Chapter 12
By the time Jade reached his hideout, he had quickly gathered his belongings.
He began filling the empty bag with all the supplies he needed.
Yet the more he packed, the more desperately he wanted a subspace bag.
Even a small subspace bag would let him carry far more than he could now.
“I absolutely have to buy one this time.”
-If we're short on money, let's get it from those kids! Or ask them to give us one of their subspace bags!
“The best place to buy one would be the mage tower. We can shop while we're there.”
-Sounds good! I like sightseeing!
Silestin looked delighted, as if even imagining it excited her.
Though she was occasionally summoned to the Middle World, she was usually summoned for battle, and it was rare for her to be summoned just to look around.
There was a reason Silestin and Elestera had stayed out in the world for so long.
Kyuung?
“Since you're here, Whid, eat your fill. You won't be able to eat Black Drake meat for a while.”
Kyu-u-u!
Though Whid couldn't speak, it had become quite good at understanding what was said and nodded emphatically.
It meant that it understood what Jade was saying.
As if to prove it, Whid followed Jade down into the underground cavern and began chewing on the Black Drake's tail meat on its own.
It gently melted the meat with lightning as it ate.
-Look how well it's grown, whoever raised it!
“Melt it a little. At this rate, you'll burn the meat.”
-It eats the burnt parts just fine! Maybe it's enjoying the different texture.
“Does it? Then again, it's a natural way to practice controlling it.”
Jade chuckled as he watched Whid concentrate on melting the ice.
It was growing incredibly quickly for something that was only a year old.
If it were human, it would only just be toddling around, but Whid hunted and ate orcs, Dire Wolves, and all sorts of other monsters.
-What about the teeth?
“We might meet some dwarves. We should at least have basic weapons. That way, we can reduce our mana consumption.”
-Aren't you obsessed with efficiency?
“I'm looking for the best method available. Besides, what's the point of leaving them unused? We should use whatever we can.”
From the Black Drake's skull, now reduced to bare bones after Whid had eaten it, Jade pulled out suitably sized teeth.
Once he packed three of them in case he decided to sell some, the bag bulged as if it were about to burst.
-We really do need a subspace bag urgently.
“I told you, it's essential. It's not just the volume—the weight matters, too.”
-Let's take some herbs, too!
Silestin led the way toward the stairs.
She was worried Jade might have forgotten.
With the sylph's help, Jade carried a large stag on his back into the cave, where he found the knights still resting without having let down their guard.
The two siblings, meanwhile, were either asleep or passed out and completely unresponsive.
“You're back.”
“Let's roast the stag first. I'll prepare the herbs I gathered.”
Haines, who had been meditating to suppress his aggravated internal injuries, opened his eyes.
His gaze turned toward the large stag Jade had brought.
It was big enough that it probably wouldn't fill everyone's stomachs, but it should at least tide them over for now.
“Ahem! Thank you for bringing back the stag, but we can't light a fire. We have unavoidable circumstances we can't discuss.”
Haines cleared his throat awkwardly.
He knew perfectly well how strange it was to ask for help while refusing to explain anything himself.
But since he still couldn't completely trust Jade, he couldn't tell him about their circumstances.
Even while uninjured, Haines could not have guaranteed victory against Jade, and he had no idea what Jade might do if he revealed his identity.
“I understand. Everyone has their own circumstances. I'm not particularly curious, either. I'm merely showing a little goodwill as a fellow human. I've been in that position myself.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“But you'd better eat. At this rate, you'll collapse before reaching the Morkas Domain. At the pace of an ordinary able-bodied man, it will take at least two days of steady travel.”
“Two days…”
Haines mulled over his words.
Two days could be a short time or a long one.
But one thing was certain: it was far shorter than the time he had expected.
“If nothing goes wrong along the way, assuming we leave tomorrow morning, we should reach the Morkas Domain by the evening of the day after tomorrow.”
“Good.”
“But that's only if none of you collapse and you keep moving diligently. So eat. You don't need to worry about the smoke. Sylph.”
At Jade's call, a sylph in the form of a dainty fairy appeared.
Jade had deliberately summoned it where they could see it, and Haines's eyes lit up.
Only now did he understand why Jade had told them to roast the stag.
“We haven't exchanged names. I'm Ins.”
“I'm Jade.”
Haines had used an alias so naturally.
Since he was such a famous figure, there was a good chance Jade would recognize his name.
If that happened, Jade would naturally become suspicious, so Haines had given an alias without hesitation.
“Your accent sounds like you're from Polstein.”
“That's right. I lived in Baron Leon's domain as a child. I live alone in the Great Forest now, though.”
“Did you enter the forest to train?”
“Something like that.”
Haines subtly pressed him for details.
He was naturally gathering information about Jade.
Of course, his gaze remained fixed on the stag.
While the knights lit a fire and fetched drinking water, he butchered the stag.
“Indeed. Quite a few people seek out the Great Forest to raise their level. Especially those who have run into a wall.”
“And many die.”
“But some cross the wall. They really do encounter the most extreme situations.”
“Either way, the odds are fifty-fifty. You succeed or fail. Have this. It should ease your internal injuries. A full recovery will be difficult, though. The rest can be applied to your wounds.”
