kscans

Chapter 460 - Meanwhile: Side The Scales & The Traveler

Like a switch being flipped, my consciousness rapidly surfaced in an instant.

The alarm that had begun to ring in my head finished its duty in just a few seconds, and my amber eyes, reflecting the distant sky above, blinked open.

1:00 AM. The earliest wake-up time, permitted only to those who, as I had surmised, were able to skip the second night's raid. Not a trace of drowsiness clung to me. It was a refreshing awakening, so much so that it felt unreal. To mask that sense of違和感… as I sat up, I let out a small yawn.

—And just then, a smiling face watched my unguarded state.

"Mornin', Sora-chan."

"…Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

Beside a gentle stream, at a campsite so simple it could hardly be called one. As I stored my bed—a single petal from a monstrously giant flower—in my inventory, I turned a half-lidded gaze toward my companion, who had woken up a bit earlier.

A gaze still somewhat softer than the one I show him.

It was a reflection of the familiarity and fondness I had developed for this [Traveler], who had spent the last two days mercilessly—truly, utterly, and completely—dragging me all over the place.

"Heehee, no need to worry. Thanks to you guys, I slept like a log!"

She claims she just falls asleep easily and thus wakes up early… but is lying down and starting to snore within a second really something that can be dismissed as 'falling asleep easily'?

Just like yesterday, I felt a twinge of embarrassment at having my sleeping face observed, which made up about twenty percent of my feelings. The other eighty percent was a mix of exasperation and admiration for her boundless energy, which had been relentlessly pulling me along for over fifty hours.

I have to admit, I am enjoying this in its own way.

But as I wished she would tone down her energy just a little, I was reminded of the subtle considerations of my partner, which filled me with a complex mix of emotions.

"Oops, that face is…"

"…………What is it?"

As my master slept, the magic swords that floated around me, freed from my control, had kept watch. I dispelled them now, deliberately replying to Lux's cheerful words with a sullen tone.

It wasn't that I was trying to take a strong stance, thinking if she's going to be direct, then I won't hold back either.

"The face of someone missing their partner while ignoring their buddy—"

"Alright, let's get going, Lux-san. I'll leave behind anyone who says strange things."

Is this uncanny ability to read people a default skill for high-ranking players in Arcadia, or not? My retort was one hundred percent a way to hide my embarrassment from the Northern Faction's number one.

And so, in the dead of night, with dawn still far away, the girl resumed her journey of aimless adventure, led onward by the [Traveler]. From her feet—

"Good morning, Ruby. Thank you for keeping watch."

Two 'tails' swayed and emerged, and a shadow leaped onto her shoulder. Receiving praise from her master, who tickled the nape of its neck with her fingertips, the small starry sky creature quivered with delight.

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Almost an interlude. There's an 84% chance I'll post again tonight.

[Pigmy-ted Flower]—A type of 'tree' that masquerades as a giant flower, with petals so large a single one can comfortably accommodate a person. Its seven pale blue petals are actually 'leaves,' and its stem, as thick as a log, is its 'trunk.'

The leaf Sora (and Lux) used as a bed possesses the property of becoming 'independent' the moment it separates from the trunk, changing into a 'seed' over time without withering. In addition to repeating its life cycle in the same spot where it takes root, long ago, 'travelers' like them would carry the leaves as beds, allowing new flowers (trees) to sprout wherever their journeys took them.