Chapter 18
If you think you've hit rock bottom, there's always a basement. And when you think you've fallen into the basement, there's always an abyss below.
When I was freed from the Hero's party, I saw the basement in Bel Zuma. When I arrived at the royal palace, I saw the abyss in King Germis.
When I was first assigned to the Hero's party, I had a feeling it would be the worst time of my life.
But who would have thought there'd be a time just as painful, if not worse, still waiting for me?
The fact that I'd spend that time in the capital of this country... It's truly a cruel joke.
"Your Excellency? Is there a problem...?"
As I momentarily stopped, caught up in this cruel irony, Ivanna, the maid assigned as my attendant, turned back and asked cautiously.
I shook my head at her question.
There was no problem. More accurately, the problem was that there was nothing to do.01
"Miss Ivanna, how do you spend your days off?"
"Pardon?"
"In the three years I was with the Hero's party, I can count on one hand the times I had personal time. Even then, I spent most of it on research."
It's not that I disliked it.
I plan to continue my research even after I go there, but I didn't intend to spend my entire life that way.
However, I didn't have anything particular I wanted to do either, so I was at a loss.
It was good to be free from obligations, but now that I was free, I didn't know what to do.
"What should I do in the El Berg Mountains?"
"Hmm... If you don't know what to do, why not try to relax for a while?"
Take it easy and enjoy your time, and you might find something you want to do.
It was a cliché anyone could say, but strangely, it made me feel calmer.
Perhaps more than a direct solution, I wanted comfort for this loneliness, as if I'd been left alone in a vast ocean.
After a brief pause, as if deep in thought, Ivanna spoke with an uncertain tone.
"And this is just my personal opinion, but..."
"It's alright, go ahead."
"I think it might be too early to relax. There's the bandit subjugation mission His Majesty ordered, and more importantly, we're heading to the El Berg Mountains right now."
Setting aside the bandit subjugation, it was certain that once we arrived at the El Berg Mountains, I wouldn't be able to rest for a while.
An impregnable fortress created by nature that had repelled invasions from two countries for hundreds of years.
It wasn't hard to imagine how the sentinels guarding that fortress would welcome me.
"Besides, the residents of the El Berg Mountains are just as confused by the long war. Wouldn't you say this is just the beginning?"
"...You might be right."
Was I getting ahead of myself?
By the way, what kind of people live in a land that everyone calls hell?
Suddenly, I began to feel curious about them.
Whatever awaits us ahead, it's better to approach with curiosity and expectation rather than fear. That's how you can enjoy a journey.
The change in my mood immediately showed on my face, and Ivanna, who keenly noticed this, smiled and said,
"It seems you've sorted out your thoughts. Well, since we have a long way to go, I'll go rent a carriage and horses."
"No need for that."
As the surroundings were quiet, I immediately summoned the carriage and the spirits to pull it, which I used during my time with the Hero's party.
As the carriage and spirits that had been stored in subspace appeared on the white stone road, exclamations erupted from all around, and people's gazes were drawn to us.
"Is this summoning magic?"
"In the demon realm, we rode in carriages after taming magical beasts. But since we couldn't use carriages on mountain paths, I stored it in subspace."
In truth, it wasn't such a common sight.
It's not typical for a mage capable of creating subspace to store something like a carriage.
I had kept it because we used it to disguise ourselves as merchants, and because of the nearly three years I'd spent with it. I just hadn't disposed of it yet.
"I knew Your Excellency was a distinguished mage, but I never imagined to this extent!"
As Ivanna made a fuss over me merely summoning a carriage, I felt embarrassed and changed the subject.
"...Miss Ivanna, you have a lot of luggage. We could put it in subspace, but that would be troublesome. It's better to load it onto the carriage for now."
She had brought a total of five pieces of luggage.
They all seemed quite heavy, and I wondered how she had moved them with those delicate arms.
The mana I sensed from her was slightly above average, but not enough to be a full-fledged mage.
However, she could probably learn relatively low-level magic like strength enhancement.
"By any chance, do you have an aptitude for magic, Miss Ivanna? I can sense a little mana from you."
"Yes, the relative who took me in was a mage. I learned a bit by watching over their shoulder."
"I see. Where is that person now?"
"My uncle was conscripted two years ago..."
