DLRV 24

After traveling for a long time by carriage, they arrived at a small city. There, they changed carriages again and traveled for yet another long stretch. Now, they had just arrived at yet another small city.

“This is my first time staying overnight in a carriage like this.”

Xenon lamented as he pounded his lower back with his fist.

“It was efficient.”

“I’d rather not do it again. Even sleeping on the ground with just a blanket would be better than this.”

Sleeping in a swaying carriage was worse than lying on cold ground.

Shaking his head, Xenon looked around at the surrounding scenery.

Since the city was located at a crossroads, there were many transient travelers, and it seemed well-equipped with lodging and restaurants. It didn’t take them long to find a room.

“Get some rest. I’m going out for a bit.”

Annelie busily left to take care of something. She had remarkable stamina.

She looks so fragile, like she could collapse at any moment.

Clicking his tongue, Xenon contacted the Mage Tower while Annelie was away. Only after that was he finally able to rest. His body felt heavy with accumulated fatigue.

At this rate, I might end up visiting every region.

Xenon had traveled from place to place before as part of his trial training, but he had never covered so many locations in such a short period.

Could it be that her real goal is to travel the world?

He recalled the first time he encountered the Resurrected. Annelie had hesitated outside a restaurant, unable to bring herself to step inside. It was clear she was not accustomed to traveling alone.

She exuded an unmistakable air of nobility—something that couldn’t be concealed even with transformation magic.

Of course, it was almost unbelievable how quickly she adapted to life on the road.

At first, he thought she just had an innate adaptability, but after observing her closely for a short while, he realized—

“Xenon.”

—it was more of a survival instinct or a desperate need for self-preservation.

“Did you take care of everything?”

Annelie entered the room and greeted Nesi warmly. She was so busy stroking Nesi’s head that she didn’t even glance at Xenon.

“Yes. Did you contact the Mage Tower?”

“…Did you eavesdrop?”

He hadn’t said anything particularly bad about the Resurrected, but it wasn’t a conversation he wanted her to hear.

At Xenon’s reluctant question, Annelie indifferently shook her head.

“No. Nesi told me.”

“You might as well have just guessed. I’d at least prefer to think I wasn’t dumb enough to fall for that.”

At Xenon’s grumble, Annelie glanced at him and smirked.

She was in the middle of changing her appearance—

Brown hair, brown eyes.

Her magical artifact was functioning properly, yet Xenon sometimes found himself overlaying her true face onto her usual cynical expression.

To begin with, Annelie was such an unforgettable beauty that once you saw her, it was impossible to erase her image from your memory.

Xenon had always thought himself immune to worldly temptations, but meeting Annelie made him realize that perhaps he wasn’t so resistant to exceptional beauty after all.

To think he’d succumb to mere looks. If his master ever found out, he wouldn’t just be mocked for the rest of his life—his master would probably haunt him from beyond the grave just to keep laughing at him.

“Are we moving again?”

“There’s something to do first.”

“So we are moving? We haven’t even been here for a full day.”

“Does that matter?”

“Of course, it does. You’re injured.”

“But I’m recovering while we travel.”

“If you’d just rested for three days—no, even one full day—you’d recover much faster.”

In truth, Xenon didn’t know the full story behind the Resurrected. His master had given him some information, mainly about their appearance and the major factions involved.

He didn’t care about the politics behind it, nor did he feel the need to.

When he first accepted Annelie’s offer, he never expected their relationship to become so intertwined. Well, perhaps it was only Xenon who thought they were close, but still.

“We should at least get one proper night’s sleep.”

“You’ve been wandering longer than I have, and now you’re picky about sleeping conditions?”

“I’m talking about you, not me. I could sleep on the streets right now and be fine.”

At Xenon’s bold retort, Annelie narrowed her eyes. While spreading a map out on the desk, she gave him a meaningful look and asked,

“Really?”

Xenon quickly changed his stance.

“Well… I mean, my back would ache, but… You know what I mean.”

“We can worry about resting once we reach a safe place.”

“Is there even a safe place?”

The entire world was hunting down the Resurrected right now.

At Xenon’s question, Annelie pressed her lips together. She stared at the map in silence before murmuring in a flat tone,

“There must be somewhere.”

Other than the rumors he had heard, Xenon knew very little about Annelie.

