybrid creature.
Lumel trembled violently, nearly tipping the stew pot, which Aslan quickly caught.
Given that it had been boiling until just a moment ago, touching the pot bare-handed would have caused severe burns.
Lumel’s eyes widened, and she flailed in panic and fear, reaching for the leather bag at her waist to sprinkle water, but Aslan shook his head.
“L-Lord Aslan! Your hands…!”
“I’m fine.”
The heat flowing through the skin was mild, without any risk of burning or sticking. Aslan calmly returned the pot to its original position above the campfire.
To Lumel, who worriedly gazed at Aslan with moist eyes, Aslan showed his unharmed right hand and smiled gently.
“Eh…?”
A startled Lumel and a visibly irritated Catherine. Aslan alternated his gaze between the two and smirked.
“There are such abilities. You don’t need to worry too much.”
Calming the curious gazes, Aslan hid his hands. He couldn’t bring himself to say that it was due to drinking dragon’s blood and gaining flame resistance.
If questioned about how he knew of that effect, he wouldn’t have been able to answer.
Instead, Aslan asked Catherine, who was looking at him disdainfully.
“What is it?”
Catherine sneered, showing the scar on her face, and gestured towards the tent with a nod of her head.
“Lord Maria is calling you.”
Indeed, the tent flap was slightly open.
*
“Come in.”
A brief word of permission sounded, and Aslan entered, closing the slightly tilted entrance. The moment it closed, an oppressive silence enveloped the space.
Inside the tent were Richard and Maria.
Maria, holding a teacup and seated in a chair facing Aslan, and Richard, bandaged all over and looking somehow exhausted.
Aslan noticed the magical energy floating in the air upon seeing them.
‘This is… soundproofing?’
A spell to prevent sound from escaping outside. Often used to prevent eavesdropping, it was also commonly seen in lovers’ bedrooms.
Then, his heightened sense of smell detected a scent lingering in the tent.
A subtle smell that would only arise after skin touched skin.
Upon realizing this, Aslan erased even the faintest expression from his face.
A natural non-reaction, not even trying to hide it. Richard greeted him with a weary expression, seemingly believing Aslan hadn’t noticed.
“Lord Aslan… Good morning.”
“Yes, good morning. Lord Richard.”
“You can speak casually. We’ve done so before…”
“Yeah, Richard.”
“…Hmm.”
At least ventilation could have been considered before calling. Aslan barely suppressed a sigh and turned his gaze from the foolishly smiling Richard to Maria.
Unlike Maria, who still bore clear sweat marks, Richard’s physical appearance was flawless.
His attire was immaculate, and there was no trace of sweat. His eyes showed no signs of desire or craving.
He must have already ‘recharged’.
Seeing the tired-looking Richard compared to Maria, Aslan understood internally why Richard avoided meeting Maria.
“I heard you called me.”
At Aslan’s words, Maria smiled faintly.
And she sipped her tea. Leisurely, she soon began speaking.
“We understand we need to go to Olpasbet. However, it’s foreign territory, and the baron of Olpasbet has been secluded recently due to civil unrest. It won’t be easy to intrude unless absolutely necessary. How do you plan to handle this?”
Aslan waited for more words without responding.
“When we need to enter Olpasbet, how will we proceed?”
Finally, the awaited question came, timely as Aslan needed to bring up the topic anyway.
Though other methods existed, they were cumbersome and difficult. Hard to find too. With Maria’s help, it would be easier and safer to resolve the issue.
“Is there another method?”
The woman set down her now-empty teacup. Aslan realized it wasn’t a formal tea break but hydration after intimacy. He then wore an expression of regret.
Certainly, she must know yet seems unable to recall.
Indeed, appearances may be deceiving. After quietly touching the teacup for a while, Maria suddenly opened her eyes wide.
“Surely not.”
“Yes, that ‘surely not’.”
As if that settled it, both Aslan and Maria simultaneously closed their mouths. Only Richard remained clueless, wearing a bewildered expression.
“…Uh, Lord Aslan. Inform me as well. What strategy is this…?”
Completely missing the point, Richard displayed a confused expression. Ignoring him, Aslan spoke.
“Please prepare six mana restriction rings.”
While Richard still wore an expression of confusion, Maria looked troubled.