Her trailing off at the end made it easy to imagine how that had ended.
But was the situation so bad that they were conscripting even noble-born mages, albeit of lower rank?
Then again, with both me and the Hero gone, it wouldn't be easy even with support from allied nations.
It's not that the kingdom lacked powerful individuals, but having lost much land including the granary region in the first invasion, resources were scarce.
If mages were being conscripted even in the capital like this, the situation in the provinces must be worse.
Probably our territory too...
No, let's just forget about that.
Even without me, my older brother or younger sibling will take care of things.
"I'm truly sorry to hear that."
"It's already been two years. Besides, I'm not the only one who's lost family."
In this long war, humans and demons alike have all lost family and experienced great sorrow.
I've heard that countless people have starved to death even without going to war, due to lack of food.
As a noble, I've never experienced hunger, but for commoners, memories of starving due to lack of food probably aren't that special.
War is eating away at people's daily lives.
Realizing this anew, I was about to climb onto the driver's seat when Ivanna stepped forward to stop me.
"Your Excellency, you can't possibly sit in the driver's seat! I'll do it! Please, you should be inside..."
"We might need to act quickly in some situations. It's better for me to be outside."
"Then I'll join you."
"What?"
"As a servant, I can't let my master face the cold wind alone."
"......"
Seeing her expression that suggested no amount of persuasion would work, I finally agreed to share the seat with her.
Was it because we were sitting in the same place?
For the first time, I felt the reality of traveling with someone.
*****
"Your Excellency, the meal is ready."
"......"
On the plate Ivanna handed me were thinly sliced, nicely browned meat and pickled vegetables.
A maid serving a meal to her master isn't something particularly praiseworthy, but rather entirely expected.
However, was it because this wasn't in the royal palace or a mansion in the capital, but in the middle of the road?
For that unremarkable act.
For this simple meal that couldn't even jokingly be called a delicacy, I felt an indescribable emotion.
The Hero's party is a noble party.
It's laughable even as I say it, but everyone, including myself, is of noble blood, so it can't be helped.
Naturally, including the Hero, none of us knew how to cook or do household chores, so I had to do everything.
Perhaps because that lifestyle had continued for so long, this current situation, this meal on my plate, felt utterly surreal.
"Your Excellency? Are, are you crying?"
"What?"
When I touched my eyes after hearing Ivanna's words, I found a warm tear streaming down.
Feeling inexplicably embarrassed, I hurriedly wiped my eyes with my sleeve.
"...It seems the smoke from the campfire got in my eyes."
"...Yes, I, I think my eyes are stinging a bit too."
In truth, my eyes weren't stinging at all.
I was just deeply moved by the fact that someone had cooked for me.
...My travel companion knows how to cook.
Why is this so touching?
Moreover, it tasted quite good.
The meat was cooked just right, neither undercooked nor overcooked, and the pickled vegetables had just the right amount of tartness that suited my taste perfectly.
"Miss Ivanna. Did you pickle this cabbage yourself?"
"Yes, I did it the way we do in my hometown. Did you like it?"
"It's excellent. Better than what we had at home."
It wasn't just flattery, but it was a lie.
I couldn't remember what the food at home tasted like because it had been so long since I'd been back.
I've heard other students sometimes receive pickles from home, but we never had anything like that.
"I'm so glad you liked it!"
Afterwards, when I tried to do the dishes as usual, Ivanna was horrified and absolutely refused to let me, insisting it wasn't allowed.
She ended up snatching the plates from my hands and finishing all the dishes herself.
She knows how to do the dishes?
My travel companion not only knows how to cook but also how to do the dishes?
Later, despite my offers to help, she adamantly refused and set up the tent herself.
She even sang a lullaby for me when I couldn't sleep due to the extreme disparity of the situation.
Is traveling supposed to be this easy?
Isn't traveling supposed to be more like... herding four or five five-year-old children?
Then what on earth have I been doing all this time?
Ivanna's competence continued to shine thereafter, negotiating with locals on my behalf to borrow the village chief's house.
Familiar with the geography around the royal capital, she managed to cover in one day a distance that would normally take two.
Finally, having left the royal capital faster than expected, we encountered that problematic bandit group in the first territory we arrived at.
And then I understood.
The reason why King Germis had given such an order.