Vermillion

The earth to the north is scarce in ups and downs. That is particularly evident in the hinterland.

A sloppy plain that stretches until you hit the rugged mountain range at the end of the horizon. Growing grass is of thin tea like it is dying, making a rustle and sound in the wind that blows through it. Due to low summer precipitation, the air is very dry and the wind is heartless or dusty. It is very different from the hilly areas of the Principality, where the bright blue colour extends on one side.

And a cobblestone path straight through such a dry earth - Brachiya Street.

More than an hour after leaving Dylan Nillen.

Keeping a distance of just over a hundred meters from the caravan, Kay and Piotr were on alert duty.

Kay, who holds a Dragon Scale through his left hand and a compass and arrow in his right hand, is comfortable in a good way, although in a battle posture. Sasquatch, who made the sound of his pampered hooves, looked more crisp and riddled than usual. Probably sticking around to show off the good things to the brunette female horse whose neighbor Piotr is crossing.

With about two meters of spear on his shoulder, Piotr, like Kay, is taunted. He carried a wooden round shield on his back like Eileen, and the saddle also had an arrow barrel and a small composite bow. He seems to be good at spears, but if he has to, he can handle them in close proximity.

"Usually, it's very peaceful around here."

Piotr moved the spear like a baton to show the surroundings.

"I don't have a water field, so this view lasts for a while. As you can see, there's not much to hide."

"Right."

Ambush and reconnaissance in open spaces like this is what Kay is inherently best at. As I recall from time to time, there is nothing else that blocks Kai's vision, and it is difficult to escape Kai's eyes where he was supposedly hiding.

The plains have been going on ever since we left, and the horse thief barely saw one human child.

"However, after a while there are rivers and lakes, and there are more settlements. Thanks to that,...... I don't know what to say. More trees are coming. In that way, more."

Don't you know the word, or the word jammed Piotr points to a nearby tree stand.

"The woods?

"There is also a forest. But smaller."

"Wooden?"

"That's right, it's wooden."

Pan, and Piotr hitting the knee. This is how every conversation I have with him goes. But Kay doesn't feel bad either. It was usually quite a fresh experience for Kay on the side of getting the word taught that he taught someone English.

"Kay's official language is easy to understand. Talk very easily"

"That was good"

It's a combination of one red-haired, gothic snowfield folk and one grassland folk style heavy duty warrior, but they're both nicotine and have a very flamboyant vibe.

"So we should be careful after tomorrow. There may be enemies hiding in the trees. Find enemy scouts first. And I'll kill you if I can. That's what we do."

"…… Oh, I'm good at that."

Shake her hand and Kay laughs cynically.

"Mm-hmm. Wait, killing is a mistake. For information, it is better to keep one alive"

"Okay, let's be careful."

The "Dragon Scale Through" blow is heavy. If it is close range, it can be used to target the hands and feet, but when the distance comes apart, it is really easy to hit the torso. You should carefully aim, or you'll be the wings that mass produce a chunk of meat -

"…………."

and a fold that was hard thinking about such things, capturing what was bothering her at the edge of her sight, Kay stops the horse leg.

"What's up, Kay?"

"Something moved. That tree."

Along the street about two hundred meters ahead. Piotr squeezed his hands and narrowed his eyes.

"…… that's a long way off. I can't see."

"I looked small. Let's scare him a little bit."

One from the arrow barrel, Kay, who chooses an arrow of poor quality and pulls it out, releases it unconstructively.

Kavan! and the pleasant sound of it.

An arrow on the wind stretches high to the top of the sky and falls loosely into the arc. Trembling retreats and bushes, a wild rabbit popped out in a hurry.

"I thought you were a rabbit."

Heh heh, smiling and untying Kay, next door Piotr gives a frightened face.

"……… Kay has very good eyes"

And it came naturally, but it's not normal for me to aim two hundred meters ahead and release an arrow and hit the target point.

"Reminds me of the family of" Dorgief ". Every warrior in his clan had hawk-like eyes"

"You have good eyes, blood muscle."

"No, they have secrets to make your eyes stronger."

Probably about the 'vision enhancement' crest. "I use the same secret technique," I can't tell you even if my mouth is torn, but it was Kay who made me want to asexually say he was my Piotr opponent.

Afterwards, Kay and the others continue to relax and scold as they talk absurdly.

"The road is still in good shape. It's nothing like Egol Street."

There were few cracks in the cobblestones on Brachiya Avenue, and even if there were damaged parts, they were repaired with stone or cement. Even with the influence of horse thieves, there is a difference between a blurry, blind Egol street and a cloud thief.

"Egol is rarely used now. Nobody goes merchants."

"I guess……… that is…………………"

It was terrible, and Kay swallows the words. Around Egol Street, one is stuck in Operation "Wicked Wizard". Before Eileen publicly stated that she was a shadowy sorcerer, it would be bad if the lines were connected here.

"... by the way, you're not hot around here at all. It's summer and it's cool."

"Yeah, because the sunlight's not too strong."

