kscans

Chapter 275 - Levante, and the Road to Okita Village

We departed the fortress and continued our journey east. The mountain range we were heading for was still a long way off. The road was flanked by a beech forest, making it impossible to see into the distance and filling me with a nagging worry that we were going in the right direction. Trusar had given us a map before we left, but it was a crude drawing that simply pointed east. Whenever we reached a fork in the road, Famu would glare at the map and then point the way with an anxious look on her face, which only amplified my own unease. It seemed that before she was captured by the Crimson Brigade, she had only ever traveled to nearby settlements, never as far as Miglutt.

Famu and Marmi walked side-by-side. A dog-eared girl and an elf. Their races were different, but they looked like sisters.

"Famu, your posture seems to have improved."

Her usual plodding walk was less pronounced, and her legs seemed to extend forward more smoothly.

"Mo taught me it’s better to walk with my stomach pulled in a little," she said, pressing a hand against her lower abdomen. Her waist seemed a little higher, and her posture looked better. When I glanced at Marmi, however, I noticed she had picked up Famu’s old plodding gait.

"Are your feet hurting?"

"...I'm tired, but it's better than yesterday." Marmi nodded, tucking her chin.

"I see. Well, let me know right away if it starts to hurt."

Yesterday, we had walked at Mizuki and Famu's pace; today, we were matching Marmi's. That was probably a factor. Still, the road ahead was far longer. I made a mental note to take frequent breaks.

As I watched Marmi walk, I noticed Famu looking at me as if she wanted to say something. It was then that I remembered there was something I’d wanted to say to her, too.

"Famu..."

"Yes? What is it?" Her tone wasn't its usual soft self; it felt a little sharp.

"Patricia and I didn't get to eat any matsutake..."

"I ate some. Mizuki showed me how to season it with salt or dip it in fish sauce. It was very delicious." She flicked a glance at Mizuki, who quickly averted her eyes.

"I hear there was enough for us, too..."

"Is that so? Patricia brought back a lot, so I put the leftovers in my storage." Famu replied with a prim look. Storage space could be partitioned and loaned out to party members. Mizuki had her own, but I had loaned out space to Famu, Myra, Marmi, and Nephi. For her not to have given me any meant she’d stored it in the partition assigned to her.

"Isn't your storage full of food?" Before leaving Miglutt, she had bought a massive amount of corn and eggs. The big advantage of storage was that items retained the state they were in when put away—freshness was preserved, and cooked food could be eaten as is. The downside was that if you put in a damp shirt, you had to wear a damp shirt later. However, we could now wash our entire bodies using a combination of fire, water, wind, and earth magic. Initially, I had been trying to control the water from Water Magic to remove all moisture, but Marmi had evolved the spell to provide a comfortable drying effect. So, we didn't have to wear dirty clothes, and as long as you didn't mind wearing the same outfit every day, it wasn't a problem. Furthermore, while we had to carry our essential weapons, we didn't need to haul around heavy packs, allowing us to walk empty-handed. The whole adventurer profession felt like a cheat.

"Hmph, that's not true! I only prepared what's necessary for the journey."

"I'd like to have some, though..."

"There's none for you, Master!"

"Why not? Are you angry?" Famu turned her face away with a huff. She was definitely angry. Was it because I'd let Nephi join the party? Or because I'd spent last night with Patricia?

As I pondered this, Marmi tapped me on the hip.

"...I almost didn't get to eat any matsutake either."

"You're the one who set the whole thing up last night. It's because of you and Mo that I missed out on them!" Hearing my words, Marmi stopped and stared at me with wide eyes.

"...Mash, who's more important to you? Patricia or matsutake?"

"Patricia, obviously, but why is it a choice between the two? That's ridiculous!"

"...You'll have to ask Famu that." She was putting on a composed face to prevent me from reading her mind, but I could have sworn her cheeks were puffed out. Fine, I thought, I'll just have to go all out with her tonight.

"...When I asked everyone to look after Patricia, my turn ended up being last." It was a sharp, intuitive reply, just like something Famu would say.

There was one other person walking with puffed-out cheeks.

"Lately, Mash, don't you think you see me as just another adventurer in your party?" Myra muttered beside me. There's no way any ordinary adventurer walks around with a chest that bounces like that. As that thought crossed my mind, I kept shooting glances her way, trying to catch a peek of her cleavage. Myra bumped me lightly with her shoulder. Her chest jiggled magnificently, and the sight alone filled me with happiness. I wondered if it made her happy, too.

"Say something!" She reached out to take my arm, so I took her hand and intertwined our fingers.

"Myra, your very existence is everything to me..."

"What kind of existence?!" Famu turned around at the sound of Myra's voice.