After traveling with her, he had unintentionally learned a few personal things.

Annelie distrusts the world. Maybe she even hates it. To the point where it’s strange that she was chosen by the gods.

“I know you’re in a hurry, but you need to be healthy to run away properly.”

“I’ve been running away just fine so far.”

And just as much as she distrusts, she tries to handle everything alone. Since she trusts no one, she expects nothing from anyone.

She does seek Xenon’s help for small matters, but that’s about it. The things she asks of him are mostly tasks that anyone else could do just as well.

Perhaps among the many plans in her mind, there’s one that assumes she and Xenon will part ways in this city.

At that thought, Xenon felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

“You’re not immortal just because you came back to life.”

“Even if I collapse, I won’t ask you to carry me.”

“That’s exactly the problem.”

Annelie furrowed her brows and stared at Xenon. Once again, she failed to understand what he meant.

She was someone who could think and solve problems on her own with ease, yet she was ignorant of the most basic and obvious things.

Or rather, was it really ignorance?

“I’m just worried about you. You’re in pain.”

At Xenon’s words, Annelie fell silent for a moment. Then, as always, she looked away indifferently and smiled. It was the same reaction she always gave.

“That’s such a waste of emotions.”

That wasn’t ignorance. It was resignation, born from repeated disappointment.

***

I decided to acknowledge that I needed to calm my impatience.

Xenon’s insistence that I should take at least a day to rest was annoying, but necessary.

Not for my health, though. I needed to sort through the magical artifacts I had bought blindly, so I could use them properly later.

Since they were illegal artifacts, some were bound to be defective, and there would likely be ones whose proper use I couldn’t figure out.

Xenon already seems frustrated with our relentless travel, so I might as well use this time to examine the artifacts while we rest.

There were more illegal magical artifacts than I expected. Seeing the pile I had dumped out, Xenon looked exasperated.

“I’d like you to sort out the defective ones.”

“I can check if the formulas function properly, but… there are so many. These are all illegal artifacts?”

“Yeah. I asked for all the stock they had. Not that I actually believe they gave me everything. They have to make a living, so I’m sure they kept a few for themselves.”

I picked up a round orb nearby. At first glance, it looked like a communication sphere, but instead of transmitting messages, it had an amplification spell cast on it.

“Hah, I knew illegal artifact trading was widespread, but I didn’t think it was this bad… Wait, this formula—this is one of the ones the Tower classified as prohibited from being leaked! And this one is an offensive artifact?!”

Xenon didn’t need any more encouragement. He instantly focused on the task, muttering in shock at each artifact he examined.

Watching him work so diligently, I thought to myself—I really picked the right person.

He quickly identified a defective artifact and immediately began criticizing the unknown craftsman’s lack of professionalism.

Satisfied with his work, I quietly muttered in a small voice.

“You’re doing a great job sorting them. I’ll step out for a bit to check on Nadav.”

I wasn’t sure if he heard me. I left quickly, not wanting to get caught up in another conversation about my health.

Nadav was in the stable. Since he was disguised as an ordinary horse, it was unavoidable.

It would be nice if there was a decent transformation artifact among the pile of defective ones I had bought.

“Nadav.”

[Where are you from?]

[What’s your breed? I’m of the Tartre lineage. You’ve heard of us, right? We’re quite exceptional.]

[Oh my, look at that black mane.]

[Are you shy? How cute!]

The moment I stepped into the stable, I was met with a flood of noisy chatter, as if I had walked into a marketplace.

Among the horses neighing and talking, Nadav stood stiffly with his head held high. When he spotted me, he stomped his front hoof.

[Captain!]

[Kyaa! Even his voice is cool!]

[Is that his owner?]

[Is she a traveler?]

My ears hurt. I thought Nadav was only attractive by human standards, but it turns out he was quite popular among the mares too.

“I’m glad the ribbon is working properly.”

Without that ribbon, every horse here would have realized Nadav was a monster. Instead of flirting, they would have been panicked and terrified.

[Captain! Are we leaving now?]

Nadav looked like he wanted to leave the stable immediately. What to do? We’re not departing until tomorrow.

“How about a short walk?”

[A long one is fine too! I’m well-rested!]

No, you’re going to rest even more.

Suppressing a smile, I grabbed Nadav’s reins.