Jade mixed the herbs he had gathered and poured the resulting juices into two separate bowls, giving one to Haines and the mage.
He had mixed herbs with properties that eased internal injuries.
However, Haines didn't drink it immediately and handed it to the mage first.
“Oh, it works well. I can definitely feel it easing the pain. It doesn't feel like an instant cure, though.”
“For internal injuries, it's best to visit a temple. I only know enough for first aid.”
“Even this is more than enough. At least the pain is gone.”
Seeing the mage looking perfectly fine, Haines cautiously took a sip as well.
As the mage had said, he could definitely feel the pain easing.
Gulp!
A short while later, the whole stag roasted over the campfire.
As fat dripped down and a mouthwatering aroma filled the cave, the two siblings, the knights, and the mage all swallowed hard, forgetting their decorum.
For people who hadn't had a proper meal in days, this alone was a grand feast.
“Eat.”
“Thank you.”
When Jade spoke after poking the appetizingly roasted stag with a dagger, Haines reached out first and cut off some meat.
He made sure to serve the two siblings first.
The knights and the mage reached out next.
“Sob!”
“This is really delicious…”
“How long has it been since we had a proper meal…”
The knights tore into the stag meat, their eyes glistening with tears.
Even though Jade had only sprinkled it with salt, pepper, and the herbs he had gathered, the stag meat was more delicious than anything they had ever eaten.
They say hunger is the best sauce, but even so, the taste was so fantastic that they chewed and swallowed every last bit, without even leaving the cartilage behind.
“Delicious…”
“Isn't it?”
“Yeah. It's really good. We didn't even sprinkle anything special on it.”
The two siblings were just as moved.
They would never have even looked at roasted venison in the past, but now it tasted like food from heaven.
So the two of them tore into the meat, forgetting their decorum.
“Mmm!”
“Ahh, this is good.”
“It'd be nice to get a good night's sleep like this…”
“We can't. Someone has to stand watch.”
With their injuries treated and their bellies full, everyone wore a languid expression.
They were all struggling to resist the drowsiness brought on by physical exhaustion.
But Haines alone maintained a stern expression.
“The sylph can take the watch.”
“Even so, one of us must take turns standing guard.”
Haines spoke firmly.
He didn't deny the convenience of spirits.
But the problem was that he still couldn't completely trust Jade.
That was why he had the knights establish a watch rotation.
“Taking turns one at a time is fine.”
“I'll stand watch, too.”
The mage boldly raised his hand.
Though he hadn't been able to contribute much in battle because of his internal injuries, he could at least stand watch.
He also had an alarm spell.
But the two siblings were exempt.
The hour when everyone was asleep.
Perhaps because he now trusted the alarm magic and the spirit to some extent, even Haines didn't assign anyone to stand watch.
Yet in the dead of night, while everyone was sleeping soundly, a rustling sound arose.
-The little kid's awake!
-He's a little old to be called a kid. He probably won't like that.
-What could his status be? He's definitely a noble. And he seems to be a high-ranking noble at that.
Jade narrowed his eyes to slits.
He wanted to watch what the boy was doing.
But Silestin and Elestera, invisible to everyone else, openly stared at the boy.
Kuuul! Kul!
Whid, on the other hand, slept soundly.
It was curled up on Jade's chest, fast asleep.
-I don't know much about nobles, so I'm not sure. But I can think of a few possibilities. People who can afford a Sword Master as a bodyguard are few and far between in the Kingdom of Polstein.
-He's probably royalty, right? And if he's a fugitive, he must have lost a succession struggle.
-That seems likely, but I don't know for sure, either. Jade's original memories contain almost nothing about the royal family. Just that the current king had been in poor health since birth, yet had quite a lot of children?
-Maybe they aren't his children.
-What a chilling thing to say.
Jade let out a hollow laugh.
Yet part of him thought it was entirely possible.
Not because this was a different world, but because such things had happened often enough on Earth, too.
-Human greed knows no bounds!
-I'll grant you that.
Shing.
While he was talking with Silestin, the boy carefully approached the earthen wall and drew his sword.
Then, with a determined expression, he swung it.
The boy surely knew that training now wouldn't suddenly make him strong like someone in a novel or bring him a lucky break.
Nevertheless, he swung his sword with dogged persistence.
-The knight grandpa's awake, too!
-He'll be watching, I suppose. Teaching him won't raise his level right away. He probably just feels proud of him.
-He must be terribly anxious. His emotions are practically overflowing with regret.
-You can tell just by looking at his face.
-Hee-hee!
Silestin laughed awkwardly.
In truth, she had no ability to sense human emotions.
She had simply judged from his expression and the atmosphere around him.
-Anxiety, helplessness, frustration, and perhaps stubborn pride?
-But he has no talent.
Elestera, who had been watching quietly, spoke.
His desperation was painfully palpable.
Unfortunately, he was not the type to have any talent for swordsmanship.
Nor did he seem to have any affinity for spirits or mana.
-Actually, if he's royalty, he wouldn't really need either. He already has everything.
-The problem is when someone like that boy loses everything. Then he's truly just one human being. And because he stood higher than anyone, he has farther to fall—and a longer way down.