As for Kay, it was a blatant change of subject, but Piotr had no wind to worry about.

"Is the Principality Hot? Kay."

"Right. It's still hot compared to here. You'd sweat if you were in flames dressed like this."

"Yeah?... I didn't know better at the end"

"Aah...... if I were in the sun in this outfit I would sweat a lot"

Kay flickered his own thick cloak of feathers. Mostly for covering your face with a hood, but if you even wore something like this in the Principality at this time of year, it shouldn't be too hot.

"Yeah, I see. It's still hot, the Principality. But I envy you."

Phew, and Piotr sighs with his nose.

"Not now.... but winter can be horrible. Better than the north."

"……… Ah."

Kay unexpectedly looked around and imagined the snow scenery on one side.

"……… Winter is scary."

The locals' Piotr describes it as "horrible" above all else. In this world, where there is no concept of infrastructure, the cold will be directly linked to the crisis of life.

"Is it going to snow?

"Down. Down a lot. Everyone says," I wish I could come down in the summer. "

"Must be. Because of that, I would be horrible... to see. I heard you were in trouble because of the lack of water."

"Exactly. It doesn't rain much in the summer. There are rivers and lakes around here, but it's especially tragic near Egol"

"…… I guess."

Kay smiles a convulsed smile.

"But I guess the North is worse, isn't it?

"Right. It also rains in the north, but instead the winter snow is awesome"

"'Awesome', or………"

"I can even walk around here in the winter. If you go outside, you can also hunt rabbits. But not in the north. Depending on the time of year, I can't get out of the house with a snowstorm. Sometimes every house freezes to death."

…………

Certainly without heating by gas or electricity, such can happen. But Kay shut up with too much harshness.

"Why do you keep living there?"

"……… there is no other place"

Piotr shrugged his shoulders in loneliness.

"Try to move, for example, and find a good place. … but often there are already people there"

And if you try to force me to live, there's just gonna be a fight, you know.

"But... the land to the north is vast."

"And it's huge. However, there are only a limited number of habitable lands. In the north, for example, the" White Plains "are said to be endlessly wide, but only snow. It's not a place you can live."

"But... you see, there's a forest or something. Eastern or something…………………………."

"Cutting through the woods, you mean?

"Oh. We're gonna pioneer the woods and turn them into fields. It takes time, but isn't there land?

"…… difficult. There are monsters in the woods."

Piotr, staring at the void, gave a harsh expression as soon as possible.

"Monster"? "Big Bear" or "Forest Lizard"?

"No." Big bears "and" lizards "are horrible, too, but they're animals. I can hunt. There is something more terrifying in the woods of the northern earth"

"…" Fei Long (Wyburn) "or something?

"" Fei Long "! Right, they're leaving in the southeast. I've also heard stories about the neighborhood settlement being burned. … but there are also evil spirits and more terrifying monsters in the woods. Someone with a sword or bow that doesn't work……"

Like whining, Piotr.

"…… what kind of monster is there?

"I often hear stories of seeing black evil spirits, and also being attacked. Many believe that the deep forest leads to the afterlife. All I know is a big black bird. It's about the size of a house, and whether you shoot it with a bow or stick it with a spear, you don't die, you take people away."

Evil spirits may still be cleaned up by mistake, but a big bird is a story that can't be helped if it's true.

"… I think it would be amazing if I could continue to live on the border. Normally, they're going to dump the land and run away."

"……… Of course there are those who flee."

Piotr looks at Kay and grins pitifully.

"Like me"

†††

As it was, the caravan proceeded without a thing, but when I stopped at the settlement after lunch break, I was still bored.

Kay was wearing a hood and hiding his face, but the child peeked through the gap and was misidentified as a meadow people. Thanks to this, we were able to throw stones from the inhabitants. Since Kay is armed with armor, there is nothing to say about the degree of amateur stone throwing, but the problem is the sasquatch. Kay gained no shelter in his cape when he was about to hit him directly in the eye.

The potion can cure some of the wounds - but I can feel it giving Sasquatch a taste of that healing pain (Juhuahua), too.

"... well, I'm glad nothing happened anyway."

As she hid in the shade of a tree outside the village and had lunch with Eileen, Kay talked abruptly about the revelations of the stone throwing incident.

"Kay's in trouble too...... Sasquatch, I'm glad you're okay."

Irene strokes Sasquatch's face beside her as she strokes the solid-roasted bread. "Me, I'm on my way," Sasquatch snorted as he slammed, licking Irene's cheek with a pepper and beginning to eat grass.

"What's the scourge job like?

"So far, you don't feel like you're in danger. With two cavalry members, it's easier to accommodate and may be better than fixed point defense. As far as I'm concerned, you're more worried when the caravan gets attacked... how about that one?

"Nothing in particular. I guess as good as getting along with the principality's pedestrians. I knew about Kay, the winner of the martial arts tournament. If you feel sorry for us when we talk about our struggles, you said you'd come to our carriage at night."

"Oh, thank God for that."

The sympathy flashes on me. Just because there is no hostility is a thankful thing.

