Previous post: Two Saints wander off into a Different World – 16

POSTED 43 MINS AGO

Trouble Maker, Trouble Evader

“So, what is this Empire that we are visiting like?”

I asked Daniela after we had gone through the southern gate and began to walk down the gravel road .

“The Empire… The Flugelnia Empire is a nation that controls much of the southern lands . Fhiraldo and Spiris, on the other hand, are a part of the Lambrusen Republic . Is this all new to you, Asagi?”

“It is . I have no grasp on geography here . Just that there are forests to the north and mountains to the south . ”

“The northern forests are called the Great Sawyer Forests . The southern mountains are the Alessa Mountains . You should know that name very well . ”

It was the place where those d.a.m.ned adventurers who called me Black Rabbit were sent to work in the mines . I remembered it well .

“This whole region is called the Alexia mountain ranges . The mountain range stretches out east-west and separates Lambrusen and Flugelnia . There is a gate in the Alessa mountains that lets you enter the country . And so we will need to reach the town with the gate in order to enter the Empire . ”

The sudden barrage of unknown words was scrambled in my mental map . Uh…

So the country that I came to after dying was the Lambrusen Republic . I woke up on the misty hills and walked to Fhiraldo to the east . We moved even further east after that and ended up in Spiris . To the north of the misty hills, Fhiraldo and Spiris, lay the Sawyer Forest . To the south was the Alexia mountain ranges that went east-west . And this Flugelnia Empire lay pa.s.sed those mountains…

Hmm, I think I got that right . So we were always going between the mountains and forests up until now . Had I first appeared in the great forest or mountains, I likely would have died . It would have been much harder to find a town nearby .

“I get the picture . ”

“Good . Well, we are going to be traveling through those mountains you can see up ahead . ”

The map was clear in my head now, and I could imagine our destination . I suddenly felt a lot more motivated . However, there was one thing that was bothering me .

“Uh, Daniela . ”

“What?”

“This Empire, is it one of those military states?”

There was something hot-blooded about the word . The last thing I wanted to do, was to get drafted .

“Well, you might say so . It is considered glamorous to be in the army . ”

“So, are they likely to be causing any wars?”

“No, I do not think so . If anything, they make a show of declaring their distaste for war . ”

Huh… I hardly knew what to think anymore…

“Though, the Empire did attempt world domination around six hundred years ago . They even succeeded in it too . ”

“Seriously?”

“Serious . However, the world was much too large to be governed so, and the Emperor at the time died from the stress . The succeeding son had no intention of following his father’s fate . And so the lands were split up and the independent states were born . ”

“That’s quite impressive…”

“It was highly contested at the time . But seeing as how things have settled now, he must have been a wise Emperor . ”

So that was a little history of this world . He had seen his father die from being overworked and wanted better for himself . I wonder if that was all written in their history books? I was curious .

“The Empire has never launched an attack on another country since then . The army does nothing outside of their parades . As I said, it is considered glamorous, and the most popular occupation . ”

“They don’t even fight?”

“They will generally only fight monsters . They attack in great numbers and prevent stampedes . I guess it is one of the things they do outside of parades . ”

I asked her many other things about Flugelnia as we walked . We occasionally took breaks to rest before continuing . We had left first thing in the morning, but the town of Alessa was far . The mountains only barely looked closer than before by the time the sun began to set . We would have to spend the night in a small area between a field of gra.s.s and a grove .

“Asagi, is this fine for the tent?”

“You got it, Master Daniela . It’s perfect!”

I gave her a thumbs up as I stirred the soup in the pot . A nice camp soup, full of fresh vegetables, blocks of meat, and flavored with salt and spices . After this was done, I moved the pot and placed a frying pan over the fire . When it was heated, I put on Daniela’s favorite meat and let it sizzle . The smell of spices spread through the air . Thankfully, Presence Detection told us that there was no one nearby . Not a single monster . But if anything bothered to come from so far away after somehow smelling it, then I would gladly oblige them . I always welcomed experience points .

Now, the meat was cooked just right . I took the small estoc that Daniela used as a skewer and thrust it through the meat . It went on a plate with some toasted bread and was placed on our low table . Once the soup was served, our first dinner during our Flugelnia trip was complete . By the way, I happened to make this table . I just needed the tools and a little help from Jack of all Trades, Master of None, and it was easy . Being able to become a carpenter so easily made me wonder if this skill really was a cheat, but then I remembered Matsumoto . It was clear that he had taken all of the real protagonist luck . Which was a relief .

