Rest (1)

The journey home proceeded smoothly, without a single hitch.

The carriage Dmitry had summoned at great expense was fitted with amenities comparable to those at an inn, making it comfortable, and the food he had placed in my hands to eat along the way was delicious as well.

The food prepared by the Rekilis estate's cook was a kind of kebab. The vegetables were good, but the meat was especially tender, and I could not get tired of eating it. Since they had packed about three for me to eat along the way, I did not go hungry.

Kebab was normally an unsuitable food to eat inside a swaying carriage, but the interior had been fitted with shock-absorbing magic, so eating was not particularly difficult. In fact, it was comfortable enough for me to stretch out my legs and sleep.

After neatly polishing off one of the kebabs Dmitry had given me to fill my empty stomach, I read my book while fighting off the drowsiness that followed a meal. For reference, it was the history book about the Race War that I had been reading so intently before meeting Dmitry.

Dmitry had willingly given it to me because he had not finished reading it. I hesitated a little at receiving the Remover as a gift as well, but Dmitry kindly told me it was fine and that he could simply buy another one later.

I was not sure whether he had given it to me because I was Marie's boyfriend or whether he had some other intention. Perhaps he had taken a liking to me while we were talking.

In any case, it was clear that Dmitry liked me, and he was not even excessively doting as a father. Dmitry was an ordinary father, the kind one could see anywhere.

'Perhaps he knows that I am the author of The Chronicle of Xenon.'

I speculated inwardly while chewing on a kebab. It was nothing more than a guess, but considering the excessive favor Dmitry had shown me, it was certainly enough to warrant suspicion...