"Big sister, what Master is trying to say is—" "Wait, Famu! Don't say another word!" I scrambled to cover Famu's mouth. She didn't seem to have any intention of saying more, but I couldn't afford to upset everyone any further. I desperately needed to get back in her good graces so I could have some matsutake for dinner tonight.

"So... what do you mean by that?" Myra pressed herself against me.

"What do I mean? It's exactly as I said..."

"Hmph. There you go again, leaving me out of the loop..." She lowered her gaze and pouted.

"That's not it. Levante already lacks a straight man as it is. If you were gone, we'd lose our commentator, too."

"That's not the role I signed up for when I joined Levante!"

"Wasn't it? If I recall, Myra, you..."

"Hmph..." Before I knew it, Myra was stomping along furiously. It seemed I had just kept pouring fuel on the fire. Despite being the oldest of the women in the party, she sometimes acted the most childish.

"Speaking of which, how old are you, Nephi?" I turned and glanced at Nephi, who was walking behind us.

"Twenty-three," she answered immediately.

"Younger than I thought..." As I said that, I looked back at Myra, only to find her cheeks puffed out to their absolute limit. Even though I'd stopped Famu, it seemed my thoughts had gotten through to her anyway.

"Myra..."

"Yes. What is it?"

"Um... I'm sorry. Let me make it up to you. When we get to a town, let's go on a date... or rather, I'd like you to go on a date with me."

"I won't be fooled. You just think of me as your convenient commentator, Mash."

"That's not true! Myra, you're much more important..." She looked up at me. As she did, her soft, large breasts bounced against my arm with a gentle thump.

"More important?"

"Look, you and I are going to be together for a long time. Even after we accomplish our goal in the Demon Kingdom, I have no intention of ever letting you go." She tore her gaze from mine and looked straight ahead.

"Mash... I won't forget your promise of a date. If you stand me up, I'll be mad."

Myra's steps became lighter. She snuggled up against my shoulder.

We continued walking through the beech forest. According to the map, we would be in this forest today and tomorrow. The forks in the road were few, but so was the traffic. The path was poorly maintained, and in some places, it was hard to follow. While there were several dog-eared settlements near Famu's village, they were largely self-sufficient. The only people who regularly traveled between Miglutt and the villages were a handful of merchants.

"So, what's the capital of the Demon Kingdom like?" I asked Myra to stave off the boredom of walking.

"The capital of the Demon Kingdom? Let's see..." Myra placed a finger below her lip and gazed up at the sky. The branches of the beech trees stretched out above us, forming a canopy. Patches of blue sky and sunlight peeked through.

"It's on the western side of the strait that divides the world east and west. It's a fortress city, surrounded by steep northern cliffs and thick walls. It is a place where everything, from the material to the spiritual, converges. The buildings are a mix of styles, from the distant past to the modern day, and it's said to be so vast that no one person can grasp its entirety. The royal palace, built on a hill, is one of the world's greatest structures, with a massive dome. They say the inside is entirely covered in marble, a complex and beautiful labyrinth..."

"Is it bigger than Miglutt?" Myra's eyes didn't move, but a faint smile played on her lips.

"Far larger." She raised a single finger, her expression one of stating the obvious.

"Tch, treating me like a country bumpkin. You're just a girl from the backwater town of Richel yourself, Myra." If I showed her the metropolises of my old world, she'd probably faint.

"Hmph. I've seen pictures of the city at the church. That is, from before it was destroyed by the Demon Kingdom ten years ago, you know?" With that, Myra glanced at Nephi. The old empire that once ruled the world had its capital there, controlling the eastern and western continents with vast authority. That territory was gradually eroded, with the west falling to the current empire and the east to the Demon Kingdom. Yet, it had retained its glory as the world's capital.

"No, that hasn't changed, even after the Demon Kingdom occupied it. For a time, the flow of goods from the west ceased, but it was already starting to return when I was there," Nephi replied. Myra's eyes narrowed.

"So you're saying the demons are the rulers of the world now?"

"Give me a break. I'm just an adventurer. I have no intention of saying anything like that." Nephi shrugged, and Myra fell silent.

"More importantly, you're all walking so carefree, but you do know what this road is, don't you?" At Nephi's words, we all stopped in our tracks.

"Do you know?" She shook her head in response to my question.

"I only know the legends of Miglutt. To save the dog-eared race, Okita Soji traveled east on this very road and lost his life fighting a monster in these mountains, didn't he? Mash and Mizuki, heading east to save the cursed dog-eared race... It's almost like you're re-enacting the tale of a hero from another world, isn't it?"

Hearing Nephi's reply, Mizuki and I met each other's gaze and stared.