“Danielaaaa . Dinners served . ”

“Coming . ”

Daniela was wiping her body behind the tent and answered without showing herself . I wouldn’t have exactly minded if she did it in front of me . Hehe .

The cleaned up Daniela sat opposite of me as we ate . First, the soup .

The Hearty Camping Soup(named by me) had a splendid combination of thick, juicy meat and light and sweet vegetables, giving it a rich, delicious flavor . I could not be more pleased with it myself . The vegetables would melt in your mouth and the meat barely required any chewing . It was a good thing that I had prepared the ingredients before throwing them in the hollow bag, even for simple meals like this . I had done it during our midday break .

Now the meat . The spices were sharp and went well with it, or so my nose told me . Then I bite into it . There was no time to calm myself, and I kept eating without being able to stop . Then I dunked the bread inside of the soup and also had some of it with the meat . And all was right with the world . And then our dinner was done .

“Ahh, I am quite full . ”

Daniela said with great satisfaction as she rolled onto the ground . That reminded me of something .

“Daniela . Back where I’m from, people say that lying down right after eating will turn you into a cow . ”

“Daniela . Back where I’m from, people say that lying down right after eating will turn you into a cow . ”

“Hmm… Do you mean that your b.r.e.a.s.t.s will become larger?”

“No, that’s not what I meant . ”

I denied it and looked away as Daniela cupped her b.r.e.a.s.t.s while lying on the ground . There was something very provocative about her recently . Like when we spent the whole day at the inn…no, never mind that . Some things should be kept private .

“I meant that you’d get fat . ”

“Asagi, why did you not say so!”

She sat up quickly . I chuckled at this reaction, but then she pouted with annoyance . This meant that I could now sit down next to her and amuse myself by poking at her cheeks . Daniela was not amused, she folded her arms and looked away unforgivingly .

It took me the entire night to get back in her good graces .

And so our journey continued in this fun fas.h.i.+on . We pa.s.sed the prairies, traveled through the rocky hills, and were occasionally attacked by rabbit-like monsters that hid in holes . These gra.s.s rabbits had light green-colored fur and small horns protruding from their heads . Well, horns or not, they were hardly a threat to us . We easily killed them and helped ourselves to their horns .

Once we were out of there, we came out to a place that was full of large boulders . Monsters called stone lizards would jump out with earth magic attacks here, and we even encountered a group of goblins with their stone weapons .

This countryside adventure lasted for three days until we finally reached the Allessa mountains . The summit was covered in a thin layer of snow . You could see streams of smoke rising from between the mountains, indicating where the mining towns were . It seemed like a distance that we could cover within the day .

However, this was the moment that I was the most afraid of .

As for why, I had a knack for getting into the worst trouble upon first arriving in a new town . If I wasn’t getting chased by forest wolves, then I was being chased by wyverns . There was no doubt that something was waiting for me here . Daniela did not seem concerned as we walked, but my eyes darted to every corner, suspiciously inspecting everything . Presence Detection was constantly spread out and activated, and of course, I kept an eye above our heads too . I would make sure that there were no small shadows blocking the sun before checking the ground again . Would something jump out from under our feet…it was a possibility .

“What is it, Asagi? You seem very anxious . ”

“Don’t let your guard down, Daniela . It is when you think that you have won, that something completely unexpected will happen . ”

“And who do you think you are fighting?”

Daniela looked at me with exasperation . But I couldn’t be bothered by it now . I was too busy securing our safety . The journey was not over until we were inside the town .

Right then, Presence Detection caught something approaching us from behind . Didn’t I tell you! My prediction had been right!

“Daniela! Enemy approaching from the back!”

“What?”

I quickly unsheathed my claw blade and held it in front of me . Something was approaching us at great speed, causing a cloud of dust to rise in the air .

“Asagi . ”

“Get ready, Daniela! The enemy is coming!”

A carriage appeared from within the dust cloud . A banner was fixed to it . So it wasn’t a monster . Then was it…

“Could they be bandits?!”

“There would not be bandits so close to the town . And that banner…”

The carriage came closer and closer . The two horses trampled the dirt wildly as they approached .

The driver was coming into view . …Hmm, there was something familiar about, no, it couldn’t be .

“Ahhh! I knew it would be you when I saw your equipment! I could spot that wind dragon armor a mile away! Oh, but why are you pointing your sword at me?”

Silently, I lowered it . The driver was the owner of the Paw Armor Shop .

Now, what was I supposed to do about all these wasted emotions?

Previous post: Two Saints wander off into a Different World – 16.

POSTED 43 MINS AGO.

Trouble Maker, Trouble Evader.