Kay, who chewed the dried meat into pieces, leaned back into the tree and looked up into the sky.

…………

He stared blurredly at the cloudless blue sky, chewing silently. Neighbor Irene looks after Kay like that worryingly.

"…… yes, there are many people with goats in this caravan."

"Goat?"

Irene, who tries to make a bright voice, is a little intrigued Kay.

"Yes, goats. At first, I thought I was a pet, but I have everyone with me, and it's all female. When I asked him, he said it was an emergency meal to squeeze fresh milk."

"Emergency food? That's again."

Kay also smiles bitterly. It's a pretty reasonable story to be able to make.

"Should we have goats, too? If it's the North, it might be necessary."

"... isn't it tough? I can't seem to strangle you while I'm with you."

"It doesn't have to be a premise to eat."

"No, when you run... you can't run as fast as a horse, and you can't take charge of it"

"Ah...... I have that"

And Eileen would be so cute with a name or something.

"Ugh, I can't deny it..."

While we were talking such a nasty story, Kay came out a lot better too, so I try to get in the mood for an afternoon job.

Since leaving the settlement, there have been plains that cannot be replaced again.

Just a little bit, though - it seems to be getting greener. And it was about two hours after I left the village, and it became more pronounced around a small river.

"From now on, cross this bridge"

Forward, pointing to a bridge about ten meters long, Piotr.

Apparently the river is a tributary of the Great River flowing from northeast to southwest, which seems very deep compared to the width of the river. I can't cross without a bridge.

"Kay, there will be more woods and trees from here. Be careful."

"Okay."

Find out that there are no abnormalities on the bridge by the two of us, and then send a confirmation signal to the caravan at the rear, leading to the other side of the river.

The differences in vegetation between the previous journey and the direction of the river were obvious. They are scattered with trees, groves, or even small forests.

As a land, it is unparalleled near Dylannylen and around Egol Street, but still unrelated to the luminosity and freshness, is it the difference in the terroir that makes you feel somewhere dry?

"There's so many places to hide."

"Oh. And there are many beasts around here. A bunch of wolves, for example."

"" The Hunting Wolf "?

"No, Houndwolf is not around here. Winter is too cold. The hairs are gray, they're a little smaller."

However, even if it is small, it does not mean that it is easy to see, but because it stands cunningly around in the herd, it seems that damage is occasionally done to the livestock and horses of the caravan. That means you can't be alarmed.

"Well, when the wolf comes out, I'll get rid of it, that's what I'm good at.... By the way, if I shoot you with an arrow, you'll be cursed, there's no such thing as that, right?

The northern earth is apparently not in the same mood as the principality. Kay laughed and inquired as he put up "dragon scales through", thinking that there seemed to be a lot of resentful spirits and evil spirits.

…… There shouldn't be. "

"In the meantime, what?"

While tapping lightly, the trees and bushes in the direction of travel are gradually checked. Because the vegetation is not as intense as before, even with Kay's eyes, it cannot be predicted with certainty without some proximity.

And this is why scouts are considered dangerous. Because if the enemy was ambushing in the bush, he would be approaching himself, and the enemy would do everything in his power to destroy the 'eyes' of his prey.

"The truth is, it's the work of the lonely. No one will be sad when they die."

Said Piotr as he speared his retreat and bushes.

"So if it gets dangerous, Kay should run away. When you die, your lover grieves."

"…… you'll tell me."

Kay, on the other hand, has a complicated look at Piotr's words like a joke.

"I appreciate the offer, but I'm not going to do anything like leave it behind. If it sucks, then let's run away together."

"... right, there's no point in me dying. Ha-ha-ha."

Piotr laughs when he slaps his forehead properly in such a way as he has noticed since he was told. With that in mind, Kay laughed like she was in trouble, wondering why this man was doing scouts and such.

In retrospect, even when I met him yesterday in front of the Gabrilov Chamber of Commerce, he talked on an equal footing with the captain's Gainriff, and he seemed to have some influence. Even when I saw him at the noon break, he was usually bickering with his colleagues' warriors, never seemed lonely or hated again.

Kay feels somewhere in jeopardy for this, too gentle redhead greatness.

I didn't know that a person who didn't look at me with color glasses, who would have a reciprocal relationship, was ever so thankful. Kay thinks his quiet, noble humanity deserves respect just for it.

I think...

It's just that if that's his way of life, Kay, who's too short a date, has no right to say this.

In the end, it was all Kay could do to hold his mouth on this occasion.

(... well, you'll be fine)

At least for today, Kay shrugged alone in her heart.

The caravan has just left. It is close to Dylannylen, one of the largest cities in the North. Horse thieves won't be able to come out that way either.

The problem is, after tomorrow.

According to the story, the caravan digests a fifth of the scheduled route in one day.

In other words, the northern city, Beryansk, is four days away.

In the meantime, can we safely break through Brathia Street?

"Let's go, Kay. Next up is that tree."

"……… Ah."

The caravan journey will continue for some time now.