And Yet, I Won't Stop (1)

A vivid blue sky.

It spread wide and deep, stretching on without end.

But right now, that sky was shaking with a loud rattling sound.

Apparently, carriages and I don't get along very well.

I was lying on the roof of a large covered carriage, but its small, irregular vibrations were still making me a little sick.

Ah, but that was ten thousand times better than being cooped up inside the carriage.

I was grateful to be able to breathe the outside air, and more than anything, to feel the wind against my skin.

"Eisa-sama, how are you feeling?"

The one calling out to me in a slightly concerned, but otherwise amused, tone was Huresio, an elven bard.

He was sitting on the driver's bench, handling the horses, and... was probably bored.

"I'm all right for now, anyway. ...But I guess I'm still not very good with carriages."

I answered while continuing to gaze up at the sky.

It wasn't as though every day would be clear enough for me to spend it on the roof like this.

Maybe I'd get used to it if I rode long enough, but having to put up with the nausea until then didn't sound very appealing either.

I was fine on horseback and aboard ships, so why was a carriage the one thing I couldn't handle?

I tilted my head, but no answer came to me.

"I see. Oh, then how about singing? A song ought to lift your spirits."

Huresio looked as if he'd just thought of something good, but singing in front of a professional was something I really hated.

If that was the alternative, I'd rather nap in the warm sunlight, or better yet, psych myself up and run alongside the carriage.

"Now, Hugh. Don't pressure Eisa-sama like that; you'll only make Eisa-sama uncomfortable. Besides, I'm sure drawing would be more fun than singing. Right, Eisa-sama? Shall I sketch the view from the roof?"

Rebis, the painter, pulled back the carriage's canopy and poked her face out, interrupting our conversation.

No, looking at the scenery was fine, but if I focused on what I was doing while everything rocked, I'd probably get even more motion sick.

Besides, Rebis was a professional, whereas I was an amateur; if I tried sketching atop a swaying carriage, all I'd end up with would be a scribbled mess.

The elves were probably going out of their way to talk to me because they were being considerate.

After Kaeha died and I left the Yosogi-style dojo, I first joined up with the elves' caravan.

Yes, the caravan Rebis had once spoken of as a dream back in the dwarven country.

All the people traveling with it were elves, and apparently they did all sorts of things: carrying trade goods from town to town, Huresio singing, Rebis painting, and so on.

The caravan had also taken over the role of a point of contact representing the elves, and was recognized as an official entity in the Kingdom of Rudoria and the surrounding countries.

In addition, it served as a gathering place—or perhaps a consultation center—for elves who had left the forest out of curiosity, and apparently supported them as well.

Airena, Rebis, and Huresio had been the central figures in establishing the caravan, with several other elven adventurers helping out too.

"Hey, Huresio, Rebis, don't play with Eisa-sama."

It was Airena's voice, admonishing the two of them from inside the carriage.

Rebis laughed, while Huresio pretended not to understand and tried to play it off.

"Playing with me" was a pretty awful way to put it, but whatever.

The caravan was taking me east now.

I planned to ride with it until we reached the small nation-states, where I would get off and take a ship.

There were two reasons I had joined the elven caravan despite not being particularly good with carriages.

One was to have them receive, on my behalf, letters from Win, who had set out on a long journey west.

If Win and I traveled separately, we'd lose track of each other's whereabouts in this vast world.

But if Airena, our mutual acquaintance, received Win's letters, and I sent letters to the caravan in return, we could somehow maintain our connection.

Unfortunately, this was something I couldn't ask the Yosogi-style dojo to do.

The people at the Yosogi-style dojo wouldn't remain mutual acquaintances of Win and me forever.

Humans aged quickly, and the time flowing between them and Win, and between them and me, was not the same.

It was a very sad thing, but I understood well enough by now that nothing could be done.

Elves, at least, lived longer than Win.

When I thought of someone who would remain constant and whom I could trust, it was still Airena.

That was exactly why I wanted to entrust her with the thread tying me to Win.

The other reason was that traveling alone felt a little lonely right now.

Not that I wanted to lament and have someone comfort me.

I had no complaints about how things had ended.

I had tucked all my precious memories away in my heart.

I just hadn't sorted them out yet.

Therefore, I didn't want anyone to listen to my story.

Just hearing someone's voice was enough.

The bright caravan of elves traveling cheerfully from town to town was exactly what I needed right now.

It would only be for a brief time, but still.