“So, what is this Empire that we are visiting like?”.

 .

I asked Daniela after we had gone through the southern gate and began to walk down the gravel road

 .

“The Empire… The Flugelnia Empire is a nation that controls much of the southern lands . Fhiraldo and Spiris, on the other hand, are a part of the Lambrusen Republic . Is this all new to you, Asagi?”.

“It is . I have no grasp on geography here . Just that there are forests to the north and mountains to the south . ”.

“The northern forests are called the Great Sawyer Forests . The southern mountains are the Alessa Mountains . You should know that name very well . ”.

 .

It was the place where those d.a.m.ned adventurers who called me Black Rabbit were sent to work in the mines . I remembered it well

 .

“This whole region is called the Alexia mountain ranges . The mountain range stretches out east-west and separates Lambrusen and Flugelnia . There is a gate in the Alessa mountains that lets you enter the country . And so we will need to reach the town with the gate in order to enter the Empire . ”.

 .

The sudden barrage of unknown words was scrambled in my mental map . Uh….

 .

So the country that I came to after dying was the Lambrusen Republic . I woke up on the misty hills and walked to Fhiraldo to the east . We moved even further east after that and ended up in Spiris . To the north of the misty hills, Fhiraldo and Spiris, lay the Sawyer Forest . To the south was the Alexia mountain ranges that went east-west . And this Flugelnia Empire lay pa.s.sed those mountains….

 .

Hmm, I think I got that right . So we were always going between the mountains and forests up until now . Had I first appeared in the great forest or mountains, I likely would have died . It would have been much harder to find a town nearby

 .

“I get the picture . ”.

“Good . Well, we are going to be traveling through those mountains you can see up ahead . ”.

 .

The map was clear in my head now, and I could imagine our destination . I suddenly felt a lot more motivated . However, there was one thing that was bothering me

 .

“Uh, Daniela . ”.

“What?”.

“This Empire, is it one of those military states?”.

 .

There was something hot-blooded about the word . The last thing I wanted to do, was to get drafted

 .

“Well, you might say so . It is considered glamorous to be in the army . ”.

“So, are they likely to be causing any wars?”.

“No, I do not think so . If anything, they make a show of declaring their distaste for war . ”.

 .

Huh… I hardly knew what to think anymore….

 .

“Though, the Empire did attempt world domination around six hundred years ago . They even succeeded in it too . ”.

“Seriously?”.

“Serious . However, the world was much too large to be governed so, and the Emperor at the time died from the stress . The succeeding son had no intention of following his father’s fate . And so the lands were split up and the independent states were born . ”.

“That’s quite impressive…”.

“It was highly contested at the time . But seeing as how things have settled now, he must have been a wise Emperor . ”.

 .

So that was a little history of this world . He had seen his father die from being overworked and wanted better for himself . I wonder if that was all written in their history books? I was curious

 .

“The Empire has never launched an attack on another country since then . The army does nothing outside of their parades . As I said, it is considered glamorous, and the most popular occupation . ”.

“They don’t even fight?”.

“They will generally only fight monsters . They attack in great numbers and prevent stampedes . I guess it is one of the things they do outside of parades . ”.

 .

I asked her many other things about Flugelnia as we walked . We occasionally took breaks to rest before continuing . We had left first thing in the morning, but the town of Alessa was far . The mountains only barely looked closer than before by the time the sun began to set . We would have to spend the night in a small area between a field of gra.s.s and a grove

 .

“Asagi, is this fine for the tent?”.

“You got it, Master Daniela . It’s perfect!”.

 .

I gave her a thumbs up as I stirred the soup in the pot . A nice camp soup, full of fresh vegetables, blocks of meat, and flavored with salt and spices . After this was done, I moved the pot and placed a frying pan over the fire . When it was heated, I put on Daniela’s favorite meat and let it sizzle . The smell of spices spread through the air . Thankfully, Presence Detection told us that there was no one nearby . Not a single monster . But if anything bothered to come from so far away after somehow smelling it, then I would gladly oblige them . I always welcomed experience points .  .

Now, the meat was cooked just right . I took the small estoc that Daniela used as a skewer and thrust it through the meat . It went on a plate with some toasted bread and was placed on our low table . Once the soup was served, our first dinner during our Flugelnia trip was complete . By the way, I happened to make this table . I just needed the tools and a little help from Jack of all Trades, Master of None, and it was easy . Being able to become a carpenter so easily made me wonder if this skill really was a cheat, but then I remembered Matsumoto . It was clear that he had taken all of the real protagonist luck . Which was a relief

 .

“Danielaaaa . Dinners served . ”.

“Coming . ”.

 .

Daniela was wiping her body behind the tent and answered without showing herself . I wouldn’t have exactly minded if she did it in front of me . Hehe

The cleaned up Daniela sat opposite of me as we ate . First, the soup

The Hearty Camping Soup(named by me) had a splendid combination of thick, juicy meat and light and sweet vegetables, giving it a rich, delicious flavor . I could not be more pleased with it myself . The vegetables would melt in your mouth and the meat barely required any chewing . It was a good thing that I had prepared the ingredients before throwing them in the hollow bag, even for simple meals like this . I had done it during our midday break

Now the meat . The spices were sharp and went well with it, or so my nose told me . Then I bite into it . There was no time to calm myself, and I kept eating without being able to stop . Then I dunked the bread inside of the soup and also had some of it with the meat . And all was right with the world . And then our dinner was done

 .

“Ahh, I am quite full . ”.

 .

Daniela said with great satisfaction as she rolled onto the ground . That reminded me of something

 .

“Daniela . Back where I’m from, people say that lying down right after eating will turn you into a cow . ”.

“Hmm… Do you mean that your b.r.e.a.s.t.s will become larger?”.

“No, that’s not what I meant . ”.

 .

I denied it and looked away as Daniela cupped her b.r.e.a.s.t.s while lying on the ground . There was something very provocative about her recently . Like when we spent the whole day at the inn…no, never mind that . Some things should be kept private

 .

“I meant that you’d get fat . ”.

“Asagi, why did you not say so!”.

 .

She sat up quickly . I chuckled at this reaction, but then she pouted with annoyance . This meant that I could now sit down next to her and amuse myself by poking at her cheeks . Daniela was not amused, she folded her arms and looked away unforgivingly

It took me the entire night to get back in her good graces

 .

□　　　□　　　□　　　□.

 .

And so our journey continued in this fun fas.h.i.+on . We pa.s.sed the prairies, traveled through the rocky hills, and were occasionally attacked by rabbit-like monsters that hid in holes . These gra.s.s rabbits had light green-colored fur and small horns protruding from their heads . Well, horns or not, they were hardly a threat to us . We easily killed them and helped ourselves to their horns

Once we were out of there, we came out to a place that was full of large boulders . Monsters called stone lizards would jump out with earth magic attacks here, and we even encountered a group of goblins with their stone weapons

This countryside adventure lasted for three days until we finally reached the Allessa mountains . The summit was covered in a thin layer of snow . You could see streams of smoke rising from between the mountains, indicating where the mining towns were . It seemed like a distance that we could cover within the day

 .

However, this was the moment that I was the most afraid of

 .

As for why, I had a knack for getting into the worst trouble upon first arriving in a new town . If I wasn’t getting chased by forest wolves, then I was being chased by wyverns . There was no doubt that something was waiting for me here . Daniela did not seem concerned as we walked, but my eyes darted to every corner, suspiciously inspecting everything . Presence Detection was constantly spread out and activated, and of course, I kept an eye above our heads too . I would make sure that there were no small shadows blocking the sun before checking the ground again . Would something jump out from under our feet…it was a possibility

 .

“What is it, Asagi? You seem very anxious . ”.

“Don’t let your guard down, Daniela . It is when you think that you have won, that something completely unexpected will happen . ”.

“And who do you think you are fighting?”.

 .

Daniela looked at me with exasperation . But I couldn’t be bothered by it now . I was too busy securing our safety . The journey was not over until we were inside the town

 .

Right then, Presence Detection caught something approaching us from behind . Didn’t I tell you! My prediction had been right!.

 .

“Daniela! Enemy approaching from the back!”.

“What?”.

 .

I quickly unsheathed my claw blade and held it in front of me . Something was approaching us at great speed, causing a cloud of dust to rise in the air

 .

“Asagi . ”.

“Get ready, Daniela! The enemy is coming!”.

 .

A carriage appeared from within the dust cloud . A banner was fixed to it . So it wasn’t a monster . Then was it….

 .

“Could they be bandits?!”.

“There would not be bandits so close to the town . And that banner…”.

 .

The carriage came closer and closer . The two horses trampled the dirt wildly as they approached

The driver was coming into view . …Hmm, there was something familiar about, no, it couldn’t be

 .

“Ahhh! I knew it would be you when I saw your equipment! I could spot that wind dragon armor a mile away! Oh, but why are you pointing your sword at me?”.

 .

Silently, I lowered it . The driver was the owner of the Paw Armor Shop

 .

Now, what was I supposed to do about all these wasted emotions?.